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2 bass players.


tom1946
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A lot of you know I play in a church music group. Instrument wise we have 1x 12 string, 1x 6 string, me on bass and a keyboard player + 4 or 5 singers. Bear with me here.

about 3 months ago we had a new youth worker start at the church, he happens to play a double bass, our minister recently retired and we had a farewell service for her and the church was full. Imagine my surprise when I arrived to find the youth worker there with his DB.

I asked him if he was going to play it alongside me and he said yes. I said one bass is enough for a small band like ours but he played anyway.

This guy never asked if it was ok to play, never came to a practice or said anything to us which I thought was damned rude!

Long story short it is our new minister's induction service this sunday so I rang this guy and asked if he was planning to play again and he said yes so I asked him not to and after some to'ing and fro'ing he backed down.

Am I being too precious about this? I really think his manners and etiquette are poor.

thanks.

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Sounds like you need a good ol' fashioned dust up! Preferably not inside the church :D

On a more serious note... it's hard to tell whether the DB player is being a douche, or just 'over-enthusiastic'. Is there scope for you to share the role? Is some of the band's repertoire better suited to an upright / electric? That might be a positive compromise.

Alternatively, you could duke it out with duelling bass solos...

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[quote name='elephantgrey' timestamp='1440683853' post='2852941']
Im looking for a band at the moment, maybe i should try just turning up at gigs and playing with random bands…
[/quote]

.. :lol:

Good idea, take your bass along, get up on stage, unplug the incumbent bass player and play along.... if it goes badly just say its cause his rig is rubbish.

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haha, you lot are priceless!

He uses his own mike plugged into the church PA, I use a 300w Trace elliott which is VERY loud. I have said to him why not play when I'm not here but I think he just likes the big events :rolleyes:

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[quote name='tom1946' timestamp='1440683163' post='2852936']
Am I being too precious about this? I really think his manners and etiquette are poor.
[/quote]

I don't think you're being precious at all; it wouldn't happen with any other kind of band, so why does he think it's ok because it's a church band?

Who runs the band? There must be someone in charge. Surely it's their call to hire and fire, even if you are there on a volunteer basis.

If nothing else it's just rude.

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[quote name='4-string-thing' timestamp='1440686759' post='2852976']
This has left me baffled, quite bizarre behaviour.... How on earth does he think it's ok to do this? Have you asked anyone else in the band what they think?
[/quote]

I can imagine a scenario where someone well-meaning and trying to be inclusive, yet unconnected with the running of the band, said something to him like, "Oh, you play the an instrument? You [i]must [/i]play with our band!"

Edited by ras52
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This is tricky. If you approach it from a purely musical point of view then he is being rude. If you approach it from a religious celebration perspective then you are being a bit precious given that the Lord is generally considered to take a more the merrier stance.
Of course, the truth is probably somewhere in between.

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[quote name='colgraff' timestamp='1440687142' post='2852986']
If you approach it from a religious celebration perspective then you are being a bit precious given that the Lord is generally considered to take a more the merrier stance.
[/quote]

yes but everyone know the lord prefers electric bass... especially slap and tapping.

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[quote name='Vinny' timestamp='1440688669' post='2853005']
Did the Wrecking Crew use DB and electric together?
[/quote]

As did Herbie Flowers on Walk on the Wild Side... a song that I'll sure would go down well in church!

(Actually, why not? The characters in the song are the sort that Jesus used to hang out with, allegedly...)

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soooo it's not me then.

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1440687080' post='2852985']
I can imagine a scenario where someone well-meaning and trying to be inclusive, yet unconnected with the running of the band, said something to him like, "Oh, you play the an instrument? You [i]must [/i]play with our band!"
[/quote]

This is the most likely scenario :rolleyes: but I think he just turned up and pleased himself :angry:
I'm waiting to see if there's any fallout over me telling him to not play this sunday, don't really care if there is.

The worship leader is my wife and she said 'if I'd known you were going to ring him I'd have stopped you and done it myself' she totally supports me with it, I'm not known for my tact and diplomacy, I'm quite blunt and in church circles you have to be able to tell someone to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip. :D

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[quote name='Vinny' timestamp='1440688669' post='2853005']
Did the Wrecking Crew use DB and electric together?
[/quote]

I think Deuteronomy 22 may be relevant here

[i]Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled.[/i]
[i]Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.[/i]
[i]Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of woollen and linen together.[/i]

Feel free to use this as a Scriptural basis for him not to play with you :lol:

Edited by cybertect
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What we have here is the DB player thinking along 'community' lines and the band thinking along - er - 'band' lines.

The DB player thinks: 'Ooh! A public performance within a community of which I am a member. Why [i]shouldn't[/i] I turn up?'

Band thinks: 'We are a discrete performance group charged with the responsibility of providing a service to agreed and reasonable standards. So bugger off'.

You can see how the misunderstanding might occur.

That said, I am firmly with the OP on this one, though I doubt my preferred 'signature' solution would meet with his community's approval, i.e. deserted warehouse, shoot in face.

Edited by skankdelvar
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