peteb

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1397111024' post='2420665'] you saying i should wear the wedding dress AND the tiara? [/quote] Definitely go with the tiara!

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1397079515' post='2420546'] Are you seriously equating knowledge of music theory to playing competence? Well I guess that would make it easy for venues to find 'quality' bands - just insist on seeing their grade certificates before booking them, along with their PAT certificates, liability insurance certificates, passports . . . . [/quote] No, you are completely misunderstanding me. I am not the slightest bit interested in the various credentials that you quote above and you certainly do not need to have passed graded musical exams to be a competent rock / pop musician (quite the opposite in some cases)! However, there are limits and if you don’t know what a scale is the chances are you are pretty cr*p…

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1397046629' post='2420050'] Thing is, Pete, you and a sizeable minority here are in 'proper' working pro or semi-pro bands. You've paid your dues and you can legitimately command a 'proper' fee. I suspect there are a greater number of hobbyists here (like myself) who are operating in an entirely different league. They probably play the venues you avoid. Some of these hobbyist bands expect to get paid the same money as you. Others do (inc myself) do not. [/quote] By the way, ‘You speak for yourself sunshine’ was supposed to be delivered in an Eric Morecambe voice and probably should have been accompanied by a smiley! You are right that there is an element of having paid dues. You can see that I think that there is a problem that some people here think that it doesn’t matter if they know what a simple scale is, yet are prepared to subject innocent punters performing at what can only be described as a gig! This does nothing to encourage said punters to regularly support local gigs in pubs. If you look at it from a Landlord’s perspective – to run a successful music pub you will generally have to put on live music every Friday and Saturday night every week of the year (maybe only Saturdays in January). You do that you would need a roster of maybe 25 to 40 decent bands (each playing 2 or 3 times a year), of which say 10 bands can be relied to pack the place and the rest will draw a sufficient crowd to ensure that you still make some money and tick over. But, of course, it is unlikely that there are going to be 25 local bands of that standard, not to mention that bands do break up or have to cancel for various reasons, etc! Therefore the landlord needs to widen his net and leave a few slots open for bands from outside the area to play. Obviously, the first time a non-local band play no one will know who they are and are unlikely to pack the place out. But, if the pub has a reputation for putting decent bands on there will be a hard core of regulars who will come on spec anyway. Hopefully the band will go down well with the regulars and they will start to build a following in that area and pull more next time they play there. Of course, this requires the landlord to do his homework to get the right bands and the bands to make the most of any positive feedback and to promote the next gig on social media, etc. Now, I might be interested in doing a pub gig 50 miles away (even it costs more in diesel / time to get there) if it potentially opens up a new market and helps to fill up the diary. But I am not prepared to do so for no money – I might as well take a more local gig or just go to the pub to see one of my mate’s bands play! Not to mention that if a landlord is not prepared to invest some money to discover a new band he probably won’t bother to promote the gig in any way! Of course, many landlords will take the easy option and book rubbish local bands who are prepared to play for nothing! These same landlords will be in their empty pub on a Saturday night, moaning that putting on live music is a waste of time and blaming the bands…

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1396972770' post='2419314'] Too many of us delude ourselves that we are semi-pros when in truth we are amateurs - that is - 'someone who does something for free because they like it'. At root, most of us are far more interested in playing in front of an audience than we are in delivering that audience. Why this insistence on getting paid if we neglect the business side of things? [/quote] You speak for yourself sunshine! However, you do have a point – there are plenty of bands out there who are incredibly amateurish and have no business playing in public! If they are prepared to play for free then they are putting a value on what is essentially a product they are providing in a commercial environment (i.e. playing a gig in a pub) and that value is NOTHING! Why should a landlord bother to take such a band seriously and promote their gig? Bear in mind that plenty of landlords are just as amateurish as the bands they book and find that the idea of a band who are prepared to play for nothing seems very attractive. Of course, after a few weeks of cr*p bands they wonder why they have an empty pub on gig nights and blame it on a lack of demand for live music! That is not to say that I will not occasionally play a gig at a loss where it seems like the gig will provide exposure for the band, or just because we fancy doing it. Therefore I could be a few quid out of pocket after diesel, a couple of pints and a Travelodge for the night but the point is that the promoter / organiser (these types of gigs tend not to be pubs) have had to put their hand in their pocket to pay the band (even if it doesn’t cover our expenses). Therefore they have an interest in promoting the event to ensure that it is a success in order to get their money back…!

Not sure that the pub rock scene is ready for too many Accept cover versions, even around here...!

[quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1396720371' post='2416784'] When a player only wants to play in a covers band which means learning someone else's lines parrot fashion, why spend hours learning endless modes and diminished scales when he/she will never use them. If that player then chooses to move into a genre such as jazz then those skills will be useful but not before. So why waist time. [/quote] Surely the whole point is that having a basic understanding of scales will make it quicker and easier to accurately learn the basslines of the cover songs that you want to play??

We stormed it mate! First gig and all that , therefore a bit rough and ready on some of the intros and outros, but we got a big crowd and went down a storm. As you say, can’t go wrong at the Tap with that type of music – loads of reaction on Facebook, etc (link to band’s page below in my sig). We need a few more songs and a bit more work but looks like we may have a decent little band on our hands…

Hey dude, I will resurrect the old Heavy Rock Band Set List thread in off topic and post a set list tomorrow if I get chance..

My new hard rock covers band plays its first gig tonight at the Brewery Tap in Idle (north Bradford). The band features Neil ‘Sak’ Saxton on guitar (ex leader of NWOBHM stalwarts Baby Tuckoo) and singer Rik Finn. Rik is a real find, a cracking rock vocalist who has never played a ‘rock’ gig before, but has had extensive experience as a professional singer and dancer on cruise ships and the like. We are playing well known rock covers, but are trying to avoid the more obvious ones (i.e. no ‘Enter Sandman’ or Whole Lotta Rosie’, etc). We are hoping for a good turn out, but anyone who can get there will be most welcome – should be a good night…

[quote name='ThePapabull' timestamp='1396635735' post='2415969'] Hi all, Can anyone let me know if its possible to get/buy strings for a normal 34" scale 4 string bass that have al low string tension or feel? I realise that this may well be a stupid question as I guess string tension is governed by scale length i.e. the smaller the scale / neck length the lower the tension….. however if you don't ask you'll never know.. many thanks PB [/quote] Technically you are referring to 'compliance' rather than 'tension'. DR Hi-Beams are generally thought to have low (perceived) tension, whereas their Lo-riders have a much tighter feel...

[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1396628496' post='2415873'] You scored a Bass 350 for a ton?? Oh you spawny git. That's a fabulous bargain. [/quote] Surprisingly, I've seen a few of em up on here going for a song...! I suppose they are a bit out of fashion as you can't lift them with your little finger, but a real bargain...

I had one for about 5 minutes about 15 years ago! To be honest I didn't really get on with it, but a hell of an amp for £100...

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1396381445' post='2413010'] Inform, you did. Y'know, I've never done one of these blues jam things. I'd probably have understood 'Quick change' but 'In from the five' would have left me cacking. A brief glossary explaining stuff that people suddenly shout out a pico-second before the count-in would be dead handy. I've had a lengthy Google and can't seem to find anything. Any pointers, anyone? [/quote] The thing is I have done loads of ‘em, so you do tend to pick up the lingo! I’ve done quite a few as part of a house band at jam sessions at festivals etc, where the featured artists (who generally are great players) get up and stand in after they have done their set earlier in the evening. With these guys you are lucky if you get a quick shout of “fast shuffle in D, in from the five”! The worst are the Americans, who for some reason always want to play fast funk tunes in E flat. Occasionally they may tell you the name of the song, not that that is too important in blues! Still, keeps you on your toes and can be great fun…

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1396380096' post='2412978'] Thanks Pete. I have learned something new today! [/quote] Excellent – I aim to entertain and inform! And when JT comes back and tells us what ‘henpecked 4ths’ are then we will all have learnt something else new…

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1396378718' post='2412953'] While we're at it, what does 'In from the five' mean? [/quote] Oooh please Sir, I know the answer to that one! It means that you start the intro to the song from where you would normally change to the V chord, i.e. if you are playing a standard I-IV-V twelve bar in the key of A, the intro would be 4 bars long and start where you would normally change to E7… As an alternative, you could start with a 4 bar guitar solo and the band could come in on the change to D7 to play an 8 bar intro, which would be ‘in from the four’…

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1396347045' post='2412449'] If you are playing with just one gtr you could always jazz up the turn rounds drop down to the 6th and henstacked 4ths which will turn you round onto the root just in time. That Rosco Beck vid shows a few pointers in that regard [/quote] What on earth does that mean?? I've played the blues circuit up and down the country and I have never heard anyone use the term 'henstacked 4ths'...

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1396299980' post='2412141'] Quite so. HM is for individualist musos. Any homogeneity of appearance - white, male, long hair, tatts, black t-shirt - is just evidence of their rejection of bourgeois ideas of 'conformity'. We must excuse Bilbo for - as a Jazzer - he embraces a musical form which has absolutely no predetermined image in the eye of the public. [color=#ffffff].[/color] [/quote] Or indeed any interest whatsoever from the public! Of course, we must remember that Bilbo was once a fully paid up member of the HM community before he saw the error of his ways and took up jazz as a penance…

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1395303002' post='2400776'] I just want to make it clear that everyone in Kit's band has a day job, including Kit. None of us is involved in music for the money, we are in the band (and other bands) because we are passionate about music. Of course most of us would love to make music our sole source of income, but I think we all want to be in a successful band, rather than the session/teaching/cover band/pit gig route. [/quote] BTW - I wasn't having a go at you or your band in any way! We all lose gigs we love from time to time and of course it can be very frustrating. But there is always something around the corner - a new gig and a new challenge...

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1395320809' post='2401032'] I'm not sure if it's that unusual but I always take plasters. Never know when there's going to be some equipment related accident. Or blisters. Edit to add - they have to be fabric plasters. Can't play with waterproof plasters on your fingers. [/quote] Very difficult to play wearing plasters so I always have superglue in my gigbag. Obviously you just superglue over any blisters or cuts on your fingers. Also, a couple of spare clean tee shirts...

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1395258795' post='2400422'] The music industry is only interested in money. But then plenty of musicians are too. [/quote] IME if a musician is only interested in money then they should have trained to be an accountant or a lawyer! A lot of musicians are overly interested in glory but at the first sniff of a bit of money become completely infatuated with it! Onwards and upwards...

I've gone off black basses as a rule these days (despite having owned a few in the past), but tort on black with a maple neck can still look pretty cool...

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1394240027' post='2389569'] If I played Tempus Fugit with RS's tone, the whole song would sound completely different. Same as if I played Pull Up To The Bumper with CS's tone. The bass tone affects the music quite substantially. [/quote] True, but rather extreme examples! You could play different types of music with the same tone and although it may well sound completely different it could work equally as well in both musical situations (reggae and prog rock stretching this concept somewhat)…