peteb

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1455455844' post='2979206'] strange as it would seem, i don't think that liking people in an essential, or even that important for being in the entertainment business. [/quote] I would disagree, especially in bands where you have to travel and spend a lot of time with other musicians and have a pretty direct relationship with your audience. It might be different for film actors, but the same definitely applies to the theatre. I know a very good drummer locally with a decent CV who no one will play with any more, basically because he is a bit of a sociopath. People have put up with him for so long because he's good, but now people have had enough and no one will touch him.

To the OP - if you don'et like playing gigs then just don't. There are plenty of other people who will welcome the opportunity to take your place.1 If you don't like other people then being in the entertainment business (basically what playing live is about) is probably not for you...

[quote name='Len_derby' timestamp='1455449415' post='2979119'] This is an interesting one. As a bar visitor both sides of the Atlantic (but only as a customer in the USA, not playing) my observation is that generally the American side is less rowdy and less downright rude. There seems to be increasing inability for Brits to hold their drink. [/quote] I have very rarely played a gig where the crowd is overly rowdy or unfriendly, even in towns that have reputations for being, shall we say a little rumbustious! The very odd occasions where it has happened are so rare that they have become the source of legend, or at least stories recounted in pubs by groups of musicians... I don't know what gigs some people here are playing, but I don't come across them.

[quote name='wombatboter' timestamp='1455266151' post='2977548'] Well played but the arrangement takes over the song... [/quote] TBH I kinda think that's the point! I enjoyed the clip but would never actually buy it...

The late Phil Kennemore of Y&T was a really nice bloke. A couple of us were drinking at the bar after a Y&T show while one of our geekier friends was trying to get autographs when Phil came to get a drink. We ended up chatting and drinking for an hour or so, talking mainly about travel and his love of Britain rather than music or Y&T, whilst he drank the bar dry of dark spirits! The rest of the band made an appearance later and all seemed nice enough guys but didn't really get the humour (we were taking the mickey a bit by this point) but Kennemore just had a laugh and chatted like we were all old mates!

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1454013115' post='2965511'] Yes, we know the history of the band but it's still not rock. Using a blues based scale does not make something rock. [/quote] You are of course quite right in everything you say, but you are kinda missing my original point. To a white teenage rock fan in a northern city in the late 70s, reggae was part of the alternative to mainstream pop and therefore was part of the wider alternative rock (of that time) culture. To this day I quite like hearing the odd reggae track but I know nothing about the genre or own any albums by any reggae artist except Bob Marley, although I did used to have a Steel Pulse album about 30 years ago (I wonder where that went).

A bit of a tribute clip / recent interviews with Jimmy and his Last In Line band members. You can see that the hard living has taken it's toll but you can see what a solid player he was (right to the end) and unsurprisingly, he appears to have been a bit of a character! I particularly like the anecdote where he was asked to retrieve a van from a police pound (as the original driver had been thrown in jail) and deliver some gear to Olympia studios where Led Zeppelin happened to be recording Kashmir. He stayed for two days... [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl8OvjtBmds"]https://www.youtube....h?v=Wl8OvjtBmds[/url]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1453938777' post='2964583'] Pete you nailed it. Look at all the money my generation Is spending on the Flower Power or Happy Together Caribbean cruises. My friend Vance Brecia,guitarist ,backing vocals and musical director for Hermans Hermits told me those 60s oldy tours are making tons of cash. Blue [/quote] So are blues cruises and some of the classic rock holiday events.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1453938354' post='2964576'] Blues and rock are so closely linked, to me those two are one in the same. When I hear blues I can hear rock, when I hear rock, I can hear blues. Blue [/quote] As someone who plays the blues circuit in the UK, try telling that to some of the blues purists...!

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1453936276' post='2964539'] I understand what you're saying there and I don't of course dispute if it was like that for you but I have to say I never when I was a teenager/twenties in the 60s and 70s did it feel like only rock mattered. Rock was one thing but I was always also into blues, country, soul, ska, reggae, folk, jazz, ... just music really. And there was always plenty of rock I really did not like and still don't. [/quote] When I was saying 'rock music' I was meaning in its most encompassing definition, including blues, soul, reggae, etc - album orientated popular music of the time really.

Mark - it might be an idea to flag up what day the latest instalment starts on when you post on BC

[quote name='TrevorR' timestamp='1453930380' post='2964446'] I never realised he was a regular contributor. How cool. I had always wondered why he randomly was reviewing a bass for them. Explains it! [/quote] I don't think that it was over a prolonged period[i]. [/i]I also remember him reviewing an early Musicman Stingray - I believe that he finished the column by saying he was buying the review model in preference to his old Fender ([b]if [/b]I remember correctly)...!

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1453928702' post='2964416'] Cool story, My band is a 70s style hard rock and blues band. We have been together for 10 years and play around 75 shows annually. We still attract and have a loyal following of the 60+ demographic. When the 20 somethings wonder into one of our shows they leave immediately. That's fine, we're lucky, we don't need their business. So the point is, those of us still playing Rock and roll have to work hard on marketing to that 60+ market. A lot of us are still in great shape,we look great and were not settling for that rocking chair yet. Blue [/quote] There has always been kids who are not interested in seeing live music. In my youth they would have headed for the nearest disco! You are right that there is a new 60+ market for live music. The rock and roll generation(s) have grown up but they have no intention of growing old...

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1453929266' post='2964425'] Blue, if you'd been in charge in the late 1950s and had the same attitude to 21 year olds as you do now, then Rock and Roll would never have got started. We'd still be listening to Perry Como. Lots of young people are into rock, classic and otherwise. Maybe it's different in your world but that's how it is in the UK. However, the thing is, young people are not only into rock they are into all sorts of music. They are, in my experience, very open-minded about music. [/quote] I agree. There are plenty of kids into rock music but it just doesn't have the stranglehold of popular (youth) culture that it did when I was a teenager. Many will go and see a classic rock band in a pub one weekend then go to a dance club the next! Of course, you are also right that music does move on and we can't expect the music of our youth to be preserved in aspic. The classic rock of 20 years time in the future will doubtless be different to what it is now...

[quote name='GrammeFriday' timestamp='1453930703' post='2964452'] Yes, I did. Saying "I'm not trolling" is no guarantee that you are not trolling. And this is still looking like a troll thread to me. [/quote] To be frank, it seems more like that you are trolling someone by repeatedly accusing them of trolling! I don't think that Blue is right on this subject but it is a legitimate topic for discussion...

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1453931062' post='2964462'] A decent rock and roll band? Blue [/quote] Yes, definitely...

[quote name='TrevorR' timestamp='1453926456' post='2964379'] Hope you don't mind me posting here. A sort of Wal-based tribute to the late Jimmy Bain over on the Wal Bass History Blog... [url="http://walbasshistory.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/wal-pro-ii-bass-review-by-jimmy-bain-of.html"]http://walbasshistor...my-bain-of.html[/url] [/quote] I remember Jimmy's reviews in Beats International. I recall him writing a column explaining how to EQ a bass amp properly for relative beginners, including four examples of different types of bass tones. This was invaluable to me and was the start for me learning how to get a decent bass sound.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1453927415' post='2964396'] I'll have to disagree. And remember I'm talking about local level bar bands playing rock. Sure lots of young people are going out to see Passion Pit and Interpole. But that's not local level and it's not bar rock as a matter it's not even rock. Maybe I should have said, younger people as a rule have little interest in rock and roll at the local bar/pub level. Blue [/quote] That is not necessarily true in the UK. Sure, they do not have the same attachment to rock music that kids did when I was young, but there are still 20 somethings regularly turning up to pub (rock) gigs!

Just bought an [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Aguilar TLC compressor from Lozz - very smooth transaction and Lozz was very helpful and easy to deal with...! [/font][/color]

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1453855113' post='2963579'] Agreed, but I sense over all the enthusiasm for gigging musicians once had is also down. Blue [/quote] Don't fall into the trap that Basschat is representative of most gigging musicians in the UK. There are still plenty of opportunities for playing live, just not as many as there were a few years ago. The main factor for this is the number of venues / pubs that are struggling to keep going for a number of reasons. But there is still an audience out there for a decent band!

All of my heroes who are too old to die young are leaving us! Hearing Rainbow Rising as a kid was the lightbulb moment when I decided that I wanted to be in a band and when I saw Jimmy Bain on the cover I thought that there is no reason why I couldn't do that. Jimmy Bain was basically the reason that I picked up a bass guitar...!

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1453475511' post='2959832'] There's no denying all of that, but there are so many doing it at a much less intense way (whilst still being very good at it...). Those playing as amateurs are not taking anything from anybody, and not pretending to be any more than 'week-end warriors' (well, only a little..!). There's a place for all, and mutual tolerance and respect would be useful, I'd say. [/quote] I can see your point but I think that the issue is that in a very competitive live music scene, some very amateurish bands play for free or next to nothing and undercut much better bands that expect to be paid the going rate. All of this is against a background of pubs struggling to keep afloat and fewer opportunities for new bands. As a result, punters get a poor experience and don't come again, possibly being put off the idea of watching live music and landlords stop putting bands on and go around telling other landlords that live music is a waste of time. However, pubs that do their homework and book the right bands for the going rate still seem to be reasonable busy. But the market is being undermined by rubbish bands and naive landlords...!

[quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1453418011' post='2959459'] It's nice to be nice. [/quote] Very true - it's nice to get paid occasionally as well...

[quote name='vmaxblues' timestamp='1453361592' post='2958679'] Some great responses guys. It isn't about the cash per se, rather it is about someone taking the pee, this guy is notoriously tight and I suspect we will do this for £200 and find the disco on £350. Charity gigs I have always done, no problem, and I did a mates party recently with my other band and me and the drummer who were mates with him took no fee but the others had their full rate. I will do it if the others want to, is the bottom line, I just don't like punters undervaluing the band, and as you say, everyone at that gig will end up knowing we charged £200, so the problem compounds. anyway, great comments guys! [/quote] That's something completely different. Where I have done gigs for free it has been for a genuine charity or where I'm doing a favour for a friend who I know would do the same for me if the boot was on the other foot.

[quote name='bonzodog' timestamp='1453320874' post='2958482'] I will probably be in a minority of one here but I, and I'm sure my two band mates are the same think about the gig before the money. If it's a party it will probably be a good night so we would be happy with £50 each. We've done loads of party's for friends of friends on the cheap. I've spent 15 years playing in boring clubs where I only did it for the money. Nowadays I'd happily play for a low fee as long as I enjoy it and I see people enjoying themselves to our music. Life is short so I want to play as many good gigs as possible. [/quote] I agree as well. Much as I think a band should [b]generally[/b] insist on being paid the going rate, there is absolutely nothing with doing a favour for a friend of one of the band. A few months ago a friend asked if we could play at her wedding. I knew she was on a budget (the wedding reception was in a pub to save costs, etc) so I said I would see what we could do on price. The band had a chat and agreed to do it for half our normal pub fee. I offered to forego my share, but being decent guys the rest of the band wouldn’t hear of it. I did about 40 gigs last year – a shortfall of £30 from one gig to help out a friend is neither here nor there to be honest. I remember similar occasion several years ago with another band, when a good friend of all of ours was in a similar position. He asked how much it would cost for us to play his wedding, there were a few looks and shrugs between the band and the guitarist just said ‘well nothing is a round figure’! it ended up being a great night and we helped out a mate. What goes around comes around and when I got married four years ago I had five well-known local bands play half hour sets at the wedding party. The only ones who got paid were the nominal headlining (3 piece) band and I had to literally force them to take £20 each at the end of the night to pay for their taxis home. The guitar player said that he already had a lift home and wasn’t getting a taxi and insisted that I took the £20 back. I suppose it depends on your outlook on life…