casapete

I sing BV's all the time, got a good ear for it just not a great voice! Occasional lead vocal duties when the situation demands it (like last Saturday night when I ended up doing 50% of the songs!), but just don't like the sound of my voice- its tonally 'flat' (and often pitch too!), which is ok for BV's but in isolation is pretty grim! When I first started bass found singing a bit odd, but doing it a lot makes it easier to get your hear round. Hardest is when there's a repetitive riff to play whilst phrasing BV's with the singer who's had a drink! Great stuff.

I'm a very average bassist, who can't show off / slap / solo to save my life. However, I can fit in with a band fairly easily, and have a good ear & ability to play whats needed in most situations. (If I can't then I don't do the gig!) I also sing BV's and the occasional lead vocals too, which helps no end I feel. As is often true with a lot of bassists, I'm okay as a mediator / voice of reason & common sense which this mad business often requires, so think people appreciate that too. Most of my gigs are fairly typical functions / weddings and pubs. My proudest moment was doing a gig at the Royal Albert Hall in 2000 (even though it was for a financial institution's big bash!). Am now in my early 50's, and just hope I can keep playing for a good while longer, although this bloody recession is currently doing it's best to prevent this. Cheers,Pete.

[quote name='Slipperydick' post='1049889' date='Dec 6 2010, 09:18 PM']Could probably have been a lot more if the beach boys had released it in the states, apparently they recorded it, but it was never released. I did hear a rough mix of it once, and if you think about it, its got Beach Boys written all over it.[/quote] On one of his later solo ventures Roy thanked Brian Wilson (and many more including Phil Spector) for his influence. I think Roy is still relatively overlooked considering how much great music he's made - The Move released a lot of classic stuff, then he founded ELO before leaving to form Wizzard. Their 'Ball Park Incident' and 'See my baby jive' singles are classic 70's tunes. He also plays a staggering number of instruments, and is still touring with his band,playing all the hits. He's a top bloke too!

Great stuff! With all the totty distractions hardly surprising that nobody noticed you had Michael McDonald depping on keys.....

Made it to big event last night at a Park Lane Hotel from a very grim East Yorkshire. Glad we did too, went well, made some contacts etc. Got home at 6am, so bit tired now but hey! - did n't let anyone down and got paid!

[quote name='Slipperydick' post='1044018' date='Dec 1 2010, 04:52 PM']Does ramble on a bit, I had to read it a couple of pages at a time. One of those books you read in the toilet...or is that just me ???[/quote] Yup, agreed.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1043874' date='Dec 1 2010, 02:59 PM']Just about to start Chapter 6 and enjoying it. It's a very subjective account (obviously) rather than a particularly historical approach but, hey!, it's [i][b]his [/b][/i]life. It helps if you've already read one of the better biographies of the Rolling Stones.[/quote] Yeh, I've read a few. For me Keith's book sounds just like a rambling conversation - all the time I'm reading it I find myself hearing his voice! Some stuff I did n't know, some of which I'm surprised by (his account of his son's death etc). Whatever, still a legend in my eyes.

Makes sense guitar wise for it to be in B too - chorus opens up those D, A and E chords nicely, especially when in open tunings. A classic recording for me, and not an electric in sight apparently. There's a great bit in the 'Stones in the Park' where the band are tuning up in a backstage caravan with their ears against the guitar necks, moments before going out to play in front of 200,000 people! So if you want to hear the Stones really out of tune........... Anyone any thoughts on Keef's biog? Am just reading it now, and generally disappointed with most of it.

When I insured my Stingray with www.musicguard.co.uk , I got £1m public liability insurance included. Think it was around £70 IIRC.

Not quite sure what the Roland amp does? (Maybe distortion?!!) Would think that your bass would sound okay straight into the Peavey mixer amp - enough tone shaping controls on that for most uses (unless you're wanting guitary distorted tones of course!) Those old Peavey PA amps are ace - loud and bombproof. Use one myself for bass and it was fine.

Recently got an amp from John. Top fella, pleasure doing business with you sir!

Bassist experienced in function /wedding /corporate work available to dep. Good gear, reliable and presentable etc, backing vocals, transport. Great busker and know lots of stuff from 50's to current. Some reading ability too. If you need a night off from your band give me a shout! Cheers, Pete.

[quote name='chris_b' post='1032648' date='Nov 22 2010, 02:11 PM']Dunlop 65 Lemon Oil.[/quote] Thats the one I have. Don't overuse it though - I usually do mine a 2/3 times a year and seems fine. If used too often it can actually cause problems (wood softening,loosen frets etc). Its not really a cleaner, more of a way of preventing rosewood boards from drying out I believe.

Great stuff. All those people in the late 70's who hated disco did n't know what they were missing...........

Ended up using a Yamaha 1x15+horn PA cab in a rehearsal studio last night, sounded fine! Can't see the problem myself- if it sounds okay, then it is.....

129 so far this year, will be around 145 by end of the year, which is a little down on 2009. (These are a combination of 3 setups I'm in though - 7 piece function band, 4 piece country rock band and acoustic duo, along with some dep stuff here and there.) Next year not looking great as of yet though, with mainly pub gigs taking a bashing due to people not going out as much etc.. Thank God people still want to get married!!

My experience of 70's Fender basses is that the ones made earlier in the decade seemed a lot better than those later on. Although not faring as badly as some of their guitar output ( poor QC, heavy bodies etc) I generally feel that the late 70's was a poor time for Fender, and that by the 80's and the rebirth of the company they had manged to address most of these issues. Makes me laugh when I see late 70's Strats etc going for £2000+, when you could get a superb Custom Shop instrument for that price. Aah, the lure of 'vintage' eh?....