Playing some fill in gigs.

[james on bass]

Got an email from my singer a few weeks ago. A band he knows had their bass player injured in a car accident and needed a fill-in.

I played with them last Saturday for a wedding, and then again last night for a bar gig. Lots of their friends were there including the bass player. Broken wrist, broken collar bone, leg broken in a couple places. He was wheeled into the bar in a wheechair. He propped himself up at the side of the stage and sang a few songs, then had the audience give me a round of applause for filling in admirably on such short notice.

Felt good!

[JBassJohn]

Nice! Congrats James.

[bassman blue]

congrats... good job...

by the way; -the bass player didn't recognize your car did he? :eek:

[Fajah]

That's great James and quite a challenge. How different was the music from what your regular band plays and how long did it take you to prepare? Did you play the same tunes at the bar as you did at the wedding, or did you have learn a whole new set of tunes for the bar gig?

Sounds like you had allot of fun.

[james on bass]

That's great James and quite a challenge. How different was the music from what your regular band plays and how long did it take you to prepare? Did you play the same tunes at the bar as you did at the wedding, or did you have learn a whole new set of tunes for the bar gig?

Sounds like you had allot of fun.

It was a lot of old country. I didn't prepare or learn any tunes. I had an email about when and where, but no rehearsals, no song lists etc... I knew less than a quarter of the tunes, either because I've played them before or heard them before but that was about it. I spent the night reading the rhythm player's hands to find out what key the tunes were in and what the changes were. Kept me on my toes.

[Fajah]

It was a lot of old country. I didn't prepare or learn any tunes. I had an email about when and where, but no rehearsals, no song lists etc... I knew less than a quarter of the tunes, either because I've played them before or heard them before but that was about it. I spent the night reading the rhythm player's hands to find out what key the tunes were in and what the changes were. Kept me on my toes.

That's incredible. I can only imagine what it was like. It's tough enough to play mistake free when you're rehearsed, let alone on the fly like that. It's ok for a jam session, but gigs are a totally different matter.

It obvously says allot about you musicianship. Way to go.

[james on bass]

That's incredible. I can only imagine what it was like. It's tough enough to play mistake free when you're rehearsed, let alone on the fly like that. It's ok for a jam session, but gigs are a totally different matter.

It obvously says allot about you musicianship. Way to go.

I don't know if it's lots of experience, or me just being cocky! I'm by no means a stellar player, but after almost 25 years on bass, I'm a fairly confidant player and I never get a case of nerves. It was old country for the most part, so it's not like some tick-tock or walking bass lines wouldn't fit the bill. It got a little hairy when I played a couple songs flawlessly, then they'd forget I was new and not tell me what key the next tune was in. :eek: I had to pull some improv jazz tricks - I missed a couple transitions badly, so I'd just repeat the mistake next time around so they'd think I did it on purpose. :smile: