by bosco » Mon Jan 17, 2005 2:47 pm
>For most traditional blues bands, doing that is an absolute no-no, and what your doing with slide bass really is playing lead bass...<
There is a local blues/rock band in my area that is actually quite good, with an entertaining singer and kid-phenom guitar player...BUT; their bass player drives me nuts! Every time the band hits a stop, he does this rock guitar move where he frets around 12, poses, plucks the strings and slides his hand down the entire length of the neck resulting in a loud "Bahh-wooom." It sounds and looks ridiculous and to say he overuses this move is an understatement. He's an otherwise capable bass player but sometimes I just want to slap the guy and say "Stop that stupid sh*t!"
In working with my band, I tell them that if just one man plays an extra note, it defeats the whole purpose of the stop, which is timing and punctuation. I always use the other band's bass player as a prime example and they understand while usually getting a good chuckle out of it.
I agree with the other posters that it's ok to free form in jazz or fusion, but other than the occasional solo, bass tricks have no place in traditional blues.
Bosco
"In the school of the blues, there is no graduation day.