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Michael RiehleBass Player
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| Find me on the web at | ||||
| Bandmix (w/Audio) | MySpace (w/Audio) |
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| Home | Rehearsal | Contact Me | ||
Who Am I?I've been playing bass for over thirty years. I've been in a few bands in that time. I can play pretty much any style I need to, but I definitely prefer Rock, Pop and Funk. I'm not in a band at the moment, but I'm looking for a group of people with similar goals, tastes and attitudes. Look, It's only Rock-n-RollPlaying music should be fun. Fun for the musicians and fun for the audience. I play for the joy of playing, so I'm not as picky about songs as some musicians. Heck, I like playing some songs that a lot of musicians feel are beneath them. They're fun, plain and simple. You Don't Work MusicI can honestly say I've never regretted learning a song. Still, there are songs I've learned that turned out to be losers in the band I was in. Songs that just never sounded right no how much we practiced them, songs that audiences just didn't like, songs that were just not right for the particular band (even though some of them were songs that rocked in other bands I've been in). I'd rather focus on the songs that are fun to play, that audiences like and that work for the band. That being said, I think it's important to have a couple of "vanity pieces'. Songs for the pure benefit of the band. In the context of an otherwise popular repertoire these often turn out - in my experience - to be audience favorites over time. "Mandatory" Standards, Sure Things and Vanity PiecesOkay, yes, it's a completely arbritrary classification. Nevertheless, I think it's useful.Mandatory StandardsThese are songs which you pretty much have to know if you're playing bars, parties, etc. Party songs that an audience will want to hear. It would be a mistake to assume that playing these songs will "make it" for you, but not playing them (or at least knowing them) is also a mistake. And, in my opinion, it's either an arrogant or lazy mistake. They're pretty easy songs to learn and play. I've come to believe there are five of these songs (though, I could be convinced about a couple of others):
Sure ThingsThese are the ones that pretty much always work. This list, in my experience, changes a lot. There are songs that belong here that have been here for decades, there are others that come and go. It's also a long list, so there's no good reason to avoid playing some of these songs. Some examples of these would be:
Vanity PiecesThese are pretty much songs the band likes. In general, though, just because the band likes them doesn't mean you should keep them. Some of them turn out to be great, some turn out to be losers. You absolutely need a few of these, but you should be willing to cut your losses and dump songs that just don't work.Hey! This guy can sing, as wellSo, for years I thought I was just hopeless as a singer. Recently I discovered that, in fact, I'm a pretty good singer. I just needed a little training. Which I got. I've been the bass player in bands recently where I was actually the best singer in the band. Okay, okay, maybe the other singers were just terrible, but it still means something, I think. It turns out my range is a bit broader than I would have expected. But I'm definitely a Rock and Blues guy when it comes to singing. Also, I'm a bass player who sings, not a singer who plays bass. I toyed with the idea of joining a band as a singer. But, really, I think it'd be a Bad Idea. How long does it take to get out there and play?I can be ready in three months or less. Probably less. I already know a lot of the songs I expect to be playing. Most of the rest aren't that hard to learn. After three months, morale in the band starts to suffer. Three months. Tops. I'd prefer to work with people who can be ready to play out at least as quickly as that. | ||||