OldGit

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='322579' date='Nov 5 2008, 12:19 PM']Using flash isn't a problem if you are sensitive to the range. Not too close and not too far and make sure there are no obstructions in the foreground to light up.[/quote] Sure and you can get some great effects but most people just leave it to the camera to decide

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='322506' date='Nov 5 2008, 10:31 AM']There's nowt worse than a band's website stuffed with images of pub gigs taken with a flash. It might as well be the drummer's (parents') living room...[/quote] +1 (actually + several thousand) Your band images are always good, and it's not just because you tend to play nice professionally lit venues .. 10 good images, well chosen, cropped and well presented, will do so much more for your band than 100 crap pictures. It's a side effect of easily available technology; People take 200 pictures at a toilet gig because they can. Then, just because they have them, the put them all up on their website in a gallery labeled "Kings Head Peckham 2/2/08" with nary a thought as to what the pictures will say about their band.

93% Wooton Can't see that myself ...

[quote name='mike257' post='322287' date='Nov 4 2008, 10:52 PM']It never ceases to amaze me how many people completely ignore this!! Surely they can tell I look much better in the dark Great advice as always OG, you're a goldmine of usefulness, nice one![/quote] Thanks for your nice comment, Mike

[quote name='xgsjx' post='322252' date='Nov 4 2008, 09:57 PM']+1 Best meatballs in the world! [/quote] Oh I concur. There is always a bag in my freezer, eaten to a family rendition of "On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese..."

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='322244' date='Nov 4 2008, 09:50 PM']That's great, thanks. I'll get the wife to study these so she can re-create them with our snappy camera when we next play the local pub. Only teasing...they're great shots.[/quote] Ha ha yeah well .. They are for serious snappers but there are some general points that work snapping you in the pub.. Especially to turn off the flash. So many websites have nicely flashed pictures of the back of the audience members' heads with some dark band member shapes in the distance, or there's no stage lights .. hummm [url="http://wiki.basschat.co.uk/info:industry:stage_lighting"]http://wiki.basschat.co.uk/info:industry:stage_lighting[/url] Cheers OG

Any band website needs a select few high quality live shots of your band in action. Here's a column from Webshots on how to take great live music images: [url="http://blog.webshots.com/?p=1012"]http://blog.webshots.com/?p=1012[/url] Their examples:

[quote name='Stylon Pilson' post='321916' date='Nov 4 2008, 04:27 PM']Makes complete sense now you say it, OldGit. Thank you. S.P.[/quote] You are welcome May I use that as a quote on my testimonials page?

[quote name='Stylon Pilson' post='321860' date='Nov 4 2008, 03:16 PM']How do you feel about having a "testimonials" section on a website? Personally, whenever I go to a band's website and see a quote from the landlord of their local music venue, gushing about how wonderful the band are, it makes me want to throw up a little. Is it just me? S.P.[/quote] The effectiveness of testimonials depends on what they say, who said it and who the band is trying to impress. However for bands looking to sell their services into the function / wedding / corporporate gig sector they are by far the best way of making the next gig booker think you are worth considering. Check any top function band website and they will be peppered with good reports of gigs they have done from people you could probably phone up and ask, with a little research. Likewise wedding gigs. A wedding band website should teem with brides, grooms and mothers in law saying how great you were. Then a B&G looking for a band are more likely to believe the rest of the stuff on your website. Basically is matters not one jot how good [b]YOU[/b] say you are on your website but the opinion of "Janet and John, Bride and Groom, August 2008" really matters and will bring in the bookings. Your pub landlord testimonial is not aimed at getting you to a gig as a punter, puking or not, it's aimed at other venue bookers who will probably know that pub and its gig booker and their quality control policy, the type of band they hire and how successful the venue is ... If you've rammed the the top venue in your town on a regular basis, and teh landlord says so in an endorsement, that means a great deal, to another pub gig booker. For building a following, your best bet is [b]punters[/b] saying what a great time they had at your gig - say via your myspace comments section, youtube films and comments, chat rooms, facebook stuff etc... Different market, same technique used differently ...

[quote name='yorks5stringer' post='321619' date='Nov 4 2008, 10:48 AM']"Pair of blue IKEA bags (50P each), layer of Bubble Wrap (free cos I have loads), Half a roll of Gaffa tape (£4) ..." That reminds me of the "Hillbilly Case": reinforce the box it came in with gaffa/parcel tape, cut holes for the handles and cut out the bottom. Cheaper than Ikea and you are not tempted by the hotdogs/meatballs........![/quote] yeah but you are boogered wne you need to ship it off to the new owner I usually do IKEA hot dog and coffee - £1.50 for lunch? .... bargain!

[quote name='xgsjx' post='321549' date='Nov 4 2008, 08:55 AM']Damn, I wish I'd thought of that. It woulda went well with the drummer's cymbal bags from Lidl. [/quote] Ha ha keepin' it real, people.

[quote name='99ster' post='321452' date='Nov 3 2008, 11:42 PM']Oh yes - she'll be coming to the grave with me![/quote] Address please.

[quote name='99ster' post='321434' date='Nov 3 2008, 11:24 PM']A new pic of the 1960 Jazz together with my 1965 Ampeg - it's a bit arty...but quite cool I think. [attachment=15563:Jazz_B15.jpg][/quote] Wow Jim .. Great picture and fantastic looking bass and amp ..

Pair of blue IKEA bags (50P each), layer of Bubble Wrap (free cos I have loads), Half a roll of Gaffa tape (£4) ...

[quote name='s_u_y_*' post='321105' date='Nov 3 2008, 05:26 PM']+1. Of course you should always strive to be perfect. But be comfortable with the fact you probably can't, so have fun and enjoy the ride.[/quote] Yes I remember the huge weight that lifted off my shoulders (in about 1975) when I realised that unless you make a monumental error, no one in the audience will notice, and probably no one in your band either) The fleeting, ephemeral nature of live music means that even if they do notice the odd duff note here and there it's gone in an instant anyway. The energy you put into being [i]entertaining[/i] will be remembered for a lot longer . Very few people will say "Hey go and see this band, their bass player made no mistakes at all!!"

[quote name='SteveO' post='321289' date='Nov 3 2008, 08:19 PM']Has it OG? I don't recall seeing this tip before, but then again my memory is comparable to that of a goldfish. Good tip tho. I'm well past the staring-at-the-fretboard stage, but I have a fear of playing a gig so dark that I can't see the fretboard. (Never happened yet, just one of them phobias ). Gonna play through our standard set in pitch darkness tonight* to see what happens . *along with the cd's. Can't do a rehearsal in the dark. Peder (singer) needs crib-sheets (well for the songs in English anyway) and I don't wanna be in the same room with Arvid (drummer) in the dark .[/quote] Yes, It's been recommended before. Not in this thread though I was suggesting that as a practice technique for people who want to get away from being dependant on watching their fingers all the time to play. If you need to read lyrics on a dark stage invest a few quid in a UV strip, hang it somewhere high on the stage and print the lyrics in big bold black letters on white paper. Then when the stage lights go out you can still see your lyrics / chord charts etc as the white paper glows in the UK. Beware though, so does dandruff, some teeth and some contact lenses That's odd ... Ah you should try side LED's. They are just brilliant (ha ha) for finding the right start note for the next tune in a stage blackout between tunes..

[quote name='neepheid' post='321090' date='Nov 3 2008, 05:06 PM']I don't think I looked like I was enjoying myself at all, I don't really know what I was feeling to be honest Oh well, onwards and upwards.[/quote] This has been mentioned before but practice in the dark so you have to hear and feel your way around the tunes ... Then you won't miss staring at your frets when you play live.

[quote name='The Funk' post='321030' date='Nov 3 2008, 03:57 PM']But spread the eye contact around the room - if your eyes get stuck on one particular girl in the crowd for too long, she might get uncomfortable and leave. Take it from me! [/quote] Ha ha yeah or her man may come and have a quiet word with you later ...

[quote name='neepheid' post='320997' date='Nov 3 2008, 03:08 PM']On the flip side... I had my first gig a month ago and I'm afraid to say I had to peruse my notes in between every song, and spent most of the time in Quasimodo pose - ie. hunched over my bass staring intently at the fingerboard. To be fair I had only 3 rehearsals with the band prior to the gig. Perhaps in time I'll loosen up. It would be nice to be able to acknowledge that there's an audience [/quote] Just remember that only one or possibly two people in the room will notice if you mess up little bits and pieces here and there whereas a large amount of the audience will appreciate you looking at them and smiling as if you are enjoying yourself ...

[quote name='WalMan' post='320868' date='Nov 3 2008, 12:50 PM']Do you mean by that something like a [url="http://www.thebuttkicker.com/musicians/products/bkp_kit.htm"]buttkicker[/url]? Because I have the unit currently screwed to a lump of ply that never gets used if you are looking for one. Or have I just got the wrong end of the stick?[/quote] Hey thanks .. Actually I mean a Wizard Thumper pick up ... [url="http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass"]http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass[/url]

[quote name='ARGH' post='320353' date='Nov 2 2008, 06:42 PM'](tongue is lodged FIRMLEY in cheek) I love fishing.... Ive an upright,a P-Bass...fretless Ibanez Musician 4 string....I make money playing. Take your pick and do you think I REALLY mean the above![/quote] Ok Who are you and what have you done with Ross? He'd have never let that one go so quickly I like old (60's) basses (P basses almost exclusively) 'cos they look good when run in (to my eye), feel good (to my hands) sound good (to my ears) and make other bass players go "ooooh" .. I also have two absolutely flawless new hand made instruments that work for me too ...

[quote name='Josh' post='320724' date='Nov 3 2008, 10:12 AM']Isn't that the bassist of The Buggles?[/quote] Yep. It's Trevor Horn. That's the "Trev" Ian McShane is referring to, at the title of the thread. Read Allllllllll about it [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Horn"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trevor_Horn[/url] Oh and at the end of the video Trev credits Louis Jardim as playing the orginal bass part on the rekkerd .. Wow, has he been around : [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Jardim"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Jardim[/url] I must admit I thought it was Sly and Robbie too but Wikipedia doesn't list them as being on the Album at all ..

[quote name='Crikey!' post='320363' date='Nov 2 2008, 06:54 PM']Thursday had to cancel, Friday had to cancel, Saturday had to cancel.[/quote] What happened there?