What do you usually do in order to have more stage presence as a bassist? I have played in a few gigs but I always end up just standing still while trying to not miss any notes lol
Any advice?
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Have you considered the Flea route? Socks are cheap
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- Move to the rhythm
- Sing along
- Think about what the song is about
- Look at the audience: at the end of the Gig, each one in the audience should have the feeling that you looked at them at least once
- …
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Some really good advice here.
Girls may watch the lead singer/guitarist, but they dance to the bass. So, yeah, move to the rhythm. That helps to lock in with the drummer.
I hadn’t thought about Andrea’s suggestion to look at the audience, but it is an outstanding suggestion. A large part of my working life was spent speaking to audiences all over the world. Making eye contact with as many people in the audience as possible was key to connecting with them and getting my message across. Yes, I focused more on the top executives in the front row, but I tried to include the 1- and 2-downs as well, since they’d be the ones tasked with executing the consulting engagement I was trying to sell.
I make eye contact so naturally, that I don’t think about it as a separate thing to do. Zwei Daumen hoch to @AndreaFromGermany for mentioning it.
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stand at the back, wear sunglasses, look vaguely intimidating
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Thank you @TheMaartian
I want to add that all of this is easier said than done. It needs to be PRACTICED, so do it in the rehearsals. Imagine an audience. Don’t think “Yeah, on stage I will do it” because it’s not gonna happen.
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What’s that?
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Flea wears a sock.
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Go play air-bass in front of a mirror.
Put on something loud and rocking. Put on a show for yourself in front of a mirror. Make it fun and silly and over-the-top.
Then practice playing stuff with a bass in-front of a mirror. Play stuff that is fun but super simple. Rock out with your bad self. Go chug some root notes as hard as you can.
Then, when you’re gigging - rock out half that hard when you’re just riffing. When you get to those more technical sections where you need to concentrate and can’t be animated, that’s fine. Do the thing of stepping forward and being still with your best Carlos Santana “lost in the sauce” face.
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Love it!
Fleas has been know to perform with only a sock and a bass to cover his dignity… it’s one way if attracting attention!
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At one level, it’s simple, you’ve got to look up and out at the audience, look like you’re having fun and you’ve got to pose (think rock hero pose - legs apart, thrusting the bass towards the audience, or one foot up on a stage monitor, giving it all you’ve got) and you’ve got to move!
We’ve just recruited a second / rhythm guitarist to the band. He’s excellent, but luckily for me, shy, as on a small stage, I’ve refused to give up my spot at the front. I think the thing to do is consider which bands you enjoy watching, then go and study them. The drummer, and if keys, the keyboardist, are pretty much locked in position. It’s the singer, guitarist(s) and bassist that can move around. It’s all of our job to entertain, so entertain!
At one level, taking the comment about Flea and the sock, I think a bassist can lean into being a bit “eccentric”. At our last gig, I let our female vocalist put eye makeup on me (I’m an 80s boy, it’s whatever did back then!!). For our next gig, I’m considering spraying my hair orange (you can get washout, spray-in hair colour). While on stage, you have to be the (bass) guitar hero you wanted to be when you were 14. 
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And remember that you are putting on a persona and acting a character. It is a character based on yourself, but it isn’t the you that walks around every day.
Clothes, hair, and makeup can all help you get into that character.
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THIS 
. If you look like you are having fun, then so will the audience. If costumes and antics don’t seem fun to you, then do what does feel fun.
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^^^^
This! Management consultant by day, rock god by night . The reality is that both are acts!
^^^^
This too!!
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Throwing a tantrum is another good one too. 
You can do one of the three things Joe did and would draw attention to you too
One-get a Bass stand
Two-get on the stage first and give a little solo.
Three-Nod your head instead of tapping your foot,
If I can do this on stage and not looking like a Philly Doughboy rolling around, I’d do this all the time
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Also don’t underestimate wearing Ray-Bans. Worked for Joe, worked for the Blues Brothers, worked for Roy Orbison.
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I can’t imagine not wearing glasses on stage; I wouldn’t want to lock eyes with anyone in the crowd.