EskimoBassist Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 Evening, I've never really been a big fan of The Killers, but en route to a few gigs, my drummer has really switched me on to a few songs. So searching through Spotify as you do I come accross this gem of a tune, "Move Away". And what leaps out at me is Mark Stoermer's playing. Not techincal, but it really fits in the song and it has also been mixed quite loudly. So what do you think? Bit of a rocking tune I think. Bass? I'm thinking it's a Fender Jazz, a chorus pedal set with a fairly fast rate and deep sound, overdriving an Ampeg SVT? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beerdragon Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 I have seen him play a Pbass and a Jazz. he always has a great sound. i'll check out that tune thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 He seems to always have fantastic tone, even live at festivals. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbass Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Generally you'll be listening to a Geddy Lee signature Fender Jazz through an SVT or Hi-Watt head/cabs. You need to check out Hot Fuss if you like his playing. The last two albums aren't so hot bass-wise (in my opinion). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Yes, Hot Fuss is definitely the one for the bass playing. "Jenny was a friend of mine" is outstanding. Despite the gear I think the tone is very much in how he plays and how he uses it. There are tons of people using jazz basses and SVTs (and quite a few using HiWatts) but so few with that consistently fat and bassy yet very present and driving tone. Credit should also go to the rest of the band who leave the sonic space for him to step up and claim such a big place in the mix. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Its on the sawdust album currently being sold very cheap at hmv - also recommend 'joy ride' on the 'day and age' album Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dubs Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Quite underrated as a bass player I think (or not, as this thread progresses...). Really good lines to play and listen to. Midnight Show is one of my faves, amongst the ones mentioned above… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 An ex-guitar player too i believe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Featured in last months BGM magazine - he plays a rick too I believe . I also liked 'somebody told me' and their version of 'romeo and juliet' off 'sawdust' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbass Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 [quote name='alexclaber' post='528427' date='Jun 30 2009, 10:45 AM']Credit should also go to the rest of the band who leave the sonic space for him to step up and claim such a big place in the mix. Alex[/quote] Well thats where I have an issue with the last two albums. My analysis is as follows... On HotFuss the melody and all of the 'movement' in the songs comes from bass and drums. The drumming is exceptional and every bar is different to the last. In contrast, the guitar parts on HotFuss are pretty simple and actually take on an 'underpinning' role to the bass part, which moves around all over the shop. Take 'Jenny' for example.... guitar part is straight 16ths in 8 bar pieces and the 'lead' is played on bass. Same for Somebody Told Me and All The Things. By contrast the second and third albums revert back to 'normal' arrangements, with the bass high in the mix - but reduced to root note plodding on most occasions. The drum parts are also simplified and, to quote our drummer, "dull". Guitars are layered up and take on their traditional role. So although I still like The Killers, they plain and simple don't write 'em like they used to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RussFM Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 He always looks so bored when he's on stage though, I always think why bother playing if you're not going to at least look like you're enjoying it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neptunehealer Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 I agree with a lot of the above, his basslines make the first album and his tone is great. I watched them perform 4 songs on the Jonathan Ross show recently it's on youtube if you want to hear it, and his tone on 'Are we Human' is fantastic. He looks awkward when he plays but still sounds great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisba Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 We do "All the things i've done" in our set. Bass line is simple and metronomic but prominent. Following Bill Bailey's lead, the "I've got Soul but I'm not a soldier" line gets changed at every gig... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 Yeah, the basswork on Hot Fuss was really moving. "Glamourous Indie Rock and Roll" is the one to see him stretching out on. But even on Sam's Town, I find that the basslines are moving and doing things with great subtlety...there are small nuances and things going on there that the average rock bassist is not doing... I really like Hot Fuss, I LOVE Sam's Town and Sawdust is a belter too (especially Leave The Bourbon on the Shelf), but Day and Age is utter crap. Even "Spaceman" isn't that good! You'll notice that previously he was playing Geddy Lee jazz basses though Day and Age was recorded with a P bass...and the bass tone is crap. Quiet, wooly, flabby but lacking the body his previous tone had. The grind is just gone and even in the dull, dreary songs, the bass just doesn't stand out. Coming from someone who makes a habit of learning Killers albums front to back, Day and Age is a massive letdown on so many levels and I've barely started work on transcribing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flip Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 [quote name='coasterbass' post='529354' date='Jul 1 2009, 09:26 AM']Well thats where I have an issue with the last two albums. My analysis is as follows... On HotFuss the melody and all of the 'movement' in the songs comes from bass and drums. The drumming is exceptional and every bar is different to the last. In contrast, the guitar parts on HotFuss are pretty simple and actually take on an 'underpinning' role to the bass part, which moves around all over the shop. Take 'Jenny' for example.... guitar part is straight 16ths in 8 bar pieces and the 'lead' is played on bass. Same for Somebody Told Me and All The Things. By contrast the second and third albums revert back to 'normal' arrangements, with the bass high in the mix - but reduced to root note plodding on most occasions. The drum parts are also simplified and, to quote our drummer, "dull". Guitars are layered up and take on their traditional role. So although I still like The Killers, they plain and simple don't write 'em like they used to. [/quote] I completely agree, I quite enjoyed the first half of Hot Fuss, recently they seemed to have simultaneously become dull [i]and[/i] intensely irritating! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neptunehealer Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 [quote name='Chris2112' post='530026' date='Jul 1 2009, 10:14 PM']Yeah, the basswork on Hot Fuss was really moving. "Glamourous Indie Rock and Roll" is the one to see him stretching out on. But even on Sam's Town, I find that the basslines are moving and doing things with great subtlety...there are small nuances and things going on there that the average rock bassist is not doing... I really like Hot Fuss, I LOVE Sam's Town and Sawdust is a belter too (especially Leave The Bourbon on the Shelf), but Day and Age is utter crap. Even "Spaceman" isn't that good! You'll notice that previously he was playing Geddy Lee jazz basses though Day and Age was recorded with a P bass...and the bass tone is crap. Quiet, wooly, flabby but lacking the body his previous tone had. The grind is just gone and even in the dull, dreary songs, the bass just doesn't stand out. Coming from someone who makes a habit of learning Killers albums front to back, Day and Age is a massive letdown on so many levels and I've barely started work on transcribing it.[/quote] I agree the bass tone on Day and Age is crap. But on the jonathan Ross show when they played 'Human' he used a Geddy Lee and the tone really made a difference to the song imo. It was like having his old tone implemented into the new material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flip Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 [quote name='neptunehealer' post='530715' date='Jul 2 2009, 03:22 PM']I agree the bass tone on Day and Age is crap. But on the jonathan Ross show when they played 'Human' he used a Geddy Lee and the tone really made a difference to the song imo. It was like having his old tone implemented into the new material.[/quote] Either way, hearing that song is still much akin to having poo pushed into your ears. And I still haven't recovered from the 'are we dancer' debacle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 (edited) I mean, as far as crap lead singles go, [i]Human[/i] has to be one of the worst, but it was sadly the colon-stained peanut on top of mountainous turd of an album. I shudder with embarrassment every time I hear that weak chorus with those dire lyrics. And saying that about the latest effort from one of my favourite bands is pretty painful. Edited July 3, 2009 by Chris2112 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbass Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 [quote name='Chris2112' post='531829' date='Jul 3 2009, 04:51 PM']I mean, as far as crap lead singles go, [i]Human[/i] has to be one of the worst, but it was sadly the colon-stained peanut on top of mountainous turd of an album. I shudder with embarrassment every time I hear that weak chorus with those dire lyrics. And saying that about the latest effort from one of my favourite bands is pretty painful.[/quote] oh oh oh oh oh oh oooah x8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 (edited) Hot Fuss ranks as one of my favourite albums when I was at University. Awesome bass tone. Basically, every time I hear a Jazz Bass, I love it, no matter what amp. Growl!!!! Finally picking mine up on Sunday. Been a long wait, (not the order....just getting the right one at the right price). I think he works his lines extremely well, lending a lot from 80 electros and a tiny bit of funk. Awesome stuff. I havent heard him with a P.....but I bet its the way the album was produced that made the P muddy. Probably said 'back off on the bass, be more commercial, sell more records'. I was never massively into anything they did post-Hot Fuss. Edited July 3, 2009 by Musicman20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 [quote name='Musicman20' post='532167' date='Jul 4 2009, 12:02 AM']I havent heard him with a P.....but I bet its the way the album was produced that made the P muddy. Probably said 'back off on the bass, be more commercial, sell more records'.[/quote] Funny though, that they didn't have any trouble shifting records in the past! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 [quote name='Chris2112' post='532168' date='Jul 4 2009, 12:04 AM']Funny though, that they didn't have any trouble shifting records in the past![/quote] No, and thats whats daft about it. They seemed to go much more into bland rock....I saw them on a tiny NME tour and they were awesome. 6 months later or so I saw them at Glasto. But...their initial success was with the whole massive NME surge, and Im guessing they wanted bigger things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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