mrtcat

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1438725220' post='2836790'] I think the Tony Hadley gig wins... if he comes calling again. Function gigs are two a penny by comparison. It shouldn't be a problem unless you make it one... he'll do it anyway, IME, just I wouldn't fall out over it, burn bridges or get too precious about it. I'd actually be glad that they could still get the gig... I certainly wouldn't try to hold them ..because I'm pretty sure you'd lose. [/quote] Yeah but he's been with us six years and Tony Hadley for 12 and it's never been a problem. He has a list of deps available he can use for the functions but he takes full responsibility for filling his slot if hes away. Hes going to be in the house band at the rewind festival in a few weeks so is missing a wedding with us. He already sorted and briefed the dep. Speaking to him last night he said that decent function gigs are far from two a penny and will never risk losing the regular stuff he gets with us. Nobody is trying to hold anyone and he knows that if he wants to do other stuff he can but while he is a member of our band he has a certain responsibility to cover himself with us if he's already agreed to a booking. I guess a lot comes down to the individual too but like I said from the start it's just about agreeing terms from day one. We didn't force him to join. He auditioned along with a good dozen others, we discussed what we needed and what he needed, we offered him the slot and he willingly accepted. Over 200 gigs later he's as much a part of the band as any of the others. We did exactly the same with the drummer we took on last year and there's no reason why the OP can't do the same with any drummer his band takes on.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1438709976' post='2836628'] But... to be fair, there is always a better gig for those in demand. I don't mean they need to be an ar$e about it but if you are pulling down a level..and they are happy to play with you because you are at worth gigging with, then accept that their main bands are the ones they have to commit to. Generally I'll get about 2 weeks notice but if I didn't do this, I wouldn't get that calibre of player. [/quote] Our drummer, keys player and guitarist are all pros and with the exception of our singer we all work with other bands or on other projects but we all really look after our commitment to the function band. Our guitarist has been touring with Tony Hadley for years and still has a certain amount of commitment there but he knows we are his bread and butter income now (especially with Spandau Ballet more active again) and plays by the rules 100%. The OP can at least set his band's expectations out from day one and at least then the drummer will know whats expected of him if he accepts the seat.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1438691566' post='2836405'] I never get this 1st come, 1st served nonsense tbh... [/quote] May be nonsense to you but if a drummer or anyone else cancels after agreeing to a date they have two choices. First is to arrange a dep who is as good as them and do all the leg work. Second is to not play with us again. I make that perfectly clear before people join us and have only had to act on it once in 17yrs of function work.

Also from experience it's always an advantage if you have some contacts in case you need a dep.

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1438667599' post='2836164'] Sorry mate, I don't wish this to sound rude, but it's nuts. You don't want to be gigging that often, yet you want a "decent" drummer to commit to you alone. I don't know how things operate round your way, but I can only wish you good luck with that. [/quote] Yeah I agree here. As long as there's a first come first served policy on reserving dates then having various members in various different projects is pretty much the norm. You just need to agree some terms from the start and have a good diary system to avoid an awkward situation. If he agrees to a date with you then he's not allowed to cancel at a later date when he is offered a gig with his other band or something similar.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1438631979' post='2835993'] What about one of those electronic kits that look like an acoustic kit..? [/quote] Jobekey do some pretty ones.

Depends also on what electric kit it is. If its absolute top end it can really be a great asset to a band to have volume control. You'd need a decent PA system tho.

Jurassic5 are my all time favourite hip hop outfit. Pure class.

[quote name='geoffbyrne' timestamp='1438422896' post='2834357'] I'd leave the pickups & put a John East J-Retro preamp into it - it'll give you much more range & variation of tone than changing pickups. G. [/quote] This. I have a VM JazzV and it plays great. When I got it i dropped in some Seymour Duncan pickups and it sounded a touch better than with the stock pups. A few weeks later I put in a John East J-Retro and BOOM it was a huge leap forward.

I love these basses. They are so well made and sound perfect to my ears. I have a 90's TRB5 which i love to bits and the TRB5PII is probably the only bass in the world I would swap it for. I would like to think you could get £1500 for it but you'll need to be patient. These aren't as sought after as they deserve to be but to the right person, a mint condition one will be well worth it. I can't understand why you'd sell it but whatever you do I wish you luck.

Yeah that's pretty darn cool. Are you only as good as your drummer? Hmmm not entirely sure but one thing I am certain of is it's the one member of the lineup where you can't carry a weak link.

I accept that my cab sound is more for me than anything because if there's a foh engineer involved I have to trust him to do what he thinks is right overall out front. We choose certain engineers over others as some consistently get a better result. Putting a mic in front of a cab with a 15 inch driver, a 6 inch mid driver and a tweeter requires real skill to capture the overall sound of that cab and the reflection off the wall behind etc. I much prefer a flat cab as it puts the control of the on stage sound more in my hands but I still accept that 9 times out of 10 the best thing I can do for the foh sound is to make sure I'm giving the engineer a good signal to work with. I'll often use a sansamp (other DI pedals are available) for that as it is in my signal chain constantly anyway and I have had good results plus engineers seem happy with the signal it gives.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1438193909' post='2832473'] Picking songs for a set list and making it flow is quite an art and skill ...much ignored, IMO. Many bands just pick their favourite songs and try and play them. It just about works down the pub and that is the end of it. [/quote] This. I've quit bands where the guitarists picks the set based around his favourites and then puts them in the order he wants so he can change guitars lots. Building a great set list is an art. Putting that set list in an order that keeps people interested and peaks in all the right places is also an art.

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1438357285' post='2833911'] Given the fact you're providing a service & charging people for it in what would look to many like a business transaction it seems fair that the guy would think you need a business account. Any reason that you don't want one? [/quote] +1 If you are taking money for a service you are operating as a business. All members will need to pay due tax on income from the band anyhow and its just about making it as transparent as possible. If you are divvying out from a personal account then in theory everyone needs to provide a receipt when paid so the divvy-er can account for it. The divvy-er will have to provide receipts for the hirers. A business account is actually a very good way to do this as it keeps the accounting more simple but one or more people will need to take responsibility for it.

I'm not buying anything amp wise at the moment with Barefaced developing an amp, Bergantino developing an amp and Genzler starting up. Amazingly the guys from original Genz are sending me replacement leds for my streamliner after I messaged them yesterday via TalkBass. That kind of commitment to service long after the company has been sold counts for a huge amount in my book.

Try asking using one of the stage mics. If he or she has muted them then it's probably safe to assume everything else is muted too.

Next time drink a lot of beer. Shame to get the hangover feeling without the fun side too.

Its one of those songs that is usually only in the set list for a guitarists benefit. That's a guitarist who is stuck in the past and hasn't noticed it's well past it's prime as a song. I hate playing stuff like that unless the drummer is tight so you can really nail the fill and have some fun in the solo. It's far from Lenny Kravitz's best work. Always On The Run or Fields Of Joy are way better to play but none are floorfillers.

We need to sort promo pics and demo video for a wedding / function band. We have just finished tracking for 5 demo tunes in the studio and will hopefully have this mixed and mastered within the next week. We have access to a really nice wedding venue with purpose built stage area for filming. Our plan is to play tracks we recorded and play along and then sync the footage up as I'm sure many people do. We'll also do some interviews with the band and hopefuly end up with a 3-4min video that uses parts of all 5 tracks. Does anyone have experience of doing this? We are happy to use a pro videographer and photographer but I'm sure there are many pitfalls so any advice on getting best bang for our buck will be welcomed. Does anyone know of a decent photographer and / or videographer (professional or amateur) in Oxon / Bucks / Northants area who works well with bands?

Hartke Kilo. Amazing sound but terrible reliability. Constantly breaking down and spent more time on the engineers bench than on top of my cab. It seems it was a problem Hartke knew all about but did absolutely nothing to rectify. Sadly the customer service from Hartke was woeful despite claims that they are great. Id never ever ever buy from Hartke again. Got shot of it over a year ago and I still get really angry just thinking about it.

I guess it's a subjective thing because I really enjoyed Dave Swift's playing and thought he sounded great.

Bugger. We just chose a new name. After endless debating I'm not gonna mention this though cos I don't think I can go through it all again.

This is actually quite a hard question. Many of the places I've been to are seasonal and I don't really ever want to live in a big city which is where the best music scenes usually run yr round. I was living in a town called Breckenridge in Colorado for a while (2004-2007) as a snowboard instructor and formed a local band for the winters of 2005-2006 and 2006-2007. We did funk / rock covers and would play in any of the 5-6 towns within a 25mile radius. The music scene was so good we could have played 4-5 nights a week but had to be careful as we had visa limitations (two of us were on H2B visas) but still managed at least 2 gigs a week in very lively places. There were some brilliant bands out there too. So I guess if it weren't for the fact I could never get a visa to live there then that would be my choice as it was also an amazing place to live and snowboard.

Active monitors are pretty convenient Imo. We picked up some used Mackie SRM450s used off Gumtree and they are perfect and serve as a usable backup for foh tops should we ever have a problem.