If I remember this correctly - there is a minefield at my age - blame Bono's friends for Dave's name. Dave, that's The Edge. Bono's mates called him bono vox, Latin for beautiful voice. Eventually it stuck. Immediately taken with Paul Hewson (Bono's born name I recall) having an artist's name, Dave came up with the dreaded moniker.
I don't hold it against them. Talent generates a lot of forgiveness in my worldview, and U2 is a rare confluence of fame and talent. But I too detest the name game, since it began in earnest with talentless Punks who should rightly have been ashamed to be known in public by their real names. That made it a natural for talentless Hip Hop "artists" to follow suit. Perhaps the talentless Disney Channel musicians and singers will fess up and take on artists' names as well.
As you can tell, I do remember the real names of the musicians I respect. The one Rap artist who's name I know is Calvin Broadus. That's Snoop Dogg, the only Rapper I've ever liked. FWIW, he got the name from his Mom when he was a kid so, like Bono, he did not come up with the conceit himself. On the other hand, I kind of doubt if the late bass player's Mom called him Sid Vicious.
RE: Big Country & U2. The influence was more than instrumental. Bono certainly took strong notice of Stuart Adamson's singing. You can hear it in a flash. On guitar, Dave did likewise, although I do not know if all of Stuart's chops were assimilated. Did Dave ever use an EBow? Other than Phil Keaggy and Stuart, I draw a blank.
EDIT: Many of us use screen names for our public internet faces. Are we being hypocritical? I happen to know the real names of Widget and Zilch, because I asked (don't ask me, I'm not telling), but damn if I can remember the names everyone else seems to remember. JBL 4645 Is Ashley, Seawolf97 is Tom? But since I can't remember names to save my life and never could, could someone give me a cheat sheet?
Clark
Information is not Knowledge; Knowledge is not Wisdom
Too many audiophiles listen with their eyes instead of their ears
I love the Edge, but my thoughts were similar in regards to the hat thing, the name a little too. Same goes for Sting though Bottom line is the Edge could certainly afford a heck of a rug & have such a luxurious mane that it would surpass even Bono's (or as old blue eyes called him Botto) in his prime in its sheer splendour.
I remember seeing Bob Dylan in DC (mid dummer, 96+ degrees, mid day show, many moons ago) when he was opening for the dead and Bob would come out with leather pants & leather vest, meanwhile my then to be wife was almost passing out from heat stroke along with other young ladies that lay languishing in the sidelines.
The ego is mighty adversary and not to be taken lightly.
Mighty Powerful
Very true on all accounts!
re: our monikers, in this age of identity awareness, we must all guard against the unseen threat. If someone stole my identity, I would only ask that I be allowed to steal someone elses for my own personal enjoyment, perhaps a more glamorous & exciting one
Fred
Just Play Music.
I am surprised no one has mentioned http://www.billysheehan.com/
This guy has done some incredible stuff with Steve Vai on the G3 tours with Joe Satriani
LE15-Thumper
"Give me JBL, or give me death"
A really easy way to recall severely talented musicians since made obscure in the age of the Michael Jackson obit - look up the old Windham Hill Records roster. Long absorbed by A & M, their William Ackerman helmed days were astounding. Robbie Basho, for lord's sake. Michael Hedges. George Winston. Mark Isham. Darol Anger.
But I digress. More bass players than you can shake a stick at, but why not Michael Manring. There is some new music on his MySpace Music page, if you are feeling young and brave.
http://www.myspace.com/michaelmanring
Let me tag on Phil Maggini of of the late, great Shadowfax. (The band, not the Middle Earth horse namesake.)
Clark
Information is not Knowledge; Knowledge is not Wisdom
Too many audiophiles listen with their eyes instead of their ears
Fred, good question - I like it.
For an explanation I have to start with the WHO - Live at Leeds which I always enjoy very much. But the later WHO I do not like very much in general as they play too "loud" for me, I mean little dynamics, and their singing is not that what I like to follow.
But on "Chinese eyes" it is a singing which tries to express something, and it is nice that I can follow with the little booklet (second language!). The instruments are very distinguished and i can follow their melody, that is very pleasing to the ear and mind.
First this kind of music of Pete Townsend was very unusual for me as you can not hear it in the radio - mostly mainstream here.
___________
Peter
Hi Peter, I think that was one of Pete's reasons for going solo, he has spoken on the subject & felt a bit restricted with the Who format.
If you liked chinese eyes you would probably like his other solo outings.
The man has a lot of material to choose from, die hards would also consider the scoop albums to be invaluable though a bit fragmented/disjointed at times, they do hold some gems in theirs roster, the first scoop is probably the best of the lot
Just Play Music.
Charlie Haden, in the last couple of months I have become quite fond of this man, especially his quartet west ensembles.
This recent piece on NPR has some great selections from him with various artists, very prolific, enjoy!
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...ryId=111492682
An interesting interview with the man.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=4164843
Just Play Music.
Leo Lyons of Ten Years After.......
Basement: JBL SVA-1800 and 2226H DIY Enclosures Computer room: Control-5:Control SB-2 Living room: JBL 240ti
IMO, the best bassists were some of the aforementioned, such as Squire, Levin, Casady (not "Cassidy"), The Ox, Bruce, East, JPJ, Wyman, some of the funk and jazz cats mentioned, et cetera....
One not mentioned who should also be at the top of the list:
- The late, great Allen Woody, formerly of Gov't Mule. I saw him with the Mule at a small show at Pico Mt., VT in July 2000, about a month before he died.
"...Not since the live Mountain CD entitled Twin Peaks had anyone heard such a bass tone -- huge and warm with every note clear and audible.
...For the first time in many years, we were hearing killer bass tones so fat and rich -- a far cry from the weak sound that has become so prevalent today. On the song entitled Mother Earth, one could easily hear the Jack Bruce influence straight out of Live Cream Volume Two. On Mule, Allen pays tribute to Tower Of Power bassist Rocco Prestia with his big 16th note groove, and on Mr. Big, he nailed Andy Fraser’s vibe with such eloquence.
...In today’s abundance of slappers, tappers, and lightweight players, Allen Woody still sits at the top of the pack of rock players. He was the archetypal rock bassist who played difficult lines with ease and poise. He exhibited true character and utilized no gimmicks. Simply put, he just kicked ass on the bass."
If you want to hear what some of those top bassists can do, get a copy of Gov't Mule's tribute to Allen Woody, the concerts on "The Deep End 1 & 2", or "The Deepest End", or the film "Rising Low".
"25 Of The Greatest Bass Players Explore The Deep End:
Allen Woody
Alphonso Johnson
Bootsy Collins
Billy Cox
Chris Squire
Chris Wood
Dave Schools
Flea
George Porter Jr.
Jack Bruce
Jack Casady
Joey Arkenstat
John Entwistle
Terry Graham
Les Claypool
Meshell Ndegeocello
Mike Gordon
Mike Watt
Oteil Burbridge
Phil Lesh
Rocco Prestia
Roger Glover
Stefan Lessard
Tony Levin
Willie Weeks "
I think someone listed Andy Fraser (Free) near the beginning of this thread; he's a bassist that really deserves more mention. Free was basically a pure electric blues band, but on the album featuring their one big rock anthem show closer and monster hit, "Alright Now," there's a song entitled "Mr. Big." Fraser's playing on this song must be heard to be believed.
This is quite a long thread so I'm sure some of these names have already come up. These are some of the best bass players I've seen play here in London over the years, some of these guys I've seen a few times in various groups and bands:
Victor Lemonte Wooten (twice with Bela Fleck & the Flecktones
Ron Carter
John Patituci
Marcus Miller (in Italy at Umbria Jazz festival)
Stanley Clarke
Lincoln Goines
Ira Coleman
Dave Holland
James Genus
Christian McBride
Matthew Garrison
I've never seen any great female bass players play live - I like plays like Tina Weymouth and Tracy Wormworth but I've never seen them live. I saw Rachel Z and her all female trio in 2001 but unfortunately I can't remember the name of the bass player.
That may very well have been me who either added or seconded Fraser in this thread. If it wasn't I will now! Free brought a new dimension to rock in the '70s by featuring the bass as a lead instrument. Perhaps it was necessary since their lead guitarist (Paul Kossof) was so boring!
Interesting short story and links here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Fraser
". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers
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