peteb

You must be somewhat younger than me! At one time, my rig was a 410, an ace but but really heavy Yamaha 215 loaded with JBLs and an 8u rack containing a separate preamp & a PA power amp! That wasn't particularly unusual at the time. My current 410 is much lighter than its counterpart of 30 years ago. Let's be honest, there is always a compromise when using lightweight gear. I've never found a Class D amp that I'm happy with and I prefer the sound of ceramic to neo speakers, even though the neo 212 that I usually take out these days does sound pretty good (but not quite as good as the ceramic 410).

It's not just the number of gigs, but the distance you're driving and consequently the time you get back home. Until recently, I was using a Mesa amp in a 4u rack and a 410 with ceramic speakers. It sounded great and wasn't really that heavy compared to the 810s and other amps we used to shlump about a bit ago. These days I've got a Handbox R-400 (I just can't get on with Class D amps) and a 212 with neo speakers, which is a bit easier at the end of the night (I know that some people here who will think that this is still heavier than they would be prepared to take out). I'm not really doing that many more gigs these days than I was, but they tend to be further away and the band is more spread out, so it's not as if there is anyone to help at 2:00 am to unload the car. Funnily enough, I recently did a local gig at a venue run by a coupe of mates of mine - one a guitar player I've played in many bands with and the other a former pro bass player who's toured with a couple of big(ish) names. They were both amazed at how small the rig was that I turned up with and the bass player was saying that he would have to think about putting together a more transportable rig (he's still using a rack and two 410s). Now what I'm using isn't that small compared to what some others are going out with. It goes to show that while smaller rigs are the fashion on here, there are still plenty of guys going out with old school 412s or 410s (or even 810s) every time they play a larger venue.

I will just leave this here

https://www.google.co.uk/

But the thing is, we're all just song and dance people. Whether you like it or not, you are in the entertainment business and if someone has enjoyed the show, then meeting and briefly talking to you afterwards adds another dimension for many punters. If you sign (and hopefully sell) something, then that is just a memento of a good night. Of course, you aren't actually famous and whether they still cherish the signature a few weeks later is another thing. But that's not really the point, it's more about the moment... The only problem is if you sign a few autographs and start thinking you're in the Rolling Stones! We've all seen that happen and it's never a good thing (even if you happen to actually be in the Rolling Stones)...

These days only occasionally, as well as the odd request for a selfie. Back in the 80s - many, many times! It occasionally amuses me to think that somewhere there is a woman in her mid 50s going through a shoebox of souvenirs when she's moving house, wondering why on earth she asked for my autograph and trying to remember who the hell I am...!

So why post on this thread?

Oh yes, the operation that caused him to start singing like Vince Neil* and speaking like Roger Moore playing Widow Twanky**! It also caused them to stop production of the 1987 album with just the vocals to do, Sykes to suggest that they get another singer in to finish the album, Coverdale to fire Sykes for even thinking of that and then to supposedly lock himself in a car to stop Sykes from beating him up...!! *** * OK, a slight exaggeration ** Not much of an exaggeration *** All 'allegedly'

I'm afraid that I am a fount of knowledge / trivia about 70s blues rock...!

Remember that Coverdale got his initial break because Blackmore wanted a singer like Paul Rodgers, but when they asked Rodgers he turned them down as he had just started Bad Company. Coverdale (completely unknown outside the North East at the time) sent in a tape where they thought that his singing had a PR like quality, so he got the audition and then the DP gig!

Queen of Hearts from Northwinds - a bit different from DP, but a nod to the blues rock of early Whitesnake (but a bit more subtle)...

I don't think that anyone is disputing that. Rodgers is one of the last of the great rock singers from the 70s / 80s who is still at something like the top of their game (or near enough at least). Coverdale has sounded pretty awful for years, especially towards the end of a long tour. His voice has long gone. However, Coverdale had a 'purple' patch (if you will excuse the pun) from Come Taste the Band, to Northwinds, up to around Come an' Get It. In that period, he was as good (or better) than anyone. It's unfortunate that the stuff he had his biggest hits with was when he started singing in a slightly different register, IMO losing the quality that made his voice so great in the first place.

It's a really good album with a few great songs (Queen of Hearts / Only My Soul, etc). Micky Moody on guitar and co-writing and the great Alan Spenner on bass. Well worth a listen...

Remember, Coverversion got the DP gig because Paul Rodgers (who Blackmore originally wanted) wasn't available! If you listen to Northwinds, (DC's second solo album), he just has this great blue-eyed soul voice, but could also belt it out as well! The vocal performance on that album is as good as I've heard (in that milieu at least). The pairing of DC and Glenn Hughes in DP worked really well, and was even better with the addition of Tommy Bolin on CTTB.

Yea, I think that Coverdale from the late DP era, solo albums & early Whitesnake was right up there with Rodgers. Actually, he might possibly be my favourite singer (from that era at least).

I always had a soft spot for Knocking at Your Back Door, despite it having some the dumbest lyrics I've ever heard (even by Ian Gillan's very high standards - so bad it's brilliant).

Yea, I'm a big fan. His first solo album (Teaser) has always been one of my top 5 Desert Island Disks! Spectrum is a great album as well - a fusion album with tunes, great playing and the drum part that Van Halen ripped off for Hot For Teacher! He didn't actually play with Mahavishnu Orchestra, although both Billy Cobham (obviously) and Jan Hammer were on Spectrum. I've never heard Mind Transplant (the Alphonse Mouzon album he played on). Any good?

I will put forward 'You Keep On Moving', mainly because it is on my favourite DP album, Come Taste The Band. I always preferred the Coverdale versions of Purple, especially with the excellent Tommy Bolin.

It takes effort and dedication to succeed in pretty much any profession. Being a musician is no different.

The thing to remember is that most pro bass players are not ‘musical and creative geniuses’, just very good players. But they are still just human beings who have the time to develop the skills they need and ensure that they can get things right in a number of different musical situations very quickly and with a minimum of hassle / rehearsal time. I would say that the main difference between guys like this and very good amateurs / semi-pros will be consistency and nuance. You may be able to play pretty much what they play; they will just pay it that little bit better. Also, they will have better contacts and not have the issues with availability that most guys with day jobs will have. It is true that many basslines are very easy to play. There are many bass players who can play AC/DC bass parts well enough, but how many can play them as well as Cliff Williams? Being able to play simple stuff really well is a skill that pros will need.

Funnily enough, I looked him up after seeing your post and he did the following interview with advice for how to make it as a jobbing pro bass player: https://www.musicradar.com/news/session-ace-derek-franks-top-tips-for-bassists-you-dont-get-gigs-by-staying-in-your-bedroom-posting-instagram-and-youtube-videos Worth reading for anyone interested in this thread.

I think that people can be overly referential about the Fab 4 (except Quincy). They weren't the greatest musicians of the pop era at all and when they did things that didn't really work, fanboys fall over themselves to try and justify even the not so good stuff as proof of their genius! However, they are certainly the most important pop group of all time and left a catalogue of many terrific songs.

Dunno, Quincy Jones once called McCartney “the worst bass player I ever heard” and described the Beatles as “no-playing motherf—-rs”...! I'm not saying that I necessarily agree and QJ did backtrack a little when they inevitably came for him with torches and pitchforks, but I think it's safe to say Quincy has at least some doubts about Macca's abilities...

The other side of that is I’ve played in a couple of popular covers band that very intentionally didn’t do the songs that the punters really wanted, but ones we knew they would like but didn’t hear whenever they went out to see a band. For example, we didn’t play Sweet Child O’Mine or Welcome to the Jungle but did Nightrain and You Could Be Mine instead (rock covers band obviously, but the same will apply to other genres). You can always get a good response playing the most obvious setlist, but as much as punters will enjoy it at the time when they think back to the gig you could have been any random band. They will remember the band that did something slightly different, rather than the old same old. Another thing is that we would drop in a couple of songs that were a bit obscure, but not too many. If you pick carefully, you can be sure that one of these will be the favourite song of someone in the audience and you have made a fan for life. You probably can’t get away with doing this if you’re playing wedding gigs, but it is one way to stand out if you are playing the music pub circuit.

I should also add that I also have an active Xotic Jazz that has Lindy Fralin pickups, which sound ace and are well worth looking into.