dabootsy Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 In the band i am in the guitarist always tries to tell me how to play a basssline (i have only been playing for 25 years) which tends to do my head in as i do not tell him how to play things on his guitar. Is it because they follow the myth that a bass player is someone who wants to play a guitar but is not good enough which of course is a load of bo####s any views or am i being over sensitive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moody Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 [quote name='dabootsy' post='184350' date='Apr 24 2008, 10:35 AM']In the band i am in the guitarist always tries to tell me how to play a basssline (i have only been playing for 25 years) which tends to do my head in as i do not tell him how to play things on his guitar. Is it because they follow the myth that a bass player is someone who wants to play a guitar but is not good enough which of course is a load of bo####s any views or am i being over sensitive[/quote] I have a similar problem, although I think I'm quite over sensitive about it. And yes they do, defo hold the opinion what Bass Players are failed Guitarists Not sure if that was any help at all to be honest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassmonkey Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 What about the creative singer who without prior warning or agreement sings alternative melodys, phrasing and even words when I am trying to sing backing vocals? Not good, OR the noisy guitarist who makes a racket over the bass/vocals soundcheck? just put it down you noisy f@ck*r !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrenochrome Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 (edited) [quote name='dabootsy' post='184350' date='Apr 24 2008, 10:35 AM']In the band i am in the guitarist always tries to tell me how to play a basssline (i have only been playing for 25 years) which tends to do my head in as i do not tell him how to play things on his guitar. Is it because they follow the myth that a bass player is someone who wants to play a guitar but is not good enough which of course is a load of bo####s any views or am i being over sensitive[/quote] It's never happened to me in a band; generally I'd say that it's not aceptable but it does depend on circumstances. However, if we ever played a song that needed slapping and popping then I'd take tips from our guitarist because he's really good at that sort of playing. (edited for bad spelling) Edited April 24, 2008 by Adrenochrome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Horse Murphy Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 Our drummer thinks that every song needs to end with him playing his cymbals to fade. On too many occasions to count, our first song has ended with me whispering through gritted teeth "If you do that again I'm going to shove your sticks up your arse". On more than one occasion too it has resulted in the biggest laugh of the night. Fortunately our drummer is smaller than me and also a very tolerant guy (unlike me). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrenochrome Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 [quote name='Bassmonkey' post='184354' date='Apr 24 2008, 10:41 AM']What about the creative singer who without prior warning or agreement sings alternative melodys, phrasing and even words when I am trying to sing backing vocals? Not good, OR the noisy guitarist who makes a racket over the bass/vocals soundcheck? just put it down you noisy f@ck*r !!![/quote] I thought they were requirements for lead singers and lead guitarists..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreeneKing Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 I know on this and many other forums folk are always going/ranting on about 'what winds me up, makes me angry, pisses me off' etc. Nobody can make you angry. You have a choice. If you just react without thinking you're disempowering yourself. And that really pisses me off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 Add to list: guitarist tuning up for one minute several times in set while rest of us stand around looking like spare parts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOD2 Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 [quote name='dabootsy' post='184350' date='Apr 24 2008, 10:35 AM']Is it because they follow the myth that a bass player is someone who wants to play a guitar but is not good enough which of course is a load of bo####s[/quote] I was lucky in that I didn't have that problem in my last band because I used to play guitar and the guitarist knew I was better than he was (of course I was well out of practice on guitar after 5 years on bass but he didn't know that and I wasn't letting on !). Annoyances .... Drummers that hit their cymbals every time you start to speak.... Keyboard players who are always reprogramming their keyboards are rehearsals looking for that "elusive sound" when everyone else knows that the subtle differences they are making will get totally lost in the mix anyway... Guitarists that play the intro notes to every song to make sure they have it right just before the song starts (yes, even at gigs)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 [quote name='GreeneKing' post='184361' date='Apr 24 2008, 10:50 AM']I know on this and many other forums folk are always going/ranting on about 'what winds me up, makes me angry, pisses me off' etc. Nobody can make you angry. You have a choice. If you just react without thinking you're disempowering yourself. And that really pisses me off. [/quote] Good call, and I do usually react with good humour and almost no sarcasm when my drummer tells me what sort of rig I should be using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 Yep, drummer I play with in a covers band.....lovely bloke, funny guy, etc, etc..just always manages to avoid loading the van seems to be polishing his kit before he puts it away while we're humping gear out and then as he puts them in the flight cases......... we're all in "load mode" and his gear gets taken out....pesky drummers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 Our 'manager' aka the percussionist has been very harsh and defensive in his emails to me recently which has upset me. I just disagree with him about what normal, successful 4-5 piece function bands can get away with charging. He went off the deep end and took that as a criticism of what he's charging out the band at. It bears little relationship to what our band charges because we're bigger and I thought that was already clear. He also says he is trying to protect the singers against a threat he thinks I pose to the stability of the band when there the singers are probably quite capable of protecting themselves (especially with what we went through with the previous band). I'm not so sure, from what the singers say, that such a threat actually exists. Business wise he's doing a superb job, but our band is seems increasingly less like a partnership and more like a benevolent dictatorship where the percussionist decides what's going to happen and defends that decision against comment from others. EDIT: He's just apologised, the world is good again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 (edited) [quote name='Old Horse Murphy' post='184357' date='Apr 24 2008, 10:42 AM']Our drummer thinks that every song needs to end with him playing his cymbals to fade. On too many occasions to count, our first song has ended with me whispering through gritted teeth "If you do that again I'm going to shove your sticks up your arse". On more than one occasion too it has resulted in the biggest laugh of the night. Fortunately our drummer is smaller than me and also a very tolerant guy (unlike me).[/quote] Magic! our drummer always does an extended rally around his kit, I reckon it's cos most drummers don't have the premises or tolerant family members to get some playing in through the week so it's like they're letting off steam Edited April 24, 2008 by Jase Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3V17C Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 [quote name='BOD2' post='184365' date='Apr 24 2008, 10:52 AM']Guitarists that play the intro notes to every song to make sure they have it right just before the song starts (yes, even at gigs)...[/quote] yay! i've got one of those guitarists!! spoils the impact of the song definitely. also other band members not keeping guitar stands, drinks etc out of the way on stage and not gaffa taping their pedal leads etc down so theres loads of trip hazards onstage!! grrrr. peace c Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niceguyhomer Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 Our guitarist is a serial knob twiddler. We sound check, set all the levels and then he twiddles with the PA, his amp, hisguitar and his pedals after we've finished soundchecking. He has about 5 pedals, which he constantly twiddles between and during songs. He has the mixer on his side which he twiddles with before and during songs. He has the lights controls which he constantly twiddles during songs. He tunes up between every song too. I think he has a knob fixation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queenofthedepths Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 [quote name='GreeneKing' post='184361' date='Apr 24 2008, 10:50 AM']I know on this and many other forums folk are always going/ranting on about 'what winds me up, makes me angry, pisses me off' etc. Nobody can make you angry. You have a choice. If you just react without thinking you're disempowering yourself. And that really pisses me off. [/quote] How about a list of things which we find to be unacceptable and would like to see less of? My drummer can't sit still for a few minutes whilst I show the guitarists something I've written and very quickly gets bored and starts drowning us out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 [quote name='Jase' post='184396' date='Apr 24 2008, 11:24 AM']....our drummer always does an extended rally around his kit....[/quote] I think this is a great way to end numbers, if your drummer is good enought to do it well.. The one thing I hate is a wimpey ending or one that just fizzels out and don't EVER do a fade out ending if I'm on the gig!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 Barn dance band - the guitarist only has to load and unload his guitar and his tuner, and generally avoids doing anything to help with the other gear. Our leader, who gets the dosh and brings the PA, has now adopted the system of only paying him when all the gear has been loaded, so he doesn't bugger off without helping. Covers band - it's the singer who does that. But it's not just that, in two and a half years of playing exactly the same f***ing set in exactly the same f***ing order at every f***ing gig, he still hasn't learnt either the words or the arrangements, so we have to be alert to every occasion he might suddenly decide that there should be an extra chorus or one less verse or the vocals should come back in seven bars before the end of the solo (or three bars afterwards). Oh yes, and asking for requests, which we won't be able to play because we don't know them. And asking for guest singers, who will want to sing songs which we don't know in a random key very badly. And just not stopping rabbiting on between songs, when the guitarist is giving him the chord for him to start singing again and again. Next gig Saturday, after not having played together or rehearsed for nearly two months, so there may be something ranty in the "How did your gig go?" thread on Sunday... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 [quote name='tauzero' post='184454' date='Apr 24 2008, 12:28 PM']Barn dance band.... Covers band....[/quote] The barn dance Band sounds sorted. The covers band; I'd arrange with the guitarist to start a number in a different key and to go to choruses at different times to what the singer expects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whynot Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 Well overall I'm happy with my band at the moment but a couple of things that got me going recently.... We had to learn the opening dance for a wedding and I along with most others had a couple of listens and jotted down chord progressions. The only person who made a complete hash of it was the keyboard player due to not making the effort I presume. I stopped playing half way through as my correct notes were making it sound worse. The singer did not know what the hell was going on behind her. This all on video. We had a similar issue a month later on a different song where I had to shout out to the keyboard player we are now in the chorus. Also when a singer turns up at a gig and decided he or she know wants to sing something in a different key. Not what you need at a moments notice for a nine piece band with brass. I can wind myself up quite easily when I make silly mistakes on songs I've played for ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galilee Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 In a covers band and the drummer insists on playing every song exactly as it is recorded, leaving no room for changes, and no chance of us being able to pick songs outside of our usual genre for modification. Also, over-loud guitarists...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnylager Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 The drummer who whacks his f***ing snare drum just as I'm bending down to plug something in right next to it. I've taken to threatening him when going anywhere near the kit now and this seems to work just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 [quote name='chris_b' post='184444' date='Apr 24 2008, 12:17 PM']I think this is a great way to end numbers, if your drummer is good enought to do it well.. The one thing I hate is a wimpey ending or one that just fizzels out and don't EVER do a fade out ending if I'm on the gig!!!!![/quote] Yeah, it's good to end the odd number like that but EVERY track gets a little boring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Horse Murphy Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 [quote name='Jase' post='184498' date='Apr 24 2008, 01:34 PM']Yeah, it's good to end the odd number like that but EVERY track gets a little boring [/quote] +1,000,000!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderthumbs Posted April 24, 2008 Share Posted April 24, 2008 [quote name='BOD2' post='184365' date='Apr 24 2008, 10:52 AM']Guitarists that play the intro notes to every song to make sure they have it right just before the song starts (yes, even at gigs)...[/quote] +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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