casapete

Jeff Lynne likes 'em. http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/jeff-lynne-of-elo-performs-on-stage-for-bbc-radio-2-live-in-news-photo/455468934o Also Eric Clapton IIRC.

I've been a massive AWB fan since the early days. Alan Gorrie is such an underrated player, leaving space for everything else to work so well yet coming up with killer lines. When Hamish Stuart was in the band they used to swap bass and guitar duities too, so clever. Steve Ferrone was chosen as the replacement for their great original drummer Robbie McIntosh after his tragic death, and fitted in brilliantly. Seen them many times over the years. The current AWB line still features Alan Gorrie and they remain a great band to see performing live if you get the chance. My favourite tunes are Atlantic Avenue, Work to do, If I ever lose this heaven and Let's go round again.

I have pretty much 2 of everything , although didn't have a spare strap with me when our guitarist broke his a few weeks ago. I do now. Spares of everything don't have to be top quality either, just good enough to see you through the gig. I have a spare mic which is only a cheap Peavey PVI but is certainly up to the job should anything go wrong with my SM 58 beta. And as mentioned already, a DI box of some sort is essential.. The good old Behringer BD 121 is the ideal bit of kit for this, at a price that makes it invaluable.

Haven't seen this around here for a long time. The pub where I play do run a weekly raffle, with the profits from that helping to pay for the band. We've held down a Thursday residency now for eight years, so can't be that much of a financial burden. The thing with the bar profit percentage scenario is that it's asking the band to in effect bear the 'risk' of playing there, which surely is down to the landlord / pub as it's their business. Okay, if it's a busy night then the band benefits, but why should they lose out if it's not, when this could be down to factors beyond their control i.e poor promotion, lousy beer etc? Just sayin.....

Killer tune and bass line,

I've always found that getting 'your sound' means a compromise of what [u]you[/u] like to hear onstage and what it sounds like in the audience. When not using a big PA this is pretty crucial IMO. As stated above, get someone you trust or a wireless system so you can get some idea of how to achieve this. ( And of course get rid of the red curly lead....!! )

Prog and jazz rock, metal of all kinds and most folky stuff for me. Not so much a chasm as an abyss.......

I currently have 10 plus an upright. For some strange reason I have accumulated 4 Fender Precision Lytes, which is the bass I use with my main band. My s/b one is my go to bass, with the others for spares and misc other gigs. Must get rid of one or two of these I think.... Also got a 63 P-bass which gets an occasional airing if its somewhere safe, and a 93 Stingray which I love but isn't getting used after I had a shoulder injury which makes anything medium weight or above difficult for me. (hence the P-bass Lytes...). Can't face selling it just yet though, have always had a Musicman for so long, it just would n't seem right. Danelectro Longhorn for my country rock band. Just love this bass. Also a Danelectro DC bass which I bought on a whim and am getting more used to now. Washburn AB20 for acoustic duo gigs. Had this for so long, and still loving it. Played straight into the PA, simple. Also a P-bass copy which is just so good it's laughable for the money - cheap and cheerful. My upright isn't getting used, so may consider moving it on - especially as have GAS for a bass uke!!

I occasionally get to play with a fab drummist. One of those guys who listens to what's going on, and complements things rather than dominates them. And plays that fractionally behind the beat feel which I love, but without slowing down. And, crucially, doesn't hit the snare and cymbals so hard which with other drummers means I have to wear earplugs. A rare thing in my experience.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abbvY8en7qM[/media] This is the clip I remember. HB Barnum directing a great band including David Sanborn. Nathan East on bass too.

Mmm, that Hokey [i]Cockey[/i] sounds an interesting variation......

Was lucky enough to see her at Sheffield City Hall a good few years ago, and was so impressed. Also remembered seeing her in the Nelson Mandela Wembley Concert in the late 80's with a great house band doing Pink Cadillac, again really good. I believe she fought a heroin addiction for years. Such a shame to lose a wonderful talent. RIP.

Both naturally. But Motown just wins out for me because of the amazing material they produced, with so many great varied tunes and performances over a long period. And Jamerson / Babbit 's inspirational lines of course.

There are what appear to be two interesting programmes about Bruce Springsteen on BBC4 tonight, starting at 11pm with a documentary on 'The River' , followed by a 1980 concert. More details here. [url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/schedules/bbcfour"]http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/schedules/bbcfour[/url]

Phil Spector's Christmas album is always essential listening in our house.

Just no. My 63 Precision had been stored in a loft. The (refin) paint was peeling off in strips, and the frets were green. Took a fair bit of sorting out, fortunately the neck hadn't warped. Maybe source a relative or good friend with some space in a spare room?

We had a problem a couple of years ago with the country band I play in. Our usual drummer could n't make the gig, and so had booked a dep to cover it. As I was driving to the gig the dep rang and apologised for not being able to play, due to some family issues. I rang a drummer who lived 5 mins from the gig, but he could n't do it as his main kit was in a van somewhere and his spare kit was in the loft!! So, we did the gig without drums. Piano & accordion, guitar and bass, fortunately all singers too. And, yes you've guessed it, we went down a storm. Versions of songs we usually played sounded so different but good, and some 'arrangements' were made up on the fly to ensure they worked. Quite a revelation for band and audience. Now would it have worked without the bass I wonder.......

Tracks of my tears - Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. 50 years old and still does it for me. Honky Tonk Woman - Stones. That cowbell / drum sound / guitar thing is just so good.

Local hotel dinner dance, scratch band made up of 4 good mates so an easy and hopefully fun gig. Expect to be playing all the usual function band stuff, but infinitely preferable to other options. Home by 1.30am to watch recorded Jools with a beer too......

Once used a chorus pedal for a couple of songs, but other than that never use 'em. Got a graphic eq which comes in handy if I have to use someone else's amp though, saves messing up their settings. Same as Lozz above really. Am always a bit confused when people buy an expensive amp head and then use an expensive pedal in front of it as well in order to get their sound - seems a bit OTT to me. I just buy an amp I like the sound of with nothing added, in my case GK stuff.

As previous post, I've found most of the branded roundwound strings I've tried over the years quickly lose their initial twang after 1 - 2 gigs, then stay the same for maybe a dozen more after which they become dead which is when I replace them. I'm not a very sweaty handed player, so this of course may be different for those who are?! Might try the boiling thing soon just out of curiosity.

As above - I have used quite a few bronzewound strings on my Washburn elec/acoustic bass, and found the best are D'Addario and Elites. Not so good (for me anyway)are Fender or Martin. Have n't yet tried Elixirs but have heard good things about them. Assuming your bass has a piezo type pickup I think bronze acoustic style strings will give better results than standard electric bass ones.

^^^ Quite a few times - I'm the bassist!!