The spotlight alone does not define a rock star. Sure, Freddie Mercury and Brian May were shining the brightest onstage, but it was John Deacon’s immortal bass lick that let us know that another one had just bitten the dust. Steven Tyler might have been the publicity hound of Aerosmith, but Tom Hamilton was the real frontman on “Sweet Emotion.”
They are maybe the least respected members of a rock band – but they are also the ones that truly make it a band. That low-end thump, that driving rhythm underneath the melody is what gives the band its backbone.
“Guitar players and singers get all the chicks, the bass player is in the back noodling with the drummer,” said Dr. Dave Washack, bass player for CornBred. “But unless I start playing, you’re not getting out of your seat.”
They’re the ones making butts shake. They’re usually also the ones running sound, hauling gear, and making sure everything on stage is locked in, while the frontman is out negotiating how big a bar tab they’ll be able to run up. But for the most part, they seem OK with that.
“I like to be in the back, I don’t like to get the attention,” said Kenneth St. Hilare, bassist extraordinaire. “There’s the stereotype that we play in the background because we don’t want the spotlight.”
Like most stereotypes, it exists on merely the slightest shred of the truth. Most bass players you’ll see onstage started out as guitar players – in fact, it’s a rare thing to find anyone who was a bass player from day one. A famous example would be Paul McCartney, who became the Beatles’ bassist more by default. But as his career since has proven, the man can sing and play guitar.
It’s just that the musicians who graduate to bass player do so because they have a certain respect for the music. They carry it almost as a responsibility.
“Personality wise, they’re mellow and they’re thinking big picture. Their role is very supportive and has to be independent and spot on,” said Maggie Evans, who plays bass with the John Brackett Quartet and Howard Paul. “A guitarist can miss notes, but if bass player misses a note everyone’s looking at them.”
It’s a heavy burden, but it’s worth it for these unsung heroes of rock. Because ultimately, they’re the ones that are separating butts from seats.
“Get back in the pocket and bring the power underneath,” said CW Jameson, prolific “hired gun” bassist for bands from La Bodega to Groove Town Assault, in describing his job. “When that low end hits, that’s what gives it that dynamic. And that’s what people are dancing to.”
You can mock them all you want. You can make jokes like, “What happened when the drummer lost the keys to the van? It took an hour to get the bass player out.” You can put them in the background. But if you feel like rocking out, you can’t ignore them.
“The bass player connects everything – guitar to drums, and adds a little flair to the singer,” said Sammy Passaloukas, bassist for Key Theory. “You hear a drumbeat and you tap your feet, but you don’t bob you head until the bass line kicks in.”
Meet Your Bass Players:
Andy Pitts
Where You’ve Seen Him: Lowcountry Boil, Silicone Sister, Jojo Squirrel and the Home Pickles
Top Three Bass Players: Ron Carter, Les Claypool, Jack Bruce (honorable mention to Sting)
Style: In JoJo Squirrel, a hybrid between bass and guitar, trading with Jevon Daly as the song calls for it. “It keeps it a little interesting. It’s not monotonous. We have a lot of creative looks. I have my style and he has his. We’re both good, we’re just different.”
Sammy Passaloukas
Where You’ve Seen Him: Key Theory, with occasional guest spots in Groove Town Assault
Top Three Bass Players: John Myung, Tyler Burgess, John Deacon
Style: “I started playing piano probably when I was 9 and right there it gave me the left-hand bass and the right-hand guitar. … Being an eight-string bass, it allows me to play standard and extra low and extra high. So, when I play with GTA I do some of the guitar leads as well.”
Phil Sirmans
Where You’ve Seen Him: Cranford Hollow, Bobby Lee and the Magpies, Bon Duppy
Top Three Bass Players: Les Claypool, Ryan Stacic, Barry Oakley
Style: “Like everyone else, I started playing guitar but gravitated to bass. I liked Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, that was more my speed. I never did want to be a shredder.”
Clarence Williams
Where You’ve Seen Him: Everywhere. “I’m a hired gun. I just so happen to know everyone’s material so that’s why they call me.”
Top Three Bass Players: Marcus Miller, Larry Graham, Anthony Jackson
Style: “I’m basically a jazz musician. And everything blossoms out of jazz. Those different styles of music from country to R&B to ballads – it all stems out of the same format of music.”
Maggie Evans
Where You’ve Seen Her: John Brackett Quartet, Howard Paul
Top Three Bass Players: Flea, Peanut from 311, Kim Gordon
Style: “A lot of times people come up and say, ‘You play bass like a man.’ I think because my approach is more aggressive. I’m holding down a groove.”
Kenneth St. Hillaire
Where You’ve Seen Him: Filling in with Martin Lesch, John Brackett, and Pretty Darn (and in underground jazz clubs if you’re ever in Seoul, Korea)
Top Three Bass Players: Delbert Felix, Russell Hall, Jaco Pastorius
Style: A hybrid between electric and upright. “That’s the crisis I have to deal with every day. I don’t want to identify with either because I want to identify with both. I feel slightly like electric is more freeing. The music that sings within me is hip hop jazz fusion, but when it comes to swing, I feel like nothing swings like an upright.”
CW Jameson
Where You’ve Seen Him: Fresh Hots, Martin Lesch Trio, Spare Parts, Prologic 13, and, more recently, La Bodega and guest spots with Groove Town Assault and Muddy Creek.
Top Three Bass Players: Cliff Burton, Victor Wooten, Getty Lee.
Style: “I play bass the way I would want a bass player to play if I was playing lead guitar. So I think it’s just filling in the space and bringing the low end.”
Dr. Dave Washack
Where You’ve Seen Him: CornBred, OCD, Trainwreck
Top Three Bass Players: Chris Squire, Geddy Lee, Steve Harris
Style: Raised in a musical family by a trained opera guitarist, Dr. Washack is a Swiss Army Knife on bass. “I can do funk, I can do rock, I can do metal, I’ll do blues if I have to. But I think as a bass player you have to play them all.”
Matthew Robbins
Where You’ve Seen Him: Pretty Darn, guest spots with Zach Stevens Band and Cranford Hollow
Top Three Bass Players: Geddy Lee, Pino Paladino, Paul McCartney
Style: “I’ve always thought of bass playing best when you do the kiss method – ‘keep it simple, stupid.’ Being a foundation of the rhythm section and not overplaying has been something I’ve found my taste and style.”
