borisbrain

Found my current band through PS 8 years ago and still with'em. Good luck to the site

Bruce Thomas of Elvis Costello & The Attractions runs a blog at www.brucethomas.co.uk and he frequently answers questions via blog posts. BB

Each unto their own, peeps. It's harmless enough. At best, it's another way of sharing with community. At worst, it's a platform for arseholes. But that's the internet for you... I've posted half a dozen or so bass playing vids to YT, and have watched many others. It helps me pick up tricky basslines of songs that my band will often end up covering, and I'm happy to give back with songs or basslines that I like from players I admire. I've had some moderate praise for this, but never any negative feedback. Granted, I don't dress up like a drag queen or anything else outrageous. But I suppose performance and entertainment are parts of the job description of being a musician; the medium that people choose is irrelevant, and I suppose YT is as good as any. Groove on, BB

I'd get a wireless system. But not this one...

Groove

It can't hurt can it? And seems to have done us no harm...

Doesn't sound too unusual to me. We're normally asked to start at 9 or 9.30, and play 2x60 with a 30 min break. We play 15 songs per set, so are normally happy for the break. By the end of the night, including encores, we've often played nearly 40 songs. On this basis we do about 45 gigs per year. A bugbear for me concerning professionalism is seeing frontmen/women read or play from music stands...

There are few things worse than watching a band make it up as they go along. It's hardly professional. Very early in my current band's days, a DJ friend told me we were great, but shouldn't faff about so much between songs. Everybody took this to heart and now we always romp through a 33-song set with virtually no breathers. People love it, and a set list is essential for this. That doesn't mean to say we always stick to it rigorously - if the tumbleweed starts flowing, we'll promote a poppier song in the list. But we always generally know where we are going. We also rotate the set list for different gigs, to prevent boredom in ourselves. Fortunately we have a large repertoire to choose from, which is handy if additional encores are called for. BB

Tempting, but a tad too far away...

Love it - thanks for sharing!

Stay groovy peeps BB

[quote name='rogerstodge' timestamp='1387022147' post='2307478'] nice one Boris, whereabouts do you play? [/quote] Cheers rogerstodge We play mostly in the Midlands - the West Midlands mainly, but also the surrounding counties. Last gig of the year tonight in Sutton Coldfield, which also happens to be our 200th. There's a link to our site in my sig below. And you? BB

Blimey. I think that our lot and rogerstodge are cut from the same cloth...: We'll be playing this lot later tonight... Should i stay or should i go Human fly Blitzkrieg bop Pretty vacant Love comes in spurts Peaches Can’t stand losing you Baby does good sculptures White man in hammersmith palais Uncontrollable urge Goo goo muck Sonic reducer Watching the detectives My perfect cousin I wanna be sedated Neat neat neat Homicide Teenage kicks Eton rifles Hong kong garden Hit me with your rhythm stick New rose Sound of the suburbs Staring at the rude boys Suspect device Transmission London calling Pump it up Passenger Gangsters My Sharona Turning japanese Ca plane pour moi Banana splits Ever fallen in love Get over you God save the queen Sheena I fought the law Jilted john Sex drugs and rock n roll Love will tear us apart

I had the privilege of watching ID & the B's in Warwick not long before ID died. It was a stellar show, but they only played 11 songs. At the end I was shouting like mad for more, but also felt the poor fella desperately deserved a lie down. A while afterwards I had the pleasure of meeting Chaz Jankel and NWR at a B's gig and they recalled that very gig in Warwick, and commented on how very poorly ID had been. I'm glad the B's are still around, but can't help missing the original 'jockey'. BB

I personally wouldn't let it into an airport without a flight case/hard case, but I've seen people transport larger things on those conveyor belts, and I've taken guitars in their hard cases myself. It's just not for the faint-hearted, and Matski's 'throwing-down-the-stairs' analogy probably isn't far off. I'm also not sure if putting a used-but-immaculate amp in a brand new box might raise questions at NZ customs. It's unlikely that it was delivered by air in the first place - it was most likely shipped in a, well... ship. Which leaves the possibility of shipping by container vessel. I suppose it will depend on how long you're planning to be in NZ, what else you're taking, 'n all that. This may or may not be helpful: http://www.anglopacific.co.uk If I'd seen your amp about 6 months ago I'd have bitten your arm off. I'd long been looking for a 2x12 lightweight combo but couldn't afford a new Tecamp. Ended up with a GK MB212. Bestaluck, BB

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1386435972' post='2300129'] That`s a really cool reply there from Bruce, thanks for posting that Boris. [/quote] Cheers Lozz. There's more on BT's tone if you delve into this interview he gave waaaay back... http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=8127

Bruce Thomas maintains a blog at www.brucethomas.co.uk and he seems quite happy to correspond with anyone who sends a comment. A while back I asked him about the signature tone he used for albums like This Year's Model, Armed Forces and Get Happy. This was his reply: [color=#444444][font=minion-pro-1, minion-pro-2, Palatino, Georgia,] My P bass had the pick ups rewound, wrongly as it happens but it turned out to be a happy accident and gave the bass a different sound in itself.[/font][/color][color=#444444][font=minion-pro-1, minion-pro-2, Palatino, Georgia,] I never used Ampeg SVT equipement until later on — and only live. On the albums you referenced I used a Traynor monoblock head with a custom speaker rig containing 2×12″ speakers and 1×18″. obviously it was the 12″ speaker that was miked up — but I also mixed in the miked sound with a DI feed.[/font][/color][color=#444444][font=minion-pro-1, minion-pro-2, Palatino, Georgia,] A vital part of the sound was a small Boss graphic EQ pedal which I used to roll out low bass and the honky mid tones (around 600 I think). The only other modification was a bit of compression.[/font][/color][color=#444444][font=minion-pro-1, minion-pro-2, Palatino, Georgia,] Having said all of that, most of the punch you talk about comes from the way you pluck the strings. The only way to describe it is to say that if you try snapping your finger and thumb together to make that snapping sound, it’s a bit like that. Also important is releasing the string with your left hand, so you get a more staccato stabbing effect.[/font][/color][color=#444444][font=minion-pro-1, minion-pro-2, Palatino, Georgia,] Try getting that kind of punchy sound just playing the bass acoustically without plugging it in to anything and you’re half way there. On some of the clips I put on youtube I turned the amp right down, so you might be able to hear what I mean.[/font][/color] It's worth wading through the site for the occasional nuggets of wisdom, and some video of his playing. Pickup wise, I think that SPB1s would be the closest match to his custom-wound pickups. Or you could just get one of his signature P basses, made through the Bass Centre in London. BB

Love comes in spurts - Richard Hell & The Voidoids BB

[quote name='skej21' timestamp='1386098803' post='2295811'] I'm all smashing up your gear after the gig... I bloody hate the load-out! [/quote] Classic. Incidentally, my lot has been asked by a PR agency to play an event in London in April, a punk gig that they stipulated will require guitar destruction at its conclusion. Certainly a bit naff, I thought, until they mentioned the fee. And when they ventured to pay the cost of expendable guitars we said "Great! How many pieces ya want?" BB

Bummer. If only I were closer... Bestaluck BB

Great thread, Basechatters I'll get mi'coat... BB

Go for... The Vanity Pistols

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1385124609' post='2284704'] Just sounds like balls to me [/quote] That's what most of the audience said at our last gig...

In addition to finding a name you're happy with, think also in terms of marketing and how people will find you on the interweb. Calling yourselves The Rice Krispies or The Mugs won't put you at the top of any Google searches, but something completely made up like The Gazoobers (or whatever) will definitely be unique. For my punk covers band, we took the names of some of our influences (Undertones, Buzzcocks) and created The Undercocks. Instantly unique, a bit cheeky and memorable, and does what it says on the tin. BB

Ethnic cleansing? What a ridiculous statement. I can't comment on the economics, but it's true that I've heard many of our gig landlords complain about the likes of Enterprise. Some of our venues have had more managers than Chelsea over the last five years. I'd imagine the smoking ban and cheap off-licence booze haven't been very helpful either.