dmccombe7

Last night was an odd gig at Cockenzie & Port Seton British Legion. Turned up to hear they never sold too many tickets. They reckoned 30-40 which was about the size of the audience. Once again they didn't advertise the event and even tho we sent 8 posters there were none up in the venue. Nothing on their FB page either until a few days ago. Decent sized venue with a good stage too. At one point after sound check we were getting worried that we might no be getting paid for this one as it holds approx 100-150. BL spoke with the organiser and she confirmed we would be getting paid the full amount and she apologised for the poor turnout. Our guitarist being ex-Royal Marine and a member of the Legion told us they get a grant from the Legion to put bands on that would cover our fee so bar profits all go to the club itself. We decided to just go for it and enjoy the night for what it was and at the end of the day its a well paid rehearsal. Turns out they loved it and were up dancing most of the night with literally everyone on the floor a couple of times in the 2nd set. With such a small audience in a big hall i could count them. 😂 Sound was great and the feedback was excellent. Organiser paid us as soon as we finished and said she had asked around the hall and everyone loved it. She wants to rebook us for next year again. We did get asked to bring the volume down at half time tho altho my wife said it wasn't that loud to start with. She has ACS custom ear plugs too but didn't need them. Anyways we turned it down a touch for the 2nd set. I think with the hall being empty our volume was a bit loud first set. No major issues and the band was sounding good on stage. We had a lot of fun but we always do on stage. I think this was the smallest audience we've played to. 🤩 Usual gear. Sandberg VM4, Shure wireless, Keeley comp, Handbox WB-100, BF 212 cab with MarloweDK as back up bass. We're now using our PA company almost every gig so that's a huge bonus and saves me humphing heavy PA cabs about. Coupe of short FB reel clips appeared last night so here goes. Hopefully the links work. Dave http://www.facebook.com/reel/1757089728447509 http://www.facebook.com/reel/1505177564099939

Out of the blue 8am yesterday i got a call from an old band i was in approx 10 yrs ago but we have kept in touch to see if i was busy that night. Unfortunately i was gigging. Another Glam covers band too. Dave

Ouch that finger doesn't look good. I started to use my 3rd finger on occasion as finger relief. Mostly index and middle finger but its handy having that spare finger 😂 I started it more out of curiosity but it kinda stuck. Not that i use it a lot to be honest. Liking that bass. Dave

Are they both you Neil ? Quite a difference in 10 yrs. Dave

Ooohhh liking some of that. I can hear similarities to Goth thing but it reminds me of some of the more light hearted bands from early 80's but just can't put my finger on who it i've got in my head. Sounds really good tho and i'd enjoy your gig. Thanks for sharing with us. Dave

Well done. What kind of music are you playing ? Dave

Nice one. How did you manage to get that gig ? Bet the drive home was a bummer 😂 Dave

Your a big guy Daryl, sure you could've sorted him out for your share. Dave

think so Stevie. Its not accepted behaviour here. He'd be wearing an empty bottle of Buckie that night. Dave

I think i would've paid him a visit. That's just not acceptable under any circumstances. Dave

Jings Crivens, help ma boab whit are you saying. Do you know the penalties for such blasphemy on BC. ? 🤫 It was nice knowing @Misdee, you have my deepest sympathies. 😂 Dave

Weekend off for me this weekend but starting next week its every weekend until some time mid January if i remember right. All Sat nights except for the Fri and Sat before Xmas. Good thing is PA is supplied on both those gigs so its an easy load in and out for me. Got a rehearsal this Thu night to run thru the Xmas songs ready for some party night Glam fun. Dave

I've stopped buying thru Amazon as i bought a set of D'addario EXL's and they didn't sound their usual bright tone when i fitted them but had no option but but gig them the following night but they literally lasted 1-2 gigs and they were dead. To be fair these had no signs of being used and the pack was sealed when i got it but no trust in Amazon suppliers that they were genuine strings. Now i stick to Strings Direct, Andertons, Guitar Guitar or other well known shops for my strings. Dave

I hadn't really heard of him until Mesa used him to sell the Subway cabs when they were released. I then had to see who he was but he appears to be one of those players that was well sought after and has played with a lot of people / bands. Very interesting style. Dave

So who is the BL in the band Daryl. ? and how did they become BL. ? Dave

Well that would certainly rule me out of any auditions on several points Daryl but whatever works is good.😂 Its funny how different bands have different ideas on doing things. The one that jumps out most and i'm very curious about is "you'll be paid in cash PRIOR to every gig". We don't get paid until we finsih the gig altho sometimes people pay us as soon as we arrive or at half time. Are the venues paying you upfront ? I've never heard of this before. Dave

I'm not a huge fan of the Sandberg tone from my VM4 but i always get a tone i like at almost every gig. When i hear vids posted later it sounds pretty good too. Doesn't matter what amp or rig i use i can quickly get a decent tone from it. Its the one bass i can always rely on. I've taken other basses as a back up or used the first set but something's always missing and i revert back to the VM4. I've tried Fender P, J, Overwaters, Godin but i'm never truly satisfied with them. I also find the VM4 the most comfortable bass to play on longer gigs whether its the weight or just the feel of the neck its amazing. I did like the MarloweDK tone with the punk band tho and once again that was my fall back bass and now my back up for the VM4 with the Glam band. Its just so easy to dial in a good tone from a Sandberg VM4 without tweaking the amp. Dave

Our punk band kind of faded into non-existence. Gigs started to dry up and we ended up playing same places far too often so the audiences were getting less and less. The feel in the band was that there was a lack of interest and eventually we had a band meet and i made my point about the lack of interest and the BL agreed and that was kind of it. We all agreed that it was time to move on. No hard feelings and we all left as friends and still keep in touch via FB. When its done its done and best to move on but before you do it might be worth having a band meet to find out where everyone else is on it and what and where do they see the band going. Dave

I knew it Daryl. You're his son 😂 Dave

Its odd but whenever i used to see a band, no matter what style of music it was, i always applauded at the end of each song unless the band were absolutely diabolic and making lots of serious mistakes but i don't recall that ever happening. I'm happy to see any band play especially if it looks like they are enjoying it themselves. I'd be that one guy in the audience that's clapping. Dave

We're quite lucky being a Glam covers band means we can get away with our singer mingling with the audience if not a high stage. He especially enjoys it doing Schools Out by Alice Cooper when he wears the silver long tailed jacket, top hat and silver cane and just plays with it a bit. Other things he'll do is chat with the audience and entice them to get involved. This normally happens when we are doing private parties where not everyone is into Glam and it just seems to help a bit. Dave

A sturdy pair of boots and he should be fine. Tell him to grow a pair and get on with the job. 😂 Seriously tho i hope he recovers soon and wish him well. Dave

And you do a sterling job of it Mike. Best thing you ever did. On that day you doubled your IQ. 😂 Dave