Unfunky......

[btmpancake]

Well it's not my band. I'm just the bass player. Just frustrated. I long to play with better musicians.

If and when you do, let's hope they'll have the patience to bring you up to par if you need it. Some better experience cats don't have a lot of patience and don't spend a lot of time practicing or rehearsing. Man... the stories I can recall about playing with seasoned veterans when I was the slow one.

 

[Bad azz tone]

If and when you do, let's hope they'll have the patience to bring you up to par if you need it. Some better experience cats don't have a lot of patience and don't spend a lot of time practicing or rehearsing. Man... the stories I can recall about playing with seasoned veterans when I was the slow one.

So true! The player I am today is mostly because some great players trained me. The lessons they taught me included everything from how to dress,act,and listen to how to play,pratice,and be aware of the other players. I owe them more than I could ever pay! So I try to honor them by being as they were,patient,honest and as helpful as I can be toward other players,even if they are noobs.

 

[DWBass]

Revisiting thread. Drummer has gotten a lot better and we work well together. Still, everyone is reading (including drummer) except for me. Band as a whole has gotten better but we use subs quite a bit (even for me).

 

[DWBass]

Another update. I ended up resigning from the band back in September. Everyone was still reading and not really 'learning/memorizing' the material. Original guitarist died suddenly (early on) and the replacement was nowhere as good although a decent player. The funk was never conveyed well and I got bored. Other stuff bugged me (i.e. songs that featured acoustic guitar but guitarist never used an acoustic) and I just figured I'd get out of dodge while there were no gigs happening.

RE: Acoustic guitar issue. Beginnings by Chicago. Acoustic guitar intro with a droning E between the 2 chords. Guitarist played electric without the droning E. Just the 2 chords. Sounded absolutely NOTHING like the record.

Stuff like that. Anyway, I'm done and I wished them luck.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

Stick with punk instead?

 

[turf3]

I think some genres you really need to grow up listening to them to be able to get the feel.

You ought to hear a bunch of New Englanders trying to play anything with a clave. Lame!

 

[DWBass]

I think some genres you really need to grow up listening to them to be able to get the feel.

You ought to hear a bunch of New Englanders trying to play anything with a clave. Lame!

Agreed. He basically filled the band with a bunch of his 'band' buddies and decided he was going to play funk, soul and Motown music. Problem was none of them have any experience playing the music save for a couple guys.

 

[markjazzbassist]

Agreed. He basically filled the band with a bunch of his 'band' buddies and decided he was going to play funk, soul and Motown music. Problem was none of them have any experience playing the music save for a couple guys.

i have been dealing with this issue lately. Musicians think because they have some fancy masters degree in music or are music teachers it means they are good players. It means nothing. I find the music teachers and degree types are stiffer and way the heck less funky than blue collar players who learned at home or in church or in the club scene.

 

[turf3]

i have been dealing with this issue lately. Musicians think because they have some fancy masters degree in music or are music teachers it means they are good players. It means nothing. I find the music teachers and degree types are stiffer and way the heck less funky than blue collar players who learned at home or in church or in the club scene.

Well, degreed musicians and/or music teachers without significant playing experience in the genre, are likely to scuffle.

There are an awful lot of folks out there with degrees who can play any genre convincingly, too. Many of them have started out as "blue collar players" who went to school and got a degree.

The degree shows that you mastered a particular set of knowledge and skills, most of which are not the same as the skills that make bar patrons get up and dance.

 

[TNCreature]

I always find it pecuilar when some bands are gathered together even as a project to do a certain genre, and they are not even close to it, any time, regardless fo rehearsal or woodshedding.

That was my thought exactly (3 years late ). You can't fake the feel of this music. And the best bands are ones who have a passion for, and live in their genres.

 

[QORC]

what? a band without the proper people with the proper skills and chops to pull off what they think they are? Never happens. LOL

 

[DWBass]

Well, degreed musicians and/or music teachers without significant playing experience in the genre, are likely to scuffle.

There are an awful lot of folks out there with degrees who can play any genre convincingly, too. Many of them have started out as "blue collar players" who went to school and got a degree.

The degree shows that you mastered a particular set of knowledge and skills, most of which are not the same as the skills that make bar patrons get up and dance.

I have met and played with many degree holding musicians, several from Berklee and none of them can play reggae, Latin/AfroCuban or Funk outside of James Brown or Kool & The Gang. I'm talking real, get down and greasy funk! Not pop radio funk. This has been my very real experience and I've been playing since the mid 70s!

This band, 90% of them hold music degrees. A couple of them very solid and could get down. I took piano and violin lessons. Tried trumpet and trombone in elementary school. But my bass playing has all been self taught. Learned every song by ear and memorized them. Played in funk & soul bands all my life. When I moved to Virginia is when I started playing more pop music because there weren't any 'Funk' bands around. These guys are all good guys and do their best but it's just not the band for me anymore.

 

[matti777]

When it comes to bass and music I would be thankful to play with any group if its just for fun. If I had to perform in front of a crowd that would change things. I found that with sports I like playing with people better than me and that would apply to music too. A friend of mine has been in a jam band for 30 years. Some of the guys have no regard for how the song was originally played or even bother to listen to it to gauge their own sound,feel or rhythm. For some of us its hard to comprehend but everyone has different goals, abilities and ambitions.

 

[turf3]

I have met and played with many degree holding musicians, several from Berklee and none of them can play reggae, Latin/AfroCuban or Funk outside of James Brown or Kool & The Gang. I'm talking real, get down and greasy funk! Not pop radio funk. This has been my very real experience and I've been playing since the mid 70s!
.

Well, consider what various young musicians might be doing.

a) Spending eight hours a day in the university practice room working on exercises, orchestral excerpts, recital pieces, etc.
b) Spending eight hours a day rehearsing with a funk band or playing gigs.

Grossly oversimplified, but it's hard to get "every night on the bandstand till 3 am" experience if you're also trying to make those 8 am lectures on Renaissance choral music and get your three weekly etudes polished. At some point you have to choose.