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  • Bass Work 14: Grow Your Own Gig

    Sometimes I think bassists are the wallflowers at the Musician's Ball. We tend to hand out cards and network and hand out cards and network some more in hopes that we'll be hired as sidemen. After 36 years of doing this, I've taken a total leap of faith and started putting my own band together to record the follow-up to my 2003 CD Simplicity. (If you want to find out more about that CD or even order it you can go to my web site and select the Discs page.) I've found that a good long while of working for others has left me with a set of Musical Golden Rules I'm trying to put into practice as a Newbie Bandleader.

    Select people for what they can bring to the table.
    This can be as prosaic as a decent place to rehearse (or in the case of the Rolling Stones and Bill Wyman a really decent amp they could all plug into) or as abstract as the Artistic vision of the individual players. I chose people (Shane Roberts on guitar, Bryon Lawrance on drums and Jeanni Cioffi on electric violin) for what they can musically bring to the table. Everyone is an incredibly flexible musician who can play a myriad of styles-a good thing since my last CD runs the gamut from Funk throwdowns to really uptempo Swing. If I were putting together a Punk Band, I'd choose people who live for it and if I were putting together a Country Band-well, you get the idea. A lot of people will gather folks around them who just really aren't into their vision of what the band should sound like. Rather than fight with that Metal God wannabe about how he needs to tone down to play in your REM-inspired College Rock band, choose someone if possible who is happiest playing your style in the first place.

    Are you a cooperative or is it a Leader/Sideman model?
    You can't have it both ways. Know that, if you're going to assume the role of leader, that the more control you have over the gig, the more managerial and financial responsibility you're going to have to assume. That may mean you're going to book gigs that are important to you and you may have to break even or even go into the red to take care of your folks. One of my personal Pet Peeves is the occasional Bandleader I run into who can't make up his mind. When it's expensive to do a gig, all of a sudden it's a cooperative. When it's a creative choice or there is a large financial gain to be had, all of a sudden you're a Sideman. It would be the equivalent of that Cheezy 70s concept of Open Marriage. Call me Old-fashioned and a Prude, but you can't just be married or a Bandleader when it's convenient for you. You'll have a hard time keeping a committed partner either way whether it's a Spouse or Band members.

    Know that if you opt for the cooperative approach, you can't run everything. Your fellow bandmates will need their say in everything from musical direction to business decisions. I would direct you over to my fellow Eden Endorser Steve Cook and his Band 101 columns as an excellent source of useful information.

    I've personally chosen the Leader/Sideman model so I can have some sort of final say. But I've also chosen people I can really respect musically and as friends. This is knowing full well that I'm looking at subsidizing this venture for some time to come from my income as a teacher, session player, and, yes, sideman in other musical ventures.

    We'll continue with Part 2 of my Golden Rules for leading a band venture in a future column….

    Peace and Low Notes,

    Roy C. Vogt
    Teach Me Bass Guitar
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