The Smashing Pumpkins may currently be suffering from a drummer dearth, but Metallica seem to have a sudden abundance of bass players. According to Billboard.com, both Robert Trujillo and his four-string predecessor Jason Newsted will perform with Metallica at this weekend’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony (a previous report stated that only Newsted would play).
It is unclear as to whether the pair will be playing any songs together — a situation that would surely contravene numerous Heaviosity Laws. But it did get us thinking about bands that have featured more than one bassist in their line-up.
The list is short but entertainingly motley: There’s Cop Shoot Cop, Ned’s Atomic Dustbin, Dos (a band formed by bassists Mike Watt and Kira Roessler), and King Crimson, who for a spell had two bass players and two drummers (which seems like waaaaaay too much of a good thing, rhythm-sectionally speaking — and I say that as a drummer myself).
There is also a bassist supergroup called Bx3 whose membership includes David Lee Roth sideman Billy Sheehan, and whose version of Spinal Tap’s "Big Bottom" can be viewed here, though the footage mostly serves as a reminder why most bands make do with just the one bassist.
Anyway, have we forgotten any bass-abundant bands? Or can you think of any other notably unusual musical configurations? Let us know!
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I think R.E.M. features 2 bass players on the song “Radio Song” plus a third guy who plays double bass
The Cure used to dabble in multiple bassists.
The band im in have 2 Bassist, im one of them, but im acting as a second guitarist really so its played higher and the other bassist just plays the real bass lines.
SMV consists of three bassists: Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, and Victor Wooten.
Milkmine had two bass players and one drummer.
There is a really amazing band from Oakland, CA with 2 bass players called One In The Chamber. I highly recommend that if you like heavy music you check them out!
http://www.myspace.com/oaklandsoneinthechamber
Three bassists of famous Manchester bands – Andy Rourke (ex-The Smiths), Peter Hook (ex-Joy Division/New Order) and Gary “Mani” Mounfield (ex-The Stone Roses, currently Primal Scream) formed a group called Freebass (get it?) a few years ago, but they haven’t released anything yet.
This article calls Newstead the 4-string predecessor, but they’re both playing 5-strings in the picture. xD