Re: Getting noticed.

"Pt" <peatea@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1166377517.332088.264470@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Nobody ever notices the bass player.
Bass players keep it all together.
Without a bass the song is boring but nobody even knows you're there
unless you stop playing.
I hate being ignored all the time.

Pt

I agree with what's been said about performance being about "show" as
much as "music." As musicians we'd like to believe that our musical ability
is why people are drawn to our gigs, but most of the time that's not it.
They are after a vibe, a feeling and energy that live music brings into a
room and spreads throughout the audience. There are many ways to build that
vibe; jumping up and down, making eye contact, telling jokes between songs
or even picking the right songs that connect with the listener. I've done
gigs where the right song, played at the right moment, connected with the
audience better than any show of musicianship could.
As for being noticed, I think it's about *how* you play. If you put
Victor Wooten or Stanley Clarke or Jaco into a country band, and had them
all play the exact same line, would it be the same show? I doubt it; each
player would bring his own level of stage presence to the gig and would put
something different *into* the notes he was playing. It's not about the
note, it's about everything behind the note. If you play your bass with
authority the audience will notice you, and if you play your bass meekly
they won't remember you even if you light your hair on fire.
Sometimes I like to strip a groove down to the one or two notes that
really make it work, and see how I can use those few notes to effect the
audience. Playing them with different levels of intensity or different
emotion will get a different reaction from the listener, and if you can't
hook them with one note, all the technique and tricks in the world aren't
going to do it.
Or you could buy a gold sequined jumpsuit, a chrome bass with a laser on
the headstock, a huge orange afro wig, some stilts, and juggle between
songs. That might get you noticed too.
-Jonathan


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