Wake Up Bass Players

[JakeyVimto]

Well I've been playing around with the material I found and goddamn if I didnt already know 90% of the answer. Never would have got the rest of it if I havent of asked a fairly stupid question.

Stupid questions rock!

BD, simple is what I'm all about. Im the singer/bass player in my rock band, so I dont play anything too unmanagable. But Ive found any time I dont like the rhythm in a song we play, I'll take notes out of the bassline before ill ever add notes in. You are dead on with the balance thing.

Ray, good to have you in here. All that theory kinda stings your ears when its spoken by people who know too much of it eh? I got lots of folk musicians who are friends who are 'dot players', guys who know tons of theory. I know a little, but those guys make me dizzy with the stuff they come out with.

[RayTheRat]

I guess I got my comeuppance for all that theory stuff cuz I've run into a song that's not real easy to get a handle on...at least for me. Maybe I'm over complicating it. The song is Jockey Full of Bourbon, written by Tom Waits and the version I'm workin on is by John Hammond from the Wicked Grin album. I think it's in B minor, but what do I know?

My youngest son called me today from New York where he's been doing a gig with an opera company (he's a tenor)...can ya call a lead operatic tenor role a gig? Anyway, my brain was somewhere else and I didn't even ask him about it. Duh.

Anybody familiar with the song? Play it? If ya got some insight, I'd be real grateful.

[ricochet]

I'd call that a good gig!

[RayTheRat]

Ray, I didn't understand most of that theory stuff, you're way over my head. Skinny has a degree in music and english, he talks to me like that some times but it doesn't go anywhere.
On December 12th and 13th we are at The Ore House in Copperton. Copperton is directly west of Salt Lake City. It's the last building on the Old Bingham highway just before you enter Kennecott Copper Mine property. I don't think it's called Kennecott today. I always take 21 South and go west to 8400 West and then turn south and travel across 8400 quite a ways. There is a stop light at the Old Bingham Highway and a sign that says Copperton. I turn west on that road and it goes a couple of miles thru Copperton, down a hill and then you're there, can't miss it. It's an old saloon from the late 1800's and I think they charge $5.00 to get in. If you can make one of the dates please come. I'd appreciate your opinion of the band. We may have a harmonica player with us on Saturday, he sits in for a few songs now and again. New Years Eve we are in Layton, Utah. Do you live around here, the Utah area? I'd like to meet ya.

Hey BD. I didn't make it to your gig. I'd planned to get there tonite, but life got in the way. I'll shoot for the next one...although it won't be on NY eve. I leave the driving to the amateurs on that night. But I'll get there eventually. I haven't forgotten or ignored the invitation.

[bigdaddy]

I just got the call to play the Barbary Coast Saloon on January 2nd and 3rd. I have been trying to get in there for years. I dropped off press kits, talked with the owners to no avail. Then I go home yesterday and the owner left a message to call her. It's been about a year since I gave up on the place. She said she's been hearing good stuff about the band for awhile and she wants us to come in that weekend and show them what we got. I am excited. This is "THE" biker bar in Utah. I'm sure we'll rock the place, I just hope more shows come from it, shows there and other venues. We're playin' 3 shows in 4 days, ain't done that before.

[ricochet]

All right, Big Daddy!

[BobHolland]

4 gigs in a row. Now that's tuff if in 4 locations. I only have Friday & Saturday night this weekend. I remember back in the late 60's I would do 7 gigs in a row, but at the same place. 5 - 45 minute sets a night. These days, I wouldn't even think about it. I'm too old for that kind of stuff now.
Bob

[bigdaddy]

New Years, which is on Wednesday, at one bar, then Friday and Saturday night at another bar. I have done two days at two different bars and that packin' in and out every time gets old. Last weekend we packed out on Friday night becasue of snow warnings, we were not sure we could get back to the bar Saturday night. The weather man was wrong and we made it although the drive home was harrowing. Every night would be okay if playing is all I did. I work days.

[Kalle_in_Sweden]

I just found this forum. So I joined.
I'm a blues bassist and organist wannabe. I didn't pick up any instrument until the age of 57. I'm 61 now, going on 19...or thereabouts.
I only play for my own enjoyment. I have no desire to be a performer. But I love the blues and love the bass. \

Ah, Its not only me that started to play at later years.
58 years young I have been playing guitar for my own pleasure for some years now.
But sometimes I found myself stucked to a lead guitar playing style that was very locked to the beats.
More like bass playing .
So I got myself a 4 string electric Bass guitar and started to play.
And I love to play ("improvise") bass to standard 12 bar blues songs of different stiles.
/Kalle_in_Sweden

[bigdaddy]

Kalle, how's the blues scene in Sweden? How's music scene in general?

[Kalle_in_Sweden]

Hi bigdaddy
The music scene in Sweden is probably very similar to the music scene in USA or every else in the western world.
Very international with the same sort of music. All the wellknown bands and artist.
We have in Sweden a very popular (but not by youngsters) music type called "Dansbands musik" = Bands playing straigthforward dans music. Its normally a 4-5 piece band with female vocal singer that is playing songs (covers, standards) with a very straight 4/4 beat that is very easy to dans a simple foxtrot to. You find this type music in dans halls , restaurants with a dansfloor etc. Places where middle age and older people dans, and man and woman meets. For me its a very boring music, but it is easy to dans to. This year this type music has really come in from the cold as the national TV company had a contest on prime time for the "Best Swedish Dansband" .
But there is also some very good swedish blues musicians as:
Rolf Wikström; a raw blues singer (sings in Swedish) and guitarist http://www.roffewikstrom.nu/english/index_eng.html and http://www.myspace.com/roffewikstrom
Sven Zetterberg; Singer, Harmonica and guitar http://www.svenzetterberg.com/
And more info here http://www.swedishblues.com/ , http://home.swipnet.se/~w-13381/HEMSIDA3.HTML
The wife and I sometimes goes to a music pub "Stampen" http://www.stampen.se/html/bluesjam.html in stockholm old town and listen på blues at saturday afternoons.
/Kalle

[ricochet]

The "dance halls" here don't go by that name, but are country music clubs with names like "The Electric Cowboy." People line dance, mostly. There are a few clubs with rock & blues music with dancing, but there aren't a lot of patrons in them.

[Kalle_in_Sweden]

More about swedish "Dansband" in wikipedia :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dansband
/Kalle

[bigdaddy]

Dansband. That's cool. Like Ricochet said, them dance halls are vanishing in the U.S.. The dance clubs play that jungle rythym music for the young people. Boom, boom, boom, boom, geez it would drive me crazy to be around it for more than a minute or two. It's on a steady 1234 beat and you'd have to be an idiot to lose the beat. When we crank up Johnny B. Goode, or Mustang Sally or any of those old rock and roll tunes, young people take to the dance floor. Rock and roll will never die but rock music bores me to death. My band is starting to play more "rock" and I can't stand it. I was asked to learn Def Leopard "Pour Some Sugar On Me." I didn't care much for that style of music even when it was new. I like powerhouse blues and rock and roll. Times they are a changing.
I'd like to go see a dansband.

[mike932]

Hey Bigdaddy,
One good thing about learning some of those Glam band songs, the bass lines are easy.