No respect

[Eric***]

Stolen from The Gear Page.

[markb]

Cool! Though I was expecting drums or a banjo

[Glacies]

Saved. And sent to my bass player

[NWBasser]

I've seen that one at Talkbass. Still cracks me up.

It seems that bass players don't get very much respect. OTOH it doesn't help that there are a lot of sub-par bass players (in this area at least).

[Duffy]

I think this discussion would be missing something if John Paul Jones was not mentioned.

John Paul Jones was a master muscian formally trained and a multi-instrumentalist; probably most well known for playing bass, all sorts of keyboards, and a huge variety of styles of mandolins.

He received a lot of respect from Led Zepellin fans and was an impressive showman and very groovy player on stage. He was also, and still is, a major producer and muscian, playing with many bands and having his own band at present.

I listened to the first Led Zep cd a couple nights ago at night when everything was quiet and my mind was clear and free of preoccupation. Unaware of this thread, JPJ's bass and keyboard contributions on the cd struck me as very essential in the up front sound of the interwoven music of the players. He was totally grooving with the drummer but also was heard to move to stand out beautifully in so many songs, while Page laid back; as well as hitting it along with Page of course.

I also was turned on by the way he played the keyboards, evidently using bass pedals to give the keyboard parts a distinctly basslike affect. Listening to his keyboard playing I heard melodies that seemed to dip into the well of his background of serious symphonic music, hinting at the ambience of sound in a cathedral, etc. This keyboard playing in Led Zepellin may also be something that is not noticed sometimes, but, to me, is awesome.

I personally think that most Zep fans would greatly miss JPJ if he was ever replaced in the band; similar to how many of us Stones fans feel that something is missing from their music since Bill Wyman retired - the new bass player does not impart that same vibe to the music.

I think there are some bass players that have earned the respect of the fans of many bands, including, also, The Who and the incomparable John Entwhistle.

Also, I don't know if the fans knew it or not, but many great muscians like, as stated earlier, Albert Collins relied strongly on their bass players and had great respect for them. But this goes along with the thinking that in general bass players contributions are commonly appreciated by other muscians most.

Also I think it is true that in some bands bass players are relegated to minor roles hidden in the background. On the other hand great muscians like BB King and Stevie Ray Vaughn would often feature each member of their bands in live performances, giving them time to feature some awesome lead solo's for the benefit of the audience, reinforcing publicly that they didn't produce their awesome performance alone.

[deeaa*]

FWIW, I understand that at least Stateside drummers get most of the jokes, and bassists are pretty well respected. They even have their own mags and there are well-known bass players! :-)

Here I don't think I ever heard a drummer joke, and I can even think of several famous drummers from here...but not a single bassist comes to mind.
And the joke is ALWAYS on the bassist. Gazillions of bassist jokes out there. Here's one two of my faves:

A guy goes to music school and says he wants to play bass, having never played any instrument.
So, fine, the very first day they teach him how to make a sound 'bom'.
He comes back the next day and they teach him how to make a sound 'bam'.
But then he doesn't come any more. They wonder why.
A few weeks later a teacher sees the guy and asks; how come you never came back any more.
The guy replies: oh, I just get so many gigs with bands these days I don't have the time...

Another one:

A guy comes to a music store and says, waving a big pile of cash:
- I want that red trumpet and that metallic-looking accordion, please!
The salesperson asks: you a bass player?
- Yeah, why? he asks.
- No matter. I can sell you the extinguisher just fine, but the AC unit stays on the wall...

[NWBasser]

[QUOTE=deeaa;223147]FWIW, I understand that at least Stateside drummers get most of the jokes, and bassists are pretty well respected. They even have their own mags and there are well-known bass players! :-)
[QUOTE]

Yes, we have our own magazine. They sometimes let us out of the house too if we behave properly.

Outside of musicians, to the general public, bass players don't really exist. Well-known? No, not by the general public at least.

Ask a person on the street to name a bass player and you'll get a blank stare most likely. Some people may be able to name Flea though.

[Eric***]

Yes, we have our own magazine. They sometimes let us out of the house too if we behave properly.

Outside of musicians, to the general public, bass players don't really exist. Well-known? No, not by the general public at least.

Ask a person on the street to name a bass player and you'll get a blank stare most likely. Some people may be able to name Flea though.

Wow, that's a good point. I actually do think quite a few people would know Geddy Lee, Sting, and Paul McCartney, though they might not realize that they play bass!

I guess I never realized how anonymous bassists can be to the general public. Strange to realize that.

[R_of_G]

Ask a person on the street to name a bass player and you'll get a blank stare most likely. Some people may be able to name Flea though.

I typically want to slap those people as hard as Flea slaps his bass. They guy has made a career of (poorly) imitating Larry Graham and everybody puts him over as the greatest thing ever. He ain't funky. He doesn't rock. He's just loud. Whoop-dee-freaking-doo. I could spend hours listing bass players off the top of my head who play better than he does in every style people think he plays.

In my personal experience, I've heard many more jokes about drummers than bass players. My neighbor (bass player) contends drummers aren't actually musicians. I counter-contended that he was an idiot.

[NWBasser]

My neighbor (bass player) contends drummers aren't actually musicians. I counter-contended that he was an idiot.

Um yeah, this guy's no musician...

[Duffy]

Here is another one that I think most fans know and respect the bass player. He adds a to the overall vibe produced by Stevie Nicks and Lindsay Buckingham, and grooves with Mick Fleetwood. A lot of Fleetwood Mac fans would identify the bass player as John McVie. And how about Roger Waters, admittedly also a singer but definitely would probably be identified as the bass player by most Pink Floyd fans.



I would admit that most ancillary bass players that are not founding members would be difficult for fans to identify without asking some questions.

[markb]

How many country bass players does it take to change a lightbulb?

1 - 5 - 1 - 5...

[deeaa*]

Yeah, geddy, sting, jaco, flea, trujillo, claypool, collins, kilmister, I can think of loads of famous bassists...
I guess drummers are more well known here still. I don't personally know many by name, I'm more of a string instrument kinda guy.

[NWBasser]

Yeah, geddy, sting, jaco, flea, trujillo, claypool, collins, kilmister, I can think of loads of famous bassists...
I guess drummers are more well known here still. I don't personally know many by name, I'm more of a string instrument kinda guy.

Dee, you're right that those are famous bassists among musicians. The public only recognize the ones that sing though, except maybe Flea and possibly Bootsy because they're so outlandish.

IMO, one of the greatest bass players ever, Victor Wooten, is practically unknown outside music circles.

But for drummers? I guess a lot know Neil Peart or Gene Kruppa. Come to think of it, I suppose it's even worse for respect for drummers.

[guitartango]

Dee, you're right that those are famous bassists among musicians. The public only recognize the ones that sing though, except maybe Flea and possibly Bootsy because they're so outlandish.

IMO, one of the greatest bass players ever, Victor Wooten, is practically unknown outside music circles.

But for drummers? I guess a lot know Neil Peart or Gene Kruppa. Come to think of it, I suppose it's even worse for respect for drummers.

Sorry but i had to google Neil and Gene, but everyone know's Ringo !

[Duffy]

Another bass player I think most fans know by name is the bass player for Fleetwood Mac.



John McVie.

[Ch0jin]

I'm a guitar player so I'm clearly biased, but I'm compelled to defend drummers whenever these kinds of jokes are made (I do have a stash of drummer and bass player jokes though). If your drummer is off, it doesn't matter how amazing the rest of the band is, it will sound horrible. You can throw a weak guitarist and bass player in with a tight drummer and it'll still come out kind of OK. I reckon anyway.

Oh and as far as bass players go.... Les Claypool for sure, but I've gotta throw in the late Cliff Burton!

[Eric***]

You can throw a weak guitarist and bass player in with a tight drummer and it'll still come out kind of OK. I reckon anyway.

Oh and as far as bass players go.... Les Claypool for sure, but I've gotta throw in the late Cliff Burton!

I completely agree. When I met my best friend (who is a drummer), I realized the power of drummers on the music as a whole.

And I was going to cite cliff as a recognizable bassist by any real metallica fan earlier in the thread too.

[bcdon***]

When I met my beat friend (who is a drummer),

What the hell is a 'beat friend?' Oh wait, maybe I don't want to know All you guys are forgetting about the coolest bassist of all times, Kip Winger!