KevB

Easy for us last night, left it to the DJ then went on after him for our third set at about 12:15

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1420096258' post='2645484'] Went to a jam. Played a few songs. Flirted inappropriately with gentlemen. Came home and managed to cook an omelette without setting myself on fire. Now in bed, probably still pissed. Hurrah for 2015! :-) [/quote] Pretty much a normal night out for you then Shel? I had an OK but fairly unremarkable NYE gig (small club house, only 50 adults invited and not all showed though some brought kids which probably meant a final total of around 50), three sets mixed in with a DJ who seemed to be suffering various sound issues. At one point I thought it might be the proximity of some of our stuff that was the issue but after switching various things off he still got odd buzzes and stuff through his PA (separate from our own). We got twice normal pub fee, though the band leader was talking at one point about taking less so that they might give us more work this year. Well bollox to that, we were as cheap as any band they were going to get that night even at the higher fee which is what we ended up with in the end. Home before 2am and sound asleep by 2:30, completely sober. I'll have a night out tomorrow then another gig on Sat which I'm expecting to be quite dead. Not bothered unloading the gear from the car, can wait until after Sat's gig.

Our original NYE venue pulled out of a live band and went for having 2 DJ's on instead so I thought I'd be gigless. However we were then contacted by a local amateur football club (who we did an outdoor summer gig and later a xmas party for last year) so we'll do that instead. Won't be a massive payer but substantially more per head than a normal pub gig.

I'm not even sure if the cable connecting my extension speaker from the combo is actually a speaker cable or just a short instrument cable. Since neither the cable, combo or extension speaker have had any issues during the last 10-12 years of frequent use it's not something that keeps me awake at night. I might have to change it soon though as one end was accidentally knocked askew when it was being broken down after a gig a few months back, still works though. So maybe I'll get something super-duper then.

Inevitably, with such a unique voice, not to everyone's taste but I always liked him. One of a kind, RIP JC.

It only takes me a few minutes at the occasional jam sesison (when you strike it lucky and get some[i] real [/i]players on board) that I'm still very much a beginner...

Or if you fancy rockin' it up a bit whilst still keeping it's bluesy origins; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3e-KMT_J2c

And another one ticked off the xmas list. Thankyou Farnsfield cricket club for hospitality. Shame the posters to advertise it didn't turn up until the actual day of the gig (down to the venue, not the band) so it was little underpopulated but those there seemed to have a good time. Interestingly the guitarist's dad called in (as our gtr player is originally a local) and said after set 1 that he thought it sounded 'a lot better than last time'. It gave me a wry smile as I was the only difference between those who played this gig 2 yrs ago and last night Music stands absent again. Took a spare bass just for the laugh, never took it out of the case.

I'm just posting this for the novelty really, hardly ever do midweek gigs apart from xmas time. After a shambles of a gig by our standards last Sat it was nice to just get out again and do it properly. We were booked to do the 'works do' for our drummer's other half's workplace. They had booked a room upstairs at a local bar but that's too small to put a band in so we were downstairs in the public area, the food and a DJ were in the upstairs room and people had the option of floating about between the two. Considering it was this 'split' arrangement and there were no more than 70-80 people on the guest list anyway we actually fared quite well with a busy dancefloor for both sets, people dancing on the tables. Usual crimbo party atmos. We had a dep guitar player in so I was coaching him through some of the arrangements of some songs where we go a bit away from the original vs but he's a dep we've used before and is always reliable, pretty much a pro player. As the venue has a neighbour who complains if she hears drums after 11pm we were on a curfew and did 9:15-11ish with a short break, everyone seemed happy and I was home by 12:15 (close to where I live which was a bonus). Didn't take a spare bass and no music stands were used.

[quote name='Low End Bee' timestamp='1418830415' post='2633800'] another originals band with a line up that's got me very excited. [/quote] Don't tell me you've found enough Brentford FC players that are also musicians to make up a combo?

Funnily enough I was just listening to the Pat Metheny 'Works vol 1' compilation for the first time in ages, that was on ECM wasn't it? some lovely fretless sounds on that. I'm not so keen on the selection they put out on vol2 though.

If you are not sentimentally attached to it and it's of no real use to you then move it on. If you sell it on or put it on ebay you should really present an accurate description, warts n all so don't expect to get much money from it. It doesn't sound worth keeping as a backup to me.

Quite agree. I've always tried to maintain a professional [i]attitude [/i]without ever being a professional musician. I actually don't refer to myself as a [i]musician[/i] unless it's in the company of people who really know naff all about music.

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1418776458' post='2633369'] Yeah, will do. I'm sure it'll put us where we need to be very quickly. Also, very handy for gigs and rehearsals, him having a shop. [/quote] And an endless supply of music stands

Pretty much as previous year, though I don't keep a record of how many I've done. Won't be anywhere near 60 though, in fact I prefer to keep it to less than 50 so I have time to do other non music related things in my spare time ( 3 per month is actually fine for me so that's even under 40).

Me too, as I suspect are the majority on here. I don't shy away from it and take no offence if people use the term for me. I recently took a 20% pay cut (I won't go into the details) but what I earn from my day job still eclipses what I'll get from the band even in a busy year. I realised a long time ago if i were to do music full time (assuming I attained a high enough standard which is very debatable) I'd be so jaded and bored after a few years I'd probably pack it in completely. Doing it as a hobby has given me more freedom to move between projects and be selective to some degree thus has maintained my interest and enthusiasm over a longer period.

You'll notice at no point did I use an adjective such as 'just' or 'merely' and it was quite deliberate. The term is frequently seen as being derogatory but this is not intentional at all. People spend hours and hours on their hobbies whether they are music related or not because they enjoy doing it. There's nothing derogatory about it.

Yep, for me it's anyone who earns all their income from playing an instrument and/or writing music (difficult to write without playing anyway!). Teaching would be included in this. Any additional significant income from a completely non-musical related job would bump them down to semi-pro and anyone who earns the vast majority of their income from a non music related job is a hobbyist.

We have decent paying gigs on Dec 6th,13th,17th,20th,27th and 31st and another on Jan10th. I think my xmas celebrations will begin on the 25th and end on the 26th. Don't know about the rest of the band

Used the Maplins tool case types for years, pretty robust if you don't overfill them and strain the latches. Often on half price sales at the right time of year.

Definitley a very good half way house between bedroom playing and full on gigging. There's likely to be backline provided (it'll belong to someone so don't go messing with it too much) so plug in and play. If it's half decently organsied they will probably link you up with someone of decent ability that you won't get intimidated by but who can help you along with a simple blues tune. Most are actually quite encouraging at the good ones. Unfortunately the very first blues jams I ever attended as a relative novice were very cliquey and it did put me off for a while. Most are very accommodating though. Just go along and watch for a couple of weeks, learn whos who and chat to a few people, take it from there.

Been looking on and off for about 8 months but nothing's come together that ticks enough boxes yet. Actually he has played much bigger venues (eg Rock City) than pubs before I joined the band but for those they would have had PA and sound engineer provided. I bumped into someone at a jam night who was at one of these bigger gigs and said in all fairness he was actually pretty good on the night. I keep trying to subtly suggest that to get to better gigs or make a better impression on the wedding gigs we do it would pay to invest in some better gear but it falls on deaf ears. I'm beginning to wonder if he's just accepted that its as much as he's wiling to put in and when the old PA he's always hauled around from day 1 (from the impression I get from previous band members) finally falls over he might just fold the whole operation.

It's his band, his rules. After having my offer of wedges knocked back I assumed he thought it was maybe acting as a barrier between him and audience. Spent a decent amount of money on a new Behringer205D which I could then have unobtrusively next to me and at least I'd be able ot hear my bvox OK. Lasted 3 gigs in which he whined about being able to hear it and it putting him off (as he was so far forward and the monitor was at my side it was basically pointing directly away from him most of the time) before it became clear I shouldn't bring it in future. It's now sitting at home waiting until I join another band.

Our singer doesn't use them but I don't really think it's a great idea. He stands a good way in front of the PA speakers (small PA, loud enough for pubs etc but would never fill a big hall) so he is hearing his own (and the bvox) fine but through the main PA speakers rather than a dedicated monitor. The main problem is he finds it supposedly 'offputting' for anyone else to bring in their own monitor so the the rest of us (behind the PA) are always struggling to actually hear our bvox. Incidentally we played somewhere on Sat that provide a powered wedge monitor and he acually used it! and the rest of us could just about hear it too, thought it was the best balance of lead/bvox we've had in ages. I actually have a decent wedge monitor at home with a slave unit but he won't let us use it. Bizarre.

I'm mostly playing a precision these days and don't break strings but have a back up set in the case anyway. Used to take a spare bass all over and never used it. Of course the next gig I'll have some bizarre internal wire come loose...nah, what am I talking about, it's a precision