All thumbs

[quote name='CHRISDABASS' post='1176044' date='Mar 25 2011, 03:34 PM']bass 1 all the way for me when do we get to find out what they are??[/quote] Bass 1 for me too! Itching to reveal what they are hehe.

Hey thanks for the quick fire responses! Really helps :-)

PLEASE vote for either BASS 1 or BASS 2... BASS 1 Fingerstyle both pickups - [url="http://www.boogieexpress.co.uk/Bass%201%20fingerstyle%20both%20pickups.mp3"]http://www.boogieexpress.co.uk/Bass%201%20...h%20pickups.mp3[/url] BASS 2 Fingerstyle both pickups - [url="http://www.boogieexpress.co.uk/Bass%202%20fingerstyle%20both%20pickups.mp3"]http://www.boogieexpress.co.uk/Bass%202%20...h%20pickups.mp3[/url] BASS 1 Fingerstyle Brid...ge Pickup - [url="http://www.boogieexpress.co.uk/Bass%201%20fingerstyle%20bridge%20pickup.mp3"]http://www.boogieexpress.co.uk/Bass%201%20...ge%20pickup.mp3[/url] BASS 2 Fingerstyle Bridge Pickup - [url="http://www.boogieexpress.co.uk/Bass%202%20fingerstyle%20bridge%20pickup.mp3"]http://www.boogieexpress.co.uk/Bass%202%20...ge%20pickup.mp3[/url] BASS 1 Slap - [url="http://www.boogieexpress.co.uk/Bass%201%20Slap.mp3"]http://www.boogieexpress.co.uk/Bass%201%20Slap.mp3[/url] BASS 2 Slap - [url="http://www.boogieexpress.co.uk/Bass%202%20Slap.mp3"]http://www.boogieexpress.co.uk/Bass%202%20Slap.mp3[/url]

Haven't read ALL this thread, but enough to get the gist! When I was 15 I started playing bass and quickly realised that's what I wanted to do with my life. Had no interest in school and kind of always knew whatever I did would be kind of 'alternative'. Seemed to me that in order to dedicate my whole life to something, I'd need to have some kind of a financial return to keep the wolf from the door. Never really cared about fame or fortune, just being the best bassist in the world (we all have dreams) and having enough to live on. The three paths I could see ahead were 1. Get SOOOOOOO good that I'd be the UK session bassist of choice; 2. Join a 'name' b-list band from the 60's/70's and do the theatres/festivals etc. on wages; or 3. Play the clubs and pubs and scrape enough to live on. Never achieved No.1! No.2 I did a fair bit of and have been lucky enough to play with loads of pretty famous musicians. Being on the road for long periods playing that stuff wasn't for me though. Did LOADS of No.3 and made a fair living for a long time from it. The important thing throughout is that I was always doing creative, credible stuff ASWELL - be it blues/jazz gigs; studio work (again had the fortune to work with guys like Jerry Donahue, Clive Bunker from tull etc.); writing etc. This stuff is Food for the Soul to me. You see what I'm getting at - no's 1/2&3 above allowed me to do the cool stuff too. Crap though some of the Club gigs etc can be, to me it's always been far more enjoyable and closer to my dream of being a 'professional musician' than grinding away 9-5 every single week somewhere I hate with a boss from hell (I did actually try it for a few years!). On to the 'covers' thing. What the hell do bassists rant on about 'original' material for? I'm a bass player - not a song writer! I improvise a lot, and I interpret whichever song I play through my own personal style of playing - there lies my creativity. Every song I play is a 'cover' - whether it was written be John Lennon or the guitarist in my band! Doesn't make ANY difference to me as a bass player. Also anyone ready to slag of Elvis Presley; Frank Sinatra; The London Symphony orchestra for doing covers???!! On to the present day and I'm now concentrating my efforts into the 'function band' market. I have a function band called Boogie Express ( [url="http://www.boogieexpress.co.uk"]http://www.boogieexpress.co.uk[/url] )and we play out and out party music. Guess what - it's great fun, and whilst you know that the audience aren't really getting off on the playing, they are really having a great time! To open with your first song and see the dance floor [b]fill [/b]and not empty (sound familiar) is quite joyful. Still TONS of room for improvising too, and we have such a laugh slipping in cheeky runs, quotes & fills etc. The venues are lovely (unlike the horrible 'original' venues we've all played) and generally we get treated far, far better than in any other gig enviorenment. So have I sold out? I don't think so. This year I've been playing with a really interesting blues guy called Will Tang; I'm playing Colne Blues Festival internaional stage with Linda Gail Lewis (Jerry Lee's little sister); I've got my own slot on the British Stage as the Scott Whitley Blues Experience; and another set on the International stage with Nuno Mindellis from Brazil. I've recently recorded an album with the Animals etc., etc. Just trying to reiterate that the regular paid 'cheesy' gigs allow me to keep my hand in and do the Credible stuff! Hope some of that is an insight into why people play in function bands/covers bands, and that it's not really got anything to do with intergrity. In fact for me personally I would feel I had lost MY integrity if I had to get a 9-5. That's just me though, I play with lost of musicians who have regular jobs and they are true musicians!

Nice guy - great to deal with. Traded him my Fender Jag for his Warwick - happy! Cheers Sir! Scott.