Deep Thought Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 I'm interested in how many, if any, of you chaps feel that they have reached a state of bass Nirvana and never make cock-ups on stage? Every gig I play I manage to do something wrong somewhere, fumbles, playing in the wrong key, wrong bit at wrong time etc. I tend to judge how well a gig has gone by how many or few bungles I make. Am I alone or does everybody else foul up as well? Is it possible to achieve a state where you can play a perfect, cock-up free set? What are your best/worst onstage disasters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Rarely a gig goes by without me dropping a little clunker or two. Not car-crashes by any means, but little 'failed experiments'. ha ha ha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickeyboro Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 What are your best/worst onstage disasters? Playing Johnny B Goode in the wrong key and not being able to hear it as the 5-stringer I was playing would not cut through the rest of band...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayfan Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Smile, forget the mistake, move on. The punters won't have noticed - they're too busy watching you to see if you're having a good time or not. Being technically amazing is one thing, entertaining is more important, I reckon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martthebass Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 It all adds to the spice of life. I usually go with 'throw a few more random notes in and they'll think I meant it' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Get it wrong once, it's a mistake. Get it wrong twice, it's jazz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gizmo Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 [quote name='MacDaddy' post='40677' date='Aug 2 2007, 10:38 PM']Get it wrong once, it's a mistake. Get it wrong twice, it's jazz [/quote] "There are no mistakes in jazz only opportunities" - Miles Davis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted August 2, 2007 Share Posted August 2, 2007 Still searching for the lost chord! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Cooke Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 [quote name='MacDaddy' post='40677' date='Aug 2 2007, 10:38 PM']Get it wrong once, it's a mistake. Get it wrong twice, it's jazz [/quote] [quote name='Gizmo' post='40680' date='Aug 2 2007, 10:42 PM']"There are no mistakes in jazz only opportunities" - Miles Davis [/quote] ah yes... just say you were exploring a different mode... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 [quote name='MacDaddy' post='40677' date='Aug 2 2007, 10:38 PM']Get it wrong once, it's a mistake. Get it wrong twice, it's jazz [/quote] Nice (in a 'jazz club' kind of way) The best way to avoid mistakes is practice. The advice above is still true - even the best players make them occasionally, but when they do, you'd probably never know if you were watching them 'cos they don't screw up their face and telegraph the mistake to the audience, they just get on with it. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_the_bass Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 i always always always play all the right notes. Just that I don't always play them in the right order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niceguyhomer Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 I deliberately put mistakes in so people don't mistake me for a backing tape Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wazz Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 I dont mind the mistakes cos thats live music. Its when my concentration/attention goes elsewhere (on the dancefloor) and I forget what section of what song that I get slightly humbled! Not good when you are supposed to be the MD! Must try harder next time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 I never ever ever play a gig without a mistake. It's my unique selling point I used to play in a band with a guitarist who would glare at me everytime he thought I'd made a mistake (and this included playing a minor third rather than the root note he was expecting) ... He didn't last long ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 [quote name='wazz' post='40776' date='Aug 3 2007, 09:22 AM']I dont mind the mistakes cos thats live music. Its when my concentration/attention goes elsewhere (on the dancefloor) and I forget what section of what song that I get slightly humbled! Not good when you are supposed to be the MD! Must try harder next time...[/quote] Ah sounds like you need some TSGs (Totty Sensitive Glasses) They go totally black when there's a distraction on the dancefloor during gigs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wazz Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 [quote name='OldGit' post='40779' date='Aug 3 2007, 09:25 AM']Ah sounds like you need some TSGs (Totty Sensitive Glasses) They go totally black when there's a distraction on the dancefloor during gigs.[/quote] And where can I get such lifesaving specs? Of course its worse when said totty is the bride then again, it could be the brides mother. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3V17C Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 hmmmm...... have to admit that it is [i]extremely[/i] rare for myself (or indeed my drummer) to make any mistakes within the current band lineup. (obviously i've probably talked up a tremendous feck up for tonights gig now!) As a rhythm section we are pretty much bang on the money all the time - which i think is how it should be (especially after 20+ years of playing). We take the band quite seriously and make sure we know our parts 110%. . . the guitarists on the other hand are pretty much guaranteed to make at least one mistake each per gig...which they ALWAYS get pulled up on, even if its something as minor as treading on one of their pedals half a bar too early! haha...they love it! But at the end of the day we run a tight ship to maintain the quality of the band as a whole. Having said that, 99% of the audience wouldn't notice the odd mistake in an otherwise well played set, especially if you don't grimace and draw attention to the fact that you've just made a boo boo! peace c Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Yeah, I agree the audience usually doesn't notice. This thread is great, I make mistakes myself but rarely pick them up in other players even if I'm listening. I went to see Rich play one time with the Soul Destroyers and I thought he did a perfect gig. Then he comes off stage afterwards and said it was crap and he made some mistakes. Just goes to show. If we can get the monitoring as close to rehearsals as possible it can be the difference between a good gig and a crap one. I did a gig last night at The Hill in Muswell Hill and the acoustics were the worst I've ever encountered at a venue. The room was virtually an echo chamber with all hard surfaces and very sparse inside apart from low leather sofas down the sides. The room also had a massive peak at Ab/G# (whatever that is, 415Hz?). If the acoustics weren't enough, the guitarist (who we never played with before) turned up louder than sound check with the result that all of the mids from his amp were bouncing around the venue and drowning out the keyboards who I was standing next to. If he had been playing using clean settings then I could have at least used him for reference but it was all a load of distorted sonic mush from my side of the stage and I lost my vocals cue into the last choruses for one of the songs that we'd played loads of times perfectly in rehearsal. However the gig went better than the sound check where we never actually made it through a song let alone made it through without a mistake. I'm so glad I didn't invite anyone to see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 [quote name='niceguyhomer' post='40774' date='Aug 3 2007, 09:13 AM']I deliberately put mistakes in so people don't mistake me for a backing tape [/quote] Similarly I tell my guitarists that I put in deliberate mistakes so they don't look so stupid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 [quote name='Beedster' post='40819' date='Aug 3 2007, 10:52 AM']Similarly I tell my guitarists that I put in deliberate mistakes so they don't look so stupid [/quote] ... and they believe me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Funk Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Some of our stuff is improvised so when I miss a change to another section and the guitarist and drummer complain to me afterwards I tell them it was their fault for not looking up and following my cues. They don't normally buy that. I think if you make the odd mistake that's fine - even a big one - but if you keep making the same mistake over and over it means you're not doing your homework properly, which is quite direspectful to your bandmates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey D Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 Making mistakes happens all the time, even by the best professionals out there, it is how you recover from them that matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 (edited) [quote name='wazz' post='40783' date='Aug 3 2007, 09:34 AM']And where can I get such lifesaving specs? Of course its worse when said totty is the bride then again, it could be the brides mother.[/quote] We got ours custom made by Foster Grant ... Our wives organised it Here's a gig I did recently ... 110 students ... 15 of them were guys ... Oh and if you ever wondered why it's not such a good idea to watch your laces or frets whilst you play .... Edited August 3, 2007 by OldGit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-bitch Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 baaaarstard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted August 3, 2007 Share Posted August 3, 2007 [quote name='G-bitch' post='40889' date='Aug 3 2007, 01:23 PM']baaaarstard![/quote] Was that comment aimed at me, G-bitch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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