Flea @ Reading Festival

[bass_in_ya_face]

[quote name='bassboy115' post='50825' date='Aug 26 2007, 11:06 AM']Considering Flea grew up playing Jazz i doubt that!

I think hes one of the best bassists about...hes been a huge influence on me!

And its nice to see a decent bassist that doesnt just stand by his amp all the way through a show![/quote]


You right, still rather listen to Percy Jones though.

[bass_in_ya_face]

[quote name='Sean' post='50920' date='Aug 26 2007, 02:27 PM']Hail, hail, Flea! If he is a one trick pony, that's one hell of a trick he's doing![/quote]


Don't shoot the messenger, I didn't say it

[The Funk]

There's a bit of anti-Flea snobbery because so many people who know nothing about bass hail him as 'the best'. Instead of reacting against that people should appreciate Flea for what he does actually do. And boy does he do that well. The fact that there might be better players out there doesn't make his playing any less good.

[simon1964]

[quote name='The Funk' post='50966' date='Aug 26 2007, 05:14 PM']There's a bit of anti-Flea snobbery because so many people who know nothing about bass hail him as 'the best'. Instead of reacting against that people should appreciate Flea for what he does actually do. And boy does he do that well. The fact that there might be better players out there doesn't make his playing any less good.[/quote]

+1. There is a lot of inverted snobbery over Flea, simply because he is one of the most recognised bassists around. I really don't think he is a one trick pony. Everyone associates him with flashy slap lines, but listen to tracks like Scar Tissue, or Soul to Squeeze - both are really melodic lines which suit the song perfectly, and that's what bass playing is about. I think he's a much more varied player than people give him credit for.

And anyone who can convince Joe Public that bassists are not all failed guitarists deserves some credit!

[Gazm]

Thanks for this thread, a good reason to listen to some RHCP.

If anyone can help the plight of us poor unrecognised and underrated bassies, Flea can but don't go calling the poor bloke for overplaying! Fret w*nkers tune an octave higher than us, don't forget that

Pete.

[Cantdosleepy]

I don't like the music of the chilli peppers. Personally I find them not rocking enough for rock, not funky enough for funk. They all seem pretty good at their instruments ( = understatement). But they make a sound I don't like. Flea seems nice, though. So I wish them well. But I never want to hear their songs.

[The Funk]

[quote name='Cantdosleepy' post='51135' date='Aug 27 2007, 01:42 AM']I find them not funky enough for funk.[/quote]

Really?

Have you ever listened to...
[quote name='Cantdosleepy' post='51135' date='Aug 27 2007, 01:42 AM']But I never want to hear their songs.[/quote]

Oh, nevermind.

[paul, the]

[quote name='The Funk' post='51137' date='Aug 27 2007, 01:46 AM']Really?

Have you ever listened to...
Oh, nevermind.[/quote]




If You Have To Ask was my only justification for changing tuning. Very funky.

[silverfoxnik]

[quote name='Gazm' post='51122' date='Aug 27 2007, 01:19 AM']Fret w*nkers tune an octave higher than us, don't forget that

Pete.[/quote]



Very funny words of wisdom!

[nottswarwick]

[url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/readingandleeds/2007/player/livesets/console.shtml?c=redhotchilipeppers"]WAtch them here[/url]

[dr.funk]

I thought they were all pretty good apart from Anthony who seemed to rush it a bit. The intro jam was really nice and quite different for them so kudos to them for doing that. The end of Give it Away was wild! John looked totally out of it (/into it) and I thought he was going to smash the guitar at one point. He looked pissed off at the end of can't stop when his sound cut out. Flea and Chad were as usual on fire.

Nice to see Josh playing with them - I am a massive fan of his and John's solo work and I thought he really added to the jams.

[HarryPotter]

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='50827' date='Aug 26 2007, 11:08 AM']+1 to all that. He just needs to take his foot off the gas sometimes and let the songs breathe a bit.[/quote]

I take it it works the same as with guitars players then;

The good players instinctively know [i]what[/i] to play.

The great players instinctively know [i]when[/i] (and [i]when not[/i]) to play.

Not that I am dissin' flea, I am too new along the bass road to have a worthwhile opinion.

[Steve Rickwood]

I think the only time flea didnt overplay was on blood sugar sex magik. And we should remember that the in your face playing is what got our attention. I'm not such a big fan and live, I think they are awful - but he makes young players want to play, which is positive, as long as they remember to check out the other hundreds of cool players.
I think flea is more than a one trick pony but the chilis music doesnt demand him to play jazz much, for example. As for the Mark King thing - he is technically excellent although I found the slap players of his era to be lacking in performance and attitude, which is where people like flea and claypool appealed...criminal apparantly tho, for their sloppy timing (apparantly).
If flea overplayed - let him! And if it bothers you (anyone!), then just don't copy it!

And, btw, despite my defence - I'm not a fan of fleas playing!

[Aussiephoenix]

Its funny that there is always a Faction war when Flea's name pops up...

tastes will differ...

Technically, he isnt the best, and I think comparing bassplayers is stupid, as each has his own style of playing...

However, he has his signature sound which people will either love or hate... but add to that his entertainer's streak... I mean, not many people can play as he does and jump around like that... He's pure energy, and he passes that on to the audience like none I've ever seen.

He's the reason that I got into bassplaying, and I'm proud of my roots. his work on BSSM was divine inspiration for me.
I learned a lot through hearing him play when I started out.

[The Funk]

Flea and Claypool have sloppy timing?

[Steve Rickwood]

Not my opinion - but have seen such remarks in bass mags over the years from angry 'snob' musicians who only want to read about jazz. Altho I'd say Flea is pretty loose live, but, when you're jumping around as much, it's pretty tough to be spot on, and the audience are entertained, so - who cares?!

[Sibob]

There are some that argue, and i agree in most circumstances, that a 'Performance' is more important then hitting every note completely perfectly. If the musician and crowd is having fun, why change anything!

I'm not a big chili peppers fan by a long stretch of the imagination, but if you ask Jo 'non-musician' Public to name a bass player, i reckon the vast majority would come out with Flea, so he's gotta be doing something right!

They've done their years of hard graft, they can basically do what they want, and fair play to them!

Si

[The Funk]

Sounds like b*ll*cks to me (that they've got sloppy rhythm). They've both got good rhythm. It just sounds like there's a lot of snobbery about virtuoso musicians who haven't "come from jazz".

The funny thing is that this snobbery doesn't seem to come from the jazz greats.

As for the comment about Flea being a one trick pony, I just don't get what it means. Ray Brown was a one trick pony - does that make him any less of a great bass player?

Who says you have to be able to play bebop, cool jazz, funk, latin, rock, gospel, blues, soul, double bass, fretless, slap, pick, chords, 4-string, 5-string, 6-string, 7-string and all combinations thereof to be any good?

Edited August 27, 2007 by The Funk

[Steve Rickwood]

Exactly. Ulitimately, Flea is reconisable by his sound and style alone - something we all need to strive for.

[The Funk]

I was having an argument with a friend of mine about overplaying: I basically said that if the audience has come to see you widdle away, where's the harm in you widdling away?

[Steve Rickwood]

Yeah! When I first saw rush in the 80s, I was interested in the playing - thats what appealed, and I loved it. Thats what counts really - the enjoyment.

[s_u_y_*]

[quote name='Geddys nose' post='50738' date='Aug 25 2007, 11:44 PM']Frusciante looked a little p*ssed off and avoided eye contact with the others,might be me but they normally look like they are having great fun [/quote]


Well after your equipment kept on failing before the first song even properly begun, I'd understand.

I hold the view, and after seeing him at Reading that he is one of the more tasteful bassists out there. His playing during the jamming sections and encore were spectacular. Him and Chad Smith were joined at the hip.

[ped]

Apparently they had an argument on stage at Reading? John's guitar packed up and was looking really angry with Ant, who said back to him 'all I did was jump on the spot' and the tension was crazy until Flea screamed down the mic and did some slaping really loudly to breat the tension. They then went off on one of their sometimes good sometimes tedious 10min jams lol.

[JPJ]

[quote name='fleamail' post='50899' date='Aug 26 2007, 01:45 PM']The chili peppers are the only rock band that I could watch live every day, every show has something new to it with lots of improvisation! That is their philosophy and that is why their true fans love them![/quote]

Thats what I like about them, live, there is really experimentation within the successful formula to the point where you can almost feel the edge, like if they go any further they'll fall off and make complete arses of themselves. I struggle to think of any other established rock acts who step so far outside of the comfort zone every gig?

Any of us who play live know what its like when you are right on it. I don't mean tighter than a gnats chuff on it, I mean sloppy tight when its musical and big big sounding. I'm making a complete mess of trying to describe it, but I played a gig about six months ago when we were like that and people still talk about that gig today, like it was something special. We knew it on stage, but somehow the audience knew it as well, it was special, and it was spontaneous. RHCP seem to be able to produce that atmosphere in every (televised) live show that ive seen.

[bassbloke]

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='50793' date='Aug 26 2007, 10:01 AM']Your tutor sounds like a bit of a musical snob. Just sayin'.

BTW, I'm not a big Flea fan, but I don't think he'll ever have to pitch for session work.[/quote]

Flea played bass on the first Mars Volta album, De-loused in the Comatorium. Great playing and tone and some nice flurries.