Remotivated

[bovinehost]

I've been without a regular band/gig for a long time now. Bass is still my escape from diapers and insurance and pool maintenance and the other million little details of a normal life.....but even when I play regularly (all by my lonesome), I just sometimes find it hard to be as motivated as I used to be.

I have been in this state for a couple of months now.

One of my neighbors took up guitar a few months ago and bought himself a decent little Yamaha. I taught him a few chords and my idea of "how rock songs work" - basically I-IV-V and a few tricks to pull that off and he's been really motivated. Me, not so much. But it's fun enough to hang out with him. He drinks and smokes cigars and just brought me some really great venison he took last week - what's not to like? Plus our boys get along great.

I know there a couple of things I can do to re-motivate myself, none of them involving being in a "band" again. I don't have that kind of time now, really, for a band.

My neighbor tells me he has a friend, too much money for his own good, but he likes guitars, has a few, has little jams at his house every now and then and we'd get along, blah blah blah. I don't think of myself as Mister Bad-Ass Bassplayer, to say the least, but I know trying to drag people up to my level is not fun for very long, either, so I avoided these invitations - until this last weekend. It wasn't like I had anything else to do, eh.

Jim - the neighbor's buddy - turns out to be a good guitar player. We slog through some crap at first because the two other guys know a lot of stuff in G, which is fine, I can deal. For a bit. You know - Jimmy Buffett, the Eagles, etc. Then the other two guys take off and we break out some decent red wine and are into "Misty" and stuff with all these jazz changes and I'm like - YEAH. He even talks me into playing a couple of my own songs. Dang! This was FUN. I'll be doing this again. He likes to record, too, so who knows? Maybe I can even post something someday.

What I usually try when I'm not excited about bass - playing or talking about it, even - is try to buy something. And you know - it works. Sometimes. It hasn't worked for me lately, though, even though I really dig my 25th HH. But I kind of feel like I wasn't doing it much service, if you know what I mean.

The other thing is new tunes to figure out. Craig Young is good for this, although not lately. (wake up fool!) New music with interesting changes wakes my brain up.

Anyway, thing is, I'm back. I feel really good about playing again. I even feel good about being on the forum again. I've been kind of boring lately and I know it.

I picked up my Ray34ca for a couple of hours tonight (hey Pat Park!) and then moved to the Big Poppa Bongo and thought - "You ass-hat, you have GREAT basses, you need to knock it off and just play more."

And there may be a new bass, a really motivational sort of thing, in the works, too. I don't want to say too much, but let's just say it helped. On top of the playing with other humans, the conversation I had via email with Dargin today really just put it over the top. (He's almost never around on the forum, but trust me - this guy is you bassists' best friend, too.)

So to the guys I played with on Saturday night - thanks. To you guys who keep the forum up and running and interesting - thanks. Seeing BP back on the forum - thanks. He always motivates me. And Dargin! He put it over the top, and not just about basses, but about things that really matter.

Now then. Enough about me. When you think you're boring and are just playing the same things over and over, what do you do to break out of a rut?

BTW, what I'm learning/playing lately really helps:

David Mead: "Tangerine"
Swan Dive: "Popcorn and a Momma Who Loves Me, Too"
Rickie Lee Jones: "Flying Cowboys"
Diane Birch: "Bible Belt"
Jonatha Brooke: "Back in the Circus"
Steve Lukather: "All's Well That Ends Well"

Jack

 

[Aussie Mark]

and thought - "You ass-hat, you have GREAT basses, you need to knock it off and just play more."

^^^^^^
This, Jack.

Glad you're having fun again!

 

[J Romano]

Got a new toy... brought one of the clip on tuners. Although it is handy for general tuning, I mainly brought it to bring it into my daily practice. I use it with my fretless as practice for intonation. It has made practice more interesting! Not to mention more accurate.........

 

[TNT]

Wow Jack, that is one "long" post!!! You do need to get back into therapy (poppin' strings)!! Just think of the time you could have spent playin' your Bongo?!

 

[syciprider]

After 6 months of playing a Schecter and a MIM P here in Iraq I'm ready to reunite with my EBs. Still a couple of weeks out but the end is in sight. In the interim I picked up a good amount of experience playing in an 82nd Airborne Gospel band and am woodshedding on stacked arpeggios picked up from a classical guitarist I befriended. Can't wait to unleash my new tricks on my Stingray.

 

[adouglas]

Welcome back! Having gone through the odd hiatus from time to time I know the feeling.

Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off….

Oh, wait… that's Moby Dick.

When I find myself staring at my basses more than playing them I find that trying to learn something new works well. Theory, songs, whatever. Anything to take me out of the rut. I've got so many things I've wanted to learn how do over the years that I've now got a backlog that'll last me more than the rest of my life.

I've even got this ongoing secret project/desire to actually learn how to sight read music. Imagine that...

Revisiting old favorites not played in years can also be a blast, but that's more of a quick fix. I wind up just reminiscing, getting maudlin and thinking of things lost.

 

[Spudmurphy]

A nice post Jack. Going through phases huh?
As a bit of an "old git" I've got the T shirt!
I WAS playing in a band, touring - going to Germany yadda yadda. Then life - it throws you a few different cards and these stack up. Next thing you know mortgages, kids other interests - these dilute your passion for music. Heck my Les Paul case was un opened for so long the linning stuck to the guitar - I'd totally lost interest in music. I'm glad to say that my interest returned back in 2003 and I then discovered EB guitars and this place, and I haven't looked back since.

Incidentally, I know I don't see half the BS you mods see but I am on here a lot and haven't noticed anything really bad about the place recently? - Yeah I've seen a "nasty" but the mods deleted this very quickly. The forum is still a very good place and will invariably experience some mis haps. That is just "tomorrow's chip paper" as we say over here.

So chin up Jack and enjoy chewing the fat with yer neighbours - who incidentally don't exist without pics !!

 

[drTStingray]

Good to hear you're re-motivated and playing with other people - I'm curious what this possible new bass may be!

Having scanned (oh heck - I admit it I read them!) a few articles where famous/semi famous bass players have reminisced it seems they go through these periods of lack of inspiration or even plain boredom also so you're in good company I think. I took advice from one or two of these who have said when musical inspiration dries up play a few scales and arpeggios (maybe try one or two you don't know from a book) - sounds boring but as they said it's amazing how it translates into playing a new turnround or bass pattern you never thought of or played before, which then leads to more creativity.

As well as buying a new bass (often out of the question for me for financial reasons) I find just putting new strings on a bass can be very inspiring - incredible how those brand new super slinkies sound or brand new Group 3s.

Also playing old stuff you've almost forgotten, or figuring out some new stuff - play along to some nice CDs and pretend your Nate Watts or Jamerson or someone - I find this good fun from time to time.

The one thing I've found fun more than anything else in these situations is playing in open mike/jam sessions. It actually got me back into playing with other human beings! As a bass player you invariably end up playing someone elses favourite songs, which you don't always know that well, but most people know Route 66 and stuff. A good solid bassist is always in demand in these and it's surprising how many people ask you to join bands or become friends - but you can just turn up for the fun of jamming if that's what suits you.

 

[Grga]

Good to read about your remotivation - and thanks for sharing your thoughts. I think almost all versed instrument players have these "strange times" sooner or later.. for me long walks through the nature (I like walking through our forrests) are helping very good. After hours of walking my brain begins to work on more positive thoughts than before. Simple but it works for me as a simple bongoloid person but you as the Lord.. maybe you should get a pony for riding instead of walking

 

[adouglas]

I'm not so sure Jack and a pony should be in the same place at the same time. At least, not without supervision.

 

[five7]

Take a ride on a motorcycle, that will help!

 

[2ndBassGuitar]

I sometimes wish that I could get along with other non bassists like I get along with other bassists

 

[OldManMusic]

I will pull up some old music from my youth on youtube that I've never played before and learn some classic groves for fun. I was recently in a rut and pulled up some mid-70s funk songs and had a blast. I had forgotten how cool Tower of Power and Ohio Players bass lines are (I'm not a funk player at all - but it was fun to try to be one in the privacy of my basement).

 

[Holdsg]

I sometimes wish that I could get along with other non bassists like I get along with other bassists

Bass players are just so much more mature.

 

[oli@bass]

Cool, Jack. Great to read you're getting back into it

 

[JayDawg]

That's great news Jack! I know we all go through times like that. I'm justing getting out of a funk too. I'm still bandless but have been jamming steady for the last few weeks again. I'm also hoping to get some friends jamming again too that haven't played in a while. Would love to hear some of your stuff sometime Jack so hopefully you and this new guitarist can recrod some stuff sometime.

 

[adouglas]

I'm justing getting out of a funk too.

Funny, I spend a lot of my time trying to get INTO da funk.

'cause what the world needs is MO FUNK!

 

[JayDawg]

LOL! Yeah but adouglas, you play good funk. I don't have those skills.

 

[Big Poppa]

I sort of realized about two years after I quit gigging at all that I had retired from playing out...That sort of bums me out but I never was just the bass player so that part of it is ok....no I play when the moment strikes me...I kick myself for talking about recording and never take the time to do it.....damn

 

[mntngrown]

gigging

I am not in your shoes, but I was impressed by your post a while back where you joked about playing as if you were being payed by the note! That video showed you are a very good fingerstyle pocket player worthy of any country, blues or classic rock giggin band. Granted it may not be worth your time and trouble for most clubs etc. But I, as a 60 year old giggin retread find it "fun nite" with the band buddies, and make a whoppin 50-100 bucks and some free drinks and maybe dinner, dependin on the club.
Maybe cherry pickin venues, with new bandmates. I actually consider it community service as there are lots of dancers in my area lookin for places to shake a leg.
Congrats on gettin your batteries recharged!