I've just depped for the first time...

[EJWW]

I did a dep gig for the first time on Saturday night, it was a teaspoon of high grade horseradish after 18 months of sloppy peanut butter.

I've been playing bass since I was 13 so over 20 years now. After a 10 year hiatus I resumed playing by attending local open mic nights and soon found myself as a permanent a classic mediocre pub rock band. Although this band dissolved last month, for me the experience was overwhelmingly positive and enabled me to massively improve my confidence, stage presence and vocals. 

So, desperate to get back in the saddle and resume my favourite hobby on earth, last month I answered an ad on FB for a bass dep for a wedding, standard function set, £150 each about an hour's drive from home. To my surprise I was offered the gig and they sent me the set list with a week to learn it. 

I have built a reputation as being one of the better players in my local scene and I would say I have a good ear, can busk well and can play anything that's thrown at me. 

This dep gig put all of that to the test and I came out wanting. 

These guys were PROS. I am a hobbyist.

While the audience were not interested at all these guys SMASHED every single tune with incredible dynamics, grooves and solos and I held on by my fingernails. 

Apart from the occasional bum note I handled the first set well. During the second set it started to deteriorate. 

I made a criminal error in failing to listen to every song in the setlist prior to the gig. This resulted in me coming in in the wrong key at the start of Teenage Kicks. I played this track on a different key on my old band. Acompletely avoidable error which could so easily be avoided with a single listen to the track before the gig. All eyes were on me and if looks could kill...

This threw me and I followed this up by accidentally kicking over the bass drum mic as I nervously moved across the stage to confirm with the guitarist the key of the next tune, now doubting myself. The drummer come round to check the mic and the singer turned round a second time asking what the f**k was going on.

Only one more bum note which warranted another 'look' from the singer before the gig concluded, confidence all but shattered.  

I agree with the old saying that an ounce of experience is worth a ton of theory. This gig not only stretched me musically but was rich in lessons and if, as I expect, they do not call me back I will not be particularly disappointed. 

In my humble opinion I still think I am a good bass player. On the night I turned up early, dressed exactly as requested, I laid down tight and funky grooves in conjunction with the drummer, I smiled moved around and looked like I was enjoying myself and I played the overwhelming majority of the set correctly. Ihate excuses but this is the first gig of this type where I have not had a rehearsal beforehand. 

I need to practice reading charts - these were issued to me on the night and I found myself pretending to study them before we got up which is ridiculous in hindsight but I really didn't know what to do with them. Can anybody recommend somewhere I can download charts?

Anyway onwards to hopefully more dep gigs, and over the course of the next year or so hopefully I'll find a permanent spot in a band.

[ambient]

What sort of charts, standard notation?

Dep gigs I’ve done tend to be either here’s the set, we do it in these keys. Others have been written out gigs, where you have to sight read. These sometimes have a few songs segued together, so you need to follow the chart to know what’s going on.

I’ve never had a rehearsal with any dep gig, it’s quite a big responsibility. For me it’s not about stage presence, it’s turning up prepared to play the songs, that’s the job.

I don’t think you did too bad considering it was your first attempt. It sounds like you learned at lot from it too,

 

  

Edited August 5, 2019 by ambient

[Unknown_User]

Sounds like, asides from putting one song in the wrong key, you probably did pretty well.  I've never depped myself but would be interested to try.

Even if they don't call you back it sounds like you've learned lots from it.  I think playing with people at a higher standard makes you raise your game too.  So that should stand you in good stead.

Plus you have £150 in your back pocket.  So win-win!

[Les]

@EJWW well done that man. Refreshingly honest review of your experience. It's a learning curve but you did it and the next time you'll have a pretty good idea on what went wrong and what you need to do differently for the next one and how to prepare. 

 

I'm impressed

Les

[Soledad]

1 hour ago, EJWW said:

I handled the first set well. During the second set it started to deteriorate. 

I was recently reminded; beware the second set. First time out with band and under-rehearsed with them but fair bit of prep on my own. Ist set really quite neat so relaxed a bit. Big mistake. 2nd set not so clever. Also, it reminded me take care on the 'easy ones' - if you cruise in thinking this one's easy, it'll probably trip you up, often around the bridge I find

[EJWW]

29 minutes ago, ambient said:

What sort of charts, standard notation?

 

  

I'm not sure what it's called but it's like sheet music but instead of all the notes there is just a big G or Bm7 in the middle of the bar. 

[ambient]

9 minutes ago, EJWW said:

I'm not sure what it's called but it's like sheet music but instead of all the notes there is just a big G or Bm7 in the middle of the bar. 

Chord charts. Chord tones or notes are mostly what the notes in the bass line are created from.

[NancyJohnson]

@EJWW I've read down your OP, interesting.

You spend the first six stanzas doubting your ability and the final one of which you're saying these guys were PROS; you then follow this by saying you had an uninterested audience, you started Teenage Kicks in the wrong key (I'm sure Michael Bradley would be having a meltdown at this) and that you got the evil eye from the singer.

Never feel that you need to be in awe of other players and never be scared of whatever ability they may allude to have.  While you may consider them as being PROS (your capitalisation), they're just a covers/wedding band; testament to the fact that they're covering 40 year old punk covers to an uninterested crowd.  I've encountered many bands like this, many Creme Brulees.

[tinyd]

2 hours ago, EJWW said:

I need to practice reading charts - these were issued to me on the night and I found myself pretending to study them before we got up which is ridiculous in hindsight but I really didn't know what to do with them. Can anybody recommend somewhere I can download charts?

A good way to practice charts is to get the iReal Pro app. You can download thousands of charts, change key, and the app can play a backing tracks in various styles. If you don't know how to read the chord symbols themselves then it's worth spending time learning this as it'll be a big help next time you need to learn new tunes in a hurry.

[ambient]

If you’re given a lead sheet or chord chart and see Gm/C7/FM for example, that’s a pretty common jazz chord sequence. The notes G, C and F are the root notes for each of the chords. You'd usually build a bass line starting on each of those notes. You'd add other notes from the chord, or even from the scale.

The sequence I used as my example is a what’s called a II/V/I in F major. 

So Gm your root is G, then you’ve got Bb which is the minor 3rd, D which is the 5th, then F which is the minor 7th. For C7 you’ve got C which is the root, then E which is the 3rd, G which is the 5th, and Bb which is the dominant 7th (C7 is shorthand for dominant 7). On the F chord you’d play F as the root, A as the 3rd, C as the 5th and E as the major 7.

Sorry if you already know that.

You can download different volumes of the real book from various places, they have hundreds of tunes in them. Most bands have also released songbooks that have the chords. There’s also various websites that have chords for pretty much anything. They’re not always accurate, but can be good as a starting point. For example, just type in the words Valerie chords, you’ll come across hundreds of sites.

 

[gary mac]

Well done for having the bottle to do it. 

 

[chris_b]

You don't need the dots. Chord charts and a good listen to every song on the list is all you need.

[uk_lefty]

Nothing to add except they may have seemed like pro's to you but they wanted someone to hold down the low end and lock in with the drummer. I bet your mis-key was only noticed by the band and hardly anyone at all in the audience. Also from their point of view if 90% of what you did was correct and good enough then you're 90% towards the next dep with them in my view, just probably concentrate on the keys and watch where you step on stage 😊

[EJWW]

Some great comments here, thanks for the encouragement and advice guys.

 

[musicbassman]

I love depping and have quite a bit of experience doing this.

For me, the more last minute the better - there's nothing quite like the buzz of meeting a band for the first time at a venue and playing straight off with no rehearsals. Experience, versatility and a good ear is everything, plus a pretty encyclopaedic knowledge of popular covers so you can mostly play them by ear straight off.

Good luck with this - try and build up your background knowledge of standard covers, and don't worry if things go pear shaped now and then - you're depping, after all, and the band will usually be delighted if most of it is right! 

https://www.lastminutemusicians.com/blog/popular-cover-songs-2500-set-lists/

 

[Elfrasho]

1 hour ago, uk_lefty said:

Nothing to add except they may have seemed like pro's to you but they wanted someone to hold down the low end and lock in with the drummer. I bet your mis-key was only noticed by the band and hardly anyone at all in the audience. Also from their point of view if 90% of what you did was correct and good enough then you're 90% towards the next dep with them in my view, just probably concentrate on the keys and watch where you step on stage 😊

This.

Noone would expect a flawless set, note for note from a dep..well in the function/wedding circuit. A few fluffs are fine... It's how how you cope with them it's the cool thing. But if you're a decent busker you'll be fine.

 

By the way, bands are always looking for dep bassists so your number will start doing the rounds and you'll get plenty gigs if you done s good job. Exact thing happened to me. Im not the world's best player, but solid with good gear. Im reliable and il do my homework. That's about 90 percent of the battle I've found.

[chris_b]

These days most of my deps are for bands I know but when a new gig crops up I'll usually have a couple of weeks notice. Long enough for me to listen to and play through the songs. If I don't know a song I'll write up a chord chart so I can get the geography right. I'll also write out a set list with keys and intros and endings. My aim is to play the songs as well (or better) than the bass player I'm standing in for. The usual response from the bands is that they appreciate that I've put in the time and done the homework. That gets you to the top of their list.

Some bands are not comfortable with deps. I've been told that deps can never be as good as the band member. That's a pretty naive view and I have fun proving them wrong.

[Dubs]

Big respect for doing it and stepping outside of your comfort zone. If nothing else, it's £150 and an invaluable learning experience.

I've been asked to dep by the agency my band goes through and I've always said no; I've partly not got the desire to want to do it enough but mostly I don't have the minerals or self belief to put myself in that situation, so respect to you for doing it.

[Newfoundfreedom]

Yeah fair play for putting yourself out there. I definitely couldn't do it. Not only because I don't have the knowledge of talent, but I don't even like gigging with the band I'm actually in. 

[peteb]

On 05/08/2019 at 12:51, NancyJohnson said:

@EJWW I've read down your OP, interesting.

You spend the first six stanzas doubting your ability and the final one of which you're saying these guys were PROS; you then follow this by saying you had an uninterested audience, you started Teenage Kicks in the wrong key (I'm sure Michael Bradley would be having a meltdown at this) and that you got the evil eye from the singer.

Never feel that you need to be in awe of other players and never be scared of whatever ability they may allude to have.  While you may consider them as being PROS (your capitalisation), they're just a covers/wedding band; testament to the fact that they're covering 40 year old punk covers to an uninterested crowd.  I've encountered many bands like this, many Creme Brulees.

That’s a little unfair. One thing that PROS (capitalisation or not) particularly like to do is to get well paid for doing gigs. It is generally accepted that one of the tried & tested ways of doing this is to play a mixture of well known covers of indie, classic rock, Motown and other sixties tunes along with the odd 40 year old punk classic to wedding parties.

To the OP – you’ve done your first dep and got through it with only the odd mishap. You will know more and be better prepared next time. For a start, you will know to ask for a setlist with all the keys that they play the songs in (these can vary unexpectedly from band to band). You seem to have the right attitude (if possibly a little on the overly modest side) and I’m sure you will find a suitable band / more dep gigs in due course.