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when people act weird about your gear...
- Thread starter friendlybass
- Start date
Did someone say "Deacon"?
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The Jaguar bass is classy. Not sure why the Pastor ripped on it. I could see your pedalboard being out of place though, even though it's super-cool.
I play bass at my church and I also run the sound board, only the leader and the pastor can give me suggestions or dictate how they want me to play or mix. Deacons, other musicians, pastor's wife, elders, etc. have not word, I made this clear to the leader and the pastor when I decided to join the team.
I will expect the same if for some reason I play in another church.
I will expect the same if for some reason I play in another church.
There is nothing wrong with that bass at all. They are probably used to seeing burst P basses and that's it. The skateboard is a unique solution I wouldn't have come up with, though the idea of your pedal board rolling away when you are trying to click on something doesn't seem like fun.
I have nothing good to say about the remarks they made; sounds about right to me. I'll leave it at that.
If you got paid, cool. If they want to keep using you, cool.
My church leaders are not judgmental about gear. No one complains about what I play, whether it is a Fender P, a Yamaha P/J, an SX Jag, or my 2 string Krappy bass. I use the tool that makes the sound I need/want and we worship! For over a year I covered the bass parts on a Schecter Ultra Bass VI.
Pretty rude stuff in the OP and I don't know if I would have stayed if the Deacons comments or comments about my pedals weren't clearly in jest.
Pretty rude stuff in the OP and I don't know if I would have stayed if the Deacons comments or comments about my pedals weren't clearly in jest.
You were gracious and non-confrontational. Good for you.
Were I you, I wouldn't go back.
The snarky comments about your bass were out of ignorance.
The skateboard might look out of place in a church, but they shouldn't be commenting on your gear.
Were I you, I wouldn't go back.
The snarky comments about your bass were out of ignorance.
The skateboard might look out of place in a church, but they shouldn't be commenting on your gear.
Its for pedals to skate, you not skating should be fine.
Its for pedals to skate, you not skating should be fine.
My pedals live much further out on the edge than I do, definitely.
Church gig or not, I'd have left when he called the Jag a kid's bass, and I'd have quit the church on the spot if I were a member. Who needs that kind of aggravation in their lives? People can only do to you what you allow them to do.
The skateboard, OTOH, that's never a good thing. Someone accidentally steps on it and it rolls out on them and they break something...lawsuit. So ditch the skateboard for any of your gigs regardless of what you do with the church.
I'm going to agree with a bunch of people here. If you wer being paid for the Church gig then they have a right to suggest how you should appear, but you then also have the right to say no to the gig. If this gig was a donation to the Church, and you were not playing a bass covered with demonic symbols, then they were out of line.
I had one of those once..... interesting guitar.
As to your church Decaon: he was a bit out of line, IME. I play bass in our church on a regular basis (most every week). Either of your basses would be fine.
I dont use pedals but our main guitar player / lead male VOX has a custom built pedal board that is probably more than 2x the size of yours skate board. Wah & volume pedals, chorus, delay, 2 different distortion pedals, tuner, and this really big "Vocal Harmonizer" box. Our church is an older traditional church, congregation dates back to 1870, but we do a blended service where we have both contemporary music with the band and we also have hymns with pipe organ and choir.
As others have said, if you showed up with an instrument that had offensive ornamentation, stickers or the like I would understand their dismay. If they are spending their time staring at your pedals obviously they have got issues you cant solve. Sounds like you dressed appropriately and I would ignore it / find another church.
Ooh I thought of another possible line "If you give me a raise I can look into buying another bass!" <- especially funny if you don't get paid.
It doesn't surprise me at all. I've been judged on all sorts of things, mostly by people preaching about how one shouldn't do that.
I'd have fuzzed it up!
I'd have fuzzed it up!
Gear doesn't make the worship environment, and neither do the songs by themselves. True worship music comes from engaged leading and honest worship from the musicians. I'm happy to help out churches, but if they can't get that point, I won't be coming back in the future. I'm extremely blessed and fortunate to have a spot on my church's team and it's one of the best worship experiences you can find IMO.
P.S. Where in CO are you?
P.S. Where in CO are you?
- Sep 4, 2010
- 3,304
- 2,730
- Disclosures
- Endorsing: Martin Keith Guitars
Your gear is nobody's business but yours, church or no church. That skateboard is an awesome idea for a pedal board (though I'd take off the wheels...).
I can understand the church wanting an image, and the skateboard is arguably too "punk" or whatever, but that bass is appropriate. I've always thought the black and white theme for instruments was very suit-like. What would they even have considered appropriate?
It's not really a situation that can be commented on, honestly. Some will say the church was out of line, but they totally had the right to voice opinions on the appearance of the gear. Maybe it was a bit rude, but that's not really the question you're asking. Beyond that, you have the right to be bothered by it, but it won't really get you anywhere.
I don't know if the church was a client, but I just think of it like being expected to wear a suit for an office job. If your boss tells you that your suit is ripped, or that your shirt isn't ironed and that's bad enough, there's nothing you can do but quit or just iron the shirt. It seems over-the-top, but it's how they choose to run things and you're not really in a good position to oppose that.
It's not really a situation that can be commented on, honestly. Some will say the church was out of line, but they totally had the right to voice opinions on the appearance of the gear. Maybe it was a bit rude, but that's not really the question you're asking. Beyond that, you have the right to be bothered by it, but it won't really get you anywhere.
I don't know if the church was a client, but I just think of it like being expected to wear a suit for an office job. If your boss tells you that your suit is ripped, or that your shirt isn't ironed and that's bad enough, there's nothing you can do but quit or just iron the shirt. It seems over-the-top, but it's how they choose to run things and you're not really in a good position to oppose that.
@friendlybass I'm really curious how you stop this problem. Do you have locking wheels or something? And would the height of the pedals above the ground make it harder to step on them? I think it looks really cool but I'm wondering how well it works...
I believe a church gig requires an MTD or Ken Smith 5-6 string. Heh. It's been awhile since I set foot in a church, but I remember being told that accompaniment tapes were the mark of the devil and should not be used in church. And they wonder why the average age there was 85. Church gigs can be "different".
LOL! That took me a second. For a moment there, I thought you were advocating a completely different course of action. My bad.
Anyway, I can see why the skateboard thing might provoke a comment in a worship setting (although I think it's pretty cool, too). But snide or rude comments about one's bass are out of line, even from well-dressed douche bags. FWIW though, I think you handled it perfectly this time. But if you play this gig again, don't hold your tongue a second time.
