dmccombe7

I love when the volume is just right where the amp and speakers just gel into the perfect tone without being deafening. Annoys me when people come up to me for some weird reason its always me while i'm on a 3ft high stage wearing platform boots and in the middle of a song and expect me to hear them and to stop playing and focus on them while they ask for a song that isn't Glam Rock even tho they've paid for a ticket for an advertised Glam party night. Some odd people out there. Dave

Mate has a white NT one and when he bought it many years ago he said it was one of his nicest basses to play so i was already swayed that way, but i appreciate your feedback on them as a gigging musician it helps a lot. Dave

That's just confirmed i need to try a neck thru T bird. Dave

And an upright piano. Would hate to be roadie for your band 😂 Love the Pedulla bass Dave

As much as i love that purple T bird i had an Epi T bird once and it suffered terrible neck dive until i moved both strap buttons and all good after that. Just wasn't the best built bass so sold it on. Would like to try a Gibson one or even the neck thru Epi version which i've read is a better built bass. Like the sound of them. Dave

Yep i find that too. Dave

What Sandberg are you using. ? When i had a MB 112 combo with 112 ext cab i found i struggled to get a decent on stage sound or even hear myself but when i moved out front for sound check it was a great sound. That was using a Jazz bass back then. I've had that issue with other rigs while using a Jazz bass to be fair. I find my J basses have a sweet spot for their tone that just works but if i tweak the tone away from it i get lost in the mix. Dave

Do you think we go into auto-pilot and when one person starts to drift it kind of throws the rest of us because we weren't expecting it at that point in the show. ? Just a thought. Dave

Not sure this counts but i'm hoping to go see a local band called Nightfly who are playing The Dreadnought in Bathgate the day after we play. Its a Sun afternoon gig week tomorrow. These guys were possibly the first band i ever saw when i was 17 in our local rock venue in Wishaw (The Heathery Bar). They've changed their name from Fire Brigade to Nightfly over the years and at one point in 80-90's they were called Isis but for obvious reasons they had to change the band name. They cover bands like Supertramp, Joe Satriani, Steely Dan, Gabriel, It Bites, Santana and they even did a Toto tribute one night. Fantastic musicians. Bass player uses an Overwater fretted 6 stringer and is the main singer in the band. 4 piece band with bass, drums, guitar and keys. Been meaning to go see them for a few yrs now and just never managed. When i mentioned i was interested in going on the gig advert the Owner of the Dreadnought jokingly offered to put a bed in the dressing room if i wanted to sleep over save going home and back again. 😂 (i think he was joking but you never know as they are a brilliant venue to play in) Love a good old blether with owner and manager and we always get the same SE Pete who is also a bass player so i always get a great sound. Dave

Some clubs we've played have offered us a drink, tea or coffee when we first arrive. Must admit i enjoy a coffee after driving for a few hrs to a gig. It kind of sets a tone for me. I appreciate that some clubs are struggling at the moment to get folks in but quite a few we play it points towards poorly run venues whether its the wrong type of acts or the timing of acts. Come across some clubs where the guy booking the acts is the DJ and they think that folks are mainly there to listen to a DJ than watch a band. Unfortunately that club is losing members rapidly at shows with many show cancellations due to poor ticket sales. Dave

Most clubs we play have been exceptionally friendly and helpful to us with some supplying sandwiches and soft drinks in our changing area. This is the first club we've had any issues with. We played a club 2 weeks ago just half a mile up the road and it was polar opposite. They couldn't be more helpful or friendly. That was a great wee night. Sometimes i think certain people shouldn't be working in the hospitality business. They don't have an attitude of helping make the venue better. Everything they do is obstructive and against what most know works best for any venue / club. Dave

60th Birthday party in Camelon Labour Club in Falkirk area with BLOCKBUSTARZ glam band. Not a large audience but as it was a private party not much we could do about it. Played this club a few times and every time they have an issue with us. 1st - they double booked the adjacent hall for a funeral party and then complained to us about being too loud plus we had walk through the funeral party hall to the changing area in the pool room. 2nd - committee guy that complained 1st time there was complaining about the load in door being open and all the heat was escaping and we had to use the main entrance door that was wide open because of all the smokers outside so WTF ? Last night when we arrived girl behind the bar states in a rant that she wasn't told it was a live band ? what other kind of band is there ? There was no area to get changed as they had an all day wedding the following day and all the tables were stored in the pool room and we couldn't get access. We highlighted that we need a changing area same as we always had when playing there. She then suggested changing in the toilets and at that point i abruptly replied absolutely not. Its disgusting to be changing in a toilet. We have expensive outfits and nowhere to leave our personal belongings like clothes, spare outfits for 2nd set, wallets, watches and phones. If we cant get changed we'd be as well packing up cause this just wasn't happening. She started blubbering that its not her fault (bar manageress). As we pointed out its between her and the person that booked us. We had txt messages saying that all our requirements had been passed on to the club and when the woman that booked us arrived she was furious and said she came into the club and told them exactly what was required for the full night. Singer said only option was to play the gig without the costumes as we were sort of thing but that defeats the purpose of booking a Glam band. Anyways the buffet supplier arrived and i suggested we use the kitchen area if it was a cold buffet and that's where we went. When we started to sound check at what was a reasonably quiet volume staff complained again that it was too loud and when we said its because the hall is empty at moment. Few quests had arrived early at this point and staff said they couldn't hear the orders from customers which was ridiculous. My volume was lower than its ever been for any gig. She didn't understand that you cant turn the drums down. They aren't thru the PA. Amps were set to match drum volume. We are not a loud band. The bar staff were obviously being extremely childish and when not serving went thru to the other function room even tho there were at time 5 or 6 people waiting to be served. Anyways back to the gig itself. After a few songs we had the dancers up and that remained thru the night for virtually every song with some songs just a few dancers to others filling the dance floor. At one point there was absolutely no-one sitting down, they were all on floor dancing away. Audience were great bar staff on the other hand a different story. All in all we will never return to that venue. We've never seen such unwelcoming staff at a venue. From the word go they were being difficult and awkward as if we had caused the problem. The problem was a badly run club that has been cancelling their own booked gigs left right and centre for lack of ticket sales. Got paid before we even started and the woman that booked us was over the moon with us and feedback from the audience was all good at the end of the night. Band played really well with only a few very minor fluffs but audience never picked up on. Happy Days. Next week we are back at one of our fav venues The Dreadnought where we are always really well looked after and they are always happy to help the bands. Dave

When i use my index finger as a pick i find the rhythmic feel with my wrist is definitely more of a groove than when using fingerstyle but i just can't translate that feel when using a pick. I also noted that i have a percussive thing going on when i use the index finger as a pick. No idea how that happened but i liked it and just went with it. It fills a song out a lot more altho not ideal or suitable in some situations. Maybe that's just down to practice as i started using my index finger more as a fun element when doodling in the house but i enjoyed it so much i found myself doing it a lot. Obviously the increasing use of a flexi-wrist can be helpful in other aspects of life. 😂 Dave

I play fingerstyle but i'm not snobby about it and enjoy good bassists no matter how they do it. If its good, its good. Simple as that. I started with a pick for first few yrs then got into Jazz rock and changed to fingerstyle but i was caught between both styles and chopped and changed depending on what i was listening to. I liked Jazz rock but was mainly playing classic rock or prog. Eventually i settled on fingerstyle and just found it easier. I can play using my index finger as a pick but struggle with an actual pick and end up getting cramp after a few songs. Dave

I'm with you on that. Most people don't want to witness a complicated bass solo unless they are extreme bassists themselves. I personally don't want to hear a bass solo at a gig unless its RUSH of course. Dave

What you played for a solo was perfect for that song Daryl. You don't need to over-complicate a solo to make it entertaining. I'd rather hear an entertaining bass than a flash one with no groove or feel to it. You nailed that one for me. Dave

Liking that Daryl. Bass sounds nice with studio headphones on and its actually quite a nice mix. That's a nice wee bass line too. Maybe vocal could be a touch higher but otherwise its good to me. How's the ankle now. ? Dave

Well done sir. Dave

I was very curious what this was Rob and had to open it. To be fair i really enjoyed the song. Do you play guitar too ? Dave

My apologies that i didn't pick up on that point. I was too focused on bass things. Congrats and hope all went well for both baby and Mom. Dave

The Brother to Brother album was a turning point in my musical direction when it came out. Not just the bass but the drumming was exceptional and the full production was clear and distinct. Just a perfect album. Have a wee listen to Vannellis recent bassist Sandin Wilson's solo album "Into My World" which is pretty good. He was coached by Jimmy Haslip for a bit and Haslip suggested what fretless to go for. Dave

Looks great Daryl. Oddly enough i don't see you working there at the back of the van or were you getting the beers in. ? 😂🍺🍺 Dave

We did Burn which is / was one of my fav DP songs to play. Also Stormbringer (also the name of the band) Copy of band set list from 2012. Dave Set List #1 - Ivory Blacks 20.7.12.docx

very nice indeed. Dave

Sounds good and curious what the bass is ? Dave