Budgetneil Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 (edited) Wotcha, An open mic night has just started near me so I thought I'd use it as the kick up the proverbial to practice and learn some new songs. I've previously sung and played bass in bands but never at the same time so fancy doing it now which brings me on to my question... What suggestions do you have for songs that would work with only bass + vocals? As a starter, here's a few thoughts: Fever - Elvis Moon Over Bourbon Street - Sting Big Bottom - Spinal Tap... (no genre barriers here!) Lemme know your thoughts :-) Neil Edited April 26, 2012 by Budgetneil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted April 26, 2012 Share Posted April 26, 2012 [quote name='Budgetneil' timestamp='1335483597' post='1632174'] Lemme know your thoughts :-) [/quote] I think you'd be far better off hooking up with a guitarist or two (or three!). On the few occasions I've seen solo bass acts at Plug & Play nights they've really not gone down very well with the audience... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kendall Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 Where Did You Sleep Last Night - Leadbelly/Mark Lanegan/Nirvana? I'm also thinking about doing something similar at an open mic night in my local. But was heading down the route of bass soloing (as I have a truely awful singing voice)....need to give it more thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 [quote name='icastle' timestamp='1335484156' post='1632184'] I think you'd be far better off hooking up with a guitarist or two (or three!). On the few occasions I've seen solo bass acts at Plug & Play nights they've really not gone down very well with the audience... [/quote] +1 for this. Not only are bass+vox routines pretty boring for any audience, but if you do this then most of the audience will see that as 15 minutes of stage time being hogged by a single individual when there could have been a scratch band (i.e. some lead guitar widdlers) up there. As if that ain't enough, if you're going to sing and play bass at the same time then it is BLOODY helpful to have other musicians up there with you to keep things moving along when you screw up. I sing up to half a dozen songs with my band at a typical gig, and I wouldn't be without that support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 +1 to guitar/vox duos. I've done hundreds of them over the years (mostly - though not entirely - acoustic), and really enjoy it as a format. Bass/vox is much more difficult for all sorts of reasons, and needs to be spectacularly good to engage even modest audience interest. To be fair most people attending OMN's will be expecting the occasional oddball act, but even so... +1 to guitar/bass/vox - I can think of a few U2 songs off the top of my head that should work in that format. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 I think it'd work if you're playing chords and high up the neck etc. I've arranged some songs for this where I can play the bass line as well as some accompaniment, and then sing on top (not that i'm good). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 [quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1335512716' post='1632296'] I think it'd work if you're playing chords and high up the neck etc. I've arranged some songs for this where I can play the bass line as well as some accompaniment, and then sing on top (not that i'm good). [/quote] That'll work just fine if you're one of the bass 'demigods' with a loyal troupe of followers hanging on your every note and buying basses with their demigods name written on the headstock, but it'll really cut no ice in a bog standard plug and play setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 [quote name='icastle' timestamp='1335514450' post='1632329'] That'll work just fine if you're one of the bass 'demigods' with a loyal troupe of followers hanging on your every note and buying basses with their demigods name written on the headstock, but it'll really cut no ice in a bog standard plug and play setting. [/quote] I disagree. I play a 6 string and the high C enables me to play a chord accompaniment which is comparable to guitar, as well as play bass lines on the lower strings. I don't see the difference between this and a guitar/bass duo where the guitarist sings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crez5150 Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 I used to do Superstitious with a loop pedal and that worked really well.... the audience always enjoyed it and joined in. It's good if you have the personality that you can get the audience to participate from the outset too.... depends on the gig I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 PEAbyFLEA!!! [media]http://youtu.be/C3O0GcPZDys[/media] NSFW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 [quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1335517607' post='1632382'] PEAbyFLEA!!! [/quote] Beat me to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 Bit of blues always goes down well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mavu1RvKJAM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 Didnt Michelle Shocked used to do this ? Perhaps one of her songs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dark Lord Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 What about Tea in the Sahara by The Police http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDJGPjaIMj8&feature=related Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 (edited) "Sixteen Tons" - because A: the bass line is easy, and easy to play while singing (I can do it, so it must be) B: the bass line is the overriding theme/feel to the song, even in the Ernie Ford version. "Sitting on Top of the world" in a Howlin Wolf style also works, because A: the bass line is easy, and easy to play while singing (I can do it, so it must be) B: The song feel works with sparse instrumentation. Edited April 27, 2012 by Count Bassy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 Alright Now - Free Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoker Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 how about Joy Divisions 'Dead Souls'? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leschirons Posted April 27, 2012 Share Posted April 27, 2012 Whatever you do is going to need to be a little eye catching and different or you run the risk of it not being a crowd pleaser. An example of something that worked for a mate of mine (as a party piece)was a fairly brisk slap version of Stand by me. Works really well with just bass & vox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 [quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1335514968' post='1632338'] I disagree. I play a 6 string and the high C enables me to play a chord accompaniment which is comparable to guitar, as well as play bass lines on the lower strings. I don't see the difference between this and a guitar/bass duo where the guitarist sings. [/quote] I've yet to hear a solo 6 string bass player make their instrument sound anything other than a bass guitar trying to do an impression of a 6 string guitar. FWIW the last time I saw a bassist trying to do that, the audience thinned out noticeably. Yes, he was good at what he was doing, but god it was dull to listen to and the audience voted with their feet. There's a big difference between playing what 'we' like and playing what an audience likes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirky Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 (edited) [size=5][sub]You really want sparse songs. How about "Ain't No Sunshine". Suzanne Vega does "Left of Centre" with just bass.[/sub][/size] [sub][sub][media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6Fqk2neBNM[/media][/sub][/sub] Edited April 28, 2012 by Kirky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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