risingson

[quote name='deathpanda' post='936632' date='Aug 26 2010, 12:08 AM']I'm a fan of almost anything (with a shred of integrity, of course), and grew up listening to more Sting than Jaco. I have nothing but respect for the dude, but I was just trying to put across the point that I think Jaco was just as good a song writer. not better or worse, that's impossible to define, but I just don't agree with notion that Jaco was merely an "instrument operator". that's the only thing I took issue with...[/quote] Good man, I must have missed the 'instrument operator' part, thats a bit daft! Both extraordinary musicians as far as I'm concerned.

A big +1 for all the Justice and Simian bass lines, those guys have great sensibilities when it comes to bass.

[quote name='deathpanda' post='936178' date='Aug 25 2010, 05:32 PM']hate to always defend Jaco, but I'd love to see Sting write a song like this not meaning to sound disrespectful to Sting, I actually quite like most of his stuff, but Jaco was as good a songwriter as any.[/quote] Sting and Jaco Pastorius are completely different players and writers, alike in no way I can think of in particular apart from some of their vague jazz sensibilities. Sting is a massively talented writer, by the same logic you could probably argue that Jaco could have never written 'Seven Days'. If you're a jazz fan then you should listen closer to Stings solo stuff... Vinnie Colaiuta, Darryl Jones, Kenny Kirkland, Omar Hakim, Branford Marsalis, Christian McBride... some of the best jazz musicians to ever live all under 3 or 4 albums.

[quote name='Bassassin' post='935844' date='Aug 25 2010, 12:24 PM']Subsequently reading through, I'm now wondering if my initial response would have quite as jaundiced and prejudicial if she'd been introduced as "Zak Starkey's daughter". I think Zak has a level of credibility as a musician that his father, correctly or otherwise, has never been accorded - probably largely due to that snotty remark of Lennon's.[/quote] Lennon slagged everyone off, regardless of whether he actually liked them professionally or not. Even though at one time or another he might have said that 'Ringo isn't even the best drummer in the Beatles', he also sung his praises from time to time. Undoubtedly contrary to popular speculation, Ringo Starr was a massively influential and very important drummer. I like Zak Starkey too although I can't say he's done anything that I've loved, whereas Ringo played on 'Day In the Life', 'She Said She Said', 'The End', 'Tomorrow Never Knows' and countless other tracks that without the drum parts, so many other tunes wouldn't even exist.

[quote name='synaesthesia' post='935810' date='Aug 25 2010, 11:44 AM']You take advantage of your associations...for sure.... Jakob Dylan didn't call himself Jakob Zimmermann,,,,,Charlie Sheen follwed his father's stage name, but Emilio Estevez kept his latino name. Some people have their parents talents but this is far from the rule..... the logic that familial relations leads to similar level of talent is pure bullcr*p. J S Bach fathered 20 kids.....we are clearly not celebrating their music. Melanie Slade is famous because of her association with a famous footballer, she was suddenly in the limelight on the back of someone else's achievements - it is not dis-similar to the WAG phenomenon.[/quote] Precisely, although poor J.S Bach's kids did have to compete with their father being the most important composer of all time! [quote]I think some of Dhani Harrison's music is the most interesting music being made by Beatles descendants, but not on topic for a bass forum. So, I won't inline this song.[/quote] Haven't heard this but will check it out. Heard some of Sean Lennon's music though and it's not bad.

[quote name='silddx' post='935797' date='Aug 25 2010, 11:36 AM']That's very interesting. He bounces on a trampoline in the Synchronicity Concert film, totally out of time with the music I might add. As for soloing bass tracks, it's a bit misleading. I recorded what I felt was a near perfect take to a song the other night, a song with a sequenced drum track, so metronome timing. I soloed it before emailing the bass track to the songwriter. It was all over the place timing wise, occasional ghost notes from strings ringing sympathetically, fret noise here and there. I was shocked at how dodgy it sounded and considered doining it again. But I played it mixed at about the right level with the song and it worked perfectly. The timing was just me laying back in the groove or pushing it in the parts that needed it. It wasn't a conscious decision as such, I played how the song made me feel. Weird though.[/quote] Soloing bass parts often reveals an uneven take, even if at the time it might have felt like a tight locking in with the drums, like you say it's all about where the bass part sits in relation to everything else. I think this is what so many people miss when they listen to bass guitar on record, it's the little mistakes that make music interesting, not perfection.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='935728' date='Aug 25 2010, 10:42 AM']She's also the bass player in her father Zak Starkey's band [url="http://www.myspace.com/heypenguins"]Penguins[/url]. That's very different music, and IMHO could do with a few more chops. Particularly the track "trouble", which I think would be better with a Bill MacCormick type on it. Some songs like "Jet Engine" maybe suit the "simple but effective" style, but more variety would, IMHO, help. She's still young, and there's opportunity to improve of course. I'm a Beatles fan, and as people can probably guess, probably wouldn't have found out about the bands without the connection. So there's a novelty in seeing a Beatles grandchild making music. Hopefully she'll develop into a very good musician like her father.[/quote] I'm a big Beatles fan as well although I must admit when it comes to the relatives and offspring of famous musicians I've rarely seen the same level of ability, apart from maybe Zak Starky. But fingers crossed, they might emerge soon, as far as I'm concerned they're making better music than what they're playing on Radio One right now!

This might be an interesting read for some, here Hugh Padgham who was the Police's engineer' for their last few albums talks about Sting's bass ability. [quote]"Recording the bass could be frustrating, Padgham says, when Sting wanted to play while jumping on a mini trampoline. “It sounds mad — and I have trouble recalling whether it was during Ghost in the Machine or Synchronicity, because we recorded them 18 months apart at the same place 20 years ago — but what was really annoying was, even at the best of times, with all due respect to Sting, who is a fantastic bass player, he's quite sloppy. If you solo his bass track, there's all sorts of fret noise and bits of dodgy playing. When he was bouncing on the trampoline, it made it even worse. But, of course, if you said, ‘Could you not bounce quite so much, please,’ he'd bounce even more. Nowadays, I'd know to say, ‘Could you bounce more please,’ and he'd probably get off it! With respect to his sound, whether he was bouncing on the trampoline or not, he always used his old Fender jazz bass, and it was never put through an amplifier. I only ever DI'd it, and in those days, it always had a bit of Boss chorus pedal on it, which made the bass sound a little thicker. Then we would overdub a Dutch upright electric double-bass that was nicknamed Brian. It was, ‘Let's put Brian on the track.’ He wouldn't emulate the whole part, just perhaps the first note of the bar.”"[/quote] Full article to be found here: [url="http://mixonline.com/recording/interviews/audio_polices_every_breath/"]http://mixonline.com/recording/interviews/...s_every_breath/[/url]

Absolutely love the guy, both the Police stuff and solo stuff also. My favourite Police tune:

[quote name='Joe Hubbard Bass' post='935515' date='Aug 24 2010, 11:23 PM']Some early influences that I had included the amazing Louis Johnson. This track from George Duke's Guardian of the Light is dope: Another player who influenced me to great degree was Byron Miller. I got to hang out with Byron for a week when I was going to Berklee when he was playing with George Duke at a small club called the Jazz Workshop. This was just before Reach For It came out: Pleasure was a hard grooving funk band with Nathaniel Phillips on bass. This track No Matter What just kills: Last but not least, I had to add Stanley Clarke playing a smokin' duet with Steve Gadd. Stanley was the guy who inspired me to become a professional musician: Hope you guys dig these tracks. Peace Joe[/quote] Nice selection of tracks Joe. I really love Braylon Lacy's live bass line on 'Back In the Day' with Erykah Badu. Listen to 1:53 onwards for some smokin' P-Bass flatwound grooves.

[quote name='hillbilly deluxe' post='935043' date='Aug 24 2010, 05:32 PM']Not bass related,but still really awful I learned (over 30 years ago) that you can not make a Fender Thinline Telecaster into a double cutaway,because they are hollow.My dad was well and truly annoyed at the fact,that i had ruined my birthday present,a late 60's single coil model.[/quote] Oh my god, that's just about one of the worst guitar mutilation stories I've ever heard! I've been drunk enough at weddings to dance with the bride during the last few songs with our lead singer, although the groom thought it was hilarious. Don't drink at gigs anymore (or at all in fact), but back when I did I used to always get in the crowd and dance with everyone, as well as some other fairly terrible behaviour...

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='934964' date='Aug 24 2010, 04:26 PM']OK. I usually prefer to ask questions without further background so as to not influence any responses I get. But this question seems a little obscure. Tatia Starkey is Ringo Starr's granddaughter, and the bassist of the band "Belakiss". I was curious to see what people thought. Personally when I've listened to their songs, there's nothing special in the bass parts or playing, but it just seems to fit the songs. The following song is sort of Coldplay-ish, and having a virtuoso playing incredibly complicated parts wouldn't be suitable, IMHO. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHPItCXtCUA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHPItCXtCUA[/url] Starkey, with her extensive erotic dancing background [url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1qCv1fwoHmM/SKM57D98TjI/AAAAAAAAJnQ/mKxww7X4ePk/s400/Belakiss1+copy.jpg"](please only click this if you are over 18)[/url], appears to also add a visual component to the band, and moves in an interesting way when playing. Overall, I'd say that she adds a fair amount to the band, but it's not really in terms of very fancy playing. Hence I was curious to see what very bass orientated people would think. Is there a role for the "functional" bass player, or do many of the people here who could probably play rings around her think that a more expert player should be in the band? Or, perhaps I've, as I've done before, missed something in her playing which is really good? Sorry about the mis-fire in starting this thread the way I did. Hopefully it will improve from here, or I'll have to stop posting and grit my teeth (again!) while it falls down the order into obscurity.[/quote] Disregarding her bass playing, which I think doesn't add much to the tune itself whatsoever apart from what is required, the tune is catchy but sounds pretty dated as a sound and basically nothing special, or at least nothing that hasn't been done a million times before. That to me is more important than the bass part IMO... no one listens for the bass part apart from bass players anyway! Haha

Touring is a good laugh, although you need to be prepared for hanging around a lot of the time which can be such a pain. I love seeing new places on the continent though, that's what's great about it... being places you're unlikely to have seen had you not embarked on a tour in the first place.

Yeh I really love his guitar playing. I think he can come across as very, very arrogant but I do believe he's quite naive about how to approach the press and consequently he's not reflected well. Also, if I started listening to music based on how nice a person was I think I'd get lumbered listening to Cliff Richard all the time. Blegh This is amazing:

[quote name='twowheeledwriter' post='929545' date='Aug 19 2010, 11:08 AM']Tonight our band is playing at the local naturist camp at Cap d'Agde on the south-east French coast. The venue is a bar at a naturist camp site. Cap d'Agde is well-known for it's naturist facilities and attracts people from all over Europe, especially Germans. I'm guessing that concentrating on playing the bass might be difficult when confronted with a naked/semi-naked audience. To answer the most obvious question, no, I will not be hiding naked behind my bass as I expect to be dressed, as will the rest of the band.[/quote] Just got back from this area, one of our friends almost accidently booked us on to that exact camp site! That would have been just awful. Weirdest gig was on the Mersey Ferry. It was awful, I was hung over and it was a particularly choppy night on the river. It was like getting re-pissed but without the alcohol, people were toppling over our monitors and it was all in all a horrendous night. [quote]Roof of Liverpool *mumbles* Cathedral. (Can never remember which is which-the big one, anyway)[/quote] It's the Anglican. That sounds like a great place to play, did you not enjoy it?

Sad, he was a seriously funky bass player!

It's incredibly sad to hear about the passing of such a highly respected member of a site I've come to enjoy as of late. Not had any contact with Si myself but judging on the testimonials of some of the posts here he sounds like a truly brilliant guy. My thoughts are with his family and friends.

[quote name='Doddy' post='928539' date='Aug 18 2010, 12:22 PM']I'm all for playing what fits the song,but playing essentially the same thing in every song makes me think that it's nothing to do with musicality. If a player like Will Lee or Nathan East was to play a simple root note line you know that it's because it is the best thing to play,whereas with someone like Adam Clayton I get the feeling that that is all he can do.[/quote] I can guarantee that Adam Clayton would be a more than capable bass player. People miss the point when they talk about players being limited by their technical ability, technical ability is completely irrelevant when you are one of the most successful recording and live artists of all time. In the grand scheme of things very few people that enjoy listening to popular music would be phased by a musicians perceived technical inefficiencies on their instrument. Like I've said before there are plenty of bands out there that sound brilliant because they are capable of making brilliant music out of what they've got. Who cares if Keith Moon can't play drums or if Lennon was a bad piano player? They're superb musicians.

What I think is sad is that I really love EB's, especially Stingrays, but it's just made me look at the company in a completely new light. Like you say there's no point in dragging it across forums, but stuff like that does get my goat!

[quote name='gafbass02' post='928254' date='Aug 18 2010, 12:35 AM']Last thing we need is a forum war, nothing good can come from it surely?[/quote] Probably right. It would be piss funny though.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='928231' date='Aug 18 2010, 12:09 AM']yeah for sure its natural to emulate your fav bassists...but i think its much more important to do your own thing...ive learnt loads of stuff and ideas from various bassists,songs etc....alot of stuff ive learnt also comes from listening to singers, horn players etc.. i have favorite bass players,but i dont want to sound like anyone but me...[/quote] But that's what I'm saying, I listened to Flea when I was 12 and wanted a bass guitar. Got the bass guitar, worked hard at trying to sound like Flea. Discovered a lot of other bass players, worked hard at listening to what they sounded like... 9 years down the line I've been fortunate enough to have brought myself up on listening to some great players that have changed the way I think about my instrument. Most people go that way if they have a voracious musical appetite like I have, and if they're stuck trying to sound like Mark King for the rest of their life that's their prerogative if it's going to make them happy.

Maybe someone should link this thread to the wall if anyone's got the bottle? Might make the forum fascists think twice about being such knobs in future. Or alternatively might just enrage them further... something I'd still like to see if I'm honest

I really loved the P-Bass I played, although I'm finding the prices of basses to be completely ridiculous right now (not just the Roadworn, everything seems painfully overpriced at the moment). I thought that the wear and tear on the bass looked quite synthetic up close, but none the less it was a terrific bass to play.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='928213' date='Aug 17 2010, 11:51 PM']No not at all..but it depends if they all wanted to sound like MK..at at the time that did happen..im old enough to remember...but no its a great thing..[/quote] Well I'm younger, and when I started out all I wanted to do was sound like Flea. Now all I want to sound like are people like Pino and Willie Weeks (I can keep dreaming I guess!). It's natural to emulate your heroes, but most musicians do that for a time before discovering other players that perhaps wouldn't otherwise be known to them before they took up the instrument.

Honestly, yes. I'm a Fender man through and through (although I love Sadowskys, Laklands, EB's, Alleva's etc), and there are a few brands that I turn my nose up at, particularly Ibanez's, although I'm completely sure that there are some excellent Ibanez basses out there that I'm missing out on. Conversely I really love really old, battered semi-hollows that often get accused of being one trick ponies. I can go both ways!