bassjim

Friday night was a first for us in a new place, plus our first with dep drummer no 1 of 4 that will be covering us till our next permanent drummer has been found. The stage was tiny but we squeezed us all in. Great sound and dep drummer was much better than our last guy so we all played better as a result. Not the busiest of places but I was enjoying the playing side of it too much to care. Had some nice comments from some punters including the "I'm a record producer and really like your bass playing and could do with using you on some tracks. Have you got a card or can I take your number?" gag. I said.. "Hmmm........yeah.....right....erm ......just going to get a drink...I'll be right back" and then he was gone. Still must of made a good impression for him feel he had to make all that up. Probably find out later he wasn't joking in some interview " yeah so I made the offer but he looked at me like I was bullshitting and f***ed off so I just thought , I'll use Pino like I usually do ect ect.." T'was a good night

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1508157164' post='3390104'] I would agree with pretty much every word of that! Still, it could have been worse... [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPOiZ7p373g[/media] [/quote] Verdine has a better class of sh*t solo that comes with stadium selling gigs and multi platinum record sales. He's obviously taking the piss here out of anyone thats really good. " that note just got me 200 dollars, that ones' worth $50, oooh! just got me another $600..ect ect"

He needed to do something interesting.....A hammer would have done it. Have to say this is the typical long drawn out kind of bass solo that was typical in the 80s full of all the self indulgent things which are practiced at home in front of the mirror instead of what he should of been practicing. No real meaningful musical content either. Its the kind of bass solo that gives the anti slap bass dept the justification to put it down. The drummer also helped by giving him no dynamic whatsoever instead choosing to play hard and loud through out forcing him to go for maximum hitting force rather than dexterity and taste. IMO of course

For the last two weeks it seems like I've been using all my spare time to master Do I DO by Stevie Wonder. Last week I was 30% there and now I'm about 70%. I reckon by end of next week I'm good to gig it. My fingers will have the muscle memory and I can mentally play the part too. Conquering difficult lines take a lot of time. Your part may be a lot harder to play on bass than say the keyboard part is for the keyboard player even though they both sound as challenging. . If it takes you 6 weeks to get it down then so be it. At the end of those 6 weeks its another string to your bow. You are only putting pressure on yourself to play a challenge well before you can conceivably do it in a short time span. Rushing it due to pressure will be unproductive. The fact you are up for it is the main thing and the band should be gracious enough to give you that time. Fair enough if you said the same about Mustang Sally but its not exactly a simple tune. You want to get it right and thats fair enough. If every tune your band does is for the advanced player, and they are all at that level and you are the slacking behind on everything then I would have thought they would have given you the heave ho a while ago. Keep at it, but let them know whats going on. They may be really supportive and offer to go round and round sections for your benefit. I wouldn't of cancelled the rehearsal though. I would have been honest and said its not as straight forward as hoped so bear with me. If I'd been lying around all week on the XBox then thats different.

We will look at anything anyone suggests within our genre. Every now and then we do a new tunes needed session. Its a compulsory suggestion list of 2 songs each. This gives us a potential 10 new tunes. We then will take a majority vote with a tune needing a 3 out of 5 yays to go forward before it gets assigned as homework. We then put a time limit on how long that time period is say 3 -4 weeks. Every one is expected (although this doesnt always happen. #bandlife ) to be able to turn up and play it with complete conviction at the designated rehearsal. If it works then it goes to the next 4-6 gigs to get an unbiased reaction appraisal. Out of the original 10 new suggested tunes we may end up keeping 1-2. We have a core set of the usual which keep the ship steady so we can take a gamble on things. There are things in our set today that at least one of us has given the thumbs down only for it to end up as a keeper as well as things we have all really liked, really got into, spent more time ect that have just bombed.

What if you agreed to do it but then pull out last min?

You were in the right band when you started out but its evolved as often is the case with bands. Its staying on the louder guitary side of things be it indie, indie rock, pub rock or all out rock. I mean it hasn't exactly morphed into a dancey funk band or abba tribute. Some of the tunes on offer right now that you are not so keen on could fade away never to be played again and something that you prefer may come along. If the things that are on the table right now = more gigs and regular gigs then go with it . When I play a gig with my regular band, although the genre is my thing, I would confess that half of it is not my go to choice within that frame work. IE: cheesy stuff that guarantees the gigs and audience. Its constantly evolving and changing so the way I would look at it is on an average pub gig paying £300.00 between 5 its about £5.00 a song. Thats what I think to myself while playing it as professionally as possible. " And...... last chorus...and thats the end....and that's another 5 quid in the bank" If every note fills you with despair then you are now in the wrong band. You'll only mope about and not learn things with the right passion which will lead to ill will and a sacking.

Currently working on Do I Do as one of our singers would like to try it. Stevie Wonder tune played by Nathen Watts I've got the dots but they are more of guide as the part written before me is missing a lot. I've been working through it using this: https://youtu.be/9-mFdmGHGws?t=4k I'm 30% there but along way to go to get it fluid enough to gig

I once saw him on a cover of a bass magazine with the caption "The Future Of Bass" or something very close to that. Obviously his band Korn have done very well for themselves and made it big ( well done. Its no mean feat , I'm well gel ect) but the problem is after a while you might start ti believe your own press. " hey guys I got this great new idea...it goes like ..." " err... thats cool man but I think it might be a good one for your 'solo' record...."

So starting today we are going out with a small army of very good and competent dep drummers, who will share the current gigs in the diary till we find our next permanent skin basher. ( not all at once. just one per gig!). We may have even shot ourselves in the foot as we have no guarantee for future bookings any one of the right calibre will be available. But we had to do it or stay putting up with it. We had to let him go as a new family plus work ect meant he has been unable to practice between gigs and rehearsals. Timing and confidence were becoming more of an issue as of late so I could see resentment building up. Its been the elephant in the room for about a year now. We got stuck in a loop . It became 2 steps forward and three steps back as a result. It was hard, I feel bad about it, as hes a great guy but it is what it is. The show must go on. He's been with us since day one and has been part of the journey from nothing as a another new start up band 4 years ago to the dizzy heights of pubs, working mens clubs, functions and all the other joys of the weekend warrior. We did the right thing by arranging a meeting in his neck of the woods and informing him the last weekends gigs were his last and how we felt and what we have decided to do. We came clean and told him in the last week we had arranged cover for all diary gigs and effectively stabbed him in the back during that week. He was cool about it all though and said he understood, and agreed on every point we made. He even said he couldn't believe he'd got away with it thus far. This time around advertising for a drummer we have gigs, set lists, were established so I'm hoping we get it right with the next guy/gal. Getting good deps has been surprisingly easy but considering its all focused stuff and paid work.... Anyway, asking him to leave, well actually , sacking him, its been one of the hardest things I've had to do . You are sitting there and no matter what the reasons, you can visibly see its hurting the guy. Out of interest if you, were in ( or have been) in the same boat, and you as a band really liked the person causing the grief, how long would you put up with it before you asked someone to leave?

To be honest I think its played well and its the right thing for the track. I can understand personal tastes being different and some will just not like the style/ song played but I cant find anything that offensive from a tonal/ clash of chords/ bum notes point of view. Interesting though that some peoples ears can pick up a different perspective.

Who knows for sure..but it was Chuck Rainey himself telling the story. Even if he dressed it up a bit I think the point he was making was pre doing it the Walter Beck duo were very much against it. He had to do it out of sight before it was agreed that it was a working part integral to the track. I imagine once decided it was in, they had Chuck up for 72 hours straight perfecting every nano second of it

[quote name='BigLicks67' timestamp='1507620567' post='3386749'] Back in the 80's every bass player and his dog was slapping the bass, you couldn't get in a music shop for slap happy bass players, it was the bass playing equivalent of the EVH tapping solo for guitarists. Realistically, though it's just a another technique to be learned, it's a bit like refusing to learn how to play artificial harmonics, sooner or later you will need to know how to do it. The other day I was working out Peg (Steely Dan) and was surprised at how many bass players were skipping the slap/chorus section on YT. [/quote] Apparently ...........Chuck Rainey who played the bass on Peg, knew the SD guys didn't like slap and had pretty much outlawed it. The band recorded live as a unit BTW. But Chuck said he knew that the chorus just needed it so every time the chorus came about he turned his back to the studio window and tucked himself down behind the screen a bit so he could be heard but not seen. Did the trick and the part stayed.

I dont think it will go as mainstream in the same way it once did when it was a relatively new thing. These days It comes and goes like a musical fashion accessory in mainstream pop. Its in , its out , its in , its out.... How you use it or not use it is entirely upto you and you stand or fall by your own good or bad taste when doing so. I think some bass lines that are slapped on the record , can translate better live when using more of a fingers style with the pulls offs using a pushing fingers through the strings approach ( if you know what I mean?) I'd typically approach something like Never Too Much or Somebody Elses Guy like this if and when it appears in a set. Still gives the impression of a a bit of the old slap going on but doesn't loose the balls of the bass tone. I cant remember the last time, if any time for that matter of fact, that anyone from an audience has approached me after a typical pub gig where the music allows it to be used in whatever quantity I see fit, be it a solo or in a song, and complained about me doing it. Or can I remember it doing any harm. The opposite in fact. I wouldn't use it on a rock type gig or just for the sake of it though. It has to fit in with the gig or the song ,or its borderline comical / sad. IMO

I kinda like it when it gets another genuine road ding. I wont go out my way to ding it but as long as any new dings don't change the playability or sound they are all welcome. I changed the tuners on my fender recently which negated the need for a new string tree so now its got a few holes showing where the old hardware went. I really like they way that looks. My other new bass however I like to keep as new looking as possible in case I decide its not for me and needs moving on. If I decide after another 4-6 months its staying then from that moment on all dings are welcome.

From my perspective as a bassist,I think knowing the material inside out and knowing your gear helps. I find the more confident I am with the material the more chilled I am. Once at the venue, getting a good bass sound from the moment I plug in is always a bonus. Or a good sound check when the band overall sounds good. This puts me in a very good mental state. I dont like to get anywhere too early if it means hanging around for hours. Unless its important to do otherwise I find an hour prior to playing is good. For me the more I am prepared with material the more relaxed I am. The usual stick in the spokes awaits me at the gig so the better I know the material the better I can cope with what is thrown at me at the gig. Usually other band members lack or prep or sonic issues that are beyond my control.

I know guys that post things on FB about playing here this evening , playing there that evening and I would think " wow , you lucky gits. All these regular gigs.." But after delving deeper its mostly playing for £25.00-30.00 each, in a trio, in some almost empty bar playing mostly to their personal friends group who are there to support and raise the £90.00-100 that pays them. The bar staff would otherwise be bored or the bar itself closed that evening. They do it to help convince themselves they are a struggling self employed musician. They also tend to have some flat share with no real life commitments outside of paying rent which I suspect most of is paid via some sort of hand out. They are however young and free so good luck to them and being free means maybe their ship comes in and they can get onboard.

I get at least one gig a week. Occasionally I see 4 in a week but that is rare these days. This weekend I have 2 but one is with the regular band and one is backing a tribute act. When ever I get a 3 or a 4 weekender it will be playing with 2-3 different bands. Even then its not a give up the day job earner but does help with the weekly shop and holidays. My last regular cover band did 3 a week most weeks however it had more of a star appeal? right image? about it and a personality that just seamed to gel with each other and with audiences. It was a popular band that just worked. I have never been in or likely to be in since, a band of this quality (although I do live in hope) again. Great intelligent and mature musicianship all round. I think the fact all 4 members put everything into that band on every level had a lasting effect. None of the members were interested in other projects or gigs outside of that band. Full on commitment. I don't think you can go out and manufacture this kind of band as its all down to luck that 4-5 of exactly the right guys/girls happen to come together at the same time. If I was to tell our existing drummer we now have 4 or even 3 gigs a week for the next 6 months and we need to have the following extra material sorted as homework to play unrehearsed but expected to be on it, like my last band did, he'd be gone due to family commitments. I think there is a volume of work that the individual has to put in to make 2-4 gigs a week work that most either dont have the time for or lack the self discipline or dont have the musical skills to pull off. Even if theses gigs were as plentyfull as they were in the good old days can you get the staff? I love gigging but I find myself putting up with compromise after compromise in order to do it even at the limited level that is currently available. At least when it was good , I was there and took full advantage.

EBS 2x10 is a great 4 ohm cab. Recently I've been taking the single 1 x 12 away that I was taking to most gigs as a second cab because I dont really need it. I had this "gotta have two cabs to get the best out the head" thing going from when I used 2 x 112 cabs. I think anything louder would be overkill for the majority of pub and function gigs I do. Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing the right thing and then I see a clip from a gig on a smart phone camera and it confirms it. Sometimes I think sh*t I'm way too loud!

Back to the OPs question " too harsh?" We use google calendar plus face book messenger. The only thing that could make this not work would be if one of us lacked enthusiasm. We have the usual ups and downs that come with a long term band such as politics, musical taste ect plus our private lives involving usual work and family hassells , but one thing we never get wrong is the location,date and time of a rehearsal or gig. We have a rule that says if you cancel a rehearsal last minute, you pay for that rehearsal and if you cant do a gig last minute you supply a dep. (there would be exceptions if the cancellation was due to a sensitive matter). I think lack of communication will eventually lead to lack of band sooner or later be it just one member getting the off or whole band collapsing. I dont like my time wasted when it comes to a regular band and I wouldn't waste anyone elses time by not joining in on the various levels required ie: learning material, communicating ect ect. To not respond or acknowledge a gig that someone else has made the effort to get and then give a casual shrug of the shoulders so to speak when it gets cancelled.........tells you all you need to know. If you can easily replace = result. If not = Hmmmmm but another thread possibly. Some people like to do the passive aggressive thing. Be all nice and spicey as a person to hopefully excuse the lack of effort elsewhere because they know everyone will take their side and you end up looking like the c**t when it goes tits up because you had the balls, in this very delicate bubble that is a band, to call it how it is. I'm glad you handled it the way you did as A: It sent a message and B: You got a better replacement and C: Your actions led to B. Harsh? I'll give you bloody harsh ect ect.......

We have a Band HQ chat and a Band + (singer on this gig). We have 2 regular singers, preferred dep singers and backup fog horn singers. Band HQ does everything from any old bollocks to band related issues but is confined to just us core members and the others will be more gig related as they will concern next gig, set list and keys for that singer. Some "any old bollocks" will find its way into the more serious gig chats but it tends to be limited. If it gets out of hand one of us will say on the HQ chat that we need to take it over there. We have different colours for different singers too so we dont slip up when complaining about lack of microphones, PA equipment ect that a singer doesn't have. We've been using this system for so long now that we have come to accept that there will always be an amount of annoying scrolling here and there but overall it seems to work for the important stuff, ie: gigs and rehearsals: where and when, set lists, keys, amount being paid each.

I found the initial transition hard at first and frustrating but stuck with it. After a while it was a natural as playing a 4 and no additional thought process involved. I just "played it". It will come and as already said here the muscle memory will eventually kick in. Once you get there you might find somewhere down the line you actually prefer a 4 and go back (like me) but......once you have the ability to use either or you can decide which is best for you and the playing situation at any given time.

I think you can get a thing where not everyone in the band shares the the same empathy with a tune and it never settles or sounds right. Then you may get an instance when due to maybe just one or two of the players, for what ever reason, suddenly "get it" or perhaps you get to play the same tune but with better players and it all comes together. For me the frustrating thing can be when a tune that used to sound great with band A now sounds rubbish when played with band B but the members of band B tell you it cant be done and a list of why so.

I think like musicians, some sound guys have got it and some just aint. Local band to me have probably the worst sound man ever ( all this loud bass drum drowning every thing else out) yet they blindly continue to use him (probably something to do with a van, free gear storage and low pay). Seen the same band with someone else at the desk and the difference is huge. When I were a lad the guitarist in the first cover band I was in, did the bands sound and was a complete master at it. He would set it all up and then let the "sound man" tweak levels , but even then only under instruction via the odd nod and pointer here and there. I think places like the Guildhall must be venues that cant be fixed as I've never heard a good word about anyones sound in there. A friend of mine saw Paul Weller at some venue in London where Paul said over the mic that the sound in there was so sh*t he would never play there again. And I've done, as have we all, plenty of sh*t rooms just on the cover band circuit, where no matter what its horrible. But all the same .....sound man with little or no idea......

I'll get some better pics soon now I know how to upload em!!