dmccombe7

In at the deep end will get you ready far quicker than rehearsals. You soon learn not to make mistakes and put more effort in at home. That's been my experience over the years. You now have the first gig under your belt so polish up on the set and get out there and just enjoy it. All the very best for 2026. Dave

Oddly enough i found it last night by accident. Using Godin Shifter PJ bass for a change into my Handbox WB-100 and BF212 cab. Had the amp Gain 1 o'clock, Bass 1, Mid 3 and treble 12. Master at 11 o'clock. Bass tone midway with selector switch on PJ parallel position. I had the depth of the P but with a really nice mid cutting thru the mix from amp EQ and J pick up on the bass. It really was glorious. It was weird because when i moved the bass tone either way i lost it so i just kept it in same place most of the night. Dave

Wasn't suggesting your band Daryl it was in response to @Norris observation at his gig. Dave

Altho i come from a background of rock music, bands and bikes i've never really found myself around people that take drugs so i never really know how they react especially coke. My friends were more beer drinkers than hell raisers. (see who gets that 😎) Dave

I like that. Giving some of the tips to the bar staff is a very nice touch. Towards the end of our gigs we always thank the venue, organiser, bar staff and of course the audience for spending their hard earned cash to buy tickets for the show. Dave

We've turned up to venues and played to 27 people. We even asked the organiser if she wanted to go ahead and she was up for it so we have a view that if people have paid good money then they get the full show and we just go for it. We always enjoy it and as it turns out so did the people that actually turned up. Paid rehearsal aint such a bad thing. Enjoy every gig is our motto. (well at least try to 🤩) Dave

How could you have been bad if you're already booked for next NYE. Some people are very narrow minded when it comes to live bands. If their particular juke box songs aren't in your set they just like to complain. I sometimes think the younger generation are too used to getting things "on demand" and expect every live band to play every style when they want it. I'd put this down to excessive drink and rudeness, forget it and just move on to the next gig. Not everyone will be happy with a band but as you say "why actually say it" I certainly would never criticise a live band. All credit to any musicians that get up there and make the effort. Dave

An easy one to start the year of Rob 😎 Dave👍

Last gig of 2025 and the first gig for 2026 with BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam band last night was another SOLD OUT gig for us at Airdrie WMC. 2yrs in a row at this venue which is rare at this club. 2 sets with a stop at 11:45 to 12:15 to bring in the bells in our traditional Scottish way. Dancing from the first song showed great promise for the night and we were not wrong. The floor was packed for a lot of the songs with dancers on every song. Great atmosphere the full night with a stream of requests in first set. I think we had a total of 6 to mention those celebrating anniversaries, birthdays etc. Best dancer of the night went to a guy who seemed to be on the floor from the start and even gave us his full Alvin Stardust impersonation and was rewarded at the end of the night with one of our T shirts. After midnight we went back on for our final 3 songs and had requests for more. but the club was closing. Loaded up the car and managed to get home for 2:30am, coffee and a biccy and then beddy by bo time knackered having been at the venue from 3:30pm it was a long day. Thought i would give the Godin Shifter PJ bass a wee run out and boy did it sound amazing thru the Handbox WB-100 / BF212. Nice deep tone with the sharp mids cutting thru the mix, it was the perfect tone IMHO of course. All in all a great night of party fun. Dave

Happy New Year Daryl and all the very best for 2026. Is that a tip bucket there Daryl and i spotted a $100 bill in there. 😂 Looks like a busy wee night. Dave

Too late. It was sold on ebay last week.😂 Dave

I quite enjoy hearing new things or techniques. I like to pick out little bits and try to learn them. Would never use in a band situation but it makes playing a little bit more fun. I have seen CB playing in bands on Youtube clips and playing "normal" by his standard. He is a very talented guy who is able to adapt to whatever the band wants or needs. I'm guessing he now makes a small fortune from his vids. Also like Dave504 as he's just a nut job that plays bass but its funny. Not so keen on the other guy Danny Sapko. He can play pretty well but i just find his personality a bit irritating. Dave

Really enjoying this thread. Some interesting insights into how the bass brain works 😂 Dave

Did 26 this year but they seem to come in batches. Can go for 2-3 mths without a gig then we get a run every week for a month. Nov and especially Dec we're always busy. The punk band i was in used to fill in the gaps as we had same drummer and female singer in both so it kinda worked out quite good. Not looking to gig every weekend but averaging out 2-3 a month would be good but more evenly spaced. Its good to be playing in 2 bands with different styles as it keeps the mind busy. Never thought about advertising for an agent and i'll maybe suggest that at tomorrow nights gig. We did have one but he didn't do much at all. He never even took posters to the venues or even pushed advertising in local areas. We ended up doing it all ourselves so why pay someone a share if they aren't pulling their fair share of the workload. Think we're going to have a meeting early 2026 to see how we move forward with the band to get more gigs and look at different areas rather than mainly East Coast Scotland. Also to make it more of a show and perhaps move more towards Theatre venues. Dave

#1 More gigs for the Glam band. #2 Look at getting an Agent, tried them before but they've mostly been poor at their job and no great help. We got more gigs on our own. #3 Possibly look for another 2nd band to fill in the gaps. #4 Sell of some of my basses that aren't getting used. I have 3 in mind so far. Fender active PJ Mex, Godin Shifter, Overwater J4 (built by the team at Overwater and not a Tanglewood version) #5 Have a look at the Maruszczyk Jazzuz basses and have a try with the WAL style pick ups and pre-amp preferably. Dave

I was wondering about that too. I'm no expert on PJB rigs but i think the smaller box also has speakers facing upwards thru the grill part so i'm guessing you hear it better when its on the floor than stacked on the extension cab. Just guessing tho. Dave

Just the good ones 😎 Dave

That's the bit i don't understand with some bands. If we find a song isn't working or the audience all of a sudden sit down because we started a song then we have a discussion on whether to remove the song or put it on standby. The full band will feel when a song isn't working. What i find over here is that the Glam bands can be great party night fun but with Blues / rock then a lot of people will be watching and admiring the musicianship rather than as an overall show so its swings and roundabouts really. Its different audiences for different styles. Dave

And that's how it grabs you and then you're hooked for life. 🤩 Dave

This is one i quite fancy but new car has put a hold on any new basses for a bit altho i'm about to sell off some of mine.

Side-tracking the thread here but one last quickie question. Are modern Bonnies ok. Gonna sell the Harley next year for something a bit smaller and Bonnie was on my list. Dave

Just curious but do you all ride Bonnies ? Dave

Gorgeous looking bass. Dave

Xmas party mood Daryl, works well at this time of year when you play Glam. Dave