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rule-breakers, otherwise known as pioneers
- Thread starter Killed_by_Death
- Start date
Not taking anything away from the great Motown sound and how the Beatles honored their influences but a bass player that shows how the bass can be upfront and center in recorded music is the classic definition of a "pioneer".
British Engineers wore white lab coats and had a rule book on how to record that George Martin threw out the window.
A lot of time has passed so many don't realize prior to the Beatles the bass player was hardly ever one of the featured members front and center in the band. Look up how many bass players were one of the lead singer/songwriters in the band prior to the Beatles. Lots after...not too many before.
I was a youngster when the Beatles came out. I found their music was almost a spiritual experience. I don't think even they knew how much magic was being created at that time. I remember that HUGE Hofner bass sitting right out front in their songs. My friend's parents were school teachers and they had a nice home and stereo. The stereo really brought out Sir Paul's bass.
Looking back, I'm sure one of the reasons I got into music was the Beatles. I started on guitar, eventually switching to bass. To this day there are so many Beatles songs that I love because of the bass. I Saw Her Standing There is a fine example of Paul's very upfront musical bass playing. If we ever play live again after this thing we're in, the bands I play in still play that song.
Strangely I knew it, but not on the top of my head. And there are Larry Graham and Mo Foster, so I've got confused.
Who says there are rules
Loads of people in the Technique sub-forum, which inspired this thread.
This guy was pretty original :
5 string? 6 string? Meh...why bother because all you need is 2...
5 string? 6 string? Meh...why bother because all you need is 2...
But the members of the Beatles took Motown records to the men in lab coats and repeatedly insisted that the bass be cranked up in spite of the warnings from the men in lab coats that it couldn’t be done and that the bass frequencies would cause the needle to skip.
They sure did - it was this. I imagine the differences between the '62 and '70 edition were substantial...
I'll +1 the person who said Mike Watt. The man redefined punk bass playing. He paved the way for cats like Matt Freeman of Rancid. Otherwise, punk bass playing at the time was just throttling roots. Mike Watt changed that.
I'll also offer up Alex Webster and Steve DiGiorgio for redefining bass playing in extreme metal. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't see the current crop of extreme metal "fast, fluid, fingerstyle, fretless" bassists. Webster and DiGiorgio were anomalies who paved the way. Prior to the likes of Webster and DiGiorgio, extreme metal bass playing was just aping the guitar riffs using a pick.
I'll also offer up Alex Webster and Steve DiGiorgio for redefining bass playing in extreme metal. If it weren't for them, we wouldn't see the current crop of extreme metal "fast, fluid, fingerstyle, fretless" bassists. Webster and DiGiorgio were anomalies who paved the way. Prior to the likes of Webster and DiGiorgio, extreme metal bass playing was just aping the guitar riffs using a pick.
I second this if ya need a reason why then I can only answer it with a question. How many of us can adequately play a Chapman stick to make it sound good in progressive rock and metal
You're right. I should replace my bass with an industrial fan.
Please don't take the fan guard off!
I think most, if not all, 'visionaries' are simply approaching a problem with what they see as a viable solution that works. The visionary part is appended later. In other words, I'm not sure some one can be a 'visionary' because that was their goal. For instance, I don't think Lemmy saw himself as a visionary but a guy who was on his own path and STUCK WITH HIS CONVICTION. Hope that makes sense.
