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Not the best band and not the best singer. However she can hold the crowd pretty good. Daryl

There goes my plan to buy, store and then sell Hiscox cases, to fund my future musical instrument purchases. Unless ... "For Sale. Pre-RUF Hiscox Case, for your pre-CBS Fender. " Yes, I think that I am on to something. More seriously, RUF sounds like a great fit for the Hiscox legacy, and I am pleased to hear that their product will continue to be available. Thank you for sharing that good news @matrycy.

Thanks for good wishes... I've run out of tlrts (reaction icons).

After all these decades of doing shows, I'm still struggling with smiling and looking like I'm having a good time. Daryl

I find a good old wireless walkabout goes down well. I also get up to no good during songs which have long, bassless sections - I pretend to sleep, or I naff off for a sit down and pretend to be on strike. Just clowning around basically. People seem to like it. Plus the basics - engagement with the audience - making eye contact with folk and nodded along with them bopping around - sometimes my hat gets borrowed - let 'em - I don't get precious. And for the final couple de gras - if the police come in for a venue check, be ready to play something like Breaking The Law or I Fought The Law etc...

I might tell 'em who's coming next for example, 'IT'S WHAM! TIME' or after 2 or 3 classic 80s songs I might say, 'with all this going on, we need some Spandau' Just before the Bucks Fizz number I sometimes recount my audition with them but mostly me and the keys player are just laughing all the time

I think you've nailed it there. I've done some successful gigs with a great front person and the crowd have lapped it up even though the band were embarassingly bad and played with and seen great musicians who never really made any attempt to reach out leaving a sterile atmosphere with a disinterested audience. I'd way rather play with a great front person with an okay voice than a great singer with no personality on stage. Band interaction is good though. I try to be a foil/straight man for the singer. My duo partner and I kind of heckle each other between songs, the first time we do it in a set the audience wonder what is going on but then get that it is an act and often join in. It has to look natural though most of the 'moves' have started up on stage as a spur of the moment thing but when they have had a reaction become part of the set. One female singer used to try and put me off playing bass when she wasn't singing, just as a tease. The audience soon picked this up and seemed to love her for it.

I've heard some wild excuses for playing mistakes but this has to be the best. Noted and filed for future use. 😀 But seriously, glad you're on the mend. Take it easy.

I've just got a second dep gig with a local band 'The Gowertones' on Saturday after a successful first outing a couple of weeks ago. Turns out the 'vaguely familiar' rhythm guitarist is none other than ex Wales rugby coach Mike Ruddock, and the 'really tall, could be a rugby player' vocalist is, indeed a Wales international with 11 caps, Kevin Moseley. Great bunch, no egos, just enjoying the music.

In both my gigging bands the singers are very good at bantering with the audience.

Harley Benton Shorty does. I bought one when they came out and it blew me away - I don't know how it is possible to make a bass that is so good for the price of a night out. The tone, through my set-up, was very similar to the gorgeous woody tone of P bass in Santana's Europa. Out of preference for a bit more bite I changed the stock pickup to a Tonerider and it is now awesome. I have sold off most of my basses, including an MIJ Mustang, but keeping the HB Shorty for my Precision flavoured moments.

Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts - Dylan

Ha ha, I think you do protest too much, you do many more than a 'couple' of crowd peasers in your set They are also placed where they should be; mainly at the end of the second set. I'd happily gig that lot. That's actually a set of well known songs from a band of people who know their audience and want to entertain. They also hang together as whole so consciously or not you've decided to give the audience a good time. You guys are very clear who 'your' audience is.

Hi, Free State Revolution are seeking a bassist to fill a busy schedule of gigs throughout the year. We play a mixture of pop, indie and rock music through the decades, all covers. Based in Herts, Beds and Bucks area, if this sounds interesting, check us out on Facebook Instagram and if it seems interesting get in touch. thanks Mark Quote

I find that constantly shouting out "How ya doin' Glaston-berry!" Always works.

Jack of Shadows - Hawkwind

The Ripper! - Judas Priest

Our fans seem to appreciate the between-member banter we engage in between songs - even some poor humour. For example - here’s a song by Elmore James dedicated to men of a certain age who wander around in the middle of the night looking for the bathroom. It’s called ‘I Can’t Hold Out’… Maybe I should stick to the bass!

I've seen several former instruments of mine relisted at over double what I sold them for - at prices they struggled to sell at - and then struggle to sell again at the new higher price. I've had a Stingray, a Peavey Sarzo, an Ibanez Roadster, an L-1000 and, most recently, a Warwick Streamer LX, all show up at over double their previous sale price, usually a year or two after they left my hands. Are these collectibles? I don't think so, I just think Reverb has given a global platform to set ridiculous asking prices which then seems to affect the general prices of these things. Generally, though, desirability seems to really go on brand name, rather than instrument quality. There doesn't seem to be a correlation between how well built an instrument is and the size of the market interested in it. With more obscure brands, you might find an obsessive or two who are prepared to pay up but, if you want things to move, I think you're safer with the big-name unit shifters.

I always enjoyed purposefully antagonising them. That could be done a number of ways but, usually, it would involve musically heading places they were not expecting to be taken, which kept it exciting for the musicians, too. It also allowed more room for self-expression, which was always nice. I understand this is different for the covers game, though. If you're playing for the money, you can't really do much outside the well-worn tropes for fear of alienating your brand and affecting future bookings, so I suppose you're relying on one of the group with charisma to continually work the crowd to keep them engaged and that energy should feed back to the performers. Everybody should play some part in that, however, and take their eyes off the neck dots now and then to look at, and remember to perform to, the people they're playing in front of. There are few things duller than a band with eyes glued to the necks of their instruments.