Basska Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Every time I meet or read about bassist or guitarist they're usually either in a Indie/Metal/Rock/Jazz/Funk/Fusion* or any of your other bog standard varieties of music. Is there any bassist out there flying the friendly skies of Ska (in any form/from any wave/era) and Punk (also of any form/from any wave/era) Matt Freeman, Matt Wong, Pat Kays, Roger Mangenelli, Tony Kanal ring any bells with any body? IMO these are some of the best bassist that are left behind in the world of bass and I feel that they deserve a little more recognition. We all know who Flea/Victor Wooten/Jaco Pastorious/Carol Kaye/Roco are (and if you don't, I suggest you find out haha) But do you guys know the people I'm talking about? You may not like Ska/Punk and you may never will! But you should check these dudes out. I feel it may open some minds to some technique and writing styles that you won't see in the more mainstream genres. Join me in revolution if you feel what I'm saying haha! Or just leave a comment for the banter haha Chris *for the record, I have no problem with any of these genres of music and "bog standard" is for lack of better words. If it's done well then, to me it speaks for itself. This has just been an observation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Nah. My band is more reggae / rocksteady. We have a couple of ska-sounding bits in tunes though. I know all the guys you mentioned but I don't really like the american sound at all, really. It seemed like they were all just following the Bosstones, who were never actually any good themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basska Posted December 3, 2009 Author Share Posted December 3, 2009 (edited) see... haha. Thats a comment I can work with! In the previous comment I was trying to cover all bases including Reggae and Rocksteady sorry. Isn't Reggae classed under 1st wave Ska? Correct me if I'm wrong please! See I'm an American myself so the appeal probably starts there haha (big Bosstones fan it must be said!) I think that if you listen in depth to each one of them they all have allot to offer and get allot more technical (bass wise) to the Bosstones brigade. Are you an Eric Wilson fan? Could you give me some Reggae/Rocksteady bassist examples? and btw, do you mean sound as in all together or are we still talking bass wise? Edited December 3, 2009 by Basska Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy_Marsh Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 roger manganelli is probably my second favourite bassist (after Alex Katunich) and matt wong etc. Waynepunkdude will definitely agree with these bassists too! Losing Streak by LTJ opened my eyes to just how good he was, there's not a track on that album that i dont love and the bass is just...wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William James Easton Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 [quote name='Basska' post='672755' date='Dec 3 2009, 02:09 AM']Every time I meet or read about bassist or guitarist they're usually either in a Indie/Metal/Rock/Jazz/Funk/Fusion* or any of your other bog standard varieties of music. Is there any bassist out there flying the friendly skies of Ska (in any form/from any wave/era) and Punk (also of any form/from any wave/era) Matt Freeman, Matt Wong, Pat Kays, Roger Mangenelli, Tony Kanal ring any bells with any body? IMO these are some of the best bassist that are left behind in the world of bass and I feel that they deserve a little more recognition. We all know who Flea/Victor Wooten/Jaco Pastorious/Carol Kaye/Roco are (and if you don't, I suggest you find out haha) But do you guys know the people I'm talking about? You may not like Ska/Punk and you may never will! But you should check these dudes out. I feel it may open some minds to some technique and writing styles that you won't see in the more mainstream genres. Join me in revolution if you feel what I'm saying haha! Or just leave a comment for the banter haha Chris *for the record, I have no problem with any of these genres of music and "bog standard" is for lack of better words. If it's done well then, to me it speaks for itself. This has just been an observation.[/quote] On the subject of matt freeman..... On rancids tour for that red album (terrible one when they went all rap) my friends attended a the gig at manchester (academy maybe). Anyhoo some one had sucked 'some' to check back stage passes. There they all met lars, tim and matt. But not the drummer (bret/brad?) and that 'dude' that did all the shouting when they went bad. I was told matt was a gent and spent time asking people about their lifes etc. During this point my mate said to him. "pretty mental player arent you" he humbley replied with a smile "f*** that, i just make it up" - in my eyes the man his a legend just for saying that! Tim was also very nice but didn't stick around as he was not well (that old story) On a side note. Lars is so 'punk rock' he had to have a minder to go with him to a party at my friends house. A MINDER!?!?! is he twelve? Symposium got it right about Lars.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockbassix Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Matt Freeman playing the solo on Maxwell Murder was the reason i wanted to learn bass Unfortunately i'm a long way from being fast enough to even attempt it Our band plays rock but i'd love to play some punk/ska stuff LOL i'd probably need to find another band for the punk side of things as our lot point blank refused when i suggested a couple of tracks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killstarz Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Im not a punk/ska bassist but i rate Matt Freeman as one of the best bassists of our time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 I certainly agree that some genres / players are more popular than others on these fine pages. I recently felt I was the only one who liked Americana / Country / Bluegrass and a whole load of people came out in support of that (I suspect a whole lot more bit there lips!). One of my favourite records ever is "The Harder they Come", the Jimmy Cliff film soundtrack which has Desmond Dekker and a whole bunch of greats on it. Rancid equally are fantastic too. Music is like a big melting pot and I try and soak up as much as I can Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Low End Bee Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 I'm a huge punk fan. But not this new fangled stuff. I've never heard of any of those bass players. Punk for me stopped when the mohican came to the fore and all the bands started sounding the same. Ska for me is the Ethipoians, Lord Tanamo, Roland Alphonso, etc. I wish they'd call it something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basshead56 Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 (edited) one of the bands I play with is punk band. we were a four piece up untill about a month ago when the singer´s sister and her friend came in with their trumpet and sax. We learned a few Reel Big Fish and Madness numbers for a laugh. Now thinking of doing the ska thing properly. In terms of players in this whole area, I reckon Matt Freeman is a genius. My two favourite MF basslines are ´Sidekick´ and ´Radio´- pure class. He is also a wicked mandolin player and as a result of his mandolin part on Lars´ second album (track-My Life), I went out and bought an Epiphone Mandobird and have been learning it since! Another great ska/reggae player is Earl Falconer from UB40, very cool guy (met him earlier this year) and an amazing musician Tony Kanal is another wicked player. the very early No Doubt stuff is fantastic. Two other great punk players IMO are Mark Hoppus and Ken Casey (from Dropkick Murphys). But the bassist who combines the two the best... Paul Siminon from the Clash, simply, the greatest there ever was!!! Edited December 3, 2009 by basshead56 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William James Easton Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 [quote name='Low End Bee' post='672998' date='Dec 3 2009, 11:35 AM'][b]I wish they'd call it something else.[/b][/quote] same here, i came up with a few alternatives we could lobby parliment with - SKA 2? PUNKISH? NON SPECIFIC ROCK MUSIC WITH A SIMILAR ETHOS? SKUNK? sp**k? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William James Easton Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 ken casey hardly plays a note live with the dropsh*te murphys whilst singing! not saying i could do it but if you listen live it can be pretty ropey, that said he has some good lines on the old LP's there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Goatreich Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 [quote name='Killstarz' post='672926' date='Dec 3 2009, 10:25 AM']Im not a punk/ska bassist but i rate Matt Freeman as one of the best bassists of our time.[/quote] This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 (edited) [quote name='Basska' post='672769' date='Dec 3 2009, 03:04 AM']see... haha. Thats a comment I can work with! In the previous comment I was trying to cover all bases including Reggae and Rocksteady sorry.[/quote] Yeah I figured, I was being a bit facetious and cheeky. [quote name='Basska' post='672769' date='Dec 3 2009, 03:04 AM']Isn't Reggae classed under 1st wave Ska? Correct me if I'm wrong please![/quote] I'm not a ska historian or anything (I know to some people it's sacrilege to play reggae and not smoke loads of weed and know everything about it). As I understand it the Jamaican pop sound started with ska, became rocksteady briefly because people found ska too fast to dance to, and eventually matured into reggae. I like the feel of the rocksteady sound the most, and from the bass player's perspective it's all about where you put the notes and where you leave space. It can really groove. [quote name='Basska' post='672769' date='Dec 3 2009, 03:04 AM']See I'm an American myself so the appeal probably starts there haha (big Bosstones fan it must be said!) I think that if you listen in depth to each one of them they all have allot to offer and get allot more technical (bass wise) to the Bosstones brigade. Are you an Eric Wilson fan? Could you give me some Reggae/Rocksteady bassist examples? and btw, do you mean sound as in all together or are we still talking bass wise?[/quote] I mean the sound of the whole band, the songs, structure, melodies, etc. I do like Sublime and I think they were probably a big influence on me, but I don't know if Eric Wilson specifically influenced my bass playing. I notice you still haven't mentioned Fishbone. Shame on you! Edited December 3, 2009 by thisnameistaken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basshead56 Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 (edited) [quote name='William James Easton' post='673017' date='Dec 3 2009, 11:51 AM']ken casey hardly plays a note live with the dropsh*te murphys whilst singing! not saying i could do it but if you listen live it can be pretty ropey, that said he has some good lines on the old LP's there.[/quote] Well, I´ve not had a chance to see them live yet. Been listening to them for years and like most of the albums (earliest ones are pants though!) Having said that, our guitarist saw them in Dublin last year and said pretty much the same-bass was missing for half of it, so your probably spot on there Edited December 3, 2009 by basshead56 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Early "first generation" Ska had 4 on the floor basslines on uprights a lot of the time and evolved from Calypso, Blues, R&B and just about everything else The 2/4 chop guitar/keys made the big difference and may have named the genre. How about some suggestions for good CD's to start with for these guys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RussFM Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 Loved playing in my two old punk bands (I say old, we're talking 2001-2007), but don't get to play any anymore Dan Andriano and Jason Black were big influences on me, and more recently Joe Principe from Rise Against. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parker_muse Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 I play in a ska/punk band, and i would say my influences didn't come from ska or punk predominantly. In the musical circle itself, i would say The Specials and Madness basslines have had the biggest influence on me, the use of 3rds and 5ths to write the tight rythmns, but my main influence has been my guitarist. We picked up our instruments together and started played together after about a month of starting, and that band has evolved over 4 years to where we are now. His bluesy understones have had a severe impact on my bass playing style, lots of fun little runs and utilising blues/pentatonic scales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William James Easton Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 [quote name='RussFM' post='673062' date='Dec 3 2009, 12:31 PM']Loved playing in my two old punk bands (I say old, we're talking 2001-2007), but don't get to play any anymore Dan Andriano and Jason Black were big influences on me, and more recently Joe Principe from Rise Against.[/quote] Jason Black is amazing. However HWM went right down the toilet after 'A flight and A crash' (the basement at Leeds for that tour was one of my favourite gigs ever). And i've not listened to the Draft, so don't know if he's pulling the same tricks? side note HWM don't fit on this thread at all IMHO. much more than 'punk revival' trash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 [quote name='William James Easton' post='673014' date='Dec 3 2009, 11:47 AM']same here, i came up with a few alternatives we could lobby parliment with - SKA 2?[/quote] Ska 3, surely? [font="Courier New"]Ska 1 = 60's = Dekker, Prince Buster, etc Ska 2 = Ska Revival = Late 70's - Early 80's = Two-tone - Selecter, Specials, Madness, The Beat etc Ska 3 = Post 80's = Ska + Punk, other variations thereof.[/font] Me, I like Ska, but prefer my punk w/o brass, thank you, Vicar. Rude Bwah! - as we used to cry, while sk*nking madly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William James Easton Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 [quote name='skankdelvar' post='673073' date='Dec 3 2009, 12:43 PM']Ska 3, surely? [font="Courier New"]Ska 1 = 60's = Dekker, Prince Buster, etc Ska 2 = Ska Revival = Late 70's - Early 80's = Two-tone - Selecter, Specials, Madness, The Beat etc Ska 3 = Post 80's = Ska + Punk, other variations thereof.[/font] Me, I like Ska, but prefer my punk w/o brass, thank you, Vicar. Rude Bwah! - as we used to cry, while sk*nking madly.[/quote] as i believe in democracy i'll take your 'Ska 3'. yes 'punk' with brass is in general awful. apart form bosstones. Brass belongs in rock n roll, i'm talking RFTC! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 [quote name='William James Easton' post='673089' date='Dec 3 2009, 12:53 PM']as i believe in democracy i'll take your 'Ska 3'. yes 'punk' with brass is in general awful. apart form bosstones. Brass belongs in rock n roll, i'm talking RFTC![/quote] Ska 1 without Rico? Unimaginable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 [quote name='OldGit' post='673056' date='Dec 3 2009, 12:27 PM']Early "first generation" Ska had 4 on the floor basslines on uprights a lot of the time and evolved from Calypso, Blues, R&B and just about everything else The 2/4 chop guitar/keys made the big difference and may have named the genre. How about some suggestions for good CD's to start with for these guys?[/quote] The originals? There are a bunch of Trojan Records collections available with the singles on them, all the stuff that was rocking the UK in the '60s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 [quote name='thisnameistaken' post='673111' date='Dec 3 2009, 01:07 PM']The originals? There are a bunch of Trojan Records collections available with the singles on them, all the stuff that was rocking the UK in the '60s.[/quote] Ta but I have (probably) all of those ... I was talking about these new fangled Ska 3 blokes the OP, etc, have been talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeBrownBass Posted December 3, 2009 Share Posted December 3, 2009 [quote name='Randy_Marsh' post='672780' date='Dec 3 2009, 05:35 AM']roger manganelli is probably my second favourite bassist (after Alex Katunich) and matt wong etc. Waynepunkdude will definitely agree with these bassists too! Losing Streak by LTJ opened my eyes to just how good he was, there's not a track on that album that i dont love and the bass is just...wow![/quote] +1 That album really made me sit down and listen. I've seen ltj 7 times in 3 years and love it. If you want to know what it looks like to sing and play busy lines effortlessly, you have to watch Roger! I've got a t shirt signed by all the band on my wall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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