dand666

[quote name='ivansc' timestamp='1462096654' post='3040170'] Be careful on the cruise ship gigs though - although it is pretty much 100% union, there are some odd little side things. A friend plays on the ferries between mainland france and the various islands like Corsica, Sardinia, Malta, etc. Because they are actually employed by a French cruise line, they only get paid for the days they work and are on unemployment benefit the rest of the time. Not very glamorous, especially since the actual pay is pretty dire, too. Not all aquatic gigs are that great! [/quote] Need to get off the ferries and get on with anyone under the Carnival umbrella. They treat musicians really well. Over the past 2 years I've had no problem.

[quote name='markmcclelland' timestamp='1461931176' post='3038851'] Hey mate Yes I have. Thanks a lot for the thought. I did apply a few years ago and was sent an online audition to do. They asked me to do the video record thing of playing along to three covers of my choice out of about 20 they gave me. I also had to record a minute of anything I wanted - impress us, they said. This was all on a two day deadline. My three songs were absolutely fine and I recorded the best piece of playing I've ever laid down for their freestyle bit but never heard back from them. Oh well. I guess you just don't know what they're looking for. Maybe I'm on their file. Here's the freestyle bit. A mad intro then just settling back and freeflow jamming for the rest of it. Maybe if I'd done the whole video in the same style as the first ten seconds they might have been a bit more impressed but I wanted to show them I could just lay it down. Like I said, you just don't know what they're looking for. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6yrhkl9-LM"]https://www.youtube....h?v=l6yrhkl9-LM[/url] Of course I'm well able to do the cover band stuff and there is some work on ships for that, which is what my audition was all about. Most jobs, and the higher paid jobs, require reading. I started learning from pretty much scratch a year ago and am now on Stuart Clayton's advanced book. I'd say that makes me a lower intermediate to intermediate reader. So that's something I might go for, but again, a long way off. Diary spoiler. I have a project now - acoustic duo with acoustic guitar, bass and two vocals - and we've talked about the possibility of offering it to ships. But I had a look into it and we have a long long way to go before we could do that. Most ships ask that you have a repertoire of around 300 songs. We're currently hovering around the 50 mark and add every week but you could see it will still take a while. [/quote] If you get your reading and Jazz up to a high standards I know lots of contacts for you to get into the cruise industry when needed. Believe it or not, the party bands onboard (regular covers) get paid more than the orchestra musicians. I always felt bad about that, but we usually work a lot more. And we have to always 'put on a show', where as the orchestra can sit down, read and do their thing. If you get yourself into a cover band, record a promo vid, does not need to be great quality, and you'll be fine. You can get away with 200 songs, we did for a few months. But you will need a wide range of songs for the theme nights. If you ever need any info please don't hesitate to ask.

Mark, have you ever thought of working on ships?

I have all of the real books and lots and lots of bass books on PDFs. Will upload them soon. Doing the cruise circuit everyone has so much on their HDD's.

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1452848743' post='2953983'] I have some massive holes in my listening experience. I hadn't heard Dark Side of The Moon until I was 48, only heard the White Album after it appeared on Spotify a few weeks back, never heard a Bob Dylan album, a Stones album or had anything other than superficial contact with any number of 'legends' including Bowie, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, The Eagles, The Band etc etc. There is more music out there that any one of us can consume. Our own journies are what make us 'us'. I have a truckload of obscure artists I have loved and soaked up over the years and have no real sense that I am missing out. My own perspective is that I cannot say that I 'don't like' Bowie, Elton John etc etc, it's more that I cannot listen to everything, so when I do, I go for stuff that I love rather than stuff that I like or think is OK. 'Life On Mars' is a great piece of music but I would never pick it up by chouce because I get to hear it every now and then as I go through life and, when the choice is mine, will go for things that work more for me. The 'choice' is not 'good' vs 'bad' but 'most loved' vs. 'that's nice'. [/quote] Spoken like a true Jazzer lol. Im surprised when I speak to the orchestra guys on ships how much of these huge albums they've missed. I envy you man, you get to listen to 'Songs in the key of Life' , 'Music from the Big pink' and so many more for the first time. Wish i can have these experiences back. It's like listening to DSOTM for the first time. Everyone knows where they were. Game changer.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1452787791' post='2953536'] I preferred their earlier stuff; you know, before you liked them. [/quote] Dude Im gonna Spotify them right now lol It's weird for me I just really love listening to music. All of it, new, old, heavy, trippy, sludgy, upbeat, slow e.t.c Nothing more amazing for me than to put on a new record and fall in love with it. You guys are right, sometimes I might listen to something and it's not for me :-)

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1452775585' post='2953327'] If you actually like listening to all music, doesn't that mean you have no opinions on music? [/quote] Think I meant that I have listen to such a vast amount of music, yeah I do have opinions but I can see what that particular band has done for its genre or how its affected something else. I think it's crazy that people have not listened to Floyd, or The Doors it baffles me. I can forgive people who maybe arent into Converge as much as they're into CCR but you need to see the importance of both bands. I just love it all. f***ing 12 notes man.

I think I've got being a pro bass player down to the fact that I listen and like everything. Open minded about everything and enjoy playing everything.

TKenrick is right. Having been working professionally on ships for the past few years, as long as you turn up, do the job and don't be a dick. You're golden and will get called back.

Crazy cash. I've gigged with the same 2 planet waves cables since Aug 2014, and I've pretty much been at sea since then. Ok I've had around 3 months off in total, but I've used them every single day for around 3 hours a day. Love them.

What transcribing software do you use? Also do you use a midi keyboard for inputing?

Monos are great on planes. Most airlines should allow you to have them as hand luggage.

Currently on a Princess Cruise. Depending on your gig it depends what you need. For Party band, you just need a good rep, over 300 songs will be fine, with some good ballroom numbers. If your in the house band, reading is a must. You'll be doing jazz every night, and every other night you'll be backing a guest entertainer, you'll get the sheet music 1/3 hours before a rehearsal then the show is that night. Reading I'll say is deffo recommended.