Bad Bass players!! AHHH

wsabol

Gold Member
A drummer's worst nightmare, or at least mine.

I'm in this afro/funk band right now, and in general its awesome. We are playing cool tunes, a few of us are excellent players, and a few aren't, but that's ok. Or it would be ok if the rhythm section was tight. I'm not perfect by any means, but our bass player is really messing with my mojo. and I don't know if I can handle it.

She is a mediocre player at best. But she insists on playing a fretless bass, she is always rushing, etc, all bad things. On top of it all, she is not a joy to play with, there's no life in what she plays, just bleh.

But it works, she's not horrible, just not good. She's also the band leader, and a really damn good one. Rehearsals/setlists/gigs they are all very organized and detailed. And she is in charge of booking at a local venue, so we get gigs all the time, which is a huge plus. I've been with this band for about 6 weeks, and a few things are really starting to click musically. They've been receptive to the tunes I've suggested, and they are all really good people.

So I don't really know where to go from here. Do I stay and let this women mangle my pocket, but get to enjoy frequent gigs playing the styles I love.. Or do I leave, and be mostly gigless? humph.

I would love to steal the guitar and keys from that band, find a bass player that know what he is doing, and start my own band, but that's bad form.

Have you been in this position? If so, what did you do? what do you think I should do...
 
Tough situation...........

Is she a good singer?

Talk to the other band members about talking her into being a lead singer, and find a good bass player.


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If you've only been there 6 weeks you prob shouldn't say anything.

I played in a band with a very off bass player. I made sure I sounded tight and I was able to override his crappy timing and rhythm, sometimes he was able to lock in with me.

No idea what this girl is like but maybe you're over reacting, maybe playing with her will strengthen you as a player.
 
Patience my friend. Focus on the positive and see where this goes.
I agree with this, but be gently proactive on bettering the situation too. Once you get more settled into your band relationships, try some 1-1 chats about challenges, & maybe suggest some drums & bass only practice "to make things even better" (note diplomacy ;)

Unless you're hiring or being hired in a totally pro environment, there's always going to be weak links. It's a question of gentle augmentation to reduce the impact of the weaknesses & make the most of the strengths. Almost all bands are a combination of talents & weaknesses, it's how you massage those to best effect that dictates the outcome.
 
It sounds great for all sort of reasons (gigs, music, org) except for the bass playing.
But you never know, somebody in that band may also not really dig your drumming either.
So I'd stay.
 
Stay in this band, try to improve the situation however you can....but be on the lookout for a different situation. In other words don't quit until you have something better. Maybe she will be the type that can take suggestions. I'd say make suggestions to her gently and see what she does with them.

If it's clear that she is not taking the suggestions to heart, then yea, keep looking. However if she is the kind to take good info and run with it....that's a great thing. It might be worth investing some time...or not. You have to enjoy your playing situation too.

But either way, it seems like you have to be proactive with suggestions ....or keeping your eyes open for new situations. I would figure out the MOST wrong thing she does first and try and reverse that for starters to see how she takes things. Some people are incredibly good like that. Others not so much. Feel her out. Maybe I should have used a different choice of words there lol.
 
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