Leaderboard

CROWD We've all played to "empty rooms", but I can actually improve on that. We were playing the White Bear in Ruislip (now a very nice restaurant); there were maybe half a dozen people in the band side of the pub and a few more in the snug round the corner. They'd all been there before we set up. As soon as we started playing these people started to drift away - we weren't why they were in the pub. Our two guitarists (one being MacDaddy of this parish) were both using wireless systems. After a while they got intrigued at the complete lack of activity - literally no sign of anyone - so they walked out into the pub. They came back a minute later to report that there were no punters at all in the pub, nor any in the beer garden, and seeing as the pub was empty both the bar staff had gone out for a smoke. We were playing, quite literally, to a completely empty building.

Here's a couple of mine..... (Edit: Mods, am I alowed to post my own? If not, please delete!😁)

If I'm playing in a covers band and someone who plays originals glides by on a cloud of rarefied air I kneel down and tug my forelock.

THREATS Unbelievably, the White Bear invited us back. Huh? Well, it was £250 and we needed more gigs so we accepted the gig. Bad mistake. The only punters were a large extended family of pikeys. I'm sure there are some really nice, friendly Travellers out there. Well these were the other sort. Most of them were adult but they had a kid with them, maybe 12 or 13. They started pestering us to let the lad get up and sing. With some trepidation we turned them down, but agreed to let him sing (unaccompanied) through the PA at the break. Hearing a 13-year-old pikey kid singing Coming Down Sunday Morning is an experience. We started the second set and within a few minutes they were again demanding that we let the boy take over as our lead singer for the night. Given the volume level this was not a conversation - more a matter of mouthed words and curt headshakes. Halfway through Let's Dance the pikey leader strode up on stage, got me in a bear hug (while I continued trying to play) and bellowed in my ear: "Youse had best come round to my way of thinking or the boots will come off!" So we did. We turned into a karaoke band for the rest of the evening, and the pikeys actually seemed to appreciate our efforts. It was only later that it occurred to us all that "the boots will come off" is about as meaningless a threat as any of us had ever heard. It remains a catchphrase in the the band to this day.

Don't underestimate the importance of correct nutrition when it comes to putting in a top notch musical performance. A dozen pickled eggs washed down with three pints of guiness is my personal recipe for musical success, but don't forget the cork - unfortunately being held in the Hague on charges of illegal use of biological weapons on civilians is somewhat hampering my availability for gigs at the moment.

Please don't take this the wrong way as clearly I don't know you, but personal hygiene. As well as having all the musical side of it covered be clean, deodorised and have fresh breath. You'd be amazed at the amount of stinkers in this business.

A few of mine

I've more often than not joined bands that were of a better standard than myself. The best and quickest way to improve IMO is by playing with people that are a step above you.

Spent a bit of time double checking lengths and positions of the fretboard, and also fitted the trussrod ready for fixing the fretboard to the neck. One job needed was to cut the fretboard to length. The pickup system I am installing is the Shadow Doubleplay As well as a piezo under the saddle, it has a mini magnetic pickup that fits at the end of the fretboard. It is the same system I fitted to Chris's build in 2015 shown here: As you can see, the fretboard has to be cut to the correct length to fit the magnetic p/up at the end. That cut, it was time to glue the fretboard! And yes, @TheGreek - you can NEVER have too many clamps!

I love songs where the bass doesn't come in straight away. Partly because I'm very lazy, but also because sometimes you have to take the bass away so that people appreciate it when it's back. S.P.

Sod it! I'm applying. YOUR NAME: Zod The Destroyer (stage name obviously. My real name is just Zod) YOUR BEST PHOTO (link): https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-gurner-from-the-annual-world-gurning-festival-in-cumbria-uk-known-3936055.html?pv=1&stamp=2&imageid=D47B0987-6837-43C9-8FA5-A823F6AACF22&p=5913&n=0&orientation=0&pn=1&searchtype=0&IsFromSearch=1&srch=foo%3dbar%26st%3d0%26pn%3d1%26ps%3d100%26sortby%3d2%26resultview%3dsortbyPopular%26npgs%3d0%26qt%3dgurning%26qt_raw%3dgurning%26lic%3d3%26mr%3d0%26pr%3d0%26ot%3d0%26creative%3d%26ag%3d0%26hc%3d0%26pc%3d%26blackwhite%3d%26cutout%3d%26tbar%3d1%26et%3d0x000000000000000000000%26vp%3d0%26loc%3d0%26imgt%3d0%26dtfr%3d%26dtto%3d%26size%3d0xFF%26archive%3d1%26groupid%3d%26pseudoid%3d%26a%3d%26cdid%3d%26cdsrt%3d%26name%3d%26qn%3d%26apalib%3d%26apalic%3d%26lightbox%3d%26gname%3d%26gtype%3d%26xstx%3d0%26simid%3d%26saveQry%3d%26editorial%3d1%26nu%3d%26t%3d%26edoptin%3d%26customgeoip%3d%26cap%3d1%26cbstore%3d1%26vd%3d0%26lb%3d%26fi%3d2%26edrf%3d%26ispremium%3d1%26flip%3d0 PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: I was in a band at school and we did a gig in the gym. YOUR LEVEL OF UNDERSTANDING OF THE MUSIC BUSINESS (strictly the business part) (1-10): 42 REASON FOR FAILURE OF YOUR PREVIOUS PROJECTS: Left school FAVORITE ROCK BAND: Guns N Roses FAVORITE METAL BAND: Guns N Roses FAVORITE ELECTRONIC BAND: Guns N Roses FAVORITE BASSIST: That dog off of Banana Splits DRIVING SKILLS (1-10): 11 COMMUNICATION SKILLS (1-10): Eh? So, When do I start?

BLOOD The very first pub gig I ever played was at the Salmon & Ball in the East End, a corner pub with doors onto Cambridge Heath Rd and Bethnal Green Rd. Maybe the area has been gentrified since then ... it certainly wasn't bloody gentrified when I played there. We set up with our backs against the East wall of the pub, between the two doors, and started playing. Halfway through the first set a couple of black guys came in, bought their drinks, and sat peaceably at the back of the pub. Some of the white skinhead types at the bar were giving them the eye, and the atmosphere went thoroughly rank. It didn't help that our keyboard player was black. Sure enough, after a while a couple of these East End good ol' boys decided to start something and headed to the back of the pub. There were some verbals, and then one of these idiots decided to do it like they do on telly and knocked the end of his beer bottle on the edge of the table = instant lethal weapon, right? Erm ... no. I come from a family of coppers going back to Victorian times (believe it or not) and one thing I've heard plenty of is that when you smash a glass or a bottle like they do in the movies (with a prop made of sugar), the most likely outcome is that you end up with a handful of broken glass. So tough guy idiot #1 is now standing there with blood spurting out of his hand, tough guy idiot #2 looks like he's going to cry, the two black guys seem unimpressed, and the landlord takes over. This being the heart of the old East End, the guv'nor looks exactly (and I mean exactly) like Grant from Eastenders. He drags them behind the bar so that he can run the cold tap over the damaged hand, then produces a mass of that blue kitchen towel they use in pubs and gets tough guy idiot #1 to mash it up in his hands, finally escorts them to the Cambridge Heath Road exit and shows them the way to the nearest A&E. He's done this before, hasn't he? We're still playing. Next, the guv'nor starts taking tables and stools and builds a barricade (seriously, I'm not making this up) against the newly-bolted door onto Cambridge Heath Road. Then he goes to the door onto Bethnal Green Road, which is actually a pair of narrow doors. He closes and bolts one of the narrow doors and takes up position in the narrow doorway that he's left open. His white t-shirt has been liberally sprayed with the blood of tough guy idiot #1 which makes him look a lot like Bruce Willis in a Die Hard movie, and there he stays for the rest of the set. People in the pub are allowed to leave, people outside the pub are not allowed in. Unsurprisingly, by the end of our first set the pub is empty apart from us, the guv'nor, and a barmaid. He pays us off, apologises to us (!), and we very sheepishly break down and leave. The most astonishing thing about this story is that I ever played another gig.

I have a Dean Edge Eighter. Neck is dual trussrod 49 mm at the bridge 3 piece maple. I also have a Dean 4 banger. Neck IS NOT dual trussrod three piece maple or 49 mm. That said, you can build a decent eighter with a single trussrod one piece neck, but not without at least a 45mm wide nut..IMO string spacing will be too tight with anything less

Que? I have no wish to fall out with anybody here (certainly not over a cheesy but perfectly acceptable cover song), so I'll just say that one of the joyous things about being a musician is that it's such a broad church that is well able to cater for all tastes. One man's enigma is another's good night out with his mates indulging his passion.

Following Ped's suggestion to start our own thread for gear built by BC builders/luthiers, I'll start off with my two builds by Andyjr1515. The Psilos: The Silk Bass (who says you can't make a Silk Purse...)

Inspired by the "worst ever gig" thread, What's the best Heckle you've ever had? Meaning funniest, weirdest, best timed, etc? Mine, in other thread, wasn't a heckle as such but while doing a solo acoustic spot in one of those cosmically aligned timings where everyone in a rowdy pub is quiet at the same time I heard "he's a good guitarist but stinky poo singer!" And the offender was.... My own Dad!

Singist: ...and this one is Remedy. Punter: Er...by the Black Crowes? Singist: Yep. Punter: Please don't. Singist: Why not? Punter: Because I simply cannot take any more pleasure. Legend-level sarcasm or not? You decide.

It’s almost as if there had been some kind of avoidable event where a third of the population had voted for something that meant the pound dropped in value...

Many years ago, I played in a band with the very talented worldwide talent that is Andy James, with Matt Goom on drums (ex-Quireboys, ex-Glenn Hughes). We had just slammed our way through a covers set and being as our singer and guitarist both loved a bit of Bon Jovi, we finished with "It's My Life". Last note punched out when out dashed behind us (via the toilet next to the stage) Papa Lazarou shouting, "It's MAaaaaaaa Wiiiiife, now!" The funniest thing ever and also the most profound upstaging I've ever experienced!

To a particularly bad originals band: "Play a song we know!" Followed by: "Try playing a song you know!"

XTC - Making Plans For Nigel

If its an 80's metal band you'll already have these in your trousers.

Shed's alright but the trainers clash with the bass. 😜

I built an entire bass from a thumb rest and two screws before now. It's all about being creative...

From the perspective of somebody who has auditioned loads of people, and what I was looking for/what massively annoyed me (repeats a lot of what has already been said above): Turn up on time. If you're unavoidable delayed then ring one of the band or ring the studio to let them know. So get some contact numbers and work out exactly how to get to the studio, how long it's likely to take, and add on at least ten or fifteen minutes to allow for unforeseen problems on the day Make sure that all your gear works properly, and isn't likely to break or need replacing on the day. Also, no new pedals that you haven't used before or new techniques that you want to try but haven't yet mastered completely - remember, it's not your rehearsal Learn the actual notes to the actual song that they have sent to you! You'd be amazed at how many people arrive saying "I didn't have time to learn what you sent me three weeks ago so do you know any of these songs..." and all I hear is that they are too arrogant and lazy to bother with the one thing they were expected to do, and probably not a good enough musician. If you think you can make improvements, do that but still learn their arrangement, play it their way first and then suggest that you try it again your way. Ask them ahead of time if they have any notes (no pun intended) for you - are they looking for a note for note recreation of the recorded version, are they looking for inspired changes? And regardless of what they say, still learn the original arrangement. And on the day, listen to their comments and adjust for them, particularly if any of your changes affect the feel of the song If you haven't already done it, have a chat ahead of times so that you're clear on any issues that might affect your ability to be in the band - how often do they rehearse, are they planning to gig, what level of commitment do they expect from you? They might be happy to make minor tweaks to what they already do, but if, say, they want to rehearse every Saturday afternoon and you only have spare time every third Tuesday in the month, then it's better to find out in advance. Also, don't be a Richard on the day. Unless you generally are a Richard, in which case let them know what they're getting if they do hire you.

I'm trying to find a reason not to buy another one. I quite fancy a black one... maybe with flats and pickup/bridge covers...

This one has also been told before. First a bit of background... Thos of you who know Nottingham will know that Nottingham University campus and its halls of residence are located a fair distance out of the city centre, and back in the early 80s getting back to the campus after a night in town was neither cheap or easy. Consequently both the Student Union and the individual halls had some form of entertainment on every weekend - often there would be 2 or 3 gigs going on in various locations across the campus. There were also plenty of opportunities for decent local bands to get supports to often to some fairly well known acts. My friend's band had managed to tap into this circuit and could be found performing about once a month to enthusiastic audiences and getting paid £100 as well. Not bad for a band playing post-punk electronica originals. I decided that I would like a bit of this for my band, and we lined up our "audition" gig in the Student Union bar. That went very well no doubt helped by the presence of a video crew who had come specifically to film us which in those days was a very big deal indeed. In due course we were offered a gig at one of the hall parties. The band had taken a couple of months off to work on some new songs and sort out a cohesive band image, and this university gig would be our first in the new and improved format. The first sign that things were not going to go smoothly was discovering that due to the number of gigs being held on campus that weekend the technical committee wouldn't be able to provide us with a university PA system, we would have to use our own (and because like all originals band we didn't own one would have to be hired in out of our gig payment). Secondly we discovered that rather than opening for someone the audience was likely to have heard of, we were going to be the only live music on at this particular hall party. We were also required to set up and soundcheck in the middle of the afternoon, so that everything would be ready by the time the event started. Soundcheck went OK although the hired PA wasn't as big as we had hoped for, as a miscommunication between the band and hire company meant they hadn't realised that we were an electronic band with no backline and relied completely on the PA for our amplification. Having completed the soundcheck we the plan was to go back to one of the band member's houses to chill out for an hour or two and then go and play. However as we were about to leave, two friends of one of the band turned up and dragged their mate off to the bar for a drink or two. By the time the rest of us returned, all three of them were compressively p!ssed on cheap student beer. In hindsight what we should have done is bought them all another couple of drinks and let them pass out safely in the bar while we played the gig one member down. What actually happened was that our inebriated member, played random notes on his synth and then spend the next few bars celebrating this technical prowess by leaping about and shouting. Half way through the gig, he had to go and have a p!ss which he announced loudly before departing from the stage. He was most put out on his return to discover we had started the next song without him. There exists a single photograph from that gig, of the rest of us hunched over our instruments hoping that the ground will open up to swallow us all, while he is leaping in the air arms and legs akimbo. Meanwhile his two equally drunk friends spent the entire gig shouting for us to play our cover of Nancy Sinatra's "Summer Wine" which we had intended to do as an encore (should we get one) and being generally intimidating and obnoxious, gradually driving what little audience had come to see us away to the other room where there was a disco. One of them ended the evening by poking his finger through one of the speaker cones in the PA (which we were subsequently billed for). Needless to say the University never asked us back to do any more gigs there.

Another thing worth considering.... Remember that you are auditioning them as much as they are auditioning you. That doesn't mean be egotistical.... rather, do they sound good to you, do they gel well and are you feeling that 'link' that makes you want to be part of their band? I've lost count of the number of bands I've auditioned for but ended up not wanting to part of.... either due to musical, social or practical reasons.... They have to be worth YOUR time as much as you are (hopefully) worth THEIRS.

Yes. Lovely bass. Serial number starts IM04 = Indonesia 2004? Beautiful slim neck, lovely finish in gunmetal metallic and still in excellent condition. I dropped a set of quarter pounders in and have fitted a drop tuner. The tone pot packed up so I got a @KiOgon loom and now have series/parallel switch. That caused a little headscratching to shoehorn it in, as it's fitted with mini pots and the routing is tight, with the scratch plate barely covering it It's been my main gigging bass for a few years now despite several much more expensive basses in my collection Edit: As for cost, the bass was £150 second hand from BC classifieds. SD QP set was £100. It's paid for itself many times over. I originally bought it as a project donor, but it was too nice to mess with. Even the original cheapo pups sounded pretty good

I've done plenty of sanding today and put the first coat of oil on. This first coat of oil is quite light and will show up any little flaws - there are a few that need sanding but generally I'm quite pleased so far. The top has got dome depth to in in quite a few places. I've assembled it again just to see how it looks together, took a few pictures and then dismantled it again to carry on working on the finish.

If they plan to try you on more than one of their originals, don't be shy about asking them for charts. If they haven't even bothered to write out the chords ("oh, this one is really simple, you'll pick it up in no time"), then invite the guitarist(s) to play through the song while you quickly chart it for yourself on the pad you remembered to take with you to the audition. You'll probably need to borrow a pencil, mind.

Make sure all your gear is working, no iffy leads/flat batteries etc. Pack your gear so that when you unpack it to set up it`s in the order of setting it all up - this conveys an image of being focused and reliable. Be early, if the journey should take 30mins allow for 45. Lastly make sure you`re well hydrated.

I used to be such a snob when writing and performing my own songs, such a sense of ludicrous superiority over musicians and their audience for daring to enjoy what they enjoy. I'm so glad I grew out of it

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Not sure if I am in the right thread but here is my new (8 year old) arrival ! All working nicely except the treble control on the stacked bass/treble push/pull for split coil mode control rotates 360 degrees - hmmm! (And yes the Allen grub screw is tight)

Fnar, fnar.

plenty of empty-sh gigs, which aren't much fun, but at least there's nobody watching if you play badly, which is far more of a concern for me. Although there are a couple of close contenders this one is head and shoulders the winner as the worst of the worst First gig with a new originals band, based in London. We're ready to gig, but who is going to put us on when we don't have any following? A couple of our band members are from well known-ish bands in extreme metal, but this is far more classic/hard rock and they don't want us exploiting their meagre fame, plus none of their mates' bands are going to put us on as support because we're a very bad fit. An old band of mine used to play a pub out in Essex on a regular basis and on the first Saturday of the month the landlord's son was given the night to promote as his own punk/metal/rock/whatever-as-long-as-it's-got-a-loud-guitar night. Ideal - he'll have a crowd for us, no pressure as nobody out there would know us, a great low key start, we'll owe the pub a favour if we take off, and it's a great venue if a bit of a trek but we'll be happy to come back at a later date. Only one of us actually had a drivers licence and he didn't own a car, but we'd scraped together lifts and borrowed a car, and were actually providing a lot of the backline, so most of us arrive fairly early, and set up, knowing that we are third on out of a four band night. OK sized crowd, and everybody we know in Essex has come along. The singer arrives looking a bit, er, tired and emotional. You OK Dave? Yes, just haven't eaten all day, I'll be fine. Dave then has a few pints (rather than any food) to add to the bottle of wine he'd necked in the car on the way up. he almost certainly hadn't eaten that day, as long as you don't count the massive pile of coke he'd undoubtedly have had before setting off (he denied it, but it became such a feature of his later behaviour that we now know he'd have been on it earlier that day). It's not really a "soundcheck" sort of a place - with four bands playing and the pub being open all day, it's more an expanded line check before launching into your first song. The singer is sat at the end of the bar, next to where we are set up. the noise he's making for the line check isn't encouraging. We start, and he doesn't appear to remember any of the lyrics or melodies of the first song, and rather than getting up to join the band is instead still sat on the bar stool, making a noise like a dying moose. This continues. The band is playing great, but by song three we just want to end the set. The singer is now standing up, although not very steady on his feet. The moose is still dying, and any attempt to sing into the backing mics by me and one of the guitarists is drowned out by this awful bellowing. He is speaking into the mic between songs, but not making any sense. On to song five of a six song set, a couple of us are asking "why are we bothering?" but we decide to give it one more try. Thirty seconds into the song and the singer loses his footing, tumbles back head first into the drum kit, and mercifully puts and end to proceedings. The rest of the band downs tools and starts packing away, leaves the singer floundering in the drums, and I address the crowd: "can somebody pick Dave out of the drum kit please". The 60-something landlady obliges. We then have to sit around until the end of the night because the band on after us is using our backline. We actually got a lot of sympathetic comments from the crowd - "you were great musically..." It doesn't help at all, and i can barely look any of my mates in the face I'm so embarrassed. The landlord wants to give us petrol money and I refuse to take it. Before we depart, the singer sobers up a bit. He thinks it went OK, not brilliantly because it was our first gig and we can't expect to be note perfect first time on stage, but OK, these things happen at gigs, that's the magic of rock n roll! However, he doesn't understand why our lead guitarist is so very angry with him, he's never seen him angry before, and he's really, really angry and he's not looking forward to the drive home with him. As a postscript, the singer was unbelievably good at our next few gigs - he knew he'd let us down and that he had a lot of making up to do. Then he repeated his dying moose impression at the Water Rats and that was the end of him in the band.

I like playing this one live, despite not liking the original particularly. Drop D with a Hipshot extender (agree with previous posters, they are excellent and, set up correctly, the tuning is rock solid). Another thing to enjoy is that there's no bass in the first verse, so you get to come in for the chorus with a neat fill.

Yeh, the spector specs (great name that) says it is 39.5mm, and it was a nice neck on that bass.

Back home after another 16 hours driving (the things we do...!) and back to a bit of normality for a couple of weeks. On the critical path is gluing the fretboard - but I can't do that until the neck is absolutely spot on in all planes. So out came a huge array of hand tools to try to create a 1.4 degree angle on the heel in one plane to straighten the neck without affecting the other plane, affecting the neck angle and string action height. Eventually got there. It lines up: And - using a long thin strip of abrasive cloth the floss the joint, I have a secure and even contact between the heel and the body, confirmed by transfer of chalk (seen in the above picture) from one to the other when the two are assembled. A bit more tweaking and checking, then the trussrod can be fitted and fretboard glued

You could almost say it was this basses Achilles'.... Assuming you could find a brown paper bag to cover up the rest of the bass...

If we aren't including bass playing then there's the acoustic gig I did on an August bank holiday aged 19.... I used to book the acts at a pub I worked in during a summer holiday from uni. The boss kept asking me to do a night because he knew me through my band. Someone dropped out so I did August bank holiday. Singing and playing acoustic for the first time live ever. I had my guitarist/ singer from the band with me for a few numbers. He packed up and left once his bit was done. We were late going on because I didn't feel nervous but my bowel did. Knowing the pub toilets I used the loo in the flats above so everyone thought I'd done a runner when actually I was doing the opposite (sitting very still). I played, got some great reaction to some originals, some so so reaction to some others... Then some drunks decided to sit right in my face, read my set list and shout "he's playing *song name* next! Bet it's this song next!" As well as "play some Elvis, kid!" And my favourite, "he's a stinky poo singer but can play guitar" which was actually my dad!!!! He didn't shout it as a heckle but said it to the landlord in one of those prime moments where you think you're being discreet but all other noises cease in a moment of planetary alignment to embarrass the offender. Also, singing an original about a girl from work who she and I were stringing each other along in front of my dad was interesting.... The chorus of "you were such a b!tch" repeated was ok, it was the closing line of "even now you're offering s3x, but I won't take cos you're my psycho ex" while making eye contact with my dad was excruciating.

Believe it or not, I was at both of these gigs at The White Bear. I've been the band's only audience before, but this time was the most memorable. The evening with the travellers was downright scary, although they were nice to me, and tried to make me slightly more at ease, seeing I was sitting in a corner, silent and motionless, after packing and hiding my camera gear... 😮

Isn't the London symphony orchestra a covers band?

All done and packed and message sent to @Bassmingo for him to send labels for shipping. Completed.

Hipshot bass extended drop D tuner cures everything

The covers band enigma. I've never understood why people go nuts for bands playing other people's songs. It's difficult to quantify without sounding too blunt. I've always felt that by and large the typical covers gig audience aren't the type of people who feel the need to invest time (or money) in bands; they know the hits, they're top 20 savvy, but while they might know Stacey's Mom, they wouldn't know, or even bother, to investigate Karpet King. A combination of drink, mob mentality, people just wanting to hear some songs they know and to have a good night out means Summer of '69 is probably a win-win every time.

Not to be overweening and such, but I do sometimes wish people wouldn't get so precious over this song. Or Mustang Sally for that matter. Not to mention... If it's in your set and audiences like it, then what's the problem? Life would be great if we could all afford to only play songs we liked all the time (and if it's in your set then I'm guessing you play in either a covers band or a function band) but given the brief your band is likely to be working to, it's there for a reason. You're not there to express an opinion on the musical taste of your audience. By all means have one, but telling punters they are musical philistines for liking it probably won't get you a return booking. Back to the OP, I've never played it as a bass player, but in my guitarist days I seem to remember playing it in standard tuning and don't recall the bass player retuning to play it either. Depends how faithfully you want to reproduce the original I guess.

Ok let's have another crack at this in a less flippant manner. I was engaged at the age of 18, and had a mortgage at 19. By the age of 20, while most of my friends were out partying, going on holiday, buying flash cars etc, I was working upwards of 80 hours a week just to try and survive. My family had moved away from our home town so I had no support network. I was exhausted, severely depressed and just trying to survive. I didn't have time for playing, or even listening to music, and had long since sold all my equipment to pay bills and keep my car on the road just to get to work. Three years later this really came to a head when I split with my fiance, lost my house, and came very close to suicide, all at the ripe old age of 23. Now I'm 43. Extremely happily married for the last 10 years (actually been together for 17) and we've worked extremely hard to get where we are now against all the odds. Including a back injury which put me out of action for 2 years just when I was getting back on my feet, the loss of my second home as a knock on effect from that, more financial problems than I could list, and hardly surprisingly, given the situation, my own ongoing battle with depression. I finally got out of the rat race 3 years ago and moved to Bulgaria. We've just moved into our very own home after spending the past 3 years working our fingers to the bone renovating it. It's hard to explain how much this means as most people take a home for granted. But I've spent most of my life working 60+ hours a week just to pay someone else rent, and for a few years had to live in caravans and motor homes because I couldn't even afford to do that. Now we have a beautiful home that's all ours, no mortgage, no rent, and more importantly no one can take it away. I've just started playing bass again because it's the first time I've had the time to do it since I was 17. I'm not a great (or probably even good) player. I still don't have the money for flashy equipment, but to have the time and freedom to play again is just amazing. I've just started playing in a band for the first time since I left school. So while some people yearn after their youth. You can keep it, because for me everything after about 18 was a living hell. I'm happy to be in my 40's. In fact, I've literally never been happier.

Don't take it out in public though - you'll get arrested for "cruelty to instruments".