Telling you right off the bat that music rehearsal was the only other mentionable event today. And man, have I reached a saturation limit. But they are at least convinced they’ve found a bass man who will go the distance. Unless you’ve experienced the Florida music scene, don’t snicker at this factor. The most enduring complaint about bassists is they can’t learn new material.
This band initially indicated the Chuck Berry/Elvis material was the essence, but that has shifted to the much more complicated Kinks/Zombies/Yardbirds. This music [from said English groups] originates back when bands had to wear uniforms and actually provide scores of their material to record producers, who completely choke-pointed the market. Back then, records were essentially the only way of selling music. It was kiss their behinds or else. Same with cassettes that came later. In Florida, very few musicians can even write music down on paper.
The reason is that successful bands are as much about money as talent. There is little emphasis on professionalism as long as you can sell. The distance already covered with these new guys makes them patient with my learning curve, but that all important first paying gig has to be reasonably soon. As I wrote to Alaine, meeting this band was as much more over pure luck and serendipity than anything I had influence over. But it is clear they’ve been through a variety of bass hackers, of which there is no shortage in this town.
One of the studies [today] was “Something” by The Beatles. This music is not my forte. McCartney was an obvious convert from guitar to bass. It is rare for him to play a single pattern for a full measure, or to repeat that pattern in the subsequent parts. His success is beyond question so my only option is to custom-memorize each tune. This, my friends, takes time. That additionally explains why so many musicians are rich kids. Like the Chinese civil service, advancement is only open to anyone with the leisure time and free money to survive ongoing years of intense focus without starving. And do it while you are young, because dogs my age with ossified brains can’t learn new tricks.
Afterward I stopped both at Jimbos and Karaoke. I found myself explaining the reason I didn’t arrive last Monday at the Moose was the record rainfall since the 1950s. Motorcyclists tend to keep an ever-sharp eye on the horizon. I have foul weather gear, but that’s for paying gigs, not Karaoke half-way into the next county. Also, most of the entertainment over there [at the Moose] is “voluntary”, the quotation marks meaning regular patrons who perform for free. Audience music is like dating women from your workplace. All is great for the first few hasty weeks until you realize their motives have little to do with your presence or personality.
Aside to JP. Hey guy, remember that bottle of 3-year-old brandy I bought in Clewiston? (Clue-less-town.) I got into it late tonight and it is now 6-year-old brandy. Not a bit of difference, really. Brandy is distilled wine, the only type of wine product I can stomach. In the end, I mixed it with tea, sweetener, and nutmeg. You can have the rest, pal. The bottle is almost full. I don’t much like liquor.
Last, I’m back on the market for women. That plural is misleading. I’m only looking for one good woman but the path is overcrowded as hell. I commend my Internet club for weeding out the weaker specimens, yet age remains the leading determinant. Women with PhDs are supposed to know better. I’ll stick with this club despite the overall lack of assertiveness, certainly not the crackerjack level of women I went to university with back in the 70s.
Back then, it was not uncommon for a gal from the girl’s residence to knock on my door at 2:00 AM just to spend the night. Mind you, I had the only private room on the fifth floor. Never could understand why residences put two people to a room. By end of semester most could not tolerate each other. Anyway, back to contemporary dating. By and large, the women in this club are proving too conservative for my tastes. They may be educated but not one reply so far from a musician or creative thinker.
ADDENDUM
I know I talk about performing music as if it a common thing. It isn’t. I had to earn and learn every note I play the hard way. Like math, unless you are born with a brain for it, there are no shortcuts. I’ve played in about seven bands, six of them before I was 35. Most lasted less than three years, meaning I’ve spent more time looking for bands than playing in them. Turns out this is not unusual. Most common cause for band breakup? Arrogant guitar players throwing their weight around.
Second most common cause of breakup is flakey drummers. They call in sick when they are really playing out with another band. Third cause on the list is vocalists. Unless they own the PA system, which is rare, they have little vested interest in sticking with one band. The least widespread reason for band breakup is the bass player. In fact, I’ve never heard of a band that dissolved over bassist issues, but I know it must happen
I’ve used the term hacker, which for the benefit of non-musicians, I’ll define further. First, you should know that “comping” is the term for learning a few basic chops (rhythm patterns) and using them to fake everything. If you’ve ever heard a lounge pianist, they are famous for comping. You recognize the tune, but otherwise there is little resemblence to the cover. Cover is the term musicians use for other people’s music, it is the opposite of playing originals.
A bass hacker is a bass player who comps. If you can say the alphabet A to G, you can comp. You won’t be much good, but you could stand in. In any key, the lowest note is the root and five notes above it you have the fifth. Probably 90% of all guitar music contains these chords. Since the bass is tuned identical to a guitar but an octave lower, the hack bassist can “follow” a guitarist by watching his left hand.
The bassist simply cranks out these roots and fifths. They fit to all popular chords, including majors, minors, sevenths, you name it. One of the more definitive places this is used is old country music. That’s the thump-thump bluegrass sound that packs the dance floor. When played fast, it resembles polka music. By syncopating the basic pattern, one can fake rock, blues, jazz, even reggae.
