Mickeyboro

14 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Its the way they would have wanted to go

So it’s true…life is cheap.😈

1 hour ago, TheGreek said:

I'd also include You can call me Al by Paul Simon. 
 

I used to bloody dread playing that!

His guitar pal Ray Russell posted this on Facebook: 

"There wasn’t a gap of two days between either Mo or I calling each other. Once he was with Frieda of ABBA in Sweden, I was in Italy with Greg Walsh we spent evenings on the phone from music to surreal humour. Fifty years has gone by from playing with Jimmy Helms in Spennymoor to now waiting by a bedside of a man brave in death. 

"I held his hand, kissed him, said my goodbyes and he fell into a deep sleep. Six hours later he had slipped away hopefully to join the famous others who have left us. From now on Thunder will be laughter and rain will be tears of joy. I know I will see him, the back of his head walking somewhere but I won’t shout out, it won’t be real.
"I feel confronted by a sea of exclusion, where to jump. The person that made trousers flap and out the groove right in the middle and facilitated strong melody lines as his own songs and what we wrote together prove. There will be posts of what musical heights Mo achieved and he was a master but also a master at making the most awful things funny.
"Most of all, he was the closet two only children have been brothers. I feel that a part of me has disappeared like a land slide, a voice I will remember I hope until it’s my turn. My Brother in arms, Fuzzy Bear, Mo-Jo. Two thirds of my life I have loved you and that will never change. On Earth you have educated people to the nature of musicians. And never suffered fools gladly. Your values and integrity were emblazoned on anything you wrote and played and composed. You said a death was like a library burning. Although this was symbolic, I can feel the heat from here. An empty chair, a lead waiting to be attached to the Bass and amp that will remain silent. But you will remain long past the song has ended." 

8 minutes ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

Levin lands the first off-beat bass pulse (A) in the  final ⅓ of the song in a far less ambiguous way than Dougie Thomson on the original...

 

Must check out, but I thought generally Dougie was pretty impressive and original - imagine being presented with those songs was a challenge to rise to!

New album King of A Land - sealed CD and/or vinyl available.

CD - £9 now £7

LP - £20 now £10

PRICE DROP

Blurb…

King of a Land is an epic body of work. More than a decade in the making, its 12 new songs are full of extraordinary surprises. Unique and transportive, Yusuf’s music, words and melodies paint a vivid picture of a world which embraces the lost lands of truisms and stainless youth, and brings it into touching distance. His poetical storytelling invites the listener on a journey towards the gates of an alternative universe to that which we presently inhabit - where happy endings can possibly happen. From the gloriously unexpected hard-rock intensity of ‘Pagan Run’ to the Tchaikovsky-inspired orchestration on ‘How Good It Feels’, the delicate acoustic balladry of ‘He Is True’ through to the driving Phil Spector-goes-gospel vibe of ‘Highness’, the Travelling Wilburys-styled rolling Americana groove of ‘All Nights, All Days’, and the ornate, atmospheric ‘Son Of Mary’, ‘King of a Land’ is an epic body of work. The album’s artwork was created by Peter H Reynolds, the award-winning children’s illustrator. As well as the cover art, Peter has created illustrations for each of the songs portraying the album’s lyrical themes that feature in a 36 page accompanying CD booklet.

I listened to Crime all the way through the other day. Still spellbinding. 
 

I interviewed Roger Hodgson a few years ago, and he and Rick Davies were rarely on the same musical page. Amazing therefore what was achieved. 

8 minutes ago, Steve Browning said:

You are to be congratulated. I do suspect you're an exception.

 

I'm dead jealous too!! 🙂

But, Steve, I look at some of the gigs you’ve done and they make me jealous. 

If people can play music they enjoy, that to me is living the dream. 
 

I agree though, hats off to Spencer!

1 minute ago, Happy Jack said:

 

Opinion is divided as to whether that space should be there. 😉

Space. The final front ear…

That is beyond sad… the man had a big heart, and even more talent.

He offered me fretless lessons when I despaired of ever mastering it - wish I had taken up the offer.

EDIT I liked his British Rock Guitar book and have just found more (unpublished) writings on his Facebook page. Shame we won’t get any more.

Bettye LaVette’s new album.  Produced by Steve Jordan (Stones) and featuring Pino Palladino throughout. Cameos by Steve Winwood and John Mayer. Songs by Randall Bramblett (Gregg Allman alumnus).
 

Absolute killer album, only just out and already deservedly getting rave reviews. This copy is new and in perfect condition, yours for £9 including UK postage.

2 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

 Yeah, I'm not really sure why they had me center stage.

Blue

Don’t knock star quality, my man!

Hey @Bluewine centre stage!

New release from the late, great JM. Blurb is below. Released by Made in Germany. Yours for a reasonable £10 plus £1 towards posting - discs are new, unplayed and still sealed.
 

Sleeve design isn’t much to write home about - but the music is. Alan Thomson’s fretless is particularly prominent, so if that’s up your strasse you’re in luck! In fact, with Jeff Allen on board it’s a rhythm-section masterclass.

John Martyn's extraordinary talent rightly secures him a unique place in music. Emerging from the 1960's folk boom, John is without doubt one of the most progressive and influential artists. Guitarist, singer and songwriter, his inspirational and innovative music is evidenced in his extensive back catalogue of studio and live albums, each providing a fresh chapter in the evolution of his music. John signed for Island Records and released his first album London Conversation in 1967. By the end of the 1970's he had released a string of acclaimed albums and his music had evolved from fingerpicking acoustic folk to embrace rock, blues, jazz and reggae. John created an astonishingly distinctive sound with his uniquely percussive guitar playing fed through a tremolo/wah combination and echoplex. Always exploring, transforming and refreshing.

B y the early 1980's John was concentrating on electric guitar, playing it in his own unique style and in his own band (Jeff Allen, dr., among others also Snowy White and Van Morrison as well as Alan Thomson, b, also with Robert Palmer, Chris Rea and Eric Clapton). "The bearded musician from the north of Britain had obviously consumed a substantial quantity of rum and cola before beginning the concert... and with the help of further drinks musical energy was released, which made the evening a complete success... two impressive hours of most intense music." The Weser Courier, Bremen's largest daily newspaper, reported a day after John's concert at the club € Schauburg € in June 1983. No doubt about the rum, but John would have been apoplectic at the suggestion he was from ‘the north of Britain' although born in Surrey he was Scottish through and through, and fiercely proud of it!

I have booked a practice session with our drummer to try to develop our playing relationship. Has anyone done this, did it work and have you any hints please?

2 hours ago, casapete said:

You win Mick, looks a wonderful venue!

Yours wasn’t so shabby my friend… And we never had glow sticks!

Thanks for an enjoyable evening, good to meet again. The secret Basschat handshake😂

Days don’t get much better - rocked a 50-plus lunchtime crowd in Bournemouth’s St Peter’s Church with the Otis Jay Blues Band. And it was St Peter’s Day…who knew!

Off later to see @casapete and his ELO Experience at the Pavilion theatre about a quarter of a mile away. It’s splendid, but I reckon our venue is even more spectacular.

23 hours ago, SteveXFR said:

Wasn't most of Elton's music created decades ago? And since that was his last show, its not being performed any more.

Except by many tributes…

Loving this thread! Keep it coming…

What inspired it was a band I saw this weekend that unwisely invited the (seated at tables) audience to dance to a little known song very early in the set.

On finding no takers, Art looked at Paul (giveaway!) with an expression that said ‘sod this for a game of soldiers’. I rather felt their motivation dipped thereafter. 

Then again, they didn’t play ‘Keep The Customer Satisfied’ 😂

3 hours ago, peteb said:

 

You forgot the money! 

 

You mean we get paid?!?😂

Is it audience reaction (eg the number of people dancing/clapping along), how you play yourself, the overall tightness of the band, the sound?

Let’s try percentages: audiences: you: band: other. 

I have spent my first weekend as a guest at a Warners Leisure Hotel. They get musical acts in for weekends, and Saturday’s was quite a big name tribute act. 
 

They play theatres at the £30 price point and have toured internationally. So clearly this cut-down show was a money maker. I got the feeling they weren’t putting their all into it, with the audience perhaps more subdued than they were accustomed to. 
 

Have you played one of these types of venue and what are your experiences?

5 minutes ago, Riverbassman65 said:

Had a fantastic gig at Full Circle in Watertown last night. It’s a club I’ve wanted to play for ages, and the classic rock band I’m in got booked there.  We had a fantastic crowd who danced from the 1 st song to the 2nd encore!  The stage and acoustics were 1st class!  To make it even better I received many compliments on my tone from other players!  I’ll post pictures once our guitar player sends them out!  Have a fantastic rest of your weekend! 

Tell us who your band is when you do! 

Ed, pop sold in the (edited) headline and the thread will close. Ta!

That is gorgeous!

2 minutes ago, silverfoxnik said:

Quick update to say that the bass is currently 'on hold' until Saturday.... 

Thank goodness!😂