People // Joel T Johnson // Blog

Making the transition from bass player to singer/bass player and front man has been a challenge for me. My personality as it has developed is more that of a bass player, easy going, unobtrusive and content to remain just outside the spotlight. And singers tend to be to some extent more extroverted engaging and full of... um, bravado. You know… assholes. When I started college, and probably for some time before that, I walked a little hunched over and I tended to look at the ground. Maybe it was low-esteem, maybe my imagination had me in another world or perhaps I was just being introverted and not wanting to deal with anyone. Whatever the reason, it was body language that said: "I'm not here. If you happen to notice me, just don't disturb me". As is often the case, I was completely unaware of these vibes I was giving off. I was just living life, going to my classes and happy being myself. The Jazz ensemble I played with in college was pretty kick-ass. It was a small ensemble: a keyboard player, two drummers that switched off and myself on bass with the instructor playing guitar; a rock fusion band really. Everyone was an exceptionally hot player and our instructor choose music to match. How many community college jazz ensembles play Alan Holdsworth and Chic Corea tunes? We played the usual concerts plus some high school assemblies to promote the college music/recording program. Because we were essentially a rock ensemble we also played at the college 'bar'. This was the first opportunity for most of my friends in my audio recording classes to see me play. I had a few good friends in my major but since I lived at home for that first year I wasn't especially close to any of them. It was a year later when my friend and roommate Rob shared his impressions of that concert. "It totally blew me away," he said. "The music was really cool but that wasn't it. When I first met you I thought you were pretty cool but you seemed sort of timid and mild mannered." He told me. "You sort-of looked down at the ground when you walked, you were kind of quiet, not a lot of self confidence it seemed. "But then came that concert at the Ratskellar. When you put that bass on, it transformed you. You stood up tall, your shoulders went back. You just took command of that bass. From that point I had a completely different impression of you. This was quite an epiphany. It was good to know that I had more outward confidence than I realized when I was playing but difficult to hear that the rest of the time I was walking around like a dormouse. When I put a bass on and plugged in suddenly everyone was in my house and I stood tall and ruled but when I put the bass down I became Clark Kent again. I didn't start walking tall that day but I became aware that it was something that mattered. I started to pick my eyes up off the pavement and pull my shoulders back even when I wasn't playing bass. I walked tall even though it felt odd at first. I parlayed my offstage self confidence into even better onstage confidence which helped my performance and my ability to be a charismatic self-promoter without simply putting on an act. I just can't do that, not with a straight face. As a performer I don't endeavor to be an "asshole". It's too far from who I am but maybe it's even too close underneath it all. I can't worry about what people think about me. They only have what I give them to go on, so it might as well be real and honest The performer I try to exemplify is James Taylor. There's a cat who 'owns it' without the usual look-at-me antics. His quiet confidence comes from his unabashed honesty not from the horn-blowing compensation of many singers. As understated as he is, Taylor also stands up straight and tall and doesn't stare at the friggin' ground. Since I have committed myself to being a successful performer I have to keep on remembering to stand tall and forget the ground exists altogether.