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Not everything about the bass is great .....


Barking Spiders

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6 hours ago, Muzz said:

We play Don't Look Back In Anger, and for the third chorus everyone drops out but me, just playing single root notes while the punters sing it to us. Satdy night was me and sixty or so people raising the roof. Brilliant to be a part of. :D

Yep - that is what I am happy to not be a part of!

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I always struggle with originals bands that don't want to play their biggest hits - Nirvana not wanting to do Smells Like Teen Spirit, or Robert Plant being bored of Stairway To Heaven. 

I have some sympathy, and I've become bored of playing the odd song, either originals or covers (depending on the band) just because of the repetition - usually it's the ones that are no challenge to play, and sometimes that makes me really dislike the song, but I prefer Lemmy's attitude, sick of playing Aces Of Spades but doing it every night because he knew that it was the one song that fans wanted to hear

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1 hour ago, Monkey Steve said:

I always struggle with originals bands that don't want to play their biggest hits - Nirvana not wanting to do Smells Like Teen Spirit, or Robert Plant being bored of Stairway To Heaven. 

I have some sympathy, and I've become bored of playing the odd song, either originals or covers (depending on the band) just because of the repetition - usually it's the ones that are no challenge to play, and sometimes that makes me really dislike the song, but I prefer Lemmy's attitude, sick of playing Aces Of Spades but doing it every night because he knew that it was the one song that fans wanted to hear

I am sick and tired of trotting out Sweet Home and Alright Now week after week. We tried substituting another Skynyrd number and Free song instead. But had to bring them back because audiences kept shouting for them.

I suppose a landlord would prefer to see everyone singing along and enjoying themselves, and you would more than likely get re booked.

Edited by Hobbayne
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1 hour ago, Monkey Steve said:

I always struggle with originals bands that don't want to play their biggest hits - Nirvana not wanting to do Smells Like Teen Spirit, or Robert Plant being bored of Stairway To Heaven. 

 

Spot on. I bet Nirvana and Plant don't get bored by the royalty cheques that roll in every month...

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33 minutes ago, Hobbayne said:

I suppose a landlord would prefer to see everyone singing along and enjoying themselves, and you would more than likely get re booked.

Precisely. There's a symbiotic relationship here - or should be. Pubs need bands to bring in the punters and bands need pubs to give them a venue at which to play. And let's be honest, we probably need the pubs more than they need us

OK, if you're a band of sufficient stature that you can play bigger, music-specific venues then all power to your elbow and play what you want. But if you're in a band that plays on a Saturday night down the Pig and Whistle and you're being paid to do so by the landlord then, in my view, your job is to entertain the punters first and yourself second. And if that means playing bloody Wonderwall yet again then i will play it with a big cheesy smile on my face.

Edited by Skinnyman
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That's a massively harsh assessment of the Cardigans to my mind.  They were a proper band with some decent songs.  Lovefool was their pop number and the bass is a bit minimalist in it, but it walks along quite nicely, accentuates the groove of the song and highlights the chords I reckon.  Give me something like that over either just banging out root notes or playing something very fast and technical which serves the players ego and not the song.

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41 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

What's the problem? It's 3, 5 maximum, minutes out of your life and if it makes people happy...

We have sex on fire and other awful songs for that. Ignoring that I really detest oasis songs, there is nothing worse than a pub crowd singing oasis to make leave a pub. 

So no, if gigging is playing that, I am happy to not do it

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18 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

We have sex on fire and other awful songs for that. Ignoring that I really detest oasis songs, there is nothing worse than a pub crowd singing oasis to make leave a pub. 

So no, if gigging is playing that, I am happy to not do it

I would rather go out and play rather than sit at home because I dont like to play the songs that the audience likes.

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23 hours ago, Monkey Steve said:

can't think of any that particularly annoy me.  there are plenty of songs that I don't like, and a bass line may well contribute to that, and plenty of bands with bass players that I don't particularly rate.

But simplicity certainly wouldn't be something to object to, unless it's not appropriate.  Loads of bands in rock and metal (AC/DC for starters) where the bass isn't doing much more than holding down the rhythm and underpinning the vocal melody - the start of Live Wire is proof that sometimes you only need one note, as long as it's the right one

i'm not sure about ACDC - Cliff is often outlining the thirds, isnt he ?

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45 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

We have sex on fire and other awful songs

I've played Sex On Fire hundreds of times. I still can't get the intro right. The drummer has to count me in!

The thing I like about being a bass player, is playing bass. The craft of making a song come alive, via the bass line, for the audience. Playing songs I like is a bonus, but playing bass with other musicians is the best bit.

 

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17 minutes ago, Graham said:

Same here

And me too, although it's the guitarist who gives me the nod! Thought it was just me, phew....

 

Can you imagine if everyone in the band flatly refused to do certain songs / anything by particular artists? In my old 8 piece band, it would have made for a few pretty short sets! In cover bands we all have to bite the bullet sometimes and play stuff we consider crap / embarrassing / beneath us etc etc, but that's what its' all about - giving whoever is paying / supporting you what they want. The Mavericks tune mentioned above is a classic example, and when I went to see them it was that song that got their audience dancing in the aisles. Job done.

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1 minute ago, casapete said:

And me too, although it's the guitarist who gives me the nod! Thought it was just me, phew....

 

Can you imagine if everyone in the band flatly refused to do certain songs / anything by particular artists? In my old 8 piece band, it would have made for a few pretty short sets! In cover bands we all have to bite the bullet sometimes and play stuff we consider crap / embarrassing / beneath us etc etc, but that's what its' all about - giving whoever is paying / supporting you what they want. The Mavericks tune mentioned above is a classic example, and when I went to see them it was that song that got their audience dancing in the aisles. Job done.

In an old punk covers band of mine we split the set into about a third of the songs that were undroppable and the rest that were picked from a long list that could rotate in and out.  We typically had about ten or twelve more songs than we needed for any gig, so you put up with ones you didn't enjoy, and then rotated them out when it was your turn to do the set list.  the crowd was king, and if they liked a song that you disliked so much that it became undroppable then you put up with it (and equally, if they were indifferent to your personal favourite, it was banished forever, tough luck...we did an absolutely cracking version of London's Burning by the Clash that only lasted two gigs because it's not one that the casual punk fan will remember and it's never been used in an advert, so there's no point in arguing that it's a much better song than I Fought The Law)

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1 hour ago, casapete said:

And me too, although it's the guitarist who gives me the nod! Thought it was just me, phew....

 

Not had that, the only count in we do is poker face

1 hour ago, casapete said:

Can you imagine if everyone in the band flatly refused to do certain songs / anything by particular artists?  

Yes, it seems perfectly reasonable. Have you never refused to do a song? A good third of the songs we play I don’t really like, and a couple I hate, but it’s all give and take. Oasis is out, slade Christmas songs are out, that’s it. There are a few songs that I was instrumental in dropping because they didn’t work, or we sounded bad doing them, and some others that the audience didn’t go for, and there are some songs I would like to do but the others aren’t keen. Luckily we are a covers band, there are many thousands of songs for us to choose from that aren’t in any of those groups.

Frankly if we are just another band doing sex on fire / oasis etc, why come and see us rather than one of the 10 other bands on?

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16 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

Frankly if we are just another band doing sex on fire / oasis etc, why come and see us rather than one of the 10 other bands on?

They won't, but that's why you make sure you play and present yourselves better than "just another band". Then they will come to see you.

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1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

Have you never refused to do a song?

If I have I can't remember. I've been a pro bassist for 25 years, and believe me when you're getting paid to play as your main source of income then you become less picky pretty quickly! Of course we've had band decisions on songs over the years that may have been based on personal likes/dislikes etc, but the overriding outcome has always been ' will it help us go down better / get work / please the booker' etc etc.

My worst scenarios (thankfully rare) have been when recording - some songwriter wanting bass on his (not great) songs. Having to keep schtum / not laugh / try and polish a turd etc is always really difficult, especially when you know it's got your name on the finished article. Same as backing dodgy acts - it's my job to try and make them sound as good as possible, end of story. 🙂

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8 minutes ago, casapete said:

If I have I can't remember. I've been a pro bassist for 25 years, and believe me when you're getting paid to play as your main source of income then you become less picky pretty quickly!

Well, yes, that is a different sort of thing. I am playing for my enjoyment. Yes, I get paid but it has no material effect on my welbeing or income. A job is different, you do whatever stinky poo is required. And if that was oasis, fine.

Obviously if I was depping for someone and they wanted to do Oasis, then that would also be fine, or if I joined a group that already had one of their songs. 

8 minutes ago, casapete said:

Of course we've had band decisions on songs over the years that may have been based on personal likes/dislikes etc, but the overriding outcome has always been ' will it help us go down better / get work / please the booker' etc etc.

Again yes. But I don't think it has that affect. The amount of times we are asked for things we don't do, and we don't rush out and do them.

8 minutes ago, casapete said:

My worst scenarios (thankfully rare) have been when recording - some songwriter wanting bass on his (not great) songs. Having to keep schtum / not laugh / try and polish a turd etc is always really difficult, especially when you know it's got your name on the finished article. Same as backing dodgy acts - it's my job to try and make them sound as good as possible, end of story. 🙂

Agreed. But again, different from 'your' group.

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1 hour ago, chris_b said:

They won't, but that's why you make sure you play and present yourselves better than "just another band". Then they will come to see you.

There are several groups in the local area who are very good. It would be complete arrogance to say we could do it better than them. We are different, because we have different instruments and we play different songs, but the more we play the same thing, the less different we get. I am not interested in a race to mediocracy. 

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Stranglehold has got a bass solo in it! Surely a great advertisement for bass? I've read some discussion online with Rob Grange, the bass player on the track. May be an unpopular opinion, but Ted's first batch of albums (until '82) are brilliant rock records.

Even the dullest of lines may be easy to play, but if it fits the track perfectly, surely that's a great line?

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