A quick improvisation with the other bass.
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Weird blast from the past: i was at a small bar in Seattle last night and a nattily dressed older gentleman was playing with the band. Turned out it was Lynval Golding from The Specials! Apparently he lives here now…anyway, my question has to do with the song Party Girl, among your best work with The Attractions in my humble opinion. Is that a part you worked out quickly in the studio with the band there, or did you have to spend some time with it before coming up with that amazing bass line? And was there one particular way you worked on your lines generally with The Attractions? Happy 2016.
I think I came up with the bass line to the Middle 8 in rehearsal. It was a puzzle I set myself to come up with the highest then the lowest note on the same string that fit the chord change — and then the next highest and lowest — sliding up and down, to give the impression of a tipsy girl tottering along on high heels. Not all the bass lines were constructed that way, as puzzles. If there was an overriding approach it was to take the rhythmic cues from the drums and the melodic cues from the voice, thus tying the top and bottom of the song together. I’ve recently answered the your questions at greater length in a feature interview for Bass Guitar magazine (UK) which is out in February. (The January edition has a review of the Profile Bass — which gives it 10/10 for value.)
Poor quality clip, but a great song and excellent playing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfFLmd5fCRg
Is that the only televized appearance of the Wal bass? It sounds pretty good, but it was sooooo heavy.
I think it’s the only one with live playing that I’ve seen. I couldn’t quite see what amp you had.
Weird — the amp head looks the size of an SVT, the cab looks the size of a Trace Elliot. The Traynor was gone by then. The Peavey stuff never left the US. I can’t help you.
Never had visited the Wal bass website before. Their models are a bit pricey. Owning one would seem to indicate a talented player worthy of such an elaborate instrument. Kinda like golf clubs. According to the site, this is how they start out:
http://westendstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Wal.jpg
Yes, very labour intensive, hand crafted guitars built more or less by one guy.
Hi Bruce I just recently watched the live stiffs film on YouTube. A great document of the time. A couple of points I came away with.
Ian Dury. One of England’s greatest poets.
Wreckless Eric. Boring bastard.
Pete Thomas. Seemed to spend the whole tour trying to rid woman of their blouses.
It’s like you were there on the bus.
Wreckless Eric may have some fans. But she probably lives in Tahiti.
How have your hands held up over the years? Do you have a warm-up routine before shows and rehearsals?
Are you kidding me?
Ok, Ok, silly me.
He just cracks his knuckles.
Brilliant! I love the quick reprise after creating the title. I’d buy that as a single unadorned right now! 🙂
Cool! I’ve always admired your left hand positioning and have attempted to emulate it. Ingrained habits are hard to break.
My left-hand positioning is all wrong – it’s cos I’ve got short fingers.