ossyrocks Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 After 40 years of playing guitar in bands, and never being without a band until 2016, I've got my first gig on bass! I first picked up a bass last November, so almost a year ago, and I was immediately hooked. I have practiced pretty much every day for at least an hour, until I felt confident enough to start looking for an opportunity to play with others. In the end, it was me who was approached, and we did our first rehearsal last night. It's an originals project, female singer/songwriter who plays guitar and piano and who is also a fabulous drummer (though she's not touching the kit in this project). Her husband is playing guitar, and the drummer is also female. Rehearsals were well organised, lots of info in advance including MP3 demos, in a brilliant live performance venue, proper stage, monitoring, a real piano, and even a house bass amp - Mark Bass CMD102P for me to use. They were pleased with what I was doing and it looks set to continue. This feels like a moment. Thanks for listening 😁 Cheers, Rob 39 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 Congrats, long may it continue! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 Cool, good luck and have fun ☝️ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbiscuits Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 Good work! Enjoy it - playing bass live is where it all makes sense. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 Excellent, congratulations! ( Even though it wasn’t your amp I’d not put a bottle of water on it though....😉) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ossyrocks Posted October 3, 2022 Author Share Posted October 3, 2022 27 minutes ago, casapete said: Excellent, congratulations! ( Even though it wasn’t your amp I’d not put a bottle of water on it though....😉) Cap tightly screwed on though. But yes, I've experienced enough beer in my gear to last a lifetime. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madshadows Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 Well done John 😎 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steantval Posted October 3, 2022 Share Posted October 3, 2022 Sounds like a great start, I presume the combo in the picture is your own and not the house supplied combo. This is a CMB102P 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naxos10 Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 Well done Rob, I hope everything works out for the band. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusoe Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 Nice one. Good luck with it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamIAm Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 Awesome … may your groove be great! S’manth x 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles'tone Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 Have fun! It's the best. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ossyrocks Posted November 20, 2022 Author Share Posted November 20, 2022 So, my first foray into playing bass with a band has fizzled out. The band leader has decided she has too much on to keep it going and has put the whole thing onto the back burner. However....... Last month I attended the Jazz Jam in Lancaster and was really impressed by the standard of musicians that showed up. I approached the bass player who spent most of the night backing up all the musicians and asked if he'd consider giving me some pointers on jazz standards. He said he would, and on my first lesson, he said "you can play!". On the second lesson he told me he was intending moving to London in January and would I mind if he passed my details onto the bands he plays in with a view to me being his replacement! The upshot of this is that I have an audition on Wednesday for a jazz band, most of whom attend the jam, and it's jam night this Friday too. So', I'm going to nail four or five tunes from their set for the audition and hope they like me, and play at Jazz Jam on Friday too! Buzzin! Yee har! Rob 17 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles'tone Posted November 20, 2022 Share Posted November 20, 2022 Best news I've heard all day! Keep on keeping on 👊 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted November 20, 2022 Share Posted November 20, 2022 Way to land on your feet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franticsmurf Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 Brilliant. Good luck and remember to enjoy it! 😃 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naxos10 Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 Excellent, well done and best of luck with the audition. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ossyrocks Posted November 25, 2022 Author Share Posted November 25, 2022 I did the audition on Wednesday. As I expected, I played at about 50% of my ability under pressure. It was bit hot and my hands were sweaty which made my flats a bit sticky too. But, they want me in, so it was a good result. My little Barefaced One10 with the LM3 sounded fabulous with my P bass, I don't think I'd ever need anything bigger with this band. I learned six tunes for the audition including The Chicken, which they were quite pleased that I'd picked one of the more tricky tunes to audition with. I now have another 5 to get down before rehearsal next Wednesday. I have permanent jazz earworms at the moment! A couple of the band members will be at Jazz Jam tonight in Lancaster. I'm going down and hoping to do a few tunes with some new people. I feel like I've come a long way since buying my first bass almost a year ago. Onwards and upwards! Rob 7 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted November 25, 2022 Share Posted November 25, 2022 37 minutes ago, ossyrocks said: I did the audition on Wednesday. As I expected, I played at about 50% of my ability under pressure. It was bit hot and my hands were sweaty which made my flats a bit sticky too. But, they want me in, so it was a good result. My little Barefaced One10 with the LM3 sounded fabulous with my P bass, I don't think I'd ever need anything bigger with this band. I learned six tunes for the audition including The Chicken, which they were quite pleased that I'd picked one of the more tricky tunes to audition with. I now have another 5 to get down before rehearsal next Wednesday. I have permanent jazz earworms at the moment! A couple of the band members will be at Jazz Jam tonight in Lancaster. I'm going down and hoping to do a few tunes with some new people. I feel like I've come a long way since buying my first bass almost a year ago. Onwards and upwards! Rob Great stuff, well done! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franticsmurf Posted November 25, 2022 Share Posted November 25, 2022 Yes, well done. Now the fun starts. 😀 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naxos10 Posted November 26, 2022 Share Posted November 26, 2022 And the gas😁 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ossyrocks Posted November 26, 2022 Author Share Posted November 26, 2022 33 minutes ago, naxos10 said: And the gas😁 My GAS might be terminal. There was a chap there last night with a double bass and we had a chat about it. He said I should basically just buy one. Who am I to argue? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staggering on Posted November 26, 2022 Share Posted November 26, 2022 2 hours ago, ossyrocks said: My GAS might be terminal. There was a chap there last night with a double bass and we had a chat about it. He said I should basically just buy one. Who am I to argue? Do it. After more than 40 years of playing and gigging on guitar, banjo and EB I went over to the dark side of upright bass in 2015 with a Stagg EUB and now I play upright most of the time and I'm having the best time of my life. DB presents a whole different world of bass playing and I have learned a lot about bass lines and music in general since I went upright and I just started serious lessons a couple of months ago and that is opening up a new challenge using the bow. I love my DB but I also have a Yamaha SLB200 EUB to use at rehearsals and some gigs where space is limited. I have to add that attending the BassChat double bass bash in 2018 added to my GAS and I came home and bought a DB to use instead of the EUB and I haven't looked back, that was great day and I met some fine people and played some nice basses.😊 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.gif.9ad672bb8b84505709f76b39c8c256ec.gif)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.