Meet The Bassists: The Men At The Back That Hold The Fort In A Band
1. ‘You are compared usually to guitarists, when really, there is no comparison!’
Gaurav Vaz
(The Raghu Dixit Project)
Photo: Athul Prasad
Best thing about being a bassist: Bass players have the most fun in the band; they get to stand back and watch the whole gig and everyone in the crowd, at least I do!
Worst thing: You are compared usually to guitarists, when really, there is no comparison, but more often than not, most people don't even know what the bass guitar does in a band! You only realise the importance of a bassist when he stops playing!
Biggest music milestone: Personally, having my name on the credits for both of The Raghu Dixit Project's albums, and as a performing musician, I think it has to be traveling to over 20 countries playing music to different people from around the world! Nothing beats that feeling!
2. ‘Bass playing is all about swag’
Rohit ‘P-Man’ Pereira
(Shaa’ir + Func)
Best thing about being a bassist: Everything; it’s all about swag in full effect!
Worst thing: There is nothing bad at all about being a bass player.
Biggest music milestone: The biggest ego boost or pat on the back any musician can get is getting called up to play for Shaa'ir + Func and this death metal band I played for – Exhumation. It kinda makes you feel like ‘hey I am good enough!.’
3. ‘The bass is the funkiest and the sexiest instrument’
Sheldon D’Silva
(Sheldon has performed in way too many indie bands on the circuit than can be mentioned here. Allow us to say that he is an institution unto himself. He is also one of the few bassists in the country that glide beautifully between jazz, rock, classical, fusion and commercial genres.)
Best thing about being a bassist: To me, the bass is the coolest, classiest, funkiest and sexiest instrument. Bassists complete a spectrum in the music, without them there is emptiness, they are an integral part of any setup, with them the drums groove harder with a clear harmonic passage. Bassists have a keen talent for music production and make great producers.
Worst thing: Being an accompanying instrument, bassists are often pushed into the background, going unnoticed and rarely get a spotlight to solo. A bass guitar or the double bass is a very heavy instrument and can cause massive back and other physical problems.
Biggest music milestone: Being able to make a living and support a family by playing bass. Also, being able to bring this instrument to the forefront and open more avenues for bass players to work and be heard.
4. ‘We are an endangered species’
Chirayu Vedekar
(The Vasuda Sharma Band)
Best thing about being a bassist: That we're a rare species.
Worst thing: That we're endangered.
Biggest music milestone: That here's always something new that you learn at every rehearsal and every show. There are no milestones; there are just pages to be turned and lessons to be learnt.
5. ‘People often walk up to you after a show and say ‘I was wondering if your guitar was on or off during the show"’
Lokesh Madan
(Eka)
Best thing about being a bassist: A bassist can take a simple melody and add tremendous spunk to the groove of a song and add to that fat low end that usually gets people grooving to a song. All good musicians know the value of a good bassist in a studio/live performance and respect it.
The worst thing: As a bassist is that u can give it your 200% and completely nail it during a show and still have someone walk up to you at the end of the show and say, "Great show sir, maza aa gaya, but I was wondering if your guitar was on or off during the show"! That’s because lot of people only relate an electric guitar to a six string rhythm or lead sound!
Biggest music milestone: Was when our band, Eka won the award for the Best Group of the year at ArtistAloud Awards two years in a row i.e. 2012 & 2013. But I truly believe that our biggest music milestone lies aged of us, in the near future!
6. ‘Bass players are the unsung heroes in a band’
Jerson Anthony
(Juggles among bands led by Pritam, Shruti Pathak, Nakash Aziz, Parthiv Gohil and Jeffrey Iqbal)
Best thing about being a bassist: The responsibility of holding down the fort and creating a foundation with the drummer over which the entire song is built.
The worst thing: Bass players are the unsung heroes in a band. In spite of the fact that they play a crucial role in the music they seldom are in the limelight!
Biggest music milestone: Making a transition into the Bollywood circuit n sharing the stage with many prominent industry professionals.
7. ‘Most bassists are closet vocalists and sometimes even pretty good guitar players’
Indraneel Hariharan
(Mrigya)
Best thing about being a bassist: All players are supremely important to the band sound because it is a harmonic as well as a rhythm/percussion instrument.
The worst thing: Usually most bassists are closet vocalists and sometimes even pretty good guitar players, but they seldom get to showcase that part on stage
Biggest music milestone: I think the only milestone worth mentioning is that I was lucky enough to be getting to do what I love the most in life -- playing and learning music. Everyday I want to do something new and push the limits and I never judge musical success with awards or recognition.
Words: NS
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