casapete

22 hours ago, bassbiscuits said:

That’s a lovely looking venue!

The Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone is quite an iconic place. I’d guess it is from the art deco era, and is situated

on the side of the cliff overlooking the English Channel. It’s quite a challenge reversing our vans down 

the track to the load in area! Backstage there are lots of photos of bands who’ve played there over the years,

including The Stones, Thin Lizzy, Quo, Judas Priest, Ozzy and Motörhead.

( They must be slumming it these days having tribute bands on like ours! )

1 hour ago, BillyBass said:

casapete's 'The ELO Experience' played in Stevenage last night.  I went along with my other half and an ELO loving cousin.  I got to meet Pete before the gig; its nice to meet up with people from here.

Good to meet up with you Bill, and thanks for posting your pictures.

This was our last gig of 3, a venue we’ve played regularly since I joined the band. We got here a bit early,

so I had a walk up to Coda Music in Stevenage Old Town. Still a brilliant shop, mainly for guitars but they

had a selection of basses in there too.

The gig was virtually sold out, so just over 800 punters in the room, which is a bit sports hallish with 

accompanying sound! Got it sounding okay after a while, but one of those gigs where your amp 

doesn’t sound anything like the night before, so a rare change of my eq needed ( I know, that’s what

it’s there for etc). Gig went well, followed by a long drive home up the A1. Only two more gigs now left

to play this year - would have been three but Carlisle Sands venue closed due to suspected concrete

construction issues. 
 

That’s a crazy price - shame no other gauges for wusses like me though!
Thanks for posting.

11 minutes ago, Mickeyboro said:

Any chance of a bit of Mr Blue Sky? 🤞

Hope so Mick. Being northerners we sometimes think weather reports for southern regions are maybe

a bit exaggerated, but you’ve had it grim down here just lately. Seen loads of trees down and the sea

front last night in Folkestone was wild. Still blustery here today ( we are near Canterbury ATM) so hope 

things improve as the day goes on.

Three gigs for us this week, all over the place too!
 

First was in Stamford on Thursday night. The Corn Exchange is a great theatre in the picturesque 

town centre. Largely run by volunteers, it’s always a good place for us and we sell it out too,( although

only seats around 400 so it’s one of the smaller venues we regularly do.) Great crowd and atmosphere,

and I got to meet up with an old school mate who I haven’t seen in over 40 years!
 

Last night we were at The Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone, an iconic venue with views over the channel.

Had a dreadful journey there though, with the M20 partly closed due to trucks being held there due

to channel ferry cancellations with the appalling weather conditions. Really blustery all the way,

I was struggling to keep our bus in a straight line a lot of the time. Anyway, we arrived a bit late

but got soundchecked quickly. Not an easy place sound wise, but for the first time we flew the

top part of the PA and it worked great. First time we’ve sold the venue out with 830 people in.

There’s room for dancing at the sides which is great, some people up almost straight away!

Really appreciative crowd, all in all a cracking gig.

Today we’re driving up to Stevenage, so just hope the weather lets up.

18 minutes ago, NOODS said:

Is that a punch up between good and bad bassists ? 

Ha ha, no fighting though - didn’t you know we’re all sh*t on here? 😆

7 hours ago, ebenezer said:

I would go straight for the 800 rumble and know you always have plenty of headroom.

I’d agree, although getting an 800 combo or (even head/cab) s/h would be unlikely on

the OP’s budget of £450. 

55 minutes ago, Mickeyboro said:

@casapete gigs one of these. That is a recommendation!

Indeed I do Mick thank you! This bass is identical to mine, and if I didn’t already have a spare 
I would have this in an instant. Yorkshire lad selling it too!

For me these are an ideal gigging workhorse. Great Japanese build quality and such an easy 

playing slim neck, along with non bulky body / weight. Can’t recommend this enough, and 

at a great price too. GLWTS.

Another +1 from me for the Rumble 500 V3 combo. All the amp he will need and more!
If the seperates route is preferable the Rumble 500 head is also a great choice.

1 hour ago, TimR said:

I think if I was touring Holiday Camps and local theatres with a band with hardly any original members playing material I had written in the 70s and 80s, then I'd be wondering what I was doing.

Fair enough, but some people are probably still doing it primarily to earn a living rather than trying to 

find a 9 to 5 job? 

1 hour ago, TimR said:

I've had enough of playing sets full of covers of music from the 60s and 70s (especially Beatles and Stones!) regardless of how well it goes down. We are playing material from 90s and later now. I think keeping it fresh is key for both performers and audiences. 

 

I get the nostalgia thing, but it's not for me. If you don't evolve you become extinct. 

 

I guess this depends on how you define ‘ the nostalgia thing’? I would say that playing stuff from over

30 years ago now falls within the category. It seems that the 80’s era is particularly popular at the 

moment, which must be mainly down to the demographic where people who remember that time

are wanting to relive it. Butlins are rammed with people when they put on 80’s weekends!

A friend of mine who had a local music shop was a friend of Paul McNab. I went to Paul’s workshop

in Huddersfield a couple of times to deliver / collect guitars for him. Paul was not only a builder but

also did refinishes on instruments, to a very high standard. My friend had a 50’s style 2 tone

P-bass that Paul made for him, and it was an excellent bass ( albeit a touch heavy IIRC).

Paul did a great job on my 63 P-bass. When I acquired it the finish was literally peeling off

it, having been stored for a couple of years in a loft. Paul did a nice natural refin on it, which

has lasted over 30 years.

I’m 65 and still gigging, doing around 140 a year - a combination of UK theatres with the ELO Experience,

and local stuff with my acoustic duo. Been doing it for a long time so almost second nature, although

I must admit the travelling doesn’t get any easier. Am considering semi-retirement soon, though won’t be

abandoning the duo stuff. It’s been my job for 30 years, and compared to other work it’s still a relatively

manageable way of life for me. My voice ( backing vox) seems to be holding up, although have noticed

a bit of arthritis in my fingers lately - nothing like Keith Richard’s fortunately! 

1 hour ago, TimR said:

Unfortunately getting my lot out on New Year's eve is impossible.

I can never understand why some bands won’t work NYE. One of the few days you can make

a reasonable amount, kinda makes up for all the other ‘cheap’ gigs you inevitably end up doing 

during the rest of the year. Find a gig that suits your band and make a good job of it, and they’ll

hopefully want you back every time. I’ve done hotel gigs in Scarborough with the same people

for years and we’ve always had good comments from the management ( who’ve had feedback

from their customers.) 

I think I’ve had maybe one NYE at home in the last 30 or 40 years, and that was when I took some

time off when my daughter was born.

Today (Sunday) on Sky Arts they are showing the 2019 film ‘ Hitsville: The Making of Motown’

It starts at 5pm. 

33 minutes ago, Maude said:

I'll give my standard answer but I don't think I've ever seen anyone else use them, maybe I'm just weird. 😁

 

Fender 9120M nylon tapewounds. I've never used other tapewounds but from what folks say I assume they are a flatwound construction under the tape as they seem to be very thuddy, like a doublebass. The fenders are a nylon wrap over a roundwound string so have plenty of zing but absolutely zero finger/fret noise. I have them on my fretted and fretless acoustic basses and they've been on for years and I've found no reason to want to change them. Plenty of acoustic volume (given that it's an acoustic bass) and a lovely amplified tone, lots of bottom end but plenty of clarity and punch. I love the sound of my fretless acoustic amplified. 

They are pricey now but I feel they're worth it. When I bought mine they were about £20 so that shows how long I've been using them. 

Thanks for this- I’ve often wondered what these may be like.

A quick google shows them available on eBay or Amazon for £34.99 a set, so am tempted to try them.

Does the quite heavy gauge (58/110) feel hard to play? I’m used to 45/100 bronzewounds on my

Washburn AB20, and was hoping they wouldn’t feel stiffer than these.

Perhaps an obvious choice, but surely one of the most hook worthy bass lines ever ( as well as being near perfection IMO)

This extract from Wiki sums it up really -

The opening bass notes are recognized around the world. As Smokey Robinson says, "I can be in a foreign country where people don't speak English and the audience will start cheering before I even start singing "My Girl." They know what's coming as soon as they hear the opening bass line. [He sings the famous line created by bassist James Jamerson:] 'Bah bum-bum, bah bum-bum, bah bum-bum.'"

1 hour ago, Richard R said:

Good album that. ^^^^^^

24 minutes ago, lemonstar said:

I read they had recorded 23 tracks so there is more to come and there's another with Paul. I also read that Ringo might also be involved in some way.

I’ve listened to it a lot this week and think it’s great, a real classic Stones album. 

Just posted a track featuring Paul McCartney on bass from the album in 'What are you listening to now' topic.

Interesting story about it here -

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/paul-mccartney-rolling-stones-andrew-hatt-hofner-gift?utm_term=9116CB7C-8B54-4DCC-9C6A-B6120F003BE7&lrh=2651b88090b05482d74aac9be138c96810faeadbde92f4e7d095d74ef75abca9&utm_campaign=81B8FE53-0558-425C-A5DF-6AED422268A4&utm_medium=email&utm_content=BE1B25C3-051F-43C8-8206-BCD47EF4996B&utm_source=SmartBrief

From the album 'Hackney Diamonds', and featuring Paul McCartney on bass.

Grrr…. We were playing a couple of weeks ago in Epsom, then the following night in Cannock!

Sorry Gary, hope you get sorted.

Just a reminder that in some areas Sky Arts on Freeview has recently moved from channel 11

to channel 36, so maybe worth a check and possibly retuning your TV.

( Channel 11 is now Sky Mix.)

From what I remember, the trend of using ‘classic’ tunes was popularised by Levi Strauss in the 1980’s for

the promotion of their ‘classic’ 501 jeans. First few songs were Marvin Gaye’s ‘I heard it through the grapevine’,

Sam Cooke’s ‘Wonderful world’ and Percy Sledge’s ‘When a man loves a woman’. Am sure they later used

’Should I stay or should I go’ by The Clash and ‘ The Joker’ by Steve Miller too. 

Other tunes from ads that spring to mind -

‘Young at heart’ - The Bluebells ( a car advert?)

‘I just wanna make love to you’ - Etta James ( Diet Coke)

’I’d like to teach the world to sing’ - New Seekers (Coca Cola) - not sure if that was written for the advert though!

45 minutes ago, ricksterphil said:

 

The telly on showing the footie drives me bonkers.  You can usually find the on/off switch of that particular telly and turn it off.

 

Nice Ampeg rig btw

We have a strict policy with our acoustic duo of no TVs being on whilst we are, not even with the sound off.

If people want to watch the footy then don’t come to see live music.

( Likewise I don’t expect to see footage of live bands if I ever went to the footy!)

Our acoustic duo played this evening at what is now approaching a residency at The Lookout , situated

on West Pier in Scarborough. The recent storms fortunately subsided so a mild evening with plenty

of people around the sea front. Usual requests led set list from the capacity audience, with plenty of variety 

to keep us on our toes. We also had a bloke in from the PRS, who needed to know which songs we were

playing, and seemed amazed that we didn’t know until we got started! Highlights included ’This Masquerade’,

‘Fire and rain’, ‘Watermelon Sugar’ and ‘Wichita Lineman’ amongst many others.

I absolutely love playing this venue, the audience are all there to listen as well as help with the song selection,

and are very appreciative of our efforts. We’ve just been given another half a dozen or so gigs there for early

2024, along with a couple of Xmas parties too so pleased we’re part of their ongoing business.
The pier is being developed soon to be focal point of the harbour area, with shops and bars/eateries planned.

The Lookout is going to be extended which will mean more tables / covers , so should hopefully ensure that

our gigs there will continue. 

20 hours ago, Richard R said:

So the full album is out...  And much to my surprise it's bloody good!

 

Maybe not ground-breaking, but that's not the point.

If this is a last hurrah then it's a great way to stick two fingers up to old age and just make a proper old-style Rolling Stones album with modern tech. 

 

 

 

 

Agreed - just listened to it and sounds fine to me. Nothing to convert Stones haters, but a good return to form.

The McCartney fuzz Hofner bass on 'Bite my head off' is great too!