Thunderthumbs

My wife once won two tickets for The Brits. I had no desire to attend. Not my kind of thing (all that music industry backslapping crap and all that). Anyway, she took her sister instead. What did I miss out on? Prince live.....showing them all how it's done. Paul Weller live....my biggest musical influence as a teenager in the late 70s & early 80s. And a few others I had a liking for at the time. Maybe I'll think twice next time!

Well it's the first time I've managed to get down at opening time, and by the end of the night, my spine had felt the rigours of standing up all day. Having been a huge fan of Marcus for years (sat here listening to him play on Luther tracks as I type), it was definitely my most anticipated Bass Day of all, and I wasn't disappointed. Marcus was fantastic, and Pat Illingworth did a fantastic job drumming for him. I'd decided early on in the day that I'd be happy with a photo with Marcus if the opportunity arose. When it became obvious later on that he'd be signing almost anything and everything, the inevitable happened. I phoned the wife and asked her to bring my Fender Marcus Miller Jazz down, which she duly did (now I know why I married her!). I now have it signed by the man himself, and am a very happy bunny. In fact, I might nick Stuart's username and call myself VeryHappyBassBunny As I was one of the last people out of the venue, I managed to have another little chat with Marcus as he was leaving at the same time. Boy, that man can travel. LA to New York to Manchester, then one night in a hotel (bearing in mind he'll probably have been awake half the night to keep his body in USA time), then back to New York, then on to Oklahoma where he was going to see a friend inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame. Then from there back to LA and heading back into the studio. He did admit that he sleeps very well on planes. Oh how the other half live! As far as the venue's concerned, in this instance I did prefer the Band On The Wall as a "gig", but I do understand the frustration with lack of trade exhibitors. However, as Stuart's pointed out, these are very trying times economically, and the chance of small (if not very little) possibility of sales, I can understand the trade not showing up. About the other artists, I thought Phil Mann's demo was great. Nice to have proper interaction with the audience. Thought he put across the "metronome" argument very well. The ATM guys were great. Three basses all doing their own thing, yet working great as a band. Shame we couldn't have heard more from them. Nigel Clutterbuck....I thought he put together a great little set. As someone who's known Nigel for a very long time (I think I even remember him playing that Overwater back in A1 Music all those years ago!), it was nice to see him get the opportunity to show more of what he does, and for people to appreciate it. He gets a lot of stick as he has a very percussive style, but as he's said himself, he wouldn't do it in a band situation as it won't get the gig. Bernard Lackner. I remember him on the cafe stage at the RNCM a couple of years ago. A quality bass player, a quiet and unassuming man, and a unique right hand style (almost slapping with his folded index finger). Jah Wobble was fantastic. A very, very funny bloke, and a great change of style. He's one of those blokes I could listen to all day, both on and off the bass. Sadly, I missed Scott Devine. I had to go and eat at some point during the day. I was absolutely starving by that point. All in all, a great day, and am already looking forward to next year, wherever and whenever it might be. Well done Mr Stevie Williams.

I saw the Neville Brothers headline a festival in Philadelphia while on holiday there years ago. They were absolutely brilliant. Then found a live CD with the exact same set they'd done which I play now and again just for the memories.

And another hello from another Mancunian. Welcome aboard.

Great track, really nice playing on it too.

I don't believe in the traffic light monitor system. I've played in a hotel in Altrincham that had one, and it didn't matter how loud I played certain notes, it had no effect. Yet, if I played a C (I think) anywhere on the neck, and held it, no matter how quiet, the monitor system went into the red. We played as quiet as we could, yet the power still tripped about 3 or 4 times. At that point, we packed up and just played songs through the laptop into the PA instead. I've also played a place in Harrogate, where the sensor for the monitor system was directly behind my bass cab. Crazy stuff. Again, we kept it as quiet as we could, yet the power tripped in the middle of the first song. We had a word with the manager, who had no problem with our volume level, and we took a mains supply from the hotel kitchen instead. And that's where I think this whole "noise management" thing bothers me slightly. Surely, if the manager is happy with the level you are playing at, and is not receiving complaints from neighbours, etc. then why install a system that says otherwise? If you cannot manage your own volume to a sensible level for all parties, and you can't debate any issues seriously with the manager of the venue (who is generally paying you), then you should just go back to rehearsing in your garage and annoying your own neighbours instead. Saying that, I do know of someone who bought an apartment directly above an Irish bar in the centre of Manchester, knowing it was also a music venue, and then took them to court to get the music licence revoked. What a tw*t.

Hey Ray, Welcome to BC. I'll swap you wet & foggy west Cornwall for wet Manchester any day of the week. And yeah, all those capitals are a bit heavy on the eyes.

Martin bought an EBS Dynaverb from me today, but also picked up and delivered an amp I was buying from Lozbass, so in effect, a three way sale. Top bloke, a pleasure to deal with, and would have absolutely no hesitation recommending to anyone.

Bought a Roland Microcube Bass RX from Loz today. Absolutely perfect condition at a fantastic price. Communication was great. Absolute pleasure to deal with.

[quote name='flyfisher' post='1330112' date='Aug 6 2011, 05:47 PM']+1 What next? PAT certificates for all your equipment?[/quote] We've been asked for that too in the past. After basically telling them where to get off, they accepted the PL Insurance on its own.

Here you go. Try these. [attachment=86414:PLInsurance.jpg]

[quote name='Jakester' post='1329629' date='Aug 6 2011, 09:40 AM']...has anyone managed to get a group standalone PL policy for a reasonable price, and if so, from whom?[/quote] We had PLI from a company as a band. I'll find out who it was with and get back to you.

I have my big sister to thank. She was a Bay City Rollers fan when I was knee high to a grasshopper, and she fancied Alan Longmuir, the bassist. That naturally persuaded me to notice the "guitar with only 4 pegs". As I got slightly older, I got into The Jam and Bruce Foxton's sound walloped me against the wall. I knew there and then it was the instrument for me. Myself and a mate got a band together when I was 13, so I bought myself a bass from my paper round money and taught myself how to play it. The rest is history.

I also think some of his tone comes from his "downstroke" style of slapping rather than hammering against the fretboard.

I bought a 5 string years ago without having tried it myself. It was a Warwick Thumb, so at least I knew the quality was going to be top notch. I'd noticed the need (mainly due to keys songs were being played in) to down tune my E to a D a few times, so I just took a punt. Sure it was weird, and I had to rethink the way I played bass, but to be honest, I got used to it in no time. Just my two penneth.

Aside from any one particular track, I once saw a very small Duran Duran gig, one of those announced secretly on the day and all that, at the International 2 in Manchester back in the 90s. It was at the time when the line up was Simon Le Bon, John Taylor, Nick Rhodes, Warren Cuccurrullo & Steve Ferrone. To be honest, I wasn't a fan of theirs up to that point, but it was a fantastic gig, and opened my eyes to how many really good tracks they've recorded over the years, and JT's a far better bass player than I ever gave him credit for.

To be honest, I actually prefer the tone of the Squire to Ed Friedland's Fender!