Doddy

Check out Jimmie Lee Sloas, Glenn Worf, Mike Brignadello, Michael Rhodes, David Hungate, Dave  Pomeroy, Mike Chapman, Roy Huskey Jr., and Bob Moore. 

Their album credits read like a Country music greatest hits.

What other gigs do you usually do besides your function band?

There is plenty of work around over the christmas period with the  christmas party scene or if you can land a panto. Other than that, most of the regular pub, club, and restaurant style gigs are still happening, so if you've got a good repertoire and you're a half decent reader you should be able to find work.  

1 hour ago, Phil Starr said:

Love him too, wouldn't it be wonderful to play bass with those drums.

 

 

It is 😉

9 hours ago, steantval said:

Their current bass player is suffering with a back problem, Matlock filled in for the festival gig.

It's Glen's gig now. He's done the last couple of tours, and has just finished recording the upcoming Blondie album.

19 hours ago, Kiwi said:

 

There are many bands full of professionals that do rehearse between gigs.  The backing band for the Academy Awards for example.   Maybe your brothers band is more accomplished perhaps?  Or maybe the Academy Awards band is more accomplished than your brother's band? 

I doubt that the band that plays the Academy Awards rehearse every week.

I'm guessing that most of the players see the charts either at band call (or maybe a week or 2 beforehand at most), then have a couple of rehersals including a full dress rehearsal, followed by 'see you next year'.  They won't be going to a rehearsal room every week to work out songs and arrangements- that's the job of the arranger and MD.

It's a really good pedal, and Ive used one quite a bit. I think the EQ is great, the drive is nice, and the compressor works well (I pretty much never use compression, and if I do it's super subtle). It's also designed by Alex Aguilar, so you'd expect it to be decent.

I've got individual pedals that I prefer but as a one box solution, the Fender is great.

Wasn't he playing MTD Basses around that time? I seem to remember him being pictured using them on the cover of Bass Player Magazine back then.

4 hours ago, chris_b said:

Ultimate Genesis GS-1000 PRO+

This, although I use the GS 100 because I don't really care about the locking yoke. I think Ultimate are the best stands available, and are all I've used for years.

I've played for a few tribute shows over the years, so here's my opinions....

Do you have to be a fan of the original artist, or maybe you become one?

 Not really, but it helps if you at least like the music. If it's for more than a one off show, it can be difficult to do it justice if you don't like what you are playing.

How important is it to be visually/musically identical? How much latitude are you allowed?

I've been lucky, in that it doesn't have to be 100% perfect. I normally get a bit of leeway, as long as it is in the style of the music.

Do you ‘get into character’ or is it just a gig?

 Nope. Just put on the appropriate outfit (which may or may not be supplied) and go play. It's different for the singer though, who generally does have to play a role.

Does it feel musically limiting, or is it fulfilling your needs? (Maybe you have a side band?)

 I've never played in only one situation at a time, so I've always got other things on the go. I've never felt limited though.

Do you have any qualms about tributes ‘stifling original music’?

 No. They are generally totally different scenes

Have you ever met or been seen by a member of the ‘originals’? What did they say?

Yes. I've played for 3 or 4 Elvis' who have won the Graceland Ultimate Elvis contests, and a couple of tours featured Elvis backing vocalists The Sweet Inspirations. I did an ABBA show that was featured on a Channel 5 documentary about them. More recently, I'm playing with a Blondie show that regularly does gigs with Blondies drummer Clem Burke, and their original bass player Gary Valentine.

What is the overriding thing being in a tribute act has taught you?

Honestly, not much from a playing standpoint.  The main thing is catering for the fans who just know the hits, and the hardcore fans who want to hear the album tracks that the original band doesn't play.

Having done it once, would you do it again? If so, would the musical angle be very different?

Yeah, I've done a lot of different tribute shows over the years, and as long as they are enjoyable and the gigs are decent, I'll do them again.

25 minutes ago, chris_b said:

Apart from THAT solo, Willie Weeks has flown under the radar for a long time. Another fantastic player.

I wouldn't say that Willie Weeks has a small body of work. His discography is huge.....

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/willie-weeks-mn0000961599/credits

2 hours ago, Velarian said:

Ah yes, Marta Altesa. She played some gigs with Jamiroquai in South America and apparently ended up living in London. Her YouTube channel was pretty successful but she stopped posting 5 years ago. Anyone know what happened to her?

 

 

I'm pretty sure that she just sat in with Jamiroquai at soundcheck rather than actually played gigs with them? (Still cool though)

Also, I don't think anyone has mentioned Linda Oh yet? She's killing it in the Jazz world lately.

I haven't used the OC5, but I do use an old OC2, and for me that is the octave sound. I've got the Sub n Up and I think it's ok, but not great. I found the octave sound to be a bit bland and characterless. No where near as good as the Boss or the EBS (or even the Whammy if you want 8va). 

Having said that, it's not actually a bad pedal and will probably be fine for a lot of players. I just far prefer the sounds of analogue octavers.

2 minutes ago, lowdown said:

 

Sorry, no I don't know who he is.

That's New York session legend Neil Jason.

Honestly, I think Marcus's tone is more about the preamp than the pickups (which I believe are stock Fender).  You could look at a Sadowsky preamp or a Bartolini if you want to be authentic (Marcus's bass has a Bartolini TCT preamp). 

I think that would get you closer to that tone than a pickup change would. 

Mine are all 21 feet, so around 6 and a half metres

3 hours ago, Dood said:

 

True story: At school I told my careers advisor in front of my whole class I wanted to ve a session musician.

 

She replied, “That’s all well and good Daniel, but what will you do for a real job?”

 

In your face lady! My bass has been solely paying all of my bills for many, many years now and has been my obsession for over 35 years (as those who have seen my reviews know!)

Same. 

I had so much hassle at school when I stated that I didn't want to go to university and I was going to go straight in to music, despite the fact that my Dad had earned a living as a musician for nearly 30 years at that point. 

Anyway, it's 23 years since I left 6th form, and I've never done anything that didn't involve playing music.

54 minutes ago, stewblack said:

Thomann. Seriously. Just read the specs on their gig bags. 

https://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_safecase_80_e_bass_bag.htm

I hadn't seen the Thomann bag before but it says they are made by Music Area, so it will be quality.

Music Area make branded cases for companies like F Bass, Dingwall, Skjold, and Yamaha. And I have it on good authority that they are the ones who actually make the Reunion Blues cases. They are like the Cort of the gig bag world.

8 hours ago, Auctioneer said:

 

Allow me to play Devil's Advocate here, although I do broadly agree with you.

 

Certainly it's much more precise to know exactly what note you're playing and when, especially if the band isn't a 'jam band' (I don't use that term derisively - a lot of deps I do take a less structured approach and that has its own strength). My trepidation in using a score, other than the time required to write it, is that not everyone is a reader; in fact at least one of the people I would consider using as a dep isn't. Great player, just not something they do. Plus, you'd have to make sure your scoring was dead accurate to the band you're playing with.

 

Where the lyrics/chords approach has merit is for being able to follow along with the vocal line to get a sense of where you are. This is typically how I lay out my own reference material, with the occasional passage of notation if needed. That said, it still requires someone to know how a song goes, roughly - and your example is a good one illustrating the lack of info such an approach yields (although I do often write some instructive text for myself). I'm hoping I can secure my deps far enough in advance that they'll be able to go over all the tunes beforehand, but I suppose that doesn't account for the instances where I might be hit by a bus the day of a wedding and need someone that day who doesn't know all the songs.

 

I suppose the best approach would be a combination of all three styles, wouldn't it? Chords on top, notation below it, lyrics below that, with some structural notes written as and when needed. It would take a long time to make and get right, but maybe I just need to get on with it to give my hypothetical deps the best chance of nailing it.

Personally, I don't like lyric sheets with chords. I don't think that they convey enough information. I would rather have no charts, and just be given either a sporify link or an audio file of your band, so I can make my own if necessary.

No charts is better than bad charts.

With decent written parts, you are actually opening up your pool of players because you can get someone last minute if your regular deps are unavailable, who can nail the set first time.  

If you have decent charts and audio (and money), you can pretty much hire anyone you want.

1 hour ago, White Cloud said:

In my band I am the bass player therefore - as the bass specialist - I choose the bass. 

 

It's non negotiable. If you don't want my expertise you don't want me and I walk.

 

That's where I'm at. 

That's cool if it's a band where everyone gets an equal shout but (unfortunately) it doesn't always work like that. If you are working as a sideman or a sub, you might have to play a different instrument than you want.

I got offered a ton of decent gigs with a busy band (some of the gigs are with members of a pretty legendary band), and the condition was that they wanted me to play a black Precision. So guess what? I leave the F Bass at home and take out my black Precision.  

It depends what you expect from the dep.

If you want specific lines playing, I'd expect to be given a fully notated bass chart. If it's more of a jazz gig, then lead sheets are generally best. 

I'd only give someone a basic chord if you were sending it to the dep in advance with a copy of the track, to make learning easier. Even then, I'd prefer a proper chart though.

9 hours ago, TeresaFR said:

 I'm a little weird about the aesthetic of having a Boss-style enclosure on a board that isn't entirely in that aesthetic.

What's wrong with having a Boss Flanger on your board? Boss make some great sounding pedals, so if you can get a great price on a BF3, get it.

Honestly, I've got loads of pedals, but for Flanger I still really like the old Boss BF2 and the Ibanez FL9.

40 minutes ago, Bigwan said:

Without question its the Ashdown James Lomenzo Hyperdrive pedal.  

The Hyperdrive is a great pedal. I like the NM2 as well. Ashdown have made some nice drive pedals.

I tend to favour either the Earthquaker Devices Plumes or the Homebrew Hematoma for overdrive.

I'd look at Reunion Blues. They make excellent cases, especially the Continental Voyager and Aero models.

1 hour ago, lowdown said:

 

 

Oddly enough, I was thinking about some of the UK session players from the 60's & 70's yesterday.

Dave Richmond was another Bassist who was very much used on TV/Film/Jingles and albums on a regular basis.

Quite a character as well....

 

 

If we are talking English players we have to mention Paul Westwood, who was doing everything in the 80's/90's. Great player and great guy too.

34 minutes ago, OliverBlackman said:

I wasn’t sure about MM. Is he better known for his own stuff or as a sideman?

He's probably better known for his own stuff now, but his discography as a NY session player is huge.