Whats your Best Bass Experience?

[tm486]

Up until now I have been solely a bedroom bassist, but recently I had my very first band practice with a new band I’m forming, which so far only consists of drums, bass and a singer, but we are looking for a guitarist.

We played through one pre-arranged song, which went well, I was really enjoying playing with real people as opposed to playing along with a CD. Then we decided to try a song both the drummer and I knew.

Whilst the singer was finding the lyrics, the drummer and I just played together. I have never played with a drummer before but it was fantastic. We didn’t play a song, just sort of improvised, but it was so easy to play together, it just sort of meshed effortlessly if that makes sense. It was genuinely the greatest experience I have ever had playing bass and it made me feel like a much better player. I cannot wait for the next rehearsal.

So, I was wondering, what is your best bass related experience? Meeting or watching your bass hero at a gig? Or maybe playing a certain gig yourself? Or just a simple rehearsal or learning a new song.

Cheers,

Tom

Edited December 5, 2011 by tm486

[LukeFRC]

Playing a big gig, and seeing our friends go wild for the music
Playing a bigger gig the week after and seeing our friends go wild for our music and then realise they weren't anyone we know.

[Mykesbass]

Getting people up dancing from the second song in right the way through to the last number! Especially as we are not really a dancey sort of band

[bobpalt]

Playing a gig at a posh girls finishing school and watching some of the audience remove items of clothing and perform lewd acts in what was obviously a pre arranged effort to put the band off their stride! It worked. At one point our singer got so distracted he forgot his words and stood in the middle of the stage (watching what was going on in front of him) mumbling something..............

We were asked back the next year, but to this day, its the only gig we have ever refused because we didnt want to do it. It was fun at the time, but so demeaning!

[thisnameistaken]

Performing at a BIG bar on a beach which was full to capacity (about 1000 I think) on the hottest day of the year (41C) when someone had crashed into a telegraph pole outside and taken out power to the air conditioning. They had medical crews on standby who kindly gave me oxygen when I came off stage completely dripping wet. I remember there were three guys in the front who were yelling something at me and punching the air and I thought they were probably being rude, so I wandered up to them and cupped my hand around my ear and yelled "You ****ing what?" and they yelled "YOU'RE AWESOME!". Hahaha.

[discreet]

[quote name='bobpalt' timestamp='1323077447' post='1458844']
Playing a gig at a posh girls finishing school... ...watching some of the audience remove items of clothing and perform lewd acts... ...its the only gig we have ever refused because we didnt want to do it... ...so demeaning!
[/quote]

You big woman's coat! I live for those gigs!

[Monckyman]

picking a bass up.

[mikeh]

My covers band opened the show for this years turn on of the Preston Christmas lights, when we came out I didnt look at the crowd (wed sound checked to a couple of hundred), put my bass on, turned on my wireless and then turned round to the BIGGEST crowd Ive ever played too, and Im sure ever will. Real radio estimated there where 11,000 people there in total!!
By far my best experience as a bass player.

[Bilbo]

I have to say it was my first gig with my own trio about a year ago. It was a little pub gig with an audience of about 30 but it was uncompromising and, nevertheless, went down a storm, giving me the confidence to move the project forward. It has been a frustrating year as the drummer who did it has been unable to play and the replacements, whilst great, were not what I wanted conceptually. But the thing was that it clarified what it was I was trying to do. I have since written 18 original tunes for the line-up involved and am rehearsing those tunes this coming weekend. If they work (and they may not), my next gig with the trio, on 1/1/12, will be a jazz trio playing all originals written by me!! Now THAT is worh waiting for!!

[thisnameistaken]

Wow, nice one Bilbo.

[Jazzneck]

1) Great one Bilbo - enjoy it!

2) for me, it's got to be playing last on at Oliver's Bar at the Burnley Blues Festival - absolutely packed heaving rowdy crowd who called for encores and then being told by the stage man when we came off to "follow me".
We did with some trepidation, up the back stairs into an empty bar where there were freebie Jack Daniels waiting for us and then into the main hall where Big Bill Morganfield was performing the finale.
He'd invited us up to see him and thanked us for a great performance - that was worth the trip up there.

[bremen]

Looking up and seeing Lemmy in the audience

[discreet]

[quote name='bremen' timestamp='1323103659' post='1459330']
Looking up and seeing Lemmy in the audience
[/quote]

You must have a ringpiece of steel.

[Ed_S]

For me, probably the first gig I went wireless. Just to prove that it worked I went and bought a beer in the middle of a song, downed most of it with the bottle in my teeth, played a random slide thing with the empty bottle and then spent the rest of the gig generally arsing around with the audience. I've since toned it down a little, but it was certainly the start of something

[Cat Burrito]

Playing the old Marquee Club in London back in the day, recording my last album & having heroes of mine see my band (& like us). It's all good

[Clarky]

Playing my first DB gig with Rattlin Bone, to a big and appreciative crowd .... never having played DB live before and having broken my left hand in a couple of places only 17 days before. To get through the gig, and to see people dancing and smiling throughout, was just such an incredible buzz

[Lozz196]

Two really. The first was many years ago, in my bass-playing youth. Was described as having a style very muck like Bruce Foxton. Considering at the time I only had records - yes that far back - by The Sex Pistols, and only heard The Jam on radio/tv, I was very pleased with that.

The second was probably passing the audition with my covers band, The Daves. I`d always been asked to play in bands before, and this was my first actual audition, though I already knew the guys. They asked me to learn 8 songs, but as I`d seen them many times before, I brushed up on their whole set (some 40 songs), and at the end of the required 8, suggested the rest of the set. I got the job. Was very happy.

[stinson]

Having Motorhead's drummer saying I was nicking Lemmys 'sound' in a Kerrang review

[rOB]

playing a whole set of music that I'd written myself and being proud of how it sounded.

[Graham]

Opening for Jamie 'Afro' Archer off the X-Factor at Lingfield Racecourse earlier this year with the covers band was really cool. Making him look sh*te was great too.

Playing a packed tent at The Download Festival with the metal band was brilliant too, also recording the metal band's album - i love being in the studio

[paulconnolly]

There have been loads but in no particular order:

Supporting It Bites on their Once Around The World Tour
Playing in the Band Explosion Festival at The Budokan, 1987
Winning the Battle of The Bands competition that enabled us to go To Japan and meeting Bruce Dickinson
Getting back with the guys after 15 years and immediately falling in to the groove with the drummer
Playing a rock covers set and my daughter was singing

[leschirons]

A fairly smallish gig compared to some of the huge audiences you lucky lot play to (about 200) but being asked to do bass duties in the band that opened the French guitar festival this year.

As it was on the first night (non public) we had 95% pros and makers in the audience and it went down a storm. Never had so many Face book friend requests in my life.

[Wylie]

A gig playing pre- and post-prandial music for a group of Episcopal clergymen and women. My trio is violin, piano and bass. We wound up 'Footprints' and were just totally inside it--each player listening to the others more than to himself. An all but indescribable feeling, and rare. Makes all the headaches worth it.

Edited December 6, 2011 by tedgilley