Do you play music?

[isador21]

What instrument do you play?
Are you in a band?
What are your main musical influences?

Musicians thread!

Here's mine :
I play electric bass, alone. My influences are PRR, Porcupine Tree, Oceansize, Pineapple Thief, Gazpacho, Riverside, NIN and all that creative shit ...

[hyperborean]

This was my first ever attempt at drumming in a "drum and bass" or electronically sampled drum style:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rszaGgjk5GQ

It also happens to be the only video I've ever recorded of me drumming. And it was taken like 4 years ago, so I've improved DRASTICALLY since then.

[Lawrie]

I can bash through some basic rhythm guitar (or easy-ish arpeggio pieces) so you can just about make out what tune I'm playing, but I only ever do it by myself for my own entertainment. I have got no desire to ever 'perform' in front of people, and besides I'm not technically good enough for it to be worthwhile in any case.

Been playing guitar since I was 14 (i.e. more than 10 years), and I think I 'plateaued' in terms of natural talent after about 3 years: I could practice every day for 5 or 6 hours but I wouldn't get any better as I've kinda hit the wall as to my natural ability to play. But as I only ever do it for fun and for myself, it's no biggie at all. Shame, as I have a really nice Les Paul and a decent Marshall amp that are a bit of a waste for my limited abilities!

[ryan]

I'm a bedroom guitarist. I've got a black Epiphone acoustic thats sitting on my lap now, and a Squier Strat and Epi SG at my parents. I've got a Zoom multi-fx thing n'all but I want something less digital sounding. If I'm knocking about with riffs and things I'm trying to put together my biggest influence is ISIS, then stuff like MONO, Oceansize, Amplifier, etc. etc.

I'm sort of in a band, I'm a VJ for a London band called REVERE but I don't do any musical performance and I'm not a listed member or anything.

[TremblingWillows]

I've been playing drums for 5 years now.
Used to be in a band, played several gigs with them but we broke up a few weeks ago.

I don't have a particularly great kit, but have a few nice cymbals.
The best of the bunch being:
20" Zildjian K Ride
18" Zildjian Oriental China 'Trash'
8" Sabian Signature Neil Peart Splash

Most of my other stuff is bogus that i'm working towards replacing.

Main influences are Martin Lopez (ex-Opeth), Gene Hoglan (Death, Strapping Young Lad etc.), Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree) and Josh Eppard (ex-Coheed & Cambria).

Anyone in the Bristol area between 16 and 20 looking for a drummer for a band mashing PRR with a bit of a metal/death metal kick let me know!

[hyperborean]

Ah - Influences! Drummers:

Jimmy Chamberlain (Smashing Pumpkins and The Jimmy Chamberlain Complex) - awe inspiring.

Ludwig Dahlberg (The (International) Noise Conspiracy) - great jazz / rock style!

Danny Carey (Tool) - when I feel I can pull it off... rather difficult style to mimic.

Andrew Courtney + Paul Glover (I think you know who they are) - great atmospheric drumming from the both of them: at times sends a chill up my spine, at other times sets a musical groove that perfectly parallels the great work of the rest of the band.

David Sandstrom (Refused) - unparalleled animal energy combined with orchestral precision.

Jon Theodore + Thomas Pridgen (The Mars Volta) - at most high spirits and the most complex grooves.

[isador21]

I started playing bass because of Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree).

Was walking back home from a friend's while trying to get into Porcupine Tree, and his bass playing completely blew my mind, I thought to myself "FUCK, that instrument blows minds."

Also, I learned how to finger-pick by watching their "Arriving Somewhere" DVD way too many fucking times...

Slave Called Shiver is fucking amazing ... and so is Hatesong ...

The bass in Wings For Marie / 10000 Days (Tool) also blows my mind everytime, it's so subtle and yet so complex ...

[the dark fourth]

Started out learning bass, cos a friend of mine wanted a bassist for his band, since then I've developped guitar playing skills too. I also play lots and lots of piano/keyboards. I've been in various very minor bands, mostly with school mates, but it never gets much further than basic covers....I've only ever once performed one of my own songs.

I have loads of influences (for guitar playing it's mainly Jack White) but lately I've started holding my pick like Jon does, and occasionally I even (subconsciously) start pretending to crouch into an invisible mike....

[ryan]

Jon holds his pick differently?!
I think I learnt with mine held the wrong way actually, but I'm not that fussed.

[isador21]

Convinced my girlfriend to try and learn drums with her dad's drum kit yesterday because when I was sleeping over at her's ...

So we ended up jamming some jazzy tunes at 4am
The neighbors must've loved my bass's tone

[musecubed]

I'm a bassist, been playing for 5 years. My main influence has been Chris Wolstenholme and over the years I've taken inspiration from characters such as Carlos from Interpol, Timmy C from Rage and Justin Chancellor from Tool.

Unfortunately, I also have a thing for effects and over the last 5 years I've built myself a rather impressive pedalboard. I total 16 (eek), soon to be 17 although 2 are loopers and one's a tuner. Contrary to popular belief, I actually do like clean bass tone though. I've got two basses, a Pedulla Rapture and a Warwick Streamer (both 5 strings); I prefer the feel of the former but they're both excellent basses. I plan to take my old Squier apart at some time and turn it into a fretless (new neck/electronics/hardware/pickups) and I also really really want a Wal but probably not for a while.

I sometimes wish I had taken up an instrument which didn't have such bad GAS (Gear Acquistion Syndrome) associated with it.

[blondeambassador]

I'm a bassist, but also only in the bedroom sense, I come from a circle of friends who are all amazing musicians so I sorta gave up any hope of ever performing in front of them quite a while ago, I still enjoy it for fun though...I'm probably the least geeky guitar/bass person you'll meet, I just can't get into obsessing over it all, maybe cause its just for my amusement and I rarely have time to play as it is- I just have my (don't slaughter me) Daisy Rock bass...though I'd like to add its not in some silly flower shape, its just a bit smaller for ladies hands and maybe a bit more pink coloured than the average! I've also got a Jackson Charvel guitar which doesn't get nearly enough use and a Yamaha acoustic...

Oh, and my instruments that as musecubed said 'dont have GAS'...a flute, a piccolo, a clarinet and an alto sax, but somehow I feel this thread won't be quite so interested in that little ensemble of mine, though I'm alot more nifty with those than I am with the cooler instruments!!

[isador21]

Just recorded myself trying slap-bass...
Sounds pretty bad

Proof :



I've been practicing slapping long before trying slapping+popping (popping being the challenge here)

[musecubed]

I'm not a big fan of slap. It's great when done properly - guys like Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten are incredible. But it's a little bit cheesy and I never properly got to grips with it. Learning on a 5 string is always going to be upward struggle anyway.

[hyperborean]

Advice: listen to jazz. Any kind. Except like, Kenny G-type "smooth" jazz crap. Find something you love, for me it's artists like Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, and Dave Brubeck - and then you might find a measure of inspiration, literally, a measure or so of music, that you can transform into a measure of slap-style bass playing.

This advice is coming from a crazy drummer, who knows nothing about playing bass, so it might be entirely off the mark, but then it might not.