u/Ed_Bass

This video is mainly for musicians who aspire to get into a working band rotation in the future.

I get asked pretty often how some of the bands that hire me can have tight arrangements even when we don’t rehearse together.
This is a little example of how it works for us. Our MD is giving us instructions through our in-ears while we’re already playing Boogie Oogie Oogie. We also had two musicians subbing that night — guitar and keys — which makes communication like this even more important.

A big part of these gigs isn’t just knowing your instrument or learning songs — it’s being able to listen, understand directions quickly, and react to the rest of the band in real time.

Hopefully this gives someone trying to get into this kind of work a little behind-the-scenes look at how we do it.

One of my favorite easy tricks to make your bandmates turn around 😂

Pedal notes!

Super simple, but in the right spot it creates just enough tension that somebody in the band usually looks over like, “👀 okay…”

Ps: Sorry about the “follow me at the end” I created the videos days ago for a different platform, I just wanted to share it here. 🤘🏻

There are some songs that don’t need a count or even a heads-up.

If you’re a working musician and you hear this intro… you’re already playing before you have time to think. 😅

What’s another song that does this to you?

Quería compartir una buena noticia y, con suerte, darle un poco de esperanza a quienes todavía están esperando.
Hoy aprobaron mi petición O-1. Aún estoy esperando recibir el aviso de aprobación para confirmar que también fue aprobado el Cambio de Estatus (COS), pero ver la aprobación de la petición fue un enorme alivio después de un proceso tan largo.
Mi historial migratorio ha sido el siguiente:
Entré legalmente a Estados Unidos en 2016 con visa de turista (B-2).
Luego cambié mi estatus a estudiante (F-1).
Antes de que venciera mi F-1, obtuve TPS y mantuve un estatus legal. 2021
Más adelante presenté una petición de O-1 con Cambio de Estatus, un día antes que se venciera el TPS en noviembre.
Como les ocurrió a muchos aquí, mi caso se vio afectado por la pausa administrativa, lo que añadió meses de incertidumbre. Después de que se levantó esa pausa, USCIS me envió un RFE solicitando documentación adicional, incluyendo una Opinión Consultiva (Advisory Opinion) e información relacionada con mi pasaporte venezolano vencido. Mi abogado respondió al RFE, USCIS recibió la respuesta y aproximadamente dos semanas después mi caso fue aprobado.
La espera fue increíblemente estresante, y esta comunidad me ayudó muchísimo durante todo el proceso. Leer las experiencias y los tiempos de otras personas me dio esperanza, así que quería regresar para compartir la mía, con la esperanza de que también pueda ayudar a alguien.
Actualizaré esta publicación en cuanto reciba el aviso de aprobación para confirmar si el Cambio de Estatus también fue concedido.
A todos los que siguen esperando: no pierdan la esperanza. Les deseo de corazón que muy pronto reciban la noticia que tanto están esperando.

Last Saturday’sTikTok Live got a little funky. 🎸
No plan, no arrangement… just playing whatever came to mind and following the groove. These moments are honestly some of my favorite because there’s no pressure to play the “right” thing.
It’s always a lot of fun to do these TikTok live n my shows and read people reactions in real time, haters are welcome too 🤣

You guys usually see me here jumping into last-minute gigs and playing Top 40… so here’s a different side of what I do.
Last night with the James Malcolm Band — from bass soundcheck to showtime, playing with one of the original bands that I work with 🤘🏻🎸
I don’t share this side of my music life here very often, so I figured it was time.

There’s no bass in this part of the song, but it’s a soundcheck so I can do what I want, lol. Just grooving with the band before getting dressed and get down to business 🤘🏻

This happens literally every time I sub with bands, I get last minute calls all the time, so there’s no time for rehearsal. MDs use their talkback mic to explain whatever idea or arrangement they have and you just have to pick it up in real time, sometimes it isn’t hard to understand like in this videos, other times it’s a bit more challenging, but always fun, keeps you on your toes. I hope you like this one.
PS: MD spoke in Spanish, but you still will understand, very basic 🤘🏻

Some clips I took from the stream I did on TikTok this past week, playing with different bands, different drummers, 2 different basses (Fender Jazz Bass and Musicman stingray 5). I Hope you enjoy this one 🤘🏻

Last minute gig yesterday, I decided to take my stingray out and give it some playing time. I don’t use it much, and I definitely should. Really nice gig, easy, nice people. Here’s a clip from the soundcheck and from the gig. Hope you like this one 🤘🏻

This was last Wednesday, a last minute call I had for a gig in Miami, subbing for a friend, here’s a short clip from soundcheck, checking everything was good with my bass, and a short clip jamming over play that funky music white boy. Happy weekend everyone, hope you have great gigs 🤘🏻

MD asked the band to transition from “Rihanna - We found Love” to “MJ -Don’t stop till you get enough” and reminds me that it starts with the bass. I think he said “You got it Edgar” because one time he tried to do this transition, and instead of playing the MJ song, I played “Don’t start now by Dua Lipa”, so I played this open string B, a whole note and nobody in the band understood what was going on. I think I uploaded that blooper here, not sure lol. Anyway, I hope you like this one 🤘🏻

Last night I was doing some recording I needed to finish and send before noon today, after I finish recording, I went to YouTube and found this train beat loop and slap over it for no reason. If you hate me, I understand hahahaha.

What I love the most about being a full time musician, is how easy it is to forget you’re actually working while doing it.

Most of the bands that hire me have an MD with a talkback mic to communicate during the show, once in a while I get singers mimicking the next song. Here’s a short clip of how it is sometimes.

Short video from a sub I did last Wednesday, getting funky and goofing around with the band. 🤟🏻🤟🏻🤟🏻

A clip from one of my gigs last Wednesday, with this unplanned bass solo. MD introduced me, and I had to do my thing. Hope you guys like this one 🤟🏻