Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Yeah I have a keyboard player friend who gets disgusted when I mention Mountain and Steve Knight, I use him as an example of a good keyboard players role, color! haha.
I loved West, Bruce, And Laing, what a tone on that album, what playing! unbelievable, I don't know how the young players can't see how great he was and what a great tone he had. I love the old gibsons fat tone, especially with a little distortion, you can get a tuba tone out of them. I never saw Jack Bruce but he was my bass hero when I was a teenager. I had an old EB-2 for a while and the drummer loved the sound, he said: now thats a bass. I sold it because the headstock had been broken, I want another one though, and an EB-1, what the hell an EB-3 also.
Steve Knight is back with the band I think along with Corky Laing, they have a website, it's something or other Mountain, forgot the correct name.

I assume Jeff from reading your post that either you are far from a city or The Beatles aren't very popular in North Carolina? They are huge here in New England, the premier Beatle band around here is called Beatle Juice, they don't dress like them or anything but with the magic of sampling they can (and do) play anything by the Beatles, even Strawberry Fields forever, I am the walrus, A day in The Life, etc. and sound just like them. they'll do 60 songs in a night sometimes, the vocals are amazing. Lots of nice Rics onstage too, including a 4001MG.
The singer is Barry Goodreau (of the band Boston fame) and has all the best players from the Boston area, it is just a hobby type of thing for Barry as I'm sure he has a few million tucked away in the bank from the band Boston.

Bob, try http://www.mountaintheband.com/index.html

Leslie lost a lot of weight but I've heard the massive ego is still there. Whatever. He still rocks hard.

Back to the subject, as much as I love old Gibsons, the EB series basses are just not cut out for Beatles tone.

Bob-- I do live in a small town, about an hour's drive west of Winston-Salem. It would be difficult pulling off a Beatles tribute band for several reasons. First is finding enough talented players-- Period. Second is finding enough talented players willing to concentrate their energies towards that goal.

It's not that Beatles music is unpopular around here. The bigger question is whether the idea is viable enough to make the endeavor worthwhile for all involved. It is incredibly difficult to find people who can play that you can also get to commit to a musical style that everyone can agree on. I've seen guys who have good individual talent but are difficult to get along with or else have no idea what it takes to participate in a true band situation. Far too many players seem unwilling or unable (or both) to learn to play with others. No one knows anymore than me just how difficult it is, but that's just the way it goes. I consider myself *extremely* fortunate to be involved in my current band situation. I'm 47 years old and the next oldest turns 30 on August 8th. The other guitar player and the drummer are around 27, and a female singer we're trying to work in is about 24 or 25. But we all get along very well and there's no conflict about what we're trying to do musically.

Jeffery ... I'm soon to be 49 ... I am playing in a good band with guys in their 20's and 30's ... we play 75% modern music ... stuff written after 1990 ... I use only five string basses ... any way there is hope for us old guys ... good bass players are hard to find ... there is some good new music out there, Creed, 3 doors down, Puddle of Mud, Matchbox 20, etc ... it is really fun for me to do new music instead of playing the same old worn out classic rock songs ...

You are right there are a lot of people who don't know how to play with others ...

I used to own a Gibson SG style bass ... looked great but it was pretty one dimensional in its sound ... I used to own a hofner ... why did I ever sell it?? it was a cool bass ... but Rics are more versatile ...

> any way there is hope for us old guys ... good bass players are hard to find ...

I agree, Jeff. I'm in the same situation. I'm 44, and any time I met musicians who wanted to play good music, no matter their age, they didn't care about mine. But any time a musician asked for my age before almost anything else, I answered I was not aware his project was a school band...

All the best,
JL

School Band! hahah. I've been playing with guys who are all my age, the old rock n rollers around Ma. play blues, there is a big blues scene here in New England and luckily there are a lot of seasoned (old) players still active on the scene, DJ's have pretty much taken over the cover band scene for better or worse, so now we play jazz, blues, old rock n roll, punk, garage rock, pretty healthy scene around here actually if you are good. Lots of competition though because like most places the clubs have dwindled and gotten smaller and hire DJ's. The booking agents are pretty much extinct now, they say if you are still playing you are doing it for the love of it not for the money, which is also pretty much true, I used to be able to play full time in my own city of 200,000 people, or at least in this state during the 70's, no more.
I like playing with people my own age though, because we're all in the same time frame, Hey! remember this one? etc. There is nothing like a geezer player who knows the nuances of 30 or 40 years of music from personal experience. Of course this may all change this Aug. 12. I think probably any of you who live near a big city music center such as Detroit, LA, Chicago, etc. know what I mean. I will probably always live near the one of the old mean cities for this reason.
Even Lima is the capital of Peru and has 8,000,000 people in it, there is a thriving music scene there also, can't wait to get into it, they love The Beatles too. (Los Beatles, haha).