Songs to upset music shop staff.....

[T-Bay]

As a complete beginner to saxophone (less than a month in) I have been learning Baker St. It reminded me of trip to PMT in Birmingham a couple of years ago. The rhythm guitarist in one of the bands I play in dared me to ask to try a bass and then play seven nation army. Just for fun I agreed and even managed to ask the salesman with a straight face if he had ever heard it before, his reply was ‘once or twice’. I have felt a bit bad about it ever since (just a bit) I imagine Baker St Is one of those tunes that every saxophone salesperson must be utterly sick of as well.  So it got me wondering what tunes shouldn’t you play in a music shop if you don’t want to upset the sales people.
So.......
Bass - Seven nation army, sunshine of my love
Guitar - smoke on the water, stairway to heaven
Saxophone - Baker St,.

So what others are there?

[TheGreek]

12 Bar blues drives me mental - hate it - I really couldn't work in a shop where every other person plays this...

The Chain - love the riff but i couldn't listen to it being murdered (and I have heard this happen, many times) even if I was being paid.

I've no doubt the Flea version of "Higher ground" gets killed regularly too..

Edited May 13, 2020 by TheGreek

[Maude]

I reckon get an amp cranked up, foot on amp, pick in hand and treat them to five full minutes of 'Waterfront' whilst keeping a deadly serious bass face on the go. 

Then just quip, "Nah, it's not for me", and walk out. 

[Cosmo Valdemar]

Running With The Devil by Van Halen. 

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited March 4, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Dad3353]

Drums: Toad (Cream...) or The Black Page N°1 (or N°2...) (Zappa...).

 

 

[Doctor J]

If you want to see grown men cry you play the guitar intro to Sweet Child O’ Mine but popped and slapped on a bass.

[Bolo]

Enter sandman and the unforgiven, or any metallicker off the black album probably.

[SICbass]

8 hours ago, Doctor J said:

If you want to see grown men cry you play the guitar intro to Sweet Child O’ Mine but popped and slapped on a bass.

Now that is just sick. 

[police squad]

in 1990/91 I worked in a music shop.

Nothing bothered me but some of the youngsters could really nail sweet  child of mine. It always amazed me how good they were

[SH73]

I worked in a music shop in early 90s. It was a very versatile shop, and on the shop floor we had the biggest tuba bass I ever saw. I dared every friend that came in to have a go.

I went to the guitarguitar shop to buy an amp. I took my own bass with me and started playing bulls on parade intro RATM. When I stopped playing, the shop assistant walked passed and continued mimicking the whammy guitar riff with his voice with perfect timing. 

 

[barkin]

I always play the intro to Livewire by ac/dc...

[Strawbs664]

I once got rather severely rebuked for daring to play Pink Floyd's Money when trying a bass back in the 90's....

Edited May 14, 2020 by Strawbs664

[leftybassman392]

Hysteria?

[Nicko]

When trying guitars in the 90s, I'm sure many shop assistants were amazed at my lack of nailing the only bit of Eruption that I'd learned - the two handed tapping bit .  I still can't play that bit properly and never got very far with the rest of it.

[ubit]

I go blank whenever I pick up a bass in a shop. I have lots of licks and chops in my repertoire and am capable of just wandering on the neck but for some reason I just get a blank when I am aware of people judging me. Totally ok with playing rehearsed band gigs in front of any number of critics but in a shop it's gone. It scares me off trying basses out.

[uk_lefty]

26 minutes ago, ubit said:

I go blank whenever I pick up a bass in a shop. I have lots of licks and chops in my repertoire and am capable of just wandering on the neck but for some reason I just get a blank when I am aware of people judging me. Totally ok with playing rehearsed band gigs in front of any number of critics but in a shop it's gone. It scares me off trying basses out.

I know what you mean! The whole riff library seems to be out of stock the one moment you want to be trying them all! 

[SICbass]

36 minutes ago, ubit said:

I go blank whenever I pick up a bass in a shop. I have lots of licks and chops in my repertoire and am capable of just wandering on the neck but for some reason I just get a blank when I am aware of people judging me. Totally ok with playing rehearsed band gigs in front of any number of critics but in a shop it's gone. It scares me off trying basses out.

 

9 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

I know what you mean! The whole riff library seems to be out of stock the one moment you want to be trying them all! 

+1

[Crawford13]

Valerie

Another one bites the dust

Californication

I’m sure there’s more but now I’m drawing a blank...probably for the best.

[thodrik]

All Right Now by Free, played in full, including counting out the bars in the verses out loud when there is no bass but then stopping before the bass solo on the basis that ‘I have played enough of that one.’

No One Knows by Queens of the Stone Age. Mostly because playing it accurately involves tuning the bass to C standard. Doing that, playing the riff and then saying ‘nah mate, this one ain’t for me’ would surely result in lots of annoyance. 

[Ashweb]

On 13/05/2020 at 21:04, T-Bay said:

Saxophone - Baker St,.
 

Once you totally mastered Baker Street (and told 'em confidently it was played by Bob Holness of Blockbusters fame for good measure 😉 )  You could turn your Sax chops towards the Pink Panther theme (written apparently after Henry Mancini visited Durham) - that'll really cheer them up.

As for bass, try seeing how far you get with the intro to Psycho Killer by Talking Heads, or Sunshine of Your Love by Cream...

Good luck with your mission!

[Graham]

20 hours ago, leftybassman392 said:

Hysteria?

I'll bet that and Schism are done to death in most bass shops

[Guest]

Leader of the Pack, Gary Glitter.

[Hellzero]

Teen Town, the way most people play it : never in tune.

[Hellzero]

School Days was another very often slaughtered one back in the day.

Papa was a rolling stone bass part for the 7 minutes of the record perfectly palm muted, then telling the poor guy : "Not this bass, it's lacking treble".