bassbiscuits

That’s my brother’s mate Andy on bass for the Selector.

The thing is that it just drives people further away from caring what the media say. Which isn't a good thing in a world full of unmoderated social media junk. Bona fide news organisations at least carried some gravitas whether you agreed with their politics or not. Nowadays it just seems a race to the bottom of clickbait and space-filling chaff.

A couple of the national papers have been churning out social media posts criticising some minor element of this act or that act with a seemingly standard strapline saying “one punter said it was shocking” etc. One punter whinging on twitter does not a news story make. Or at least it shouldn’t. Some of the more right-wing press also seem to have been digging deep to selectively pick out something to dislike. I suspect going along and having a good time is a lot more fun than sitting in an office whinging about it (probably bitter they didn’t get a freebie ticket).

Why is his ride cymbal so crazily high up tho?!

Yes: as long as you’re all clear from the outset what the expectations / level of commitment is. Motivation for most gigging musos would be regular paying gigs, input into set lists / songs, maybe make use of their skills for example singing lead on some songs etc. Basically get them involved in a band that’s doing stuff. And once up and running don’t be afraid to use good deps to cover those times when those other band commitments might prevent your usual line up from performing. More gigs you do, more people will get to know what you’re about.

To echo some others on here, I think it’s a case of being clear from the start what the expectations are from bands so people can decide if it’s something they can / want to commit to, whether that’s paid gigs, how often, rehearsals and goals overall. Personally I think most generic function/wedding/pub covers bands all play at least 50% of the same material anyway so it’s not actually rocket science for an experienced confident match fit player to step in given enough notice. I love playing in multiple bands. I find it a bit unrealistic for any one band to fulfil all my musical aspirations and needs. Some are better payers, some do loads of gigs, some allow more creative expression. It’s all good.

I play bass in two bands, dep on bass in a third band, and do solo acoustic guitar and vocal gigs. The members of each band also play in various other bands too. As long as there’s agreement well in advance on what gigs can and can’t be done, we work around it through deps. The only band I rehearse with is the one where we write original material - in the others it is assumed I do my homework and turn up knowing the material. Committing to lots of rehearsals is actually something that would put me off playing in a band - the people I play with are all experienced musicians playing at a very decent level while already juggling family, other commitments (musical and otherwise) so doing it without rehearsals is par for the course. Where I am (Leicester) there’s a huge amount of overlap of musicians playing with multiple bands. I tend to find I either know someone or have played with someone who knows them! Not sure if that’s the case in other cities too but I’d expect so. The idea of being in just one band doesn’t really come into it. The things that attract me to working with bands? Regular paid gigs, material I like, musicians I like, no pressure to rehearse, and some say in the songs we do. I’ve been in enough bands that go nowhere, or never get round to gigging for one reason or another, or have people i struggle to get ok with etc…

The late nights and long drives are what finishes me these days. I do a fair few gigs which are 2-3 hour drives and I really feel it now (I’m 51). Gigs themselves are not the problem - I always find energy once I’m up there. Away from gigs I’ve swum a mile every weekend for several years now, and try to go for a jog around my village (when I can be bothered, which isn’t often). Sadly I’ve put weight on this year from being desk-bound writing university work so my next job is to get into shape again - hopefully will get a bit more energy in doing so.

I do regular stretching which I tailor to exercises before a gig. For me it’s rolling my shoulders back and forwards, turning and rolling my head and neck from side to side, stretching out my forearms, wrists and hands, and also less obvious ones like rotating my hips and lower back which can get stiff after a long time standing with a bass around my neck. I do these before a gig but also try to build them into daily life anyway. As someone who spends too much time at a desk on a computer I find helping stay supple is easier than trying to fix problems later. Edit: Also in terms of singing - warm ups on way to gig (usually involving singing along to something in the car on the way) and longer term just trying to sing something regularly so gigs don’t feel quite as exhausting.

As in money you mean? I don’t think there’s an absolute answer to this in the same way that I couldn’t say “how much would you do a gig for?” For me depping comes down to whether I can make it work with the rest of my life/gigs/work/ other commitments as much as anything else. It might involve other factors too - like whether the gig is close or far away, whether it’s a gig/venue with a decent reputation, how much notice they’ve got to learn the set etc and whether the dep is actually mates with the band or if it’s just work etc. I agree with the comment about having a run through. I’ve never rehearsed with any of the bands I dep with - it’s another time commitment and expense that might put off busy musicians. I’ve just learned my stuff at home and at most just run thru any unclear or difficult bits in the soundcheck. I wonder if the focus on “a pro player” is making things more difficult. There’s a lot of professional standard players who are still mostly combining music with other work, and depping might work for them.

That’s bad news.

I’ve depped on bass regularly with bands, and because I spread myself over a few, I don’t need any one of them to provide full time work. You might strike it lucky and find a guitarist in the position of being a decent dep with other bands and who can adapt to yours too. That means he’ll be professional level instead of amateur, but won’t be expecting full time work with your band. In terms of fee I believe I get paid the same as the person I’m standing in for (in the case of typical cover/function bands which usually has a core/band leader and then various people on hand to dep.) I find it works both ways and puts me in contact with loads of other good players I can ask to dep with my own bands if the situation arises.

I’ve been playing a Crafter DE7 electro acoustic since 2002. It’s a great all-rounder, with a solid cedar top, mahogany neck, back and sides. It didn’t cost me much at all back in the day and has definitely more than earned its keep over the last 20+ years of gigs.

Courtesy of FB marketplace I picked this up locally last week. I gig a fair bit with either an old Crafter DE7 or an equally old Yamaha FG512SJ but always have an eye for another good acoustic in my life. So this is a 1998 Simon and Patrick, made in Canada by the same group of makers responsible for Godin, Seagull, Art & Lutherie et al. Solid cedar top, laminated cherry sides and back. It was filthy and dusty, so I immediately gave it a clean, some lemon oil and a new set of Martin 12-54 strings. What can I say - it’s really really loud! Perfectly placed between bright and warm with solid punchy low end (similar to my Crafter, which is also cedar). Really articulate. Dropped D tunings work a treat too. Feels like it hasn’t been played very much at all (apart from some strumming marks on the body’s ultra-thin finish) so for the next few weeks I’m just gonna play and play it and see how it settles. But so far so good.

Epic solo acoustic / vocal gig at Bar Dos Hermanos in Leicester. A group of friends had come down from Sheffield to see me. Inviting family/friends always seems to be the kiss of death for me and guarantees a rubbish gig. But not so! It was awesome. Enough very vocal audience members wanting to sing along that the second half was just one long home straight of singalongs and hands in the air shenanigans. Exactly the right behaviour for a Saturday night. Back of the net. (Equipment - Yamaha FG512SJ acoustic with Seymour Duncan woody in it, flask of earl grey tea, Allen and Heath desk and a couple of Mackie SRM350 speakers.

The Three Amoebas is a fantastic name, just sayin’.

Just back from playing a solo gig at VE celebration in a local pub beer garden. Personal best - 3mins door to door from my house yay! Scorching hot afternoon but my acoustic guitar miraculously stayed in tune despite the heat (I took a big cloth to cover my kit when not in use). First time there but it went down well enough for the gaffer to ask me about coming back, so that’s a win.

Good rhythm section there - Rick and Joe.

It’s an isolated power supply unit about the size of a pack of Cooks Matches which powers multiple pedals without needing to daisy chain them. Boring but very effective.

I’m out. Bought a Yamaha acoustic (even though it’s now back up for sale, I don’t think that counts because I still bought it!) and a Cioks power supply.