Ever deal with GPD

[Rob E.Bass]

GPD is "Guitar players disease" also known as GPES Guitar players ego syndrome.

 

I used to play with a guy who had a problem with every bass player he played with.When I left the band he went through 17 bass players the drummer told me.Everyone was more musically inclined then he was and it bugged him.He was a middle of the road guitar player who wrote interesting songs but figured if he got good players he could tell them what to do and his songs would be better.The problem was not only did he not understand the behavior of music but the role of the Bass guitar.

 

I was forced to play WRONG just to satisfy this guys ego and had no creative control.It was worse than bass playing that sounded like a guitar player.

 

One of the funniest conversations we ever had he said to me.....

 

"I do everything the best myself....I play guitar best myself and have the best sex myself....My gift is songwriting not guitar playing"

 

I said back to him: "If your gift is songwriting and not guitar playing immagine what that makes my job like."

[JLsound]

Rob,

 

Too funny, good story. I am lucky. I play with a good group of guys. We all cowrite, but, sometimes one of us will bring in a song, and will let each band member add something if they want to.

[cornbread_medhotmail.com]

Sounds like we played with the same guy. He thinks if he spends all this cash on the most expensive gear it will make him so much better than he is. When you try to throw something in, he shoots it down. He says it doesn't fit, but, in actuality, he can't play it or he didn't write it and that bugs him, so he doesn't want it. I just love the drummers with the simmilar affliction that think they can tell you how to play bass.

[Rob E.Bass]

You mean a Kick happy drummer who thinks they have to do the Dennis Chaimbers thing every chance they get?

 

Sad part is this guy did write good songs but your right about the "If I didn't create it then it's not good enough."

[cornbread_medhotmail.com]

When they say follow my kick and they never play the same thing twice!

[Tom Capasso]

I played with a guy for something like 10 years. My sense was he had some issues, and sometimes they came out as guitar ego. There was a time when he was jealous of the lead singer (who was better looking and attracted more female attention). We had some tough moments. At the same time, he played great (not overplaying anymore than I did), wrote great, and we had a lot of laughs. What was best was that we knew each others' heads. During solo stuff, we'd compliment each other's riffs like gold.

 

Of course there was that time back in '72 when we were doing Led Zepplin's Heartbreaker. He kept stretching the guitar-only part, and one time we went upstairs for soda and snacks for 20 minutes while he hacked away at it. We went back down and picked up the song without him stopping. In all fairness, he could tell nasty "control issue" stories about me....

 

Everybody else I played with had less ego than he did, so I've done pretty well.

 

Tom