oldbass Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 Got a call through friends of friends for a couple of functions in a localish well established cover band. Got the list today and they do a handful of 50's R&Rollers....Elvis, Chuck, Buddy etc. Just seems funny going through them in this world of instant pop music, X Factor, Beyonce et al. I haven't played this stuff in literally decades and when i did it seemed old back in the 70's. Just wondering what the vibe is doing this stuff...its almost joke music isn't it? Oh and by the way is Johnny B Good 16ths or four time with ghost notes...see Im taking it real serious...ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthurhenry Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 It's no joke. In some venues (Working men's clubs, which you'd imagine had shut down at the end of the 70s) it's all they want to hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 Doing Chuck Berry stuff properly is a damned sight harder than you may think. Getting the feel of the originals is notoriously difficult, with the drums and bass often not playing the same styles ( straight / shuffle etc. ) As Keith Richard once said, most bands can rock but few can roll..... Also it's easy for songs to descend into a Quo type thrash, and for the chord changes made the same. ( For example , in 'Johnny B. Goode' so many people insist on playing the IV chord towards the end of each verse when it stays on the V etc.) Good luck, hope you enjoy the gig! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolo Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 Really get in to it, it's great party music! Plus the punters deserve a good effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbass Posted March 12, 2017 Author Share Posted March 12, 2017 Hey Casa you are not kidding bout the feel of this stuff. It sounds do tiddly pat simple but I couldn't beleive it when I started to play JB Goode. It seemed like whatever groove I played wasnt quite right...hence my query, though reckon I will prob settle on a four time shuffle with ghost notes..less exhausting. Its a big set list with all the usual funky/groovy suspects so its def gonna be a lot of fun. Cant wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 I have been learning Johnny B Goode this last week, a bit odd as we mostly play 70-90s punk/ hard rock but we are dropping it in for a charity gig we are doing in three weeks (opening for a ladies choir average age 70+ - don't ask) as we think there may well be a few veterans in the crowd. It's not something I listened to personally and if I am honest I didn't like the idea at first when it was mentioned but I am really enjoying playing it. As said above, there is a lot more challenge to it than first impressions would suggest and getting it spot on takes more time than you would think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keeponehandloose Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 the original was on Double Bass played by Willie Dixon, you just cant get the same feel on electric. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 [quote name='ians' timestamp='1489342165' post='3256192'] Got a call through friends of friends for a couple of functions in a localish well established cover band. Got the list today and they do a handful of 50's R&Rollers....Elvis, Chuck, Buddy etc. Just seems funny going through them in this world of instant pop music, X Factor, Beyonce et al. I haven't played this stuff in literally decades and when i did it seemed old back in the 70's. Just wondering what the vibe is doing this stuff...its almost joke music isn't it? Oh and by the way is Johnny B Good 16ths or four time with ghost notes...see Im taking it real serious...ha [/quote] It's still popular. Last year I auditioned for some lads in their seventies who were quite serious about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scalpy Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 If you're going to do a Chuck cover justice, you need a bloody good piano player! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 Do Chuck justice. . . . don't make it rock. . . . make it swing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandad Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 (edited) Scaply has a point. Chuck's famous guitar riffs he transposed from jazz/blues piano. Interesting article below: [url="http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/keith-richards-remembers-johnnie-johnson-20050415"]http://www.rollingst...ohnson-20050415[/url] Edited March 13, 2017 by grandad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandad Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 And another article: http://www.bluesmusicnow.com/jj20.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yank Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Don't play it "square" like modern rock. It needs to swing with some great walking bass lines. Great energy music. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivansc Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 (edited) [quote name='casapete' timestamp='1489342858' post='3256197'] ( For example , in 'Johnny B. Goode' so many people insist on playing the IV chord towards the end of each verse when it stays on the V etc.) Good luck, hope you enjoy the gig! [/quote] Your lips to my ears! I play bass in a 60s "washingtons axe" band - Paul Neon and th Saints. The last original Saint retired when I joined the band a few years back but YES getting the right feel isn't as easy as younger players think it is. Same went for my time working the country-western circuit. A humbling experience when you realise what is really going on on those "root fifth" songs you thought you knew all about, going in. O.P. Treat the music with a little consideration and respect and actually learn the feel, not just the notes, and I bet you will start to really enjoy it for what it is. It isnt that obvious till you and the drummer get it properly. Our current drummer is a pro level prog rocker from way back but really struggled to find the groove playing fours on the hihat! Edited March 13, 2017 by ivansc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandad Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 A number of folks have spoken about getting the "feel" of the song. This is an interesting point and it's something that I've noticed at the music club I help manage. A number of up and coming players are obviously hard at work learning their scales and play note-perfect. What I think comes with time is a confidence and a relaxation which helps get the "feel" of the groove across. And watching folk over time it is noticeable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 [quote name='grandad' timestamp='1489391356' post='3256459'] Chuck's famous guitar riffs he transposed from jazz/blues piano. [/quote] He also borrows quite a lot from T Bone Walker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrenochrome Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Even though I'm not very good at it, I LOVE playing Jonny B Goode on dep gigs as I never get to play older r'n'r songs or shuffles at any other time; it's outside my comfort zone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DorsetBlue Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 This is pretty much all my band plays (with the occasional 60s song). Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran, Elvis etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 I agree, but that Jonny B Goode turnaround is a nightmare to get anyone to agree on. I've played in bands where we're all playing off the same page at one rehearsal but come the next rehearsal or the gig, it's like we had never agreed how to play it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 It's not joke music it if's done right. Four time, palm-muted and with a swing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 I agree with most of above, it's easy to get horribly wrong. Often thrashed to death when it needs a hop skip and bounce to it (you can tell how good my theory is using all these technical terms ). It's had people out of their seats and on to the dance floors for decades. It's no fluke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 [quote name='casapete' timestamp='1489342858' post='3256197'] Doing Chuck Berry stuff properly is a damned sight harder than you may think. Getting the feel of the originals is notoriously difficult, with the drums and bass often not playing the same styles ( straight / shuffle etc. ) As Keith Richard once said, most bands can rock but few can roll..... Also it's easy for songs to descend into a Quo type thrash, and for the chord changes made the same. ( For example , in 'Johnny B. Goode' so many people insist on playing the IV chord towards the end of each verse when it stays on the V etc.) Good luck, hope you enjoy the gig! [/quote] When I pointed this out to my guitarist all I got was a blank look and 'it's a 12bar isn't it?' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 [quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1489421156' post='3256767'] When I pointed this out to my guitarist all I got was a blank look and 'it's a 12bar isn't it?' [/quote] Yep. That's usual. Shortly followed by "Well, let's just play it as a 12 bar it'll be simpler to remember." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbass Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 Great stuff peeps. Longer ago than I care to remember I would bang these tunes out 12 bar style without giving them much thought but getting this gig as a much older player has really got me thinking about them and the way they need to be played. And I agree with the above about respecting them and getting the feel right.....its fun and kinda makes a weird change from the usual function stuff. (played with the keys before and hes well up to par so no probs there) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty Forrer Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 One of my bands, Marty's Juke Joint, plays only rock n roll and boogie woogie from the 40s and 50s. We do nothing later than 1962, and I play upright bass. The feel is a swung shuffle as a previous poster stated, and bass is sparse. No 8th or 16th notes. Palm mute or stick a block of foam under the strings by the bridge if you want an authentic sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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