Give the bassist some!
Sure, the lead guitarist is cool and gets to strike all those poses on stage. But would the lead guitarist mean anything without the BASS PLAYER?
Maybe.
Oh well. ROUTE 1 readers will give the bassists some recognition this week by answering the following FRIDAY QUESTION:
"Who is your favorite bass player?"
GARY D. -- Of course, Bill Wyman. But, the only one that nears the pinnacle of bass players is the one and only, Mike Day. His method of bass playing cannot be described in mere words. And, sometimes he even played the same song the rest of the band was playing!
RICK T. -- The late Doyle Holly, one of the Buckaroos in Buck Owens' band, the Buckaroos.
STEVE M. -- John Entwistle.
MIKE D. -- As a former bass player in a rock band, there were a couple of bass licks that were challenging for me to play. One was Geddy Lee's "Tom Sawyer" and the other was "Detroit Rock City," courtesy of Gene Simmons. I also admired the work of Chris Squire (Yes) and John Entwistle (The Who). But my new favorite bass player is Marcus Miller, whose smooth, funky pop-and-slap jazz sound caught my ear during a performance on NPR last week. (Marcus Miller performs "Blast" in concert in the YouTube video available here).
MIKE M. -- Apparently, the instrument played by Weird Harold in Fat Albert's Junkyard Band, an old bed frame strung with wire, is a harp, not a bass. And the 80s metal band Deathtöngue, aka Billy and the Boingers, has rhythm tuba and lead tongue, but no bass. So I suppose Pig-Pen from Peanuts will suffice. Man, I love the way the dust flies when he's jammin'!
ERIK H. -- Louis Johnson wasn't called "Thunder Thumbs" for nothing. As one half of the Los Angeles duo the Brothers Johnson, he provided the unforgettable thumping bass on funky classics such as "Ain't We Funkin' Now" and "Stomp." Their cover of the Shuggie Otis tune "Strawberry Letter 23" is probably their best-known song these days. After the Brothers Johnson band ran its course, Louis Johnson played on numerous sessions, including those for Michael Jackson's landmark "Thriller" album.
My runner-up favorite bassist, Lawrence Donegan, did not display the same technical proficiency as Johnson. However, Donegan did become a witty author and journalist after playing with the Bluebells and Lloyd Cole & The Commotions.
Maybe.
Oh well. ROUTE 1 readers will give the bassists some recognition this week by answering the following FRIDAY QUESTION:
"Who is your favorite bass player?"
GARY D. -- Of course, Bill Wyman. But, the only one that nears the pinnacle of bass players is the one and only, Mike Day. His method of bass playing cannot be described in mere words. And, sometimes he even played the same song the rest of the band was playing!
RICK T. -- The late Doyle Holly, one of the Buckaroos in Buck Owens' band, the Buckaroos.
STEVE M. -- John Entwistle.
MIKE D. -- As a former bass player in a rock band, there were a couple of bass licks that were challenging for me to play. One was Geddy Lee's "Tom Sawyer" and the other was "Detroit Rock City," courtesy of Gene Simmons. I also admired the work of Chris Squire (Yes) and John Entwistle (The Who). But my new favorite bass player is Marcus Miller, whose smooth, funky pop-and-slap jazz sound caught my ear during a performance on NPR last week. (Marcus Miller performs "Blast" in concert in the YouTube video available here).
MIKE M. -- Apparently, the instrument played by Weird Harold in Fat Albert's Junkyard Band, an old bed frame strung with wire, is a harp, not a bass. And the 80s metal band Deathtöngue, aka Billy and the Boingers, has rhythm tuba and lead tongue, but no bass. So I suppose Pig-Pen from Peanuts will suffice. Man, I love the way the dust flies when he's jammin'!
ERIK H. -- Louis Johnson wasn't called "Thunder Thumbs" for nothing. As one half of the Los Angeles duo the Brothers Johnson, he provided the unforgettable thumping bass on funky classics such as "Ain't We Funkin' Now" and "Stomp." Their cover of the Shuggie Otis tune "Strawberry Letter 23" is probably their best-known song these days. After the Brothers Johnson band ran its course, Louis Johnson played on numerous sessions, including those for Michael Jackson's landmark "Thriller" album.
My runner-up favorite bassist, Lawrence Donegan, did not display the same technical proficiency as Johnson. However, Donegan did become a witty author and journalist after playing with the Bluebells and Lloyd Cole & The Commotions.
posted by erik hogstrom at 6:04 AM
1 Comments:
I didn't get the Friday question.
sorry,
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