jaylegroove
Well-known member
I'm just a bass player. With no adjective, except maybe "underskilled". 
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RobertB
Well-known member
Ah, and I thought funk was all about the octave!
It's time that the Duchess sees this thread and clears up a couple of misunderstandings
good point!!
Smallmouth_Bass
Well-known member
You do often hear the terms "rock bassist" (or more generic: Rocker), "jazz bassist" and "funk bassist", but not so much anything else that I can think of offhand.
I know a lot of people equate funk bass with slap bass and that just isn't always the case. I generally prefer a finger style funk myself.
I know a lot of people equate funk bass with slap bass and that just isn't always the case. I generally prefer a finger style funk myself.
maddog
Well-known member
Lawrence Welk, anyone?
RobertB
Well-known member
I agree. Funk isn't always slap & indeed VERY often, if not MOST often, isn't. And likewise, slap is not always funk. Sometimes it's jazz. Sometimes it's blues-rock; sometimes it's something edgier.
And in my case, I don't know what you'd call it - case in point
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stingray56funk
Well-known member
Oh yeah...well I...
"drink scotch whiskey...all night long...then die behind the wheel."
stingray56funk
Well-known member
I term myself as a funk bassist. I consider it to do with feel, groove ability, note selection, and attitude. I just love funk and I gravitate towards playing the groove...so I consider myself a "funk" player. I also like to live life "funky".
RobertB
Well-known member
Ok, last time I just capitalized on your post as yet another opportunity to slam Michael Anthony. But my more serious reply (don't worry Jack, my mood is not serious & by the way, you HAD to have known what would happen!) would be that the distinction doesn't have anything to do with chosen technique, but everything to do with rythm ... locking in & just vamping on a sweet, rythmically complex groove - even just a single chord; no changes/progressions necessary.
I know that no one here needs examples, but just for fun & celebration: the music of bands like James Brown, Earth Wind & Fire, Parliament-Funkadelic (ya think?), the Funk Brothers (of Motown fame, but fame that, for them, came far too late) Tower of Power, Sly & the Family Stone, the Meters, and bassists like Bootsy Collins, James Jamerson, Louis Johnson, Larry Graham, Rocco Prestia, Stanley Clarke (yeah, a fusionist, but an undeniably super funky bassist) ... on & on.
One of the best shows I've seen in years, of any kind/musical style, was Tower of Power last year here in San Diego. I had never seen them live. Their sound was so big & their grooves - especially in their extended live form - were so hypnotic & primal sounding ... I was just floored. Dave Garibaldi (drummer) & Rocco were just ... an absolute super nova driving that band together. And yeah, the horn section adds a great element with their shots. For horn players, they're what T.O.P is all about - after all, the "tower" is the baritone sax played by the "Funky Doctor", Stephen Kupka. But they would've never reached the stellar heights of funk fame they've achieved without Rocco & Garibaldi.
Ok, gotta go play my 30th now.
brasco68
Well-known member
How about a bass "Stylist"?
RobertB
Well-known member
I just used the phrase "neuro-flatulence" in an email (telling somebody about a "brain fart" I'd had), and I got a hair to google it, just for S's & G's. Guess what the top hit was ... this thread. Kinda tripped me out for a second.
On a side note, I started reading through the thread, read some of my posts, and thought ... "do I really TALK like that?? I sound like an effin PRICK". It's weird ... I don't realize how it comes off at the time ... I guess it's just the way I genuinely think ... but coming back a year and a half later and reading it, it's like ... who the hell wrote that?? Some of you guys must think I'm a real jerk-off. It's weird timing too, because just recently I got back in touch with a really good buddy from high-school ... and he said something to the effect of, "damn Bob, you talk like a know-it-all, arrogant s.o.b. these days". It's not the way I feel .. I feel like the guy who needs to keep pedalling just to catch up, most of the time. I couldn't understand where he was coming from with that until I just re-read this thread ... after googling "neuro-flatulence". That is just too damned perfect.
On a side note, I started reading through the thread, read some of my posts, and thought ... "do I really TALK like that?? I sound like an effin PRICK". It's weird ... I don't realize how it comes off at the time ... I guess it's just the way I genuinely think ... but coming back a year and a half later and reading it, it's like ... who the hell wrote that?? Some of you guys must think I'm a real jerk-off. It's weird timing too, because just recently I got back in touch with a really good buddy from high-school ... and he said something to the effect of, "damn Bob, you talk like a know-it-all, arrogant s.o.b. these days". It's not the way I feel .. I feel like the guy who needs to keep pedalling just to catch up, most of the time. I couldn't understand where he was coming from with that until I just re-read this thread ... after googling "neuro-flatulence". That is just too damned perfect.
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The bass(line) is a generally rather significant in Funk.
So the statement "I'm a funk bassist!" means: I'm very significant and head and shoulders above the rest and you suck because you're just a common bassist!
As for "I'm a rock bassist" means: I have a stage presence like a cymbal stand, play rootnotes til someone tells me to stop and I'll need a fresh beer every 15 mins.
And there are jazz bassists: "If it sounds dissonant than it's not me! Its the song!"
What else?
So the statement "I'm a funk bassist!" means: I'm very significant and head and shoulders above the rest and you suck because you're just a common bassist!
As for "I'm a rock bassist" means: I have a stage presence like a cymbal stand, play rootnotes til someone tells me to stop and I'll need a fresh beer every 15 mins.
And there are jazz bassists: "If it sounds dissonant than it's not me! Its the song!"
What else?
bassmonkey
Well-known member
Let me just say that many of you are taking this WAY more seriously than I intended.
the polka does rock,
Jack
But it don't funk!
bassmonkey
Well-known member
I'm just a bass player. With no adjective, except maybe "underskilled".
I wish I was underskilled enough to make a living playing bass.
oli@bass
Well-known member
oli@bass
Well-known member
The bass(line) is a generally rather significant in Funk.
So the statement "I'm a funk bassist!" means: I'm very significant and head and shoulders above the rest and you suck because you're just a common bassist!
As for "I'm a rock bassist" means: I have a stage presence like a cymbal stand, play rootnotes til someone tells me to stop and I'll need a fresh beer every 15 mins.
And there are jazz bassists: "If it sounds dissonant than it's not me! Its the song!"
What else?
I'm all of the above...
strummer
Enormous Member
What is hip?
MrMusashi
Well-known member
the formula of funk.. and he doesnt even play bass in this clip!!
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncOfAoDQbQk"]YouTube - Bootsy Collins THE ONE - James Brown - Berklee 2008[/ame]
MrM
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncOfAoDQbQk"]YouTube - Bootsy Collins THE ONE - James Brown - Berklee 2008[/ame]
MrM
cellkirk74
Well-known member
RobertB
Well-known member
smells like funk
