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This man made me fall in love with slap.

#52
jerry said:
If this guy has a good corner, he probably does alright.;)
I love his playing!
Click to expand...

Ya know, if he does have a good corner, he could make more just jamming along and not have to worry about flaky guitar players, psychotic drummers, lead singers with massive egos, a$$hole bar owners, drunkin' patrons that go to the a$$hole bar owners bars, won't smell like an ashtray after the gig.
Hmm.....might have to look into doing that myself!! (just need to practice my behind off first!)

He may have a harder time picking up chicks as the alcohol factor is removed.
Gotta admit, at least his bass playing is killin', because he wouldn't make it far as a model!;)
 
#53
Hoover said:
I'm curious as to the etymology of that word "grouse".

Are you misspelling "gross", as in the colloquial abbreviation for "grotesque", or do you literally mean "grouse" as in the wild game bird?
Click to expand...
JonathanD said:
Im an idiot.
Gross.
Click to expand...

'Grouse', as an intransitive verb, means to complain pettily or grumble; ex:
"Bass players are always grousing about guitarists playing too loud."

FYI www.m-w.com has no etymology for 'grouse'.
 
#55
Having played bass for quite a long time, I have never fully embraced the concept of bass as a soloist's platform. Much of what I hear is a blur of technique and often, not all that musical. To use a tired cliche, I have told some bass players that they need to give up the instrument and go buy a guitar, since that is how they play.

While there are some notable exceptions, there are not too many bass solos that I would cross the street in order to hear. This guy would fall in the exception range(and so would Larry Graham).
 
#57
Jimtoonz said:
Having played bass for quite a long time, I have never fully embraced the concept of bass as a soloist's platform. Much of what I hear is a blur of technique and often, not all that musical. To use a tired cliche, I have told some bass players that they need to give up the instrument and go buy a guitar, since that is how they play.
Click to expand...

That's closed minded nonsense. Maybe they just aren't very good musicians... and notice I didn't say "bass players".

I've played bass for quite a long time too... I solo on bass, and I'm not a frustrated guitarist. I'm generally better soloing on bass than most of the guitar players I play with. Improvisation is a skill. It's not about playing a bunch of scales and licks you learned. I'm actually very skilled on guitar, but I'm a bass player first and foremost. I don't differentiate between "lead" and "rhythm" guitar ... piano players don't get seperated into lead piano and rhythm piano... nor do sax players and horn players... I play guitar like a guitarist, and I play bass like a bassist, even if I'm soloing. Why should bass be the only instrument that doesn't take solos? Even drummers solo! Music is music! Popular music has roles for each instrument to fill, but that's not written in stone, and is very self limiting musically.

To some people, solos are all about showing off your technique, but that has little to do with music, and isn't restricted to bass solos. Technique is about the manner of playing the instrument. The instrument plays notes, and they can be any notes at all. Music consists of fast, slow, soft, and loud notes. Doesn't matter what instrument it's on. So playing fast does not make you sound like a guitar player, unless you are playing those kinds of things associated with guitar... which is not always very easy on bass. You can't bend strings exactly the same as on a guitar for example. But you can bend strings.. and use vibrato too.

To me a bass solo is the bass taking the lead role in an improvisational excursion. This has been done for years in jazz, and those players never sounded like guitar players. Some of them played fast too! And they don't sound like guitar players. ;)

Electric bass is a guitar, it's tuned the same, and is played with very similar technique. Anthony Jackson is a notable bassist who embraced guitar technique. But usually electric bass players play in a manner dictated by the relatively short tradition of the instrument. And this tradition usually has nothing to do with upright bass technique, or style of playing, but they do overlap.

So if "playing like a bass player" means sticking to some narrow concept of the instrument, how is that necessarily musical? It's very limiting and can be rather cliché depending on the genre of music being played. A good example would be playing the blues. You know exactly what is expected, and you know what's going to come next. it's usually little more than a framework for guitarists to solo over. That's not bad mind you, but sometimes you want more musically.

Anyway my point is some of us bass players like to do more than fit into a box marked "bass player". I've been playing outside that box for a long time now... almost 40 years. I also know when to play inside too, and I'm good at that too. :)
 
#58
I really enjoyed that clip. I love his style and feel. I'd love to hear what he does with something slower and soulful. I would also love to hear him play in a group setting. Bravo sir!

One detail that bothered me a little... In the reflection, you can see people walking on the street. Nobody stopped to listen. Nobody. :scowl:

Joe
 
#60
DavidRavenMoon said:
That's closed minded nonsense. Maybe they just aren't very good musicians... and notice I didn't say "bass players".


I've played bass for quite a long time too... I solo on bass, and I'm not a frustrated guitarist. I'm generally better soloing on bass than most of the guitar players I play with. Improvisation is a skill. It's not about playing a bunch of scales and licks you learned. I'm actually very skilled on guitar, but I'm a bass player first and foremost. I don't differentiate between "lead" and "rhythm" guitar ... piano players don't get seperated into lead piano and rhythm piano... nor do sax players and horn players... I play guitar like a guitarist, and I play bass like a bassist, even if I'm soloing. Why should bass be the only instrument that doesn't take solos? Even drummers solo! Music is music! Popular music has roles for each instrument to fill, but that's not written in stone, and is very self limiting musically.

To some people, solos are all about showing off your technique, but that has little to do with music, and isn't restricted to bass solos. Technique is about the manner of playing the instrument. The instrument plays notes, and they can be any notes at all. Music consists of fast, slow, soft, and loud notes. Doesn't matter what instrument it's on. So playing fast does not make you sound like a guitar player, unless you are playing those kinds of things associated with guitar... which is not always very easy on bass. You can't bend strings exactly the same as on a guitar for example. But you can bend strings.. and use vibrato too.

To me a bass solo is the bass taking the lead role in an improvisational excursion. This has been done for years in jazz, and those players never sounded like guitar players. Some of them played fast too! And they don't sound like guitar players. ;)

Electric bass is a guitar, it's tuned the same, and is played with very similar technique. Anthony Jackson is a notable bassist who embraced guitar technique. But usually electric bass players play in a manner dictated by the relatively short tradition of the instrument. And this tradition usually has nothing to do with upright bass technique, or style of playing, but they do overlap.

So if "playing like a bass player" means sticking to some narrow concept of the instrument, how is that necessarily musical? It's very limiting and can be rather cliché depending on the genre of music being played. A good example would be playing the blues. You know exactly what is expected, and you know what's going to come next. it's usually little more than a framework for guitarists to solo over. That's not bad mind you, but sometimes you want more musically.

Anyway my point is some of us bass players like to do more than fit into a box marked "bass player". I've been playing outside that box for a long time now... almost 40 years. I also know when to play inside too, and I'm good at that too. :)
Click to expand...

To all the other TB'ers out there, please forgive me for hijacking this thread for a moment. I have now been labeled as having posted "closed minded nonsense" by the right honorable Mr. DavidRavenMoon and feel it necessary to respond. I assure you I will not contribute any additional responses to this gentleman at the expense of your time.

Mr. Moon,

Perhaps my post would not have been dismissed as "closed minded nonsense" had I filled it with numerous statements of the incredibly obvious, banal condescension and the occasional self-congratulatory platitude?

My statement stands as written. I'm sorry to inform you, but in this forum and context, it is every bit as valid as yours. I do not find it necessary to validate it by listing my experience, self-perceived level of proficiency, number of instruments I play, etc.

I will further suggest to you that you might find a more receptive audience for your comments when you learn that phrases like "closed minded nonsense" are indeed the province of the closed-minded and not the most effective way to initiate public discourse.

If I am fortunate, perhaps you will grace my city with your innumerable skills at some point. Maybe I'll come out to see you. While many of the venues in this area have entry doors that are potentially of insufficient width to accommodate your level of expertise, we'll make every effort to allow you opportunity to dispense your musical manna to us. I'm sure it will be worth it. Please, just don't offer any bass solos. There are several very interesting ones being played at the local Guitar Center right now. I can listen to them for free.

Anytime you feel the need to tell us how wonderfully talented and skilled you are, please don't hesitate to start a new thread. It will afford us a welcome opportunity to take a break from discussing mundane topics like gear and technique to talk about you. After all, that's why we're here.

Thank you for taking your time to educate me. I'm afraid I've already paid my tuition to far better than you. Good day, sir.
 

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