Ever met a bass hero?

[J.A.]

A couple days ago, I met Buster Williams, who is a jazz legend, and one of the most interesting of the traditional jazz bassists I've heard (along with LaFaro).

 

I also met Jasper, the bassist for Citizen Fish, at a show in Pittsburgh a little over a year ago. It was a Subhumans show, and he's not a Subhuman, but I told him he should play tambourine for them.

 

Everyone else here, most of whom are more skilled and dedicated, have probably been in a position to meet more bass gods. So what gods have you met? Have any of you older cats met Jaco (RIP, so I can be eternally jealous)?

[jeremy c]

Yes, I have met "bass gods". They are people, just like we are.

 

Nearly all of them have been extremely pleasant and easy to talk to. The fraternity of bass players is a good bunch of people.

 

Actually I should say the fraternity and sorority of bass players, because some of the bass gods are bass goddesses.

 

Unless I am forced, I'm not going to make a big list, I've met many people at NAMM shows over the years, have taken lessons from a few major names and have even taught a few myself.

[sbrock1san.rr.com]

I met Andy West from the Dixie Dregs, Pete Trewavas from Marillion, Ric Fierabracci who plays with Frank Gambale and Yanni. All seemed like very nice guys.

[tnb]

I've met quite a few and even the most unpleasant was still pretty cool. By "unpleasant" I mean in an honest, no bull sh*t kind of way.

 

On the other hand, I have met a few rockers (non bassists - of course) that need a spanking. One, has a b*tch slap waiting for him.

[BenLoy]

Was his name Harmon Neenot?

[bottle12am]

My surreal moment was at Tipitina's in New Orleans in the early 1990's.

 

Bela Fleck was playing that night. A girl I met at the concert told me to hang around after, that bands usually come out to sign autographs, etc.

 

I did. Most of the crowd thinned out and there were only a handful of us left. Us diehards waited about 45 minutes after the show for the band to come out.

 

Bela and Howard Levy sat in the front of the stage, and a few of us began chatting them up. All of a sudden, I feel this bump on my butt.

 

It was a basketball.

 

Seems Victor Wooten had been shooting basketballs behind me (the place is built similar to many HOB venues-- upstairs balcony, etc. Well, in Tipitina's, there happens to be a basketball goal hanging from the rafters... something I never noticed til that moment).

 

Long story short, Vic invites me to shoot a few with him, and for about 5 minutes I was engaged in one-on-one with my idol.

 

Afterwards he sat down with his bandmates. Incredibly cordial, he took his time talking with me (and the rest of the crowd) about music, philosophy, and anything else we'd ask.

 

Dead tired, he still didn't get up and leave the stage til us drooling fans were out of questions and getting tired ourselves.

 

He was just the most incredible guy, showing how his talent is only surpassed by his humbleness.

 

Bass Instructional Videos? This guy should be making videos on how to be a damn decent human being. He is a true gentleman, and a walking, breathing lesson in genuine kindness.

[JPJ]

I met John Paul Jones a few years ago after a show in Cincinatti for the Zooma tour. He was simply amazing....his playing was outstanding, the show was great, and he was extremely personable and generous with fans after the show. I just saw him agian last night after the Mutual Admination Society show and he was just as jovial, friendly, and personable last night as he was 5+ years ago. On a side note....if you have the opportunity to see Jonsey, Glen Phillips, and the Nickle Creek gang on this tour, DO SO!!! It is an amazing night of music.

[57pbass]

I've met a few at the different Bass Day events in NYC but my favorite was a one on one with Willie Weeks for about 3 hours. I met him at Westbury Music Fair on Long Island before a Wynonna show. He's a great guy and we talked bass and about his many sessions...Harrison...Stones ..Allman..etc...

 

He is a bass gear crackhead like myself...

[SteveC]

I have met Rocco Prestia from Tower of Power.

 

I have also met (see avitar) Jimmy Haslip of "Yellowjackets" fame.

 

Both very nice guys and took time to talk to me.

[...]

Originally posted by BenLoy:

Was his name Harmon Neenot?

 

AAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHAAAA!!!

[Mark Zeger]

Originally posted by justinruins:

Have any of you older cats met Jaco (RIP, so I can be eternally jealous)?

That would be me (if that makes me an "older cat") but "met" only in the most brief sense.

 

I saw WR on the "8:30" tour. A friend and I waited for them to leave the venue and head for the bus. IIRC, Peter Erskine made a bee line for the bus but everyone else signed a few minutes worth of autographs for a small crowd. So somewhere in my basement, I have a Ticketron envelope signed "Zawinul", "Wayne Shorter", and "Jaco".

[EddiePlaysBass]

Well I've met Trevor Bolder a few times, though there was little time for conversation. Also, Steve Dunning whom I consider one helluva bass player, has become a personal friend over the years.

 

These names may not ring a bell to a lot of you, but that just goes to show how hard it is for bands and musicians to get the credit they deserve ...

[J.A.]

Originally posted by Mark Zeger:

Originally posted by justinruins:

Have any of you older cats met Jaco (RIP, so I can be eternally jealous)?

That would be me (if that makes me an "older cat") but "met" only in the most brief sense.

 

I saw WR on the "8:30" tour. A friend and I waited for them to leave the venue and head for the bus. IIRC, Peter Erskine made a bee line for the bus but everyone else signed a few minutes worth of autographs for a small crowd. So somewhere in my basement, I have a Ticketron envelope signed "Zawinul", "Wayne Shorter", and "Jaco".

Damn you, Mark! I knew someone would have met Jaco. It's nice to meet people that serve as an example on your instrument. Too bad talent can't be gained by osmosis, or else I'd stalk Victor Wooten.

[groovyjazzyfunky]

Met Victor Wooten a few times, and he's definitely one of the friendliest, most sincere individuals I've ever met. The last time I saw him the venue was shoo-ing people out pretty quickly, and you could tell that Vic was a bit put out that he wasn't being allowed to interact more with the fans.

 

I also met Mark White of the Spin Doctors, whose bass-playing was definitely a major factor in my picking up the bass in the first place. Hung out with him one-on-one (well, actually my friend was there too) for about 45 minutes. Character-wise, the complete opposite of Victor. Sorry to say, he was kind of an ass. And he knew it, and basically went out of his way to make it perfectly clear that he was a highly successful musician and I was not, and that if and when I was in his position someday then I could be an ass, too. Sorry, Mark, not my goal.

 

But I still love the Spin Doctors.

[Scoot]

I met Fieldy last year at a KoRn show.

 

He ruled.

[BenLoy]

I met Bakithi Kumalo on a couple of occasions and he's very relaxed and cool. Extremely nice guy.

 

John Clayton is very nice as well. I watched him play a mind-boggling set with (pianist) Monty Alexander and (drummer) Jeff Hamilton and got the pleasure of meeting him after the show. My drummer friend that brought me knew drummer Jeff Hamilton through his teacher, and we spent about 45 minutes chatting with him as well. Funny, funny guy. And what a player.

 

I met John Patitucci in an elevator way back when I was a sophomore in college. He noticed my gig bag and went out of his way to introduce himself to me. I was so flustered and nervous that I deperately tried to think of something to say that didn't sound like I was falling all over myself in hero worship: "Oh, I've heard of you." Ho boy...I still haven't lived that one down from my friends.

 

My teacher in college, Martin Wind, introduced me to Christian McBride after he gave a master class at NYU. Yet again, an incredibly warm and friendly guy.

 

Once again, I'm reminded of the first rule in Askold Buk's "25 Things": Nobody likes an asshole!

[EddiePlaysBass]

Originally posted by BenLoy:

Nobody likes an asshole!

Actually depending on the line of business they're in ... Nevermind, I'd prolly get banned if I finish this sentence

[Steve Force]

My experiences with Victor Wooten are simular to the other postings--he is not only an awesome bassist, he is a nice guy as well. I had the pleasure of briefly speaking with him twice after a Flecktone gig and also a Victor Wooten Band gig here in Detroit.

 

Both times I walked away with a big smile on my face, feeling very special. Based on the way other people describe their experiences, this must be the way he is and I think that is great!

 

Re: a video showing Vic's human side--I suggest watching the Flecktones DVD "Live at the Quick". It has a segment of Vic playing bass with some Berklee bass students. Great seqment, IMO.

[Mark Zeger]

Originally posted by justinruins:

Damn you, Mark! I knew someone would have met Jaco.

I wouldn't say getting a quick autograph is anywhere on par with Ben's experiences or Bottle shooting hoops with Victor Wooten.

 

A few month ago, I did spend a rewarding 10-15 minutes discussing film scoring with Randy Newman, but Randy's not a bass player.

[Kendrix]

When Stanley C. was with RTF - the night before they recorded their second album (1974?)- they were playing a modest gig in Northern NJ ( "Place in the Woods" was the name of the venue as I recall).

 

Before the gig started I ran into Stanley milling about on the floor. I got to chat with him for ten minutes or so. He was very friendly.

I remember talking to him about the first RTF guitarist Bill Connors and the circumstances of his leaving the group. We slso spoke about the prospect of RTF achieving rock-god-like status if they played their cards right. I couldnt take my eyes off his monstrously huge hands/fingers

 

Stanley was a real nice guy and he remains one of my very favorite Bassists on the planet.

[moot]

In the mid 80's I was working with a concrete company and we poured Ross Valeries driveway at his beautiful home in Oakland.

 

Great guy! Offered drinks, gave us a tour of his house (I'd give a limb for his music room) and answered tons of questions about Journey, bass playing, touring and anything else we asked.

 

Shortly after I bought my first Steinberger.

 

BTW: His favorite bassist - J.P. Jones.

[Quinn]

I met Gary Grainger. He's not exactly a household name, but he should be. He played with John Scofield and has done many sessions and he is a great person.

 

I 'met' Alphonso Johnson virtually after posting on his website the day after a Jazz Is Dead show. He sent me a really nice e-mail that I've kept for years now.

 

I think that's it, I'm not much of a hero meeter. I'm usually pretty shy and I don't want to bother them.

[dcr]

Took a lesson from Ed Friedland. I played like unbelievable @ss. I'm sure he had to have a lie down afterward. But what a great guy.

 

I'm not much of a hero meeter, either. It'd never occur to me to go chat someone up after a show.

[...]

I've had the good fortune of meeting a number of 'bass heros'; some I've actually been lucky enough to play with.

 

A quick list off the top of my dome:

 

Jason Newsted (Metallica)

Tony Levin (god)

Bryan Beller (Mike Keneally, Steve Vai)

Ray Brown (jazz legend.. was a very, very nice guy)

Stu Cook (CCR)

Krist Novoselic (Nirvana)

Eddie Jackson (Queensryche)used to play Nintendo with him

Jeff Ahment (Pearl Jam)

Brian Bromberg (solo, ninja, complete asshole)

Christian McBride (jazz super ninja, another extremly nice guy)

Michael Manring (scary manthing)

[bassaddik]

many, yes, i knew Jaco from Ft Lauderdale

Jim Fielder

Marcus Miller

Victor Wooten

Jack Bruce

Jeff Berlin

Nathan East

Jimmy Haslip

Lincoln Goines

Matt Garrison

David Dyson

many more including the legendary bassists

Jeremy Cohen and

Wally Malone !!

gotta say, Victor was awesome, what a friendly cat!

Jaco was a nut job! my claim to fame is he played my early Tobias and dinged it!! then laughed about it being a 5 string!

David Dyson is a friend and Jim Fielder was my inspiration to play bass and is now a good friend. Bassists are the coolest !!

[PickPunk]

I haven't met any bass "hero's" yet but 2morrow i'll be spending my day at Vans warped tour with a few friends of mine so maybe if i'm lucky i'll get to meet one of my personal bass hero's, chris#2 from anti-flag, i'd be more than happy to meet the rest of the band as well as i hear they're all great guys.

I'd also like to meet the guys from bad religion, jay bentley is a great bassist but i'd like to meet the whole band because based on their lyrics. greg graffin (lead singer) and brett gurewitz (guitarist(1of 3) seem like very intelligent people that would be nice to talk to.

 

I'd really like to meet fat mike from NOFX but they aren't playing montreal's warped tour for some unknown reason so sadly i'll have to wait till they do a montreal show for that.

 

I think next year Rancid will be playing the warped tour so i'd really like to meet matt freeman, he's one of my favourite bassists and i'd love to ask him how taking lessons from jeremyc was .

 

They only semi-almost-famous band i've ever met were Bigwig, they were all very nice guys, their lead singer was funny as hell and during the show their rhythm guitarist gave me a bottle of water . I didn't see much of their bassist, i had a 30 second conversation with him that consisted of:

me: "hey you guys were great"

him: "thanks, you guys were an awesome crowd"

me: "i play bass too, thought you were really good"

him: "thanks, hey get a band together, maybe someday we'll tour with you guys"

me: "that would be awesome"

him:"ya, well i gotta go pack up, nice meeting you"

me: "likewise, bye"

the end.

 

peace

[BigKahuna855]

if you do meet these guys pick, bring the LDLD web address and tell them to join!

 

really like to meet fat mike from NOFX but they aren't playing montreal's warped tour for some unknown reason so sadly i'll have to wait till they do a montreal show for that.

fat mike's wife is expecting their baby(she may have already had it, im not sure) and he went home to spend time with her

[Scoot]

Originally posted by Bumpcity:

Jeff Ahment

, . Bump, as your punishment for misspelling Mr. Ament's name, you must write "anyhoo" on the chalkboard 100 times.

[davebrownbass]

Is anybody else NOT surprised that Ross Vallory liked John Paul Jones the best?

 

Of course, I studied with Chuck Rainey for 9 months in the early 90's. Incredible guy.

 

Kristen Korb, disciple of Ray Brown, did a workshop I attended a couple of years ago. I found her to be warm and friendly, but we didn't really chat.

 

At guitar shows, it's easy to meet some famous guys, but it's not a "chatty" kind of experience.

 

I met BJ Thomas 20 years ago, when his wife was having a baby at the hospital where I worked. He was like any other expectant father that didn't make it into the birthing room...nervous and pacing. However, when you add "recovering coke star" and "big hair" and "Now who is he again?" it was an odd experience.

 

One of my bass teachers, Ed Garcia, missed my first lesson because he was playing Ronald Reagan's inaugural ball. That was pretty god-like to me as a young, green bassist. It took me 2 years to get over that and just learn something from him.

[groover]

I've met Abraham Laboriel at a gig in Hershey, PA. Friend of mine took a photo of me talking with him, that photo is now proudly framed and displayed in my practice room at home. Also got to meet drummer Chester Thompson at that same gig. Both were very nice, humble guys. It's really awesome when you get to meet players that you've admired and they don't have large egos, even though they get harassed by well meaning fans at every venue.