This applies to the drums as well. The bass and drums are the heartbeat of a band. Too many drummers today want to show that they can play a 4/4 beat with 4/5 timing, and it might work, but does it make the song flow? If it doesn't make the song flow, then it's crap. Listen to the great bassists in great rock bands, and even if they are pushing the bass line as far as it can go, they still make the song flow. Ringo Star was the best example of this. Ringo Star is an incredible drummer. One of the absolute best. He was able to keep time so well that they could take multiple takes of a song in the studio, and he kept the beat so well that they could splice the different takes together without a hitch. This was before drummers had metronomes in their ears.
It's not about your technical proficiency. It's about if you can make the song flow. I'm not the greatest drummer in the world, far from it. But I can make the songs flow, and every group I played with wanted me to play with them again.
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I played sax in a rock band, and played with a number of drummers. My twin brother is a drummer, and I played with him, also. He was the best I ever played with, and it makes a huge difference.
I used to go to various jam sessions, and played with some really good musicians, including a few of the session men who played on Nashville stars, and such. ( Country music is big in my area of West Michigan).
The bass and drums set the tone for the band, as to how tight they are. I remember playing with a violin player who lived in Kansas City, but played sessions in Nashville, for many of the huge country stars. He was amazing, and could have played in just about any genre he chose, but he loved the stability of session music, he had enough of the road work, and just loved playing music. He was visiting a relative in the town where I played with him. The thing that I remember about him more than just how fantastic he was, is how humble and kind he was to me, just a decent sax player, who played gigs on the weekends. He was helpful in teaching me some things, and also told me some things about his time on the road, way back when.
I love country music, but I don't love the modern version of what they call country music. The stuff from my youth when my parents listened to people like Eddie Arnold, Patsy Cline, etc, is more my speed. Thanks for the post, it brought back found memories.
pigpen51
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