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What is the best compliment...

Jeff Martinez

Jeff Martinez

May 10, 2005
1,525
8
Denver, CO
www.myspace.com
#1
...someone else has given you? Even if they were drunk or full of spit. Whether you believed it or not.



For me... A few years ago, the singer from one of the bands we played with once told me that I played "... like a goth Victor Wooten." :eek:

Of course, I took a step back. Just in case a bolt of lightning struck him for such blasphemy. But, for a brief moment, it felt really good.
 
#5
Phalex said:
I had some drunk guy follow me into the men's room, praising my perceived and greatly exaggerated musical prowess. :rollno:
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Drunk guys crack me up. My friend (another bassist) was playing a show at a bar, and some drunk dude stood in front of him for about 10 minutes. Screaming at the top of his lungs, "I didn't know Flea was in town!!!", and throwing horns. So loud that he could be heard over the band.
 
#6
Well a few weeks ago I played bass for a youth worship service. My fraternity brother (Christian fraternity, not frat) came as well. After we played, he told me I played really well and he enjoyed watching me on stage.

Haha. I rarely get compliments and I feel like I'm a humble person. This was pretty cool.
 
#7
My brother's friend is deaf-mute. My brother brings him along to a gig where I was playing guitar. After the gig when we're picking up and gathering cables, the deaf-mute comes up to me and says (in his differently-developed vocal muscles) - "hey man, I really enjoyed your music..."

You know you're doing something right when a deaf man compliments your playing.
 
#9
hey jeff,

my favorite compliment came from a bass teacher at the music store my dad worked at....i went up there to say hi on a lunch break and they a pedulla they just bought from some guy.....so i had to play it:hyper:

so im just sitting there noodling around and started playing a solo piece id been holding on too...their bass instrutor came out and sat beside me.....i didnt notice...i stopped playing to make adjustments and he said ''man,you really know how play that thing''...''me and you need to sit and jam next time your in''

coming from a bass/music teacher,that really meant alot.
 
#11
They fall into two categories:

(1) Compliments received from people I don't know who probably are not musicians themselves. They have usually had a cocktail (or ten) and tend to say things like "You are the best bass player I have ever heard."

(2) Compliments received from people who I consider to be better musicians than me and whose opinions I greatly respect. When (or if) they say anything at all positive about my playing it means much more to me than any compliments received from category (1). One famous old bluesman once told me "Yeah, you can play." That made the evening very special indeed!
 
#12
one of the years that i made all state jazz (as a trumpet player), our clinician/director told me after i took my first solo, "you sound like an old man when you play" i was blown away, i thought that was cool because he didn't think i sounded like a "kid"

the best one was at a gig a few years ago, an cute little old couple were sitting and groovin to the band.. during the break they came up to me and told me, "boy, you sound like you're black when you play!" :D i grew up listening to R & B so this was really cool (i'm Meskin/Italian)..
 
#14
I've had a couple of other bassists ask how I get their gear to sound so good when sharing equipment during multi-band shows. I tell 'em I don't know -- never move any of their knobs. Pretty much a plug in and go guy.

My very-experienced jazz drummer tells me I'm the most melodic bassist he's ever played with. Don't know how to take that, so I guess I'll take it as a compliment. Would hope I could groove as well??
 
#15
I'd have to say when I approached my guitarist about a question i wanted to ask his guitar teacher (Chris Letchford, if we have any Scale the Summit fans in here), whose band is signed to Prosthetic Records about his bassist giving me some lessons. We played a show at a kiddy joint that's a cafe/skatepark and his teacher came to our show.

After we were done playing, he said to my guitarist "I don't think your bassist needs lessons, he's already a good bassist and is past lessons, all he needs now is to push himself"

Might not sound like a compliment to some, but to me it meant a WHOLE lot....and here's their myspace and a video of them, they are pretty darn good! Their new CD just came out as well, "Carving Desert Canyons"

Link Removed

 
#16
scottbass said:
One famous old bluesman once told me "Yeah, you can play." That made the evening very special indeed!
Click to expand...

I had that happen a little while back at a house jam. He even gave me a pretty long bass solo. :)

One that sticks out would have to be from a gig early last month. I'm still sorta the "new guy" in the band, and I replaced the bassist who appeared on their album from last year. It was our first time headlining a specific venue, so a lot of long time fans of the band came out (even had some people yelling requests which was cool). After the gig when we were mingling with the crowd and BSing, the singer pulled me aside and told me there were a ton of fans who went out of their way to compliment my playing.

I was pretty humbled by that.
 
#18
NJL said:
the best one was at a gig a few years ago, an cute little old couple were sitting and groovin to the band.. during the break they came up to me and told me, "boy, you sound like you're black when you play!" :D i grew up listening to R & B so this was really cool (i'm Meskin/Italian)..
Click to expand...

Hahaha! My old bass instructor (white kid, dunno his specific heritage) told me about a time this old black bass player came up to him after a gig and said: "You know, you groove pretty good for a white kid."
 
#19
I had a bassist tell me (after playing in church) that I sounded like a cross between Stanley Clarke & Jaco Pastorius. I told him thanks. I then realized that I did not OWN any of their music and then made a point to get some of it.

This was like 18 years ago @ Altus AFB, OK.
 

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