A couple of months ago I was talking with a neighbor (a physician) and learned that he plays guitar and every week or two, meets with a couple of other guys and a drummer to play together. I asked if there was any chance they might like to have a bass player join them.
He assured me that it was very amateur, and I said that was no problem, just looking for a chance to play since I haven't been in a band for a couple of years, and I thought adding a bass might help. He said he'd ask.
So last night I played with them for the first time. It was indeed quite amateur, but they're good enough to hang together through a tune (although the singer seriously needs a voice transplant.) They asked me back and I'll be glad to play with them some more.
There are four other guys, and it's a perfect sample of basement practice: one state agency admin, one doctor, a tech wizard, and a district court judge...now also me, a retired PhD and tech guy. Very smart people in that practice group who play together in a nice large rec room.
They even picked up beer and pizza. I wish all practice was as nice.
My challenge was updating my musical experience with cuts by bands like Weezer and Big Head Todd. Definite generational difference there. I suggested adding some CCR and Traveling Wilburys, thinking those might be easy for them to learn. Tom Petty is also a winner for this group.
At least that gives me an excuse for the dozen basses and three amps in my basement!
There's a lot to be said for simply getting together to have fun. Are you getting lists of tunes in advance? I'd imagine they already have a fair number of tunes they've been playing.
They have a dozen or more numbers they've shared with me. Fortunately they're new enough to playing that my clams are hidden nicely. I had limited time to practice them once I learned they wanted to meet.
Numbers like Tom Petty's You Wreck me and Mary Jane's Last Dance are fun tunes, and I can learn them well. At least I had heard the latter tune before - tunes by Weezer and Big Head Todd are totally new to me.
I generally simplify bass lines, and they're OK with that approach.
Congrats, and enjoy! :)