If you can’t be with the one you love…
This has been kindly donated by Dave aka “Urbanbass”
Long but there’s a point………
Episode IV: A new hope
8 years ago, when I first came across Whitney (my first 5 string), I made a decision to follow the music I had loved since way back: Reggae and funky, jazzy, danceable, soul. These days the names have changed, and they get grouped together as “urban”, but you get the picture. It meant turning away bands to concentrate on what I wanted. I tried the RnB originals thing. Then I worked on a reggae band, and formed an 80s soul covers band. Each fell apart without fulfilling their potential:- reasons various.
….Not
This year I found myself without a project (and bass players aren’t known for their solo work!). Despite offering myself up for various bits and pieces, there hasn’t been enough to keep me busy. I do need relevant things to be working on, otherwise I loose the motivation to practise.
Brinnnnnng!
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve had a couple of phone calls from covers bands. One is an hour’s drive away and more pop/rock (Chilli peppers, Maroon 5 etc) than funky. The other is 70s funk based but they’ve been together for 5 years and never gigged! Not much momentum there. The other thing:- and feel free to call me a racist here – (I’m worried too)…. It’s the first time for many years that I’ve been in sessions with ALL white guys, and, frankly, I’m uncomfortable……
…. The dating game
I’ve always likened bands to be like dating or being engaged. You find one, check it out and fall in love or not. Recently a good friend of mine met a guy (A musician too.) and briefly dated him. She’s a level headed girl not given to cheapness, but his words and actions had her thinking the he was not just a possible boyfriend, but that he was THE future, and she …. Succumbed. Having tasted, he …… well….you know. I can’t blame the guy. She’s hot. If I were single, I’d lie like Captain Jack Sparrow, if it got her into the sack. She’s really sweet. I’d lie twice!
More importantly, I can’t blame her either, because in music, I do exactly the same thing. A serial monogamist. Find a band, Picture the future, invest in it at the exclusion of everything else. We all know that all musicians are scoundrels, dreamers, escapists, and lazy.
Reality
Except that music has one important difference to dating. One that sounds harsh if you are emotional. It is not a sin to be with more than 1 group of musicians at once. You might say that it is splitting resources and time. You might think that it cuts across “emotional bonds invested in the soul of the music. You might even feel threatened that a band mate might find something better and leave. The reality (that I have actually witnessed) is that:
Your band mate might get pregnant and leave
Get a solo /better looking deal,
Just emigrate.
Have a car crash and be unable to play
Get married and reassess priorities.
Delay the project because, because, because,
Become an asshole.
or anyone of a hundred reasons that leave you holding 20 songs that no-one else wants to play. With 4 musicians you have 400 chances to break up!
Being a musical “slut” has advantages:
You become a more experienced and knowledgeable musician (everyone wins),
By playing more you practice and become physically stronger (everyone wins),
You make more contacts (everyone wins),
It makes the rest of the band mates raise their game (everyone wins),
One of your contacts might pay you.
More importantly if “life” happens to your project you have other projects to go on to.
So…..
The thing about these projects is that however “wrong” they might be for me, they are actually all excellent musicians. I feel my fingers getting stronger. I’ll be exposed to ….. don’t know what yet. Play live. So the answer is:- do BOTH, and look for more.
So if you’re reading this because you were looking for an RnB bassist, still call. I’m your guy. It’s just that I’m DOing rather than talking, and definitely, definitely, fed up waiting.
P.S. Sunday night after writing this: This weekend I’ve spent 7 Hours In rehearsals and 4 more driving to and from. My calves are tight, My vision is blurred, my back is tired, and the left hand has the ache that only “Green Onions” can give – which just goes to show it’s working.
You can find Dave at his profile on myspace… http://www.myspace.com/urbanbassics
Or his Band site: http://www.davethebass.com