Originally Posted by: KasperowI've tried suggesting pretty much every cool rock-song I know and love, but most of them are shot down immediately, and the rest are clearly outside our grasp for now.

Is your bassist suggesting songs? Something you could try is having each of you write down a list of 3 songs you'd like to play together in a band. Take into consideration your skill levels so they are reasonable. Perhaps you could allow one veto, but once a song is chosen to replace the vetoed song, that's it!!

You may hate the songs the bass player chose or think they are boring as heck...or way beyond you abilities. Forget all that...try them out with a positive attitude. You may be surprised at what you can do with them and you may find yourself finding something about the song that you like.


I had a very similar situation and I was shooting suggestions down left and right...and having mine shot down too. I shot them down for a variety of reasons: they were too hard for me to play, I didn't think an audience would want to hear the song, I didn't like the song, etc.

However, I've changed my stance with this and it's worked out for the best. When Whole Lotta Love was suggested, my immediate reaction was to say "no way...too hard for me, probably too hard for our drummer, interlude too hard to replicate". However, I took a deep breathe and said "OK, I'll check it out". The drummer can decide if it's too hard or not...who am I to make that judgement.

So I found some youtube videos and thought "hmmm, OK, maybe...". After a couple of nights working on the solos, I could play them either exact or VERY close...close enough that an audience wouldn't even notice the difference I think. The main riff was easy enough. And our drummer has pretty much worked out the groove. With some more practice, we'll be able to get it down. I may even be able to get the solos down exact...but the pressure is off in the meantime that I have something in my pocket that is "good enough!".

So basically, it has to be some give and take. If the bass player can't even give you a list of 3 songs, well then you have another problem that I'm not sure you can fix...