The Saint

I always feel a bit morbid, thinking about getting older. I've never once spoken about "Well, at my age..." or "I'm getting old.." But the simple fact is that we are normally surrounded by people of a similar age. We lose friends, family and heroes more frequently. We moved to France around 12 years ago to escape the roundabout of this 'living to work' etc. The pace of life has kept my heart rate down and helped with the arthritis..! I've been playing regular gigs all that time. The 'escape' of being with fellow musicians and making people happy enough to kick their shoes off and dance to something I was helping to create is the only drug I need. A few months ago another big change to our lives. We bought a live-aboard motor home to tour Europe and we're about to buy a house in the country. First time we've owned our house since leaving the UK. I'm 73 and friends have raised their eyebrows when we've told them what we're up to. Expected us to sit in front of the telly probably. I could talk about losing friends as well. The very thought of losing my wife scares the freaking hell out of me. How others cope, I just don't know. Life ain't a bloody rehearsal...

All our stuff is now acoustic based and done at a slower tempo than the original. You know the sort of thing..! Songs that go down really well for us on a Sunday afternoon vibe... Heroes... DB Poison... AC Dancing in the Dark and I'm on Fire... BS Hymn to Her... Pretenders And surprisingly, a Creep/Air That I Breathe medley is very popular Avoid the album lyrics of Creep, especially on a Sunday.!

Oh, don't I know it...! We must have about 5 million of the little buggers hidden around the house...!

Just to clarify, her current board was made in the 50's and has a metal board, which we think is zinc or some sort of brass combination. Here it is....

Thanks for the suggestion, but she doesn't want glass. It's very different sound to the current one. A bit like choosing a Precision or a Jazz. You like what you like...!!

Thanks for the suggestion, but she doesn't want glass. It's very different sound to the current one. A bit like choosing a Precision or a Jazz. You like what you like...!!

Yes, very similar although that one looks to be heavier judging by the rear view. It's the closest one I've seen recently, thank you...

Thanks Matt. We had looked at those, but just not what she wants.. Finding an original 50's or maybe 60's one is as rare as hen's teeth.

My wife's percussion instrument of choice is her washboard. Started playing it when we were in a skiffle band but we've since discovered that it fits in with most songs we cover now we have diversified. Seriously...! For the slower stuff she has a variety of things in her bag that she can hit, shake or rattle. But after 12 years or so the washboard is beginning to show its age and is getting a bit thin in the middle. Unlike me.. ! So we've been looking for a replacement but can't find anything authentic. There are lots of examples on eBay and the like but all are just cheap toys. A washboard similar to that used by Steve Ferrone on the Clapton Unplugged album is available, but she'd really like a traditional wooden framed one. Does anyone have suggestions as where we can find one...? Or maybe you actually have one stored away somewhere...!

He's certainly at the front of the queue when it comes to using technology to record and perform. There's a great video of him doing "Somebody to Love" in a stadium. I really don't have a clue what he was doing at the end, but he was using a keyboard to affect his vocals. Think it was more than just a simple voice-sampling technique. He's also recorded the audience at his gigs and put them all together in a piece of software that you can buy on his website. Sorry if I've given anyone the impression that I know what the hell I'm talking about here.

I got one from Andertons, I like it. But I tried a D'Addario one that belongs to a mate and I think I like it more. Easier and quicker to fit.

Cheers Ped, that would be a great help. I'll contact you via pm...

As per the thread title really. But before you all start running to assist, there's a few things you should know... I've been playing in a band for a few years but since covid hit, things have reduced to a trio. Me on rhythm guitar and vocals, a mate on lead guitar and my wife doing percussion and backing vocals. My mate is not likely to be playing after Christmas as he's taken early retirement , bought a motor home and will be on his travels. My wife and I have done a quite a few gigs as a duo and it works well at small gigs and house parties. But we don't have a full enough sound to make me happy when we plays bars and the like. So, all this has lead me to think about using backing tracks. A Marmite subject if ever there was one, but I want to give it a go. We live in France and gig mainly in the summer months. All the tourist bars are full of solo/duo acts using tracks. That's what people expect on a night out around here. This is where I'm currently at. Several kind people have helped me out here, but I don't feel obliged to have some poor soul answering all my banal and sometimes extremely basic questions. I've bought some tracks in the past, blissfully unaware that you can't change the key (well, maybe by semi-tone) so I started looking at Karaoke Version and similar. I get that you can change key, tempo and the like with that. Then stuff like Moises came along and I suddenly started to think this might be the answer. I don't about the legality of these things when it comes to performance, so maybe I'd have to use it only for practice sessions, of course...!! Would any kind BC'er be willing to chat to me over the next few weeks in order to help me get started..? I'm really not up to speed with music technology and YouTube research has left me with more questions than answers. By way of gear I have a MacBook Pro, GarageBand, some small mixers and not a lot of knowledge. Thanks in advance. Graham

Bought a few things from Mick lately. Mostly things I never knew I needed. Alway a smooth and quick deal, he knows his stuff does Mick. Cheers