casapete

I have a Rumble 100 and can't praise it enough. Bought it to use on acoustic duo gigs with my EAB, but have done some hotel gigs with it over this festive period and it has coped brilliantly. Guitar / bass / loud keyboard player line up with no probs. I also love the tone and especially the portability - the combo is even lighter (a shade under 10kgs) than my BF Compact cab which I've previously used with a class D head for these type of gigs. You see them going s/h for less than £200, and the new prices appear to have dropped a bit recently too, around the £250 /£260 mark.

When my band used to do such gigs, I was always amazed how many top London hotels had poor access to their function suites & ballrooms. As well as Claridges I remember The Waldorf and The Savoy as being a bit 'challenging'. I remember doing a gig on Park Lane (think it was at The Dorchester) where timings for the get in and out were timed like a military operation and needed to be silent so as not to disturb the owner's (Sultan of Brunei) wife who lived in an adjoining apartment. And don't even mention the parking.....

Dinner dance function for me, at a hotel 15 mins away. Done it the last few years and it’s not the most exciting gig, although the fee is. Think it may be the last one though, so will see what transpires for next year - 2020 may even be my first NYE off in over 30 years.

Took my daughter to see Brian Wilson and his band in Liverpool a few years ago, and they opened their set with this great song, in June!! Go figure.

Anyone done the Pavilion Theatre in Cromer? Situated on the end of the pier, you had to park the van at the beach end, then load all the gear onto a vintage cart (like the type you used to see on railway station platforms in the 60’s) and push it down the wooden pier to the theatre on the end, next to the lifeboat station! Took many trips to complete the load in , which wasn’t fun when the weather was kicking off. Then after the gig, the same thing but in the dark, with the North Sea raging around you, whilst trying to dodge the many night fishermen who used to be scattered along the pier. Cracking little theatre though, run by some great people.

Blimey, some serious reductions there.

Agreed. For a long time now, the whole 'singles chart' thing has been a completely different world from what it was originally. Most mainstream acts usually had single releases, even those considered primarily album bands (OK, Zep and Floyd may have been some of the exceptions! ). The thinking was that singles led to album sales and also increased awareness of those acts. This was in a time (60's /70's) when pop music was still relatively young. Nowadays many singles enter the charts quickly (without mega sales required) and also leave at the same rate. Those bands that are still liked by the older music fans rely on album sales and touring to earn their keep. Singles are no longer needed to acquire new fans, as they have a massive following from over their long history that faithfully still buy their stuff and keep them going (I should know, I'm one of them!) Even bands like The Stereophonics are now approaching 30 years old so hit singles aren't a priority for them, apart from getting some Radio 2 airplay maybe in order to plug the new album or tour.

Weight is the deal breaker for me when looking at buying a bass. Since an accident left me with a shoulder with lots of metal in, I've always had to use the lightest bass that's practical, especially as a lot of my gigs involve long sets. I have three Fender Precision Lytes, all around the 7lbs mark. I can gig them without worrying about discomfort and pain, and don't see me changing to anything else soon really unless a nice Maruszczyk comes up around the same weight. My Danelectro Longhorn is probably 6lbs tops, plays and sounds great although unfortunately it's not that suitable for a lot of my gigs. Agree with Paul S above - some headless basses like the Hohner stuff are very manageable weight wise too, and come in 4 and 5 string versions.

Not a problem Dave - think it's his voice I can't get past TBH, but hey, each to their own! Merry Christmas, Pete.

Not with you on the Chris De Burgh one, but the Leona Lewis is ace!

Love this, and also Keith Richard's version too.

Beat me to it! Love this tune, with a healthy load of Steve Van Zandt & E Street Band input too. Also anything off the Phil Spector Christmas album, and of course Bruce’s version of ‘Santa Claus is coming to town’ always makes me smile.

Chuck Berry springs to mind, but struggling for any more. Think 'What I'd say' by Ray Charles may also qualify?

Christmas party / charity function at an old theatre in West Yorkshire. Abysmal weather getting there and back, but a lovely gig. We did it last year and had loads of people coming up to say they’d only come because we were playing which was nice - they were a drunken lot though! Heavily raked stage meant that after a few songs I was nearly floored by my Barefaced Compact / GK amp that had walked downstage behind me! Kept having to push it back into place during the first set with my foot, but managed to secure it ( wedged with a speaker cover ) for the second set. Got in at 3am, knackered.

Both good amps. Have had units from both manufactures (to be fair just amp head versions of each though) and thought they each had great qualities. The Trace was loud, heavy, reliable, easily repaired and sounded good. The Hartke was loud, reliable and sounded great (to me warmer and more the tone I was looking for). In combo form I’m guessing you are probably looking at either 1x15 or 4x10 versions of both. I would prefer the Trace speakers over the Hartke ones, but ultimately would prefer to have a separate amp head and then choose what cab to pair with it. ( I know you said the weight thing wasn’t an issue but honestly you may not think that after regularly dragging one up a few flights of stairs.)

Love that song, used to do it in my country band.

If you want to go down the powered speaker route, then I can recommend the Alto TX215 active cabs. Brand new these are around £350 a pair, leaving £150 for a small s/h mixer and stands/leads.

Okay, I’ll start this. Look for a s/h Yamaha EMX512SC powered mixer amp. These are great - lightweight, reliable , 8 channels with good built in FX and can be had s/h for £250 or less if you’re lucky. Pair this with a pair of s/h speakers from a respected maker such as Yamaha, Alto, JBL etc which you should also be able to find for £200. This leaves £50 for a s/h pair of stands and some speaker leads and you’re done!

Blimey, so many to choose from. It would have to be something / someone really important for me from all the years I've been in bands, so probably 'Honky Tonk Woman' with the Stones, just to play with Charlie and Keith in particular. Failing that, playing anything with Bruce Springsteen / Steve Van Zandt / Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes would be great, as I could probably wing most of their tunes without too much trouble!

Mrs CP watches Strictly regularly and I must admit ( if I’m not working ) I do too. Trevor Barry is a great player and I really enjoy listening to him and the rest of the band, although occasionally one of the female vocalists can be a bit err...’pitchy’ I believe is the modern term. That aside, Dave Arch does an amazing job with the band each week with such a wide variety of styles to tackle, and it is to the show’s credit that they continue to use a decent sized live band when recorded backing tracks seem to be so prevalent on TV and in the theatre these days. Long may it continue!

Stand looks great VFM Stew, it just says unsuitable for nitro finish instruments. This will be down to the foam they use which reacts with nitro finishes and damages the guitar where it touches. I’ve seen a few Gibsons with marks on the neck and base where this has happened. See if you can check the spec of any instruments you have to ensure this isn’t the case. These days most basses and guitars tend to have poly finishes which won’t be affected by this, but some companies like Gibson still uses nitro for their instruments. Fender Custom Shop stuff use it for authenticity too, not sure about Gretsch but would imagine their top end stuff may be nitro as well.

Not suitable for nitro finishes though, so take care out there.

I’ll see your shoe and raise you a dart flying past us into the back wall behind the band, honest! (Rough nightclub in Hull in the late 70’s)

It was actually a denim shirt over a t-shirt! He was originally down to play a couple of songs but must have been okay with things as he stayed on till the encore.

Think all the band has been suffering from it. I went on their tour bus and was worried about picking it up myself! Nice people though, all really friendly. There are some clips of EC playing with them on YouTube now.