casapete

I too love gigging. Been doing it pretty much continuously for over 45 years, nearly 30 of them in a full time capacity. Strangely I’ve even enjoyed many of those gigs that were purely taken on to put food on the table, and can only remember a small number which were true car crashes. Like others have mentioned, I see playing bass as a group activity, and wish I’d started playing it sooner - my first few years of gigging were as a guita*ist, which I was competent at but not as good as many other players around me. ( I’m no virtuoso on bass either, but am what people usually term ‘a solid player’.) Even on those days when I may be not so keen on driving up and down the country in our band bus, I never lose sight of the fact that those people who come to see us play actually pay my wages, and also how much it means to them too. That alone makes it all worthwhile for me. If there was no audience then I doubt whether I would continue to play bass, probably choosing to amuse myself playing guitar and piano very badly.

Glad you enjoyed coming to Hull. (I would have been there myself but am away at the moment.) It’s a good venue as you say, and they have some other great bands lined up too. Good luck with your other dates.

The offers from Magazines Direct for Bass Player magazine seem to be changing all the time. Today's offer (Friday 6th May) is £1 for 3 issues, followed by a rolling subscription of £14.25 per quarter (£4.39 per issue). https://www.magazinesdirect.com/categories/musicuk/?utm_source=Selligent&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20220506_XMD-X_MAR_ACQ_MUSIC_3FOR1_E1&utm_content=20220506_XMD-X_MAR_ACQ_MUSIC_3FOR1_E1&utm_term=650142&m_i=_ybcYgP6IIPSx3A3cLgVnUxBMbce3gcB75rhnVKWbOylqAYhPaA2Odk0XiraSzy1nPbRF7qfSw3XpFLmNfO5h2WcvWZELk&lrh=2651b88090b05482d74aac9be138c96810faeadbde92f4e7d095d74ef75abca9&M_BT=211442769217

That thing when you’re soundchecking (or even during the gig) , some low end feedback occurs and everyone looks at you because you’re playing a bass! It’s nearly always a PA / monitor issue, invariably down to someone fiddling with desk who is clueless or the singer’s vocal monitor being cranked way too high. Ggrrr....

I did a gig about 5 years ago and 'Mickey Finn's T-Rex' were also on the bill. I believe they're still touring, despite Mr Finn passing away in 2003.

I think the prices have now been altered from what was originally on offer - a 52% saving. 😡

+1 for the Yammy. Easy to use, sounds great and costs next to nothing. I use mine a lot and it’s just what I needed.

I got an email this morning which included deals on subscribing to Bass Player magazine. I don't know the mag or how much it usually costs, but the deals seem reasonable for both print and digital versions. Just thought it may be of interest to some folk on here. https://www.magazinesdirect.com/az-magazines/6936369/bass-player-uk-magazine-subscription.thtml EDIT *** It would seem that the offer of 52% off has now changed to a worse deal - apologies.

Great band although often overlooked. Had so many hits and all featured great playing/singing from the band. Eric Haydock sadly died a few years ago - I briefly met him at a guitar show and he seemed a nice bloke. The band is still active - the current bass player is Ray Stiles who was with Mud for many years. I think the only original members left are drummer Bobby Elliott and ace guitarist Tony Hicks.

I’m like you about supporting local independents. However, when the price difference is more than a couple of quid and with us all being squeezed for everything else right now then it really leaves no option for me. I hate Amazon and have resisted buying from it whenever I can, but must admit that it’s an inevitability for me just lately, especially with free delivery ( my daughter has Amazon Prime). I admit to having used USA company Strings and Beyond, who are great if you’re buying a lot of sets - even with shipping they’ve always worked out cheapest for me. Great customer service too.

Just checked your Amazon link and the EB’s are now down to £16.20. (Free delivery if you spend over £20).

I’ve borrowed one and liked the sound - plenty of bottom end and went as loud as I needed, keeping up with a noisy band. Would have considered getting one for myself but crazy heavy, and the tilt back design ( as per the Ampeg 610 and 810 really) wasn’t ideal for me.

Surprised that I haven’t seen any mention yet of The Old Grey Whistle Test? This was crucial for me in the early / mid 70’s to discover a lot of the music that didn’t get much radio play. Also other things on TV like ‘In Concert’, The Tube and ‘The Geordie Scene’ which I always tried to watch. Most of these featured live bands ( although some of the early OGWT were part mimed) and made me realise who could do it and who couldn’t! Radio wise it was mainly Radio 1 for chart stuff, and before that some of the pirate stations - Radio Caroline and Radio 270 which was moored off the east coast not far from here. As mentioned by others, the music press was very important for me too, mainly Melody Maker and NME ( before it got a bit daft anyway). Melody Maker had the added bonus of the brilliant classifieds section with pages of of music shop adverts as well as all the ‘musicians wanted’ columns. Sounds was okay but I gave up when it went too rawk. When I was 18 I got a job in a large record store, and that widened my musical tastes beyond belief. The manager was very knowledgeable about soul music in particular, and through him I got into a whole new world of stuff. It was also around the time of the birth of punk and I learned so much about that too. We also got tickets to see gigs for hundreds of gigs, so I took advantage and went to see anyone who remotely interested me. Great times.

The FNM cover of 'Easy' has me running for the off button if it's ever played on the radio. I'm guessing it's supposed to be ironic/ tongue in cheek and the vocal is okay, but I can't listen to the attempt at the guitar solo and the overall wooden feel of the song compared with the original. It's like it's trying to be the same and missing by a mile. Exactly! 😄

Maybe a close call for me, but I’d go with the Dylan original.

In my old function band we used to do the Mike Flowers version, often at weddings when it was a great ice breaker - the older guests probably thought it was some sort of obscure 60's lounge tune, and the younger people got it straight away. Went down great!

My main gig is with a tribute band. Also gig with an acoustic duo and a band doing country stuff (covers), as well as deps for anybody who will pay me....😃

Think you’ve hit the nail right on the head there. The difference between earning a living from playing and doing it as a hobby is exactly this. I think that’s why many bands from the latter bracket struggle to maintain members and momentum - the minute it stops being fun then understandably why would you want to devote your time to it? For people (like me) who do it for a living, you have to have a thicker skin, know when to keep quiet and learn to put up with stuff without throwing a showbiz strop! I’ve learnt to be able to do this (in varying amounts!) in order to continue working for nearly 30 years now. Fortunately my current band doesn’t mean I have to do this much, so am very lucky. When I dep for semi pro bands I’m sometimes surprised by how intolerant some band members can be to things that I’d normally just let go. Also envious of how much better gear they own too. 🤣

With Jack Daniel’s what? 😆 Actually I’m in Yorkshire, where we use vinegar off us chips for such purposes....

Isn’t all MB stuff made there now?

Whilst silver tape will do the job, there’s a good chance it will leave residue which can be a bug*er to remove. Best thing to use is ‘pro console tape’, designed to be easily removed with no mess and also easier to write on.

I always find that if at all possible it’s best to keep the keys and bass separate on stage (if you’re using amps/monitors etc.) That way you can avoid clashing over the low end stuff so much, although ultimately you both need to get together and decide how the songs are going to be played too. I used to play with a pianist who delighted in regularly exploring the notes which were below those possible on my 4 string bass, so one day just before the first set we gaffer taped them up so he couldn’t use them. Think he got the message.

Afraid I’d be tempted to take a less valuable bass but still in a hard case. ( If it’s only for one gig then bite the bullet and remove the stress?) If that’s not an option then would recommend the SKB case with gig bag inside method as mentioned above.

I nearly always find that my sound at soundcheck in an empty room is not altogether what I'd like to hear, but later on when the audience is in it's usually more or less how I want it. Glad it's not the other way round......

I think a lot of this mindset goes back to the 70’s. I remember being handed various guitars back then ( Fenders, Gibsons etc) and being told to ‘feel the weight of that’ as if weighing more than a small planet was some sign of a quality instrument. This was before they had fitted all the brass hardware too! It’s taken a while for people to realise that resonant quality instruments are usually not the most cumbersome, something I believe the classical music world has known for a long time. 😄