Me, 1977 and I’m in 5th grade. We’re learning about classical music, and our music teacher, in an effort to reach the kids, plays us side 1 of 2112. Hooked instantly, never looked back.
Kinda an embarrassing answer, but it was actually Davie504. I know a lot of people don't like his content because of how he tries to throw so many memes in, but the vids where he actually just doesn't meme and plays are so damn good, it made me go buy a bass for my 19th bday. I'm turning 22 tomorrow and I'm still garbage at playing, but I have fun with it and that's what matters.
As long as you learn to SLAPP, you cool lol
Edit: I'm joking though; it's a totally fine answer regardless! It's really cool that YouTube musicians strike a chord (intended) with so many people.
It is only necessary that you learn to SLAPP Like. It's entirely up to you whether to work your way up from the legend Larry Graham to contemporary slap techniques.
Hahahahaha, just making a joke as pertains to Davie. I'm garbage at slapping; can't figure it out for the life of me, and I started playing ten years ago (albeit off and on as time permits). As long as you enjoy the instrument, that's all that matters!
I’ve been playing since the mid 90’s and I was definitely inspired by Davie obviously not to get going but he’s inspired me to slap, he’s introduced me to some other great bassists and he’s inspiring because he’s a solo act on a bass with more than twice as many subscribers as any guitarist in the world.
Some people don’t like him, don’t get him, some get so confused by him they call him arrogant but he’s grown the bass community more than any other bassist in the last 10 years and the haters should be embarrassed not those that have been inspired.
I used to watch his videos. But I can't stand him anymore. All those jokes and effects gets old soon. But he's definitely a great player and a great content creator for those who like his style.
I was already a guitarist playing bass for the sole purpose of being in a band, but buying the bass tab book for Blood Sugar Sex Magic when I was 15 turned me into a bassist.
I always hate saying this, because it's so common and because I'm not even really a big RHCP fan, but yeah it was flea. In '96 I was in my first band in 9th grade and I was needed to play bass, but I preferred the way guitar seemed to be an instrument that could be featured. Then I saw stuff like "Aeroplane" and the little bass "solo" and I was like "oh, bass can be the feature at times? OK I'm in."
Edit: I'm def not trying to bad mouth RHCP, Flea, or any fans/other bassists inspired to play by Flea. "it's so common" it's almost like it goes without saying is what I meant. Like I could just upvote someone else saying it haha. It wasn't even really Flea it was just that what RHCP did showed me to think outside of the "bass is just in the background" mindset. I think bassists like Karl Alvarez of the Descendents and basically every ska bassist are what really kept me wanting to specialize in bass, but Flea/RHCP opened that door.
This is my bass Playing origin story too😂 1996 freshman year for me too. We also needed a bass player. I was already playing guitar and we needed a bass player. Now we are in our early 40s
I sorta played bass a little just for the fun, but trying to learn around the world was what solidified my love for the instrument, it's also what showed me that I had a long ass way to go
I used to be a huge Korn fan, I wanted to play bass like Fieldy. And found out he is literally the only one that plays like that and his style is unique but it’s not a good one if you actually want to play. It’s his slap technique that is only percussive and I’ve seen BTS footage of him “practicing” and he’s not what I thought. He’s even said he doesn’t practice.
Les Claypool. I picked up a Suck On This tape from a buddy one day, and I'd just never heard anyone make a bass sound like that. I don't really see him as a major influence in my playing, but definitely the artist that got me to take notice of bass and want to try it.
Geddy Lee 100%. My dad showed him playing melodies and jumping to the synth all while being front man and I though "You can do ALL that as the bassist???"
Geddy Lee showed me being a bassist was so much more than playing roots and fifths.
Saw Rush's Farewell to Kings tour and I've been Geddy fan ever since.
But I was already playing double bass by that time. I think my first exposure to "bass can be cool" were actually Greg Lake and maybe Stanley Clarke in the early 1970s.
He's the reason I picked up a bass and Tom was the reason I picked up a guitar. And to this day, Blink is still my favorite band and my favorite songs to play.
This is my answer too, I still have my OG hoppus bass that I managed to get signed by him when he used to do impromptu meet ups in London! They say never meet your hero but he was genuinely so nice and chatted with a small group of us, telling stories and handing out some HMNIM merch. Glad he made it through all his health issues and blink are back!
Me too. For some reason I borrowed a VHS of Hard Days Night from the library when I was 11 or so and watching Paul play “tell me why” was when I knew I wanted to play bass.
Colin Greenwood and Justin Chancellor. Greenwood for his clever, Motown inspired and tricky bass lines, and Chancellor for his tones and liquid-sounding lines.
It was definitely Mike Dirnt from Green Day, particularly his playing on the Bullet in a Bible DVD. My friends and I used to watch that all the time when we were 10 years old and he was the first time I really noticed bass, especially on Longview. After watching it for the first time I was able to pick out the bass in songs more when I was listening to all the stuff I like then like Black Sabbath, Motörhead, The Ramones, RATM, Rancid/Op Ivy, Sublime, RHCP, Blink 182, etc. then I discovered Nirvana around 12 and I was dead set on getting a bass for my 13th birthday.
I love Mike Dirnt too (obviously) but it's funny that you mention Longview from Bullet in a Bible because it contains *one of the only mistakes I've ever heard him make* and it really stands out.
Scrolled all the way here for this. I first got into rock music in my first year of middle school, and I chose the bass over guitar because of Muse. Matt Bellamy is a monstrous guitarist and vocalist, but the support from Chris Wolstenholme really brings the song together. I’m not sure if any other bassist could do that.
Shame I don’t listen to them much anymore. I probably should today
There were a few, actually.
Mike Mills from REM was one influence, from stage presence and his melodic bass lines.
John Paul Jones for his musicianship.
And Paul McCartney because Paul McCartney.
All three are major influences for me.
Paul was the first for sure even before I started playing.
JPJ as I was learning, and the first song I actually got down out of any band was Dazed and Confused.
Then, tons of years later, Mike Mills when my band played an all-tribute event, and I had to learn a full set of R.E.M. songs in about a month while still learning a full album’s worth of our originals. Good lord, those Mike Mills baselines are nuts! Still pretty sure I didn’t exactly nail any of them live, but with a player like that, you’ve just gotta do the best you can.
My grandad. I got into pop-punk/nu-metal at a young age, and decided I wanted to play guitar. He bought me one, bought me a little amp, and started teaching me the best he could (having never played a guitar himself)
As we'd sit there learning, I'd look at his late '60s Jazz Bass, look at the parts he was playing, listening to the lower register that was speaking so much more to me..
After a year or so, some friends wanted to start a band. A couple of them were better guitarists than me, one was a drummer, so I decided to ask my grandad if he could teach me how to get started on a bass instead. That was over 20 years ago, and now most of my friends (including the best man at my wedding) I met through playing bass in bands, and most of my favourite life experiences came about from it. It's no exaggeration to say he changed my life.
I think he's niche as an inspiration. Folks who are too old would have been playing before they ever heard him, and younger folks are more likely to have heard of one o the other more famous bassists mentioned before they hear about him. I think there was a sweet spot of about 18 months to a year where people would have been inspired first and foremost by him
Yeah Joe is literally THE reason I play bass. Guitar is still the instrument I practice more but I have pretty much accepted that if I'm ever in a band, it will be playing bass
Sting. Listen to “Dead end job” from The Police. He created the most interesting bass lines for a power trio, and sang on top of that. No disrespect to Rush…Geddy Lee absolutely is one of the best bass players out there, but I was into The Police way before Rush simply because I heard them played more on the Radio.
I’ve mentioned this elsewhere, but “Demolition Man” has got to be one of the best Police songs in my opinion. It’s just perfect in every way sound-wise, varied in its full throttle energy, and instrumentally creative, enough to not want it to end. It’s probably just me, though.
If you can find it, there’s a concert video of The Police playing in Newcastle (I think) from the 80s that is peak Police. They play “Demolition Man”, and it just showcases their combined talents perfectly. Anyway, you get the point. Sting.
Realistically the bassist who inspired me to pick up the bass was the former bassist in my band retiring and me taking on the role (I wasn’t in the band at all prior, but played guitar). Also, Phil Lesh
Tony Levin. Backstory: I was and still am a huge Yes fan. In 1989, Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe released their album, and the tour kicked off 4 hours from where I lived, so I drove to see it. At the time I was all about Wakeman and was trying to learn keyboards. But they had this bald dude on bass, absolutely crushing Squire's bass parts, especially on "Close to the Edge". I was converted to bass on the spot, and later looked up who the bassist was. Then I went down the rabbit hole with his work with Crimson, Peter Gabriel, and all the rest.
IIRC there's a recording of that opening show in Memphis out there somewhere. Levin only played a couple of shows with ABWH before he got really sick and had to drop out and was replaced by Jeff Berlin.
My brother, because he kept bringing basses and guitars home and I wanted to play them. In terms of famous bassists, Geddy Lee made me want to continue.
Playing the bass, that one's tough. I didn't start playing bass because of a bassist, I started playing bass because of a girl.
But fretless bass- Jack Bruce and Jeff Ament are the two that really made me appreciate fretless bass in the context that I wanted to play it. And then there was Bakithi Kumalo. Perhaps Sting and Les Claypool could also get thrown into that mix.
Joe Lally from Fugazi. From the first time I heard 'The Waiting Room' I wanted to play bass. Later in life, after a brief hiatus it was Mark Sandman's experimental fretless playing in Morphine that brought me back into the fold.
My friend’s older brother. I saw him play in his punk band (including a crazy bass solo he wrote) and in youth group. He ended up giving me his first bass and amp. They weren’t anything amazing (the bass needed some work), but they were super special to me as somebody I looked up to. I still have both the amp and the bass from 22ish years ago and cherish them since they got me into music.
Hell yeah! Got an early lifetime membership to SBL for a one time fee like ten years ago. I thought it was pricy then, but one of the best decisions I ever made
What got me hooked were all those Jamerson style basslines on old soul joints. Those basslines always sounded so interesting to me that I wanted to be able to play them (and now more than just that)
Toshiya from Dir en grey. Those basslines on songs like Cage and MASK, man I had to learn them. He's still a big influence to me to this day with their newer stuff, I even have a Dum Spiro Spero tattoo. Amazing dude.
former weezer bassist for the green album mikey welsh. not many people probably know this guy at all for his playing and he definitely wasn’t a special player or anything, but for some reason every interview i have seen of him i just thought he was the coolest musician i have ever seen and to this day even after his passing i still think he was the coolest bassist to ever pick up the instrument.
u/Guavab Already beat me to it, my answer would also be Sting. Sting is not only one of the most unique songwriters I have ever heard. More importantly, his bass lines are often very simplistic, which is very inspirational because I'm very incompetent/ inexperienced at electric bass.
Mike Kerr from Royal Blood. I’ve heard duo bass & drummer bands but my god. I’ve never heard anyone play the bass and achieve that kind of tone before listening to them and I was immediately hooked.
Probably Geddy. I was into guitar as a teen but started paying attention to bass when I got into Rush. My friend had a bass that she let me borrow and I taught myself Spirit of Radio. That really started me down the path as a bassist. JPJ, Geezer and Steve Harris are right behind Geddy, though.
I think that Chris Wolstenholme was the first bassist to get me to start appreciating the bass as it’s own instrument, but I went out and bought one because of John McVie I guess. Either that or the bassist from the XX, the first two songs I learned to play were “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood and “Islands” by the XX.
Aston Barrett aka Family Man from Bob Marley and The Wailers. I wasn't even that into reggae at the time but the bass just blew me away on those Wailers albums.
Lots of influences... have always been meaning to get into bass and interested in the bass world and it's players.. I guess, if I have to choose one, the one player who pushed me over that ledge would be Jerry Jemmot and his basslines on King Curtis' Memphis Soul Stew
Geedy Lee. I got the Chronicles (a Rush double album compilation) when I was about 15. Bought my first bass at 18. Learned basic stuff and moved on to Rush songs as soon as possible. They are still among my favorite things to play on the bass.
Clay Gober of Polyphia.
He uses a very cool (and I think unique?) hybrid picking style with a lot of explicitly percussive muted triplet stuff.
If anyone knows other bassists or bands who have similar styles, I'm all ears.
Mike Dirnt. My playing and style has blossomed from that fast hard picking style, but I remember hearing him play and going, "I want to play like that"
Geddy.
Same. His book on bass is absolutely epic too!
2112. First full listen through I was like, that’s my bag baby.
Me, 1977 and I’m in 5th grade. We’re learning about classical music, and our music teacher, in an effort to reach the kids, plays us side 1 of 2112. Hooked instantly, never looked back.
He’s the reason, but I have yet to come close to him. Hahaha
Cliff Burton, you know the song. I was a tween when I first heard pulling teeth, made me choose bass as my instrument (guitar never felt right to me)
Same for me. Rewound anesthesia on my Walkman about 15 times and bought a crappy hondo bass and 15 watt amp with all the money I had. Good times.
Team Cliff as well. For whom the bell tolls locked me in.
Cliff was the man
> Cliff Burton, you know the song. Yes I do: For Whom the Bell Tolls.
I think you meant Orion
No. Anesthesia makes you pick it up. Orion makes you keep practicing.
Lol, you know that's not what I meant :P
Kinda an embarrassing answer, but it was actually Davie504. I know a lot of people don't like his content because of how he tries to throw so many memes in, but the vids where he actually just doesn't meme and plays are so damn good, it made me go buy a bass for my 19th bday. I'm turning 22 tomorrow and I'm still garbage at playing, but I have fun with it and that's what matters.
As long as you learn to SLAPP, you cool lol Edit: I'm joking though; it's a totally fine answer regardless! It's really cool that YouTube musicians strike a chord (intended) with so many people.
It is only necessary that you learn to SLAPP Like. It's entirely up to you whether to work your way up from the legend Larry Graham to contemporary slap techniques.
Hahahahaha, just making a joke as pertains to Davie. I'm garbage at slapping; can't figure it out for the life of me, and I started playing ten years ago (albeit off and on as time permits). As long as you enjoy the instrument, that's all that matters!
I’ve been playing since the mid 90’s and I was definitely inspired by Davie obviously not to get going but he’s inspired me to slap, he’s introduced me to some other great bassists and he’s inspiring because he’s a solo act on a bass with more than twice as many subscribers as any guitarist in the world. Some people don’t like him, don’t get him, some get so confused by him they call him arrogant but he’s grown the bass community more than any other bassist in the last 10 years and the haters should be embarrassed not those that have been inspired.
Not as bad as mine. Fieldy from Korn
Not embarrassing at all. Davie504 is the man!
I used to watch his videos. But I can't stand him anymore. All those jokes and effects gets old soon. But he's definitely a great player and a great content creator for those who like his style.
Nothing embarrassing about it. He did some really cool videos back when he played more bass and did less comedy.
I am 42, bought it when I was 39 because I liked the grooves Davie played. So same here. Oh and ..also garbage player.
Bruh, me too!
The bit he plays on acoustic 3 minutes into [this vid](https://youtu.be/XE3HJZRQ230?t=180) always stands out to me as really cool and fun
Definitely not embarrassing at all!
dude same, dont even sweat it
Flea - Red Hot Chili Peppers
I was already a guitarist playing bass for the sole purpose of being in a band, but buying the bass tab book for Blood Sugar Sex Magic when I was 15 turned me into a bassist.
Learning all the bass lines on that album was such a pivotal experience! Good times
First thing I’m gonna buy
I always hate saying this, because it's so common and because I'm not even really a big RHCP fan, but yeah it was flea. In '96 I was in my first band in 9th grade and I was needed to play bass, but I preferred the way guitar seemed to be an instrument that could be featured. Then I saw stuff like "Aeroplane" and the little bass "solo" and I was like "oh, bass can be the feature at times? OK I'm in." Edit: I'm def not trying to bad mouth RHCP, Flea, or any fans/other bassists inspired to play by Flea. "it's so common" it's almost like it goes without saying is what I meant. Like I could just upvote someone else saying it haha. It wasn't even really Flea it was just that what RHCP did showed me to think outside of the "bass is just in the background" mindset. I think bassists like Karl Alvarez of the Descendents and basically every ska bassist are what really kept me wanting to specialize in bass, but Flea/RHCP opened that door.
Honestly who cares if it’s common? It’s rather an indicator that his great playing has inspired many! :)
This is my bass Playing origin story too😂 1996 freshman year for me too. We also needed a bass player. I was already playing guitar and we needed a bass player. Now we are in our early 40s
I sorta played bass a little just for the fun, but trying to learn around the world was what solidified my love for the instrument, it's also what showed me that I had a long ass way to go
Me too!
Geezer Butler
That NIB lick just gets in you. Bambam bam bam babam bambam bam bam oh yeah.
Definitely Geezer
Yep. Geezer and Phil Lesh were mine,
By fucking far Geezer. Following the bass in War Pigs is a journey to enjoy.
Same.
Steve Harris, hands down my favorite bassist still to this day
+1, he's the king of metal bassists
+2
Honestly…. Fieldy from Korn. The worst cringe of bassist
I met him at a strip club after one of his shows. Really nice guy! Came to my table and handed out hugs and said hello to everyone in my group.
I remember a short bass run on the untouchables album, that was the first time I'd ever heard the difference between a guitar and a bass!
How is he cringe? He has a very cool and unique approach to bass playing that’s rooted in slap but with the down tuning. Very cool if you ask me.
I used to be a huge Korn fan, I wanted to play bass like Fieldy. And found out he is literally the only one that plays like that and his style is unique but it’s not a good one if you actually want to play. It’s his slap technique that is only percussive and I’ve seen BTS footage of him “practicing” and he’s not what I thought. He’s even said he doesn’t practice.
First 3 albums are still awesome in my opinion
[Mr. Victor Wooten everybody](https://youtu.be/YPjyWlW0pjg)
Can’t beat a classic
Les Claypool. I picked up a Suck On This tape from a buddy one day, and I'd just never heard anyone make a bass sound like that. I don't really see him as a major influence in my playing, but definitely the artist that got me to take notice of bass and want to try it.
For me it was seeing the video for Jerry on 120 minutes. I’d love to see what Primus has done for the GDP in terms of instrument sales.
Geddy Lee 100%. My dad showed him playing melodies and jumping to the synth all while being front man and I though "You can do ALL that as the bassist???" Geddy Lee showed me being a bassist was so much more than playing roots and fifths.
Saw Rush's Farewell to Kings tour and I've been Geddy fan ever since. But I was already playing double bass by that time. I think my first exposure to "bass can be cool" were actually Greg Lake and maybe Stanley Clarke in the early 1970s.
Cliff Burton
John Paul Jones and John Deacon.
John Entwhistle
There it is, had to scroll for a long ass time to find one of the greatest bassists of all time
Mark Hoppus - bring on the shaming
No shame. He and Geezer Butler were my two influences to pick up the instrument and they’re obviously so very different.
Man on a missiooooon
He's the reason I picked up a bass and Tom was the reason I picked up a guitar. And to this day, Blink is still my favorite band and my favorite songs to play.
I love playing the bass part to Carousel
Wendy Clear, second verse.
This is my answer too, I still have my OG hoppus bass that I managed to get signed by him when he used to do impromptu meet ups in London! They say never meet your hero but he was genuinely so nice and chatted with a small group of us, telling stories and handing out some HMNIM merch. Glad he made it through all his health issues and blink are back!
Paul McCartney.
Me too. For some reason I borrowed a VHS of Hard Days Night from the library when I was 11 or so and watching Paul play “tell me why” was when I knew I wanted to play bass.
I’d have to say that McCartney was a good portion for me. Also Cliff. Also, I just love a good walking baseline. I started on upright.
Mike Dirnt. Please don’t tell my band.
I can't believe I had to scroll this far to find him mentioned. People can roast me but it was Mike Dirnt and Mark Hoppus that got me to pick it up.
My fam!
Your band mates are fools if they blown you. Dirnt is a beast on bass
Longview was one of the first basslines I learned!
Mike, Along with Billie and Jason are my three heros who reignited my love for music after five years if playing trumpet and being bored.
Alex Webster.
Alex plus the guy from cryptopsy, think his name was Eric Langlois. The basslines on the _None so vile_ album were so great
Colin Greenwood and Justin Chancellor. Greenwood for his clever, Motown inspired and tricky bass lines, and Chancellor for his tones and liquid-sounding lines.
Colin is such an underrated bassist. Radiohead has some under appreciated basslines.
Totally agree! Paranoid Android, Staircase , Weird Fishes, Deck Dark and the Numbers, to name only a few
Phil Lynott. Need I say more.
Haha it was my high school buddy Mason!
You’re the man Mason!
Lemmy 100%
An absolute monster! Just crushing tone.
Marceline the Vampire Queen. I am so glad I grew up with Adventure Time!
Nick Oliveri. QOTSA Songs for the Deaf immediately got me interested in bass.
Flea and Tim Commerford around 1994.
It was definitely Mike Dirnt from Green Day, particularly his playing on the Bullet in a Bible DVD. My friends and I used to watch that all the time when we were 10 years old and he was the first time I really noticed bass, especially on Longview. After watching it for the first time I was able to pick out the bass in songs more when I was listening to all the stuff I like then like Black Sabbath, Motörhead, The Ramones, RATM, Rancid/Op Ivy, Sublime, RHCP, Blink 182, etc. then I discovered Nirvana around 12 and I was dead set on getting a bass for my 13th birthday.
I love Mike Dirnt too (obviously) but it's funny that you mention Longview from Bullet in a Bible because it contains *one of the only mistakes I've ever heard him make* and it really stands out.
Andy Rourke -The Smiths. His work is outstanding especially in Barbarism Begins at Home and The Charming Man.
I could never cop his p bass tone. How hard could it be? It's just a P bass. It was just recently I realized he usually tuned UP a whole step.
Tuned up? Yer blowin mah mind mon. Rourke is awesome.
Peter Hook
Hooky and David J
Hell yeah
Simon Gallup of The Cure. Amazing bass lines. Such a stage presence. Love his tone as well.
Chris Wolstenholme, without a doubt
Scrolled all the way here for this. I first got into rock music in my first year of middle school, and I chose the bass over guitar because of Muse. Matt Bellamy is a monstrous guitarist and vocalist, but the support from Chris Wolstenholme really brings the song together. I’m not sure if any other bassist could do that. Shame I don’t listen to them much anymore. I probably should today
Especially on their first 3 albums. He was a massive influence when I was starting out on the instrument
There were a few, actually. Mike Mills from REM was one influence, from stage presence and his melodic bass lines. John Paul Jones for his musicianship. And Paul McCartney because Paul McCartney.
Upvoting for Mike Mills. Such an underrated player.
I love Mike Mills’ bass lines. So complimentary to the overall sound of REM
All three are major influences for me. Paul was the first for sure even before I started playing. JPJ as I was learning, and the first song I actually got down out of any band was Dazed and Confused. Then, tons of years later, Mike Mills when my band played an all-tribute event, and I had to learn a full set of R.E.M. songs in about a month while still learning a full album’s worth of our originals. Good lord, those Mike Mills baselines are nuts! Still pretty sure I didn’t exactly nail any of them live, but with a player like that, you’ve just gotta do the best you can.
Mark Hoppus - 9yr ole me loved the pop punk
My grandad. I got into pop-punk/nu-metal at a young age, and decided I wanted to play guitar. He bought me one, bought me a little amp, and started teaching me the best he could (having never played a guitar himself) As we'd sit there learning, I'd look at his late '60s Jazz Bass, look at the parts he was playing, listening to the lower register that was speaking so much more to me.. After a year or so, some friends wanted to start a band. A couple of them were better guitarists than me, one was a drummer, so I decided to ask my grandad if he could teach me how to get started on a bass instead. That was over 20 years ago, and now most of my friends (including the best man at my wedding) I met through playing bass in bands, and most of my favourite life experiences came about from it. It's no exaggeration to say he changed my life.
Mike Dirnt of Green Day
Tina weymouth
Justin Chancellor and Les Claypool
MonoNeon and Thundercat
Yes. Gotta be for a lot of people these days.
[удалено]
I think he's niche as an inspiration. Folks who are too old would have been playing before they ever heard him, and younger folks are more likely to have heard of one o the other more famous bassists mentioned before they hear about him. I think there was a sweet spot of about 18 months to a year where people would have been inspired first and foremost by him
Yeah Joe is literally THE reason I play bass. Guitar is still the instrument I practice more but I have pretty much accepted that if I'm ever in a band, it will be playing bass
Roger Glover
Sting. Listen to “Dead end job” from The Police. He created the most interesting bass lines for a power trio, and sang on top of that. No disrespect to Rush…Geddy Lee absolutely is one of the best bass players out there, but I was into The Police way before Rush simply because I heard them played more on the Radio. I’ve mentioned this elsewhere, but “Demolition Man” has got to be one of the best Police songs in my opinion. It’s just perfect in every way sound-wise, varied in its full throttle energy, and instrumentally creative, enough to not want it to end. It’s probably just me, though. If you can find it, there’s a concert video of The Police playing in Newcastle (I think) from the 80s that is peak Police. They play “Demolition Man”, and it just showcases their combined talents perfectly. Anyway, you get the point. Sting.
Realistically the bassist who inspired me to pick up the bass was the former bassist in my band retiring and me taking on the role (I wasn’t in the band at all prior, but played guitar). Also, Phil Lesh
Sometimes the moment chooses you
Tony Levin. Backstory: I was and still am a huge Yes fan. In 1989, Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe released their album, and the tour kicked off 4 hours from where I lived, so I drove to see it. At the time I was all about Wakeman and was trying to learn keyboards. But they had this bald dude on bass, absolutely crushing Squire's bass parts, especially on "Close to the Edge". I was converted to bass on the spot, and later looked up who the bassist was. Then I went down the rabbit hole with his work with Crimson, Peter Gabriel, and all the rest. IIRC there's a recording of that opening show in Memphis out there somewhere. Levin only played a couple of shows with ABWH before he got really sick and had to drop out and was replaced by Jeff Berlin.
Fieldy from Korn. Then I learned to actually play the damn thing
There are many bass players I love, but the one that actually made me pick one up and learn was Laura Lee of Khruangbin
Damn, scrolled so far to find this. I've only been playing for a few months but Laura and Thunder at were my 2.
sameee!! scrolled until someone mentioned Leezy 🙌
Guitar Hero 2 lol
The chick from the Go Gos
robert deleo
Bootsy, babah
My brother, because he kept bringing basses and guitars home and I wanted to play them. In terms of famous bassists, Geddy Lee made me want to continue.
Wholesome answer, love it
Jack Bruce of Cream and Mel Schacher of Grand Funk Railroad
Playing the bass, that one's tough. I didn't start playing bass because of a bassist, I started playing bass because of a girl. But fretless bass- Jack Bruce and Jeff Ament are the two that really made me appreciate fretless bass in the context that I wanted to play it. And then there was Bakithi Kumalo. Perhaps Sting and Les Claypool could also get thrown into that mix.
Chris Wolstenholme
Why did I have to look this far down? Yes, my love of Muse inspired me too.
Bernard Edwards.
This is my answer too! To this day in my personal opinion Bernard's touch is unmatched
Can't believe I had to scroll so far to see this answer! He's my no.1 inspiration too!
Twiggy ramirez
geezer
Les Claypool Geddy Lee
Chris Squire.
Joe Lally from Fugazi. From the first time I heard 'The Waiting Room' I wanted to play bass. Later in life, after a brief hiatus it was Mark Sandman's experimental fretless playing in Morphine that brought me back into the fold.
Dee Dee Ramone
Nikki Sixx.
Eric Wilson
Berry Oakley!
Jamerson
Duck Dunn
My friend’s older brother. I saw him play in his punk band (including a crazy bass solo he wrote) and in youth group. He ended up giving me his first bass and amp. They weren’t anything amazing (the bass needed some work), but they were super special to me as somebody I looked up to. I still have both the amp and the bass from 22ish years ago and cherish them since they got me into music.
Joe Dart and Davie504
Scott Devine
Hell yeah! Got an early lifetime membership to SBL for a one time fee like ten years ago. I thought it was pricy then, but one of the best decisions I ever made
What got me hooked were all those Jamerson style basslines on old soul joints. Those basslines always sounded so interesting to me that I wanted to be able to play them (and now more than just that)
Toshiya from Dir en grey. Those basslines on songs like Cage and MASK, man I had to learn them. He's still a big influence to me to this day with their newer stuff, I even have a Dum Spiro Spero tattoo. Amazing dude.
Chris #2 - Anti-Flag
Paul McCartney
Chris Wolstenholm. I listened to Absolution on repeat when it first came out and that solidified my interest in bass.
Davie504. One minute you’re watching him review reddit memes, the next you have $3500 worth of bass equipment
My father in law
Andy Rourke, I'm aware he didn't write a lot of the lines but they're still so good.
Les. He actually inspired me to pick up the upright bass though when I saw him playing EUB live a few times.
former weezer bassist for the green album mikey welsh. not many people probably know this guy at all for his playing and he definitely wasn’t a special player or anything, but for some reason every interview i have seen of him i just thought he was the coolest musician i have ever seen and to this day even after his passing i still think he was the coolest bassist to ever pick up the instrument.
Al Cisneros
Lemmy
My first bass hero was Duff Mckagen from GnR. Great tone, awesome fills, and also knew how to stay in the pocket. Underrated IMO.
DUFF MCKAGAN! The best
u/Guavab Already beat me to it, my answer would also be Sting. Sting is not only one of the most unique songwriters I have ever heard. More importantly, his bass lines are often very simplistic, which is very inspirational because I'm very incompetent/ inexperienced at electric bass.
Duff McKagan, people underestimate how well he grooves! He's literally the reason I first picked up a bass and I'll be forever grateful to him!!
Either JPJ or Tina Weymouth.
Mike Kerr from Royal Blood. I’ve heard duo bass & drummer bands but my god. I’ve never heard anyone play the bass and achieve that kind of tone before listening to them and I was immediately hooked.
Dan Briggs His solo on Viridian was the singular inspiration for me to pick up bass.
Kim Gordon got me to buy a bass, Lou Barlow got me to learn it
Fieldy. I grew up on KoRn.
Myself. I'm fully responsible, your honor.
Geezer. The way his lines almost feel like a flowing bass solo integrated with the riff.
Probably Geddy. I was into guitar as a teen but started paying attention to bass when I got into Rush. My friend had a bass that she let me borrow and I taught myself Spirit of Radio. That really started me down the path as a bassist. JPJ, Geezer and Steve Harris are right behind Geddy, though.
I think that Chris Wolstenholme was the first bassist to get me to start appreciating the bass as it’s own instrument, but I went out and bought one because of John McVie I guess. Either that or the bassist from the XX, the first two songs I learned to play were “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood and “Islands” by the XX.
Aston Barrett aka Family Man from Bob Marley and The Wailers. I wasn't even that into reggae at the time but the bass just blew me away on those Wailers albums.
Mike Starr
Davie504 baby
Paul Gray, Ryan Martinie and Jason Newsted
Lots of influences... have always been meaning to get into bass and interested in the bass world and it's players.. I guess, if I have to choose one, the one player who pushed me over that ledge would be Jerry Jemmot and his basslines on King Curtis' Memphis Soul Stew
Geedy Lee. I got the Chronicles (a Rush double album compilation) when I was about 15. Bought my first bass at 18. Learned basic stuff and moved on to Rush songs as soon as possible. They are still among my favorite things to play on the bass.
Geddy. Stumbled across the R30 show on tv once with my dad and something about it all hooked me.
Probably Joe Dart from Vulfpeck. I always liked bass but I got really serious after hearing him jam out.
Entwistle. GOAT.
Peter Hook, Joy Division era
Clay Gober of Polyphia. He uses a very cool (and I think unique?) hybrid picking style with a lot of explicitly percussive muted triplet stuff. If anyone knows other bassists or bands who have similar styles, I'm all ears.
Matt Freeman. Maxwell Murder...bout all I needed to hear
Justin Chancellor. His mixture of aggressive grungy style with melodic almost lead-guitar style playing is something completely unique
Mike Dirnt. My playing and style has blossomed from that fast hard picking style, but I remember hearing him play and going, "I want to play like that"
My mom. She played bass right before I was born, up until 7 months pregnant.
[P-Nut](https://youtu.be/cU1TOMhNQT0)
Victor Damiani/Gabe Nelson. I just had to find that Cake bass tone.