peteb

I've played with quite a few guys who work for PA companies. There is a few of us (who have all played in the same circles) that we actually feel vaguely uncomfortable seeing people not coiling leads up correctly!

Personally, I want a bass to do one thing (or maybe two) really well. I don't want to be searching for the right sound. If I get a Fender, I want it to sound and look like a Fender. A Fender P bass is a reference sound (and look for that matter) and if I've got one in my hands that is what I want it to sound like. The same goes for other iconic basses with 'reference' sounds, be it a jazz or a stingray, etc. If I want a different sound and feel, I will use a different type of bass.

My information on Beth Hart is based on an interview that she gave about her old issues. She also said that she was diagnosed with a bi-polar disorder later in life. No mention (as I remember) of the anorexia, but I'm sure that was a big factor as well. It is good to see someone recovering from such a serious condition. It is also good to see her getting to a position where she can enjoy some of the success that her undoubted talent deserves.

The girl in the video is the excellent Beth Hart. At the time she had a bad heroin habit, which I think was her primary issue rather than anorexia. She seems to have been clean for a long time and has gone on to be pretty successful (a couple of biggish albums with Joe Bonamassa among others). This is a more recent photo (a few years ago). As you can see, she looks a lot healthier.

https://www.independent.com/2014/11/19/dating-musician-i-recommend-bass-players/

This is a rough mix of a track off the new album from a band that my mate BSD has recently hooked up with. A bit progtastic, but none the worse for that. Nice in a mid period Genesis kinda way and a strong vocal performance. Dave was a member on here at one point, but didn't stick around for too long. https://www.facebook.com/thiswintermachine/videos/521674288802869

I’m not so sure about this. Of all the musos that I’ve known in bands over the years; of the three biggest womanisers, two were drummers and one a bass player. It may be that some people drawn to bass are by nature the type to hide at the back and not seek the attention (see some of the replies in the ‘Are You a Boring Bass Player?’ thread from a few weeks ago), but that was never me. I think that it is more down to what you look like and how comfortable you are talking to women.

I don't think that China is the right analogy, but Africa could well be the new southeast Asia in twenty or so years time.

The thing is that the Chinese have no interest in teaching us anything about democracy, they are too busy taking over the world! In little more than two generations they have made astounding inroads into eradicating poverty and created a new, affluent, middle class. Along the way they have built new cities and bought up half of Africa. This is not to mention establishing incredible scale infrastructure projects that run from the heart of China to the borders of the EU and beyond. The thing is that we have to come to terms with the fact that, what is soon to be the most powerful country in the world is unashamedly autocratic and has no interest in even pretending to care about democracy. Whether we like that or not is of little importance. The UK may be in decline, but we are still very lucky not to be living in a country where there are men with machine guns outside the front door. I’m not planning to emigrate to Libya any time soon…!

You are, of course, quite correct – both about trade deals and your friend’s analysis of the divisions in Britain. Meanwhile, its back to bait and switch whenever there is talk about Britain’s problems and there are mentions of BLM and the ‘twitteratti’, etc. No mention of the lowest productivity compared to comparable nations, long-term lack of investment, unsustainable wealth inequalities, food banks, low standard of education for kids from lower income families, the declining number of people in the productive workforce, the increasingly divided population, growth of exceptionalism and nationalist sentiment, etc, etc. But no, it’s the twitteratti and BLM…!

We are isolated and weak.

Absolutely. There is a lot of wealth in the UK and a lot of the damage has already been done, so it won't necessarily appear to be drastic - maybe a couple of decades of gradual economic decline. The decline in political importance will be much more noticeable.

Growth of nationalism, xenophobia and an increased sense of British exceptionalism. Let’s see a united Ireland (now that it won’t come about at the point of a gun), an independent Scotland and then see if England can truly accept its place in the world and forget all of this post-imperialist nonsense. And as far as the ‘Demonisation of the White Working Class’, what do you expect when there is an increasingly aggressive element that is constantly blaming everyone but themselves for their problems?

Complete nonsense. The film alludes to those who have said that Britain has never come to terms with losing an empire and has been seeking its place in the world ever since. That is obviously true. Leaving the EU has only forced the issue and confirmed the diminished status of the UK. The UK is hopelessly divided and will continue to be so as it breaks up into its constituent parts. There is too much wealth in the country for it to fail completely, so we are talking about a gradual decline. I did use to have a degree of national pride, although I always accepted both the good and bad of Britain’s history and its influence on the world. However, I have now lost any pride in being English (and we are talking about England here) over the past ten years and welcome the UK breaking up in the hope that something better takes its place. This isn’t self-loathing in any way, merely loathing of people like the commentator in the film (and presumably people like you).

The trouble is that everyone knew he was dodgy, but no one knew to what extent. I remember speaking to a guy from Leeds in a pub about 1980, when I was a teenager. He was saying that Saville was a bit of a menace to young women (but no mention of him being a paedophile) and was well known for being a thug with connections to gangsters in Leeds.