stewblack

This is an interesting one. Most of my pedal purchases have been tone or dynamics related rather than crazy noise related. 

I'm sure the phase will pass, however it's fun.

Latest arrival is this

Turns a dull sound into a huge thumping rattling racket. Don't know if it's supposed to not how it will sound live. I'll find out tonight.

Most unusual song I've had to learn. It's a request for a Bandeoke party - Blackbird by The Wurzels 😅

Strings come on third edition I believe.

It's a little bit vanilla but we'll see.

@Dood is yours a physical mag or online only?

The internet has opened the doors to so much content it's difficult keeping track of it all.

I've found a couple of 'local' BBC shows available on the BBC Sounds application which appeal to me and I suspect might work well for other folk of a similar age and musical disposition.

My tastes were formed in the early seventies and waved goodbye to (most) popular music in the mid 80s. These shows probably reflect this.

It would be great to hear what you've found. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001y25s?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p02v9nnp?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

Bandeoke in Bristol again last night.

The guitarist is getting married today and Wednesday was his stag. 

It was easily detectable that the band doesn't usually go out on the night before Bandeoke. We crawled over the finish line 

15 hours ago, chris_b said:

 

Always this. Unfortunately with so many people filming bum notes can be broadcast around the world before you've even finished the gig!!

 

Last week I was surprised to hear the whole band play a different sequence of bars to the original, which was the version I'd been told to listen to. It's now on Facebook for everyone to see and makes me look like I cocked up!!!

Yes indeed. The guitarist videos our Bandeoke every week - you can bet he doesn't care how badly I played when he chooses which sing to broadcast!

Something I've learnt when playing unfamiliar material, if I get lost it's better to play nothing than hack around randomly trying to fill the silence.

No bass beats wrong bass every time. Wait for the merry go round to come back to a horse you recognise and jump back on.

Oh and worrying about mistakes benefits no one. I might think I'm being conscientious and professional berating myself for every slip, but in truth I'm just making myself tense and stressing about stuff which has gone.

Focus on the next note not the last one 

3 minutes ago, Daz39 said:

@stewblack - you have a marvellous mega-thang a bit like this don't you. Bonkers. 

The artwork is cool, but I'd forget what each knob does...

I had one made for me by the (now defunct) Bad Penny company. 

It's a mess of boosts and fuzzes in a beautifully designed and crafted box. 

1 hour ago, ped said:

now that I have a stable setup

You're playing with horses?

1 hour ago, borntohang said:

I must admit that my final straw with those guys wasn't musical but entirely selfish. The few high points of the dep calendar were the shows during summer or Christmas when the students would come back from uni and be persuaded to come down the WMC with their parents. For a start this meant our audience would be 300% more engaged and likely to dance, but as an added bonus being the only man under 30 in the building almost but not quite made up for my many and various shortcomings. 

 

This show was one of those and I had been chatting to a lovely young student throughout the breaks. After the set the beer goggles had kicked in properly and she invited me back to hers for a game of dominos and a cup of tea. Of course I jumped at the chance:

 

"Lads, if I stow my gear away can you do me a solid and just chuck it into the room for me to pick up tomorrow? I've only got my bass and board so won't take you thirty seconds"

 

BL: "Not a chance, we'll be down hands on lugging the PA in. You've got five minutes to get in the van."

 

As he was my lift home and also had the taking for the evening I didn't have much recourse so regretfully declined her invitation and got back into the van for a sullen drive home. As we're about to set off the driver's door opens and the guitarist jumps in instead of the BL.

 

"Oh right, yeah. BL has pulled some owd lass so is stopping the night up here and we're on PA duties. He says chuck it all in the room and he'll see us next weekend, also that we need to park the van round the corner because his wife thinks we broke down."

 

Arse 🙃

My god I almost admire him. Played you like an old fiddle 🤣 

It's a curious insanity, while I have a shopping list of things I actually need for my band, here I am wondering if buying yet another amp would be a sensible idea.

🤦‍♂️

1 hour ago, borntohang said:

Turns out that while many people know how to start Sweet Home Alabama, significantly fewer know how to stop playing it. 

🤣🤣🤣

10 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

My immediate action would have been to Google it 😂

I enjoy conversation more

15 minutes ago, itu said:

That's a five band fully parametric eq in pedal format. A bit like tce 1140 on steroids: smaller, lighter, and one more band. How much is that?

My immediate question too... I wonder how much

I'd love to try this, but it's a hundred and sixty miles away..

7 hours ago, pete.young said:

I depped on Eb tuba for a championship section brass band once, at a beer night.

 

I arrived as directed about an hour before the start and was handed a pad full of music, each piece had a number, altogether about 130 pieces in numerical order.  I would estimate that I'd played about 10% of them so the rest was a sight-reading job.

 

The twist was that for beer nights, the MD didn't like any gap between the songs. No set list, and no time to put the pieces in order. So while you were playing one song, the MD signalled the number of the next song and you had to find it in the pad, while covering your part. This is fine for Soprano Cornet who usually has at least 50 bars rest, not so much for the Eb bass although there are two of you so you can take it in turns.

 

About half way through the first set - No. 53 . Sir Duke. OMG. Interesting challenge to sightread that bass run on a tuba. At least they didn't do it Nathan-East style with each phrase in a different key.

 

I thought I did OK and so did the other Eb, maybe he was just being polite because I wasn't asked back.

An unimaginable level of musical hell. Hats off for not just filling the tuba with beer and finding a quiet corner 

Update:

I have gigged this a few times now and it's great. As with many drive pedals I find it a little weak on its own so I use a Boss LS-2 to fine tune the clean/dirt balance. 

10 minutes ago, ezbass said:

All dep set lists must come with the keys as a minimum and preferably charts, which I once received from a very hard working function band.

Oh yes I've done those dep gigs as well, all very organised. These guys were a bit more, shall we say, relaxed.

I was depping in four piece last night. The set was fairly standard, apart from a couple of originals which were straightforward enough.

The guitarist started 'Ironic' with what sounded like some unusual flourishes and as I joined in (on a song I've never played before btw) it was clear we had a difference of opinion vis-à-vis the key, chord sequence, general song structure - you get the picture.

When we had staggered thorough to a shambling conclusion the singer expressed her surprise at the racket going on behind her for the preceding few minutes.

As I pointed out that it might be helpful in future to let a dep know if you play a song in a different key or play fast and loose with it's structure, she protested that they did play it in the original key.

The guitarist, throughout this exchange, appeared to have become fascinated with a small part of the ceiling off to his right. His awkward, embarrassed look told me he'd never bothered to learn the song and was simply busking his best interpretation.

Not a scintillating anecdote I admit. However it got me thinking, those of you who do a lot of stand-in work must have some tales. Why not share them here?

Not the Saturday night I anticipated. One of my regular bands has become sniffy about slumming it in low paid pub gigs so I'm rethinking my strategy.  Playing is my only source of income so I can't afford to be so choosy.

Last night they had pulled out because the singer was sniffy in a more literal way, another bad case of vocalists throat put her off the team sheet so I cast about for a bassless band to fill in at very short notice. 

The pub we ended up in could have been called the Sandpaper, The Stormy Sea, or the First Draft - in a word it was rough. 

All day drinkers in a forgotten backwater of a grim city, not many of them and all of them with a distinctly under evolved nature.

But we played, we got paid, I earned money I wouldn't have otherwise seen, and although I couldn't actually decipher what was being said, the little knot of tokers standing around my car as I loaded up at the end of the night seemed to be very positive.

It's all well and good playing once a month for 200 quid each but playing twice a week for 60 earns me a lot more. Case closed.

4 hours ago, Merton said:

Do it, you won’t regret it!

I just added up the 16 amps I have currently at my disposal and I wonder if I can honestly justify another. 

But I really want one of these, have done for a while and this is a very good price (even allowing for your commission)

Ooooh. Now that's tempting....

A gentleman never tells...

9 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

Age and local or regional band opportunities will vary. I'm not sure what challenges the 70 year old at the local or regional level would bring.

 

Overall I don't think age matters as much as it did 30 years ago. 

 

I think understanding how important committing to the "right band" for 70 year olds is crucial. 

 

Daryl

Ah well there we differ. I'll take any work I can get as I approach my 70s. I feel the clock ticking...

16 hours ago, Bluewine said:

Happy Easter Everyone 

 

I haven't had a gig since 3/8. And no gigs acoustic or full band in April.  No communication either. However, the summer schedule looks busy.

 

This is the thing. I'm 30 years older then my band members.  I look at being in a band differently than they do. I'm a

" 1960s guy". Secondly the other members all have careers outside of the band.

 

Regardless I'm still in the best band I can be in. Jumping ship at this point would get me nowhere. 

 

Comments?

 

Daryl

 

You are realistic and very wise. I would drop bands without a second thought when I was younger. Now I hang on to as many as I can