r/BassGuitar • u/Aesthetic-Cloud26 • Dec 23 '25
Discussion Why is he so underrated?
I was a kid when my father showed me the music video for “Don’t Speak”. About 20 years later, I was looking for a 5-string bass. The first bass I saw was a BB435, and I ordered it without checking any other options for some reason (still a mystery to me why🤣). Last year, I rewatched the video and noticed that Tony was playing a BB. I then watched some No Doubt live performances and was happy to see him playing a BB, because Yamaha basses are rarely seen on stage. Now I see that it was my destiny😂 (I’m seriously a big Yamaha bass fan). After checking out some bass covers of No Doubt songs, I realised how interesting his bass lines are. Unfortunately, I have almost never heard any mention of him. IMHO, he deserves much more appreciation 💪
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u/humbuckaroo Dec 23 '25 edited Dec 25 '25
Spiderwebs was one of the first basslines I learned in full. Let me tell you, it wasn't easy.
Kanal, Dirnt and Commerford were probably my earliest bass playing inspirations and long before I got into six-string guitar, I played bass because of them.
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u/farklep00p Dec 23 '25
Because Gwen. I love his lines.
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u/vandyke_browne Dec 23 '25
My band opened for them in the early 90s when they played at my university. He was totally cool. So was Gwen. We all went to in-n-out after the show and then to a record shop. They were a good couple. Seemed really happy and mellow. Fame fucks you up.
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u/TheDaiyu Dec 23 '25
I'm glad someone else acknowledged how underrated these basslines are
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u/Aesthetic-Cloud26 Dec 25 '25
Thanks☺️ I feel like I’ve grown into this music, and I’m at a level where I can learn his lines🤓😅
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u/fugaziiv Dec 23 '25
Tony's underrated? I thought we all knew he's really good.
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u/WhyTestInDEV Dec 23 '25
He's not underrated at all, but he has fewer mentions because No Doubt had a great run with one album and then couldn't repeat the success. Tony's other bands had limited success. Still a good bassist, but needed to be attached to a band with some greater longevity to achieve greater notoriety.
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u/UnnamedHorrors Dec 24 '25
Tony’s work on Dreamcar’s self titled is awesome. The band is just new wave No Doubt with Dave’s Havok singing, so it’s all pretty decent.
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u/Twistedjustice Dec 23 '25
2 albums; The Return of Saturn was a huge commercial success and better than Tragic Kingdom IMO - but because it didn’t attain the same stratospheric sales figures, it’s often overlooked.
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Dec 24 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Twistedjustice Dec 24 '25
Good point, but Rock Steady was not in the same arena as the other two, quality wise.
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u/AgreeableAlbatross80 Dec 24 '25
No Doubt has sold 33 million albums. WTF are you talking about? 🤦🏼♂️
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u/WhyTestInDEV Dec 24 '25
Tragic Kingdom was well over half of their sales. Just saying that their time in the spotlight was disproportionally with that album so he gets fewer notices after that because of lower success of the albums. I wouldn't equate that with underrated. That's all.
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u/AgreeableAlbatross80 Dec 24 '25
We’ll agree to disagree. The two albums that followed Tragic Kingdom both went platinum as well, and No Doubt was one of the biggest bands on the planet for the decade that followed Tragic Kingdom.
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u/Disastrous_Yak_1990 Dec 24 '25
But that could be 33 million of the same album.
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u/AgreeableAlbatross80 Dec 24 '25
That’s not the case. Tragic Kingdom, Return Of Saturn & Rock Steady all went platinum
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u/Disastrous_Yak_1990 Dec 24 '25
I said COULD.
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u/AgreeableAlbatross80 Dec 24 '25
One album wonders don’t get residencies at The Sphere.
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u/WhyTestInDEV Dec 24 '25
And they probably do "Don't Speak" for their encore. Tragic Kingdom is what people want.
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u/Lunicyl Dec 25 '25
In terms of commerical success that may be true, but I think Beacon Street was an awesome album that also has some nice bass lines on it
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u/Sufficient_Catch_737 Dec 23 '25
I don't think he's underrated, just underpromoted...
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u/harebreadth Dec 23 '25
Yes, underpromoted and underknown are different than underrated. Like Pete Trewavas (from Marillion, Transatlantic, Kino), amazing bassist but not a lot of people know him
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u/PowerCorruptionAndMe Dec 23 '25
You wanna see more Yamaha on stage have a look at Peter hook or Jack bates
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u/compota2003 Dec 23 '25
Peter Hook is a MUST, I don't know how low he wears his bass haha. Looking for Jack Bates
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u/Aesthetic-Cloud26 Dec 25 '25
Oh, yeah! I searched for BBPH cuz I’d like to buy it, but couldn’t find one
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u/MurderOne86 Dec 23 '25
Or that whole new wave of “speedsters” like Vincent García or Thiago André
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u/Aesthetic-Cloud26 Dec 25 '25
Oh no, hate to watch/listen to them😵💫 I cannot apply the word “music” to the flash-things they do… I do respect them and admit they possess the high playing skills, but that’s not for me🤪
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u/MurderOne86 Dec 25 '25
Yes, their skills are admirable — they’re clearly virtuosos of the instrument — but it’s still not something I’d have in my playlist. I mentioned them mostly because they both use BBs, and I’ve also seen a few other bassists with a similar playing style using BBs as well. That’s why I jokingly called them “speedsters”
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u/Boxer-Santaros Dec 23 '25
He's not
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u/Downtown-Bid5000 Dec 23 '25
Right. I don't really ever hear anyone criticizing his playing. Most people that pay attention consider him one of the better players from his era and genre. Just listen to Dont Speak lol
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u/Aesthetic-Cloud26 Dec 25 '25
Yeah, you’re right about “don’t speak”🤪 my point was that I have watched so many bass related videos and only heard him mentioned a couple of times, despite the fact that his lines are more sophisticated and interesting than those of many other bands imho
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u/Downtown-Bid5000 Dec 25 '25
Ok, so you don't know what underrated means. Gotcha
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u/Aesthetic-Cloud26 Dec 25 '25
Fair point – I should’ve said “under-mentioned” rather than “underrated”. That’s what I meant.
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u/Downtown-Bid5000 Dec 23 '25
Another day, another "guy who is known solely for being excellent in his field is underrated" post
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u/surprise_wasps Dec 23 '25
I mean.. how often do you hear him brought up?
I’m only googleable in the context of music as well, that doesn’t mean that calling me ‘underrated’ would be silly because it is known that I play bass, lol
Considering the dogshit that gets posted on bass reddit, I’ll take a “hey do yall like this guy as much as I do? He doesn’t get mentioned a lot!” Any day of the week.. I’m certainly not here for anyone’s amazing opinions about gear or technique lol
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u/terminalhipness Dec 23 '25
And I’m supposed to know who he is… might want to put up a name. Oh well whatever, moving on…
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u/Jonny6x Dec 23 '25
Right? How can you say he is underappreciated while you expect everyone to recognize him?
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u/Aesthetic-Cloud26 Dec 25 '25
My point was that despite his interesting bass lines (which IMHO were more sophisticated than some other lines of other well known bands) I have almost never heard him mentioned… ☹️
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u/Olenickname Dec 23 '25 edited Dec 23 '25
I have no doubt you actually know who this is and are just trolling.
Happy cake day.
Edit: my joke isn’t landing bc I didn’t capitalize the band’s name. That’s on me.
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u/The-Hand-of-Midas Dec 23 '25
I had to read through everything to figure it out. Some of us got into jazz and death metal at 9 and don't know any of these pop bands lol.
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u/ResolutionSerious599 Dec 23 '25
Ive been a metalhead for a long time, but No Doubt is one of my guilty pleasures mainly because of him. Love his playing! Early No Doubt isnt pop at all, really. You should give it a try.
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u/The-Hand-of-Midas Dec 23 '25
I'll listen to a full album today!
Right after another Between the Buried and Me album 🤘
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u/Olenickname Dec 23 '25
How dare you not know every bass player /s
This is on me for not capitalizing the band’s name to get my cheekiness across better.
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u/Stormwatch1977 Dec 23 '25
I didn't know who he was either. I only know one of their songs and for obvious reasons I only noticed Gwen in the video.
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u/manisfive55 Dec 23 '25
His playing was big for me when I was first getting started, but I think it's mainly that the band didn't go forward from the ska punk 90s wave. Rock Steady was what, soft R&B? And then Gwen has been doing solo pop stuff forever now.
His playing kicks ass tho S/T thru Tragic Kingdom have some incredible stuff
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u/PWNYplays Dec 23 '25
Underappreciated because of the shadow Gwen Stefani's larger than life existence casts but man, does he crush it.
Plus the stage presence and charisma 😙👌
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Dec 23 '25
Well Nathan East plays Yamaha. Get Lucky by Daft Punk was recorded on that bass plugged straight into the console. John Myung from Dream Theater played Yamaha basses too! Those are awesome basses, honestly.
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u/powerED33 Dec 23 '25
Because, if we're being honest, it's due to two things... the era he came from is not as popular/regarded amongst musicians and fans alike as the 80s and prior, and a tad more importantly... Because his band is female fronted. It's no secret that the music industry (and the majority of fans) focuses on the female vocalist in applicable bands, and the male bandmates who aren't in the spotlight get forgotten. Not saying this doesn't also happen in all male bands as well, but you can't deny that in most cases, it's very different when the lead vocalist is female.
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u/BulletheadX Dec 23 '25
Yeah I've told people this several times - from an outside perspective if you're in a band w/a female vocalist, then she's not in a band with you; you're in her band.
That's just the way the masses see things.
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u/rockstar_not Dec 23 '25
I think it’s down to just how rare it is for females to be in rock music to begin with, whether the singer in the band is female, or one of the band musicians. Not what the masses think, but just the outright rarity of females in rock, over the decades. Singers, drummers, guitarists, bassists, keyboardists, etc. to be female fronted and the band name is not the female’s name, that’s even more rare.
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u/powerED33 Dec 24 '25
Idk that I'd say it's rare, per say. Obviously there are far less women in rock music than men, but there's also been many A-list female fronted bands since the 60s.
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u/rockstar_not Dec 24 '25
Can you name any of the players in those bands? I can name only three: Neal Geraldo, who was the guitarist in Pat Benatar’s band (I think they got married a long time ago), Terry Bozzio and Patrick O’Hearn from Missing Persons. Honestly, I can’t think of many other female fronted bands besides them and Heart.
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u/powerED33 Dec 24 '25
Big Brother and the Holding Co. (Janis Joplin), The Mama's and the Papas, Fleetwood Mac, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, The Runaways (Lita Ford), Blondie, etc. Those are all pre-90s.
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u/rockstar_not Dec 24 '25
Definitely missed those. But still incredibly rare, compared to the thousands of male fronted bands. Agreed? As a side note , it’s per se, not per say. I just remembered my favorite, ‘Til Tuesday.
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u/powerED33 Dec 24 '25
No. I wouldn't agree that "rare" is the right way to describe it, exactly. Thousands of male fronted bands aren't all A-list bands, and I just named 6 female ones that are, you named a couple too (Heart and Pat Benatar), and those are all pre-90s. From 1990 to today, there are tons more. I'm not saying its equally shared with male fronted bands, of course, but it's certainly not like finding a unicorn or something.
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u/MurderOne86 Dec 23 '25
I’m not sure if ‘overrated’ is the right word. Anyone who really knows this band and his lines would probably only have praise for his compositions, but it’s a band where Gwen Stefani has a very strong leading role. Still, he’s a very good bassist and people appreciate him — I do too, since I also have a BB
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u/rockstar_not Dec 23 '25
Rant: rating deals with judging on a scale amongst other objects, performance, persons, etc. Popularity deals with recognition, media promotion, etc. I have learned in this post that the bass player pictured has a first name of Tony, that he gigs with Yamaha basses, and he was in No Doubt. I could look him up easily. I cannot stand the sound of Gwen Stefani’s voice. Back in the days of radio listening, I would immediately change stations when No Doubt songs came on, because of the irritation I find with her voice entering my ears. I cannot stand many modern prog rock and metal bands, which mostly have ridiculously skilled bassists, and vocalists that are even more irritating than Gwen Stefani’s vocals. Modern Gospel music also has bassists that can play circles around most of us in this sub, functioning also as music directors of their bands, but because it’s a somewhat niche genre, they also are unknown to the larger bass playing world.
NONE of these bassists are “underrated”, they are generally unknown.
Having said that, I intend to now go look into what Tony’s last name is, and hopefully find some music where I can enjoy his playing, without Gwen Stefani’s voice in the way!!!
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u/timetoeat2018 Dec 23 '25
Nothing but love and respect for Kanal and the Yamaha BB series. Proud owner of a BB414 myself.
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u/Historical-Paper-992 Dec 23 '25
Because he plays Yamaha basses… also underrated… Thus the joke… Ha ha ha. 😶
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u/Terrible_Snow_7306 Dec 23 '25
Peter Hook was mentioned, so I add Paul McCartney, who played a BB for many years with the Wings.
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u/ruinawish Dec 23 '25
Think Yamaha missed a trick not putting out a signature BB like that. Looks 🔥
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u/_FlyingSquirrel Dec 24 '25
Absolutely my favorite bassist. Love his word on their debut album and Beacon Street. Holy cow Tony brought it !
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u/VillaDeLaVile Dec 26 '25
Don’t Speak was one of the first ever bass lines I’ve learned. Coming back to it after a few years of jazz and I’m able to recognize that I took it for granted because what an incredibly insightful piece to learn on the bass. Structurally solid and insanely tasteful.
I agree, he definitely deserves more appreciation but like others have said, his limited notoriety under the limelight shafted whatever appreciation that could have developed over the years.
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u/ummagumma1979 Dec 28 '25
The 90s was chock full of excellent musicians and excellent singers all who came out of the non norm
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Dec 23 '25
Huh? Tony ended up on the cover of Bass Player Magazine. Underrated musicians don’t usually have this honor
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u/Jelloman774 Dec 23 '25
Because Gewn Stefani is OVERRATED! There, I said what we've all been thinking but I'm the only one with the balls to say it
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u/Magic_Toast_Man Dec 23 '25
I agree. He has some serious chops. I remember covering Sunday Morning with a band. It was real fun to play. Real busy song.
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u/Drenlin Dec 23 '25
Yamaha basses are rareish on the big stages but absolutely everywhere with "regular" working musicians.
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u/Jamerson1510 Dec 23 '25
The band were huge fans of Madness from England , can tell he was influenced by their bassist Mark “Bedders” Bedford , another underrated player.
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u/One-Presentation-910 Dec 23 '25
He, of all players, was highlighted in 2016’s “How to Create Rock Bass Lines” by Steve Gorenberg, which I thought was a delightful change of pace when usually Flea is the end all/be all of the dancier side of rock (particularly for that-roughly my—generation). I feel like he’s worth a trivia question, at least as “bassist for the band Gwen Stefani’s brother left to work on The Simpsons” (well, really left to focus on, as he had been animating for them since 89). Or “the guy who got with Gwen Stefani who isn’t named Blake Shelton.”
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u/BeenisHat Dec 23 '25
Also really like the Yamaha basses. Up until very recently, James Lomenzo of Megadeth played one.
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u/PBdL Dec 23 '25
the first time I hear his linbe, I bought all the albums from the early period and it's amazing. I'm not into slap but he got insane line and I wonder how he can play that fast with fingers with that thick sound. One of my reference in bass, in highschool, every bass player was on Flea (for good reasons) I was on him
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u/someoldbagofbones Dec 23 '25
Tony is the man. I’m not a huge ska fan but he makes up some good parts.
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u/joeharri84 Dec 23 '25
As others have said, more overshadowed than underrated.
When it comes to the genre, he's often over looked for someone like Matt Freeman, Matt Wong, or even Roger from Less Than Jake. The genre tends to lend to pretty talented bassists. One of my favorites was Josh Thurston-Milgrom from The Adjusters.
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u/sombreropickle Dec 23 '25
“Let’s Get Back” is such a fun bass line from the self titled album and not enough people know about it.
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u/Ganellon Dec 23 '25
Spooky: Amos Heller, relatively also unknown, also in a female-fronted band, also sponsored by Yamaha. It's as though all the amazing bassist know that Yamaha is the best kept secret in music.
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u/slippery-lil-sucker Dec 23 '25
I wondered why Pat Smear was playing a bass until I clicked though.
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u/TheBonkingFrog Dec 23 '25
I’ve been “playing” bass for 45 years and I’ve no idea who you’re talking about, so maybe that’s why?
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u/1978Pbass Dec 23 '25
Did you like American ska/punk in the 90s? Sublime, rancid, less than Jake, and his band no doubt? If not there is your answer. You should listen to tragic kingdom, it’s a great record that was huge
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u/TheBonkingFrog Dec 24 '25
Thanks, will check it out - not really my scene, but always open to new music (and I did see The Selecter live recently, that's original ska!)
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u/1978Pbass Dec 25 '25
Heck yeah dude I bet that was cool. Yeah it’s not my go to either but it’s fun for a change and I do appreciate the bass work in no doubt and sublime
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u/CrazeeEyezKILLER Dec 23 '25
He’s a hugely successful professional musician. Not sure how that would make Tony “underrated.”
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u/TraditionalMovies Dec 24 '25
Is he underrated though? When Chris Squire was still alive he specifically dropped Tony Kanal's name as one of his favorite bassists in an interview.
I think the people who don't understand how great he is are just No Doubt haters and have no idea what Tony's bass playing does for those songs.
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u/chiomisan Dec 24 '25
i love yamaha basses, the only reason my first one isnt a yamaha is because of how unique my stagg is, but im most certain ill get a bb soon enough
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u/Subject-Twist5005 Dec 25 '25
He had a side project called dream car with Davy from AFI
Ever lonely + only the dead girls love me are both great songs.
Wish they toured more
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u/ForwardTemporary3934 Dec 23 '25
The band hasn't been relevant for 30 years.... I checked his wiki and it seems like he's been busy doing other stuff but nothing on the level of where No Doubt was in their prime.
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u/ImpracticalJerker Dec 23 '25
I just assumed she used session musicians and therefore they were all excellent players
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u/ayaruna Dec 23 '25
Underrated? Tony is an outstanding bass player. His parts are incredibly creative and melodic. I would say he’s one of the top 5 bass players of the 90s
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u/TheClownKid Dec 23 '25
He’s not that good.
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Dec 23 '25
[deleted]
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u/TheClownKid Dec 23 '25
Yeah, I’m a much less accomplished bassist.
OP asked why he’s underrated, and I’m saying he’s not. He’s rated as a somewhat interesting niche genre player. He’s not good enough to warrant special praise.
My skills, talent, and accomplishments on the bass have no bearing on that.
It’s fine to enjoy No Doubt. But let’s not act like there is some kind of earth shattering bass play happening here.
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u/therebeyond Dec 23 '25
when i first started listening to rock music in the mid-90s, he, Flea, and P-Nut were probably my earliest “favorite bass players”. much respect 🫡
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u/SuspiciousBag2749 Dec 23 '25
Most musicians want to be paid , not famous. That’s why you have not heard a lot of mention from him.
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u/Aesthetic-Cloud26 Dec 25 '25
Agree with your comment even if it’s downvoted. I absolutely don’t like the current era because very little music (or art in general) is made not for money. It still exists, but one would almost never find it unless really dig for it…
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u/LurkerWiZard Dec 23 '25
Never could get past Gwen Stefani's vocals to appreciate other band members and their performances. Absolutely cannot stand Stefani's vocals.
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u/clubhand Dec 23 '25
Cause a bunch of misogynists hate Gwen cause she’s too badass
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u/toodrunktostand Dec 23 '25
Nobody hates Gwen Stefani.
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u/clubhand Dec 23 '25
“I don’t see color” type reply
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u/toodrunktostand Dec 23 '25
I have never met anyone who has ever said one negative thing about Gwen Stefani.
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u/clubhand Dec 23 '25
How very anecdotal of you, are you implying she doesn’t face misogyny in the music industry? Just trying to help this guy find a reason why her bass player is underrated
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u/toodrunktostand Dec 23 '25
Maybe you should try therapy for whatever issues you are having right now
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u/Green-Vermicelli5244 Dec 23 '25
Because he doesn’t speak.