Funktopotamus Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 I joined a grunge band with a couple of my friends, we're actually more alternative than anything. Well we started writing our own music and I don't want to just play root notes. So does anyone know good grunge/alt bassists that can really cut loose with some good lines. Band or song suggestions so I could get a feel for it would help immensely. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornbread_medhotmail.com Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters early stuff, Mudhoney Just go and do your own thang, man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric VB Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 Maybe Green Day, too? (Sorry, haven't spinned that disc in forever, so maybe not.) My take on that style of music is that the g****r is really laid back, mostly just rhythm playing (chords). It's up to the bass to come to the forefront and provide something riffy or melodic or otherwise interesting to listen to. That role was filled by the lead guitar in previous versions of rock, but here the bass is much less obnoxious. So, yeah, if you "just play root notes" the whole thing can sound kind of boring. Even if your singer is phenominal, you'll still need an instrumental song hook. Although you can listen to covers to get an idea of how the genre sounds, unless you have some theory background most likely the best you'll be able to do is just regurgitate ("borrow") other players' lines, either in part or whole. Nothing wrong with this; it happens all the time. But you may never find an "original" sound that way. If you really want to know what notes to play other than the root, you'll have to brush up on your theory, IMO. Maybe I've misread your post? Perhaps you've got great jazz improv skills, and you're just looking for genre-specific styling? In either case, it pays to at least listen to lots of material in the genre you're playing. Surround yourself in it until it becomes second nature. I assume your friends/bandmates are really into this music, so they should have some tunes to turn you on to. But in the end, cornbread's advice is gold: "Just go and do your own thang, man." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basshappi Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 Incubus - Dirk Lance was their first bassplayer. Their latest CD "A Crow Left Of A Murder" Ben Kenny plays for them. Alien Ant Farm - Tye Zamora is a pretty smokin' player. Check out their first CD "Anthology" Nothing is as it seems but everything is exactly what it is - B. Banzai Life is what happens while you are busy playing in bands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EddiePlaysBass Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 I think that in any genre of music, you always have bass players who are more upfront/in-yer-face/très melodic, quoi? and there are those who stick to the roots. And of course, those who (can) do both. My take? It will depend on the song. In my current rock cover band I have 2 guitars and a keyboard player. I could "compete" with them, but there's little sonic space anyway, so I stick mainly to the roots. My other band should give me more freedom but we never rehearse, so I hardly remember how I play those songs "I'm a work in progress." Micky Barnes The Ross Brown Shirt World Tour Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottomgottem Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 I have always appreciated Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament's style. My whole trick is to keep the tune well out in front. If I play Tchaikovsky, I play his melodies and skip his spiritual struggle. ~Liberace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seamy ALB Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 I would go and listen to something completly different for inspiration, learn some Rush or something equally challenging and go at it from a completely different angle. http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Little-Bitter/185235472447 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenstrum Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 Ben Sheperd - Soundgarden. IMO - One of the most underrated players. Tenstrum "Paranoid? Probably. But just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face." Harry Dresden, Storm Front Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owens hound Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 I echo Tenstrum - Ben Sheperd is amazing. Also mentioned Jeff Ament. Just saw Pearl Jam last month in concert. It was awesome and Jeff did a great job on 4 string, 8 string and UEB. Mother Love Bone had Jeff in it before their lead singer died of an overdose and then Pearl Jam was born. Grunge is one of my favorite periods. Enjoy!! Cornbread, do you mean Foo Fighters early stuff being Nirvana or from their first album? www.myspace.com/nobandatpresent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornbread_medhotmail.com Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 Their first album, before they became more mainstream radio rock. IMO, Nirvana were about as groundbreaking and revolutionary as a comic book tracer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloclo Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 yeah, try those things with alternative influences: like they said Soundgarden Stone Temple Pilots Dinosaur Jr (bassist Lou Barlow) the first Smashing Pumpkins album the early Mercury Rev (with vocalist David Baker) Nova Mob (Admiral of the Sea + Last days of Pompeii, only those, not the self-titled one, but they are well worth it for the bass playing alone! very melodic! Tom Merkl on bass. He's in a band called IFFY but stay away from that one. it s*cks. big time.) if i had to choose go for the Nova Mob albums mentioned, they are hard to find but the bass playing is still (after 14 years) unique, superb and really hard to pull of so you'll have your work cut out for you Marvelas Something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MvW Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 the first two Jane's Addiction albums, most Pearl Jam and anything Soundgarden (the brightest of the genre, IMHO)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikmag Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 well... There's Primus. But they're kind of their its own catagory. We distort. You abide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getz out Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 Stone Temple Pilots; DeLeo had and still has a huge influence in my playing. I believe John Paul Jones had a huge influence on DeLeo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruuve Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 Originally posted by SeamyD: I would go and listen to something completly different for inspiration, learn some Rush or something equally challenging and go at it from a completely different angle. I like this suggestion! Go listen to some funk or prog rock, and see what you can whip up on the grunge side! Dave Old bass players never die, they just buy lighter rigs. - Tom Capasso, 11/9/2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenstrum Posted September 30, 2005 Share Posted September 30, 2005 Originally posted by getz76: Stone Temple Pilots; DeLeo had and still has a huge influence in my playing. I believe John Paul Jones had a huge influence on DeLeo. I'm a huge Robert Deleo fan. My #1 influence. Actually I've read that Robert was influenced pretty heavily by the Beatles. Tenstrum "Paranoid? Probably. But just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face." Harry Dresden, Storm Front Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenLoy Posted October 1, 2005 Share Posted October 1, 2005 Antother vote for Robert DeLeo here. He's by far the most groovin', monstrous, and musically adept bassist from that entire genre of "alternative" music... I never could figure out what that name was supposed to mean though. I prefer to classify it as '90s rock. Honorable mentions go to Jeff Ament and Ben Sheperd. I spent many hours of my high school and college days learning their lines. Flea from RHCP, Les Claypool from Primus, and Trevor Dunn from Mr. Bungle are other standouts from that decade as well...although they aren't really "grunge rock." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted October 1, 2005 Share Posted October 1, 2005 Don't put yourself in a little box. Listen to bass players in every kind of music imaginable. How the bass differs from style to style is less different than you may think. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArwinH Posted October 1, 2005 Share Posted October 1, 2005 Robert Deleo, Dirk Lance, Flea, Justin Chancelor, Jeff Ament, Eric Avery, Doug Pinnick. Al ae good examples. www.myspace.com/movementwithoutmotion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicklab Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 We're talking about alternative bass players and nobody mentions Simon Gallup of The Cure? FOR SHAME! While I like a lot of the people mentioned (DeLeo, Avery, Ament), I think Simon Gallup has distinguished himself among his peers for really making the bass part not only functional but extremely musical. Even if you're not a fan of The Cure, check out Simon Gallup's playing. Obligatory Social Media Link "My concern is, and I have to, uh, check with my accountant, that this might bump me into a higher, uh, tax..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 Time to talk about Chris Chaney. He has played with Jane's Addiction, Alanis Morrisette, Rob Zombie, Andrew WK, Tommy Lee's Method of Mayhem, Ben Taylor, The Panic Channel (with Dave Navarro and Stephen Perkins), Nelly Furtado, Shakira and the list goes on and on. In addition, he went to Berklee College and I imagine if he wanted to play jazz or funk he would be up there with all the other top guys in those fields too. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArwinH Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 Yup, I wanted to mention chaney. But it's hard to say he's an alternative bassist....pretty much becuase he's not ONLY an alternative bassist, but a Bassist that plays whatever he wants to play....well. www.myspace.com/movementwithoutmotion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 Originally posted by ArwinH: Yup, I wanted to mention chaney. But it's hard to say he's an alternative bassist....pretty much becuase he's not ONLY an alternative bassist, but a Bassist that plays whatever he wants to play....well. That is exactly the kind of bassplayer you should listen to and that we should all aspire to be! Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicklab Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 Another big DOH! moment here. Flea. How can we all forget Flea? He's not just for funk anymore. Jeremy actually reminded me of Flea when he was talking about Chris Chaney. Why? Because it was Flea who played the very distinct fretless part on Alanis Morrisette's "You Oughtta Know". Flea really started to distinguish himself not only as a funk monster, but with BloodSugarSexMagik he really started to impress me with how he was capable of laying back and grooving melodically. In fact, his work from that album until the present has matured in a fantastic way. Okay, he deserves his fair share of blame for every novice player in a music store who tries to slap out "Higher Ground" , but listen to something like "Breaking The Girl" or for that matter any of his work from By The Way. All of his recent work is worthy of a good listening. Obligatory Social Media Link "My concern is, and I have to, uh, check with my accountant, that this might bump me into a higher, uh, tax..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArwinH Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 I, of course, mentioned Flea. The man was my idol for the first few years of my playing. He still holds a big spot for me, and it's not because of his slapping, it's because of the melodic yet funky side he showed with bloodsugarsexmagik and californication. I aspire to be a player like chaney as well. It's simply part of being a bass player for me, these goals seem natural as the top ones to aspire for. www.myspace.com/movementwithoutmotion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicklab Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 My bad Arwin. I didn't read your list completely. I just wanted to highlight that Flea isn't so much of a one trick pony. I think people knew him more for his slapping and the funk than anything else. I think he's shown himself to be a much more complete musician than he was even 10 years ago. Obligatory Social Media Link "My concern is, and I have to, uh, check with my accountant, that this might bump me into a higher, uh, tax..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArwinH Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 Yup, I think it rally says something that RHCP have never made the same album twice, even on the bottem end of the spectrum. www.myspace.com/movementwithoutmotion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Robert Rennix Posted October 2, 2005 Share Posted October 2, 2005 Originally posted by Nicklab: Another big DOH! moment here. Flea. How can we all forget Flea? He's not just for funk anymore. Jeremy actually reminded me of Flea when he was talking about Chris Chaney. Why? Because it was Flea who played the very distinct fretless part on Alanis Morrisette's "You Oughtta Know". Flea really started to distinguish himself not only as a funk monster, but with BloodSugarSexMagik he really started to impress me with how he was capable of laying back and grooving melodically. In fact, his work from that album until the present has matured in a fantastic way. Okay, he deserves his fair share of blame for every novice player in a music store who tries to slap out "Higher Ground" , but listen to something like "Breaking The Girl" or for that matter any of his work from By The Way. All of his recent work is worthy of a good listening. I believe Flea also recorded the bassline to Young MC's "Bust a Move", among many others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenstrum Posted October 3, 2005 Share Posted October 3, 2005 YES! Flea RAWKS! BUST A MOVE RAWKS! I do believe that he was looking for grunge type bassists. While Flea is alternative, I don't quite think of RHCP as grunge. I love Soundgarden and RHCP! Tenstrum "Paranoid? Probably. But just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face." Harry Dresden, Storm Front Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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