Pete Academy

Oh come on, guys...haven't you got better fins to do?

[quote name='phil.i.stein' post='699555' date='Jan 3 2010, 02:16 PM']time to go and play my BASS..[/quote]

[quote name='phil.i.stein' post='699549' date='Jan 3 2010, 02:10 PM']stop ! my heads in a bad plaice..[/quote] Me too, I've got a right haddock.

[quote name='jimbaby' post='699536' date='Jan 3 2010, 02:02 PM']And I see the jokers are still carping on, they have no sole.[/quote] Did Colin use a tuna in those days? And did he once play with Walter Trout, or James Brown, The Codfather of Sole?

[quote name='Hutton' post='699526' date='Jan 3 2010, 01:57 PM']Nah, I just think you like to argue. This is your lifeblood. No wonder various people have got fed up and left these forums. It's my turn now and jolly good riddance to me![/quote] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teMlv3ripSM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teMlv3ripSM[/url]

[quote name='MSL' post='699498' date='Jan 3 2010, 01:44 PM']Well I enjoyed it, great playing and lifted my spirits this afternoon. Thanks for posting the clips guys. Horses for courses.... I found the Dizee track unbearable, but then I find all that genre unfathomable carp, don't like having someone shout their opinions at me disguised as music. And before any self righteous zealot screams racist, John Cooper Clarke was doing the same thing in the late 70's and that was 'king awful too.[/quote] Unfathomable carp? Isn't that a fish that can't get very far below the water?

[quote name='Prosebass' post='699478' date='Jan 3 2010, 01:32 PM']Carl , Colin , it all sounds the same to me.... [/quote] Or is it Karl Pilkington?

[quote name='Prosebass' post='699465' date='Jan 3 2010, 01:23 PM']Are we not missing the point of debate here ? If you only give an opinion on things you like we would all turn out to be back-slappin sicophants. I see no problem with dissing something if it doesn't float your boat. In the thread on Hootenany there were some rather derogatory remarks about 'the black guy' and not wishing to mention him by his 'silly name' but thats just opinion , not one that I can comprehend but I didn't have a go at the poster for expressing it. I think Dizzy is superb and has been a breath of fresh air especially with his collaborations. Personally I think the clips of Carl Hodgkinson were pretty lame and he comes across as a frustrated lead guitarist and it looks like he is still at it..... But his fans like him obviously , which is all that matters I suppose, I would rather poke pins in my eyes..... [/quote] Is Carl Colin's brother?

I bought the album 8th Street Nites back in 1974. Their music was 'out there' to say the least. That particular track absolutely blew me away, though. It was a 'How the hell is he doing that?' moment, way before the Wootens and Manrings, etc.

[quote name='maxrossell' post='699436' date='Jan 3 2010, 01:04 PM']Nah, there's [i]thousands[/i] of irascible douchebags like me on the internet.[/quote] I can bre pretty acerbic myself, but then I realised Basschatters do come to my gigs.

[quote name='maxrossell' post='699421' date='Jan 3 2010, 12:52 PM']Hey, it's just my opinion. I think it sounded like arse, and the smile on his face just made it look like self-indulgent arse.[/quote] You're not by any chance the Beef Chief in disguise, are you, Max?

<scouse accent> Calm down, calm down!!!

Well, I discovered Back Door in the 70s (and no, it doesn't mean I was gay) and was absolutely knocked out by Colin Hodgkinson. Personally, I think he's genius, and this track is amazing. But I have to agree...whatever floats your boat. I wouldn't say it was lame, though.

Nice reply, Jake. I've met Neil and seen him play. Awesome! Bryan is an incredibly good drummer and a totally inspiring pro. I've learned a great deal by playing with him (in a professional sense, of course!). I must admit we couldn't come anywhere close to the musicianship in the H gang (Andy Schofield played with us a few years ago). However, we have developed a great rapport over the years, mainly because we're all mates, and have played in many bands together previous to Nearly Dan. I think this is important. Also, I try to incorporate some of my own style into the songs, without deviating too far from the original. It's interesting to see Steely Dan using Freddie Washington. I'm sure he knows all his theory, being a session musician, but it's his groove that people concentrate on. When he does his solo in the band, it's mainly just a slapfest - no jazz soloing in sight. [quote name='jakesbass' post='698892' date='Jan 2 2010, 05:44 PM']Hi Pete, I have indeed played the Dan songbook with Bryan and some other very fine musicians including Les Chisnall, Johnny Heyes, Mike Walker, Johnny Musgrave, Andy Schofield and Suzanne Higgins and in that band on vocals was the phenomenally talented Neil Fairclough, but his first instrument is bass and he is a dynamite player (ask Bryan). It's a funny question really Pete because it's all about the player and what he or she brings. Firstly I don't consider myself to be a theory master, I simply have learned enough about it to make rehearsals quick and easily conducted, and also to enable me to convey what I want as a teacher. The whole point about theory is twofold, firstly it is a very convenient system by which musicians that want to produce music very quickly and to a very high standard can do so with a universally understood language. Secondly it is a means by which you can gather, store, and facilitate information hopefully with a view to improving and widening your abilities. What is unusual about music in general is that people who are totally ignorant of theory can be literally brilliant and the reason for that is as you say, if your ears are good then you can learn by rote and be very authentic, original, musical etc etc (the aural tradition of learning should NOT be underestimated) Then we turn to Steely Dan. I had a discussion with Mike Walker about playing in H Gang, we both agreed that Steely Dan is a great band to cover and we had great fun doing it. I have to say that it was an awesome sounding band (sincerely not wanting to be competitive) And what me and Mike thought was behind that was the spirit of the membership. Every one of the people named above are very broad musicians and a few of them are world class. Each player would be comfortable in virtually any musical setting up to and including contemporary Jazz. In my mind if you accept that Becker and Fagen had two main ingredients in their output, the first being a love of Jazz and the second, the use of the best musicians available then I think you would have to agree that it follows that a cover version using the same elements would have a pretty good shot at getting the spirit right. So thats the long answer. The short answer is: I think in the right player, knowing your sh*t playing that stuff would help. But it's worth remembering that Chuck Rainey's main USP is feel and groove. But then they did use some total masters in their field, eg Wayne Shorter. Another point to consider is how it would have happened in the first place. There would have been Rhythm charts galore in the studio when those sessions took place and but for the existence of recorded music you wouldn't have been able to learn it in the first place. Ok so it wasn't a short answer, which I think illustrates that this question is multi faceted and many elements of the various arguments that will be presented have validity. I just try to sit atop it all being magnanimous and smug [/quote]

[quote name='6stringbassist' post='698828' date='Jan 2 2010, 04:49 PM']Does knowing too much English vocabulary inhibit your conversational skills or improve them ? Music is a language like any other, learning the theory behind what you're playing [b]will only improve your playing[/b]. It will give you new ideas in what to play, and make your playing more fluid and confident. I know loads of theory, I love learning about it and it really hasn't hampered me. Comments like the one above are usually made by people who frankly can't be bothered to learn, it's just an excuse .[/quote] Wooten always says this.

I'm not sure if Louis Johnson can read, but he was hired by loads of major artists because of his style.

[quote name='Doddy' post='698787' date='Jan 2 2010, 04:00 PM']I've noticed that when people use the argument about good players who don't know any theory or anything they always refer to guy's like Mark King,who are stylistic 'band' guys. These players are cool and everything-and are successful-but they are not good examples in this kind of debate as they have found a very small niche and gained popularity within the confines of one band. There are a ton of players who have made a good career out of being a pro musician-some very well known,others not- without being in a popular band,and they generally have a decent idea about what they are doing. There are also a load of players who have been in successful bands who have ended up leaving the business after their popularity waned and they didn't have the knowledge or ability to diversify. As far as learning notes on the 'board-I honestly feel that this is a majorly important thing and should be addressed very early on in the learning process.[/quote] I know what the notes on the board are.

I have championed her a few times on this forum.

Bus Stop is a really hard track to play properly.

This track taught me how to groove: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeeOPR8bxac So did this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2w9lSHaLyI Verdine at his best. An absolute classic, and a song that formed my musical career: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2w9lSHaLyI Essential listening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE2zx4lr-h8

Love it!

[quote name='Doddy' post='698247' date='Jan 1 2010, 06:51 PM']He doesn't hate you anymore- he died a couple of years ago. [/quote] God bless him.

As we speak, I've just been going over 'Aja' and 'Babylon Sisters' for the new set. We haven't played these for at least two or three years, but I found myself settling into the songs again via the pattern memory thing. It seems to work for me.

[quote name='purpleblob' post='698230' date='Jan 1 2010, 06:38 PM']It's certainly a natural way to view a bass being that ultimately the grid on a bass (the fretboard) is itself a repeating pattern. Obviously music can be described mathematically and thus intervals or grid like patterns work fine on something like a bass. Whether it's right or wrong - it's certainly not for me to say. As I'm pretty mathematical and never had or wanted formal training, I do tend to see patterns better than I see notes (if that makes sense) but as long as the patterns do not take precedence over what you hear or feel, then personally it's what ever makes it work for you (is my opinion) EDIT: Smiley wasn't showing [/quote] It's just the way my brain has worked for 35+ years.