cheddatom

Friday night was The Robin 2 in Bilston supporting the Steve Ignorant band, who are incredible. I used their drummers shells, and it was impossible to get the rack tom into anything like a normal position for me. I played the same kit every night on our tour last year but maybe I'd just gotten used to it. Anyway, I kept missing it but it didn't seem to make a bit of difference. We went down really well with the crowd and definitely won some new fans. Afterwards, I bought myself and the roadie a 9" pizza and a can of coke each, for £11, which is the cheapest gig food I've ever bought, AND it was good! I watched the whole of Steve's set and loved it. We got back to Stoke around 1AM. Driving home from there I saw a tall guy stumbling around right near a main road. He looked really messed up so I pulled over to check on him. When I got closer I realised I actually knew the guy from the local music scene! Obviously I gave him a lift, but unfortunately he lives at the opposite end of the city to me so that added another hour on to my bed time. Bed at 3AM The same line-up on Saturday at Corporation in Sheffield. This time Carole Hodge from the Steve Ignorant band got up to do her guest part on one of our songs (she did it on the record too) and it was brilliant! The venue and crew were fantastic and the sound was the best we've had for ages. I had to pose for photos and sign stuff for people I'd not seen before, so I guess we did well. I watched a good bit of Steve's set again. I'd highly recommend checking them out, even if you don't like Crass. They're amazing performers. Bed at 2AM The Tivoli in Buckley on Sunday. We played there a month ago supporting The Undertones, and the sound guys were the same. We used the exact same gear. Last time sound check took 5 minutes and the result was great. This time there were constant issues with feedback, they didn't like how I'd tuned my drums etc. Anyway, we muddled through and the sound out front was apparently brilliant. We had to hang around to watch Ferocious Dog's set afterwards, and they are sh*t hot musicians, but I really don't like the music, and there was no decent beer at the bar. Next time I'll bring more for the dressing room! Bed at 2AM I'm tired now

Saturday night at Redrum in Stafford. A charity fund raiser for North Staffordshire Hunt Saboteurs. The sound engineer started talking about the resonant frequencies of the room, and how terrible the monitors are before we'd even loaded in. He didn't like that we didn't have in-ears, he didn't like that my snare drum isn't damped, he said the bass rig was too loud before the bassist had played a note, and he lost his mind when our guys insisted on using their own vocal mics. SM58s. I realise other mics might be preferable, and sharing mics might save time, but we've been through covid, and there's no way we'll be sharing mics again. Anyway, the room was packed and we played well. The mosh got a little over the top at one point but no-one was hurt. Apparently they raised £1500 which is great!

We played Viking Fest on Saturday which was basically a big wake for a guy known as Viking on that particular festival scene. We went on at 10:30 and played until midnight. I was already too tired when we went on! We play a few festivals at this venue Hilcote Country Club and I really don't like it. You're set up on the dance floor, then there are some steps up to a higher level where some people sit but you can't really see them. Anyway, a low pressure gig and it's always fun to play.

Yardi Gras festival at The Brit Bar in Weston-super-Mare on Sunday night. Terrible weather all day and the stage is outdoors in a semi-covered smoking area. We were promised hot pizzas would be there when we arrived but all we got was a begrudging apology and a free pint. Very cramped conditions, 15 minutes change-over between bands. I opted to use the house kit, our bassist went with the house bass rig, we were ready to go in 5 minutes but the sound guy took his time meaning 2 songs were cut from our 45 minute set. I reckon we played to 25 people at the most. It's a bit frustrating travelling all the way from Stoke for a gig like this, but we stayed positive, won some new fans, sold some merch, and enjoyed a few van-beers on the way home. I'm still starving though! I've not seen any photos but there was a woman stood to the side of the stage filming me (not the whole band) for at least 2 full songs. Very weird if a little flattering.

People cover a few of my band Headsticks' songs, but I only play the drums so no writing credit for me. One band actually recorded a Headsticks cover with me in my studio though, that was weird

I was on bass in a 3 piece band and we were so f*cking good it was a nailed on certainty. We desperately sent demos and press packs, signed with various promoters and managers. Nothing ever really happened but that wasn't my problem, I just had to keep getting better at the bass and it'd all take care of itself... then the drummer left and I was suddenly confronted with the reality of the situation. We were never going to get anywhere. Anyway, that lead to me switching to drums and I'm having a great time in the most successful band I've ever been in. We've got pretty far without any "deal" although hopefully we're going to get some help to push the next album. None of us think we're going to "make it" but a lot of our fans think we already have

I had a word last night but I think they thought I was being sarcastic

Honestly I think the rest of the band need to get on board with the wild trousers, it could be your thing

We played Wigan Diggers festival on Saturday. Shame I missed you @jimmyb625 I had no idea another basschatter was on! I don't tend to read up on gigs, just get picked up in the van, go and play. That can sometimes have some unforeseen consequences, such as not realising I won't get to bed until 4AM, or not realising we're staying over at the other end of the country when I've booked a recording session for the next morning. Anyway, Wigan Diggers is a great festival. We've done it quite a few times in the past and it's always such a lovely atmosphere. The extremely warm weather can only have helped. The crowd looked huge to me, and everyone looked to be enjoying themselves. The only downer was some idiot causing trouble down at the front half way through. A giant fan of ours managed to gently escort him off but it always puts a damper on the atmosphere. The other negative was that I'd forgotten my hi-hat stand. There was a house kit, but set as high as I could get it, it was still 10 inches lower than I'd have liked. My fault, and pretty amusing Finally, a decent shot of my ridiculous kit made of 26" x 9" marching bass drum, and a couple of almost matching toms. The photo is by a lady called Kate who goes by "Late Developer" on facebook and she's very talented. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091871011827 Sunday night at Feral Fest in Herefordshire. It was a pleasure to see @Leonard Smalls band Choked. When I saw them at Rebellion Festival the sound wasn't great but last night in this barn was brilliant. Two very distinctive bass sounds and styles, tight drummer, female Zach De-La Rocha at the front, and an absolute wah-wizard on lead guitar. There wasn't a massive crowd but everyone seemed to be in to it. The highlight was our man's glitter trousers and I wish I'd have taken a photo but I guess we've all see them in this thread by now Our set was just after and there were even fewer in the barn for us at first. It seemed to turn around after a couple of songs, no idea why, but people started to appear from somewhere and in the end it was a great gig. No photos as I forgot Now I'm trying to work my day job on 3 hours sleep

Off The Tracks Festival on Saturday night. We were on at 7:15 and the tent looked pretty packed to me. I'm loving my ridiculous drum kit but need to get a Headsticks head for the bass drum. Loads of compliments after the set and apparently we sold plenty of merch. Ace gig! I personally feel the addition of the cowbell for a tasteful 23 hits during the hour long set is a game-changer. I asked everyone who came up to tell me how great the set was if they liked the cowbell, but not a single person had noticed.

All part of the game when playing originals!

Hah! It's such a subjective thing. I like a tight punchy bass drum, especially live, and especially for fast music like punk. This guy didn't like it that tight, he wanted more bottom end (even though there was a huge PA with subs!) so he tuned the bass drum down. It sounded alright for their set TBF but it kind of messed up mine a bit. I'm sure no-one in the audience cared and it was good for us in terms of reaching a new crowd. I'm getting quite adept at "sucking it up"

Once upon a time we supported a big punk band at a venue local to us. They'd asked in advance (via promoter) to use my drum shells. I always think it's a bit much asking the support bands to supply kit but it was a good gig so I agreed. Their drummer turned up in a 2 seater convertible with a cymbal bag and a snare drum. TBF he thanked me for the shells, but then asked for a drum key because he wasn't happy with how I'd tuned them

Hi Paul, no, he swapped the guitar in the end. Maybe there are some sort of ICs on these pre-amps that need a reboot every so often, like a computer, but I doubt it as no-one mentioned it on this thread The guitar he swapped to is another Yamaha, a very similar model, and he's never had an issue with it once!

I'm sure it will be, looking forward to it!

I'm late on this due to a mad week in the studio. We (Headsticks) played Gig In A Field at Wroot near Doncaster last Saturday 5th. The ground was saturated and I turned up in converse pumps with no spares. I kept getting stuck in the field and sliding around on stage. The audience didn't care at all. We went down really well and sold a huge amount of merch We went back to Rebellion festival on the Sunday to play the Pavillion stage. This was the biggest gig of ours for 2023 so obviously some nerves etc. but it went really well. The room was rammed. This is a photo from a minute after the end of our set - I'd just started packing away when I remembered to snap one! This weekend we did Down On The Farm festival in Herefordshire. It's a giant barn and honestly I didn't think the crowd would like us. I assumed most of them were there for the tributes and covers, but we got a great reception! It was the first time trying my new (old) drum kit. The bass drum is an old 26" x 9" marching bass drum and I thought everyone was going to hate it but they loved it. Insignificant in the grand scheme I'm sure but we all like to f*ck about with gear don't we Unfortunately the main reason for the kit is the look of the thing, and this is the only photo I can find with a hit of drum kit on it.

A pleasure to meet @Leonard Smalls yesterday. His band are great but there were definitely issues with the sound. After the first 4 songs myself and guitarist (from Headsticks) got sick of the droning feedback from the bass drum and went to leave. Walking to the top of the stairs to a small balcony made all the difference, suddenly we could hear the band clearly, both basses were cutting through, the drums sounded great... we stopped to watch some more, and then a security guard moved us on. You're not allowed to stand where it sounds good apparently! The Almost Acoustic stage for us in the afternoon and it was awesome. Plenty of people in at the start and they kept coming. It's a big room with a load of reverb and bright lights. Last year there were lots of tables and chairs so people sat down and it felt pretty empty and echoey. This year, no tables or chairs, just loads and loads of bodies to soak it all up. Great gig. Here's a terrible photo from the stage halfway through the set

You're right, I was being far too simplistic!

wouldn't it be very easy to just switch the wires on the output jack of any such problem pedal, rather than buy another pedal to invert the phase?

If only we had one to hand! Or a normal small bass drum would have been fine too

great video!

The Pit in Newstead on Thursday. This was a practise run for our "almost acoustic" set at Rebellion Festival on Thursday. It's a long story but I have to use this "tupperware bass drum" contraption I made a few years ago. Unfortunately the PA at The Pit wasn't really up to the job, so although it apparently sounded fine out front, we were really struggling on stage. Anyway, usual positive reaction from a crowd that seemed impervious to our decidedly average performance. Star and Garter in Manchester on Sunday. There were two great bands on before us - Iconoclasts and Instant Agony. Classic punk stuff really, loud, noisy, and a lot of fun. We were headlining but I don't really have a drum kit I can share with support bands at the moment (another long story), so opted for the house kit which is always great here. Unfortunately, although everything was expertly tuned as usual, I could not get my kick pedal to clamp to the bass drum properly. That combined with agony in my wrist lead to a few errors on my part. Nothing disastrous though, and again, the audience had no idea. I had 2 different people tell me that's the best they'd seen me play! 🤣

Although those two statements are probably true, that's not quite what your post implied. IMO your post implied that female applicants were incapable of reading your advert and poor at communication in general, the implication being that male applicants would not have the same issues. Sorry if I've misinterpreted your point

Surely these issues are not gender specific?

Hah, I genuinely had a group of fans hold up a digital display asking me to take my top off. It turned into a chant when I refused. I will never get my moobs out on stage