Sandman was such a complete original. The variation on that exchange I always remember was someone asking him “Why a two-string bass?” And Mark replied “Because one string was too limiting.” Both of these seem absolutely true his character. Man, if anyone wants to know how far they took they should listen to “The Night”, the last album they had in the can when Mark died. They never recorded a bum track.
I play with Vapors of Morphine and have had a lot of access to Mark's basses. He used a nut riser so the bass could only be played with a slide, and he used flatwounds. He originally started out with one string.
I was chatting with Monique Ortiz (another unique bass player who plays both 2-string slide and fretless) after a gig, and her recommendation for making a 2-string was to buy "cheap-ass Japanese basses so you won't be sad when the string tension ruins the neck."
@@berniemojzes2989I know Monique. kind of an odd thing to say. Two strings create much less tension than four. Perhaps she’s using heavy strings and tuning them high? I use cheap Japanese basses because they are light weight, cheap and they look cool. 😊
@@deltabilly1 Yeah, I figured if you had any Boston/Cambridge/Morphine connection you probably did, the description was more for Mark or others who might see it and be interested. We were talking about different tunings, and one that she was talking about was a low/high octave tuning, tuning the D string up to an A, or somesuch, putting an uneven stress on the neck, IIRC (which I might not, this was a while back).
I was fortunate enough to have a few drinks and long talks with Mark back in the day. He convinced me to pick the bass back up after putting it away for a few years. I’ll always be indebted to him. He used custom gauge strings on his bass btw.
I am extremely envious and also happy for you. Mark is one of the heroes of my musical experience and his music is a big part of the soundtrack of my life.
Good to know about the strings. You're gonna remember that conversation for years to come, that's awesome. I just discovered Morphine a month ago and tonight I find out he passed away in 1999 when I was 9. His style is so cool.
Discovered them from this video, went to watch them on youtube, learned that they ROCK like hell, noticed 2 notes at once on sax in Honey White music video, thought it was a studio recording like people do with stereo guitars. Watched Super Sex and SAW TWO FREAKING SAXES!!! This is officially insane.
The Alternative 90s was a genre free-for-all, so it was the perfect time for something like this, "unconventional but really good" was the tagline of so much of that era's music.
Les Claypool said in an early 2000's bass player that this one of his favorite bands/bass players so I napster'd them and they been one of my favs too!
Morphine has been a favorite of mine since the late 90s. I only just started playing bass and immediately started trying to figure out some of Sandman's work.
That look on your face when the song took off and you realized what was going on was priceless 😆 So glad you reacted to them. Morphine is a truly unique band and Mark Sandman was such an inspirational bass player
Sandman made 2 strings sound better than 95% of bass players with 4 or more. Many people don't know that Sandman actually spent years perfecting his signature vocal croon and 2 string slide bass sound. He worked as a cab driver and had been writting and playing live gigs since the early to mid 70's. When Morphine finally released their debut album Good, Sandman was already nearly 40 years.
"Automatic taxi stop electric cigarette love baby! Hotel, rock and roll, the discoteque. The electric super sex." Makes perfect sense in Morphine world.
Morphine still makes me shiver from pleasure. The swag and the attitude is incredible as it was his poetry, technique and albums. The guy was aging so good as a songwriter it was impressive.
the sax is the guitar, except when it's the bass. Morphine is one of the greatest bands of all time. such a deep catalogue, genius musicians, and nice guys. Claypool said Mark was the most innovative bassist around, he was. I built a 2 string slide bass inspired by him, it's a joy to play.
In Treat Her Right, Sandman played what he called a "low guitar" and the lead instrument was a harmonica. Morphine with the sax was kind of a logical extension in minimalism for him to go to next. But it was amazing the variety of color they could paint inside that seemingly tiny palate
I went to see them although I’d never heard them….i wasn’t expecting much with drums, sax and a two string bass😂….and they blew my mind….loud,sultry and great vocals!!!
Thanks so much for doing Morphine. Highly underrated 90's band. Their sound ranges from this, to more rock type tunes (Thursday, Honey White) to ballads (Candy), and several more chill jazzy tunes and even some avant garde spoken word (Karouac) and a lot more.
Love Morphine soooo much!! Thanks for checking them out! Morphine and Soul Coughing are my 2 favorite bands! Never got to see Morphine, but I did see Soul Coughing 6 times here in Atlanta! They were always amazing! Another person here suggested checking out Soul Coughing, which I highly recommend!!
The sax player and drummer play with Jeremy Lyons in a group called Vapors of Morphine. I know it’s not Mr. Sandman singing but it is a great tribute to the man and the band.
There is also orchestra morphine plus mark’s other bands treat her right, candybar, hypnosonics, a few random things 7” things, one in particular escapes me, as well as stuff under his own name and 2 documentaries. You might like the eels, which if you get into them there is also to albums just under E which is what the Mark Oliver Everett goes by. But captain beefheart or the 13 floor elevators/roky Erikson among other stuff.
Thanks soooo much for doing this one. Been waiting a long time for you to get to morphine. They such a unique band with an amazing story. Highly recommend the documentary “Journey of Dreams” which illustrates the bands history and Mark’s quest to make what became this instrument
2 meter sessions had such cool artists & performances, didn't know this one yet :) Strange I can't remember watching the show on tv back in these days, but I was quite young still maybe.
Great band with a really unique sound. I discovered them really late, just a few years ago don't even remember anymore how I found them. Great discovery for a bass player of course, but also very interesting the fact they combine two instruments which a both in the bass register.
Morphine is incredible. I stumbled across them totally by accident years ago on youtube and I've been a big fan ever since. Totally unique vibe for their time and place in history.
Having spent my college and early career days in Boston listening to Morphine, I absolutely *LOVE* it when other musicians discover Morphine and the magic of Mark Sandman for the first time! Those facial expressions and the "this is something else" comments are so telling. I'm literally grinning ear to ear as I watch this reaction video. Morphine was amazing, and it's so cool to see them get even a sliver of the recognition that they deserve. Bottom line, I kind of think they're one of the best bands to have ever come out of Boston, and I think many Boston-based bands and musicians would agree.
My brother - I saw this band live at the Trocadero in Philly preceded by Rev Horton Heat and I can tell you that it was a life-changing experience. I can only try and explain to people what this band meant to me and the tunes they belted out. I haven't even watched yet, but as an "old head" I can tell you that you should go out and buy all of their stuff. Rip Mark and Billy. You're sadly missed.
Love your vids so much! Really dig seeing you check out a lot of the punk rock that I grew up on. Buuuut, I also kinda grew up listening to Morphine as well. To me, they have this incredibly sexy, intoxicating lounge vibe to their music. And as far as vocal comparison goes, I pick up on a huge Jim Morrison influence. In fact, not many bands remind me of The Doors, but Morphine certainly does. Thanks for the great content that entertains AND educates us hardcore music fans and musicians 🙌
I love punk and metal the most but have always loved other forms of music as well. To me Morphine is the top of the mountain. Ask Joe strummer what he thought about them.
Thank god people finally got you to hear Morphine. I got to see them live before Marc Sandman passed, nearly passed out bc the club was so full of cigarette smoke which was kinda appropriate lol.
I was in my senior year of college when this album came out and I was fortune enough to see them play at the Cotton Club in Atlanta during a music festival. Morphine was a life changing experience for me as a bass player, I left that night and was thinking - there are no rules. You can be whatever you want to be ... if you think outside the box, you can be truly unique.
I saw Morphine live. In Nashville. At a medium size club. I am 60. I saw them about 30 years ago. FANTASTIC show. I also saw Warren Zevon at the same club.
The two string bass was built by Sandman after he heard a folk blues that used a slide unitar. Apparently he liked to build and modify instruments. There is an extensive documentary about him and the band. Called morphine, journey of dreams.
Morphine is one of my top ten concerts I ever saw (and I've seen thousands). Also, their catalog is just incredible; I highly recommend listening to more. My favorite song is Thursday.
@@percula8weirdly that’s probably what killed Jim in a round about way. He got robbed and stabbed in the chest driving a taxi one night. It nicked his heart or a valve or something. Easily could’ve been why he died when he did.
If you want to check out more experimental stuff from the 90s, you might find Soul Coughing interesting. Their bassist plays an upright bass, and the band is a bizarre genre blend that lead singer Mike Doughty called "slacker jazz". Another jazz-influenced 90s act with some really fantastic bass tones is Ben Folds Five. "Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner" era Ben Folds Five is unbeatable. The song "Army" comes to mind specifically, but other folks might have some better recommendations.
Mark is already a legend, at least for us indie rock lover...he died here in Italy, near Rome, while he was playing Supersex, of heart attack at only 46...
Happy to see you exposed to this extraordinary band. I would strongly recommend listening to anything from the YES album, which rocks a little harder and experiments a bit more.
They hit their apex with the Like Swimming album. Containing a number of solid songs throughout. It's a shame Sandman's early death stopped the momentum they were building and left their sound largely forgotten in the subsequent years.
I’m not sure I agree with that. The night is so amazing. I’ve been wondering what could’ve been since learning he died back in the 90s and was so amazed to get that album when it finally came out. All of marks album are worth listening to treat her right, candybar, hypnosonics, the stuff that came out under his name. I’m always checking if something is going to come out because he had so many recordings in his loft/studio space. There are some really great live shows I wish I could get on vinyl.
Been listening to these guys lately, remembering my time in Boston. I'll throw this in as a personal/funny one: I worked on the door and behind the bar at the Tam O'Shanter in Brookline, a great dinner and music place. One night I was training a new doorman, a guy called Sal. I took a break for a few minutes, and when I got back, Sal was in an argument with Mark. I asked Sal what was up. He had Mark's ID, was eyeing it suspiciously. 'I'm confiscating this guy's license because it's fake,' Sal says. 'How do you figure?' I ask him. 'Sandman', he says. 'That's not a real name.' Mark and I have a laugh, I give him back his license and let him in. RIP Mark and Billy. Miss you guys
I saw these guys several times in the 90s, in small/mid clubs. They were amazing. Dana, the saxophonist, also would play two saxes at once on a couple of songs. Mark had a special mic off to the side for really dark jazzy film noir spoken word stuff. Oh, and the prechorus is the IV to the II, not to the bIII 😁
I’ve seen some comments about the dual sax thing - really neat! Don’t think I’ve seen that before with any band. I actually went back to this video to see what you’re referring to as far as the chords. I’m not hearing where that is. When he goes to the F (IV), he goes to Eb after it and back down to C, all outlining just a blues scale. Hoping I heard that right!
I DJ now and then for fun at my favorite bar and for some reason the last time I did it I just played songs that had saxophone in them, I must have had ten Morphine songs on my playlist - amazing band and musicians, such a shame about Mark leaving us way too early but the music will always be there
Great video as always! I'd have to agree that he was one of the most unique players I've seen. It definitely worked for the sound they were aiming for. It's been awhile since I've made any recommendations, but gonna throw a suggestion out for more Karnivool. New Day, Umbra, or Deadman would be great options, all from the same album as Goliath. And Chris Wolstenholme from Muse would be a good new band to listen to (live versions of Bliss live at The Mayan or Reapers from the Drones World Tour are both great with the bass mixed very well). Keep doing what you're doing!
Thanks so much! Drop me a Muse link here to one of those live videos, I know there are so many but I've seen your request several times. Whichever one you think is best, let me know here!
@@LowEndUniversity Bliss Live - ruclips.net/video/2dmZt4Q2jpo/видео.html - Love his live tone and he adds some cool variations/fills compared to the studio version.
Once you go down the Morphine rabbit-hole, you never come back. We had a band once heavily influenced by them. I played 3 string bass and we had a Baritone guitar. Most of Sandman's basses were 4 strings converted to 2, with the nut raised to get the strings higher off the board. He also used flatwounds. Glass bottle has a smoother sound than brass for a slide, but both are cool. Tuning for most songs is DA, but there are variants to this used in other songs, such as "Radar". If you have an old bass, it's super fun to set up and tool around with. You can also use a fretless with flatwounds and not raise the nut, which is what I did. If you ever get a chance, watch the documentary "Cure For Pain". It's absolutely worth it. They are one of the most under-rated and musically whole bands that don't get the appreciation they should for creating something as unbelieveably unique as they did.
Another unique bass player to check out is Charlie Hunter. Dude covers bass and guitar parts at the same time with a 7 string hybrid bass\electric guitar. Top 3 strings are bass, bottom four are guitar strings.
If you listen to the recorded version on Cure for Pain, the drummer is Jerome Deupree. He ‘invented’ the Morphine sound. Billy replaced Jerome AFTER the recording of Cure for Pain. Mark also played a one string before adding the second string.
You've probably already heard it but Presidents of the United States of America bass player/singer plays a 2 string 'Bassitar" and the guitar player plays a 3 string guitbass. Pretty sure they do it just because they can and they used to hang out with the Morphine guys.
In a Guitar World interview, POTUSA stated they played with reduced strings to focus on frequencies that sound best coming through inexpensive radio speakers (like older AM radios) so their music would sound good no matter what sound system you listened to them on.
Mark Sandmen passed? Awwww that's so sad, I am just now getting into them now present day 2024. RIP Mark. His style on bass is so cool, different and unique. I've never heard of someone playing a 2 string bass, strumming like a guitar with a slide. That's sad, not even 50 years old.
I mentioned maybe listening to 'Slivadiv' by Back Door, who are kind of a precursor to this kind of stuff, and Minutemen, Primus, etc., but UK, and early 70s, and asked if you'd listened to Morphine, and, yes, you have. But Back Door, check 'em out.
Definitely also check out Monique Ortiz. She played in several bands with Morphine members including AKACOD, and I think takes some songwriting cues from Mark at his best. A neat back-to-back (that I can't recall actually trying before now that I consider) would be Morphine's "Empty Box" with "The Dream" from her solo project Bourbon Princess
There’s a band in BC Canada called Bison. Their original base player broke the high string on their base once pretty early and realized he didn’t really need it so he just left it off as it was ‘in the way’ when replaced lol.
Make sure to check out the other bands Mark with, including Treat Her Right and Hypnosonics because they’re informative of what he was going for in terms of his unique playing in Morphine. A shuffle up to Cambridge to see Dana play wouldn’t hurt, either.
If you're into the 2-string bass, you gotta check out the Presidents of the United States of America, I'm sure you've already heard Lump and Peaches at least, but they used a 2-string bass and a 3-string guitar on most of their songs, as inspired by Morphine.
@@LowEndUniversity You did Okotobe Beaver and I can't imagine requests pouring in for them. AVAIL will make me happy and YOU will love it! Cheers man keep it up
More Morphine that shows their breadth and badass bass would be Head With Wings, Sheila, or especially You Speak My Language. Hi-N-Dri also put out a posthumous collection of good stuff called Sandbox, included some things from his earlier band Treat Her Right among others. I recommend Doreen or Early Blues as starting points.
When an interviewer asked him "do you find using only 2 strings limiting" and he replied "anything more than 1 string is an extravagance!"
The drummer’s name is Billy Conway.
Sandman was such a complete original. The variation on that exchange I always remember was someone asking him “Why a two-string bass?” And Mark replied “Because one string was too limiting.” Both of these seem absolutely true his character. Man, if anyone wants to know how far they took they should listen to “The Night”, the last album they had in the can when Mark died. They never recorded a bum track.
I play with Vapors of Morphine and have had a lot of access to Mark's basses. He used a nut riser so the bass could only be played with a slide, and he used flatwounds. He originally started out with one string.
He originally started on guitar for string instruments.
I was chatting with Monique Ortiz (another unique bass player who plays both 2-string slide and fretless) after a gig, and her recommendation for making a 2-string was to buy "cheap-ass Japanese basses so you won't be sad when the string tension ruins the neck."
@@berniemojzes2989I know Monique. kind of an odd thing to say. Two strings create much less tension than four. Perhaps she’s using heavy strings and tuning them high? I use cheap Japanese basses because they are light weight, cheap and they look cool. 😊
@@deltabilly1 Yeah, I figured if you had any Boston/Cambridge/Morphine connection you probably did, the description was more for Mark or others who might see it and be interested.
We were talking about different tunings, and one that she was talking about was a low/high octave tuning, tuning the D string up to an A, or somesuch, putting an uneven stress on the neck, IIRC (which I might not, this was a while back).
I was fortunate enough to have a few drinks and long talks with Mark back in the day. He convinced me to pick the bass back up after putting it away for a few years. I’ll always be indebted to him.
He used custom gauge strings on his bass btw.
I am extremely envious and also happy for you. Mark is one of the heroes of my musical experience and his music is a big part of the soundtrack of my life.
Good to know about the strings. You're gonna remember that conversation for years to come, that's awesome. I just discovered Morphine a month ago and tonight I find out he passed away in 1999 when I was 9. His style is so cool.
Saw the band with Rev Horton Heat in Philly back in the day. They don't make shows like that any more.
That's a sick double bill. I'm jealous@@TechGorilla1987
It gets even better- if you keep digging you'll find the sax player sometimes played 2 saxaphones at once. Check out the title track Cure For Pain.
Discovered them from this video, went to watch them on youtube, learned that they ROCK like hell, noticed 2 notes at once on sax in Honey White music video, thought it was a studio recording like people do with stereo guitars. Watched Super Sex and SAW TWO FREAKING SAXES!!! This is officially insane.
Saw them many times, I was always in awe when he pulled out the 2 saxophones
Honestly they were probably the most uniquely talented band I've ever seen, and I've been around the block. Wish Marc had been with us longer
Danna Colley is the modern Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Kirk could play two sax's at once, which I assume is where Colley for the inspiration.
The Alternative 90s was a genre free-for-all, so it was the perfect time for something like this, "unconventional but really good" was the tagline of so much of that era's music.
"Honey white" kicks ass
This
The beginning, that firestorm of the baritone, you knew it's gonna kick some....
Even Les Claypool made a cover of it. In fact Les and Mark were pretty good pals as far as I know
Les Claypool said in an early 2000's bass player that this one of his favorite bands/bass players so I napster'd them and they been one of my favs too!
If Les Claypool gives them the seal of approval, then you’ve gotta at least check ‘em out.
Morphine has been a favorite of mine since the late 90s. I only just started playing bass and immediately started trying to figure out some of Sandman's work.
That look on your face when the song took off and you realized what was going on was priceless 😆 So glad you reacted to them. Morphine is a truly unique band and Mark Sandman was such an inspirational bass player
Morphine has so many good songs. Buena barely scratches the surface of their greatness.
Glad you checked them out. My favorite band of all time. Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure!
Sandman made 2 strings sound better than 95% of bass players with 4 or more. Many people don't know that Sandman actually spent years perfecting his signature vocal croon and 2 string slide bass sound. He worked as a cab driver and had been writting and playing live gigs since the early to mid 70's. When Morphine finally released their debut album Good, Sandman was already nearly 40 years.
"Automatic taxi stop electric cigarette love baby! Hotel, rock and roll, the discoteque. The electric super sex." Makes perfect sense in Morphine world.
Sharks patrol these waters.
Morphine still makes me shiver from pleasure.
The swag and the attitude is incredible as it was his poetry, technique and albums.
The guy was aging so good as a songwriter it was impressive.
Sexiest music ever
the sax is the guitar, except when it's the bass. Morphine is one of the greatest bands of all time. such a deep catalogue, genius musicians, and nice guys. Claypool said Mark was the most innovative bassist around, he was. I built a 2 string slide bass inspired by him, it's a joy to play.
Best 3 piece of all time
See them live love these guys
"Treat Her Right" is also worth checking out for more Mark Sandman. Their song "Thursday" even got played on the radio for a minute in the early 90's
Thursday is such a great song...the noir vibes of the story "gotta leave while i still can"!
In Treat Her Right, Sandman played what he called a "low guitar" and the lead instrument was a harmonica. Morphine with the sax was kind of a logical extension in minimalism for him to go to next. But it was amazing the variety of color they could paint inside that seemingly tiny palate
"I think she likes me" is still a freakin banger. Such an off-time groove.
@@percula8 that's what I think.
Won't lie that a few times I've gotten that teary-eyed happiness watching you respond to music that made me the bassist I am today...
I went to see them although I’d never heard them….i wasn’t expecting much with drums, sax and a two string bass😂….and they blew my mind….loud,sultry and great vocals!!!
Thanks so much for doing Morphine. Highly underrated 90's band. Their sound ranges from this, to more rock type tunes (Thursday, Honey White) to ballads (Candy), and several more chill jazzy tunes and even some avant garde spoken word (Karouac) and a lot more.
Love Morphine soooo much!! Thanks for checking them out! Morphine and Soul Coughing are my 2 favorite bands! Never got to see Morphine, but I did see Soul Coughing 6 times here in Atlanta! They were always amazing! Another person here suggested checking out Soul Coughing, which I highly recommend!!
The sax player and drummer play with Jeremy Lyons in a group called Vapors of Morphine. I know it’s not Mr. Sandman singing but it is a great tribute to the man and the band.
@@Doyle-fq7weThanks for the recommendation!! Then I need to check out Vapors of Morphine!
There is also orchestra morphine plus mark’s other bands treat her right, candybar, hypnosonics, a few random things 7” things, one in particular escapes me, as well as stuff under his own name and 2 documentaries.
You might like the eels, which if you get into them there is also to albums just under E which is what the Mark Oliver Everett goes by. But captain beefheart or the 13 floor elevators/roky Erikson among other stuff.
Oh forgot there is also twinemen.
Thanks soooo much for doing this one. Been waiting a long time for you to get to morphine. They such a unique band with an amazing story. Highly recommend the documentary “Journey of Dreams” which illustrates the bands history and Mark’s quest to make what became this instrument
2 meter sessions had such cool artists & performances, didn't know this one yet :) Strange I can't remember watching the show on tv back in these days, but I was quite young still maybe.
Excellent, glad that you could get introduced to Morphine!
Excellent chill out music.
Thanks for showing Morphine ❤! The Cure for Pain album is a classic! RIP Sandman!
Great band with a really unique sound. I discovered them really late, just a few years ago don't even remember anymore how I found them. Great discovery for a bass player of course, but also very interesting the fact they combine two instruments which a both in the bass register.
Morphine is incredible. I stumbled across them totally by accident years ago on youtube and I've been a big fan ever since. Totally unique vibe for their time and place in history.
Another new band for me! Great find. Excellent video.
Having spent my college and early career days in Boston listening to Morphine, I absolutely *LOVE* it when other musicians discover Morphine and the magic of Mark Sandman for the first time! Those facial expressions and the "this is something else" comments are so telling. I'm literally grinning ear to ear as I watch this reaction video. Morphine was amazing, and it's so cool to see them get even a sliver of the recognition that they deserve. Bottom line, I kind of think they're one of the best bands to have ever come out of Boston, and I think many Boston-based bands and musicians would agree.
One of my all time favorite bands, I love all of their songs but the entire Cure for Pain album is just wonderful. Thank you for spotlighting them! ❤
One of my favorite's.
His lyrics hit me in the feels on certain songs.
It makes me happy when anyone discovers this band...so, so good.
My brother - I saw this band live at the Trocadero in Philly preceded by Rev Horton Heat and I can tell you that it was a life-changing experience. I can only try and explain to people what this band meant to me and the tunes they belted out. I haven't even watched yet, but as an "old head" I can tell you that you should go out and buy all of their stuff. Rip Mark and Billy. You're sadly missed.
Fantastic! Thank you for reminding me that I need more of their music in my life!
My pleasure!
I saw their first tour. Very special band.
Thank you. Mark Sandman is one of the best. Great songwriter and original sound.
Was always enamored with his sound. Great work analyzing and breaking it down!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Outstanding reaction! Love this creative band. "Rope on Fire" is another that's quite unconventional.
Got to see them a couple times in Boston back in the day. Great show.
Love your vids so much! Really dig seeing you check out a lot of the punk rock that I grew up on. Buuuut, I also kinda grew up listening to Morphine as well. To me, they have this incredibly sexy, intoxicating lounge vibe to their music. And as far as vocal comparison goes, I pick up on a huge Jim Morrison influence. In fact, not many bands remind me of The Doors, but Morphine certainly does.
Thanks for the great content that entertains AND educates us hardcore music fans and musicians 🙌
I love punk and metal the most but have always loved other forms of music as well. To me Morphine is the top of the mountain. Ask Joe strummer what he thought about them.
One I've never heard of but I'll be checking out
Thank god people finally got you to hear Morphine. I got to see them live before Marc Sandman passed, nearly passed out bc the club was so full of cigarette smoke which was kinda appropriate lol.
Still regret not seeing them live... Morphine is one of my all-time favorite bands.
As unique as he is, Mark is able to explore a WIDE range of vibes within the Morphine framework. Cure for Pain is a great great album.
I was in my senior year of college when this album came out and I was fortune enough to see them play at the Cotton Club in Atlanta during a music festival. Morphine was a life changing experience for me as a bass player, I left that night and was thinking - there are no rules. You can be whatever you want to be ... if you think outside the box, you can be truly unique.
I saw Morphine live. In Nashville. At a medium size club. I am 60. I saw them about 30 years ago. FANTASTIC show. I also saw Warren Zevon at the same club.
I cannot tell you how happy I am to see someone cover Morphine.
I love them and discovered them around 30 years ago. I remember Mark Sandman his dead and seeing them live around that time.
Love Morphine!! Check out “Honey White” by them!
The two string bass was built by Sandman after he heard a folk blues that used a slide unitar. Apparently he liked to build and modify instruments. There is an extensive documentary about him and the band. Called morphine, journey of dreams.
Check out more Morphine - Buena is good, but there is a lot more gold on their albums.
Wow. Totally got the primus reference. Always see that connection. You nailed it sir! I also get mark knofler vibes off his vocals
Morphine is one of my top ten concerts I ever saw (and I've seen thousands). Also, their catalog is just incredible; I highly recommend listening to more. My favorite song is Thursday.
I love this song and I love Morphine!
Wait till you see the saxophone player play 2 saxes at once... great band, amazing live band.
so, regarding that Primus comment, Les actually uses a secondary (Harmonica) mic with the sticker "Sandman" on it as a tribute
That's the truth...Les uses Mark Sandmann s microphon since a long time 👍👍👍
Green Bullet mic! Mark used it for all his spoken-word stuff because it reminded him of his old CB mic when he drove taxi.
@@percula8weirdly that’s probably what killed Jim in a round about way. He got robbed and stabbed in the chest driving a taxi one night. It nicked his heart or a valve or something. Easily could’ve been why he died when he did.
If you want to check out more experimental stuff from the 90s, you might find Soul Coughing interesting. Their bassist plays an upright bass, and the band is a bizarre genre blend that lead singer Mike Doughty called "slacker jazz".
Another jazz-influenced 90s act with some really fantastic bass tones is Ben Folds Five. "Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner" era Ben Folds Five is unbeatable. The song "Army" comes to mind specifically, but other folks might have some better recommendations.
Ooo, some Ben Folds sounds fun! Didn't think about that.
Yessss...soul caughing are great👍👍👍
Soul Coughing … incredibly underrated band.
check out a song where he plays 2 saxes at the same time. great live band saw them a few times in NYC in the 90's.
Same. Amazing band.
Mark is already a legend, at least for us indie rock lover...he died here in Italy, near Rome, while he was playing Supersex, of heart attack at only 46...
Love Morphine. First thing I noticed, as a non native speaker, was Mark's enunciation is really, really good. My favorite song by them is Thursday.
Check out his earlier band treat her right. Some really good stuff but the sort of pro type of Thursday is I think she likes me.
I'm lucky to have seen Morphine live 🖤
The live version of "Sharks" from I think the same performance is one of my all-time favorite performances.
Glad you're discovering Morphine. One of the truly genius bands with one of the true genius frontmen of the modern era.
Mad underrated band completely kickass
Saw them many times, insane live. At one point double baritone saxes
Saw Morphine play at my favorite club in college a couple times. Transcendental live.
Happy to see you exposed to this extraordinary band. I would strongly recommend listening to anything from the YES album, which rocks a little harder and experiments a bit more.
They hit their apex with the Like Swimming album. Containing a number of solid songs throughout. It's a shame Sandman's early death stopped the momentum they were building and left their sound largely forgotten in the subsequent years.
I’m not sure I agree with that. The night is so amazing. I’ve been wondering what could’ve been since learning he died back in the 90s and was so amazed to get that album when it finally came out. All of marks album are worth listening to treat her right, candybar, hypnosonics, the stuff that came out under his name. I’m always checking if something is going to come out because he had so many recordings in his loft/studio space. There are some really great live shows I wish I could get on vinyl.
Been listening to these guys lately, remembering my time in Boston. I'll throw this in as a personal/funny one: I worked on the door and behind the bar at the Tam O'Shanter in Brookline, a great dinner and music place. One night I was training a new doorman, a guy called Sal. I took a break for a few minutes, and when I got back, Sal was in an argument with Mark. I asked Sal what was up. He had Mark's ID, was eyeing it suspiciously. 'I'm confiscating this guy's license because it's fake,' Sal says.
'How do you figure?' I ask him.
'Sandman', he says. 'That's not a real name.'
Mark and I have a laugh, I give him back his license and let him in.
RIP Mark and Billy.
Miss you guys
I saw these guys several times in the 90s, in small/mid clubs. They were amazing. Dana, the saxophonist, also would play two saxes at once on a couple of songs. Mark had a special mic off to the side for really dark jazzy film noir spoken word stuff.
Oh, and the prechorus is the IV to the II, not to the bIII 😁
I’ve seen some comments about the dual sax thing - really neat! Don’t think I’ve seen that before with any band.
I actually went back to this video to see what you’re referring to as far as the chords. I’m not hearing where that is. When he goes to the F (IV), he goes to Eb after it and back down to C, all outlining just a blues scale. Hoping I heard that right!
I DJ now and then for fun at my favorite bar and for some reason the last time I did it I just played songs that had saxophone in them, I must have had ten Morphine songs on my playlist - amazing band and musicians, such a shame about Mark leaving us way too early but the music will always be there
Listen to ; cure for pain , the whole record, front to back, it’s all right there on display.
Great video as always! I'd have to agree that he was one of the most unique players I've seen. It definitely worked for the sound they were aiming for. It's been awhile since I've made any recommendations, but gonna throw a suggestion out for more Karnivool. New Day, Umbra, or Deadman would be great options, all from the same album as Goliath. And Chris Wolstenholme from Muse would be a good new band to listen to (live versions of Bliss live at The Mayan or Reapers from the Drones World Tour are both great with the bass mixed very well). Keep doing what you're doing!
Thanks so much! Drop me a Muse link here to one of those live videos, I know there are so many but I've seen your request several times. Whichever one you think is best, let me know here!
@@LowEndUniversity Bliss Live - ruclips.net/video/2dmZt4Q2jpo/видео.html - Love his live tone and he adds some cool variations/fills compared to the studio version.
their song, "Rope On Fire" is incredible
Morphine's a whole, cool, vibe.
Once you go down the Morphine rabbit-hole, you never come back. We had a band once heavily influenced by them. I played 3 string bass and we had a Baritone guitar. Most of Sandman's basses were 4 strings converted to 2, with the nut raised to get the strings higher off the board. He also used flatwounds. Glass bottle has a smoother sound than brass for a slide, but both are cool. Tuning for most songs is DA, but there are variants to this used in other songs, such as "Radar". If you have an old bass, it's super fun to set up and tool around with. You can also use a fretless with flatwounds and not raise the nut, which is what I did. If you ever get a chance, watch the documentary "Cure For Pain". It's absolutely worth it. They are one of the most under-rated and musically whole bands that don't get the appreciation they should for creating something as unbelieveably unique as they did.
Good one! An old favorite of mine.
Sexy dark músic. The whole album is just gold
The band politely called it low rock but when it was just friendly or what ever they called it “fuck rock”.
Any musician would be happy as hell when the first reaction to they're music is "WOW!"
My feeling also
Morphine is great, cure for pain is also a great track, hits the soul.
Another unique bass player to check out is Charlie Hunter. Dude covers bass and guitar parts at the same time with a 7 string hybrid bass\electric guitar. Top 3 strings are bass, bottom four are guitar strings.
Morphine is around the top of a list entitled "Coolest band you've never heard".
More Morphine exploration. I arrived in Boston too late to see Mark Sandman.
Blows my mind that people go through life never hearing these bands that were staples in my music library.
Sax, Drums and Rock n' Roll.
If you listen to the recorded version on Cure for Pain, the drummer is Jerome Deupree. He ‘invented’ the Morphine sound. Billy replaced Jerome AFTER the recording of Cure for Pain. Mark also played a one string before adding the second string.
You've probably already heard it but Presidents of the United States of America bass player/singer plays a 2 string 'Bassitar" and the guitar player plays a 3 string guitbass. Pretty sure they do it just because they can and they used to hang out with the Morphine guys.
yar. chris ballew and mark sandman were roommates in seattle and developed these bastardbasses together
Came to comment the same thing
In a Guitar World interview, POTUSA stated they played with reduced strings to focus on frequencies that sound best coming through inexpensive radio speakers (like older AM radios) so their music would sound good no matter what sound system you listened to them on.
Mark set it up for them.
Something new, and this reminds me of P.U.S.A. and their "basitar and guitbass". Great band, underrated album! Cheers! ❤
Mark Sandman helped create those instruments. He was a friend of theirs.
Thanks friend!! I'll have to look into them.
Great choice
Mark Sandmen passed? Awwww that's so sad, I am just now getting into them now present day 2024. RIP Mark. His style on bass is so cool, different and unique. I've never heard of someone playing a 2 string bass, strumming like a guitar with a slide. That's sad, not even 50 years old.
I mentioned maybe listening to 'Slivadiv' by Back Door, who are kind of a precursor to this kind of stuff, and Minutemen, Primus, etc., but UK, and early 70s, and asked if you'd listened to Morphine, and, yes, you have. But Back Door, check 'em out.
Definitely also check out Monique Ortiz. She played in several bands with Morphine members including AKACOD, and I think takes some songwriting cues from Mark at his best. A neat back-to-back (that I can't recall actually trying before now that I consider) would be Morphine's "Empty Box" with "The Dream" from her solo project Bourbon Princess
Sandman is so dang good, love Morphine. Cure for Pain is just such a classic album
Sandman had an earlier bluesy band, Treat Her Right, pretty solid, more full band feel than Morphine
This band blew my f'ing mind back in high school
There’s a band in BC Canada called Bison. Their original base player broke the high string on their base once pretty early and realized he didn’t really need it so he just left it off as it was ‘in the way’ when replaced lol.
Make sure to check out the other bands Mark with, including Treat Her Right and Hypnosonics because they’re informative of what he was going for in terms of his unique playing in Morphine. A shuffle up to Cambridge to see Dana play wouldn’t hurt, either.
If you're into the 2-string bass, you gotta check out the Presidents of the United States of America, I'm sure you've already heard Lump and Peaches at least, but they used a 2-string bass and a 3-string guitar on most of their songs, as inspired by Morphine.
AVAIL! Finally!!.... oh wait...... c'mon bro! You are killing me!. And FYI Mark Sandman played a 2 string bass with a finger slide to get that sound
I see you! I just don't have many requests for them at the moment, but they're on the list down the road. Stay tuned!
@@LowEndUniversity You did Okotobe Beaver and I can't imagine requests pouring in for them. AVAIL will make me happy and YOU will love it! Cheers man keep it up
More Morphine that shows their breadth and badass bass would be Head With Wings, Sheila, or especially You Speak My Language.
Hi-N-Dri also put out a posthumous collection of good stuff called Sandbox, included some things from his earlier band Treat Her Right among others. I recommend Doreen or Early Blues as starting points.
Such a great, underrated band.
Just a band that sounds cool, not sure how else to explain their sound.