WalMan

A busy few weeks of gigs coming up: 15/11 - Raul Midón 16/11 - Tiger Moth Tales 24/11 - Lifesigns All at Trading Boundaries, Sheffield Park 1/12 - GUN at The Brook, Southampton

Make sure you have a bail out route this time!! 😉

It’s certainly easier than the appliance from a couple of weeks ago 😁 Said appliance may be pressed into service again for my dep with the punk pirates next March

Years ago we'd regularly stop for a burger or kebab on the way home. There was also one gig where the WAGs used to head off and get an order in at a curry house while we packed down. Said curry house even gave us a Christmas card one year as it was a fairly regular out of town gig for us Nowadays it's a spin straight home, forgoing the MaccyD's drive through, and cheese & beans on toast

Probably. He hails from your neck of the woods originally I think, possibly a bit further on

Great fun last night. Still a guitar down and I’m in a aircast for another 5 weeks but got through fine. Arrived early as our sound guy had another gig on so we had extra to do and to make sure we could get everything connected and working. The pub was quiet to start with, but that was largely due to the earlier arrival and it filled up towards start time, and on through the evening (there was a big firework display on just down the road). I think that I need a new cable for my IEM”s as they were cutting in and out, but then again I could also probably do with a better system all round so I was back to old school with one plug-in and one out for most of the evening. Generally played okay with a couple of alien abduction moments for each of us through the night that we got through without major car wreck, and they crowd were well up for it singing and dancing all night. So all in all a pretty good session. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1AVHmGogpi/?mibextid=UalRPS

This afternoon I had a session with mates I have known for getting on for 50 years now, were in my first band(s) and the drummer in many more afterwards. Guitar bass and drums got together in a country band playing working men’s clubs with an older bandleader as teenagers and then morphed into a spiky new wave originals band. Current vox was our ‘manager’/roadie/van driver and instigated the recent get together just before lockdown happened culminating in a support gig for my main band the weekend before the world stopped in 2020, and has got together on and off to make some noise, do a couple of gigs and generally have a laugh blasting through our back catalogue. Haven’t managed to get together for a while, but today was a day for some noise 😁 Banged through the ‘set’ and it was all pretty tight despite the gap. All good fun to get together with mates, have a laugh and make a row. We played together enough back in the day and are not yet completely senile so can get through most glitches that occur with a look or a nod that might go through a weird jam to get back on track, but I love it 🥰 A gig may happen though vox remains a weak link. The Wal came out to play, which doesn’t happen often nowadays, through my usual pedalboard [TU3 -> CE20 -> SkarBassOne-> Origin Bass DCX -> MicroThumpinator] and into the studios bass rig. Sounded lovely where I was sat. I have yet to hear recordings taken.

As a postscript to this, I REALLY must take things easier for recuperation!!! I may be out of the plaster cast and into an Aircast, so I can stand easier, but I very much overdid it on Friday night and was crippled all day yesterday 🤒 They're only gigs and whilst they may keep me sane, standing for too long will not aid full recuperation! Next week I must go full Val Doonican and have (and use) a stool at the gig - I also have to run sound for use, but the others will have to set everything up first!

Anyway, last night’s gig. Small pub gig that usually has a good crowd that are up for any sort of music. Sadly tonight it was quite quiet. We are still a guitarist down but not and issue. Squeezed int a smaller space than usual which worked ok. Guitarist had issues with his radio at the start of the second set and went to a lead. I had forgotten to charge the xVive IEM’s so ran hard wired with the Behringer P1 - fine with limited space. Second night with the new Allen&Heath desk / stage box which is is a great improvement on the XR16 I’m out of the plaster cast now and into an air cast boot which makes life easier to get around but I’m still not very mobile and probably shouldn’t have been stood all night. Generally we played well and the sound was good, though I was told in the the break my sound needed more top - it sounded fine in my IEM’s but I re eq’d slightly. Having had a few gigs recently I felt happier with my BV’s and range had opened up. Crowd singing and dancing most of the night, just would’ve been nice if there had been more.

Been through them all, but remember the old Bedford van we used on occasion. Driver and one in the front, one on the engine cover, and on the way home from a Christmas gig with the club band. Three of us in late teems and the bandleader driving who was in his 30’s. Stopped by the law driving round in a car park trying to find the exit and with the drummer in the back divvying up the spoils rescued from the buffet. Copper opens the sliding side door to the van: “Blimey there’s more of them!” Drummer: “Sausage roll officer?” 🤣

Dream Theater last night at the O2. Went with #2 son who got me tickets for my birthday before I had booked the operation on my ankle. We were due to be in the nosebleeds seats right at the very top and up 33 steps that were virtually vertical and which I would never have made with the walking crutch I am using to get around at the moment. Spoke to staff at the venue who were really good and managed to move us down to seats on a balcony at level one. Because walking was going to be a pain I booked valet parking, which I can heartily recommend as although slightly more expensive it is straight to the door of the venue, leave the keys without the faff of finding a parking space and straight back out again to a car waiting at the door so between a few people in a car well worth it. 😁 Other than gigs at the Brighton Centre, it’s the first one that I have been to in such a large venue. The sound was generally good and it was a great show. John Myung’s bass sound was epic 🥰 I was going to sell ‘the appliance’ but maybe I’ll start hiring it out with a false plaster cast to others heading to arena gigs 😉🤣

Been trying to get in there for yonks 🙁

I had been trying to think of a way to get a stereo mix in the IEM's and spread things out, but the new stagebox/desk last night considerably reduced my search for a solution as everything was very much clearer..

A couple of things after the most recent gig 1) I need to replace the xVive system with something better! It was cutting in and out in the second set and siting the transmitter so that it doesn’t swamp either the desk router or my iPad so one or other doesn’t work. 2) our sound guy has a new (last years model) Allen & Heath CQ stagebox/mixer, and the difference between that and the old Behringer XR is just night and day. The mix I was getting from the A&H was so much more open that the XR which I was never entirely happy with the mix I was achieving.

A bit of a quiet night - except for the bloke that bellowed FREEEEEEEEEEEEBBBBBBBBIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRD at regular intervals. Not a busy pub but those that were there seemed to enjoy it. Had some issues with the Xvive IEM’s cutting in and out in the second set, and finding somewhere to put the transmitter that doesn’t wipe out either the router in the desk of my iPad for my mix is becoming a right royal PITA. I rather think I need to search for a better solution. Our sound guy had a new Allen & Heath CQ desk and WOW 😮 the difference between it and the old Behringer xAir was night and day. Everything in my IEM’s was clear and separated and but for the my system cutting in and out I was very happy on that front. Still need to get levels properly set for my mix but it bodes well.

A pretty good night last night. Drummer back from hols but one guitarist down however the other guitarist and I have worked for years as me him, drummer and a vocalist so really not a problem. Using a different sound guy, who works with our usual guy, and the usual PA but despite him having checked all the connections during the week nothing he did would connect his iPad to the mixer, I had forgotten my iPad, but the connection from my phone was intermittent so in the end he brought his XAir in and re plugged everything from the usual one and we managed a quick last minute soundcheck but without my IEM connected, so I had to tweak that on the fly in the set. Still non weight bearing on my ankle and using the iWalk to stand - let’s gloss over the fact that earlier in the day walking through the village I got overconfident, stubbed the ‘toe’ and with nothing to grab onto and unable to do the ‘skip, yes I meant to do that’ thing when you catch your foot, and went down in a heap (I’ve not admitted that to wifey as I’d never hear the end of it). It’s fine for gigging, though does mean I can’t really move about and the opposite foot has gone to sleep by the end of each set. First set went pretty well. A few flubs from everyone, particularly the drummer who dropped a couple of beats but we caught it and I doubt anyone in the audience noticed. Crowd were ok and singing along so that was good. Second set everything gelled much better, the sound felt better and the punters got into it and were singing and dancing so it ended as a stormer. Landlady well pleased and stuck a load in the diary for next year.

If you don’t need all the Kemper bells and whistles the TwoNotes Bass Revolt is worth a look. I’ve used mine for a few silent stage deps and it sounded great. 🙂

Interesting one last night. Tiny pub, a dep drummer, and I was strapped into ‘the appliance’ I have depped with the drummer before in other bands and knew he would be fine. The others were a little unsure beforehand going in with no rehearsal but all was fine. He lays into his kit a lot more than our normal drummer but knows what he’s doing and has feel so he and I had a talk through funnies for stops, tops & tails in the set and with that and me talking through cues during the set (while playing bass, singing bv’s and trying to stay upright much to the huge amusement of the WAGs) we made it through ok. It is a tiny pub and originally we were going to be one guitarist down, but he made it in the end. It would have been very difficult with our usual drummer’s rack system but the dep has a more compact kit so we squeezed in just about. I am three weeks into six weeks non weight bearing on my left ankle after an operation. It has been a bit of a trial, not painful just a PITA. Been living at my late mother’s house as there’s a Stannah and a wet room there which makes life easier. Been getting around the house on a Strideon kneeler scooter hired for the six weeks suggested by the physio at hospital before I was discharged. About a week to ten days ago I found an advert for an iWalk 3.0 and ordered one which is great. Took very little time to get walking on it once it was put together and adjusted for height and I can heartily recommend it for anyone that may be in the same boat - in November it’ll be largely surplus to requirements and up for sale 😁 So with the new appliance strapped on I was able to do most of the gig standing. Only issue was towards the end of each set when my right leg started to go to sleep 😴 aeb46226-2d87-4db8-b804-6b24d34e0d16.mp4