Re: Me'shell performance

Elson Trinidad (elson@westworld.com)
Tue, 07 Jul 1998 12:42:56 -0700

At 12:13 PM 7/7/98 -0700, denise johnson wrote:

>Hmmm....is it really a different sound or an effort to make herself
>more "marketable"? I say this because, if she's not playing bass, it
>definitely changes her image from musician to lead singer, which tends
>to be a more easily acceptable image for a woman. Just a thought.

I can't really answer that, and I guess, like you, I really enjoy
Me'shell's bass playing.
But my only explanation is perhaps one of the awkward points of her shows
is that
she needs another bassist anyway (she's mentioned explicitly that she can't
sing and play bass at the same time), and when she does play bass, she
kinds of has to switch off with the main bassist.

I don't think it has to do with gender roles at all - Me'shell is a person
who's very much in control of what she does, I don't think "the industry
powers that be" or what not are trying to mold her or anything. But from a
musician's standpoint, she probably feels like she has to concentrate on
what she's singing about (her lyrics no doubt are very important), and
perhaps the onstage bass playing has to be sacrificed.

I think I did mention, though, that she's going to be taking up the
keyboardist role in the new lineup (what, keyboardists arent' musicians?
:))...at least that's what I've heard.

It won't stop her from playing bass, or any other instrument, in the
studio, though.

Elson
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