hiram.k.hackenbacker

Given it's nearly 4pm on the last day of June and it's highly unlikely I'm going to be buying another bass in the next few hours, I think I can safely say I've managed 6 months in this challenge 🥳. The last bass I bought was way back in November last year, so I'm doing far better than I thought I would. That said, I'm almost certainly not going to make it to the end of the year as I've put my name down for two new builds. No money has changed hands of course, or that would see me out of the door straight away, but I do have two incoming. The first will almost certainly be in the next few months. The second one will easily be well into next year, so that's the 2023 challenge stuffed as well. Good luck to anyone who is still in.

Yep and I would imagine whoever was responsible has gone to click Austria and accidentally hit the country icon above instead. Easily done and you probably wouldn't find out until it's too late.

Thunes was indeed Zappa's 'clonemeister' and the demise of the '88 tour has been attributed to a complex dynamic within the band of which Thunes' role was pivotal. I can't claim to know the truth as I wasn't there, but Thunes was given the role of 'clonemeister' by Frank and he ran with it. When issues reared their head, Frank had the choice of removing/replacing him and chose not to. As far as dealing with Frank himself, he either liked you or he didn't. If it was the latter, you went. I think Bowie became a little insecure about playing live, especially after the Serious Moonlight Tour. That definitely changed him. Much like Zappa, I don't think he suffered fools lightly, but I think he was much less dictatorial regarding how his material was played, compared to Zappa anyway.

Does it play OK in standard tuning as per @DaveFry's comment?

Having thought about it, although I'd still love to do the Thunes gig with Zappa, on a more practical level, I would have loved to have had Gail Ann Dorsey's tenure with Bowie. That would have required minimal homework on my part and would have been a lot less stressful that the Thunes gig 😎.

I can understand them wanting to reduce overheads by not lugging back line over from Ireland, but I thinks it’s a bit much to expect the bands they are asking to support them to provide it for them, presumably with no financial incentive to do so. ‘Let us use your back line or you don’t get the gig’ is like some bizarre form of musical blackmail, no matter how decent and respectful they might be.

Since @cetera has nabbed Gene Simmons, I’ll have Scott Thunes’ stint with Frank Zappa.

June has been an excellent month for me. Six gigs across four different bands with very little crossover. The next two gigs are with two different bands again, one rock covers and the other ska, so a bit of homework to do. I can’t remember the last time I was so busy. Love it 🤟

I like St.Vincent, but it just goes to show how even those performing prestigious gigs can still make basic errors.

More to the point, why do you continue to do it if you hate it that much?

I've had little time to watch any of Glastonbury live, but I'm just catching up on some now. I feel underwhelmed. Billy Eilish - I don't get her at all. Possibly one of the worst first songs ever and it didn't get any better (for me). If that's the way the world of music is heading, I'll give up now. Self Esteem - pfft. 'There is nothing that terrifies a man more than a woman that appears completely deranged'. You are and I'm not. P!$$ off. Idles - erm, no. Angry noise. I'm not sure I can bring myself to watch any more right now.

Take this one and keep him.

I'm not defending bad service, these are just observations. By walking away without speaking to the manager, you have accepted bad service in my opinion. Also, Peach isn't the sort of shop you can walk down the High Street and think 'oh, I'll just pop in there and have a browse around'. You have to make an effort to get there, whether by car or by public transport and to do that, I would suggest, a visit to their web site to check opening hours would have been advisable. In doing that, it clearly says 'We are open for pre-booked appointments only. To learn more about our appointment system, click the button to the right'. Clicking the button takes you to this video which explains why. It's 10 minutes long and you don't have to watch all of it, but the first two minutes tells you why this system has been put in place and it makes complete sense. Make an appointment and you're guaranteed to have someone there that will help you. That said, looking at their current bass inventory, there isn't much there to get excited about. Awash with Fender's and little else. They even used to have a decent selection of CS basses, but now only two 🤷‍♂️. Not great comms from them on your arrival, but it must get a bit tedious dealing with people who just turn up several times a day without booking. When I went there (without an appointment) I read the notice on the door and did think twice about ringing the bell. I did ring at the door and my opening line was an apology, which probably went a long way to dissolving any potential negative response. The guy said he would see what he could and after a couple of minutes I was allowed in and explained that I had specifically come to see two not inexpensive instruments which he went and brought to a practice room for me. Life is too short to hold grudges over trivialities like this.

My response....'Allow me to be the judge of that, now off you go and get him/her'. EDIT: Once you've asked for the next level up, you can't back down.

I turned up at Peach (last year I think) unaware of the current policy. They went out of they way to find me a room and get the two basses I was interested in so I could have a good play on both. @dclaassen- I would imagine your experience may well not be the norm.

I was referring to @cetera who has a considerably larger collection than I 😂

I really wanted to click on the OP's video, but I just can't bring myself to do it. I don't need anyone to tell me how 'Just WOWWW!!!' Pavarotti is.

I cannot stomach any of these 'reaction' videos. They are tedious in the extreme and I couldn't care less what someone else thinks about hearing Neil Peart for the first time. I can see the appeal of making them as they get a massive amount of hits and I presume that means some sort of monetisation. If it doesn't then I'm completely stumped as to why they even bother making them. The analysis videos I do understand as there is usually something in there to learn from, but the 'OMG, that's dope' reaction ones - utter dross.