rock bassist who don't play root

[SubEndSorcerer]

How about Steve DiGiorgio. He's pretty death metal, but I fine fretless player none the less. Not much root playing with him.

 

[Phil Mastro]

I'm surprised I haven't seen James Jamerson yet. I also think Stefan Lessard should be mentionned here.

 

[mat gregory]

mark hoppus (joke)

billy sheahan , les claypool , john myung

 

[mat gregory]

Brian Marshall, former Creed bassist. No hitting, please.

hes a good bassist , i liked creed.

 

[cowsgomoo]

8th note roots are sometimes the best thing to play... I don't ACDC would be as effective with a 'Jacoesque' bass thing going on

and sometimes doubling your guitarist note for note is the right thing to do...

 

[Dincrest]

How about Clayton Ingerson of Dysrhythmia. He does some killer lines.

I also really like James LoMenzo (Black Label Society, David Lee Roth, Hideous Sun Demons) and the Hideous Sun Demons album has some terrific bass work.

 

[Copycat]

Have you ever seen the late 50s or early 60s B horror movie The Hideous Sun Demon? It's a hoot. Kind of a reverse werewolf thing. Guy turns into a lizard man while retaining his button down shirt and chinos when out in the sun too long. Mad dogs, Englishmen and Hideous Sun Demons should stay out of the midday sun. Guess they didn't have sunscreen back then. Great band name. Anyway, I think this thread brings up a lot of issues. I would concur with most names that have been brought up. I would also agree that the root is not necessarily the root of all evil. Sometimes complicated is just that: complicated. It's less about the note than the feel, really. John Paul Jones--great, but the first Zep recording is almost all riffing and unison lines, and a lot of root, fifth, octave stuff. And there's nothing less valuable about that than his part in What Is And What Should Never Be or other tunes where he really stretches. I value players who create memorable lines, parts that are both rhymically interesting and melodically compelling. McCartney, Lee, Squire, Bruce, Glenn Cornick of Tull, the guys with Alice Cooper and Uriah Heep, which other posters have noted, were all great in that era, as were King Crimson bassists like Greg Lake, Boz and John Wetton. Grab some 70s King Crimson with Wetton if you want some killer bass (Larks' Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black, Red). In the 80s, the guys who played with Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson were always terrific (names are escaping me at the moment). How about Tim Bogert? A bass player in a trio like Rush or Beck, Bogert and Appice has more room to move around in. Tony Levin is always great, even though a lot of things he did with KC and Gabriel are on Stick. With bands of recent or current vintage, I like what the bass player in Hot Hot Heat does. Some cool parts there. Keep listening. There are lot of inventive players out there who aren't necessarily of the chops-for-chops sake school of thought.

 

[AlembicPlayer]

no comment on the root debate other then it's just plain silly

with that...I'll add Phil Lesh to the list of out of the box players

 

[RLT]

I don't know about your guitarist, but some of the ones I've played with get lost if you don't give them a foundation.
So I had to hit root occasionly just to keep them in line.

 

[Thunder_Fingers]

well.. you always start on the root note for each chord change, you have to or else it will sound bad and out of key, so everyone plays the Root note? its what that does come after the first note that counts geddy lee and such always use the root note before executing the line.. me think, or else it will sound bad.. and one thing i DO know is that rush doesnt sound bad..

 

[James Hart]

no comment on the root debate other then it's just plain silly

You are sooooo right. I'm gonna close this thread and pretend it never happened