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Why does the bass player still stand in back?

#181

On this specific example it's a bit extreme but...
I do have a thing for walking from the back to the front a few seconds before the chorus, singing the bvox then going back... I think stage presence is a huge part of holding the band together spiritually, which is the bass players job. True confidence, not putting your foot on the monitor and headbanging to look confident, but real inner confidence from a bass player, especially when doing bvox, can really make a show blow up because you can function as a sort of emotional conductor not only of the band but of the audience to make them feel the music stronger and as a result sing the chorus louder and have lots of energy bounce fun :)
 
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#182
Yellow Bang66 said:
...
I used to (in my younger years) move around a whole lot, maybe too much! it was the 80's & it was the thing to do and it was fun,
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It's still the thing to do, so long as you're not distracting attention from the lead vocalist during verses.
...at one of my last gigs I found myself religated to the background because of the stage size & the way the band configured themselves on it. I was in the back, left of the drummer in the dark, half way through the set I realized I was in the dark, and I couldn't see my fretboard...
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Very definitely been there. It's why, when I ordered my Status Graphite Streamline, I took the option to put red LED markers on the edge of the neck.
 
#183
Between the bands I work with and the shows I've seen the last five years or so, I've only seen one with the bass player and keyboard player back near the drums and that was because three guitarists had the front in what was mostly instrumental music in which guitar carried the melodies. Usually the bass player has a spot in the front and occasionally moves back to hang with the drummer or over by their cabs.
 
#184
So you can stand next to your bass amp cabinet and see the drummer better.
Screen Shot 2020-06-16 at 1.28.44 PM.png
 
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#185
I played drums for a band that didn't even think having a bass player was needed (I offered my cut to pay for one in the gig I played). A less drastic position is that a lot of people don't think bass is exciting enough to put out front. Sometimes they're right, sometimes they're not. Our keyboardist shares the back with me and the drummer in the main band I play with, but he has a keytar so he gets to come out and ham it up for a couple songs. Our singers really deserve the spotlight, I think, and that's certainly what people want to look at.
 
#190
The singer is out front, the lead guitar will step forward during a solo, the bass player gets a little attention if there is a bass solo. Drums will always be in the back since they block views if they aren't. The bass and drums form the rhythm section and will almost always be tighter if they're in close proximity and communicating.
 
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#192
Depends on what band or project but my current main project (6 piece) forces me to the back because the rhythm guitarist apparently needs about 1/4 of the stage for his guitar rack, behemoth pedalboard, wedge monitor and mic stand which apparently cant be touching or hung over the pedalboard or wedge with a boom stand.
Used to bother me a lot (especially for live footage and pics) but now as long as I am getting paid... I just groove in the back and chill.
I stopped having my wife take all of the pics and vids from the front of the stage as I usually have a headstock or guitar, mic stand, cowboy hat, in all my solo bass pics
 
#193
Altitude said:
I hit a Google photos search on the word "stage" today for an unrelated reason - lots of gig pictures came up that I haven't looked at in a long time.

Like a lot of bass players, I'm standing in the back in most of them.

If you're the kind of player who wants to stand in back, chill, and play - sure. No need to rationalize or justify. But maybe some of you, like me, have decided that the fact you play bass should not, on its own, banish you to the back wall.

In fact, in my groups, keyboardists go in the back (they can't move) along with any player who needs to use his or her iPad or sheet music at the gig.

Me, I want to be up front interacting with the crowd - like I sometimes get to on this stage, where I guess I'm in the front and the back at the same time:



Anyone else abandoning the "bass in the back" rule?
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I recently went through a big thing in a band I just left (over this and other things).
I'm a primary player in the group, and a founding member, and I sing, yet they insisted that I go behind the backup singers. They only gave me about 2 sg ft in which to move. It was so bad that the girl singer with ADHD and moves around and talks constantly was banging into me. How's that for concentration? It was a friggin nightmare.

I told them I wanted more room, I wanted a straight shot to be able to turn around and walk to the front of the stage. Kinda didn't care where i went, but needed room to turn around because I was running monitors and needed space for the bass neck as I turned. Crickets. Everyone had adequate space except for me. I'm still burning over their disrespect in ignoring my requests.

As I look back on that group, they were great guys, good band, but the offstage nonsense was so bad for me emotionally that I had to leave. In retrospect, we had our own Yoko Ono, the GP's woman, who i think was making the appearance calls. GP had a bout 1/4 of the stage to himself. He didn't move much.
 
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#195
Have you seen most bass players? ... ... ... :P

Actually, as a keyboardist I can relate. I'm usually just as far back, and further towards the side of the stage. Keyboardists push boundaries. The boundary of how far away you can put a musician and still have him on stage. It really pisses me off when watching a music video and when the rare keyboard solo comes along, they use the opportunity to give facetime to the rhythm guitarist or drummer.
 
#199
As a bass player I always wanted to be next to the drummer, especially when I was in ten piece horn group where we did Chicago/TOP stuff and a lot if originals. I fed off the drummer for a tight groove and he worked with me if I threw some new twist into the mix. If the need exists like singing lead on a tune, I run a wireless that allows me to move to a stage-front mic. I’d really rather be next to the drummer kickin’ it.
 

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