I was thinking that there are no real forums for experimental bassists. I though I would start a thread to see what the interest was and maybe we could get our own forum.
The facts -
The bass and its role in music has really been one of the few real growth areas of music in the last 10-15 years. The role of what a bass can do and the role it takes in a band is wide open now. Today, the bass can do anything you want it to, with greater acceptance.
It started with John Entwistle, being the melodic lead for the Who.
Then came Stanley Clarke - School Days - Blew apart everything bass playing was, drawn from classical, jazz & funk influences - School Days- played to death on top 40 radio along with Birdland.
Jack Bruce blew me away with Apostrophe- A rock bass solo with guitar effects!- A top 40 hit with tons of airplay in it's day.
Then Jaco with Birland - truth was, I was never a big Jaco fan, but no one can take away what he did for fretless bass & his use of harmonics
This was the nucleus of the explosion, or doom, of the typical bassist role in music, depending on what side of the fence one sits.
These above clips formed what I do today, blame it on them.
