Jump to content


Please note: You can easily log in to MPN using your Facebook account!

Star Trek-bass playing


surfmonkey

Recommended Posts

*shameless self promotion*

 

In case you were wondering who the bass player in the wedding scene of Star Trek:Nemesis is...it's me! :D

And if you haven't seen it already, I command you to do so, or I'm leaving this forum at once. :P

 

*shameless self promotion*

I have no homepage.
Link to comment
Share on other sites



  • Replies 33
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Way cool!!! My girlfriend and I are going tomorrow to see the movie (both of us love sci-fi). Lookin' forward to hearin' ya on the big screen.

 

How did this come about?

Bassplayers aren't paid to play fast, they're paid to listen fast.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I hear you play the new Fender P-bass 5 trillion ehh? I might see the movie is it good and how did yoiu get the job and how much they pay ya? Ohh I forgot I didn't know there was a wedding scene in the movie :( Mayvbe for spoilin the movie I'll have to kill ya :freak:

Cheers

In Skynyrd We Trust
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey, I saw you today! The movie wasn't as good as I hoped...but it was better than Star Trek V, thank god! :D

 

What EUB was that? A Zeta?

 

And how the hell do those plastic cymbals really sound???

 

"Blue skiies...smilin' at me..." :D

 

Incidentally, I played Patrick Stewart's son's wedding in NY...it was eerie...Captain Picard himself was videotaping us while we played!!! The trombonist and I, both trekkies, were like, "How ironic is this????" :D

 

I shook his hand after our last set. The guy's got class, I tells ya. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whoops, perhaps I should have mentioned, that is not me on the actual soundtrack. :o For that scene they used library tracks which are owned by Paramount, which although lame, is cheaper for them than re-recording it. I am merely playing along.

 

Ben,

Yes, that was a Zeta. They originally built this weird futuristic URB, but it was totally unplayable and awkward looking, so we ditched it(the prop guys were sad). They just happened to have a Zeta "lying around" in the prop room (I wondered what else they had in there, hmmm).

They didn't have the drum kit hooked up, so I couldn't tell you how the cymbals sound. They look goofy though, huh?

 

Da Lady,

No, I didn't spoil the movie for you. I didn't tell you who was getting married. It could be anyone: Picard & Whoopi, Whoopi & Worf, Data & Worf... :freak:

I have no homepage.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, Kazoo, you did spoil the movie!

 

'cause now, when I sit through it, I won't pay attention to the plot, the dialogue, the action.

 

I'll be surfing to catch a glimpse of a bass player! :D

 

Seriously, what a great gig to get. But mostly, I'm really grateful that they chose a real musician to play one onscreen. I'm one of those guys whose "suspension of disbelief" comes crashing down when I see a bunch of goofball actors trying to look like they are playing.

 

So which happened first, a SAG card or playing bass? :D

"Let's raise the level of this conversation" -- Jeremy Cohen, in the Picasso Thread.

 

Still spendin' that political capital far faster than I can earn it...stretched way out on a limb here and looking for a better interest rate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whoops, perhaps I should have mentioned, that is not me on the actual soundtrack. [Embarrassed] For that scene they used library tracks which are owned by Paramount, which although lame, is cheaper for them than re-recording it. I am merely playing along.
Yeah, I suspected that... :P

 

I knew it either wasn't you, or somehow you had such amazing technique that you got an electric upright to sound like a fretted electric! :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by sheX:

hmm... i never really could get into the star trek thing. i dunno, it's just not my scene. but congrats anyway.

Yeah, me neither. I'm more of a Star WARS kind of guy. Much better moovies.

 

Anywho, all of you out there, wouldn't it be funny if he was pulling your legs? I'd laugh, at least. Congrats if it is you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Kazoo! Congratulations on the cool gig, and the VERY neat experience.

 

I am going to check you out today!

 

I love Star Trek and I love BASS, and I love my Low Down Lowdown buddies, so for me the experience will be sheer bliss!

 

... Connie Z

"Change comes from within." - Jeremy Cohen

 

The definition of LUCK: When Preparation meets Opportunity!

 

http://www.cybergumbo.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Saw ya in the movie today, Kazoo. Man, that is too cool. My girlfriend and I enjoyed the heck outta this movie.

 

You is a lucky dog. Congrats. Did you get to associate with the main actors at all, or was it 'keep the extras away'? C'mon, give us some low-down (ha...I made a funny....well...I thought it was :) I guess you didn't get to keep the upright, huh? Damn it....

Bassplayers aren't paid to play fast, they're paid to listen fast.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by jeremyc:

I am so jealous...

also happy for you.

 

I'm a total Trekker...have a Star Fleet uniforn, Klingon language tapes, pictures of me on the bridge (from the Smithsonian Space Science exhibit).

 

I've been gigging all weekend, I'll catch you in the flic sometime this week.

WHERE DID YOU FIND THE KLINGON LANGUAGE TAPES???? wraub and i are on a quest for them. we're also looking for an african clicking language on vinyl (subtle, but funny).
Eeeeeehhhhhhhhh.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by Bastid E:

Originally posted by jeremyc:

I am so jealous...

also happy for you.

 

I'm a total Trekker...have a Star Fleet uniforn, Klingon language tapes, pictures of me on the bridge (from the Smithsonian Space Science exhibit).

 

I've been gigging all weekend, I'll catch you in the flic sometime this week.

WHERE DID YOU FIND THE KLINGON LANGUAGE TAPES???? wraub and i are on a quest for them. we're also looking for an african clicking language on vinyl (subtle, but funny).
Actually, I just cut straight to the heart of the matter, and searched for Tri-D chess instructions in Urdu. For total street cred, I found 'em on wax cylinder. Gotta love Ebay.

I had the high bid of $8.19 American, narrowly beating the other guy.

I think they'll come in handy the next time I dj a wedding... Gonna mix 'em into "Unchained Melody".

Seriously, jeremy, I'd have never guessed. Yes, where did you find those?

 

Peace,

 

wraub

 

I'm a lot more like I am now than I was when I got here.

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by davebrownbass:

So which happened first, a SAG card or playing bass? :D

No, I'm AFM, no SAG card because I'm not an actor. I did some singing in a movie a while back, and for that you are usually supposed to be a SAG member. But, they waive that rule if you don't want to join (only 3 times, I think). I believe the dues are kind of pricey.
I have no homepage.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by fig:

Did you get to associate with the main actors at all, or was it 'keep the extras away'? C'mon, give us some low-down (ha...I made a funny....well...I thought it was :) I guess you didn't get to keep the upright, huh? Damn it....

Well, technically we're not extra's, so we're allowed pretty much everywhere. I usually don't talk to the actors much because I don't have much to say, other than "who wants the last donut?" :P I did talk to Data (?) though, and he was very nice. Oh, and Striker (I don;t know anyone's real name) was very cool too. Striker originally had a trombone solo in that scene, but they cut it out. He plays trombone and I guess he wanted to incorporate that into the movie. Although I did see a trombone in the background later on in the movie, so I guess he got his wish!

 

Of all the stuff I've worked on, the Star Trek people are always the nicest and most down to earth. I did Star Trek:Voyager too, and it was the same way, so I guess it's a Star Trek thing.

 

As far as how I got started: A few years back I did an audition for a sitcom called Malcolm & Eddie. The show took place in a jazz club, and they wanted a jazz trio for the show. So, I got the part and did the show for the whole season that year, which was a lot of fun. And we actually did get to record on that one. Sometimes you get to record, sometimes you don't. Anyway, from there I got called to do shows from time to time. I do a bunch of this stuff every year. It's not something you can make a career out of, but they are just fun to do every once in a while.

I have no homepage.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What kazoo surfmonkey did is known as a "sideline" and is covered by an AFM contractual agreement with the film industry. My wife was the guitarist in the "Lost Boys" movie and still receives a check every year from the Motion Picture Special Payments Fund. Each year the checks get a little bit smaller. There are also new use checks that come under this agreement that include uses for video sales, cable, network television, etc. The special payments fund payment works off of the gross that the picture makes, the bigger the picture the bigger the payment.

 

Wally

I have basses to play, places to be and good music to make!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Well, I finally got to see the movie...and there you were, grinning to beat the band standing behind Data.

 

And, given the song Data was singing, the use of the Zeta is perfectly appropriate...as a "vintage" instrument (unlike the plexiglass cymbals in the first scene.)

 

I was never quite clear...that was a holodeck scene, right?

 

And, for one of the first times ever I saw a bass player who knew how to hold the bass, place his hands in proper position and play real half position notes.

 

Now if we could only get the editing guys to match your notes to the track. For the final scene, the music cadences to a tonic, and you are playing something like f natural to e.

 

Oh well. YOU were great. And the movie, although borrowing heavily from Star Trek II and Star Wars, was pretty good.

 

And your next appearance will be......?

"Let's raise the level of this conversation" -- Jeremy Cohen, in the Picasso Thread.

 

Still spendin' that political capital far faster than I can earn it...stretched way out on a limb here and looking for a better interest rate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by davebrownbass:

[QB]

...Now if we could only get the editing guys to match your notes to the track. For the final scene, the music cadences to a tonic, and you are playing something like f natural to e....

 

QB]

Its those little discrepancies that make all of the Star Trek shows worth watching... that way we know they're carrying on the tradition of the originals. If they got everything perfect it wouldn't be Star Trek.

 

DX

Aerodyne Jazz Deluxe

Pod X3 Live

Roland Bolt-60 (modified)

Genz Benz GBE250-C 2x10

Acoustic 2x12 cab

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...