I hope so Jeffrey and soon.
I had always been in awe of the upright guys before I started playing one, they seemed to be so physically hard to play and sounded so good. Now I'm more in awe of some of them but know how they do it now.
Thumb slappers
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
Hmmmm, missed this post first time around....oh dear. Soapbox alert!!!! All I can say is opinions are like a**holes; everyones got one and quite often they stink 
Seriously though, Anthony Jackson's famous comment is, coming from such a forward thinking and enormously talented musician, staggeringly short sighted. To dismiss any technique as "an aberration" shows a complete lack of appreciation of context and personal preference. Anthony has often bemoaned the lack of acceptance of the electric bass in the circles in which he moves, and yet his comments show exactly the same narrowmindedness he finds so unacceptable. Does the fact that the electric bass is considered worthless in some of the circles in which Anthony moves render all his work worthless? No. Likewise with slap (and using a pick, another thorny issue, and yet something Anthony finds completely valid).
I was a painter (ie fine artist, not decorator!) long before I became a musician, and for a painter to dismiss any technique as "an aberration" would be considered ludicrous. The most important issue to any true artist is creativity. Technique is only a means of expressing creativity, and as such all techniques become valid in the appropriate context. Music is an art form, and as such the same rules apply. Imagine an artist being told they shouldn't use a 4b pencil or the colour blue because they're "not valid". A particular technique may not appeal to (or work for) a particular individual, especially in the context of the music they prefer to play/listen to, but in the right context and/or in the opinion of a different individual it may work fine.
I quite honestly feel that one of the most immature views anyone can take in life is "I don't like it therefore it isn't valid". EVERYTHING is valid in the right context. Taste is a completely different issue than validity.
So Jeff, I'm with you. "Do what thou wilt" shall be the whole of the bass! Just wish I could slap like Mark King...
Seriously though, Anthony Jackson's famous comment is, coming from such a forward thinking and enormously talented musician, staggeringly short sighted. To dismiss any technique as "an aberration" shows a complete lack of appreciation of context and personal preference. Anthony has often bemoaned the lack of acceptance of the electric bass in the circles in which he moves, and yet his comments show exactly the same narrowmindedness he finds so unacceptable. Does the fact that the electric bass is considered worthless in some of the circles in which Anthony moves render all his work worthless? No. Likewise with slap (and using a pick, another thorny issue, and yet something Anthony finds completely valid).
I was a painter (ie fine artist, not decorator!) long before I became a musician, and for a painter to dismiss any technique as "an aberration" would be considered ludicrous. The most important issue to any true artist is creativity. Technique is only a means of expressing creativity, and as such all techniques become valid in the appropriate context. Music is an art form, and as such the same rules apply. Imagine an artist being told they shouldn't use a 4b pencil or the colour blue because they're "not valid". A particular technique may not appeal to (or work for) a particular individual, especially in the context of the music they prefer to play/listen to, but in the right context and/or in the opinion of a different individual it may work fine.
I quite honestly feel that one of the most immature views anyone can take in life is "I don't like it therefore it isn't valid". EVERYTHING is valid in the right context. Taste is a completely different issue than validity.
So Jeff, I'm with you. "Do what thou wilt" shall be the whole of the bass! Just wish I could slap like Mark King...
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."
Right on Shaun...no sound is inherently 'good' or 'bad'. Overworked or included in a cheesey context, sure. I love the sound of a 'plectrum' (thanks, Britfriends) on a Rick with Rotosounds ala Squire, Rutherford, dude from Renaissance, etc...but then check out Starcastle...all the picked-bass 'bang' one could ever want, yet the overall effect is ghastly owing to the unfortunate nature of the project as a 'hole'...(uh,oh...whew! airing out my opinions again...diehard Starcastle fans please do not contact me).
A Young Person's Guide to More 'Slappers'
(by no means comprehensive):
Busta Jones...please check out 'My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts' (Byrne and Eno)
Tina Weymouth of the Talking Heads (of course, she was tutored by Busta)
Jocelyn Lanois of the Toronto band Martha and The Muffins...she bangs!
Michael Halliday of the Minneapolis band The Suburbs...superb!
Jeff Berlin, on any of Bill Bruford's pre-Earthworks albums...mind-blowing!
that Swedish cat on one of J. McLaughlin's post-Mahavishnu albums...(he played a doubleneck fretted and fretless bass)...terrifying!
...last and most...
ahh...the name is...BOOTSY, baby!
Any of these players will help you forget the slapping you heard in that lame Toto song on the grocery store Muzak last night...
A Young Person's Guide to More 'Slappers'
(by no means comprehensive):
Busta Jones...please check out 'My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts' (Byrne and Eno)
Tina Weymouth of the Talking Heads (of course, she was tutored by Busta)
Jocelyn Lanois of the Toronto band Martha and The Muffins...she bangs!
Michael Halliday of the Minneapolis band The Suburbs...superb!
Jeff Berlin, on any of Bill Bruford's pre-Earthworks albums...mind-blowing!
that Swedish cat on one of J. McLaughlin's post-Mahavishnu albums...(he played a doubleneck fretted and fretless bass)...terrifying!
...last and most...
ahh...the name is...BOOTSY, baby!
Any of these players will help you forget the slapping you heard in that lame Toto song on the grocery store Muzak last night...
I didn't get where I am today by being on time...
Thanks, man...I couldn't remember his name...I saw him with John back in the late eighties, opening up for Weather Update, which was a Zawinul and Peter Erskine project...we got to the venue (it's since been converted into a Walgreens...ahh, progress) and saw Jonas in a silver jumpsuit, barefoot, warming up on his double-bass on the back parking lot. That show was amazing, and I don't even have the vocabulary to describe his playing. The interesting thing was McLaughlin's demeanor...this was not long after his divorce, following his discovery of his wife in bed with his guru, Sri Chinmoy. You may recall that this is the guy who all the Mahavishnu albums were dedicated to. The last time I had seen John was with the M.O., the Apocalypse tour with Jean-Luc Ponty. In those days he appeared dressed in white with his white Gibson double 6 & 12, all blissed out, facing the ceiling with his eyes rolled back in his head. When I saw him with Jonas, he was dressed in black, sitting down playing a black Les Paul, smoking and drinking a beer...
I guess he had 'seen the dark'...
I guess he had 'seen the dark'...
I didn't get where I am today by being on time...
Bob, that was a joke...hence the smiley face??????!!! (it was a more-or-less direct quote of something someone once said to me which I found extremely funny, and it applies to EVERYONE, me included....guess you didn't find it as funny as I did. Maybe cause you assumed it was directed at you? It wasn't....and my point WAS that some like it, some don't, period, which is not what Anthony Jackson appears to suggest.)
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."
I'm not crazy about smiley faces either but they do serve a purpose sometimes. I don't like the direction I have seen some of the posts take lately. There are woman who post here too, although I haven't seen many of them lately, one of the things that makes this a nice place is we try to respect others opinions respectfully, not always successfully but we try. This is only my humble opinion of course and I'm not trying to start a war but I wish for the more genteel members we could watch it a little. This has usually been a friendly place where you didn't have to worry about getting flamed, I hope it stays that way. Smile!
You're certainly within your rights, Bob, to speak out on this...but the subject of electric guitars and basses does b*tt up against the wacky world of Rock-n-Roll occasionally, and we all know a little about that world, don't we....
As for the inclusion of women in a public forum such as this...whoo, boy! I know some Ladies of The Road who could turn these pages blue without even trying...so careful what you wish for.
Thin skins are for the Symphony...back me up here, Phlemmy...
(and Bob, I really sincerely do want you to have a nice day..)
As for the inclusion of women in a public forum such as this...whoo, boy! I know some Ladies of The Road who could turn these pages blue without even trying...so careful what you wish for.
Thin skins are for the Symphony...back me up here, Phlemmy...
(and Bob, I really sincerely do want you to have a nice day..)
I didn't get where I am today by being on time...
Bob, apologies if I offended, that wasn't my intention, but I've seen similar postings(in jest) before and I thought carefully before posting...I honestly thought people would get the all-inclusiveness of the joke (kind of preparing everyone for MY opinion as it were...). Guess I have a slightly different sense of humour, or maybe it's an English thing (my sense of humour tends towards the extremely ironic). I know Lemmy said he got into all sorts of trouble when he first moved to America for similar reasons.
The smiley face was an add-on to make SURE people realised it was a joke....(something I do quite often)...that worked REALLY well (!).
This is one of the problems I've found with posting on Forums (or writing e-mails); it is so easy to get the wrong end of the stick because there is no inflection to what is being said.
That said, I stand by my other comments. Bear in mind if a well-respected musician said somewhere "fingerstyle is an aberration" you'd probably be inclined to strongly disagree....though hopefully with a smile!
(BTW, you must know some rather more genteel women than me; some of the ones I know make ME blush!)
The smiley face was an add-on to make SURE people realised it was a joke....(something I do quite often)...that worked REALLY well (!).
This is one of the problems I've found with posting on Forums (or writing e-mails); it is so easy to get the wrong end of the stick because there is no inflection to what is being said.
That said, I stand by my other comments. Bear in mind if a well-respected musician said somewhere "fingerstyle is an aberration" you'd probably be inclined to strongly disagree....though hopefully with a smile!
(BTW, you must know some rather more genteel women than me; some of the ones I know make ME blush!)
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."
Shucks, I guess I'm just a gentleman at heart. The way I talk with my friends in bands is different than how I post in a public forum and I haven't always been a model of taste either, so I've learned I guess to think before I post. I don't actually agree with the abberation statement although I'd like to but I can't afford to have a closed mind I guess, but I do think it is funny. If someone said that fingerstyle was an abberation I'd just think they were crazy or very ill-informed, because it's been around as long as stringed basses have been. Slapping is in the same league as rap to me, it's here to stay unfortunately, haha!