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dand666

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Posts posted by dand666

    Cruise ships

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    On 07/09/2022 at 13:23, bass_dinger said:

    My daughter was on a ship, as part of the restaurant team. 10 hour days, split into shifts during the day, 7 days a week. 

     

    So the hours are indeed intensive. 

     

     

    Luckily as a musician the shifts were easy. Pretty much 3x45s a night. Sometimes up to 5 sets a day. But that's it. 

     

    During port, you're off doing whatever you want. If it's a sea day, play some tunes by the pool. It's a real easy gig. 

    Cruise ships

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    5 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

    As msb points out, your reading and busking skills need to be on point. Bands on cruise ships must be versatile and be able to play virtually whatever is asked of them at the drop of a hat. Two pals of mine (one now sadly passed) used to play for Joe Loss when his was the resident band on the QE2 (so this was a while back, but I shouldn't imagine much has changed).

     

    The band book was enormous and encompassed all styles (despite the tea dance image one might associate with the name Joe Loss). They told me it was quite lucrative, but also quite boring for much of the time. You are rarely if ever pushing the musical boundaries - most people who go on cruises are not fans of anything "out there" - and you will often be playing the same stuff night after night. The hours can be long.

     

    Obviously, one needs to be presentable and have social skills (interacting with passengers and crew is part of the deal, on and off stage), be disciplined and punctual and so on (it helps not to have a weakness for the electric soup - temptation is all around). Essentially, it's a musical day job but, unlike most day jobs, you don't get to go home and kick back/go out on the tiles when you finish work.

     

    Most cruise ships have excellent PA, etc, so any portable, high quality rig will be fine. You don't need a stadium rig. Carry spares of everything - you can't replace stuff, get it repaired, go to the shop or order online in the middle of the Atlantic and stopovers in ports are usually brief.

     

    Are you looking to get work as an individual or as part of a band? I'd approach some cruise operators and enquire how they book their entertainment. Most will use an agent.

     

    All depends if you're going on as an individual joining the house band, or going on as part of the party band/duo e.t.c

     

    If you're going on as an individual in the house band, you need to be a great reader and have great jazz chops. Depending on the itinerary you'll be doing Jazz most nights in between production shows. 

     

    The party band stuff is a lot easier and you can usually join a band who needs a bassist, or join as a whole band. Most bands have at least 300 songs. We aimed for more so we didn't get bored. Some times you could perform up to 5 times a day, and a cruise may go on for several weeks, so it's ideal not to repeat songs (just for your own sanity) but it does happen. Sets vary from deck sets to theme nights so good to have a large rep. 

     

    Just turn up with your bass and pedals. Don't need anything else as everything is there. It's a cracking gig and I wouldn't have changed it for the world. Also opens you up for future work and knowing you can go back on at anytime (depending on the work - of which there is loads at the moment) is a real bonus. 

    Cruise ships

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by dand666

    9 hours ago, ARGH said:

    Anyone on here do cruise ship gigs? 
    Where do you start and which agencies are best to contact? Gear needed, What skills are required… nightmare or dream job? 
     

    i’m interested and have begun looking into it as a regular job, but it’s a minefield of info and good/bad/awful advice and counter advice… often contradictory. Please help. 

     

    PM me mate. Used to be on P&O & Princess. Also done the smaller ferries, but they aren't so fun lol

    Standard function tunes?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Basic stuff really, always includes, Superstition, Valerie, Sex on Fire, Mr Brightside, SWH, Get Lucky, Aint Nobody, Proud Mary, Oasis e.t.c

     

    Rock n roll is all pretty much the same as long as they give you a key before you start your all good. 

     

    Most deps will send you a setlist, so as long as you've got a good rep you're all good. Usually as a dep you're last minute so may not get a set till the night before or on the day if it's very last minute. 

    The IEM (in ear monitors) Bible thread

    in Accessories and Misc

    Posted · Edited by dand666

    Think I'm gonna go for it. 

     

    I can sell my Shure 535s and that will pay off a little of the UE6s.

     

    Just seen there's an offer on:

     

    UE11: £1180 (RRP), Our Normal Price > £955, Offer Price > £890
    UE18+: £1450 (RRP), Our Normal Price > £1280, Offer Price > £1080

     

     

    Thoughts? 

    Bass Bros

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by dand666

    6 minutes ago, Reggaebass said:

    There’s a really nice 68 jazz on there at the moment ,and the thing I also like about the site is they offer to setup the basses for you .

     

    A professional setup will be carried out on this bass, we would like to offer you a free personalised setup upon purchase. Please just let us know your preferences and we can get the bass right for you, including a new set of strings.

     

    Can you pay with PayPal?  🙂

    The IEM (in ear monitors) Bible thread

    in Accessories and Misc

    Posted

    14 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

    SE846 via DV247 - £689

    UE6 via Custom IEM company - £615

     

    Whats a second hand value of 846s? Looking on ebay, since the start of the year, prices have ranged from 235-580 with the average price realistically being around £400.

     

    Get saving for the UE6s. My mate (MD for the book of Mormon has just gone UE6 - he was previously on 846s (main pair and a spare) and is cursing because like many, he worked up through the Shure range up to the 846s. He wished he just pooled his money from the start to get a couple of pairs of customs. He said to me when spoke to me after the first gig he did on the customs - "infinitely better than the 846s and if the UE6s are this good, I can only imagine where the higher priced stuff gets me".

     

    It's all nice stuff to have, but seriously, gun for that UE6, worth every penny.   

    Thanks man, can I ask what you'd recommend after the UE6?

     

    Performance Anxiety

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    1 hour ago, mcnach said:

     

    I'm not convinced that anxiety is the reason. I think the main reason is boredom. The amount of time musicians have to spend hanging around just waiting is enormous. That's ok when you play weekends, and return home at night. When you're travelling around it gets tedious fast, and alcohol and other substances start to appear regularly.

     

     

    This, combined with the fact that as a touring musician you rarely would have to pay for alcohol. 

    Ditching the RCF subs?!

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Good timing of this thread.

     

    Running 2x mackie srm 12” tops and recently bought a 15”sub so I can not bring my bass cabs, also planning on going to IEMs to save space on monitors also. 
     

    Also having issues with cars to gigs recently so would love to get rid of the sub at some point and just run tops. We tried the mackie thump 15s but seems too muddy. 
     

    I know the mackies aren’t the greatest so would love to upgrade at some point. 

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