Dad3353

We are so, so close to perfection here. I wonder if anyone has ever even tried to sell Vander 'splash' cymbals..? The tangible pressure emanating from them when seen (felt..?) 'live' is impressive, and exhilarating. Not to be missed if passing your way; there won't be that many more opportunities, now.

Chelsea Morning; a Joni Mitchell song I first heard as performed by Fairport Convention (... and a very good job they did of it, too...).

Practice..? What is this 'Practice' of which you speak..? ...

Good evening, Scott, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

Good morning, K, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

Walk On The Wild Side - Lou Reed

Good evening, CB, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

The simple answer is ... I cheat. I pop the pic into Photoshop, and extend the 'canvas' upwards by about a third. This comes out as ... ... and that's what I load up into Soundcloud.

Play it at half speed. Repeat until it's perfect. Then increase a little, rinse and repeat. Soon you'll be playing it at slightly faster than the original; you can then play it perfectly at the normal speed. It can't fail.

Some breaks/fills from the Master ...

I think it's a cycle that is still turning. How many pubs (remember them..?) have a 'joanna' for an 'everyone in the bar' singalong..? T'was all the rage, not so long ago. Is there going to be a resurgence of skiffle..? One or two local hot-spots, but I doubt it becoming, once again, the focus. Disco dancing..? It was massive for a decade, but is now just a side-line. I'd say it's the same for rock groups. In the Twenties, it was roller skating. Roller rinks (sometimes several...) in every town. They were converted to cinemas when the fashion changed. Then cinemas, in their turn, became bingo halls, which evolved into furniture stores, and are now mostly empty, I think. It's a wheel, still turning; it seldom turns backwards. Nostalgia is all that's left, for each generation. The present and future generations will be exactly the same, looking in their rear-view mirror. It's normal; nothing to see here.

Those are very 'broad brush' figures, and are doubtless true (or even understated...) for some products or markets (a Picasso sketch, anyone..?), but the spread is far wider, I'd suggest. I ran a retail TV sales/repair shop for a few years, and margins were much tighter there than those quoted above; despite this, the big stores were undercutting to almost my wholesale price, so their margins were lower than mine, despite their higher overheads. I was involved in the manufacture of pool tables; there, too, margins were tight and competition fierce. I spent some years in a music shop; not much gold being dug there, either, and 10% off was a serious cut in profit, not easily given away. It's true that there are some commerces that have artificially high RRP so as to offer stupid 50% cuts, but they're specific, and not a generality, I'd say. Just sayin'.

I'd recommend the purchase of a sheet of A2, some pens and a ruler, and writing/drawing one out yourself. You'll learn much more that way. Amazon have this, however ...

It might be worth trying a two-cab approach, if you've enough room on stage to get them both a bit further away from you..? One to the left, t'other to the right, which might give less opportunity for the bass to 'talk' to them, but still spread the sound out to you all. Just a thought.

This, from the very first 'chip' of the hi-hat, is right on the money for setting the pace. Play it through a couple of times, and admire how Casady comes in with his thundering riff and it all takes off...

? ? ? This ^^ makes more sense, and is very easy to do, once you've worked on it slowly. It becomes second-nature for any 'four on the floor' riffs. First on one string, then across the strings, eventually string skipping. Try it..?

Good morning, BN, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

Ahem ... 13th August ...

Sunshine of your Love - Cream

What..? Not even Cliff Fish (Paper Lace...)..? (We can maybe forgive the oversight of Nico Assumpção, a Brazilian bass player, but it would be a shame, as he's darned good. ...)

Wasn't that rather Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (2nd February...)..?

So, we've not met, eh..?

At the end of our set, I lay out on the floor, wherever I can, to recover, and try to breath a little. There's rarely still anyone calling for more when I'm able to sit up or try to talk; most of the chairs have been upturned on the tables and the house lights are on for sweeping up.