wombatboter

I noticed that times changed a lot...when I started playing bass many years ago it became a habit that after the gig musicians would check the gear and ask me questions. Nowadays (since more than ten years) I hardly get any questions anymore, it has become very rare. In the eighties it was a more bass-orientated time with special basses like Wal, Jaydee and gear like Trace Elliot. It has become more dull around here and no one is interested anymore, you see the same Fenders and Ampegs everywhere and young bass players seem to be less curious (I would love to know what Epifani is, where it comes from, etc but not too many players have the same attitude) I still check gear and remember it for years ...

Fischer Z songs (So Long, Room Service, Pretty Paracetamol) First time I really noticed bass : Mrs Vanderbilt-Paul McCartney

Well, I saw the same PSP youtube things before I went to their concert and I expected some musician's trip, dull and boring. It totally wasn't like that, it was one big groove and every musician just brought the best out of their instruments. I have never seen Pino play like that before (not with Paul Young, not with Mayer, not with the Who, etc), he got a lot of freedom and he filled it up with incredible pocket-bass work and his fretless was stunning. Don't focus on the youtube stuff, live it was something completely different. But I dont need to be convinced anymore... :-) I visited this concert (check from 1'50") [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmHh7QsFT48"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmHh7QsFT48[/url] from 4'00 [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHK0iXvc8ZA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHK0iXvc8ZA[/url]

This week someone send me an excellent download of a PSP concert with Palladino.. I've been studying Pino's style for more than twenty years now and he still amazes me. While listening to the PSP tracks (with several bass-solo's on his fretless) I thought to myself that he's just getting better. It rarely happens but I had to turn it off because I got really depressed. It wasn't so much the technique but just the choice of notes and the lyrical aspect. The nice vibrato, just stay a little longer on the same note, add a nice chord and overall he plays so adventurous while keeping the groove. He is one of the best bass players ever, sometimes hard to accept for scratching chickens like myself but he is truly blessed.

[quote name='Spook' post='739205' date='Feb 8 2010, 07:05 PM']if they'd played like that in my local pub they'd have been thrown out![/quote] I would gladly be in that pub if they would perform like that...:-)

[quote name='Huwberry' post='738810' date='Feb 8 2010, 12:30 PM']Seems like Pino and Zak can do really good impressions of John and Keith, respectively. Unfortunately, all Roger and Pete can manage is an impression of two tired, drunk old men. [/quote] I don't see them as tired or drunk...where do you get that ? The same attitude in the comments as with McCartney for instance : just some undefined criticism and vague references to age as the only solid reason. These "old" people certainly made my life more pleasant and still do. Luckily they won't care less of what people think...

Because of the negative comments I checked some youtube-stuff... Uhmmm... this sounds great to me and not at all "old". They can carry on for a long time if they keep this level up. Weird lot, them British bass-players. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6Io05fTLSg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6Io05fTLSg[/url]

[quote name='jake_tenfloors' post='737615' date='Feb 6 2010, 10:01 PM']A quick video of my playing smooth Was testing out my newly acquired mbox & microbass. There's acouple of fluffs when i'm changing pages but you get the idea [/quote] Excellent tone and timing... this sounds "easy" but it's not. Every note counts and you can't hide behind noisy drums etc.. Great feel, you don't rush and that's not that obvious.

Visited his bass-clinic in Belgium (he played with Michael Jackson in Ostend) and he combined the gig with a clinic in a local musicshop (got 1250 euros for it :-)). Great bass-line and a superb sound but after more than ten minutes of this same riff the crowd got a little bored (he used a Ken Smith 5) and the rest of the clinic was an uninspired bass-shuffle thing. Was easy money for him but didn't leave a big impression on me Explaining why he was called "Ready Freddy" and some bass-noodling... not really constructive.

Liked it ! Nice bass too...

"The Name of the game" and "One of us" are also great bass-tunes !

I know Georges and he has special basses every now and then...(including a Phil Lynott's Musicman). He knows his prices but he is an okay person to deal with..