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Years ago, I was doing this regular Sunday lunchtime residency thing at a pub in Hackney. Let me cover the specifics; we're set up in the corner of the pub (The Cat and Mutton), three piece band, I'm sitting on a barstool, playing root notes doing covers (shudder), a 90 minute set in exchange for money, beer and a free lunch. One Sunday, there was some jostling at the bar over chicken wings and a fight breaks out. Now when I say fight, I mean a fight. It seemed the pub was full of two factions, both of whom were just itching to get it on and I'd say the place literally erupted and 90% of the clientele were punching the crap out of each other. Furniture is flying, people are on the floor hitting each other, glasses flying. It was like a brawl out of a cowboy film. Anyhow, let's get back on point. We're still playing. I'm laughing at the incredulity of what is going on, when I stand up and push my stool back closer to my amp to give the fight more room to breathe and from a selfish perspective, to offer protection for my gear. At this point, a bloke comes over to me and shouts, 'Excuse me mate, are you using that stool?' I just do this shrug and nod thing, he picks the stool up, runs into the melee and breaks it over someone. So there you are. The most ridiculous thing I've been asked is whether I was still using a stool.

Best one I heard about was Nick Fyffe when he auditioned for bass role in Jamiroquai. He had also auditioned for the same position in a Jamiroquai tribute band. On the day he got the job with Jamiroquai, he drove home from Jay Kay's place. When he got back there was a voice message on his home phone from the Jamiroquai tribute band, saying that they'd passed on him as they didn't think he was the right man for the job!!

Oi! I'll not sit silent while there is any hint of Tina bashing here. She's fine by me. I was interested to hear a bit more about her and less about David Byrne or Chris Frantz. What happened to Tina was a bit like what happened to me in Dublin at the time. I was pulled into a band before I knew it was something I'd enjoy by friends who needed a bassist. Behave yourself or I'll have her go all Mrs T on you.

That's subtle but very telling criticism.

Indeed not, because you and your ensemble have collectively, consciously and deliberately re-arranged the songs as opposed to the situation where nobody knows how the song goes and everybody tries to follow a guitarist who can't remember the chords. I mean, sweet Jeebus, this 'what comes next?' thing even happened to me in a bass / acoustic guitar / voice trio. In a band where there were only two instrumentalists (him and me) the guitard played each song differently every time which seriously screwed the singer because she was reading the lyrics off her phone. That one ended when I screamed at the guitard: 'Will you please make your f**king mind up what chords you're going to play and in which order?' and he replied 'I can play it alright on my mandolin'.

Drunk audiences can tolerate almost anything, it's true. But I don't agree about the "covers should be different". They CAN be different, and that's great when done well. However most people I hear saying "the cover should be different" or "we play our own version" really what they're doing is saying those words to justify their being lazy. I'm not saying that's what your attitude is, since I don't know you just stating my experiences

We all appreciate that (most) audiences can be indifferent to musical nuances within songs. It’s already been stated that a basic chord progression and vocal that resembles what they know will moe often than not suffice for having ‘a good time’. For me though it comes down to personal pride in what I do. I will try to learn from the originals as accurately as my abilities will allow and this always seems to be appreciated by my band mates. Hopefully that attitude has impacted their own attitude to learning new stuff over the years too. Although most of our recent issues have been down to the vocalists conveniently forgetting that they were supposed to learn the song... Whether the punters ever notice, most likely not. But if it’s worth doing then it’s worth doing well. Otherwise you might as well not bother in my opinion.

I just though it was great for the general public to have a little insight into what we do and it's importance in the music we play, rather than just thinking it's an easier version of a guitar. All this grumbling about not focusing on certain basses, I can't remember the drum programme focusing on any specific model of drum and yet the consensus seems to be that most enjoyed it more. Oddly, or maybe not, our drummer said last night that he enjoyed the bass one more than drum one. Maybe we're so into bass that a one hour programme will never include everything we feel important, but I reckon there was enough in it for non bassist to enjoy without feeling like they're watching a nerdy documentary for sad muso's. Anything that gets ordinary folks a little more interested in my passion is a good thing and if I need a far more in depth and drawn out history of bass, whether guitar, voice, brass, synth or whatever then there's plenty more for me on other Internet platforms.

On a cruise that's probably good advice.

I'm currently learning a bunch of songs for an upcoming audition and have (so far) been impressed by the attention to detail. MP3 recordings of the band playing their arrangements, a breakdown of the structure they follow and, in a few cases, the previous bass player's own handwritten tab. Very professional and making me feel very concerned that I'll be way out of my league! As far as the original post is concerned, unless it's a tribute band, I don't mind too much if the band changes the arrangement - even the original artists will often change the way they play things - but there is a "minimum standard" that should be achieved if you're going to play it in public and hope that people will pay you to do so. Rather, my biggest bugbear is learning a particular version of a song to be told "oh, we play such-a-bodies version" or "we do the version from their live album with the extended bridge section".

There was a pub we used to play regularly and there was a fight of some description just about every time we played. We used to launch into Eye of the Tiger whenever we saw one start.

Whilst this is undoubtedly true of some (many..?) there are those that are passionate about Music, of whatever genre, and are willing, even eager, to at least give an honest chance to unknown stuff. Many of these folks are musicians, and will willingly play in a variety of styles. Not all, it's true but it's not at all rare, either. Just my tuppence-worth.

In the days when I still auditioned for covers bands I'd ask for the set list, the keys, which versions of songs (if applicable). I'd get the details, learn the songs, turn up and encounter exactly what the OP describes. So I started asking people in advance whether they did the songs as per the original arrangements or not. If 'as original', I'd learn the songs. If not, I'd tip up and busk the audition. The only problem was they'd all tell me they played the original versions when - in fact - they didn't. Because these people literally could not perceive any difference between the original and the half-arrsed racket they played. It wasn't that they'd deliberately rearranged the songs - they'd just never bothered to sit and listen to the songs from beginning to end, or to make notes and agree a structure and stick to it. This - along with the usual vortex of lies, madness and egotism - is why I f**king hate amateur bands.

Valves are voltage amplifiers, unlike transistors, that are current amplifiers. What this means in practice, that when you take a small signal of a bass and amplify it a lot with transistors, you end up with a low voltage and a hell of a lot of current, which is luckily what you need to put in a speaker. With valves on the other hand, you end up with not much current and a very high voltage, which is not what you can put in a speaker, so you need an output transformer to take it down to the sort of voltage and current you can put in a speaker, which obviously has to handle the full current of the output you want (and get rid of the heat). As you need a transformer to get the power for the amplifier in the first place it means you need two large transformers in a valve amp, which by their very nature are pretty heavy. And then you obviously are going to need a big bit of metal to mount them on.

I can sing. I can play. Although much improvement is needed on both, I feel I am getting closer and closer to doing both together one day. I'd love to carry it off well though. One of the things that is pushing me towards that goal is that I can't get to jam these days. It strikes me that I should use the time I have on my hands at home to get ready to solo at an OM when I can get out and about again. Gawd help the lot of you!

https://funkatopia.com/funk-music-reviews/20-best-funk-albums-of-2018/ I'm looking forward to working through these.

TBPH, I stuck with it for a few rehearsals because the singer had a great voice and I was (in an act of characteristic treachery) lining someone up to replace the guitarist. Then I discovered the singer didn't want to gig so there was no longer any point in concealing my displeasure.

I know what you mean mate, but it's not always being lazy when you change a song. You can change a song to make it more palatable to your target audience. Taking out a tedious passage or cutting short long outros etc, etc.

Bit late to the party, but this is my Lakland 4.94, hand built by Ed Reynolds in Chicago in 2004. It has a chambered body, birdseye maple neck and '65 Jazz pick up in the neck position. Love it. It plays itself!

Its nice to see that manners still exist in the middle of a fight though!

our guitarist plays 'his version' of some songs, I don't mind if it's the solo but he insisted on playing the repetitive question and answer bit on Whole Lotta Rosie four different ways, when I pointed out that this was such a well known part of the song people think he just can't play it right (which he can) he threw his toys out of the pram and refused to play it ever again, must be terrible to have such a low self esteem

Worst of all no mention of heft 😔

Played the Hard rock cafe in Glasgow last night. First time in there and the staff and the promoters, Shock city, looked after us very well. Free soft drinks, a meal, great sound guy and the place was full. Only drawback is it`s in the pedestrian part of the town and there is no back way in so we had to park the car and move the gear with hand barrows. And the parking is a nightmare. But you have to expect that in the middle of the city. Used my new Sandberg and was well impressed. This was our first gig for the promoters and they were so happy they payed us an extra £100!! And they will get us more and bigger gigs in the future.

I once learned 30 songs in a week in preparation for auditioning with a Jam tribute outfit whose bassist was leaving. On the Saturday night before audition week I went to see them play in a bar just to check them out. The band's arrangements were spot on to the originals, no problem there Unfortunately the 'Weller' could neither sing in tune nor play anything beyond the most basic chords nor enthuse the audience. The only thing he got right was Weller's driven charmless-ness.

Also, online tabs have a lot to answer for. Especially guitar tabs

Is that a modern version of the expression 'Get on your bike'..?

Ken Smith was the first to develop a 6-string bass suitable for playing ... Before, Carl Thompson tried it with little success. Then the others came ... Here is the story ...... ARTICLE-SMITH-BASS-by-José-Luis-Porras.pdf

Silly. I’m passionate about music, how it sounds doesn’t really matter, if I like the song, I like the song. Si

My singing and playing are about on parr. Absolutely shyte at both. Doing the two together? There's more chance of me coming up with a viable method of cold fusion.

Something i heard from mrs bag recently

We play our own version for two main reasons (there are often others...). Firstly, we may not (in fact probably don't have...) the instruments of the original. Example: our singer does a vocal impression of the trombone solo in Beds Are Burning. We once had a few mates on stage with us as a horn section, and it was glorious, but without them, it's 'Parp Parp' from the singer. Secondly, I play drums. I'm (modestly...) quite good, but not up to Soundgarden standards, so I simplify the fills when necessary. RATM I can handle, or Muse, but SOAD has some pretty technical stuff going on, for which there's not enough years left in me to learn. I do what I can with 'em (and it's not catastrophic, just simplified...). Sometimes we just do it differently because we like it better our way, of course. No, it's not laziness.

We play the version from the album, as that is what I am used to, although the crowd seem to expect the single and start singing the alright now after the solo. They used to complain that I didn't play in the verse as it sounded too quiet. But I don't anyway, sounds wrong to me. I sit there glaring at my 17th fret, daring it to try and get away from my finger later.

No probs with mocking up alternatives - be nice to see what changes would look like without any danger. Once it all kicks off, there's no going back, so looking at different shapes now, rather than when it's too late is no bad thing PM incoming

Right! You lot just sit around. I'll do it...

I have this awful vision of a modern-day Titanic movie... the band play on while the passengers are boarding the lifeboats, but they're playing a slightly wrong version of "sex on fire". 😓 ... no, actually they're probably playing it right - but it's still > 😓

What you want is Polymorph. Brilliant stuff! Here's a video if you don't know what I'm talking about.

That was the point of me posting the fact😉 Actually Colin is a nice guy and a more than capable bass player. Whenever I go to visit friends I catch a "Black Lace party" show and although it's as cheesy as a '70's fondue party the punters love it!

Do you have 'In Rock We Trust', perpetual holder of the Worst Rock Album Cover In History award?

Someone didn’t read the article!! 🤦🏻‍♂️

All of this can be found in the article, though.

Exactly this for me. I’ve been far too easily seduced by the latest, newest and best thing on the block but I always revert back to Trace. No more, that’s me done now for amps honest 😇

Brilliant explanation of the difference between valve and solid state amps. Thanks. I've got one of those Mossfed amps. I think they're organic.

Can't look like that and not be heavy...

Why Jaco? Why is he relevant from a public point of view? I know of his existence because of bass forums etc, but in general it has no relevance to me. Chris Squire, also for general public or mainstream bass, not that relevant (although you could says that about Tina Weymouth too), John Entwistle had his picture up a few times. As for the other criticisms, Bootsy specifically mentioned getting a Fender Jazz, the P was mentioned a few times. I think it did what it was advertised as, a history of bass, not the bass guitar. As the BBC announcer beforehand said "Now with bass heros such as Bootsy Collins and Nile Rodgers", I am not sure what you could expect!

Just worked out the 'CBA' being used in some the posts in this thread is not a chord sequence...

By popular music standards... covering Motown, Beatles, Disco hits is covering the bases (not basses) enjoyed by many, many millions over the last 50 years. John Myung is practically invisible on these terms - no matter how good he may be. This was all about pop music...

Elixirs. Not the cheapest but they last ages so save you a fortune in the long run.