Bands with 2 bass players - Progressive Rock Music Forum

Author

Message

Topic Search

Topic Options

dweet

Forum Newbie

Joined: August 31 2010
Location: Oregon, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 33

Topic: Bands with 2 bass players
Posted: September 03 2010 at 13:56

Syzygy wrote:

And don't forget the multiple basses use by Spinal Tap on the immortal 'Big Bottom'!

My neo-psychedelic post-industral post-lo-fi music.

Syzygy

Special Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator

Joined: December 16 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 7003

Posted: September 02 2010 at 16:43

moshkito wrote:

Hi,

Btw ... most interesting thing with 2 bass players would be Holger Czukay with Jah Wobble.

Fun too!

In general, too much "rock music" is too stuck up on itself to have fun and experiment and do weird and different things ... it tells you that everyone thinks the bass can only do one thing ... when it can do a whole many more and modern music is not intelligent enough to experiment and have fun doing/trying completely different things ... or ... more than likely ... the commercial state of things kinda intimidates a lot of experimentation ... unless you learn to look.

But there are a lot of bass (Keyboard-SH101) and bass player combinations and Riuichi Sakamoto mixes the 2 a lot in his fine solo albums in the 90's.

Although Czukay and Wobble are both bassists, I don't think they played bass together when they collaborated; Wobble freed Czukay up to play French horn, guitar, organ and whatever else took his fancy (On The Way To The Peak Of Normal features 2 Bass Shuffle, but I'm pretty sure that Czukay played both).

Apparently there is/was a band called Freebass featuring the bassists from New Order, Stone Roses and another famous Manchester band, but I don't know if they ever recorded anything.

And don't forget the multiple basses use by Spinal Tap on the immortal 'Big Bottom'!

'Like so many of you
I've got my doubts about how much to contribute
to the already rich among us...'

Robert Wyatt, Gloria Gloom

dweet

Forum Newbie

Joined: August 31 2010
Location: Oregon, USA
Status: Offline
Points: 33

Posted: September 02 2010 at 16:15

Dick Heath wrote:

And then there is Victor Wooten with Steve Bailey on at least two albums as Bass Extremes.

Victor Wooten's solo stuff also makes use of two bass players. Anthony Wellington, Victor's "bass player", was even featured on the cover of Bass Player magazine. Anthony sticks to the more traditional low-end, which frees Victor up to solo and play more melodic lines.

My neo-psychedelic post-industral post-lo-fi music.

moshkito

Forum Senior Member

Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
Status: Offline
Points: 16310

Posted: August 31 2010 at 21:33

Hi,

Btw ... most interesting thing with 2 bass players would be Holger Czukay with Jah Wobble.

Fun too!

But there are a lot of bass (Keyboard-SH101) and bass player combinations and Riuichi Sakamoto mixes the 2 a lot in his fine solo albums in the 90's.

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

moshkito

Forum Senior Member

Joined: January 04 2007
Location: Grok City
Status: Offline
Points: 16310

Posted: August 31 2010 at 21:29

jammun wrote:

The Stick is certainly beyond the range of a bass, but that was the "purpose" it fulfilled in the Double Trio. Somwhere over on YouTube there's a nice version of The Talking Drum that shows off the capabilities of the instrument. And yes it is more tapped than strummed. As said, pretty close

Edit: for the uninitiated, Crimson's Thrak is the reference point here.

You really want to hear Don Schiff play the Stick with The Rocket Scientists ... it's trully very good and an expression in rock music that is underappreciated. And to boot, he is not afraid to play it on stage either! One of the finest and most professional shows I have ever seen ... 1999 in the SF Progressive Music Festival when this band pop'd on stage, many people came and went and ignored them and I was standing there taking pictures and said ... ohh my gawd ... I can't believe no one is checking these guys out ... the professionalism and quality of the performance alone was worth it! And Don was on his various Sticks the whole show.

In many ways, Don is better than Levin ... I think Levin is too impatient to develop more of his play.

Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com

Dick Heath View Drop Down

Special Collaborator

Jazz-Rock Specialist

Joined: April 19 2004
Location: England
Status: Offline
Points: 12802

Posted: August 31 2010 at 11:54

Saw Yes in the early 70's at Kingston Poly, and Howe and Squire played an electric bass each on a rearrangement of a tune from The Yes Album.

A cheat: Gov Mule on their Deeper End and Deepest End albums get through a few do zen bassists.

Double bassist Rob Wasserman on his Trio and Duo albums gets to played with a couple of other bassists.

SMV ( three ja z z -ja z z funk bass maestros, Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, Victor Wooton) released only a few years back:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtec7ix7FP8
- and that stemmed from a Stanley Clarke show in NYC in 2005 with ~12 bassists (including Miller and Wooten ........or with Flea anybody:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A13mmk5Wzns

And then there is Victor Wooten with Steve Bailey on at least two albums as Bass Extremes.

Edited by Dick Heath - August 31 2010 at 11:56

The best eclectic music on the Web,8-11pm BST/GMT THURS.
CLICK ON: http://www.lborosu.org.uk/media/lcr/live.php
Host by PA's Dick Heath.

Slartibartfast View Drop Down

Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator / In Memoriam

Joined: April 29 2006
Location: Atlantais
Status: Offline
Points: 29625

Posted: August 31 2010 at 10:16

yanch wrote:

Not prog, but Talking Heads used 2 bass players on their later tours in support of Remain In Light and the Stop Making Sense Tours.

Actually I'd put the TH era where they had Tina Weymouth and Busta Jones in the prog section.

Released date are often when it it impacted you but recorded dates are when it really happened...

SaltyJon

Special Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator

Joined: February 08 2008
Location: Location
Status: Offline
Points: 28772

Posted: August 31 2010 at 09:38

Triceratopsoil wrote:

^ KC did that for a while

I think Magma did some stuff with 2 bassists

Yeah, Attahk has two bassists I believe. Also, at least on the Mythes et Legends Vol. II DVD, the performance of De Futura features Jannick Top on traditional bass and Philippe Bussonnet on piccolo bass.

findude

Forum Newbie

Joined: August 31 2010
Status: Offline
Points: 1

Posted: August 31 2010 at 09:36

Una Corda had (has?) two guitarists, two bass players, and a drummer. I recommend "Three" from the "Proper Position for Floating" as an introduction to their work. There's a brief write-up here: http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=3061

Any tips on where to find a physical copy of their CD would be much appreciated.

lucas

Special Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator

Joined: February 06 2004
Location: France
Status: Offline
Points: 8138

Posted: June 11 2010 at 08:01

WalterDigsTunes wrote:

Chapman stick:

Nick Beggs of Iona (previously with Kajagoogoo) :

Edited by lucas - June 11 2010 at 08:04

"Magma was the very first gothic rock band" (Didier Lockwood)

desistindo View Drop Down

Forum Senior Member

Joined: June 02 2010
Status: Offline
Points: 4321

Posted: June 11 2010 at 07:11

Ty for all the tips. At the moment im trying to find that KC DVD.

Jozef

Forum Senior Member

Joined: June 17 2008
Location: Pennsylvania
Status: Offline
Points: 2204

Posted: June 10 2010 at 23:00

The French eclectic prog band Lazuli plays with both a Warr guitarist and Chapman stick player. They also have two percussionists and a regular electric guitarist as well. Very interesting setup. I saw them headline at ROSfest last year and it was a brilliant show.

WalterDigsTunes View Drop Down

Forum Senior Member

Joined: September 11 2007
Location: SanDiegoTijuana
Status: Offline
Points: 4373

Posted: June 10 2010 at 22:44

Its worth noting Tony Levin also played a regular bass and a stand-up bass in the double trio. To see all those instruments in accion, I recommend the Deja Vrooom DVD.

Dellinger

Forum Senior Member

VIP Member

Joined: June 18 2009
Location: Mexico
Status: Offline
Points: 12609

Posted: June 10 2010 at 22:41

So I guess it's perfectly valid to say The Double Trio has 2 bass guitars.

jammun

Prog Reviewer

Joined: July 14 2007
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 3449

Posted: June 10 2010 at 22:26

The Stick is certainly beyond the range of a bass, but that was the "purpose" it fulfilled in the Double Trio. Somwhere over on YouTube there's a nice version of The Talking Drum that shows off the capabilities of the instrument. And yes it is more tapped than strummed. As said, pretty close

Edit: for the uninitiated, Crimson's Thrak is the reference point here.

Edited by jammun - June 10 2010 at 22:37

Can you tell me where we're headin'?
Lincoln County Road or Armageddon.

Triceratopsoil View Drop Down

Forum Senior Member

Joined: April 03 2010
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 17995

Posted: June 10 2010 at 22:26

^ KC did that for a while

I think Magma did some stuff with 2 bassists

WalterDigsTunes View Drop Down

Forum Senior Member

Joined: September 11 2007
Location: SanDiegoTijuana
Status: Offline
Points: 4373

Posted: June 10 2010 at 22:20

Chapman stick:

Warr guitar:

Both go way beyond the range of a bass and both involve "tappping" as part of the playing procedure.

Dellinger

Forum Senior Member

VIP Member

Joined: June 18 2009
Location: Mexico
Status: Offline
Points: 12609

Posted: June 10 2010 at 22:16

jammun wrote:

I'd say the Double Trio came pretty close.

However, there are actually some people who may not know what the "Double Trio" is. So, just to clarify, it is a line-up from King Crimson in which they have two guitar players (Fripp and Belew), two bass players (Levin and Trey Gunn, though Gunn is credited as playing "Stick" and "touch guitar", I don't really know what those are), and two drummers (Bruford and Mastellotto). There's a few threads right now on "Progs Gigs, tours and festivals", and in "Prog News" about a band called Genesis Climber which they described as having two bass players. I have now idea how they sound anyway.

yanch

Forum Senior Member