Quote Originally Posted by Eric View Post
Back to NWB's point, I do agree that most non-musicians probably couldn't name many people from the rhythm section of the bands they listen to, unless the bassist is also the singer. Doesn't mean the bass n' drums aren't important, but that's kind of how it is. Come to think of it, I'm not sure there are that many non-singing guitarists who the general public would know. Certainly more than the number of bassists and drummers, but there are probably plenty of people who don't know anybody other than the singer.

I'd say that for most people (general population -- music nuts and musicians aside), ability to recognize/know the name of a member of a band probably goes like this:

75% singer
20% guitarist
3% bassist
2% drummer

That is to say that if they were to name a member of a band, the likelihood it would be a given role in the band is based on the percentages. I've never really thought about this before, but it's an interesting thing to think about.
Yeah Eric, that seems about right.

However, as a bass player, none of that actually bothers me in the least. I'm fine with no recognition in that regard.

What actually ticks me off are the few guitarists that look down on bass players. While most guitarists really appreciate what I bring to the table, I've encountered a few that say "just play the roots this way (or something similar)" or try to bury me with volume. One guy actually reached over and turned my amp down to an inaudible level. Fortunately, he escaped with his hand intact, but I immediately packed up and never played with him again.