mrtcat

There are a few Facebook groups that can help you find function work but you'll need to be prepared to look at bands further afield if you don't already have plenty of contacts in your area. Hate to say it but age is a factor these days as many of the agencies want young rock / indie bands at the moment because thats the current trend for weddings. It's always been an image based business but it seems that what sells right now is bands that look and smell like they belong on stage at a radio 1 festival. There are agencies like DK Management based in the south that put bands together from scratch and supply PA etc and do all the marketing but you'll not earn much more than £150 per man per night in the first year. They run regular auditions for new musicians.

Hi Martin, thanks for posting. I've passed your details to drummer Chris who is collating applications and he'll get in touch in the next day or so. Can I check that you're ok travelling to Northampton for rehearsals? The band doesn't rehearse weekly (once new bassist is settled probably only once every couple of months) but obviously there will be occasions where you need to get together to sort new material etc. Cheers Tom

I'm looking for a replacement for myself! I currently play in Hypersonix who are based loosely around South Northants but am off to join another band in January. It's a real heart breaker for me as I essentially started the band with the singer and love playing with them but have been offered a job in a band that I can't turn down. It's a totally amicable split and I'll be really sad to go but have to grab this new opportunity with both hands. Hypersonix play indie / pop rock covers and are managed by Alive Network who handle all the media production, marketing and bookings. It's a really great setup and all gigs pay a minimum of £150 per person. Check out the band's page here https://www.alivenetwork.com/bandpage.asp?bandname=Hypersonix I have to add that the guys in Hypersonix are genuinely awesome people. Chris the drummer is absolutely the best I've ever played with and as a bass player he's a joy to work with. He used to tour with Nell Bryden and is super solid and easy to play with. Gigs are stress free and fun and with the agency taking care of video production etc there's a really bright future. The agency are aware there is a change on the horizon and will be getting new videos and photos done as soon as my replacement is ready. PM with any questions or interest. Cheers

Food is always covered in our contact. It's not something we've ever specified needing just something our agents include as standard. On the night we're just grateful for anything and after endless hog roasts and beige buffets we are happiest with a plate of sarnies.

Yep that's the ones you want. That's where I bought mine from.

Our guitarist goes for a beer when we play Figure It Out

How about Mike Kerr from Royal Blood? Pretty unique and a whole world of fun playing his stuff.

Thanks Steve, yeah around 90 gigs a year and lots of driving should keep me out of mischief. BTW my old band will be looking for a replacement for me so if anyone is interested let me know. They're a great bunch and the drummer is an absolute joy to play with. Check them out here www.hypersonixband.co.uk They currently have about 15 well paid gigs in the calendar but that will go up to around 30-40 because they're also with Alive Network and bookings are steadily coming in.

BOOM! Got the job!!!! Band is called Fraudio btw. Absolutely stoked and in need of a beer or two. Now begins the hard work!

Absolutely, I think the odds in this instance are stacked against me but nothing ventured nothing gained and someone has to get it. My wife asked me "if you get offered the position will you take it?". I definitely would in this instance but I've also done auditions where I have turned down the offer.

There's every chance that quite a few of them are BC members. As far as I'm aware, the departing player visits the forum on occasion but I don't know who he is.

I think they're only on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/LugsCustomIEM/

When you say 215's don't fit well, have you tried a variety of tips (foam/rubber etc)? A good fit with a tight seal is really the key to a successful iem experience. From what I know of the 215 it isn't renowned for lots of bottom end as it's just a single driver and therefore there's limited headroom. I found that the ZX10's have way more bottom end and headroom but are quite bulky. There are some great deals on custom moulds out there. I just ordered some UE6 pros and I believe that the custom iem co are currently offering a free bluetooth cable and free upgrade to a premium faceplate. The Lugs custom IEM's look like incredible value with them starting at just a couple hundred quid. If you have an unusual ear shape then a custom fit iem will really help. Don't give up. Once you get it sorted you'll be blown away by how well you can hear everyone and you'll also be looking after your hearing.

It's for a bank. They make billions out of pulling the wool over people's eyes. I'd do it and charge a massive fee if it overruns by even a few seconds.

Thanks all. It went pretty well I think. No obvious mistakes and I got on really well with the band. I also knew everything on their set list, above the 5 songs they'd chosen for me to do, and let them pick some at random so they could see I knew it. All gear functioned flawlessly and I showed I'm really comfortable using in ears. They had over 70 applications so I won't be holding my breath but at least I didn't let myself down in any way. Aaaaaand breathe 🙂

Sitting in a coffee shop on a Friday morning waiting to go to an audition at 11am for a really great and busy band. Pretty sure they'll be seeing loads of really great bass players so not getting my hopes up too much. If i did get it I'd be able to pretty much go down to just a couple of days a week in my day job. I feel well prepared and if I don't get it I'm already in a really good band with plenty of gigs but I'll admit I'm pretty nervous. One way or another I'm going to enjoy it and regardless of outcome I'll have a few beers tonight. Wish me luck.

Spending time on a British forum has taught you well Blue.

It depends on the band. If it's a busy function band with heaps of well paid work in the diary then you'd be best to give it the beans and learn everything as well as you possibly can. If it's a pub band that tends to rehearse as much as or more than it gigs then a more laid back approach is no problem as long as you know stuff well enough to make the songs swing. I've got an audition next Fri for a band that is a step up from my current function band. I spent several hours yesterday and again today just getting the bass line to town called malice to really swing and keep time where the drums drop out.

Like many others here, the singer get's on my moobs. I'd take Rival Sons over these guys every day of the week.

I can't comment on the soundcraft gear but I do think you'd be hard pressed to beat the X32 rack as it's currently £634 (over £100 less than the UI24R) and is far more feature packed and configurable than the XR18 and can be expanded in future if you need more ins and outs.

Really fabulous bit of kit for anyone doing live work and ridiculously cheap at the moment. I only stopped using mine to upgrade to an x32 rack which is incredible and seems to have hotter outputs than the XR18 we had.

The crossover on the 745 is set low (650Hz) so it is the compression driver that handles a large chunk of the vocals and this makes the 745 probably the best pa cab for vocal reproduction there is at this price point.

Not quite. The 4 inch voice coil they refer to is in the high end compression driver not the 15 inch driver. The 15 inch driver is identical on both but the 4 inch compression driver allows the 745 to crossover at a lower frequency. The 3 inch voice coil on the compression driver in the 735 is still a great driver but it's not quite as good as the exceptional one in the 745.