The world of depping

[Burns-bass]

15 minutes ago, Kiwi said:

It's nice to feel someone understands that situation!  His songs are like progressive blues, more than the blues most of us would be familiar with.

His songs and style are so good!

[Belka]

Although this may be slightly outside the OP's question, from my experience of depping as well as playing with a lot of deps, I would point out that it's always good not to forget about your overall musical development/improvement. It can be exciting playing with new people all the time and flying by the seat of your pants, as one poster put it, but you run the risk of becoming a 'busker' who learns the overall form of the songs but never learns anything properly. Of course, when it's a last minute thing this is a great skill to have, but I've come across too many 'professional' deps who have atrophied musically and are only concerned about things being 'good enough' rather than doing things properly.  

[TimR]

@Belka You know that the vast majority of music was recorded by session musicians who listened to a tune once, did one take, and went home? 

Edited yesterday at 11:32 by TimR

[Belka]

3 minutes ago, TimR said:

@Belka You know that the vast majority of music was recorded by session musicians who listened to a tune once, did one take, and went home? 

Yes, of course, and the very best session musicians, the likes of Chuck Rainey, Marcus Miller, Anthony Jackson, Pino etc., have/had the skills and theory knowledge to ensure they knew to create interesting lines which perfectly outlined the harmony, and could listen to what the producer/artist wanted them to play and interpret that appropriately; they didn't get gain their reputations by just being 'good enough'. 

[lowdown]

1 hour ago, Belka said:

 but you run the risk of becoming a 'busker' who learns the overall form of the songs but never learns anything properly. 

 

Yes, of course, one can run that risk if not serious about what they do or deliver. But if one wants to be called up again, one makes sure they know all/most of the relevant, popular Bass lines to certain well-known songs, rather than just busking lines over changes and structures. Any regularly called up, depping musician, will have a vocabulary of 'learned' tunes stored in their brain that they need to know (or should do). That's why they get called back again, and again. Just busking over a set of chords might be okay if you get called at the last minute. In fact, some bands/MD's/leaders may well be thankful you helped out without any major disasters.

 

However, you probably won't get the call again in favour of someone who knows the tunes/Bass lines. Or at least, you get asked to learn the tunes in advance. As 'Chris B' said further up thread, you want to do as good a job as the musician you are covering. Just busking the gig on its own, probably means you are just winging it. Successful, regular depping is an art. If you get called back regularly, it's probably because you are better than being 'just good enough'. You tend to do a lot of homework and become familiar with a lot of tunes.

 

The only gigs I remember doing where just busking away was okay, were usually Jewish functions. A lot of the music was just solid one and five playing. Or on certain pub gigs, playing Jazz standards, or covers of soft rock/country tunes etc, but certainly still not to be taken lightly. Well, that's from my personal playing experience, along with working with excellent, reliable deps... And just as importantly, have enjoyed regularly working with them on a musical level. YMMV.

[BigRedX]

From the other side of the fence from someone who has used deps for their band, I'll repeat this because IMO it is worth repeating:

 

If there is a dress code then follow it! While we didn't except our deps to go all out with full leathers (we were a garage punk/psychobilly band) although it would be nice if they had, we did think that a simple instruction to wear black with no obtrusive band or brand logos and no trainers for anyone other than the drummer would be easy to follow. However you'd be surprised by how many couldn't or wouldn't do this. Remember that for the night you are on stage you are part of the band and you are in part responsible for maintaining their reputation both sonically and often visually.

[Franticsmurf]

27 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

From the other side of the fence from someone who has used deps for their band, I'll repeat this because IMO it is worth repeating

It's good to hear from the 'other side of the fence' and there's much to learn from that point of view. 

 

I have only played in bands a few times where we used deps for temporary replacements. My overall experience was poor; it was usually drummers we used and with one exception they clearly had not done any specific preparation for our gig and they never took up our offer of a practice run through. Technically they were (mostly) competent but it was all very generic drumming and no specific fills. And the BL would always have to count them in for the tempo.

 

The one exception was a drummer who filled in as a last minute dep when our regular drummer had a domestic emergency. It was a tradition rock n roll gig and he was very professional despite only having about 45 minutes notice. He knew it was a rock n roll gig and he came dressed in a decent jacket and black trousers, he knew the basics and more importantly, the style of drumming appropriate to the gig. He kept it simple where necessary, there was no showboating and had it not been fr the acknowledgement we gave him at the end of the gig, no one would have known he wasn't a regular band member.   

[pete.young]

Last weekend I did a dep job on bass guitar for a 16-piece amateur big band. This is not my normal bag. The only regular reading gig I have is with the brass band, which is in treble clef. I did it as a favour to help out the Musical Director and also out of curiousity, to see what big bands are about and whether I could hack it. 

 

The set list was 25 pieces, none of which I'd played before,  encompassing Glenn Miller, some jazz standards, soul, show tunes, pop songs from the last century, some oddballs like Birdland, You Can't Stop the Beat, The MD sent me a link to a Google drive with 75 pieces in it, so I decided to wait for the set list which gave me about a month to look at it.

 

80% of it I was able to sight-read in one take. There were six pieces which were more challenging, mostly fast walking lines in unfamiliar keys or timing issues (Birdland!), so I was lucky to have some time to work these up. Finding YouTube vids of bands playing the same arrangement was very helpful to get the sense of these pieces.

 

There were no rehearsals. The gig went pretty smoothly, I got lost a couple of times but found my way back. The MD and the band manager were happy with the outcome and have asked me if I would dep for them again if the need arises.

 

Important points for me:

 

Stick with the arrangement and don't go off-piste. The arrangement is the arrangement, the MD will point out any exceptions before you start playing. In particular, look first for key-changes and geography (repeats, DS/Coda) before you worry about the notes.

 

Be confident, and do as much preparation to help you build confidence. For me this includes bringing enough spare equipment so that you can cope with any kind of failure.

 

Dress code - this is always important and as long as you have black shoes and trousers and a white shirt, bands will provide you with what you need (in this case, polo shirts, but in the brass band world uniform jackets and ties too).

 

Pay? Dream on. No pay, no expenses, and a 40-minute drive both ways. I got the same as everyone else!

[acidbass]

I owe virtually all of my (limited) ability to my years as a dep.  One August (2016 I think) I depped with 13 different bands in one month.  100% the best way to develop your ear and also interpersonal skills with other musicians.  Great for making contacts.  The variety too keeps things super interesting.

[Graham56]

Again, from the band side... We were a pub covers band and occasionally used deps (drums guitar or sax). We would claim, "Don't worry, we play like the record."

 

Except we didn't always. Some we had changed keys for the vocals, others had slight modifications to the arrangements (four times the starting riff instead of the three on the record etc etc). Once a song has been in your setlist for a while its easy to forget any modifications you have made...

 

Most of the deps handled it all very well. 

[Stub Mandrel]

40 minutes ago, Graham56 said:

Again, from the band side... We were a pub covers band and occasionally used deps (drums guitar or sax). We would claim, "Don't worry, we play like the record."

 

Except we didn't always. Some we had changed keys for the vocals, others had slight modifications to the arrangements (four times the starting riff instead of the three on the record etc etc). Once a song has been in your setlist for a while its easy to forget any modifications you have made...

 

Most of the deps handled it all very well. 

 

For one band I'm in I've given up practicing to the originals... better to rely on my wits.

[chris_b]

1 hour ago, Graham56 said:

. .  . .   "Don't worry, we play like the record."

 

 

Famous last words. . . .

[bassbiscuits]

If we get a dep drummer into my own band from time to time, we tend to streamline the set to focus on stuff that’s easy to get thru with me cueing him for any unusual stops / starts etc. 

 

If it’s just the occasional gig with someone stepping in to help us out, it’s probably not the time to debut some horribly complicated track. 
 

As ever, good onstage communication is a wonderful thing. 

[Mickeyboro]

That works well if the drummer looks at you. I asked a dep why he was fixated on the singer and he said ‘Cos he pays me’

[Franticsmurf]

2 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

For one band I'm in I've given up practicing to the originals... better to rely on my wits.

I ended up in that situation for a band I played in regularly. 😂 The BL changed arrangements on a whim, added new stuff, mashed songs together and all with little or no prior discussion. Often it would be during the gig, but never with a rehearsal. I didn't like it and as the rest of the band didn't either, we left him. But I have to say that with hindsight it gave me self confidence playing and enabled me to deal with the the surprises that sometimes arise in dep gigs. 

[police squad]

2 years ago I found myself depping the whole summer for @spongebob whilst he recovered from an eye operation

Ska/Mod/punk/new wave but the dress code was polo shirts. I didnt have any but off to Primark and I bought several, all in different colours.

Two gigs I had to wear a Mod style suit and tie (and again with them last week)

It was fun to be dressed totally different from normal and to fit in with guys in the band

Every gig they would throw new songs (to me) in and I learned them all

[ian61]

Ha the lure of good money can land one in all sorts of difficulty. I got a call to dep in a 60's/Beatles five part harmony outfit couple yrs back. 60 old tunes Id forgotten all about and Beatles stuff at short notice is very tricky. It was a very good earner but Ive never worked so hard. Dropped a few notes, suffice to say I never heard back and to be fair they were a top draw outfit. Fun tho.  

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, Franticsmurf said:

I ended up in that situation for a band I played in regularly. 😂 The BL changed arrangements on a whim, added new stuff, mashed songs together and all with little or no prior discussion. Often it would be during the gig, but never with a rehearsal. I didn't like it and as the rest of the band didn't either, we left him. But I have to say that with hindsight it gave me self confidence playing and enabled me to deal with the the surprises that sometimes arise in dep gigs. 

 

Fortunately, they aren't changing them on the fly, but they've played 'their' arrangements of some songs for so long. The setlist changes every gig and it seems they have a LOT of songs stashed away that reappear, so each one is learn the basics then get their arrangement.

[Stub Mandrel]

58 minutes ago, police squad said:

dress code was polo shirts

 

That's only one step away from cargo shorts! 😁

[cetera]

I don't do any deps without prep time and a decent fee (unless there are multiple events I'm needed for with the same band).

 

It saves me hours of short notice stress for little reward and, most importantly, I always like to do the songs (and band I'm depping with) justice....

Edited 5 hours ago by cetera

[chris_b]

Some bands will put easy, straightforward songs in the set list, others, it seems, want to see the deps sweat!!

[kiat]

Great to read all the comments, tips, experiences, memories and choices!  Hopefully depping will be a bigger part of my playing life from now on for all sorts of reasons that many have mentioned already.

 

The dep setlist for this Saturday. A few days into a week's notice and seven basslines I already knew.

 

[Lozz196]

Nice set list, most are pretty standard fare for covers bands, but for a reason, they’re decent songs that get a crowd going.

[Franticsmurf]

Decent set list but also lots of information to work with. 

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, kiat said:

Great to read all the comments, tips, experiences, memories and choices!  Hopefully depping will be a bigger part of my playing life from now on for all sorts of reasons that many have mentioned already.

 

The dep setlist for this Saturday. A few days into a week's notice and seven basslines I already knew.

 

 

Looks pretty typical, should go down well at a younger venue. 

 

Let's dance is great fun to play but sooo easy to get out of synch if you aren't paying attention (don't ask).

 

Enjoy!