JellyKnees

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1371130189' post='2110186'] Advantages: see above Disadvantages: You will burn in hell for eternity. What? \©/ [/quote] There is a special corner of hell reserved for 'tribute' acts with Matthew Kelly as compere and a million Simon Cowell clones as the audience.

I hate these things, but anyway...choosen for a combination of distinctive style and/or significant contribution to some of my favourite albums rather than any kind of virtuosity JJ Burnel Jah Wobble Bootsy Collins Larry Graham Robbie Shakespeare Tina Weymouth John Paul Jones Wilbur Bascomb Nornam Watt-Roy Tony levin

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1370945278' post='2107692'] This. You could replace The Beatles with the Bay City Rollers, Justin Bieber or whoever - the reason they are screaming is that teenagers are, in the main, stupid easily led pack animals. [/quote] Sadly, this kind of herd behaviour is not limited to teenagers. I work in Liverpool city centre and frequently see the hordes of Beatles tourists who come to gawp at the cavern that isn't really the Cavern, to look at the toilet where John Lennon once took a dump (probably) etc etc. It is tiresome beyond belief.

The most over-rated over-hyped band ever, even more than the feckin Beatles - am I sick of the Guardian website banging on about whatever their latest wheeze is to milk their extremely megre musical 'legacy'.

It was a kick up the arse for a turgid rock music scene - all those dire metal, prog and aor 70s bands that were still around peddling all that tired overblown rubbish. It was an exercise in back to basics simplicity. A lot of it was crap but it served a necessary purpose. Most of the music I enjoyed as a teenager in the late 70s/early 80s wasn't actually punk, but it probably wouldn't have happened without it.

I bought an SR1205 6 months ago and I think it's a fantastic bass for the money (apart from the gold hardware - black would have looked better imho). Nice fat tone, cuts through well in the mix, light, well balanced, very playable neck. I'm not a shredder either, more a funky kind of player and it really cuts the mustard for the kind of stuff I play.

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1370435846' post='2100764'] I do the washing up and cooking with headphones on, I was singing along with a bunch of Zappa numbers last night, there are plenty you can sing along with, albeit you have to have a decent memory for lyrics, they're not exactly 'Love love me do, you know I love you, so pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease love me do. [/quote] Thank christ for that... Dangerous Kitchen is pretty good when cooking. [quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1370437412' post='2100807'] Okay stick with me. You never listened much to the Beatles. Fine. But you were still influenced by them! How? Because their impact was so vast. [/quote] Only if the bands that you listen to were themselves influenced by the Beatles. Or did they perhaps influence every musician in the world by some form of mystical osmosis???

Handset Bongo's [url="http://www.handsetbongo.com"]http://www.handsetbongo.com[/url] return to the fray after a very long break... [url="http://www.festivaloffirsts.com/"]http://www.festivaloffirsts.com/[/url] We are on at 5pm on Saturday 13 July at Jack Rabbit Slims, although the festival is on from the 6th to the 14th.... Why not combine it with a nice day trip to the beach? [url="http://www.visitwirral.com/coast-and-countryside/coast/wirral-beaches"]http://www.visitwirr.../wirral-beaches[/url] You know you want to...

[quote name='kjm' timestamp='1369148124' post='2085446'] So we really should care less when someone or something is gone that provided us with great music or whatever, because we did not know them personally I,m sorry sounds a little shallow to me [/quote] Not really...it's preferable to all the undignified mawkish faux sentimentality that 'we' have collectively indulged in ever since the death of lady dido.

I find the best general strategy for writing and recording ideas is not to spend too long on any one particular thing. I like to have lots of ideas on the go at once, that way I can work on one for say an hour, and then move on to something else - that way I don't loose perspective and get too bogged down in specifics. I also think keeping the instrumentation/effects etc down to the bare minimum while developing a song is a good idea. Once I'm happy with the overall structure I'll start to think about further embelishments, but when I'm putting something together i like to keep it all fairly simple. As above, I also find that if i'm having to try really hard to make something work, then some or even all of it is no good and should be parked or even binned. Finishing things can be hard - it's finding that perfect balance between the spark of the original idea and the stuff that you add to it to make it 'shiny'. Knowing when to stop adding more is a skill that take a long time to learn...

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1368573779' post='2078842'] Just 'BASS' in massive letters across the front in a really bold font. Could do it in a million different colours. Yellow on blue, red on White, blue on green etc. I'd buy that! Truckstop [/quote] I actually have one of those, got it online somewhere years ago - it's white on black, but I'm sure they did a whole load of other colours. People are never sure whether it's a musical or a fishing reference though...

I've always liked open strings and use them a lot - I don't buy into this attitude that it's somehow 'wrong' to use them. I actually do what I have heard a lot of people on here say Jamerson did, i.e. use them as passing notes, often when the open string isn't even in the key that I'm playing. This is purely an accidental thing though - I'm self taught and I've never studied Jamerson's playing, it's just something that I kind of fell into doing...it just feels natural to me. Technically wrong? Well, who's to say...if it works, go for it I say. From your last post, it sound like a bit of a co-ordination problem between your 2 hands. As other have suggested, the answer is practice - try and incorporate as many open strings as you can into what you play, once you can do it fluently, you always have the option of not doing it...

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1366662293' post='2055756'] Sounds like standard pentatonic licks. Probably several licks stuck together and pro tooled. [/quote] Pro Tools? In 1988? I don't think so... Prince is a very talented guy IMHO. I'm sure he played the bassline without too much studio trickery...it's great groove.

jesus...imagine what her sex face is like

Yup, me too...I'm effectively the 'band leader' for want of a better term. Organise and run the rehearsals, get the gigs, do the website, write about 50% of the music etc etc... most of it I really enjoy, apart from organising gigs - I wish the others would help me out with that side a bit more.

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1365682514' post='2042775'] Are you suggesting that there is no difference in the brain-skills and inherent talent needed to excel in either the funk or rock genres ? [/quote] Yes. They are just different forms of modern music which basically share the same roots. I'm not experienced in the classical musical world, but I would imagine that a good classical musician would be capable of playing pretty much anything by any composer from any period and make a good job of it. Why should 'we' be any different?

[quote name='bremen' timestamp='1365678399' post='2042678'] Great post, reminded me of my favourite ever genre-ignorer, Mr Zappa: [url="http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kcjbc22MKQI#"]http://m.youtube.com...?v=kcjbc22MKQI#[/url] [/quote] Unsurprisingly perhaps, I'm a huge fan of Uncle Frank...

[quote name='SpaceChick' timestamp='1365665255' post='2042439'] Having read the whole thread.... What this is all pointing to is Musicianship.... You can talk genres, funk, groove, rock.... But ultimately isn't it all about whether the bassist has the right level of musicianship to serve the song and serve it well. Personally I don't buy into this you can only do one thing or another.... That just means you've "pigeon-holed" yourself as a player or are too scared to step out of your comfort zone. Whilst I am in a soft rock covers band and a heavy rock covers band.... I like to play all music genres to develop me as a holistic bassist. [/quote] Good comment. I know the music industry likes to compartmentalise bands, but there is a whole world of fascinating, interesting and exciting music out there of almost infinite variety to draw on, so why do some so many bands and musicians seem to limit themselves to playing and writing within a particular genre? If you listen to a wide range of music (which I'm assuming most of you do), then surely that would get automatically absorbed into your musical style? The notion that a musician can only play well (with 'authenticity' - whatever that means) in one particular style is absurd. Can you only play rock 'properly' if you have tatts and percings? Do you need to wear a zoot suit to play jazz? Or a pork pie hat to play ska? Why can't you play a tune with a heavy rock flavour followed by one with a reggae beat followed by a mongolian folk song? Ok, maybe not the mongolian folk song, but provided you have a group of musicians with decent chops and you have the necessary instruments at your disposal, then surely any style is up for grabs? One of the positive things about music for me today is that we have moved away from the almost tribal musical affiliations of years gone by - mods v rockers, punks v teddyboys etc. - ok, maybe the down side is that people are less passionate about music than they once were, but the upside is more familiarity with and acceptance of different types of music. I guess ultimately it's down to perception. If you have very fixed ideas about what makes something 'rock', and are upset by any deviation from that template, then that's up to you, but for me that completely misses the point of what makes brilliant music.

Badges? We don't need no stinking badges... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqomZQMZQCQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqomZQMZQCQ[/url]

[quote name='wombatboter' timestamp='1363944313' post='2019784'] Sorry but it would drive me crazy to hang around with these drug-orientated musicians however good the music might be... Two days in this environment and I would pack my bass and leave ...I'd rather work and play with other people who don't seem to be somewhere else in the galaxy. [/quote] What, like the Beatles?

I formed my current originals band at the age of 40, I'm now 46 and still doing it. I do it beacuse I enjoy the creative process, whether it's writing the music (which I do for about 50% of our stuff), or coming up with basslines for songs that our singer/pianist has written. Much as I love playing bass and playing live, the creative process is what does it for me, it's what really gives me that buzz. I did covers for a brief period when I was at Uni, purely to earn a few extra quid, but my heart was never in it, and I don't think it's something I'll ever do again to be honest. Life's too short - I'd rather be writing and recording my own stuff, even if it's only for my own pleasure.

I had a break of about 12 years from playing in bands, but continued to write and record stuff thoughout that period. For me, I learned as much (if not more) from the experience as I did from the preceeding 15 years of playing in bands. I very rarely play my bass on its own at home these days, I usually have some kind of computer generated drum groove happening - I find I get a lot more out of it that way, plus it's great for your timing. Playing bass as a solo intrumentalist doesn't do it for me I'm afraid.

[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1363357643' post='2011764'] 10 pints of lager in one sitting? [/quote] Aww you beat me to it

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1363190746' post='2009485'] Possibly not, that's a hell of an allergy to have, and all chavs are prone to allergies and syndromes. [/quote] Less an allergy, more a desire not to chunder copiously over my fellow travellers. Although I do suffer with hayfever...damn, maybe I'm a contender after all.

I have to move to a different carriage on the train if someone gets on with a meal from burger king/mcdonalds...guess that counts me out then?