vail johnson

[heath_the_great]

THE MAN!....i mean, is there any better?...besides clips of two of his albums ive heard check out this vid
Link Removed
im getting desperate for his albums, none on ebay available to australia that is......also he plays a kubicki ...i think him and stu are toppers of my list, he puts claypool to shame IMO...anyone else dig this freak of nature

 

[Christopher]

He's a good player who's fallen off the face of the earth.

 

[DWBass]

I have his 'Terminator' cd! The man can funk out with the best of them! He's Kenny G's mainstay bassist. He makes those Kubicki's sing but I'd like to hear him on some other instruments as well like an MTD, Lakland or even a Fender Roscoe Beck 5.

 

[Blackbird]

C'mon, be honest, you wouldn't give two bits about Vail if he didn't play a Kubicki. Sad reason to listen to Kenny G too.

I remember him being a bit of a blowhard...

 

[superbassman2000]

i dunno, i don't think he puts claypool to shame...

 

[Christopher]

No, but he smoove. Like Kenny.

 

[The_major_Rajor]

Vail Johnson rules, one of my favorite slappers.

 

[Adam Barkley]

i dunno, i don't think he puts claypool to shame...

Agreed

I can listen to Primus all-day, yet I had to suffer through a short clip of this guy.

I also agree with the other guy that you wouldn't give a crap about him if he played a Ibanez or a Warwick.

 

[jerry]

I don't think Kenny G ever used Vail on a album except the live one. All the bass on Kenny G albums is programed.....one of the reasons they suck so bad

 

[Beefbass]

He's posted here in the past, but I don't remember his screen name.

He was opinionated to say the least...

He posted under his own name. Remember the big stink over in the amps forum? That was when Mr. Johnson talked about why he thought 15" speakers were better than 10's for bass?
He said that in his experience, 10" speakers could not keep up with 15's on stage.

WOW, did that one flame!! Glad I stayed out of it.

Don't know if he comes around anymore, but when he was here, he used his real name IIRC.

 

[heath_the_great]

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20443

thar ya go....looks like kubicki players have pretty solid thoughts

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

He posted under his own name. Remember the big stink over in the amps forum? That was when Mr. Johnson talked about why he thought 15" speakers were better than 10's for bass?
He said that in his experience, 10" speakers could not keep up with 15's on stage.

WOW, did that one flame!! Glad I stayed out of it.

Don't know if he comes around anymore, but when he was here, he used his real name IIRC.

He actually posted under the name "vail_bass" - here's that thread :

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20443&highlight=vailbass

I don't think he came across very well...?

 

[natebass]

He makes those Kubicki's sing but I'd like to hear him on some other instruments as well like an MTD, Lakland or even a Fender Roscoe Beck 5.

Actually, I saw him play with my old lead vocalist Mike, and he used a Celinder 5 and a P-Bass, as well as a Kubicki. Either way he smokes.

 

[mikeswals]

I don't like Kubiki's so don't lump me in that group...but Vail Johnson smokes over Les Claypool.
I like Claypool, but his playing is sloppy, uneven at times, and generally alot of noise.
Vail is a much more "cleaner" player, syncopation is right on, and tone is much more focused.

Oh yeah, he's been known to play a J-bass too.

 

[Tony]

He's a good player who's fallen off the face of the earth.

Well, he's not totally off the face of the earth. As noted above, he still does the Kenny G stuff, and he also plays just about every weekend in a corporate band (my guitarist plays the same gig) - they mostly play San Diego, but also as far north as Monterrey, and occasional out of state gigs. And before anyone dismisses the corporate gigs, it's a 32 piece band carrying it's own stage, sound, and lighting in 2 semi-trailers ... not a small venture.

Take care,
Tony

 

[heath_the_great]

ok this could just be my stupidity, but what the hell is a corporate gig?

 

[jerry]

ok this could just be my stupidity, but what the hell is a corporate gig?

Big corporations often have big private conventions, and they either hire big name bands or some known local bands. Either way they usually pay big bucks They have them out here all the time......also known as tux gigs.

 

[Tony]

Heath, what Jerry said ... in this case, they're not a "known" band in any way, other than the players are all pro's who usually have other main gigs ala Vail. They'll play the entire gamut of popular music (iirc, they have a catalog of close to 1000 songs) so players have to be extremely versatile and have excellent reading chops. Hiring them is in the 25K+ range, and players make $350-$750 a gig, depending on venue and travel.

Take care,
Tony

 

[Beefbass]

He actually posted under the name "vail_bass" - here's that thread :

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20443&highlight=vailbass

I don't think he came across very well...?

Thanks for the clarification! I knew it was something like that.

No, he didn't come across very well at all. I mean, everyone is entitled to their opinions. But I don't understand why he had to start off the way he did.

Oh well, to each his own I guess.

 

[DWBass]

Heath, what Jerry said ... in this case, they're not a "known" band in any way, other than the players are all pro's who usually have other main gigs ala Vail. They'll play the entire gamut of popular music (iirc, they have a catalog of close to 1000 songs) so players have to be extremely versatile and have excellent reading chops. Hiring them is in the 25K+ range, and players make $350-$750 a gig, depending on venue and travel.

Take care,
Tony

Oh yeah! My band does about 10 corporate gigs a year and I love them paydays!! We're not in the 25K range but closer to the 3K-5K range. Still a good payday as the band is only 7 people!