Mr Fudge

One of the nicest blokes I have ever met. Pictured holding our band mascot and then me when we supported The Blockheads and Phil Jupitus last November. He did tell me at the time that Fender were considering a signature version of his jazz including a big hole where his thumb rests, but to be honest the last thing any of us wanted to talk to him about was amps or guitars because he was such a smashing chap. There is that steptoe element though ...

kinell it's Dr John! Rik Danko RIP ...

and dennis hopper on the drums ... nice one!

Be a busker, improvise at the drop of a hat because those grey faced chavs out there wouldn't know any better anyway. Do not repeat the same boring thing! You will not be a musician any more! Go Go Go !!! If it doesn't work, shrugg your shoulders at the guitar player because you can play the guitar better than him anyway.

shut your eyes, bang your fingers into the strings and if it sounds good your on a winner.

Nice little muso pub in bromsgrove called The Hop Pole. Very music friendly pub and I debued my new Marcus Miller Jazz. I've never played rhythm stick so well! There are lots of 50 something drummers that seem to frequent these gigs. Some have some great advice though ...

As part of a special birthday present to myself this year I have been on a quest for a holy grail of a precision. Thought I would check out the p's in PMT Brum today, Some nice ones. Would give a good comparrison on a vintage. Then I spotted a Jap Fender Marcus Miller Jazz. I've heard about these and loving my existing jazz very much I thought whilst your here. 0.5 seconds later I already knew I was going to buy it. Simply the best bass I have ever picked up. BEAUTIFUL .... The neck was made for me and the active sound is stunning. A lot less aggressive than my JEast in my '97 Jazz. I don't know if they are all this good but I picked up a peach today. Seeing as my camera is dead. It is natural ash body, black scratch plate, maple neck and board with pearl inlays. Baddass bridge. I couldn't walk away from this bass. So the p will have to be a 50th birthday present.

I had a staffordshire bull terrier called sadie who coincidentally struck a striking resemblance to sade. small world ...

I saw L42 at the Birmingham odeon in 1982/3. Incredible! I then saw them at the nec '86. That did nothing for me and I forgot about them until a few years ago. Then they released retroglide which is a superb album and I saw them at The symphony hall (2006). This was one of the best gigs I've ever been to. I will be seeing them in October and vow never to miss them again.

Home on the strange. Geddy Lee solo Drummers Picnic. Paul h. Dune Tune. Level 42. Boris the Spider. The Ox. Turn the page . Rush. Any Danny Thompson.

meet the new boss, same as the old boss. nice move ....

learning rhythm stick properley after all these years. Re-aquanting myself with some Geddy Lee Wal lines. Territories and turn the page being favourites at the moment. Playing along to the new tunes on the sky menu also.

I had the pleasure of supporting Phill Jupitus and the blockheads a few weeks ago. Their set and Mr Norm on bass inspired me to get a best of Ian Dury and the Blockheads so therein lies your answer. Wonderful stuff, great music and even better lyrics.

Played with the blockheads and phil jupitus last night. Norm is a god. Also he is one of the nicest blokes you will ever meet. A true gent and an awesome bass player. His TE is older than the hills with god knows how many bits of gaffa tape. I was convinced he was playing an old jazz, but he showed me how it is a copy of an old one where they have even dug out the old hole where his thumb was. There are some pictures at www.freewebs.com/thebusbybabes/ if any one is interested.

Geddy Lee is God. And you are allowed a blood transfusion if you worship him.

Yes it is the ME 50B. I dont understand the pedal working as volume but not an expression either. I know there are patches with the wah, but I like the ME50 as a stomp box that doesnt require much pre planning. I think I will go for the seperate wah. Thanks for the advice

Love them or hate them (I love mine) the expression pedal on my Boss ME 50 has stopped working. It only now works as a volume pedal and I relied heavily on the Wah bit for some parts of our set where everyone else is playing keyboards. The rest of the FX works perfectly. I have tried factory reset and had a good look through the book but to no avail. Any ideas??? If it is kvackered would a guitar wah or crybaby be just as good. Cheers.