musicbassman

Here's the ultra mellow 'Red Room' by Hiatus Kaiyote played very nicely by Karl Clews.   Chill ! 👍

1 hour ago, okusman said:

Keep a tally of which band members actually notice.

Well, this is a great idea, but the answer is clearly none.

They might just about notice by the first break if you'd actually failed to show up at all......... 🙁

I worked with several decent country bands on the Irish scene around North London back in the '80's, I'd never played this type of music before and it certainly took me a while to realise playing good country bass is a bit of a dark art.

I think if you're approaching it from a rock or pop background then you're going end up doing a parody of it to begin with, as it seems too simple to be true, but then you start to realise that getting the exact feel and locking in absolutely with the drummer is essential.

For bass, maybe try playing notes that fall on the first beat of the bar fractionally late but playing the offbeat notes right on the beat. You might think of this as a reversal of usual rock or pop principles. And it helps a great deal if you're working with a drummer who has a country music background as if you're lucky they'll already have the right feel you can easily lock into.

I'm sure other opinions will be available on here regarding approach, but in any case relax and have fun, and as others have said on here, when it's played spot on it really can be excellent.  🙂 👍

I’ve done rather a lot of dep gigs, so here are just a few examples of what might happen :-

“No problems mate, everything’s played in the original keys” – Err - no, I discover this lie immediately the song starts.

Drummer’s count in for a song may have no relevance to the actual tempo that follows.

Guitarist thinking that the first chord of a song is therefore the ‘key’ of the song.

“We play it just like the record” – apart from the fact you completely missed out the Middle 8.

Guitarist and kbds player are clearly playing different chords at the same time.

Whole band staring at you as if you are some genius because you played the actual main hook bass line from the song, rather than what their regular bass player Billy plays.

Band appear to have taken a vow of silence and all clearly hate each other both on and off stage. And the reason you’re depping is that their regular bass player has already abandoned the sinking ship.

“Can you arrive 7pm, we start playing at 8pm” – so, you’re set up on an empty stage by 7.15, but the rest of the band start arriving half an hour later with no apologies or explanations.

Actual fact, I love doing deps, they can be great fun, but equally can be very annoying and frustrating.

You have to be prepared for anything and everything  🙂

28 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said:

I'm pretty sure Tracy was horizontal when Jaco wrote that.

There, fixed it for you.  🙂

Well, it sounds about right, but I have one question - why ???

I did post this story on BC a while ago, but I'm posting again as I think it still proves that truth is stranger than fiction.

In 1975 I was playing on the island of Jersey with the remnants of a 60's pop band called Love Affair. (Remember them?)

We were doing some sort of cabaret show at a big hotel there.

We'd finished our set in the main ballroom, and then picked up word that Robert Plant and John Bonham were in the bar. Went and had a discreet look, and it certainly looked like them.  Plant was on crutches - I knew he'd had a car crash recently. Bonham looked completely out of it. They were surrounded by a posse of hangers on and music biz people by the looks of it.

Next thing we know, everyones cheering, and Plant and Bonham are heading towards the stage. Plant stops and talks to our drummer briefly, and then our drummer points to myself and the guitarist, and indicates we should go up on stage with Plant and Bonham.

The rest was a bit of a blur, quite honestly. Bonham was clearly more than a bit worse for wear but started fiddling with the drum kit. Then someone fetched a stool for Plant to perch himself on, and Plant suggested over the mic that we played 'Red House' Sorted out the key, and we were off.

I was doing my best, but was only one step back from pissing myself with fear, god only knows what it sounded like. Luckily our guitarist was an excellent player and carried things along, as Bonham was hardly able to keep time, let alone play well.

We played two lengthy numbers, half drowned out by whooping and cheering from the crowd, possibly undeserved. I cannot remember for the life of me what the second number was.

Most unexpected thing that's ever happened to me at a gig.

1 hour ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

This deserves to be seen in full, it's just a symphony of perfection. 

Oooh, I didn't know there was a deluxe omnibus edition of this. It really is absolute perfection.

Dog's reaction is the crowning glory.

18 hours ago, Jack said:

The only sensible point that Jeremy Clarkson has ever made (that I'm aware of) is that councils and pedestrianization are doing as much if not more than the internet to destroy the town centres. The town I grew up in still had the Blockbuster livery on a shop unit the last time I went back, the high street is dead. Meanwhile there's the Metrocentre shopping mall 20 minutes drive away, Team Valley (industrial estate/retail park, 15 minutes), the Arnison Centre (retail park, 10 minutes) and Dalton Park (outlet shopping, 30 minutes) that are all absolutely thriving. Why? Free parking.

So true.

Doubtless, some well meaning person from the council will tell you that everyone should be walking or taking a bus or cycling...........

Walking? - usually too far.

Bus? - unreliable or simply non-existent unless you're in a big city.

Cycling - your bike will definitely not be there when you return.

- and as for musicians doing gigs in city centre venues, must be almost impossible sometimes.

I used to play function gigs in Central London back in the '80's, it was extremely difficult then, so I can't imagine how musicians manage now. Anybody on this forum do this kind of work? How do you manage it?

3 hours ago, chris_b said:

Many years ago I did a great gig on a boat in the Thames. Easy parking, easy load in.

 

Load out was an issue, though.

 

The tide had gone out and I had to carry a 90lb cab up the gang plank at an angle that was close to being a ladder. I hurt for days after that.

Was that The Silver Barracuda from Wapping Pier, by any chance ?

Used to do that one quite regularly with a trio back in the '80's - and yes, the gang plank was absolutely lethal if the tide was out, especially when it had been raining. And the keyboards player had a C3 Hammond and a Leslie, to add to the fun. Absolutely crazy.

Health and Safety ? - I don't think so.

But a different world back then.

1 hour ago, Leonard Smalls said:

Slightly worrying stuff you don't want on full blast while trapped in a student toilet with the lights off:

Holy sheet ! - that's a tough listen, @Leonard Smalls

I managed a minute or so of each, but then my head exploded.........😵

Hi Simon, hello from Chichester.

This is (with the rare exception) a very polite and friendly forum, long may it remain that way.

Enjoy  🙂

PS - I can hear your rig from here, and I'm 20 miles away..........

1 hour ago, Mickeyboro said:

The Otis Jay Blues Band kicked off 2024 at Ringwood Meeting House, Hants.

That's an interesting looking venue, Mick, but somehow I suspect the acoustics would have been a bit tricky ?

A new name to me, Japanese band Koenji Hyakkei playing at the Lexington. Wish I'd been there 🙂

I worked 'pro' from 1973 to 1977, which was very exciting to begin with, but chugging up and down the M1 and staying in cheap hotels soon became tedious. Ended up taking any gig on offer just to pay the rent.

However, I did meet and work with some great people and have many great anecdotes from this time.

It was a hard way to earn a living then, would guess it's pretty well impossible now.

Barcelona is the home of the St Andreu Jazz Band, one of the finest schools for young jazz players in Europe. You might get lucky and find there's a concert on somewhere, but maybe this would be a bit off the mark for your students.

Barcelona is a great city, sure you'll be able to find plenty to do 👍

Oh Lord, here he is again. His technique reminds me of Doug Johns, but not quite the same.....

Yes, some of it is great, some of it cheesy beyond belief !

Not to be confused with Brazilian House, which some say is a direct descendant from this.

Isaac Varzim has a lot of lengthy mixtapes of Brazilian House and similar on YouTube which are great to noodle along to, my current go to for keeping my chops up.

If anyone's interested, here's an introduction to Tropicalia:

40 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

Now I'm ancient and reasonably satisfied with the gear I own

Likewise.

Bass players seem to fall into two camps - there are those whose equipment seems to be more important to them than the music, and those who put the music first and their equipment is really anything half decent.

I fall into the latter camp - I don't spend hours agonising over minute EQ details or striving for the 'perfect sound'  as I know only too well that any live sound is going to be so influenced by either the whims of the soundman or the acoustics of the room. And , let's face it, hardly any punters are going to care what bass you're using. It's all about the notes and the feel.

So, I'm very happy to look at anything online that examines a piece of music or looks at particular bass playing techniques, but endless gear reviews whether in magazines or online leave me cold.

That's Finland, by the way............

1 hour ago, stewblack said:

Played a massive city centre pub for new years. To no one. Totally empty. Except for the security guard. 

Well, that is some notable achievement, @stewblack, especially for NYE. How depressing.

But I'm guessing it's the pub management team that has the serious issues that need looking at here, nothing to do with the band whatsoever.

Well, why, of course - I mean, bass is so easy, anyone can do it.

There's only four strings for a start, and all they do is play the first note of each chord 😬👍

Getting ready for a gig tonight and decided to clear out one of my lead bags.

Here's a selection of set lists I've been given for dep gigs I've done over the last couple of years.

Not sure whether it will be fully legible, but all kinds of everything on there, you name it, I've maybe played it.................