I honestly can’t think of a way to do it realistically without a green screen. But perhaps there’s a way to do it that someone more knowledgeable than I might be aware of.
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Must have been the dayglo headband and lycra leggings 
Definitely 
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Regarding John E’s cover of Lenon/Yoko song, and the simple bassline…
There’s an interview of Tony Levin from NPR from some years back - long form, maybe 30 mins or more. Pretty sure I heard on NPR…
He talks about his time with John Lennon and when they first met. Tony was already quite accomplished, playing with Gabriel, etc. So he comes into the studio and John doesn’t seem to know much about Tony (he didn’t say that, but that’s the sense you get), and he tells Tony something like - ‘don’t play too many notes’
There are several good stories in that piece, including how Tony says he was in the process of talking John into touring, and that he pretty much won him over, and then John was killed…
Anyway - the thing about telling a studio bass player to not play too many notes - that (and the touring thing) is what stuck with me for the ~10 years since hearing that interview. I wish I could find it. The statement has so many levels and meanings, and speaks to the role of a studio bass player. And - maybe it has something to do with the bass line for this song. 
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I couldn’t agree more. Follow the chord progression and adhere to the rhythm. Throw in some fills along the way. Thats the job of the bassist. The rest is all self-serving fluff.
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Since it is a bass forum,
This one formed itself…, rocking jazz prog?
Walkin in Eden…me on my old Travis bean
Lots of great players here…
My 2 cents is seek what you hear inside and want to say…
If it’s pretty it will be major, if its dark it will minor in some form, so instead of just practicing riffs and theory, which is great, pick out something that’s you…because in the end, the only difference between musicians is what drives it from the inside
Merry Christmas
John layne
Wizzard: I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday.
- Cribbed from some dodgy tab a couple of days before filming (some parts are wrong).
- Sixteenth note triplets (!) in the choruses - I shoulda practiced 'em harder.
- I goofed up the ending big time.
Oh well - Merry Christmas everybody! 
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Well, I enjoyed it! Kudos and Merry Christmas!
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It’s a good effort, thanks for sharing it, I appreciate the humour
You might want to check your tuning… you can mess up a lot of things and be OK but you should always get the tuning right.
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Just a bit confused on this @PamPurrs Pam….
I agree with you on following the chord progressions and throwing in some fills on a lot of songs and all, but… What would be considered “the rest”? What would be the difference between “Self Serving” and “Song Serving”?
Sometimes,…. Less is best,… and… sometimes it isn’t…. Sometimes the bass can be used to “ride the song”, and sometimes it can be used to “drive the song”….
Typically when anyone (especially vocalists or lead guitarists (and yes, sometimes bassists) say that they want other accompanying musician to (keep things simple, or use few notes) means that “They” want all focus on what they want to highlight in a song (typically their own talents),…. to me,… “that” is self serving and we hear it all the time in not only in entire songs, but also in solo” sections of songs…. Hell, there’s plenty of songs out there where even the bassist has a solo and gets to do their thing…
Some songs kinda require more notes,… Some don’t. It’s all about the music and how all the musicians feel it should be composed given whatever mood they’re all in at the time….
And sometimes it’s really cool to listen to a good bassists do some really cool shit on the instrument…. “Self serving”?? Not so sure I agree with that statement….
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Less is more. “Serve the tune”, is what my bass coach always told me. Every song is different, some call for more fills than others. At the end of the day the artist has to ask herself (himself), “did I serve the tune, or did I serve myself”.
That’s all I’m saying.
Sorry @Lanny Lanny.
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Step 1. Learn the rules
Step 2. Learn when to break the rules
Step 3. Realize there are no rules
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Yeah so I wasn’t going to say anything, but I completely disagree with the “Thats the job of the bassist” sentiment.
Completely.
But to each their own. It’s certainly not true for the bass-forward genres I prefer. It’s genre-specific obviously, maybe that’s how classic rock or soft rock works? No idea, don’t really listen to them much.
Good example would be post-punk/darkwave, where often the bass is the song, with the guitars in for some melody or filling role.
Or most electronica, a lot of punk, some metal, some post-rock/metal, etc etc. Lots of genres, bass plays a much more major role, and often leads.
Exactly zero of the bassists I really look up to just follow along chord progressions and “play few notes”; most would have walked out of the studio at that advice. Most of them “serve the song” by leading and driving it, and a few of them literally are the song more often than not.
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There are a lot of fairly minimalist drummers too, like Ringo so one could say the same thing about drummers… Which I don’t think many would 
Even OS jazz bassists were wailing away on upright for some great solos back in the day.
I know what the statement is meant to suggest though… it’s saying never play a bass line which although it might be great on its own, does not fit the song and make the song better/stronger. A lot of bass players, especially if they come from guitar, are prone to everplaying and unlike brass/woodwind, you never have to stop and breathe so many bass players will not consider their phrasing. It’s like the rule of thirds in photography which basically says don’t put things in the middle… But sometimes you DO want things in the middle if you want to take advantage of symmetry.
Stanley Clarke plays some great solos on upright, Garry Willis plays amazing technical stuff and his version of Norwegian Wood is one of my favourite bass pieces.
You only need 4 strings and a 4 piece kit 
Blanket statements are always wrong
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As a drummer I’m offended. The purpose of everyone in the band is to march to my beat! Also know as " the tempo is what I say it is! Lol
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