It's funny, I consider myself a Jazz Fusion/Jam Band bassist. But I find myself playing alot of speed metal when I'm practicing. Especially prog metal. I'm attracted to the technical aspects of it. At 36 I know that I probably won't get gigs playing that genre. On one level I feel like if you are above a certain age playing in that genre you should have been playing in that genre long enough that you are established in it. But it can be really fun to play. I guess playing 16th notes at 160 bpm is the same if you are playing Sadus or Mahavishnu.

I hardly think I'm the only one. So what about the rest of you here?

Stay Brown,
Rev J

As a spanish and electric guitar player first of all, and a half way decent blues organist, I occasionally ring the changes and dig out some classical piano.

I'm fluent only on the treble clef, so when I'm learning piano score, I have to write the note names in under the bass clef parts. I've got a few half way decent tunes under my belt, but a proper pianist with an independant left hand would find my version of "Fur Elise" to be.. interesting..

But all in all, genre hopping is a good thing for anybody wishing to develop their musicality.

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Fender Highway & Classic 60s Strats, Fender Toronado, Telecaster, Gretsch Projet, Charvel 3, PRS SE Soapbar II & Custom 24, Burns Batwing and many others!

On one hand I agree with you in that I believe that there are "age appropriate styles". I don't feel many teenagers want to see those that are there parents age or older trying to play whatever music is currently fashionable. On the other hand who cares? If you like it, and your having fun that is what matters. However, please don't wear spandex in a 80's metal cover band if your 100lbs overweight combined with a bandana around your head if your bald... just joking...

my uncle is 54 and he plays in a thrash band well they call it "Technical Shred" but they enjoy it so who cares personally I think its great you play outside of your chosen genera, it opens the door for new ideas

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At one point in my younger shred days I started working out Fur Elise as a 2 handed bass solo. Now that I have the 6 string bass I should try it again.

Stay Brown,
Rev J

That's pretty cool too. I went through a "Scale the Summit" phase recently. To me they are really great in that there is alot of melody in their shredding. Plus for me it is kind of cool to throw in 2 handed tapping licks over Greatful Dead type tunes.

Stay Brown,
Rev J

i consider myself mainly a blues/punk rock player, but i practise hendrix/knopfler impro's for hours on end

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riley

It's interesting. I started out playing Punk and Heavy Metal in about the mid 90's. Then Heavy Metal shifted to Alternative. So I got into the whole Punk Funk/Funk Metal thing. Then I went to school for Jazz and Contemporary Music and gravitated toward Fusion since I could hear similarities to the Heavy Metal I was into (listen to how many tempo and time signature changes there are on Master of Puppets or Ride The Lightning by Metallica then compare that to some Mahavishnu or Return to Forever). Throughout I was listening to the radio and exposed to MTV and groups like The Spin Doctors (Mark White is tremendously underrated bassist), and Blues Traveler.

All of these have had a tremendous effect on my playing. It's also cool that I read an interview with Frank Gambale and he was talking about how Jerry Garcia was one of his earliest influences then reading an interview with Jerry Garcia where he said he nearly crashed his car the first time he heard Frank Gambale play with Chick Corea.

Stay Brown,
Rev J

I play and perform almost everything, from 50s & 60s rock to blues to rockabilly to country, even old-time and pop if that's what the gig requires. I don't do thrash metal and I don't do polkas, but everything else is pretty much within my "chosen genre." When you've been playing for almost 50 years and you like performing live, you learn to pretty much do it all and not limit yourself.

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963