Dad3353

It was late, and I'm old, tired and daft. My apologies to all offended by my unwitting mistake, and to the owners of the kittens thus harmed.

And the winners are... @Jean-Luc Pickguard and @Wolfram ..! Here, then, are your Winner's Certificates (download and save as pdf file, then proudly print and frame...) ... BC_Chal_Cert_2024_09.pdf ... which looks like this (but bigger, of course..!)...

Bump.

Would one of the two voters who only voted for one, please vote for one other of the current leaders, to break the deadlock; thanks in advance..?

This was true once Kiemsa (all original eight-piece ska/rock/punk band...) had climbed far enough up the greasy pole to play those venues, but it took a couple of years putting on self-promoted concerts, and a fair share of lesser venues and events in which we had to provide the PA and lights. Once we could get the tech sheet and rider respected by the bigger events, all was well; we just had to learn how to set up and operate the various PA and lighting consoles that were on hand. Solved, for lighting, by using a Dmx interface and a laptop; all I had to do was patch the fixtures to my Dmx output, which I could do during sound check. We still had issues on occasion. Once, at the Bourge festival, we were playing 'off' venues. Upon arriving at the first, and asking what the PA was, we learned that none of the 'off' venues (bars and clubs, for the most part...) had anything 'in house'. The road crew had to scour the countryside to rake up enough gear for playing. Do you know just how hard it is to find a decent PA rig to hire whilst the Bourge festival is on..? It's all been soaked up by all the other stages and events. We did the gigs, though, with what we cobbled together. Happy Daze..!

Back in the '70s, I was simply the drummer for the pro touring bands; the BL handled all the gear, tour bus, dates, hire'n'fire etc. I turn up with my drums and play, and help the roadies at tear-down. Since playing in cover bands with buddies, or doing the roadying, desk and lights for an originals band, I've always been the one supplying the gear etc. As these were/are always buddies, chums, friends and family (two sons...), and I had the funds to do it (from my day-time career...), it was, and still is, my own gear and transport, so no split-up, and no arguments. I worked week-ends at times with a buddy's events outfit, so had a source for s/h gear when he upgraded stuff. Now retired, I have easily enough for the few gigs we now do, but no more tour-bus (too old for MOT, so scrapped...), so I 'borrow' a van from our local garage, for a tankful of diesel when I return it. Just lucky, I guess, but no issues with any split, as it's all mine (my Precioussss; all mine..! Mine..!)

Other side of this life (Jefferson Airplane...) ... I like the syncopation, the varied runs and riffs, the underpinning power. Jack Casady in his prime...

Phil Lesh..? Jack Casady..? Philippe Bussonnet..? Jason Scheff..? Graham Gouldman..? Arthur Grant..? 'Sandy' Sanderson..? Ashley Hutchings..? Bill Berry..? David Ellefson..?

Feltham..? I used to live very near Feltha... Oh, sorry. Felting. My mistake; as you were. (Note to self : clean the felt out of my ears. )

Or what..? I'll get my collar felt..?

Yet you felt obliged to respond.

You'll have to take it to a qualified, reputable tech, I'm afraid. I have several valve amps; they are, in general, very reliable for home use, but they do age badly, some more than others. Your Vox has a valve diode rectifier; it may well be that which is failing/has failed, which would cause the hum (the amp must be shut down straight away once it starts doing that...). There are also several electrolytic capacitors in there, which dry out over the years, whether used or not, and need inspecting, and often enough changing. The EL84 valves in there are not the most robust, being quite heavily loaded to get the thirty watts, so may be tired. In short, find a Good Technicien and get it thoroughly checked out. On no account try to open it up and poke around in there yourself; there are very high voltages that can take your fingers off or kill you dead. Get it seen to, and enjoy it for years to come afterwards. Hope this helps.

Duct tape..? Luxury..! Now when I was a young lad ...

Yes; I listened to and played with singers.

Out of stock..? They've all been bought already..? ...

I presume that you don't use a pedal-board, so not dependant, nor chained to a spot, ruining your spontaneity..? ...

Note to self : get these glasses checked.

I'd just like to point out that I have no hostility towards this player, and am not criticising her free choice of how to pursue her career. Just put me down as being of a more Puritan opinion, and, without going to the extremes of full-length burkas or nun's robes and the like, would not want any daughter of ours to follow such a style. She would, of course, have the freedom to do so, but I don't approve of such blatant, and to me, vulgar, accoutrement. I'll likely be chastised once again for expressing my opinion, but it's not the lady in question, nor her playing, nor the bass; it's just the question of role-model portrayed in that way that I find difficult. Sorry if that rankles with the popular view, but there it is.

Catchy lyrics, though, no..?

I'm not sure that I would consider this to be a suitable role model for young girls, from a sartorial point of view, if this is the image that one is required to project. To me, it's the equivalent of the old, male, 'cucumber in your pants' image so prevalent in certain rock/pop bands. There are more sober ways to promote oneself and the bass, without the, to me, tacky fake call-girl look. I've no comment to make on the playing, nor the bass; I'm a drummer.