Dad3353

Aren't there gov't auctions from time to time where confiscated stuff gets sold off..? If not, there's a potential (modest...) revenue stream for the country's coffers, perhaps.

To be fair to our new colleague, it should be mentioned that Lenny (long-standing contributor to the monthly Challenge...) has stubbornly and repeatedly made light of any notion of 'rules', as evidenced by his contributions, where musicality comes a poor second (or maybe third, fourth and circle of fifths...) to inspiration, anarchy, fun, noise and... Well even more than that. The notion of 'covers' does not extend to these outbursts of angst, ire, temperament and talent; no legal repercussions are to be feared from them, apart from the medical costs for loss of hearing, and the replacement of window glass. In short, no covers, except for December and whatever Lenny deems to call 'a cover'. Hope this helps. ...

I've received some clips from our recent outing to a French bar. For the more brave and foolhardy among you, here's the link to my post in Another Place ... 'How was your gig last night...' (Except, of course, it was not 'last night', but a couple of weeks ago now, and I'm the drummer...).

I've received some 'punter' clips from our recent outing (23/09...) at the 'Welcome's Bar', Luitré, France. Nearly 18 minutes, if you can stomach it; the very last section shows the stoicism of Our Eldest doing what he can with a busted string. The all-round ambiance can be seen, I think. Here's the montage, enjoy ... Edit : I forgot to add a nod and a wink to @FinnDave . He'll understand (I hope...)...

Hmm... Do you remember motorcycle batteries, 6v..? Would you put a spanner across its terminals..? No..? Nor would I, as the spark produced from the mere 6v would be quite intense. The potential is low, but the current flow easily enough to set fire to a bike (how do I know..? That's another story...). An AAA battery, 1.5v, has not enough 'juice' to do much harm, but one cell from a car battery (1.5v...) gives off a very nasty burn when shorted. A saline tongue, to a battery, is just about equivalent to a short circuit, unlike dry skin. If I was cruel, I'd urge you to try the experiment yourself and report back, but my better self recommends that no-one try to 'lick' a battery the size of a brick, whatever the voltage. Just sayin'.

Nope, sorry. Did nothing for me; my sky is still grey. A pity; I'd have liked a lift.

I wanted to play the flute, all the more so after a cross-Channel ferry crossing, where one of the cooks took pity on my partner (at the time...) and I, sheltering in the garage with no money, after our round trip of France. He invited us to the crew's quarters, and fed us royally, whilst regaling us with tales from his other, out of season, job as a flautist with a national orchestra. He recommended, for a beginner such as myself, to look at the Yamaha range, and go for a silver head if I could. My budget was understandably low, but it mattered little in the end, as I found that a stupid previous accident at school (trapping my pinky finger in the jamb of a heavy oak door...) had resulted in a badly-set fracture, and my finger did not have a 'normal' movement. It was impossible to use the R4 and roller keys, so I stayed with drumming. Darn it..!

The gig was taken by these guys ...

Precisely.

For our most recent outing, we had the pleasure of a previous 2nd guitar joining us for part of the evening. He's a (decent...) amateur, but hasn't been playing for several years. One of our songs is 'The Wall', so the Gilmour solo is mandatory. At rehearsal, our invited guest struggled for quite a while to get the syncopation for the beginning of that solo, and we could do nothing to help him, as it wasn't a question of tempo, nor even 'counting', but simply (Ha..! As if it were simple..!) 'feeling' the off-beat nature of the piece. No click, metronome, even playing along to the original could help him get it 'felt', and so spontaneously fluid. On the night, he did it just fine; maybe the half-glass of cognac before the gig relaxed him enough. Sometimes it's not a matter of 'click', but of 'feeling'.

Here's a clue ... ...

Read the comments from a Buyer for this pen, maybe..? Ah, a Sainsbury's bag. Obviously a trustworthy bloke. Now, a Lidl bag, on the other hand... ...

... which simply frees the fellow up to join a band wanting musicians, and not robots or machines..! ...

No, it has to be an 'original' composition (but just how 'original' is a 12-bar blues, eh..?). An exception is made for December, where a 'cover' is mandatory..! Hope this helps.

An anecdote..? Yes..? OK, make yourselves comfortable... The scene : the apprentice hut, BEA, Heathrow circa 1968. A dozen callow youths, including myself and a certain Butler had assembled before the day's activities were ready. Butler (the butt of many japes, pranks and, frankly, bullying from fellow apprentices...) was showing us all a curiosity he'd found at his parent's home : a valve portable radio. 'Does it still work' came a voice from the back. Turning it on gave the reply 'No'. 'Maybe the batteries are dead, then'. How can we check..? Butler removes the cover, and extracts the HT battery from within. It's clearly marked '90v'. Butler goes to try to put his tongue on it, to encouraging cries from the crowd. I manage to stop him (I was never a great lover of japes, pranks nor bullying...), and explained that, even if the battery was only half-dead, it would certainly do more than hurt if he tasted it. Butler, slightly abashed, acquiesces, but then pulls out the heater battery from the radio. This one is marked '1v5'. 'OK, ' says he 'I can 'taste' this one; it's only 1.5 volts.' and goes to try the same gesture. Once again I manage o prevent this, amid groans from the onlookers, and patiently explain to the fool that, although a lower voltage, this huge battery (almost the size of a house brick...) would surely have enough amperage left, if there's any charge in it at all, to burn off the tip of his tongue, and maybe more yet..! He ruefully agreed not to continue this experimentation, and our cruel colleagues were deprived of their morning's amusement.

Orchestra have conductors; they don't have a 'click'. Modern music has drummers; good drummers don't need a click. Exceptions for passages with synch'ed samples and the like. Drummers have been playing for rehearsals, 'live', and studio work for generations without aid. Yes, of course it can work, but it's far from being essential. All musicians should play in time, anyway.

You might like to try you hand at our monthly Basschat Composition Challenge. Here's the current one; all are welcome... October Composition Challenge ... ... and last month's Voting topic ... September Composition Challenge Voting Topic ...

'Digital Mains' translates as a digital mixing console for the PA ('Mains' = FOH, or Front Of House, for the US bunch...), such as the Behringer X18 and the like.

Don't try building rockets, either. ...

Brown Shoes Don't Make It - Zappa

That's dancing..? So I am doing it right..!

Don't give up the day job.