Grim13

Get a dog if at all possible! I used to join the posers down the gym, but I never shifted my gut. We adopted a little staffy cross 3 years ago and I've been lean ever since. I'm within a pound of my ideal weight, which is important as I suffer from a chronic condition that takes a lot out of me. An hour or 2 walking through the woods just watching 'the boy' scampering about with no one else around is fantastic. You don't even realise that you are exercising. There isn't much chance of a training injury, either. You only understand how important your health is when you lose it. At that point, the NHS seems like an utter miracle. I'm only here now because of it.

Deano, Have you tried Songsterr? Maybe worth a look because depending on the version you have, you can loop sections, remove instruments etc. It's an i-app as well as a web site.

Hi Paul, Yet another Southerner here! (though I'm actually a Southernised Geordie from a Scottish family) It looks like you have 3 potential band mates in your house!

Thanks for your replies! Quite a few South Coasters I see.... BT, I program a simple DM1 app on ipad and play it through my amp. I use the CD that usually comes with the book to get the drum track, then copy the tricky bits and set them as a loop, so I go over and over the hard parts and don't have to keep starting the CD again when I mess up. I usually modify the examples in the book, they are mostly only a few notes in difference from 'proper' tunes. It's good practically, and you do get that sweet spot from the kick drum and bass together, which is much better than using the bass alone, but I doubt it's the same as playing with other people. We'll see... Deb, I'm like you. I've no intention of growing up. Our generation probably never will!

Hi All, Sorry not to introduce myself properly before posting a couple of replies. I'm 47, been practicing every day for 9 months and I am about to start taking lessons. I want to get to a standard where I can play with other people without wasting their time or embarrassing myself. Nothing too serious, just something to give me an incentive to keep improving. Ideally, playing new stuff and on a regular basis. Rock, rock n roll, blues rock etc. I've been playing my way through exercise books at home, alone with my drum machine, as well as using TAB sites to learn parts of my favorite songs. Hopefully my new teacher will be able to help me make more of my practice time. This site has already provided me with tons of help. It seems very friendly. Any advice to a newbie like me who is just starting out at 47 would be welcome; I'm sure there must be plenty of others like me on here. Just having a jam occasionally would be great as I've never played with anyone else. Bye for now!

Does Paul Simonon actually count as the bass player of the Clash or was it really Norman Watt Roy / others most of the time? Paul looked great but I don't think he could play much better than Sid. He pretty much admits it himself. Still, compared to what it takes to 'make it' in similar manufactured bands nowadays, both Paul and Sid were musical geniuses.

Easybeat app can do 16ths. Not great, but for less than £2 it might be worth a try.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NORMAN-WATT-ROYS-1962-PRE-CBS-FENDER-JAZZ-BASS-THE-BLOCKHEAD-SHORELINE-GOLD-/180819389316?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2a19aceb84#ht_1114wt_689 I saw Norm with Wilko last year and I'm sure he was playing this. Anyone know what he's moving on to?

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1329250431' post='1539660'] I already loved music, but in 77, when on holiday in Jersey, there was this song that was being played everywhere, and the energy from it was unlike anything I`d ever heard. It was Pretty Vacant. From there on, I was hooked, but didn`t really get into the "overfast" punk that many think that`s what it was all about. For me, punk (and new wave) was about good tunes, an attitude that said "you aren`t automatically right because....." and the willingness to try new things, instead of copying the previous. The clothes were good too. I`m also glad I never bought into the violence aspect, and, when you read about the actual people who started it, in the many bands form all over the country, with a few exceptions, most were the geeks at school who didn`t fit in, and not hard at all. The threatening image was banded about I`m sure due to the ferocity of how the music was played, and the media latched on to that, labelling punk as violent. [/quote] This⬆ The intro to Pretty Vacant still gives me goosebumps. I was 13 when that came out and though I'd really liked the sound of Glam, this was dangerous. It had an edge and caused a reaction that I haven't seen since. I loved it immediately and got a tape of all the Pistols stuff I could and played it all the time. I bought Peaches/Go Buddy Go with my paper round money later that summer and that was it; another wannabe JJ was born. I wouldn't call the Stranglers Punk but they had the same menace and attitude and were darker. Later on I liked the UK Subs / Cockney rejects for their simple, raw power and the Anti Nowhere League took it a bit further lyrically but that was about it, IMO. I got into Wobble through PIL, who certainly weren't typically punk. It was a violent time. Every UK Subs or Stranglers gig I went to in the early 80's had a fight. A Brixton riot kicked off after a 4 Skins gig. Elvis Costello was 'New Wave', not punk, that's my opinion. I remember people saying Jilted John was punk. He just happened to be on the scene when punk was out. Punk clothes were great. Anyone else seen Mick Jagger wearing a 'Destroy' T shirt with bits of tape stuck to the swastika to disguise it?