Is this happening to anyone else?

Skitch

Pioneer Member
A bass player friend of mine, Rick, was relating how one on of his gigs, the band leader, Gary the guitar player (who thinks that he is the stuff) told Rick not to worry about the chords; Gary will just shout them out to him – kind of a low-rent jam band thing, in my opinion.

In another band, a younger drummer was told to pay attention to the bass player (by the bass player) who was trying to tell this young drummer, Eddie, what to play by using nonverbal communication – body language during the entire song! The bass player simply looked retarded by trying to “dictate” what this drummer was doing!

Is this going on anywhere else and why is it that idiots with guitars strapped around their torso take on a whole new meaning of arrogance as they play? Who says that they are right about anything!


Mike

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Never heard of anything like that, and it's pretty obvious that those guys had no concept of what it means to be a musician and be in a band. Even if their "instructions" to the other guys were spot on all the way through, the sloppy sound and feel this method most likely produced must have made it pretty dreadful to listen to and look at.
 
Can't say that's ever happened to me.

One of the guys I drum for likes to have the Dave Matthews-type jam going on in his live sets, so he will normally communicate to the band with some sort of gesture - tilting his guitar neck down, or a raised eyebrow, or whatever, that we are NOW going to the next part of the song. But that makes sense due to the nature of the song, and it only happens once or twice in every 2nd or 3rd song.

Slightly off topic, I saw a bass player once who stood in last minute for a friend of his. He had never heard the songs before but simply told the band to play like normal and he will watch the guitarist's movements for chord changes. And he did it! A simple verse and chorus at the start of each song to get going, and then he would just launch into it on the fly. That is supreme musicianship, I have giant respect for that.
 
The second situation with the bass player trying to have some sort of vulcan-mind meld with the drummer - the bass player just looked like an idoit. Young drummer takng orders. I think right now, there is quite a bit of "Look at me - I'm the big leader on stage! Girls, do you see that I think that I'm the apha male."

If it would have been me, after the first song, I would have just told him to shut up, turn around and focus on playing bass (with less notes) and quit acting like he's having a seizure. Otherwise, someone light try to hold him down and put a stick in his mouth - lol!

Mike

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thats funny..

being that i'm one of those idiots with a guitar strapped around my waist i usually end up seeing where the drummer is going before i go. maybe it's just me and my retarded way of thinking in structure and all......
 
The only time I can see this as acceptable is if it is a short notice fill in situation, and one party knows all the songs very well. But even in the guitarist to bass player, he should have been able to scribble down the progression.
 
thats funny..

being that i'm one of those idiots with a guitar strapped around my waist i usually end up seeing where the drummer is going before i go. maybe it's just me and my retarded way of thinking in structure and all......

Funny - I don't have a problem with structure since I learn songs and thier structure, not just cool licks to try to impress everyone. I usually know more about the songs that I'm playing than anyone else in the band.

Just because you have guitar and I'm a drummer doesn't automatically make you more educated about music. And that is my point!

Mike

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Funny - I don't have a problem with structure since I learn songs and thier structure, not just cool licks to try to impress everyone. I usually know more about the songs that I'm playing than anyone else in the band.

Just because you have guitar and I'm a drummer doesn't automatically make you more educated about music. And that is my point!

in case you couldn't tell i was agreeing with you, but apparently you have a gripe with anybody with a guitar so sorry i opened my idiot guitar player mouth and agreed with your point.
 
Every band I have been in has a definite leader. The guy we all watch if we are playing on the fly and the guy we rally around when the train begins to get off track.

In a couple of situations that person has been me. Other times its one of the idiots with a guitar strapped around his neck. What I would never do is jump on stage and play with out an idea of the song or when the changes occur no matter how strong the band leader is. Maybe that is the amateur in me but I think the entire band would suffer in that situation. The changes would be sloppy, the groove and tempo would suffer and I think the whole experience would be rather unenjoyable for the band and the audience alike.

I am sure people do this to prove how great of musicians they are. Personally I am not impressed.
 
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