bassninja

Similar deal with my former main gig. The main gig got less and less attention after one of us went 'pro'. Everybody kind of slipped into other projects through deps/contacts eventually. I was really bitter for a while (particularly since the 'pro' gig was a lazy-arsed MOR guitareoke setup with backing tapes and almost zero musical effort needed). *thinks* [i]Do I still sound bitter[/i]?. It felt that 15 years of tight musicianship and equally tight friendship was dissolving before my very eyes. As with splitting up any relationship, it gets better with time, and I now really look forward to and enjoy our occasional reunions (about once every 3 months). I also enjoy the stuff I mainly do now, which I couldn't have done without the former gig and its attendant hassles. So I'd stick with it and think about where you need to focus your mojo now...

[quote name='Josh' post='220804' date='Jun 17 2008, 06:16 PM']Robert Randolph & The Family Band[/quote] +1: RR&the FB's "Live at the Wetlands" Phish: Madison Square Garden NYE 1998 Oteil & The Peacemakers (approved live bootleg straight from the desk). That Burbridge fella... Burnin' for Buddy (Buddy Rich tribute album)

[quote name='OldGit' post='220628' date='Jun 17 2008, 02:45 PM']Whatever you do learn the [b]gaps[/b] and where they come or you'll end up doing a an unscheduled solo ...[/quote] +1. I've had a few brown adrenaline moments there myself, OG... If you can get the bounciness of it, all should be fine. If you're intending that people should dance to it, it might pay to bear that in mind.

Sounds cool...

Second of 3 bands on, last minute gig at a mate's 30th birthday. It was one of those downstairs gigs in an old cellar with three parallel tunnels, so wasn't expecting much in the way of a decent sound but pleasantly surprised at times. Good reception and the other bands were friendly and gave good gig. My luthier/repairer colleague brought me a Stagg EUB for a week's trial. I think he wants me to buy it, and I'm looking forward to fumbling around on it later today, once I'm awake. I like the idea of the phones/mp3 in thing so others don't have to hear my dodgy intonation. More in the appropriate forum later...

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='208680' date='May 29 2008, 10:52 AM']GK MB150e combo.[/quote] +1. My MB150s also sounded great with the internal speaker off, driving my old Peavey BW cab at its full load.

Good laugh at one of our regular acoustic gigs last night. Good vibe; more like a big living room than a pub. Lots of (appropriate) requests and enthusiastic (!) singing from the regulars with a regular supply of beer to the band. Woke up late this morning...

Love a bit of Country. Just done an album gig telling a history of the Civil War, and play in a 'newgrass' type band. I arrived at The Flecktones through listening to Bela Fleck playing bluegrass etc. with Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush etc...

Phriendly Phorum. Smell the love, people...

We always rehearse acoustically at a band member's upstairs flat with me running into an active PA cab at acoustic volume. Good for dynamics and subtlety, but its been useful to have the odd full PA rehearsal as well to get the mechanics of it right. We don't have a drummer in this band, so the relative levels are pretty consistent. No cracking snare or cymbals to deal with etc.

Local boozer where we've played a number of times. Lots of banter about the Eurovulsion song contest and a fairly sedate gig. For once everyone happy with their sound, and some good playing. Finally getting the hang of this Behringer Sansamp clone thingy... Got thoroughly drenched on the load out, though.

Bit late, but... Wednesday, country pub near Goodwood racecourse. The gig was with a trio that used to gig tons, but now get together about once a month. Used my ridiculously overpowered (for this type of gig) Trace 4x10 combo for the first time in about a year, to give it an outing before I finally get around to flogging it. I'm now used to a 15" speaker, so it took a little getting used to. All OK, nice and loose, friendly crowd as ever. We played fine and enjoyed it but turnout suffered a bit because of the footie.

Lewes Folk Rock Festival in East Sussex. The venue was an impressive old church. The other bands, punters, the organisers and crew were all helpful and friendly and there was (for once) a comfortable backstage. We arranged a driver for the night, so we could relax and concentrate on the gig itself, which made a nice change. The onstage sound was clear and comfortable, which helped a lot. All finished with an enthusiastic reception. Really enjoyed it.

Acoustic trio #1, at a pub in Chichester. Good crowd, lots of players. A fairly decent performance, but everyone had at least one annoying niggle with their sound, so not able to fully relax into it as usual. Ho hum...

'Country & western' dep gig. My precision died on me at soundcheck, so felt a bit of a tit having to use Thumb V all night as backup. Some looks from audience of the 'he's not going to burst into [i]jazz[/i] all of a sudden is he?' type. These folks can be pretty conservative... Went OK, all below the 5th fret and good discipline.

Local folk club. Support to personal hero Martin Carthy, grinning all night.

'Transatlantic session' in another country pub. Friends in town for one night only from Dublin & Houston so down the pub, line up the Guinness, all acoustic and great fun. Usual struggle to hear myself leading to sore fingers this morning, but the vibe made it worth it.

A (different) acoustic trio in a tiny pub at the end of a 1/2 mile drive, after turning off a lonely back road right up at the top of the South Downs. Like playing a lock-in in someone's living room with fantastic real ale. A couple of pints waiting for us when we got there, a good chinwag with the locals and...'Oh, I suppose we'd better start then'. We've been doing it for the last 4-5 years, so its more like being paid to go to the pub: I use my wee practice amp, and one Mackie cab turned [i]way [/i]down for the PA, just above acoustic volume. Relaxed gig with lots of requests coming from the audience and good banter, finishing way after time. Smiles all around. In the tiny car park afterwards if you stand still you can hear [i]nothing[/i]. S'lovely. What a bunch of hippies...

A certain guitarist to whom I am related (grammar) turning up with a different guitar/pedal board layout/amp configuration for every gig, and then complaining that he can't get used to his sound. Using three different overdrive pedals [i]and[/i] channel switching for 'light drive, mid-light drive, rhythm, crunch and lead' when they all sound the same. To be fair, though I can be equally annoying in some ways...I'd imagine... probably...kind of, sometimes. But not as often as my bandmates, who are all cloth eared egotists who don't appreciate the lengths I've gone to to [i]understand[/i] music, or the sheer depth of emotion I pour into every single note. I mean, I know scales and everything...And although I might [i]choose[/i] to look cool and aloof at every gig, I never get the girls, [i]and[/i] I load the van single-handed while they drink absinthe from the shoes of the stunning, inconceivably tall Swedish women's hockey team, who just happen to be in town for that night only while the audience gather round and laugh at me. Insecure, moi?

My oldest brother, who'd played in bands for years, gave me a bass and said "We've got a gig in three months, let's learn the songs". In at the deep end and flailing about for the last 25 odd years, still haven't been found out...

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='181892' date='Apr 21 2008, 03:21 PM']Cheers all! And a fine drummer he is. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVsli7ijYDE"]Here he is is when he was a lad...[/url][/quote] Thought so, we did a festival in Cornwall with them just after Billy joined...

Nice one WoT. Do I recognise yr drummer..?

About 1988/9 in Worthing. The Stray Cats were playing in the much more prestigious gig up the road, we were supposed to be in the pub by the station, a regular gig for us at the time. There was a bit of argy bargy between rival sets of SC fans, and somebody got stabbed outside our venue. Tensions were simmering. As we pulled up for the load-in, the guv'nor was waiting with our fee, and advised us to keep going, since he was closing for the evening in view of the circumstances. Fee duly trousered, home in time for the Antiques Roadshow, victim recovered well (as far as I can remember). We also played a wedding reception at about the same time, and were similarly paid off on arrival, as the groom's divorce from his former wife hadn't come through in time. I bet that went down well with the new in-laws...

Remember the 'Home taping is killing music' ad print on inner sleeves of LPs in the 80s? (Jeez, I'm getting old...) Well it didn't. I hope people will treat The Industry for what it has become. I have no wish to be part of it, having seen first hand what it can do to creative artists. However much I like some of their music, I now have the same feeling about Metallica as I do about Monster cables (see other posts on this forum) given their corporatist stance. I mainly listen to bands that allow live taping & trading these days (non-profit o'course). For instance, grab some live (and band approved) Flecktones shows here: [url="http://bt.etree.org/index.php?cat=26"]http://bt.etree.org/index.php?cat=26[/url] and a choice of 105 approved 'Tones shows here: [url="http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=collection%3Aetree%20AND%20format%3Amp3%20AND%20creator%3A%22Bela%20Fleck%20and%20the%20Flecktones%22"]http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=co...20Flecktones%22[/url] Some approved Victor Wooten here: [url="http://bt.etree.org/?search=&cat=199"]http://bt.etree.org/?search=&cat=199[/url] etc etc, you get the drift. Many bands who can actually [i]play[/i] (unfortunately, mainly from the States it seems) have 'taper sections' at gigs where fans can put mics up, and a clear 'taper policy' on their websites. But a word of warning, watch the source: while some tapers get fantastic audience recordings, a SBD or DSBD source is sometimes best: a direct feed from the desk. But remember what the Grateful Dead fan said when he ran out of acid: "[i]Hey, this band sucks...[/i]

Acoustic trio in Casabognor. Looked a bit dodgy at first. A few witty chips of 'where's the drums then?' were quickly silenced as we pulled out a good one. Lots of folks came to see us specifically and the more sceptical locals were drawn in, too. We're back there after our gtrist's month-long break in Thailand (lucky bstd)... On a rewarding note, a friend showed us video of how the funds we helped raise at a 'cheridee' gig a little while ago had been spent in Malawi. Kids queuing for new mosquito nets, and then dancing home thoroughly made up & grinning with thumbs up to the camera. Which was nice...