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What's the best compliment you've ever received as a bass player?
- Thread starter capnsandwich
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one time i was playing in a jam session in a pub in tel aviv. i was jamming with random musicians and there was one old flute player, i'd say around 60. then after the jam when i was leaving he just came to me and started saying : "man you are a genius, i havent seen anyone play like that for long, israel is too small for you, you should go to julliard" i was shocked and i thought that he is laughing at me, but my friend who was near me told me that he wasnt kidding. actualy i preffer critisicm more than things like that, because then i am motivated to improve. several times people asked me for lessons, but i told them that i need to take lessons myself first, and i really do...
I often get "I've heard that you're the best bass player in Malta" (Malta is the country I come from). I really cringe when I hear that because it is not true and I don't compare to some of the great musicians I play with.
Best compliment I have ever received would be a couple of weeks ago when literally the best metal guitarist in town asked me to play bass in a Sabbath Tribute gig for a yearly fundraiser later on this year... I was awestruck when he asked me because there are a ton of better bassists out there! i'm kinda ****ing myself about doing the gig cos Geezer is the reason I started playing but its only driven me to be practice me and be a better bassist.
Cant wait for the gig, if the previous years gigs have been anything to go by its gonna be amazing!
Cant wait for the gig, if the previous years gigs have been anything to go by its gonna be amazing!
my favorite compliment had nothing to do with my bass playing skills what so ever, i was complimented on my top hat i was wearing, as i am at a school computer i cannot upload the somewhat embarrassing pictrure of myself, but i will eventually when i get home...
I love it when people ask me to jam or fill in. Sometimes I get a compliment like, "Sweet groove" or "Solid". I even told once that I should look into being a studio musician, which felt pretty good. I think the best compliment, though, is when people ask to play with you. It's like they are saying, "You are not a waste of my time and I know you can do what I need you to do."
Steve Bailey said I was a bad MoFo and actaually approached me about doing a vocal track on a solo album he was making. Unfortunately, I moved back to New england and we lost touch.
Richard Patterson came up to me during a break when i was playing at Foxwoods casino. (He was there playing with Boz Scaggs in the big theatre )
He went out of his way to tell me how much he liked my playing and sound. he was so enthusiastic about giving me props I thought he was Taking the piss. I actually said "Get the F outta here! You're kidding right?",But he was sincere. I thought that was very nice of him. He wanted to shoot the bull with me but I had family and friends visiting and kind of blew him off to hang with them.
I wish I had spent some more time talking with him.
Richard Patterson came up to me during a break when i was playing at Foxwoods casino. (He was there playing with Boz Scaggs in the big theatre )
He went out of his way to tell me how much he liked my playing and sound. he was so enthusiastic about giving me props I thought he was Taking the piss. I actually said "Get the F outta here! You're kidding right?",But he was sincere. I thought that was very nice of him. He wanted to shoot the bull with me but I had family and friends visiting and kind of blew him off to hang with them.
I wish I had spent some more time talking with him.
Two things..
Firstly, back in the 60's I was in a well known NY based (LI) group... a student (and we all were back then) did some kind of a paper on the band... he said I was the "sparkplug" of the group... I love that analogy... (gettin' old, gotta get my plugs changed)
Another time I was listening to a tape (yes I said tape) of a group that was done live at some local club. I had no idea who it was. My piano player asked me what I thought... I told him I thought the bass player was really, really good. It seemed that one night a while back we had some horns sit in with our group, and the drummer changed off as well. The bass player was me... I wish I still played like I used to... but it's odd to hear yourself from another perspective... I honestly didn't know what I sounded like from the audience side of things. He erased the tape... ******* !
Firstly, back in the 60's I was in a well known NY based (LI) group... a student (and we all were back then) did some kind of a paper on the band... he said I was the "sparkplug" of the group... I love that analogy... (gettin' old, gotta get my plugs changed)
Another time I was listening to a tape (yes I said tape) of a group that was done live at some local club. I had no idea who it was. My piano player asked me what I thought... I told him I thought the bass player was really, really good. It seemed that one night a while back we had some horns sit in with our group, and the drummer changed off as well. The bass player was me... I wish I still played like I used to... but it's odd to hear yourself from another perspective... I honestly didn't know what I sounded like from the audience side of things. He erased the tape... ******* !
nothing is a better compliment than a room full of people dancing when you are playing.
with that said, three more direct compliments stand out.
i have had more than one fellow bass player inform me that in their opinion i am "better" than claypool. while i do not agree with that (as i was not singing or playing a 6 string fretless), getting that feedback from fellow bassists meant a lot to me.
interestingly enough, the same night i heard that the first time a woman came up to me after a set and told me to my face that after watching me play she wanted to go hump my bass. i responded by saying it's over there in the corner, just wipe it off when you are done with it.
the third one that stands out is a bit more involved. the last show that my former band played a friend of mine was cruising around the audience when we were playing. since most of the folks there were there to see other bands, it was a lot folks first (and now last) time seeing us. my friend starting talking to someone during our set and asked this guy what he thought of us, here is the following discussion:
Random Guy: "i don't know what to think of these guys."
Friend: "what do you mean?"
RG: "well, say most bands you see are geo metros, then these guys are a mcclaren F1."
F: "well that's good, right?"
RG: "well, i guess, unless you are really used to metros."
F: "you sure about that?"
RG: "well it's like this, it's like the music that these guys are playing is the language of God, but i don't quite remember how to speak it myself so it's hard to understand what's going on up there (on stage)."
while not exactly a direct compliment, this has been by far my favorite performance feedback ever, except maybe for the time someone told me that that band sounded like a cross between sublime, phish and sepultura (fyi: i wrote about half of the music for that band). that band never made any money, but that comment alone is priceless.
with that said, three more direct compliments stand out.
i have had more than one fellow bass player inform me that in their opinion i am "better" than claypool. while i do not agree with that (as i was not singing or playing a 6 string fretless), getting that feedback from fellow bassists meant a lot to me.
interestingly enough, the same night i heard that the first time a woman came up to me after a set and told me to my face that after watching me play she wanted to go hump my bass. i responded by saying it's over there in the corner, just wipe it off when you are done with it.
the third one that stands out is a bit more involved. the last show that my former band played a friend of mine was cruising around the audience when we were playing. since most of the folks there were there to see other bands, it was a lot folks first (and now last) time seeing us. my friend starting talking to someone during our set and asked this guy what he thought of us, here is the following discussion:
Random Guy: "i don't know what to think of these guys."
Friend: "what do you mean?"
RG: "well, say most bands you see are geo metros, then these guys are a mcclaren F1."
F: "well that's good, right?"
RG: "well, i guess, unless you are really used to metros."
F: "you sure about that?"
RG: "well it's like this, it's like the music that these guys are playing is the language of God, but i don't quite remember how to speak it myself so it's hard to understand what's going on up there (on stage)."
while not exactly a direct compliment, this has been by far my favorite performance feedback ever, except maybe for the time someone told me that that band sounded like a cross between sublime, phish and sepultura (fyi: i wrote about half of the music for that band). that band never made any money, but that comment alone is priceless.
I auditioned for a band on bass, and there were three others trying out in the next few days after me.
I played through the bands set and the singer said 'okay, i cant see a point to auditioning the other three'.
that felt nice.
I played through the bands set and the singer said 'okay, i cant see a point to auditioning the other three'.
that felt nice.
Love it!
What's her name? We need it so that twenty years from now when she's headlining we can all come and hear you.
I got a new one relatively recently.
A keyboard player I've been playing with for several years asked me to work on another project with him. When he did, he said "you're like the 4th best bass player I've worked with."
Some people might not take that as a compliment- but the first consideration is that he's played with some of the finest musicians in the state for the past 25-30 years. The second he's brutally honest- and straight out told me that I wouldn't make his top 20 guitar players- in other words, he meant what he said.
A keyboard player I've been playing with for several years asked me to work on another project with him. When he did, he said "you're like the 4th best bass player I've worked with."
Some people might not take that as a compliment- but the first consideration is that he's played with some of the finest musicians in the state for the past 25-30 years. The second he's brutally honest- and straight out told me that I wouldn't make his top 20 guitar players- in other words, he meant what he said.
Someone once said "That was all you."
I have gotten many other compliments but that one was special. I have signed autographs before. Once someone chose me out of a big band and asked for my autograph along with Eric Darius' and Jose Valentino Ruis' (we had special guests). She remembered me by face and by instrument because she asked me for my autograph after I packed my instrument and talked about my playing. That was a good night.
I have gotten many other compliments but that one was special. I have signed autographs before. Once someone chose me out of a big band and asked for my autograph along with Eric Darius' and Jose Valentino Ruis' (we had special guests). She remembered me by face and by instrument because she asked me for my autograph after I packed my instrument and talked about my playing. That was a good night.
One day I was trying out a bass at Lowdown Sound, and the guy behind the counter said, "Dude, it's great to hear somebody play some MUSIC for a change."
A friend of mine who is a kickass fiddler always introduces me as "the bassist for the dream band I want to put together."
A friend of mine who is a kickass fiddler always introduces me as "the bassist for the dream band I want to put together."
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