bassbiscuits

I dep regularly though currently I only dep in one band which makes life easier as I largely know their set from so many gigs now, so at worst only a few newer tunes emerge at short notice at any one time. My advice is really “learn your lines and show up.” Being well prepared, polite, punctual and attentive to the rest of the band onstage will already put you ahead of a great many other players. If you’re lucky you might get a chance in soundcheck to run through any tricky unusual arrangements / endings etc. Bring spares - batteries, leads, strings (see “be well prepared” above). I think I’m usually on the same money as the person I’ve replaced. But really, if I’ve agreed to do a gig for a certain amount then I can’t really grizzle whether someone else is getting paid more or less than me anyway.

Sounds like a hell of a first set.

Will do!

Kiss tribute band Hotter Than Hell at Leicester 02 tonight 🤘

I think people should be free to hold whatever opinions they want. But I won’t work in a band with someone who I find to be an objectionable d..khead, for whatever reason that may be.

The first time I left a band I tied myself in knots about how to do it. Ultimately I realised that it’s entirely fair to everyone involved to leave a band that’s not working (ideally giving them a bit of notice if there are gigs booked etc.) But really, it happens all the time and life goes on. If it’s polite that’s ideal, but even if it’s not polite it’s still the right thing to do.

Me too. Proudly so.

Yeah as above. No way would I choose to work with someone with such views. A friend of mine (wasn’t in a band with him though) started expressing some very dodgy personal opinions about race, culture etc on Facebook a while ago. The first time it made me wince, the second time I decided to have nothing more to do with him. And I haven’t. I’m not associating myself with stuff like that.

Picton Music and John Hamm’s Music in Swansea were the places that got me started with Satelitte, Westone, Washburn, Charvel and the other hallowed 80s brands. I’ve still got my Arion tuner from Christmas 1986 that came from Picton Music. Legend has it there were bigger music shops in Cardiff, a whole 40 miles away, but we never made it that far (too young to drive and too far to cycle).

Second gig in two nights, this time a solo acoustic guitar/vocal job at the Organ Grinder in Loughborough. First outing for my 1999 Simon and Patrick SP6 into which I’ve taped a Seymour Duncan Woody pickup. Over the last few months I’ve eradicated various gremlins from my rig (noisy power supplies, dirty pots, annoying buzzes etc) and I have to say tonight felt like the best guitar sound I’ve had on stage. Full and loud without being harsh, and lots of dynamics. It was cooking. It’s a really loud resonant acoustic guitar even unplugged, so being hunched over it inches away from chiming, ringing notes and broingy, bitey chords was a delightful experience. Flask of earl grey carried my voice through the gig (just about). Which also gave me the chance to tone down the volume, swap pick for finger style and explore some softer singing (essentially to keep my voice intact for longer). Some good results from doing that actually - will try to remember for next time. For now, bed.

Depping gig at Ashby Road Sports Club in Hinckley last night. Was particularly pleased to try out the bitsa P bass I’ve been working on for the last few weeks - from what I can tell it’s at least partly an oldish Squier Affinity. It sounded great. Not “vintage P bass” great but much in the same ball park and very usable indeed. I was planning to upgrade the pickups but tbh it sounds fine as it is. Weirdly my IEM sound was terrible - everything was just distortion which was so distracting I took them out after a couple of songs. Half time I swapped the lead, the batteries and the headphone amp itself, and reduced the volume of the mix coming into my monitor channel. But it still sounded awful - I suspect I may have blown something in my IEMs! So ended up playing without any monitors and just using the onstage sound, just like the old days. Good gig tho.

I started bass when I was 12, mainly to annoy my older brother who was 15 and had just started on guitar. We’d been inspired by some older teenage friends whose band we saw at TSB Rockschool in Porthcawl. My brother used to get stuff from the record library - Kiss, Iron Maiden and Motörhead - which we listen to with our school friends (one who had an unwanted Kay bass). I got my own bass - a godawful short scale Satellite bass - in the summer of 1986. I’d wanted drums but didn’t have money or space. Fast forward 39 years and I’m still going. Less into metal these days, more into a broader range of stuff and play acoustic guitar too to a very decent level (though jazz and country still don’t float my boat). Playing music has been a constant companion and self-soothing method throughout my life. If id realised back then i’d have spent more time learning it properly in the first place but there you go.

My perfect gig… Somewhere within an hour from home, with good parking and an easy load in. Catering of which the band can partake is always good. A responsive crowd, decent pay and no one requesting Oasis.

Ah the acoustic I bought back in March has earned its keep as a campfire travel guitar this weekend so it’s staying now. Which makes me feel slightly better!

I use both. For covers bands I tend to use round wounds and a modern active bass to cover the wide range of sounds needed. For tribute / original bands I use mostly a passive bass with flats. I sometimes use the active bass with rounds for that too tho depending on how I’m feeling. I like both and I tend to favour one over the other at different times. Been playing rounds/active bass loads lately but took P with flats to last rehearsal and fell in love with the sound again.

I’ve got Elton John’s biog somewhere. Need to dig that out before my hols. Can recommend Duff McKagan’s biog, Flea’s excellent “Acid for the Children” and Johnny Marr’s “Set the boy free.”

Practice - you’ll spot “anchor points” in the song where this lyric and that bass part match up and make it easier to navigate. Also, worth trying one thing at a time. Learning to sing a song well is a job in itself, so maybe do that as one job and learning the bass line as another job. Once you’ve got them in hand, then start combining them. Good luck.

It’s a shame when band situations rob all the joy out of making music. I’ve been a in few where I was meant to be enjoying it, but actually came away with a bad taste in my mouth from dealing with the various problems it brought. Sometimes it takes walking away from it and getting your balance back before deciding what to do next. Hope it all goes well, and good luck with whatever the next step brings.

Year started playing: 1986 Number of basses: 3 Music theory: 2/10 Technique: 8/10 Groove: 9/10

Keys. I’ve been in too many bands where the keyboard player felt obliged to fill any hint of quiet with pointless flourishes adding nothing to the song.

Not at all. I wouldn’t hand over any of my instruments to someone I didn’t trust and certainly wouldn’t do so repeatedly if the result was bad. I guess I must just be getting a good deal then, as a long standing customer. Jolly good.

It sounds as tho the job is really making and fitting a new nut, probably tweaking intonation and neck relief. Fitting strap locks is a five min job. As a guide I think I’ve usually paid about £40 for a set up (fret dress, set action and intonation) and the same sort of price for a new nut (the jobs go together as a new nut will require the rest to be set up around it.) But that’s based on one local repairer that I’ve used for years. There’s probably a few luthier websites online with prices listed for that sort of work to give you an idea.

At my last gig the guitarist had various broken string/tuning problems in between songs and me and the drummer ended up busking various 70s TV themes to amuse the audience in the meantime. It became a bit of a thing as the night went on, and was a lot better than awkward silence and shuffling about onstage.

Cool weekend of gigs. Friday night playing bass with Superbad at the Sapcote Social Club in Leicestershire. Really good turnout, lots of dancing and good sound. Saturday night playing bass with my own band (the Andy Wales Band) at Bar Dos Hermanos in Leicester. We were all knackered and it was a bit ragged and “seat of pants” at times but still plenty of good bits, a decent crowd and some righteous noises were made by all. Gear for both gigs was a Yamaha BB604 and little Markbass traveller rig. Then Sunday, helping our local village guitar teacher with his twice yearly gig for his students (including my eldest lad who’s just discovered Nirvana). It’s quite inspiring to see the youngsters grow as musicians over the few years we’ve been involved. The biblical rain from the morning thankfully stayed away all afternoon and it was a lovely outdoor shindig in his back garden, with me providing the PA and bass gear, being a general helper and being roped in on bass for one song. Gig below from Saturday night and Sunday afternoon’s gigs.