It is I, your friendly Neighborhood Bass Nerd, here to continue his ramblings on the "TGA" or, in long hand, "The Groove Alliance." [Cue Orchestra. Continue in low, Announcer Voice.] When last we joined our hero, there was much ado about the basics of working with your rhythm section mate - your drummer. In Part Two, or Son of Groove Alliance, as I like to call it, I want to elaborate more on this topic and give some more Real Life experiences on what it takes to form the holiest of unions -- The Groove Alliance.

From my past articles everyone knows my view on the importance of truly listening. In Part One of TGA, I gave some insight into focusing on kick and hi-hat. Also, we touched on the fact that every drummer marches to his own beat. Granted, some of these beats have nothing to do with TIME but we can't expect our occasional Tempo Tantrum-having brethren and sistren to be perfect can we

What I want to touch on today is every drummer's particular feel for music. Remember my Seekers of Stank, TGA depends on finding a bridge between your feel and your drummer's feel. We all feel music differently. It's called humanity and that's actually a beautiful thing. How bad would it suck if we all played the same? I say it would sucketh mucheth and would make finding that aforementioned holy union a lot less interesting.

To elaborate on Part One of TGA, the next time you're playing with a group or just listening to whatever, really pay attention to the hi-hat pattern. Listen closely to the continuous motion of the groove and try to lock on whether it is a straight feel, swing, funk, polka/trip-hump, whatever. Next pay close attention to how he or she is playing the hi-hat. Is the motion truly continuous or is it slightly disjointed? Are they laying back or playing right on top of the beat? Are they staring at the ceiling dreaming of butterflies or actually trying to interact with the band?

Discover this Secret of Grooviness and you'll have a far more solid understanding of the drummer's feel for the song. Then it's time to focus on the rest of the drum kit. By doing so we can see what the drummer is actually saying with all that noise, and see if we'll have a civil musical conversation or yet another night of sleeping on the rhythm couch. (You know darn well what I'm talking about. Don't even go there.)

Listen to the snare drum, you Pursuers of Pocket, for it shall tell you a drummer's true feel for a song. For instance, a real funk drummer will typically strike a snare drum so far on the back of the beat it resembles falling off a turnip truck. Nothing can cause a groove violation worse than you playing your mind boggling slap festival on the front end of that beat while the drummer is laying back. Even worse is to rush the beat while everyone else is laying back. Can we say Train Wreck? (That's right Jim, it's the largest GrooveGrease spill in the history of music, and we're bringing it to you live on the air.)

To avoid a Blunt Force Groove Trauma to the brain, use your ears and place your Carnival of Bassdom slap-fest on the back of the beat with said drummer and you shall rule the groove unto the end of your days, or at least that song. Now, pay attention, laddies and lassies; this is crucial: A drummer with good time is not going to budge on the feel for you. This is so important that I'll repeat it:

A drummer with good time is not going to budge on the feel for you.

Why? IT'S THEIR JOB! Job ONE is to GROOVE, kiddies. It's the drummer's job and it's your job. A good drummer is NOT going to let you mess up HIS job just because you won't do yours. So... lock it in with that noisemaker back there, my Groove Babies! Then there will be Unstoppable Groove Force. Then, the Rhythm Section shall rule the Dance Floor from on high upon their small, cramped stage, yea, even from a damp corner in the room next to the JukeBox, and the Heaven's shall part and Light shall shine down upon them, and the Servers of Delicious Beverages and Tasty Treats shall wait upon them hand and foot catering to their every need, and the Ladies of the Dance Floor shall swoon with longing and shall sway with sensual abandon while the Lords wonder what "they" have that "we" don't and... Oh. I almost forgot:

They shall get hired again.

Anyhoo... We're now working with the kick, snare, and hi-hat, and we're Grooving the Killer Groove. Let's talk about toms. I've had the pleasure to work with some of the best drummers in the world. My best example among them all is Jerry Marotta. His work with Peter Gabriel alone shows a staggering array of feeling - not to mention he almost made me pee myself laughing on a radio show in Woodstock once. Different story. Let me just say he was using a baby stroller as a percussion instrument and it grooved like no tomorrow!!! Matter of fact, the last show I played with Jerry (in New York), he used a garden tool as a shaker. "Jer, you're just wrong buddy !!!"

Back to the Groove Message. Jerry's use of toms is a feast for any bass player to accompany. His other bass comrade is Tony Levin, so he kinda gets it. Live and in the studio, I've found several ways in which to interact with his toms to heighten the musical moment to Bass Euphoria. I had to be very careful in what I chose to play, however, but it really lifted the songs to a new level. By interacting with his Jer's unique feel and use of toms on the song, I was able to reach a level of Interwoven Grooviness that should be the Holy Grail of all bassists.

You can do the same with carefully chosen interaction with your drummer's tom work. Pick a few choice tom hits and play along. You can do this with a riff, ghost note, or playing off of the chord changes. Find what works for you and most importantly -- the song. It can really lock the moment and take the tune to a new place. Not to mention...

You'll get hired again.

I'm just sayin'...

Once you've mastered the basics of a drummer's true fee,l you can apply your special recipe of GrooveGrease on top of it and find that holy union for which we all strive. That being said, I now pronounce you a full-fledged member of The Groove Alliance. You may now Rock the House.

Keep Groovin',

S

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