Ray Riendeau....

Honestly, I think he is a very boring bass player. His playing is longueurous and lacks any sense of melody or groove

 

He is a very good player, but I found his project to be a bit boring past around half way through the second song... simply because he used the same 2-3 techniques in every song - all slapping variations.

 

I agree with Zon. He has technique but his compositions are dull and lifeless.

 

I only heard one song by him. I think it was called "Liquid." It sounds like he developed his slap technique trying to emulate Victor Wooten. I'm sure he has lots of nifty tricks, but I wonder if he would be able to lay down the groove and change it around, or improvise a melodic or funky solo that doesn't revolve around triplet slaps.

I'm not saying that he can't. I'm saying, "I wonder if he can," because I have to admit that I haven't heard enough of his work to judge him by.

Whether you like him or not, Victor Wooten can do it all - everything from rapid-fire triplet slaps to improvising in many different contexts. Is Ray Riendeau as well-rounded?

 

doesnt he play Fender?

 

Yes, he has several Fenders. IMO Ray may be a harbinger of where (some) slap is headed. I'll leave it at that.

 

I said it before (in another thread about him) -
There's only so much slapping I can listen to. He gets a bit carried away.

 

To differentiate between whether someone is good and whether you like their music is not always easy, I see. I think his technique is good, and when I'm in the mood for fireworks I like his music too.

edit: I think he does studio work too, though I'm not sure what he's played on.

 

He used to tour with guitarist Gary Hoey.
I have a live album, and he plays some good grooves there.

He's also a member of Halford, Ex-Judas Priest singer Rob Halford's new band. I guess he doesn't do much slapping there...

 

I wish he did!! That would be entertaining in a very bizarre way.

 

I hope that the future of slap bass has more promising horiZONs

 

At Bass Day 2000 one of the guys who drew the biggest crowd on the sidelines was a bassist who could slap very, very fast... not melodic, just fast. People were going absolutely ga-ga over it.

 

Hello Brad,
I know what you mean man.I was at bass day 98 and that was the same vibe among the younger players there.Im sorry,but fast slapping to me is not funky.Space is what makes it funky,and a lot of these cats have no concept of space in their playing.Every space filled with notes.Namm show chops are impressive to other players,but its groove and feel that speak to the average listener.

p e a c e

 

Exactly, slapping is not funk. It is a technique. People just do not care about originality or WRITING! Everyone plays music for different reasons

 

I listened to a couple clips of Reindeau finally over at some other bass site (name escapes me...but it's another one of the big ones). There's a special on him right now.

UNFUNKY AS HELL. The clips I heard were not musical, not tasteful, and NOT pleasing to the ear. From the clips I heard, I'm not a big fan.

Granted, I haven't heard ALL his work, but the stuff I heard, including "Ornithology" (slapped, of course...), what terrible. Sure, great chops,but totally useless. Blah.

I wish people could tell the difference between funk (MUSIC) and slapping (TECHNIQUE). It's not that difficult...

 

LOL!!
I think my signature sums it all up

 

Hey ZP, I'm sure Ray is passionate