After a year of some sporadic gigging on both guitar and bass and after parting company with a long term band. I've got a couple of new potential projects simmering. A couple of guys i've worked with in the past remade contact last week and are interested in starting a band doing jazz based music. They are both really good players, and are big 'smooth Jazz' fans, which is a genre I haven't really focussed on.The closest in my collection is Grover Washington Jr and Jeff Lorber Fusion and a couple of Fourplay albums. But we are getting some tracks organised and hopefully get going then look at some originals. I'm more into the other flavous of jazz based music and so I hope there is gonna be some of both once we get going.
Secondly in the last couple of weeks a blues/rock band contacted me on FB from a bass available group and have sent me some tracks (20) to get to grips with before meeting up for a 'session' to see if we are a good fit. From what I gather, the band have been going a while and have a number of theatre gigs in the diary plus some overseas gigs so that could be interesting. Whilst that genre is not one I have much experience with i'm open to new things.
My initial thought was to say no but i remembered some advice i got after meeting Nathan East after one of his gigs. I told him i was learning bass and he said . "Great, try to take every gig you are offered as you will definitely learn something from it and about yourself as a musician".
Here goes!
Oh as an aside i may be amongst the younger members of the band for a change. 😂🤣😇
Whence the knock upon thine door beckons thee to thy kraft the universe smiles for thee, and calls hence to step forth.
There shall be no battle if engagement of mind body and soul, dost follow to energize the will and need to succeeded thus.
I am convinced my friend that success hast been written in stone for thee.
Well, the jazz I like best is that with the most blues in it - so get the 2 bands together!
As to Mr. East's advise: 15 years or so ago, I was doing sound for a band composed entirely of history professors. When the bass played was denied tenure (and thus went elsewhere), they got a grad student to take over.
He was so good that during the first set break at the first gig with, the lead player buttonholed me and asked to start working on bass.
I found a website that a serious pro I worked for in 2 bands told me (when I asked him if it was worth my time) that he was going to go through the lessons himself. Several times during the first lesson, the guy threw in "So, when's your first gig?"
(I, alas, did not stick with it, as they aquickly found a guy who was really good; I really wish I had gone ahead and added "lousy bassist" to my credentials as World's Worst Guitar Player).
Peter
Jazzy, glad to hear of the new opportunities.
My .02, blues/rock bands have a potential to be predictable (read: boring).
You know what is NOT boring? Having a tight pocket!
Recently a good friend with decades of blues experience asked me to add bass to a few tracks.
Long story short, I found that playing less notes kept the pocket tight and made the song 'groove' so much better.
Take the gig, have fun and if it works good... if it doesn't work the good thing you tried it.
Quote from: jazzyvee on March 29, 2026, 01:16:15 PM
Oh as an aside i may be amongst the younger members of the band for a change. 😂🤣😇
Hi Jazzy. I'm in a similar situation. We moved to Grass Valley last fall (about 130 miles away). While I'm still playing with my Bay Area band about once a month, I'm exploring new playing opportunities. I recently played with the best guitarist I've ever played with. He asked me to do a gig as an acoustic duo playing Grateful Dead songs. He's a contemporary. We'll be playing as "More Than a Touch of Grey". ( "Touch of Grey" was the Dead's best selling single ever.). I do think my days as one of the younger band members are over.
Bill, tgo
In my time, I played in lots of situations where I needed to gig so I wound up in bands that played music not on my usual radar sweep. It did indeed stretch me and educate me to other musics and conventions, and ultimately, I found out that so many styles really overlap, and something I learned over HERE worked like gangbusters in a completely different environment over THERE. And ultimately, variety is the spice of musical life.
Nice Jazzyvee, mixing it up always brings new energy and ideas. And as a jazz player I can say bass is the best instrument to be on, you are the glue that holds it together, you can change the mood and direction by manipulating the underlying notes, and you are always soloing (tastefully) under everything else. Bass in a jazz band is always an adventure. Have fun! :)
Well I went on a 2 hr drive to see the band play last night in a small pub out in the sticks. They are a Chris Rea tribute band ( Not sure if he's well known in the states). They managed to get the original bass player from Chris's band to play that gig and he is keen to continue playing with them. However he lives in the south of France and so may not be cost effective for him to get to all the gigs especially the small ones. I'm having a chat with the band leader this week.
The other bass player travels from France to England for gigs!!!! And I thought I was committed driving 130 miles each way from our new home to play with my old Bay Area band.
Lately, new opportunities have been popping up like spring flowers. I jammed with a country band last week and have been asked to play a couple of gigs with them, the first being next Saturday. I'm also speaking with a guy putting together a Reggae band. (I may be seeking some pointers, Jazzy). Both out of my wheelhouse, but that makes it fun and interesting. And just in the last two days my Grateful Dead band picked up a memorial for a departed Deadhead that is taking over a resort a couple of hours north of San Francisco. The gig actually pays well and includes cabins for the band to stay overnight. Dead Enough also just got our first gig local to our new home in Grass Valley. We'll be playing Saturday Night, July 4th, at a local brewery. Should be a good draw as the country will be celebrating its 250th birthday. We'll have to learn U.S. Blues for the gig!
Bill, tgo
Chat went well and the band is planning a rehearsal the week after next so that should give me a chance to get a better idea of whether me being in the band is a good fit for all.
One thing he said to me that im not sure what it means.
Since the band now only have 1 guitar player and the music is usually played with two guitarists, the band leader (guitaist) has he wants me to compensate for that when i'm playing.
What does that actually mean on a practical level, what is he expecting me to do on the bass to fill that space?
I'm not anywhere close to being to talk about that in practical terms, but maybe listen to some power trios. I worked for a bass player in 3 bands; 2 were quartets, one was a power trio. He definitely played more in the trio; heavier on little fills.
Peter
I played my first gig with the country band last night. Good size, very appreciative crowd. I also played with the reggae band Friday night. That was fun, too. And similar in some ways. Both styles can have the guitar playing a lot on the 2 and 4.
As for bass filling in for guitar, I agree with the Cowboy. More riffs, almost lead bass, works. I play at a weekly "sit in with the band" jam at a local sports bar/pizza joint. Many people just sit in to sing with the guitarist, bass player, and drummer. In those situations, the bassist plays more riffs and fills, essentially covering both bass and rhythm guitar.
Bill, tgo
Quote from: jazzyvee on April 26, 2026, 01:13:33 PM< snip>
What does that actually mean on a practical level, what is he expecting me to do on the bass to fill that space?
Play more notes, (?) whether chords to fill out the whole sound or fills higher up on the neck to keep things busy... all while still holding the bottom end.
Since it's a tribute band, you would think he would want the songs and the instruments to sound like the record; but if the bass player is covering guitar parts as well as bass lines, then it's not going to sound like the record. But then I'm not familiar with Chris Rea, so maybe it doesn't matter.
The last band I was in (quite a long time ago now) was a fusion power trio, and I did a lot of that, grabbing different elements of the songs to fill out some of the missing parts. Perhaps the best example of that is that we covered Zappa's Peaches En Regalia. It didn't sound just like the record, but it was fun to try and pull it off, and it was a favorite among the regulars at the bar.
Edit: now that I've written that, I've just listened to the original version of Peaches, and that's not the version of the song that we were basing our version on. I listened to a few more versions, and I think ours might have been based on the Live in New York 1977 version, as I particularly remember Ruth Underwood's marimba.
I wouldn't worry too much abut sounding exactly like Chris's versions. The 2 quartets I mentioned above were 75% the same band; changed the rhythm guitar/keyboard player & the name - and it was a very different band. Doing '60s covers, but doing covers; close enough that everybody recognized the tunes and dug it - but different enough that those who knew could tell. And i think most of the versions were a bit better than the originals.
At some point someone decided they should stop being a cover band and be a copy band; note for note the 45 (or, on a few, the album cut). And the audience fell off........
I say, if it is recognizable, and sounds good, fine.
But discuss that with your colleagues; ask them what they're going for. Because it seems they are of 2 minds: Play as a tribute band (which tends to lean toward note-for-note) or pay tribute to the spirit, and do them how they sound better to you.
Keep us posted.
Peter
Thanks for the input guys. At this point i haven't had much time with the tracks to get a feel for how to integrate extra fills with taste and not sound like i'm sneaking in a bit of bass soloing. A lot have punchy pedal bass lines so there is that solid groove to maintain. ad well. Hmmm......
An added thought: When I suggested power trios as a guide, I did not mean Z.Z. Top (Dusty Hill was the epitome of the 1-5, part-of-the-drum-kit bassist) or Double Trouble (but there is one track on a posthumous album from before Tommy Shannon replaced Jackie Newhouse, and it's a little closer).
The Who were, instrumentally, a trio, and Entwhistle did it great. Jack Bruce killed it with Cream.
So did John Paul Jones & Mel Schacher - but I like you, so I won't suggest listening to LZ or Grand Funk......
And outside power trios, try Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Allman Brothers Band, and Achilles Wheel for what it sounds like they're talking about in a larger ensemble.
Peter
Congrats Jazzy, it's always fun to get challenge to play with other bands!
Well, I had my first rehearsal/auditon with the band last night and it went fine. I was able to play through all the songs they picked out so that was good. As expected Some of the songs, the band have slightly different arrangements and are in different keys to the original songs so that caused a few hiccups but no disasters. I had to diplomatically coach them through the outro of one song which they claimed was reggae..... They took it well but we shall see next time. I have agreed to join. Having said that the sticking point for my is that they are too way too loud. i did quit the house band I was in a few years back for that reason. So I will have that discussion with the band leader.
I think they. have gig sometime in early June.
https://www.rea-loaded.com
The bass rig in the room was dreadful, I had my all maple black signature Europa which as we know can be really bright especially as I restrung it on Monday. But I could not coax any tonal bliss out of it through the Ashdown Combo, It was muffled and no definition. :-(
Have fun. I thought Chris Rea sounded like Dire Straits which sound like Richard Thompson. I think Chris Rea's music is interesting enough to enjoy playing. In Japan, I always use the bass rig in the practice studios or the live setting. Sometimes I'm really happy with the sound and sometimes not.
Too Loud can be challenging.
We all have been in those situations.
It was difficult when I was young.... These days whooo boy!
Good luck.
Quote from: DistillaMatto on May 07, 2026, 12:37:11 AMHave fun. I thought Chris Rea sounded like Dire Straits which sound like Richard Thompson. I think Chris Rea's music is interesting enough to enjoy playing. In Japan, I always use the bass rig in the practice studios or the live setting. Sometimes I'm really happy with the sound and sometimes not.
Yes I agree, when I first started listening to the tracks on the setlists there were some phrasing and tones that sounded a bit Dire Straits like. For example the chorus in "Soft Top, Hard shoulder" has that flavour. All the rehearsal studio's I have used in my city have dreadful bass rigs. The guitar rigs are not much better.
I must share some concern about the volume you face. A couple of years ago I was asked to go to a practice session in a nearby village by someone I know. Nice and friendly people. I had prepared the songs they said. The guitarist had a HUGE Hi-Watt rig and played OK. The drummer arrived with a HUGE undamped kit. There were no count-ins and it was very loud. I fulfilled my duty until 9pm and said I had to go. The female singer (also friendly) asked if I was coming back and I politely said that I wasn't as I couldn't play at their sort of volume (even though my Genzler Magellan 800 and Bergantino Cabinet could easily handle it). We parted amicably.
The band I play in is quality, not loud tunes from 50s to 80s from reading parts and it is great.
Looking back (I am 76) over the last 60 years of playing, I have never been in loud bands. I did 5 years when I was 20 at the Top of The World, Stafford, working for Mecca. I tell you this just to say that even not playing loudly over the years, I have inner ear damage in my right ear. A hearing aid can level things out in that ear if I need to use it.
A bit of a long post but don't put yourself through it Jazzy as once hearing fails, we can't get it back.
Glynn
I'm kind of late to posting but loud bands and not wanting more hearing loss is why I got fitted for musicians ear plugs back when. I gave up on trying to get loud folks to quiet down and decided ear plugs were the only way to go. I went to an audiologist at a nearby hospital for a hearing test and he fitted and prescribed the ear plugs. This allowed them to be covered under my insurance at the time. I still would have gotten them had I had to pay out of pocket. The ear plugs have a flat response and while I went with -15db inserts I can order higher reduction inserts and it is a simple matter to switch them out.
There are a couple of drawbacks. The first is getting use to having something in my ear. This goes away with regular use but is something I go through each time I take a longer break from wearing them. The other is when I'm singing. When I'm in a situation where I sing I found I cannot always hear the other singers over my own internalized voice. To get around this I need to remove one of the ear plugs partially defeating their purpose.
I was never in loud bands till I did my first tour, on guitar, which was in the USA and I was shocked how loud the stage volume was. Loud on stage monitors and huge side fills plus backline.. Since that tour I have always worn ear plugs when playing in loud bands and often at rehearsals too. I have a -17db set which are flat response and great for stage and -22 for when I go to listen to live gigs. Sometimes if i am playing a dep gig and not really rehearsed with the band, wearing plugs can prevent you hear communication cues from then band or sometimes with reggae having less upper frequencies, you can be a semitone out on an unfamiliar song and not hear it.
Last rehearsal wasn't as bad as the first so we shall see what happens.
I finally said something to our guitarist the other night but he wasn't having it. I'll invest in some earplugs. It's finally bothering me enough. Especially if I'm singing and can't hear my voice.