WalMan

Take it easy and make sure you look after yourself!! Lost my mum unexpectedly just over a year ago, and had a tough year with my assistant off on maternity from April, plus an op that had me largely immobile for 6 weeks and still getting back to it. I know I overdid it at the day job December and January that I still haven’t properly shaken off - finding it difficult to shake off “what’s the point and why should I care?”. Still haven’t managed to delete mum’s phone numbers from my mobile and it still catches me on occasion - ridiculous really as we’ve sold the house, the phone accounts are cancelled and her mobile is on my coffee table. Dr Gig helps, but if you’re taking responsibility for all the associated gig stuff and burning yourself out then you really need the others to step up to the plate before you crack.

Stray Kids at White Hart Lane last night accompanying my granddaughter. Felt louder than Dream Theater but that may have just been that we were in direct line to one of the side arrays. Tight band wheeled out in parts and they even got their own section to wig out with in what I presume was the first major costume change with guitar and bass heading out down the runway, and the whole band getting introductions and a brief solo on the big screens later on. A large proportion of the crowd had LED light sticks (£65 a pop on the merch stand) but pretty cool in that they had Bluetooth and connected to the light show automatically so were all running in sync to colour and pulsing with the main lights. Very polished show, but some interminable crowd interaction sections where each member of the Kids spoke at length with the fans. But good lord the screaming … I really should apologise to those nearby for that 🤣

I was looking to build a bitsa with a Status neck just before they stopped producing. I have looked at Klos necks that BassDirect have on occasion, though since in managed to get the Geddy Jazz with a Status neck out of @Beedster’s hands the itch is temporarily satisfied, but I’m sure it’ll be back sometime. something that is a straight drop in for Fender or MM would probably be a preference (itch starting for a P) and I do like the black and graphite weave showing through on my Status necks so would prefer not to lose that

Good to hear. Onwards and upwards!! Wifey gave me a scare a couple of months back when she had what turned out to be most likely a TIA. Was a worrying few hours in hospital though after a blue light sprint to A&E

It’s why I like using IEM’s now. I can hear what I want to hear. I do have to trust FOH sound to put bass in the mix and sometimes wonder whether it’s there enough for what we’re doing looking at FB videos. Wifey tells me it’s there so I have to have trust 🙂

@Stub Mandrel hope your recovery is going well.

Interested subject to dates 😁 #1 - Paul @NancyJohnson #2 - Paul #2 @prowla #3 - Martin @Merton #4 - Matt @Wombat #5 - Andy @Wolverinebass #6 - Stevie @stevie #7 - Lozz @Lozz196 #8 - Matt @neepheid #9 - @bassace97 #10 - Robert @bass_dinger #11 - Christopher @chyc #12 - jaco @Geek99 ** #13 - Alan @WalMan

My right hand fingers have twisted which makes keyboards difficult as all the fingers get in the way of each other. Fingers to pick on the bass is ok though little finger tends to get ignored as twisted too far a slightly shorter, as is the index finger by a bit over quarter of an inch than the left hand after the first knuckles (hand to finger rather than second or third on the finger) were replaced 10+ years ago. if I had to have the same replacement on my left hand I would as it worked/works well on the right hand.

I have had rheumatoid arthritis for getting on 30 years now. It has been under control with drugs for many years now though I have had a number of joint replacements in that time most around 20+ years ago - left shoulder, right wrist and index and pinkie knuckles. Have started to get twinges in my left wrist and down the outside of my left hand recently and I ache after some gigs but it’s not too bad at the moment. Funnily enough my memory is that I have a pick pretty much exclusively until recently, though have found videos from years back that suggest that’s not actually the case, but have started to use fingers more and that seems to keep things moving at the moment.

IEM’s save me from digging in too hard, though that does require whoever is handling FOH to be on it else you’re fine but the crowd is thinking “what’s that bloke doing on stage?” 🤦🏼‍♂️

Yesterday I was a Punk Pirate, having been to the Brighton Guitar Show with #2 son during the day and managed to avoid an impulse buy of a 72 P bass. It was very nice as was the 73 and the canary yellow 75 , but I just resisted. Having left there around 3:30 and dropped son off I headed over to Emsworth for a little light pirating at Kingsfest. Almost didn’t bother with IEM’s because it was quick turnarounds, but guitar from my usual main band said the onstage sound was a bit muddled, so in the end I set it up and just took a mono aux with bass, guitar and vox and put one plug in and it worked well. Timings for the day got out of sync due to weather and the Fest starting indoors then moving out. Would have helped if the acoustic duo had used the second stage rather than main, so when the compère said “the Pirates will be on in 15 minutes” there were cries of “I don’t think so!” but we were on pretty quick. Still somewhat curtailed of set time, not helped by my right leg going through the stage just before we started so so quick patching required…”I be capsizin’ cap’n” … “‘‘tis but a scratch ya scurvy scum” 🤣 Pretty solid set generally. Some flubs, but we’re Punk Pirates, nobody died, and it was generally good. Good crowd up for it and a lot of money made for a dementia charity, so all good. 90725182-ba33-4dba-ac6a-e0da656b2980.mp4

Yup I just shrugged indicated the blue sparkly IEM plug and mouthed “I can’t hear you” 🤷🏼‍♂️🤣

That’s a curse, and why I eventually bit the bullet and got a sennheiser system…better sound to my ears and no problem with dropouts I had with xvive (which I must sell BTW 😁)

Hot and very sweaty was the order of the night last night. All good fun with the FrankenJazz sounding lovely, though the Darkglass master seemed to be at a point where it was lovely but a bit too loud, or knock it back the tiniest touch and the heft was lost. We found a happy medium and all good running the sound ourselves as our sound guy was running another gig. Had a girl come up and try to talk to me, mid-song and into the ear with my IEM in, 🤦‍♂️so that got us nowhere 🤣 Sets went well, but by the end of the night the crowd were flagging in the heat. Wifey did say that there was still singing and dancing going on round the corner in the other leg of the bar, so maybe the feeling that it fell slightly was at odds with that 🤷‍♂️ Generally a good crowd and lots of nice compliments after, which is always nice. Next week I shall be pirating at KingsFest 😁🤘 9370f972-e34f-4ffb-b44d-95013a28d48a.mp4

Yup reset my search terms and found them. 😁