I have always noticed that a lot of my fellow guitarists have wildly varying and sometimes very dismissive, dickish attitudes about a band member most bands cannot exist (or exist AND sound "decent") without: the bass player.
Everyone's heard the shitty guitar player jokes about bassists...
"What, six strings too much for them?"
"What do you call a guitarist who can't play? A bassist!"
"How do you reduce wind-drag on a bassist's car? Take the Domino's Pizza sign off the roof!"
"What do you throw a drowning bass player? His amp."
"Why don't bass players tell blonde jokes? They don't understand them."
"What do you call a beautiful woman on a bassist's arm? A tattoo."
"What's the difference between a vacuum cleaner and a bassist? The vacuum cleaner has to be plugged in to suck."
"How can you tell when the stage is perfectly level? Drool comes out both sides of the bass player's mouth."
"What do you call a bass player in a 3-piece suit? The Defendant."
"What do you call a bass player without a girlfriend? Homeless."
"How do you get a bass player to turn down? Put sheet music in front of him."
"Did you hear about the drummer who locked his keys in the car? It took him three hours to get the bass player out."
There. Happy? Get that out of your system? Good. Now readjust that shitty attitude and start appreciating what a bassist adds to your band or project. You're not a dumb kid anymore, and you should stop and ask yourself: what would I do without a bass of some sort in my band?
When I was 15, about to turn 16, I was working during the summer at a mom-n-pop guitar shop in Clemson (one of SC's better-known "college towns"), and the owner of the store's son got offered a gig up the street doing a two-nighter at a wing bar right across from campus, and he was originally just going to just use one of his iterations of his "band" (translation: whatever available musicians were available who wanted to make a few easy bucks any given weekend). But his go-to bass player (a guy only a couple years my senior who couldn't stay out of trouble of the cringiest kind) was "indisposed" (translation: "presumably in jail this time for doing something dumb"), so he asked if I wanted a go at it. I was an absolute halfass on guitar, only knew a few bad power-chord renditions of a handful of songs (mostly first-gen punk, a couple grunge songs and a couple awful versions of some classics), but I thought to myself, "sure, it's fewer strings, so how hard can it be?" Famous (and colossally idiotic) last words of the naïve and inexperienced, I know.
He went through his "set list" (a hodgepodge of a few blues tunes, some classic rock and oldies, and a handful of fairly simple original songs), and I took a few notes. "Hey Joe" by Hendrix? Sure. "Voodoo Child"? No problem, I can hack my way through it. Led Zeppelin's "The Lemon Song"? Yup. Thankfully, as I've found has usually been the case ever since, the set list was made up of songs that I might not necessarily know how to play, but was familiar enough with so that once I got the main notes in my head, I could "pass" as a rudimentary bass player. It was a Tuesday, and the gig was to span the upcoming Friday and Saturday nights. So I had a couple days to bust my ass and learn a few blues bass patterns, memorize some chord progressions to play alongside and get my fingers as ready as they were going to be for my first "professional gig". Gigs went fine, the drummer was a super cool older fellow who helped me learn how to lock-in with the kick drum, and who gave me sage advice that I still hold valuable to this day. That man was Freddie Wooten (of Palmetto Drums fame), and he told me, matter-of-factly--and I am paraphrasing but the concept is spot-on what he said-- to never forget when you're playing gigs that "95% of your audience won't know really how "good" you are or aren't, so long as you aren't flat-out blowing it" (and in my experiences, sometimes they can't even tell when you ARE blowing it), "so just play your heart out and have fun, and they're gonna' love it". Freddie is still a friend all these years later and I love him dearly for his mentorship. I hope one day before either of us moves on to that next plane of existence we get a chance to play together again. So thanks to Freddie's coaching and my own built-in angst as a teenager whose parents were in the middle of an uncomfortable (but thankfully temporary) separation, I made it out the other side, having gained some street cred and a lot of self-confidence that I'd previously been missing.
My fingers had big blisters on them and my hands were so wrecked that I didn't want to touch a guitar for 4 or 5 days afterwards, but it was so satisfying and rewarding. 30 years later and I still enjoy playing bass every bit as much as guitar (sometimes MORE so), have learned a lot over the years about voicings, melody/countermelody, feel and attack, and obviously hold far more respect for any bass players I collaborate with than the average douchebag guitarist who denigrates bassists as somehow "less than" guitarists or "guys who can't hack it on a guitar". Often the bass gigs are more lucrative, and I've come to really appreciate the importance of being a competent on-call bassist.
At the end of 2023, I was recruited to join a steady-gigging private-events band on bass. Well, that was the original intent, anyways. Because the group has a list of "stand-ins" so that they don't have to cancel gigs should a member be unable to make it, I also made it known that I could play guitar so I could remain on that main rotation. I've since been basically given all main guitar duties--which is fine, I'm not complaining that my guitar skills are in demand, please don't misunderstand me--but I'd be remiss not to say that I was kind of looking forward to the simplicity of just lugging around a single bass in a gigbag to shows (all their stuff runs direct so no amps to schlep around), playing some tasty basslines, and getting that paycheck.
One of the things I loved about playing bass with that project is that sometimes, if I'm being completely honest, when I'm playing songs I'm not entirely thrilled about, I find the bass parts to be much more interesting or even challenging, and often more FUN than plinking around on guitar during songs I just don't really "feel". There are many songs out there that I genuinely DISlike, or flat-out hate, but if I'm playing bass on them, I can get lost in a different place. Especially when I'm having to slog through some cheesyass overplayed song that makes me sick to my stomach to even listen to, let alone play--I'm looking at you, "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Hotel California", and all your ilk--I just find the bass parts far more intriguing. I don't have to force myself to play a guitar riff or solo I detest, and instead I can listen to the drummer and pretend I'm playing something completely different in my head canon. Yes, I'm still playing the actual song, but something about playing it as part of the rhythm section makes it less corny for me. I feel like a sellout when I'm playing those kinds of songs on the guitar. And don't you dare fucking ask me to sing backup on that horseshit. But somehow when I'm locking in that bass groove, I can get over having to play crappy music to a certain degree.
In a future blog, I may address in depth what it means to "play bass like a bass, and not like a guitar", because that's also a consideration when one decides to bring the thunder. You don't just "play the root" on everything, and you have to make sure you're playing with your drummer. At the same time, don't suddenly start pulling out all your little tricks you goof off at Guitar Center with either. Not every song needs slap-bass, and Flea, you are not. Just play the song. Listen to solid bassists like Cliff Williams, Dusty Hill, Kim Deal, Tina Weymouth and Michael Anthony, who are deceptively simple in their approach (but isolate their tracks to hear how damn GOOD they really are). But also listen to Andy Fraser, John Entwistle, Geezer Butler, John Paul Jones and Geddy Lee, and pay attention to the "extras". All of these players give the bass its own voice, and do way more for the songs than just "double the guitar". With the usual guitarist-filling-in-on-bass, it's painfully obvious to me, watching them schizophrenically go from oversimplifying the bass parts to trying too hard to impress people, and I can't take them seriously because they're mocking the fundamentals of the instrument.
The biggest issue I see though, is the irrational phobia a lot of guitarists seem to have about playing bass. You either get the ones who think they're "lowering themselves" by performing bass duties, or the ones who can't wrap themselves around how to play the bass entirely. You can tell them all day long that the strings are the same as the lowest four strings on their guitar, and the notes on the fretboard also are the exact same notes as on their guitar (just an octave lower), but their eyes glass-over and they look more confused than the dog listening to your voice on the answering machine. It's still a BASS GUITAR. It's not like someone's trying to get you to understand a woodwind or a steel drum. Quit pretending to be obtuse thinking it will save you from the dreaded bass guitar position. Look, guys: the bass is a respected, necessary instrument in almost ever style of music to some degree or another, and you really need to just get over either the idea that your ability to play guitar is somehow "superior" to bass, or conversely, get over the idea that they're inherently so different that you can't wrap your mind around what to do on a bass. And a big ol' middle-finger goes out to any of you egotistical shredder trash who think you're simply "too good" to bother with bass. Keep playing in your bedroom and whinging online about how you can't "find a good band".
Make yourself a valuable musician for your band, or give yourself an additional tool for songwriting, recording, gigging and overall enjoyment. Just pick up the bass. There's nothing to fear, and there is no more negative a blot on one's escutcheon for playing bass than there is for being an insufferable douchebag guitar player. Cut the shit.
I'll close with a vindicating joke FOR my bass playing homies out there, which might be oversimplified, but hammers the point home that a mediocre bassist is more useful than a hundred mediocre guitarists:
A man buys his son a bass for his birthday, and also pays for 5 lessons.
After the first lesson, the boy comes home and the Dad asks "What did you learn today?"
"I learned the first 5 notes on the E string." the son says proudly.
After the second lesson, the dad asks "What did you learn this time?"
"I learned the first 5 notes on the A string." the boy says.
After the third lesson, the Dad waits at home for hours and hours. Finally, around 2am, the son comes home, smelling of whiskey and cigarettes.
"Where the hell have you been?!" the Dad demands.
"I had a gig," says the son.
Goodnight, everybody...
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