I see a funny ol' phenomena on social media of bands saying that bassists are a rare breed and we're hard to find. Now... it may be because I'm a bassist myself but the one member of the band I never seem to struggle to find is a bassist. To the point where I usually end up on keyboard myself even on the times I fancy taking on the bass role.
Now, without naming any names. A particular band I've been following for a while has been really struggling to find a bassist, I always kinda wondered why as they generally get good shows and the material isn't overly complex. Now, I've just witnessed a particularly interesting rant on social media as another bassist seems to not have worked out for them. Stating that bassists are over-defensive, frustrated guitarists and that guitarists generally make better bassists than guitarists (also going as far as to say that if you're thinking of learning bass, you should learn from a guitarist).
I think... just maybe... that I've worked out why they struggle to get one!
However, I also wonder. Are bassists actually rare? I usually struggle to find drummers/vocalists by comparison!