The Saint

Last year we played at a rather nice restaurant down on the coast and had a great time. During the break they booked us for this year...! It's a long evening, starting at 8pm and finishing around 1am. The band split into various combinations to do some duo/trio sets. We kick off with acoustic ballads and some jazz while dinner is served, then break open the rock & roll barrel as the evening progresses. The money is good and they supply the band and our partners with a top quality 4 course meal. It's not our typical venue but it's nice to have our partners there and be looked after....

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1429602044' post='2752949'] Spooky, I'm sitting on a train playing those sections right now! [/quote] Strange that... I get annoyed when the guy next to me has his iPod up too loud. I'd be really peeved to be sat next to a guy with a bass rig on one seat and his guitar neck sticking out into the aisle.....

We had a gig the week after he passed away. Dedicated all of our 'Buddy' songs to Joe B. And we do quite a few...!! I saw 'Buddy the Musical' a few years ago and the guy playing his part was a ringer for him. Spookily so... As the Doc said above, there at the birth. Not many can say that....

Thanks BigRed I'd agree that it's no substitute for a real acoustic if recording, but the tones were quite passable in a band situation. It all sorted itself in the end. There was a problem with the guitar which I found when I first tried it out in the shop. There was a slight crackle which we thought was the jack socket. It turned out to be a problem with the electrics which they couldn't fix, so I passed on it. Having done a bit more research, the going rate for these guitars is more than I'm willing to spend so It looks like I'll be sticking to conventional acoustic. The shop were quite fair and I know they also thought the problem was quite fixable when they showed it to me. Graham

There ain't many Uke players going past the third fret, never mind the seventh...!! Seriously, as the strings are not steel, they stretch much more than we are used to on bass or guitar. So if the action is high at the nut, you'll be stretching the string a lot by the time you hit the fretboard. Hence the sharp notes as soon as you go up the dusty end. The first fret will actually stretch the string more than if you are at the seventh fret. New Ukulele strings are notorious for going out of tune for the first few weeks. After that they settle down. I take mine out the case after a couple of weeks and it's spot on. If you're using the strings that came with the kit, you may be better off getting another set from Aquila. They will still take time to settle in, but it will save you a week of waiting. Friction tuners will also make accurate tuning difficult. But you've the satisfaction of having created something yourself, so don't be put off. I've seen players of very old intruments tuning up after every song. I'm pretty sure some of them purposely don't play songs that last more than 2 minutes...! On the plus side, you won't need to change them for a few years....

The four hour gig seems to be the norm for American bars. I think two gigs a month would finish me off.... So how does that work? We start around 9pm and normally end around midnight with a 20 min break. Depends on the clientele of course, but that's the general rule. UK gigs were usually 2 x 45 mins. What time would you start and finish? We normally get between €300-400 per gig for a four piece. Plus all drinks and a decent meal. If you get pro rata then it's not too bad, anything less and it must be hard going.

[size=5]OK, not much help to you guys in the UK but here in France we have our own issues.[/size] [size=5]I live right down on the Med, so we have a ready-made market of holiday people keen to enjoy themselves. Which is great from May through to September as there are literally hundreds of bars within a 45 minute drive. [/size] [size=5]All the beach resorts have live music through the summer and if you start to include the hotels, self-catering resorts and camp sites it opens up even more venues. In one resort nearby, the evenings are a cacophony of noise with 10-15 bars in a row all sporting a live band. And every place is jam full of punters.[/size] [size=5]We’re tapping into the expat market of summer garden-parties, which promises to be lucrative. [/size] [size=5]We’re also getting approaches from festival organisers. Now that’s good money and a lot of fun.[/size] [size=5]We started gigging in the spring and at first I couldn’t believe how easy it was to get gigs. Really….!![/size] [size=5]I’d walk into 10 bars and come out with 6 confirmed bookings. This was for a new band with no history, no website with the request coming from a guy sounding like Officer Crabtree out of ‘Allo ‘Allo…. My French is/was crap and they trusted me…!! [/size] [size=5]The first couple of gigs were for food and beer only, so they could get an idea of what we were about. But every gig resulted in being asked back for a decent fee. I soon found out that every band is fed and watered (as mentioned above) without question so they must have thought I was mad.[/size] [size=5]Anyway, within 3 months we were out at least 2 or 3 times a week. And that continued right through to late September. [/size] [size=5]And that’s when I realised just how seasonal this area is for music. The boss would just came up at the end of the night, thank us and said ‘see you in May’…[/size] [size=5]We’re lucky in that a few of the local village bars kept us on during the winter, but for a much reduced fee. But it keeps the band together and sometimes it really is a paid rehearsal.[/size] [size=5]We’ve had no bad experiences from bar owners. All have been as good as gold, always get paid the agreed fee, cash ready in the envelope and never quibbling about the bar tab, although we all drive so not too much of an issue.[/size] [size=5]So, to answer your points…[/size] [indent=1][i]1 Location, is it down town where a lot of people including your fans can access it[/i][/indent] [indent=1][size=5][i]2 Is it sitting out in the middle of no where [/i][/size][/indent] [indent=1][size=5][size=5][i]3 Does the Manager or owner have experience with live rock bands [/i][/size][/size][/indent] [indent=1][size=5][size=5][size=5][i]4 Does the Manager understand his clientele [/i][/size][/size][/size][/indent] [indent=1][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][i] 5 Do they have a history of having live bands at least once a week, do they book bands like yours[/i][/size][/size][/size][/size][/indent] [indent=1][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5]The first two are answered above. The last three are[/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/indent] [indent=1][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5]all yes, very much so. They wouldn’t last long if they didn’t.[/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/indent] [indent=1][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5]Do they appreciate the kind of music we do? No, most couldn’t care less..!![/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/indent] [indent=1][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5]I’ve hit on a big plus for me as the singer. I speak English..![/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/indent] [indent=1][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5]Most French front men and girls have awful accents when singing. I know I’d have the same issues if I tried to sing in French..! So similar bands to us can be quite painful to listen to.[/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/indent] [indent=1][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5]So immediately the band sound more authentic because, as far they’re concerned, we could be English or American. We play early rock and roll and rockabilly so it works well. [/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/indent] [indent=1][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5]I tried to get my French guitarist to do the chat to the audience, but he refused. I asked why and he replied that it sounded better when I did the banter in English. “But they can’t understand an effing thing I‘m saying…..” He smiled and said that it was what the punters were used to. They watch videos of English and American bands pratttling on so it was all quite normal. I swear I’m going to recite a nursey ryhme one night and see if I get any reaction. Apart from my American drummer…!![/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/indent] [indent=1][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5]So we certainly don’t get any negativity from gigging. We have quite a few venues that we can play every 6 weeks or so and that keeps it fresh. And if we’re gigging 2-3 times a week in the summer, that’s about as much as I want. And keeps the money coming in..![/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/indent] [indent=1][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5]I hope I haven't made all this sound too rosy. I don't want you lot coming down here and nicking all my gigs...[/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/indent] [indent=1][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5][size=5]Graham[/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/size][/indent]

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1421334894' post='2660038'] Weird rock n roll fact - Dave Dee was a copper before he was full time in music and attended the scene of the accident when Eddie Cochran died. [/quote] According to folklore, Eddie's guitar was recovered from the scene by Dave Dee and stored at the police station until collected by family reps. As a budding musician, you can picture Dave taking the opportunity to take a good look at it, maybe even playing a few riffs....

Has anyone got experience of using these guitars, an acoustic version of their more popular solid bodied guitars? [size=4]There's a used one for sale in my local shop at a good price. [/size] [size=4]I tried it out today and was very impressed with the [/size]various body options, but both the 12 strings were outstanding. Can't see me using the banjo and sitar much though...! It has the ability to connect to the Line 6 foot pedals for even more options, but I don't think I will have much use for that. I'll be buying it for live use in my rock and roll band for a few songs to save using a conventional acoustic with all the associated feedback issues. Any advice appreciated. Graham

I had the pleasure of spending some time chatting to Dozy at a gig around 5 years ago. Really nice guy who was happy to chat fondly about the glory days. Top bloke....

I've just caught up with thread and a very heartwarming one it is too.... A great effort by a great community of musicians. [size=4]So my question is this...[/size] [size=4]​What are the [/size]chances[size=4] of it coming across the channel to France? [/size] [size=4]I live in the [/size]sunny[size=4] [/size]bit down[size=4] on the Med and have lots of contacts with bands and venues here. My band would certainly like to be involved. There is a huge festival scene here in the [/size]summer[size=4] months and I could see this bass covering a lot of kilometres. There is a well supported network locally for families touched by cancer, mainly French but large numbers of ex-pats are also involved. I'm sure they would take on some publicity to help things along.[/size] [size=4]If someone thinks its doable, let me know.[/size]

That's why I was unsure about the construction. If it has a solid body, why would it have a laminated top..? But the fact that it's light is really all I need to know. Thanks for the info....

I've used Thomann on numerous occasions and they have always been superb. The tracking service has always been accurate, so no complaints there. Having said that, a guitar arrived damaged once but Thomann sorted it quickly. Excellent customer service. I ordered a guitar from Andertons in Guilford a month or two ago and they used UPS. I ordered at lunch time on Wednesday and it arrived at my doorstep in France at midday Friday. So good service from both couriers.

Hi and thanks for the update. I've been looking for a thin bodied guitar that will give me a good acoustic tone and that one seems to fit the bill. I was in my local store yesterday and they had a used Line 6 Variax Acoustic 700 for sale. It promises a lot, especially when paired with one of their floor pedals. I couldn't try it out fully as it had a fault but I'm going back next week to take a closer look. I still can't figure out if the Neligan is a solid body or not.

I'm keen to know how this guitar has performed so far... Any update....? Cheers Graham

That's one heck of a guitar for the money.... Last month I bought an Epiphone Casino, the Lennon signature one from Andertons. Excellent service (£4 delivery charge, 48 hrs service to me in the south of France....!!) and a brilliant guitar. Epiphone really make some cracking guitars that are probably 80% as good as their Gibson cousins, but at a quarter of the price. If I hadn't bought the Casino I'd be seriously looking at one of these.

OK, we've just started doing 'San Francisico Bay Blues'. If it's good enough for Clapton.......

Thanks for all the advice. I think I've settled on a RCD with surge protectors. Simple and fairly cheap... I think the item above will tell you if the live and neutral are reversed. Used to have in in my caravan when touring. We don't need them here as the switching is different, but thanks anyway. Graham