PR, it’s the bass line
[Author’s note: This is the second of a series of metaphors of PR. The first is here.]
If you think about your typical rock band, you’ve got a singer, a guitar player, a bass player, and a drummer. You could take several bands from the 70s to today and probably (depending on your age) be able to name all the band members BUT the bass player. It’s okay, it’s not your fault; you’re not a bass player. Look, let me show you. The Who. Singer: Roger Daltrey. Guitar player: Pete “The Windmill” Townshend. Dummer: Keith Moon. Some would say the best drummer ever. Bass Player? Uh, wait, wait, don’t tell me. You don’t know, do you?. Some more. Van Halen…the original: David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, drummer Alex Van Halen. Bass Player? You don’t know. Violent Femmes: Gordon Gano sang and played guitar. Victor DeLorenzo was the drummer. Best acoustic bass guitar player ever. You don’t know, do you? The Fray: Well, they don’t count. They don’t even have a bass player. Nickelback: Wait, I hate Nickelback. The Killers: Brandon Flowers, Dave Keuning strums it, and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. lays down the drumbeat.
And what’s my point?
My point is that everyone knows the other members of the band, but how incredibly important are the bass players? Very. And whether you know it or not, they are. And whether you know it or not, a good one can make you soar and the bad ones can kill you.