dmccombe7

Superb.

When i started back up again with bands at age 50 i went thru same sort of things. I've been in so many bands in the past 10-12 yrs i've lost track of them but i enjoyed most of them musically but the people is what failed for me until my 2 current bands. Glam band is now 5 yrs old and the punk band i joined 2 yrs ago now. Same drummer and female singer in both bands so that makes life a lot easier. The Glam band was good to start with but our new guitarist joined over a year ago and its transformed the full band experience. He's just a better fit and a happier person that has fitted right in Never give up if you really want to play gigs. At some point you'll meet the right people for you and WOW what a difference it makes. Dave

Sounds like a little lack of communication between you all. Once you've explained your situation i'm sure it will make things a lot easier. Might be worth a band meeting at someone's house or even a coffee shop to discuss. Somewhere away from the band / rehearsal situation that might cause a distraction from talking about things. Dave

And he wears a mask of some kind.

The show must go on is a nice myth. Under certain circumstances it needs to be cancelled. I'm not sure i would go ahead with this one if you have a heart procedure scheduled for Tues. That's a bit irresponsible from a health point of view. Its not just you or the band you need to think about. Our guitarist's girlfriend suffers from ME and if he catches Covid and passes it on to her she can become seriously ill. I'm lucky that covid hasn't affected me at all even tho i've had it. As a band if any one of us catch it now we would probably cancel the gig but its a difficult one for any band. Our singers wife caught it few weeks back and he confined her to upstairs bedroom and he slept downstairs and they literally lived apart for 10 days until she got the all clear and he never caught it at all. Wish you all the best on Tues and take care. Dave

Well done. Dave

I'd put my cards on the table with the guys and just explain where you are and what your concerns are and just explain what you've explained here. Give them a chance to remedy the situation rather than just walking away from what appears to be a good viable band option for you. Don't make it sound like a threat but more of an explanation and say how you feel and if as a band they can't adapt and make a few changes it might be better for you to leave and let them get someone in that's more suited to their way of working. You may find a couple of things happen. 1. they've just been used to other bassists not pulling their weight and they've had to continually push to get songs done and its now habit. 2. they've struggled to get a competent player and will back off a bit to accommodate your concerns 3. they might decide you aren't suited to what they want. No point carrying on with issues that annoy you so much you need to have a wee "rant" on BC. Just kidding its why we are all here and we all have our wee moments. Hopefully it all works out in a good way and you all agree on the best way forward. All the very best Dave

40 yrs anniversary is impressive for any band. Is it still all the original members or is it a bit of Triggers brush scenario. 😂 Dave

Same thing happened to me in 80's where the venue DJ had a smoke machine and i had one but neither of us knew the other had one. As we stepped on stage i immediately fired up ours at same time DJ decided to do same. Audience told us they couldn't see the band for the first 3 songs until the smoke cleared. In those days it was oil based smoke machines and the smoke tended to hang about longer than with the modern water based units. Some folks said it was a bonus not seeing the band We were a rock / prog covers band back then. Not many local bands used a smoke machine so it was quite a novelty for most venues. No smoke alarms back then either The ones i have use either a wireless remote or footswitch so you can fire it up with the wireless switch pre-getting on stage to create a bit of atmosphere and once plugged in use the manual footswitch as the wireless switch interfered with my old Mesa head. Dave

We've stopped sing my smoke machines as most venues won't allow them nowadays. Dave

At the moment i'm pretty happy with my 2 Sandbergs. Dave

Our singer wants us to cover that song for next years gigs and i'm really looking forward to learning it. Any tips welcome Dave

Explains the large piano in the pic. That must be a great band as i love doing Elton songs in our Glam covers band. So many great basslines in his songs with some amazing players over the years. Dave

What an amazing pic. Looks like a very interesting venue. Dave

Had a Dingwall NG2 5 stringer for a couple of yrs mainly for a Prog project i was working on but i prefer 4 strings. It was a terrific bass tho and i would buy another 4 string Dingwall. Dave

Yep i remember us discussing this very issue about being dependant V's playing for fun. We talked about bands under-selling themselves or playing for nothing and how it affects the market and other musicians who rely on income from gigs. My views and opinions have changed since that discussion and now totally agree on the value of pricing our gigs accordingly to keep the market healthy for musicians and bands. We now have an agreed minimum fee with both my bands. Dave

Its funny plus a turnaround for me. When i restarted playing in bands it was solely just for fun and never for the money but now that i'm gigging a fair bit i'm finding the extra cash very very handy. So far this year we've re-furnished our main living room I'ts also allowed me to buy a fair amount of new gear to satisfy my GAS. Its even funnier that with the Glam band i find myself not wanting to play for less than our usual fee even charity gigs i expect the full fee. I'm becoming greedy i jest of course. Dave

Over the many years i've been playing i've given up at different levels ie playing in bands, playing at all, even at home, but always having my Warwick Thumb NT89 as i love that bass and would never sell it. I got back into bands when i turned 50 after 15yrs off and never really looked back. I'm busier now than i ever was but its still just a hobby for me. I really enjoy playing in bands now that i've retired at 56 yrs old the pressure is off and i have the time to put the effort in that a band requires. I've always maintained that if it starts to feel more like a job i'll walk away but for now its all just good fun in both bands. Maybe its just good luck that both bands have great people in them and that makes life a whole lot easier. For those thinking of giving it all up i'd say take a full break from it and see how you feel in 6mths to a year. If after that time you decide to walk away i would recommend keeping the minimum amount of gear to gig and practice at home with just in case you change your mind again. Dave

Think i prefer the Fender. It has a bit more warmth and depth when flat but once the EQ is brought in they sound quite similar. Dave

I've only tried the older models and found the same thing with the woolly tone but wasn't aware the button was different from other amps. I also didn't have enough time to fiddle about with it. Lot of great players use them and have a fantastic tone. I considered the new version 600 before buying the Handbox WB-100 but its wider than my cabs and that put me off. Dave

That is a thing of beauty. Always fancied one. I'm away to have a youtube listen now. Dave

Best :- Ampeg SVT7 Pro. Just loving the tone from it plus its reasonably light and portable. Shure GLXD Wireless (pedal version) which has been so easy to set up and use and has never let me down or had any issues over the year. Elixir nickel strings now on some basses since May and still sounding nice. Designacable cables that i originally got for my wireless transmitter with an angled jack. Since then all my cables have been bought from them. Worst :- various strings i've tried that haven't lasted or the got lost in the mix for some weird reason. Markbass, D'addario XT's to mention a few but now on Elixir nickels which are doing exceptionally well. Dave

Yep spare bass to every gig and never used. I used to play the spare first set but preferred my main Sandberg basses and now just stick with them VM4 for Glam band and MarloweDK for the punk band. Dave

Basses probably aren't the most important things in your life and family will always come before basses. Its a difficult position to be in and i can't begin to understand how it feels to be in that position. I can only offer my best thoughts and wishes for a better 2024 for anyone in the same situation as @bubinga5.Here's hoping it finally picks up for you soon. Dave

Few pics have appeared from last nights Glam gig.