I really think those of you who are saying "no way because x,y,z" are overthinking it. I's a casual party. Not a big deal.
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Would you take this gig?
- Thread starter baddarryl
- Start date
It could be serious hell since it is his wife's boss's party and the OP admits he is not comfortable jamming or improvising...If he were a gutar player I would want to be there just for the giggles.
This is not to denigrate the OP at all but he kind of answered his own question when he gave us the details.
Almost zero upside, nearly ifinite possible downside.
For those saying " any gig is a good gig" or similar...
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So many people wing it through something like this and congratuate themselves on pulling it off, saying it was so much fun, blah blah, blah. Meanwhile the audience is saying "What the hell just happened here!?"
No, Pass, As soon as I read Mediocre bass club. You are Not Ready, Do more shedding at home with youtube and friends
A lot of musical cowards in this thread.
Not at all.
If it were me with my minimal bass talent yet decades of experience on several instruments- improvising and off-the-top covers being a common thing, I would do it. I suspect many others would jump in with thier own skills and experience but NOT; given the OP's self admitted discomfort with jamming and lack of band structure...of any kind.
Yeah, his wife's work party is a great place to show those skills in what sounds to be one of the flakiest musical situations ever assembled
said as a member of the penultimate flakiest musical experiments ever.
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Given the OP's admitted weaknesses, I'd say no.
There's been some good reasons given to do it, generally from experienced players who could give this a fair attempt...and also aren't the ones gonna be up there in the spotlight fumbling around.
There's been better reasons not to do it, generally from people who actually read the OP's first post.
Edit to add ... if the OP's wife actually wants him to go ahead with this, then that's the correct answer.
There's been some good reasons given to do it, generally from experienced players who could give this a fair attempt...and also aren't the ones gonna be up there in the spotlight fumbling around.
There's been better reasons not to do it, generally from people who actually read the OP's first post.
Edit to add ... if the OP's wife actually wants him to go ahead with this, then that's the correct answer.
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I think this would be easier on UB. Just throw me a key and I can double slap my way through pretty much anything, watch the guitarist and have the changes worked out by the end.
Keeping in mind non musicians don't judge as harshly as we do, just hitting a I and a V all the way through would keep most of the crowd happy, depending on what type of music you're playing. Play quiet till you figure it then stretch out.
All that said, I'd pass too. I almost never 'sit in' when asked, etc. I prefer to be with the band I've done the work with before getting up, and am quite capable of making myself look bad at that even sometimes! Lol...
Keeping in mind non musicians don't judge as harshly as we do, just hitting a I and a V all the way through would keep most of the crowd happy, depending on what type of music you're playing. Play quiet till you figure it then stretch out.
All that said, I'd pass too. I almost never 'sit in' when asked, etc. I prefer to be with the band I've done the work with before getting up, and am quite capable of making myself look bad at that even sometimes! Lol...
I wouldn't. I'd sit with my wife, enjoy her company and that of her co-workers, and let the "hired help" play the music.
Not at all.
If it were me with my minimal bass talent yet decades of experience on several instruments- improvising and off-the-top covers being a common thing, I would do it. I suspect many others would jump in with thier own skills and experience but NOT; given the OP's self admitted discomfort with jamming and lack of band structure...of any kind.
Yeah, his wife's work party is a great place to show those skills in what sounds to be one of the flakiest musical situations ever assembled
said as a member of the penultimate flakiest musical experiments ever.
This. With a certain degree of anonymity, I'd probably do this gig. But it's a little too close to home to just shrug off a bad gig.
if I were a musician in the audience I would think 'woohoo, trainwreck, where's the popcorn, Baby?!'.
it isn't about being a coward, it is about showing respect for everyone else at the party, musicians and attendees.
in this day of everything being phoned and recorded, you don't want to be 'that guy' like that gawd-awful cover band playing outside on a deck that we all make fun of and have memes made of your lack of comfort with the material
Hail Neaux
it isn't about being a coward, it is about showing respect for everyone else at the party, musicians and attendees.
in this day of everything being phoned and recorded, you don't want to be 'that guy' like that gawd-awful cover band playing outside on a deck that we all make fun of and have memes made of your lack of comfort with the material
Hail Neaux
See if you can contact one of the musicians, to determine what will be performed. That may help. Even if you can't, I'd suggest doing it. You can learn from experiences both good and bad.
Learning from a difficult, bad experience ( much of boot camp) that is a structured experience to make one grow from struggle is far different than examining what, by all odds- would love to see the bookmakers chime in here
- is very likely to at best, be lackluster and possibly a trainwreck- I lean towards the latter.If one can see this ahead of time and simply avoid this situation with far more negatives than plusses? Seems a use of good sense.
This is why there are open mic nights. Performing cold in front of the work crew and boss, in a club makes for a different scenario.
I did something similar once, at someone's request. I was asked to get my LP and amp and join in with a piano and bass player. The piano guy was good having done the piano bar gigs for years. The bass player was horrible and frankly there was no way I could play along with the piano guy. I have little doubt the piano guy mostly wanted to enhance his expertise. Anyway , I put down my guitar once I realized this guy didn't really want other people playing. Valuable lesson...you will be looked down on if you can't keep up or blamed if the other band members are not competent.
I played with some guys who had no set list, because they "just know so many songs" and decide on the fly. Even without me jumping in the deep end, it was terrible. I would not have wanted to play that in front of people. If you don't at least know what their playing is like, this is a minefield. Being a work event for your wife makes it an absolute no-go for me.
I don't think you'll train wreck it. Just do what the pros do when in unfamiliar territory: Find the root and ride it until you figure it out, and/or play real quiet until you figure it out. This happens to the best of us. A little bass drop here and there won't make much of a difference, and the other musicians can take up the slack. Fortunately, bass is not the "spotlight" instrument, and the lead and solo voices and instruments will cover your occasional fumbles.
In the interest of full disclosure to the other musicians and responsible prepping, you might let them know you work best when you're not being thrown too many curves and try to get them to draw up and commit to a "most likely" playlist so you at least have a little time to hear and run them through once or twice at home practice before the event.
We only grow when we stretch beyond our comfort zone, and this sounds like a great opportunity. Good luck, please report back with your experiences.
In the interest of full disclosure to the other musicians and responsible prepping, you might let them know you work best when you're not being thrown too many curves and try to get them to draw up and commit to a "most likely" playlist so you at least have a little time to hear and run them through once or twice at home practice before the event.
We only grow when we stretch beyond our comfort zone, and this sounds like a great opportunity. Good luck, please report back with your experiences.
