Bands with Two Bass Players

[el borracho]

Came across this on Youtube - a band called Deaf School. I can't remember them at all but unusually they have two bass players.

Anyone know of any more (apart from Spinal Tap obviously!!)

 

EDIT  Just realised they  haven't - it was a banjo headstock 😂😂

 

 

 

Edited November 28, 2018 by el borracho

[stingrayPete1977]

James Brown had two. 

Go Robot is performed by Flea and the tour manager on another bass live. 

Neds Atomic Dustbin? 

[stingrayPete1977]

Yeah, Neds. 

[Len_derby]

BB Blackdog. A Derbyshire steam-punk band led by Dale Rowles, who is a member here and also a fellow Bass Relay veteran.

Side note - I saw Deaf School at York University in '78. Fun times.

[el borracho]

15 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

Yeah, Neds. 

Of course - saw them at err... somewhere! I just know I saw them.

[el borracho]

16 minutes ago, Len_derby said:

 

Side note - I saw Deaf School at York University in '78. Fun times.

Presumably with only one bass player...

[Cato]

17 minutes ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

Neds Atomic Dustbin? 

It's probably going to need headphones or decent speakers to hear both the low and high bass bits on this one.

 

[Cato]

2 minutes ago, el borracho said:

Of course - saw them at err... somewhere! I just know I saw them.

I saw them turn up as unnounced support for a Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine gig at the Hummingbird in Birmingham in around 92/93.

[EssentialTension]

The early 1970s version of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band had a dedicated bassist, Roy Estrada (named Orejon by Captain Beefheart, i.e. Don Van Vliet) and also an occasional second bassist Mark Boston (named Rockette Morton - who also played guitar and was sometimes credited as 'rhythm bass'). The rest of the band were Art Tripp III, (Ed Marimba - drums), Eliot Ingber (Winged Eel Fingerling - guitar), and Bill Harkleroad (Zoot Horn Rollo - guitar). Plus the Captain himself, of course.

There's sometimes two basses here. It may not be to everyone's taste:

 

Edited December 16, 2018 by EssentialTension

[Lozz196]

My old band, The Tuesday Club. I played more traditional Precision/flats/Ampeg sound, down the low end with the other bass being twangy rounds up in those there heights. Worked quite well.

[oldslapper]

Average White Band.

[rushbo]

Quote

 

A brilliant band from New York called Hugo Largo. A bit arty...not everyone’s cup of tea, but they made two stunning albums in the eighties. 

[BigRedX]

Delta 5:

 

 

[ahpook]

3 minutes ago, rushbo said:

A brilliant band from New York called Hugo Largo. A bit arty...not everyone’s cup of tea, but they made two stunning albums in the eighties. 

Great band, I remember being very much into 'Mettle' at the time.

Shall I ? Go on then

 

[TheGreek]

Mass Mental - includes Robert Trujillo and Armand Sabal-Lecco

 

Edited November 28, 2018 by TheGreek

[ahpook]

Others I know of...Tortoise, Ganger, and of course Rothko had 3.

[Painy]

Back in 1996 I was asked by some school friends (who had heard that I played bass) if I'd come and have practice with them just for one evening as their normal bass player couldn't make it. 

I impressed them enough that they asked me that to join their fledgling band and agreed between them that they would sack their current bass player as they felt he wasn't really up to the task. We then agreed to get together again the next evening as everyone was keen to have another go ASAP. 

The next day at school, word got back to the other guy that he was about to get the boot but nobody had a chance to speak to him directly. That evening we were setting up in the singer's garage when there was a knock on the door. Turned out to be the other bass player's mum come to tell everyone off for being mean to her son. Of course everyone sheepishly denied that they were planning to sack him and that's how we ended up with 2 bass players for our first half a dozen gigs. 

Unfortunately it sounded pretty dreadful and the guy had all the stage presence of half a house brick and slightly less musical ability so in the end I got fed up and told everyone that if they were too scared of his mum to sack him then I'd do it. 

Later on at a hastily called band meeting at the local play-park and after an awkward 15 minutes going on the swings and down the slide workout saying anything I eventually told him he was out of the band. 

Didn't feel great about it at the time to be fair but 22 years and around 1500 gigs later I'm still with the band and the only bass player so it all worked out in the end. 

[Passinwind]

At one time or another: Willie Nelson, Talking Heads, Miles Davis, Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, Pharoah Sanders, and Victor Wooten's band.

Edited November 28, 2018 by Passinwind

[TheGreek]

Mass Mental - including Mark King - that's 3, yes 3, bass players..

 

[casapete]

Saw Little Richard years ago and he had two bass players onstage - an old guy playing all the proper low end stuff, and a younger bloke in a flash jacket doing some dance moves whilst playing the odd upper register stuff over the top of it. Very strange.

[chris_b]

I saw a Stanley Clark gig at Hammersmith Odeon with a regular bassist in his band.

The 2 bass player band that stands out for me is Dumpaphunk. Tony Hall and Nick Daniels, both ex-Neville Brothers bassists. They have 3 basses on stage when Ivan Neville picks one up.

 

[paddy109]

The Melvins

[chris_b]

. . . . Michael Manson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfL5n7RPm9Q

 

[Ricky 4000]

It's just wrong... like incest or morris dancing is wrong. ☹️

[Bolo]

Deadbolt is known to play live with multiple bassists.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadbolt_(band)

And I'm thinking Thundercat?