dmccombe7

That turned out to be a wonderful night of Glam rock with BLOCKBUSTARZ at The Stair Arms in Pathead near Edinburgh. Wasn't actually a Biker Rally but a private function invite only. We had folks there from Denmark (approx. 20) Germany, Belgium and Holland along with the various Scots & English contingent. Dancing from the first song with the dance floor full before the 1st set ended. 2nd set we had the floor packed from midway thru the first song. It seemed to be the foreign bikers that started off the dancing and they were well up for it from the sound check when we had cheers, whistles and loud clapping so that was a good start. Started at 8:30 and finished at 12 with a 15min break but what great fun was had by everyone there and for us. Some gigs just have a great atmosphere and you want to keep the party going and this was one of those nights but we literally ran out of songs. For the first time we played every song we've ever done. Superb night. Going home very chuffed. We were told by the organiser that several people had approached him for details on the band and asked where the feck did you find such an amazing band. That was a nice wee compliment too. Several folks also thanked us for a great nights entertainment and we kept getting asked for more. We were due to finish at 11:15pm but alas we simply ran out of time and songs We've been asked if we would consider playing bike rallies in Germany but probably never happen. I'd need to renew my passport. Do passenger planes still have propellers on long haul flights Bit of a nuisance trying to pack up as the dancers continued with backing music from the organiser but several folks both male and female offered to help load our cars but most were worse for wear so we thanked them all but said it was fine and easier to track where things are when loading if we do it ourselves. Always nice to be asked tho. Easy drive home with very little traffic so that was a bonus. No pics as yet but will post if any become available. You can probably tell that i'm fair pleased tonight Dave

Off to a biker rally tonight with the Glam band. About 1hrs drive on outskirts of Edinburgh meaning i can go across country and avoid the by-pass rush hr at 4pm. Looks like we're doing the full set list tonight so that's gonna be approx 2.5hrs standing with platform boots. WHOO HOO. Dave

Think what you are doing is part of the show and makes for great entertainment IMO. When i see a band play i do find it very unprofessional when they are discussing what song be played next or the singer is telling the band what song is next. Our guitarist uses some pedals and needs time to change settings for some songs. I don't mind if the singer is announcing to the audience that this is a song by XXX called YYY but its more when a singer turns round to the band to tell them. Its a bit sloppy as someone mentioned earlier. I'd love to see you guys do the request gig. That must be great to watch and for me a huge respect for having that knowledge and ability to be able to do it. Even if the songs aren't perfect covers its still such an amazing achievement. Bet its a lot of fun too, for both the band and audience. Dave

To be honest we normally have a set list with encore(s) added at bottom and asterix at possible songs to drop if needed. We would either decide on the night to drop the ones marked or the singer could make that call on the night but to be honest we generally don't drop songs unless specifically asked to stick to 2x45min or 1 hr sets. Typically we play 2 sets at 1hr 15mins and 1hr 20-25mins. I do have the key marked for one song mainly because i used to play it in another key and its easy to forget. Think what annoys me most is that if i didn't raise it tonight then we'd all turn up at the gig with different versions of the set to be played. We had discussed and agreed sticking to 2x1hr sets and that's what we price on but that seems to have got lost in the wind. If we ran over it would be because we wanted to rather than being forced to because we priced it for longer. 2x1hr sets is just nice for me and my fingers don't get sore and i don't lose too much sweat in that Glam gear Dave

Anymore info on the ink tank thing. Not heard of that except in the workplace. ? Dave

Gig tomorrow and band still haven't agreed on what our set list will be. Why is it i'm always the one chasing up set lists for a gig. I detest it when we dispute on stage what we do next hence having a set list on stage for everyone. We've even had gigs where we had different sets on stage. Problem is we added some new songs in and removed a couple but it was done on the hoof at the last gig. Looks like i just have OCD when it comes to set lists being prepared well in hand so i'm not running about trying to print stuff out for others who don't have printers. Dave

Unbelievable attitude from the venue. You should have made them aware that in the event of electric shock or death they would be liable to see how they react. I'm finding this all a bit unbelievable how stupid some organisers are. Dave

I just wouldn't play out in the open at all unless it was a glorious sunny day with no risk of rain. That's virtually never in Scotland. At the end of the day i'd rather stay alive than not. Water or dampness and electricity just don't go together. I've spent too much money on good gear to have it ruined because some organiser can't do their job properly. I've also spent too many years living to throw it all away for same reason. You'll get no thanks if it kills someone. Just remember that you would be liable if you agreed to it. Dave

I'm same. If its for a friend of mine i won't take my cut but i expect the others to get their fair share of the fee. I also expect the others in the band to do the same. I think both my bands tend to agree on this. We have done freebies for band members birthdays kind of thing even tho i never bother celebrating my own birthdays but i'm sort of ok with that. We've also done freebies for a guy that lets us use his 8 bedroom holiday home with large function room and pool area for free. He seven supplies all food usually BBQ grub so its usually a great day / night out and only 25mins from my house. Dave

Setting up on grass and outdoors like that just looks like a recipe for disaster so i'm afraid i wouldn't be doing a gig like this. My H&S head comes on. It annoys me when organisers get it wrong but expect the band who have put the effort in to take a reduced fee because of bad management. At the end of the day its not your fault the tent blew away. Its a tricky one but that set up is a no no for me. Dave

Yep i agree with you on the drummer issue, best let that one alone. I'm sure the others in the band will have noticed the same issues but with age comes less tolerance for good old fashioned hard work and experience. Yep i'm not so keen on the late night driving but our roads are very quiet after a gig. I usually arrive at venues when its still daylight so that's not so bad. I do love a Sun afternoon gig with the Glam band. Start 2pm home by 7pm. Take care with that late night driving Daryl. We like you too much on here. Get the youngsters to drive, probably doesn't faze them at all. Dave

Me !, Me !, Me ! but Daryl already knows that Dave

Love your choice of gear. Those basses and that rig must pretty thunderous. Dave

100% on playing punk. Wasn't my thing either but when i started doing the songs i realised how much fun it is and requires a fair bit of finger stamina. "Long-haired punk isnae right" is a comment i've heard a few times now. Yep that would be me but usually all in good fun. Dave

All the best for a speedy recovery from surgery. My wife also helps both bands i'm in with loading and unloading gear more so at the end of the night. She doesn't drink and is able to take over the driving on longer hauls. She loves winding up cables at the end of the night and that is seriously a godsend for me. Wives are definitely a good thing. Cheers Dave

Not following you on this one i'm afraid. ? Am i looking at a different song Dave Teenage Kicks Song by The Undertones Are teenage dreams so hard to beat? Everytime she walks down the street Another girl in the neighbourhood Wish she was mine, she looks so good I wanna hold her wanna hold her tight Get teenage kicks right through the night I'm gonna call her on the telephone Have her over 'cause I'm all alone I need excitement oh I need it bad And it's the best, I've ever had I wanna hold her wanna hold her tight Get teenage kicks right through the night, all right Are teenage dreams so hard to beat? Everytime she walks down the street Another girl in the neighbourhood Wish she was mine, she looks so good I wanna hold her wanna hold her tight Get teenage kicks right through the night I'm gonna call her on the telephone Have her over 'cause I'm all alone I need excitement oh I need it bad And it's the best, I've ever had I wanna hold her wanna hold her tight Get teenage kicks right through the night, all right I wanna hold her wanna hold her tight Get teenage kicks right through the night, all right

Historically my band bought PA's with the thinking being that we will all use it. Nowadays bass rigs are so good that for most gigs i don't go thru the PA. However my current bands the drummer who is in both bands bought the QSC PA in modular sets. He has 2 way 12" cabs, 3 way 15" cabs and a set of subs. We've only used the subs twice in all the gigs we've done because we need a van hire if we take them so generally for the punk band we use just the 12's and for the Glam band we use the 15's with the 12's as monitors if req'd. The drummer has so many contacts in the business that he gets great deals on gear. He was a sales rep for Pearl and Peavey at one point and just seems to know a lot of people. His mate from years ago runs a PA hire company for larger club and stadium type venues and he got the PA thru him at a very discounted rate. He also bought the various analogue desks and now the digital Allen & Heath small and larger desks. No idea why he thought he should buy the PA on his own tho ? I used to find that when a band purchased a PA and then the band folded it caused issues on how it was all split up or how much we sold it for etc. I do tend to agree that if mainly a vocal PA then the singer or anyone singing should in fact chip in. I also store the larger PA cabs and transport them with my bass gear. Thankfully the Volvo V90 estate is like a big hearse and can carry a lot of gear. Dave

He's had an interesting background of bands or musicians he's played with. Nice one. Dave

Brilliant album. That was the first one i bought. Dave

Not so much Prog but more a Jazz rock fusion kind of band. Hard to describe. Phil Collins was the drummer with them for a while. Joanna Lumley's brother Robin was the keys player too at one point. I used to really like them and tried hard to copy some of Percy Jones runs and style for a few yrs. Whether i was successful or not is a different story. Percy Jones and Jeff Berlin were like bass gods to me back in late 70's early 80's. I literally only listened to them to learn from the bass playing plus i was a big Genesis fan at that time. Happy Days Dave

Brilliant stuff Daryl. Look forward to your comments after the gig. Have a good one mate. Dave

I think that's such a different way for bands to play those kind of songs that its just a welcome change and as you say a bit more relaxed. Mates Led Zep band went down this route with just acoustic guitar and vocals altho they did bring in 2 cello players with one graphite cello and the other classic wood cello (both sounded quite different. They were playing theatre type gigs but it came across exceptionally well and were always very busy gigs. Dave

Tried a Parker at a fellow BC'ers house when i delivered a Yamaha desk approx 10-12 yrs ago. Amazing bass to play, i really liked it. I think it was @warwickhunt but could be wrong. Had a WAL back in 80's and very nice to play. Not tried an ACG but i like the look of them. Dave

You still got your WAL bass. Is the ACG better to play ? Dave

Not a gig last night but a sort of audition to see if i fancied joining an 80's rock band. Singers and guitarist know me from the Glam band so they're aware of how i play and sound. Went well. Only had 4 days to work on their song list. Got 11 out of the 14 done so that was ok. Band were fair pleased with what i'd done. Asked if i was interested and i said yes. All in all a good wee night of Whitesnake, Cher, Ozzy, AC/DC, etc. Dave