Influences & favorites

[mint_bass]

I just checked the Website for HMV and the box set does not seem to be there i thought you might have been able to get it over the net but N/M. I am not sure if it is exclusive to HMV or not i will investigate.
 
Andrew

[mint_bass]

I just checked the Website for HMV and the box set does not seem to be there i thought you might have been able to get it over the net but N/M. I am not sure if it is exclusive to HMV or not i will investigate.
 
Andrew

[musikdept]

When I'm gigging, we cover everything from Melissa Ethridge to Skynyrd to Korn.  When I'm at home, I put on one of the Victor Wooten instructional tapes and jam with him. His style and dexterity are truly amazing.  My influences are (of course) Stanley Clarke, early Alice Cooper (Dennis Dunaway), Eagles (Timothy Schmidt) and Yes (Chris Squire)

[jagerphan84]

I play mostly funk/groove/jam experimental stuff, but everything from folk to dub to straight-up rock gets thrown in the mix.  
 
Like John, I've got a couple hundred hours of sound on my computer which I set to random and I'm usually pleased with the results.  In heavy rotation are Frank Zappa (Tom Fowler & Arthur Barrow are great), Ry Cooder, King Crimson, Hot Tuna, Nick Drake, John Cale, Ween, Stanley, Jaco, Captain Beefheart, Steely Dan, Jeff Beck, Les Claypool (in varying lineups), Leo Kottke, Al DiMeola, Paco De Lucia, Jean-Luc Ponty, and so on, and so on...
 
Recent additions that I've been listening to in the car are Roxy Music, ELP, Pere Ubu... Interesting stuff!  I have found that generally speaking, the earlier in the artist's recording career, the more I like the music.  Ry Cooder's early stuff is some of the best, IMHO.
 
Adam

[gare]

Lately I've been listening to alot of news radio in the car, I hate sitting in traffic so I have to know where those backups are.    
Musically I've gone back recently to listening to Bach,Mozart, Prokofiev. Also classic rock.  
As a yutte, I was heavily influenced by McCarney,Cetera,Squire,Lake,Entwhisle,Bruce, also early Tull,Genesis,Mahavishnu Orch,Elp, and of course Jaco. I also like some material by Manilow,Denver,and Dylan..I just dont want to hear them sing it.

[lembic76450]

In all the mentions of various players, I don't think I have ever seen anyone mention Carl Radle. I have always found him a very subtle and tasty player. He seemed to have that uncanny ability to add or subtract notes without it jumping out at you. Played on a couple of good albums, too

[dnburgess]

The first bass playing that I was aware of as a distinct musical entity was Glen Cornick on Stand Up. Then Noel Redding and Greg Lake on the first ELP album.
 
David B.

[richbass939]

Jethro Tull has always had interesting, creative bass parts.  I've often wondered whether Ian Anderson wrote the bass parts or left it up to the bassist.  I can almost see it either way.  They sound very different from song to song and album to album.  
I've always liked the stuff that Greg Lake has done.  Sometimes it's all over the place but it fits exactly what the song needs.  Not to mention that he sings lead while he's doing it.
I like Dennis Dunaway, too.  His look was kind-of cool.  He just stood there sometimes; then he leapt off the platform he was on down to the main stage.  Cool effect in concert.
Rich

[musikdept]

Rich...I think you're the only person to actually like Dennis Dunaway.  I think he was highly underrated.  Some of his bass riffs were infectuous.  I also enjoyed Ross Valory of Journey's stryle of playing.

[richbass939]

I remember when I was the only person I knew who liked ELP.  Friends would say What is this crap?  I thought it was genius.  I still do.  I still play along with Brain Salad Surgery occasionally.  Once ('73 or '74) I read a review that stated that Keith Emerson was fast and sloppy.  Shortly after that Leonard Bernstein said that Emerson was probably the best young classical pianist at that time.  That sort-of shut them up for a while.  I wish that I had seen them live.  I know people who did and they said it was all you would hope it would be.  
A lot of rock bassists didn't get the credit they were due.  Dunaway was never going to be the Alice Cooper of the band.  But ask any lead guitarist or singer who had been in a band with a bassist or drummer who wasn't rock solid and you'll find out what value we have.
Rich

[alembic83]

Anybody else like Billy Gould from Faith No More? I think he was a really great bassist, he covered so many different styles. He seemed equally adept at pick and fingerstyle, depending on what the music required. I always liked his tone, too. He once said that he tried to make the bass sound like it was almost in pain when he played it. He had a great grunt tone going on live.  
For me, Gould is the guy who really made me notice bass and get interested in it. I hope he gets back into playing sometime. He's got his own record company at the moment...
Aside from Gould, Cliff Burton (one time Alembic player), Geddy Lee, Les Claypool, John Taylor, and Scott Reeder from Kyuss.  
Jason

[811952]

Ah yes, Dennis Dunaway!  Billion Dollar Babies is one of my favorites.  Nice stuff.  And don't anybody forget that Greg Lake played Tarkus at light speed on an 8-string (Alembic, of course) in concert - I struggle with it on a 4-string!
John

[richbass939]

I didn't know that Lake played an Alembic.  I never thought much about it.  I just know that I like his style.
Rich

[dnburgess]

Lake sold an 8 string Alembic to John Entwistle. I think that was JE's first Alembic and first 8 string.

[bigredbass]

I saw ELP when they were touring behind 'Brain Salad Surgery' (surely the coolest album cover I ever saw)in 1972.  That tour led to the Welcome Back My Friends . . . live album.  
 
At that time I was up for a scholarship in piano to North Texas State, I'd been absorbed in classical piano my entire childhood and knew which end was up.  Saw Rubinstein twice.  Believe me, Emerson was as good as I ever heard, fast, ballsy, and technically VERY correct in his playing.  To my ears he was terrifically Brubeck- and Gershwin-influenced, both guys being technical terrors, NO clams.  Even while his Steinway concert levitated over our heads and rotated end over end over end WHILE HE WAS PLAYING !
 
Carl Palmer is THE great overlooked English art rock drummer, never mentioned with Bruford, Allen White, etc.  He was fabulous, as was Lake switching back and forth between guitar and bass thru the show (and he did play his ALEMBIC eight string).
 
Of course Carl Radle is a fave from Eric's post-Cream, pre-Miami days, and played on the 'Layla' album, with Eric and the late Duane Allman.  Listen to the line under the chorus of 'Bell Bottom Blues'.  
 
I firmly plan to be buried with a copy of 'Layla' and the Allmans' 'Live at Fillmore East'.  After the Beatles and Motown, those two albums plus 'Who's Next' and 'Exile on Main Street' pretty much cover me.
 
Plus the West Coast AM singles from the 60s and early 70s with Carol Kaye, Joe Osborne, etc.  A real favorite is Dee Murray under Elton's first 10 or 12 albums, with Nigel Ollson drumming.  And of course JPJones, and on and on . . .
 
Then the Southern influences, the blues, the gospel. . . .
 
And I certainly agree with Tony Levin that bad stuff will creep into your playing from bad records!
 
J o e y