As a matter of fact, I too picked up the bass first before guitar, played it through HS in the jazz bands, through university jazz and in various combos up until a few years ago. I started playing rock guitar maybe 2 months after I picked up the bass. I guess what I was trying say was, in my opinion, just as there's got to be some sucker in front of the grill at McD's so you get your Big Mac, there's got to be some shmuck pounding out the root in decent time in rock music. For what it's worth, rock bass should be classed as another percussion instrument. I've never started a band as a rock bass player (meaning never played in a rock band where the bass was anything more than a backup instrument), but I've been in countless bands where, sure, the band would've sounded like crap live if it weren't for the bass, and the bass/drum groove, but I'd be in multiple bands at the same time, playing the same sh*t because nobody else really wants to get stuck with it. I'm sure there's quite a few rock bassists out there who can pull some pretty quick and complicated riffs, but compared to the freedom you get on rock guitar, who cares. Makes for a decent conversation though.