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I'm gonna be in so much trouble at rehearsal


AdrianP

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4 hours ago, AdrianP said:

Well I do know where I live and I am starting to come around to your way of thinking! To be honest,  we've done three paying gigs and the audience response has not been extatic. And we've had no rebookings either. Maybe a time to think about why we're doing this. If it's just for the guitarist/BL to show off his undoubted talent, maybe it's time to think again. 

Get a vocalist in and start learning a whole new set, if you get on well with the guys you are currently playing with.

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I like the Anti Nowhere League's version :D.

I don't think I should be a bass player as nearly all the 'essential' albums and players are virtually unlistenable to me. Mingus, Clark, Jaco, Wooten, the list goes on. Bloody awful to my ears. Talented maybe, but talented at making a noise that makes me recoil. 

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13 minutes ago, lowdown said:

Ronnie Jordan's Acid Jazz cover was a bit of a Dance-floor favourite in the early 90's. (apparently).

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ronny-jordan-guitarist-whose-version-of-the-miles-davis-classic-tune-so-what-became-an-acid-jazz-9084262.html

:sorry:

Yeah, but it was a bit rubbish.

George Benson's version is better if you're after an upbeat version...

 

 

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Just got back from the rehearsal. Went OK actually. I spoke to the BL beforehand to tell him frankly about my trouble engaging with the song. So we all decided that we'd have a go at a section from the middle and not try the whole thing. And we'd do it as a link from one song to another; not as 5 minutes of torture. Better for me and more palatable for the audience (supposing there is another audience).

We also spoke during the break about doing some vocals. The other guitarist has a decent voice so we're going to work on a few different songs now with him singing. Which could lead to a change of direction for the band. And it wasn't even a 'clear the air' discussion. Just mates talking about want we want to do. So, unless I get 'that call' from the BL in the next few days, it all seems to have gone quite well. 

So thanks to Team Basschat!

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I quite like it.. it's bluesy, jazzy; got to be pretty tight on the changes for it to sound decent.

I'm afraid it's not one of those well known, er 'bangers' (?) that'll get the punters up. What does the owner of the venue think about it on your set list? they are paying you after all..

Jeff Beck - Live; "Good Bye Pork Pie Hat":-

 

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I sometimes despair on this forum but I guess it takes all sorts! Another thread had a brilliant jammed version of Watermelon Man described as elevator music so I shouldn't be surprised people dissing Goodbye Pork Pie Hat as it's a bit jazzy!! 

I never liked it much until I heard Marcus Miller's version - somehow more bluesy. So when asked to play Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, if you're a bass player you should suggest this version.

It has a sublime bass solo from about 2 mins 15 seconds also 

Should be good for slow/smoochy dances. Those Members bemoaning instrumentals, have you never tried that famous Shadows number Albatross? 😏😂 if we play this I always ask if we can do another Shadows one after it!!

Edited by drTStingray
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I've always loved this cover of GBPPH from the Pentangle (I bought Sweet Child pretty much the day it came out in 1968) with Danny Thompson on DB:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9L_Uj9Pqaic

DT is still gigging and awesome. His 2012 cd "Connected" compiling his work with many other musicians over many years should be required listening for any bass player imho. 

https://www.therealdannythompson.co.uk/

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20 hours ago, lemmywinks said:

It's a Charles Mingus tune, if you're band leader is suggesting the soulless Jeff Beck version then he needs his head reading. Here you go, learn this one instead:

Love the Joni Mitchell version. Wasn't Jaco on bass for this with Pat Metheny on guitar?

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Its not my kind of thing at all, but im sure a lot of people love it.

I do wonder how people remember whats coming next in instrumental versions like this and more jazzesque stuff, but i think im just a simple rock song bassist - if i get lost the vocals will bring me back in somewhere in the future!

Id be questioning why youre being dictated songs from one person when youve no restrictions on what can be learned (ie singers range etc), but sometimes someone has to take the lead to keep things going.

Alternatively, if youre really struggling, id just take it as a bit of a breather. Keep it simple and let the others show off. Or id make it my own and work out something slightly different to do to make it interesting. No one, and i mean no one, is going to know if youve changed it - as long as it fits. 

 

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10 hours ago, josie said:

DT is still gigging and awesome. His 2012 cd "Connected" compiling his work with many other musicians over many years should be required listening for any bass player imho. 

https://www.therealdannythompson.co.uk/

Thanks for the heads-up about this, hadn't heard about it. I love DT's collaborations with John Martyn', Glory Box, Solid Air, and David Sylvian's Ink in the Well, amazing tone he gets out of his instrument. 

As to GBPPH, I'd stick to chord tones if I could follow the arrangement, which is difficult as it seems to ramble on aimlessly. 

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13 hours ago, AdrianP said:

Just got back from the rehearsal. Went OK actually. I spoke to the BL beforehand to tell him frankly about my trouble engaging with the song. So we all decided that we'd have a go at a section from the middle and not try the whole thing. And we'd do it as a link from one song to another; not as 5 minutes of torture. Better for me and more palatable for the audience (supposing there is another audience).

We also spoke during the break about doing some vocals. The other guitarist has a decent voice so we're going to work on a few different songs now with him singing. Which could lead to a change of direction for the band. And it wasn't even a 'clear the air' discussion. Just mates talking about want we want to do. So, unless I get 'that call' from the BL in the next few days, it all seems to have gone quite well. 

So thanks to Team Basschat!

Sounds like you just had the most important chat of your bands career. Hope it all works out, i think you're heading in the right direction with adding the voice, you'll sure get a better ersponso from the audience as they really need a singer/performer in the front to engage with (now you need to see if the second guitar is a performer and not just a BV that can carry a tune, maybe some prospection for a front man/lady may be the next step for the band). BL can still have his moments (Floyd, Dire Straits, etc.), create a set list with bands that people enjoy hearing and have good solo moments for the guitar to shine a bit.

Good luck ;)

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6 hours ago, BassBunny said:

Love the Joni Mitchell version. Wasn't Jaco on bass for this with Pat Metheny on guitar?

That's the one, I tried to link to the live show from the DVD but they've all been copyrighted on YT so the live recording will have to do. Joni is fantastic all the time (was a huge fan as a kid before I'd even picked up a bass) but that particular lineup is a bit special IMO. Still have the DVD somewhere.

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On 14/10/2018 at 13:17, AdrianP said:

Thanks very much for all the comments. Yes, it is a covers band. Exclusively instrumentals as the BL believes there is a local market for this type of thing. What sort of market wants to listen to endless guitar widdling is anyone's guess. And the fact that we are 1) making little money and 2) playing boring songs is probably not unconnected. But, and it's a big but, I do like the folks in the band. Which is why I'm still with them. 

But I do need to grasp the nettle. Stop playing stuff that bores audiences stiff or I'll walk. I have my main band still so not desperate for this. But tonight is probably a good time to get this all out in the open.

Tell it like it is... facts 1) & 2) are certainly connected and your BL needs to recognise this as his belief is obviously wrong. If the guys in the band get on well together, then there is hope for a new direction and a mutually pleasing outcome. Guitarists can be a bit 'centre-of-the-universe' and if you're an instrumental-only band then you need to feature the other instruments just as much as the guitar in order to have any hope of making it an appealing act.

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