• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out

#51,541
Sorry for yet another OT post in this thread, but you haven't steered me wrong before so I'm going back to the well.

I responded to a Craigslist post of a drummer looking for people to jam with, and the person got back to me with a bunch of somewhat personal questions. Maybe they're just trying to figure out if we'd get along, but it also feels a bit weird to me in a way. Is this normal? Obviously I don't have much experience in this area so I might be just out of my element.
 
  • Like
Reactions: br1qbat, scabpicker and rutrho
#51,542
lucas303 said:
Sorry for yet another OT post in this thread, but you haven't steered me wrong before so I'm going back to the well.

I responded to a Craigslist post of a drummer looking for people to jam with, and the person got back to me with a bunch of somewhat personal questions. Maybe they're just trying to figure out if we'd get along, but it also feels a bit weird to me in a way. Is this normal? Obviously I don't have much experience in this area so I might be just out of my element.
Click to expand...

What kind of questions did he/she ask?
 
  • Like
Reactions: rutrho and lucas303
#51,544
I can see how most of that could be relevant. I think a big part of the CL "game" is screening people when you get a lot of responses (I say this because I've been through the process several times). It sucks spending the time to load gear & travel, when you show up to jam and the person is way older/younger, not on the same page, has a totally different work schedule, etc. I think age and what you do for work (and/or what your work schedule is like) is pretty standard. Maybe the question about how long you've been in CO relates to how well you may be plugged into the music scene here, have booking/venue contacts, know other musicians, etc.

If I respond to "looking for bassist" listings, I usually give my age, playing background, musical interests, and schedule/commitment level up front.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rutrho and lucas303
#51,546
lucas303 said:
Sorry for yet another OT post in this thread, but you haven't steered me wrong before so I'm going back to the well.

I responded to a Craigslist post of a drummer looking for people to jam with, and the person got back to me with a bunch of somewhat personal questions. Maybe they're just trying to figure out if we'd get along, but it also feels a bit weird to me in a way. Is this normal? Obviously I don't have much experience in this area so I might be just out of my element.
Click to expand...

It's a little weird but I kind of get it. If you've been in multiple bands or been doing this for a long time you begin to realize more and more that bands are better and last longer when everyone gets along. I started our band with our lead guitarist and our craigslist post was pretty specific. Followup questions could be even a little more personal and specific because... whats the point auditioning someone who you know you're not going to like or get a long with. Seems kind of schittie, but unless you're forming a supergroup that's going around in separate tour busses for the purposes of only making money, you're going to be spending a lot of time with these people trying to have fun and making art together. You cant make art with everyone. After you've been around the sun a few time you get to know the kind of people you can relate to and that will bring out your best. Heck, Id rather play with someone I like than someone who shreds, everyday of the week and twice on the black sabbath.
We had questions like: if you had to wear a hat, which direction would you wear it?" or in our CL post we had something like "if you've ever worn or considered wearing shorts on stage, no need to respond". Again, seems judgmental, and, truthfully, it is, but we know who we were and what were going for. We also had very clearly that no xenophobes, homophobes, racists, sexists, or climate science deniers need apply. We then closed the post with "Hail Satan".
We got a little hate mail from all the -phobes and -ists and -ians, but we cut down on the unqualified responses immensely. Most of the people we auditioned were very cool. One of the replies was from a fundamental christian who wanted to play metal for jesus... I don't know how he missed the hail satan thing but that was a short conversation.

I guess the point of all this is; if jamming is to be fun and productive, you dont want someone to walk in to the room wearing a klan hood. Its going to hard to not focus on that. This dude probably just wants to relax and enjoy playing. It might be better for you too; might help you avoid making metal for baby jesus... unless thats your thing ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: silverfoxx, oZZma, br1qbat and 6 others
#51,548
Good post @hardtop

Along with all of that, I've been pretty blunt about personal stuff with people I've met up to jam with. Like being clear that I'll meet up for a beer to chat beforehand, or have a beer when we jam. But I always give the caveat that substance abusers and people who think it's find to pound booze at a gig need not respond. I'm not an angel, but I've dealt with the frustrations of putting tons of time and energy in only to have the sloppy booze-drenched bandmate show up for gigs. It's awful.

The hail satan thing makes me laugh and is a nice little 'wink-wink, nudge-nudge' as far as finding personalities that fit. A good example of how to include a litmus test for sense of humor among other things life-style related...
 
  • Like
Reactions: oZZma, br1qbat, lucas303 and 2 others
#51,549
lucas303 said:
Right on thanks all. I responded with all of the information that was asked, short of being specific about my work because that's just a bit too personal for my taste at this point. (That said, I'm pretty sure they'd see my full name on my email, and could find where I work through a simple Google search....)
Click to expand...

The work thing is a bit much, however the real question is probably not "what specifically do you do for work" but rather "are you some form of cop and/or grifter-criminal".

Good luck!
 
  • Like
Reactions: lucas303, BurtMacklinFBI, rutrho and 1 other person
#51,550
Grahams Groove said:
I can see how most of that could be relevant. I think a big part of the CL "game" is screening people when you get a lot of responses (I say this because I've been through the process several times). It sucks spending the time to load gear & travel, when you show up to jam and the person is way older/younger, not on the same page, has a totally different work schedule, etc. I think age and what you do for work (and/or what your work schedule is like) is pretty standard. Maybe the question about how long you've been in CO relates to how well you may be plugged into the music scene here, have booking/venue contacts, know other musicians, etc.

If I respond to "looking for bassist" listings, I usually give my age, playing background, musical interests, and schedule/commitment level up front.
Click to expand...

Sounds similar to what I've responded with and stuff I've asked about. I've generally had better luck posting up "female bassist looking for metal/heavy/dark/ambient/postwhatever stuff" and then going into the general talk of general age, employment status, transportation situation, commitment levels, etc. When I've responded to ads, it generally goes fine until the 'female' part comes round, but that situation is pretty specific to me though. I also find throwing out a bunch of bands with styles/music I like helps as well to sort of figure out common musical ground.

A lot of people are about the hang and not 100% about chops or who has the best gear or whatever but about being able to be chill and be cool people to make weird fsking art with.
 
  • Like
Reactions: silverfoxx, Novarocker, oZZma and 3 others
#51,551
rutrho said:
Sounds similar to what I've responded with and stuff I've asked about. I've generally had better luck posting up "female bassist looking for metal/heavy/dark/ambient/postwhatever stuff" and then going into the general talk of general age, employment status, transportation situation, commitment levels, etc. When I've responded to ads, it generally goes fine until the 'female' part comes round, but that situation is pretty specific to me though. I also find throwing out a bunch of bands with styles/music I like helps as well to sort of figure out common musical ground.

A lot of people are about the hang and not 100% about chops or who has the best gear or whatever but about being able to be chill and be cool people to make weird fsking art with.
Click to expand...

Good points. If I post for myself (i.e. Bassist looking for other musicians), I try to list a few deeper cuts and more obscure bands that I dig on. I find it hard to weed through listings like "Metal band looking for bassist. Influences are Megadeth, Slayer, Iron Maiden, and Metallica." Oh, that's very unique and specific...o_O
 
  • Like
Reactions: Novarocker, br1qbat, lucas303 and 1 other person
#51,552
rutrho said:
Sounds similar to what I've responded with and stuff I've asked about. I've generally had better luck posting up "female bassist looking for metal/heavy/dark/ambient/postwhatever stuff" and then going into the general talk of general age, employment status, transportation situation, commitment levels, etc. When I've responded to ads, it generally goes fine until the 'female' part comes round, but that situation is pretty specific to me though. I also find throwing out a bunch of bands with styles/music I like helps as well to sort of figure out common musical ground.

A lot of people are about the hang and not 100% about chops or who has the best gear or whatever but about being able to be chill and be cool people to make weird fsking art with.
Click to expand...
Woah woah woah... I don't know if we can continue to be friends here Rho. That's pretty big, I mean it's ALL about the chops and gear right? This IS talkbass :D

<3
 
  • Like
Reactions: lucas303 and rutrho
#51,553
Grahams Groove said:
Good points. If I post for myself (i.e. Bassist looking for other musicians), I try to list a few deeper cuts and more obscure bands that I dig on. I find it hard to weed through listings like "Metal band looking for bassist. Influences are Megadeth, Slayer, Iron Maiden, and Metallica." Oh, that's very unique and specific...o_O
Click to expand...

Exactly. I put an ad out and listed Bongripper, Windhand, Monolord, and Pallbearer and I knew I may get 0-2 responses, but those would be right up my alley.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Novarocker, lucas303, Grahams Groove and 1 other person
#51,555
So hey, anybody here interested in some work modding a pedal? I’d like to add germanium clipping to my old style (i.e. big) Olde Dirty Bass. Replacing one of the existing diode options would be fine; adding a switch to add the germanium diodes to whatever other clipping option I already have selected would be awesome if possible. Know that I know virtually nothing about electrical engineering so answering stupid questions may be involved. Any takers, preferably ones who won’t ruin my relatively expensive pedal?
 
#51,558
lucas303 said:
Age, where I'm from, what I do for work, how long I've been in CO...in addition to what music I like.
Click to expand...
Actually, these questions are kind of weird to me. Work is personal outside of; can you afford to pitch in on the practice space, can you afford appropriate gear, and can your car make it to gigs and practice. The rest seems irrelevant, except for maybe age, but even that seems like it could be somewhat discriminatory. This has a weird feeling that it might be more about the increase of Colorado "Xenophobia" that's been swiffering the state lately. "Natives" are all upset about how people not born in Westminster are ruining their lives. I've been here over 20 years, brought jobs here, helped rebuild dangerous and run down neighborhoods, and contributed to the improvement of art, music, healthcare, schools, air quality and infrastructure....I've been told to go back to where I can from about 10 times this year.... surpassing the total times that has happened in the 20 years prior to that. Might want to get to the bottom of that; even if you're from CO, that's a bad vibe, in my opinion.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Novarocker and lucas303
#51,559
hardtop said:
Actually, these questions are kind of weird to me. Work is personal outside of; can you afford to pitch in on the practice space, can you afford appropriate gear, and can your car make it to gigs and practice. The rest seems irrelevant, except for maybe age, but even that seems like it could be somewhat discriminatory. This has a weird feeling that it might be more about the increase of Colorado "Xenophobia" that's been swiffering the state lately. "Natives" are all upset about how people not born in Westminster are ruining their lives. I've been here over 20 years, brought jobs here, helped rebuild dangerous and run down neighborhoods, and contributed to the improvement art, music, healthcare, schools, air quality and infrastructure....I've been told to go back to where I can from about 10 times this year.... surpassing the total time that has happened in the 20 years prior to that. Might want to get to the bottom of that; even if you're from CO, thats a bad vibe, in my opinion.
Click to expand...
I guess if they want to turn me away because I've only been in Colorado for 18+ years then they're probably not a person I would've meshed with anyway.
 
  • Like
Reactions: br1qbat and hardtop
#51,560
lucas303 said:
I guess if they want to turn me away because I've only been in Colorado for 18+ years then they're probably not a person I would've meshed with anyway.
Click to expand...
"18 years? Sheeet. Native or Die! Go back to Ohio or wherever you came from... and take your heavy metal music with you. This here is the wild west and we love us some real country like Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan, and Toby Keith."

I kid, I kid. I love Colorado. And though there has been an increase in the native chest thumping, most of the people here are great. I'm just a little annoyed lately because there are more of the above type of people than ever before.
By the way, some suburban bro said something like this to me in a bar recently when I was discussing the vibrant metal scene here in Denver with another patron. He may have mentioned Rascal Flats.... ugh.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Novarocker, xJasonSmithx and lucas303

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back