I’ve always wanted to play upright bass, and in several weeks this desire will become a reality when the bass I ordered from the Upton workshop in Mystic, CT arrives. (I will have the honor of taking lessons with one of the best bassists in town.) One of the main reasons I want to play upright is so that I can learn some classical technique and utilize arco (bowed) playing in the music that I create. I think the sound of a bowed bass blends very well with folky/acoustic or psychedelic rock.
There are several rock songs I know of that feature bowed bass:
Bukowski by Modest Mouse
Star Witness by Neko Case
California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade by The Decemberists
Several songs on Yellow House by Grizzly Bear
Do you know of any others?
Aside: Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl” does not feature any bowed bass, but it references it in a puzzling lyric: “Ten silver saxes, a bass with a bow/the drummer relaxes and waits between shows/for his Cinnamon Girl”
Primus has at least three: Pork Soda and Mr. Krinkle from the album Pork Soda, and Glass Sandwich from Tales From the Punchbowl. I think it was an electric upright bass though, so I don’t know if you’re looking for that. I wouldn’t be suprised if Les Claypool also bowed occasionally in his other projects.
Barenaked Ladies and Soul Coughing are two bands that have/had bassists who always played upright, but I don’t know if they did any bow work.
Smashing Pumpkins used strings in some songs, so I wouldn’t be suprised if there was a bass in there somewhere.
Also their “Mariner’s Revenge Song,” towards the end
The jazz bassist Richard Davis is all over Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks; he pulls out the bow for the last note of “Madame George,” he might play more elsewhere on the record.
I assume you just want solo bass and not as part of a string section. Lou Reed’s “Street Hassle” seems to have a few spots where the bass plays the orchestral part solo. I don’t think I could tell a bass bowing high and a cello bowing low reliably enough to tell them apart, though.
It’s not rock music, but Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg & Edgar Meyer’s Skip, Hop & Wobble has a lot of great bass bowing.
Ben Folds Five’s big hit, “Brick,” features Robert Sledge eschewing his usual fuzz-laden style of electric bass in favor of a bowed upright bass. It’s a big part of why that song has such an atypically emo feel for a band normally known for raucous, piano-driven pop punk.
Check out The Living End, an Australian rockabilly/punk band featuring a great guitarist and a bassist playing a cool upright (with checkerboard sides).
Speaking of rockabilly, if you want to be awed and humbled, get the Brian Setzer Orchestra Live in Japan DVD. It features his bassist - I think his name is Mark Winchester - who is a flat-out monster.
I recognize that this does NOTHING for you in terms of using a bow - but I couldn’t resist mentioning both of these because they are so damn cool.
I don’t know if you would consider it a rock song or not, but you should check out The Romantic Warrior by Return To Forever. Any serious study of the bass should include Stanley Clarke.
Yeah, Jim Creeggan w/ BNL plays upright on a lot of songs and does a lot of bow work here and there. I’m not sure which songs feature it for sure, but when you see them live he’ll bust out the bow quite often.