I dunno, but I used to have to both sing and play this one, and I was wishing I could just play roots.
I did end up simplifying the line... to a degree. But you really can't take all the bounce out of it without really changing the song.
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New Band Red Flag
- Thread starter SCS
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I did end up simplifying the line... to a degree. But you really can't take all the bounce out of it without really changing the song.
This is why I eventually put my own band together (vintage rock & soul, r & b covers). I'd grown tired of dealing with massive egos, playing the same ol' tired songs, etc. Then, if anyone suggests I play something "different" from what I am comfortable with, I have the right to point out how THEY might improve upon what THEY're playing. I'm the one putting it together, supplying free rehearsal space, playing matchmaker with the different personalities, dealing with difficult agents, club owners and getting us paid gigs... Hey. ***. You have options, man! 
If the band is going for perfect covers and the bass player on the recording is playing only roots the drummer has a point. BUT,...
Most cover bands don’t really do perfect covers and allow the musicians within the band some freedom. Having played guitar, vibraphone as well as bass in rock and jazz bands I have run into the same thing when on bass in a rock band, I.e., “ Play Roots“ or “Too Many Notes”.
I think this happens if the drummer is rhythmically challenged and relies on bass for time. In this case he may want only whole or half notes. Then God forbid you play a quarter note let alone eights or triplets he will be lost.
Get the “musicians” in the band on your side. Remember the old joke “what do you call a guy who hangs out with musicians?”
Unless you’re getting paid well I would not change my style and let the chips fall where they may. Keep using roots, other chord components & passing tones.
Most cover bands don’t really do perfect covers and allow the musicians within the band some freedom. Having played guitar, vibraphone as well as bass in rock and jazz bands I have run into the same thing when on bass in a rock band, I.e., “ Play Roots“ or “Too Many Notes”.
I think this happens if the drummer is rhythmically challenged and relies on bass for time. In this case he may want only whole or half notes. Then God forbid you play a quarter note let alone eights or triplets he will be lost.
Get the “musicians” in the band on your side. Remember the old joke “what do you call a guy who hangs out with musicians?”
Unless you’re getting paid well I would not change my style and let the chips fall where they may. Keep using roots, other chord components & passing tones.
Threads like these remind me why I’m so thankful for my country/variety band. There are NO egos in the band. We all have our eyes on the final outcome. We are all, always looking to improve. Constructive feedback is welcomed by all. Seriously - I’m blessed. Plus, our lead singer has a voice that is a blend of Amy Lee (Evanescense), Carrie Underwood, and Mellissa Etheridge. Makes everyone else’s job a lot easier! Sorry - brag moment...
edit - I wish everyone had other musos like this to play with. It’s very fun and humbling.
edit - I wish everyone had other musos like this to play with. It’s very fun and humbling.
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motown needs to be played as Jamerson or whomever recorded it PERIOD..most of those songs are bass centered (musically speaking) and I'm going to tip toe around this next comment so please do NOT take this as racist..but, black people (where motown derived from) love bass..and personally I think it's what makes motown so great..those bass parts are soul, they get my body moving it literally took bass as a musical part in a song to another level..
So, if you are going to play motown / R & B, play the parts as they are written and do not deviate. If the drummer has a problem with that then he has no business playing motown songs..
Let me give you an example of my feeling on this; some things are just sacred..Bass parts on motown are such a thing, just like if you are in a band playing stairway to heaven, your LG player better play that solo exactly as it was written cause everybody who has ever heard that song knows that part in their head note for note..and if it is different it will be equivalent to a balloon losing all of its air to the crowd....
So, if you are going to play motown / R & B, play the parts as they are written and do not deviate. If the drummer has a problem with that then he has no business playing motown songs..
Let me give you an example of my feeling on this; some things are just sacred..Bass parts on motown are such a thing, just like if you are in a band playing stairway to heaven, your LG player better play that solo exactly as it was written cause everybody who has ever heard that song knows that part in their head note for note..and if it is different it will be equivalent to a balloon losing all of its air to the crowd....
There's a difference between being in a band and being someone's "side-kick".
Honestly, it sounds to me like he's a passive-aggressive puss bucket that wants you out but doesn't have the stones to just sit you down for a discussion.
Honestly, it sounds to me like he's a passive-aggressive puss bucket that wants you out but doesn't have the stones to just sit you down for a discussion.
Maybe it's too early in the morning, but this seems to describe a severe minority of songs most cover bands are likely to play.
Blue Bayou came to mind, as did some Eagles, Country and Oldies, but mentally running through my classic rock band's setlist I'm coming up pretty empty.
Trying to imagine what "Boogie Oogie Oogie" would sound like on roots and 5ths now.
Maybe, this guy is dealing with a lack of drumming ability and the drummer is getting on the bassist's case to hide his own short-comings?
These things are so hard to comment and advise on without us being able to witness all the nuance and personality.
He could be completely right. Perhaps your sound and the way your playing just isn’t fitting with the groove or overall mix. Simplifying your parts may help everything breath or feel tighter? He may have a very good and observant ear of the overall band sound, along with a sound in his head he’s trying to reach. I’ve definitely been in this situation as a leader with differing players and instruments. Also, as mentioned already, it’s his band, you’re essentially hired to help realise his project.
The other side is that he is an idiot with an ego. Get out.
He could be completely right. Perhaps your sound and the way your playing just isn’t fitting with the groove or overall mix. Simplifying your parts may help everything breath or feel tighter? He may have a very good and observant ear of the overall band sound, along with a sound in his head he’s trying to reach. I’ve definitely been in this situation as a leader with differing players and instruments. Also, as mentioned already, it’s his band, you’re essentially hired to help realise his project.
The other side is that he is an idiot with an ego. Get out.
I think it's funny the number of people who think demanding only roots for Motown and R&B is a reasonable request.
Most of us don't mind being asked to make reasonable changes but, without additional information, this request doesn't seem right. It'd be like being asked to play complicated, syncopated lines in an old-school country band. Why would anyone do that?
The OP has said he's learned the parts from the records as they were written. I fail to see how that makes him the problem.
Well, none of us can tell who's "the problem" and it's probably a shared responsibility.
But there seems to be an assumption that anyone who wants to play Motown tunes wants to play them just like "THE" record. Maybe that's not his goal.
Remember when Elvis Presley took Bill Monroe's tune "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and changed it from a medium tempo bluegrass waltz to an uptempo 4/4 rocker? When he met Mr. Monroe, Elvis was kind of nervous that Monroe (who was famously irascible if he thought the music was being disrespected) would be angry at him. Monroe said something like "Hey kid, you did something different with my tune there. I like it!"
"Cover band" just means you're not writing your own material. It doesn't mean you're trying to duplicate records.
But there seems to be an assumption that anyone who wants to play Motown tunes wants to play them just like "THE" record. Maybe that's not his goal.
Remember when Elvis Presley took Bill Monroe's tune "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and changed it from a medium tempo bluegrass waltz to an uptempo 4/4 rocker? When he met Mr. Monroe, Elvis was kind of nervous that Monroe (who was famously irascible if he thought the music was being disrespected) would be angry at him. Monroe said something like "Hey kid, you did something different with my tune there. I like it!"
"Cover band" just means you're not writing your own material. It doesn't mean you're trying to duplicate records.
That answer usually comes from this being the internet and no consequences involved to say that. I'm sure in a setting with people standing a meer 3 feet away they become much more cordial and willing to listen to ideas. LOL that's what's funny about it to me.
I did ask OP pretty directly if he was on top of it. He did say there were timing problems.
One 'otherside' possibility is the band is built on playing Motown as CW, and OP did not hear it on the grapevine.
Yeah, without hearing the band and/or getting more info on what the drummer's actual reasoning is, it's hard to know. About the only thing I can say is that if I joined a band that said it wanted to do Motown and R&B and I learned them in the style of the genre, I'd also be confused if told to play roots. I mean usually you know going in if you're joining an Americana-style band that takes songs from other genres and countrifies them. That's one reason I can think of for such a request, but wouldn't you know that's the kind of band you're in?
