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peteb
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Posts posted by peteb
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This is rather pertinent at the moment, as my mate Tony is closing down his small independent music shop at the end of the month.
Unfortunately, despite keeping going for years against the odds, he just can't carry on any longer in the face of competition from online stores, the fallout from the pandemic, falling footfall, higher costs (rent, rates, etc), declining interest in music and the appalling way that many of the big distributors treat the smaller shops. I used to say that if he could stock stuff that he needed I would buy from him rather than online, but he said that he just couldn't put in big enough orders to get the gear that I would want. I did buy a Les Paul Special off him a bit ago (a commission sale), which was cool, but he just couldn't get the turnover to keep the shop viable.
It is a shame to see a friend lose his business, but that is the way of the world for many smaller independent retail businesses these days. When I was a kid, there were quite a few, reasonably large music shops around. These were places that we would all go to hang out, try out gear that we would then save up to buy, meet new friends and potential band mates, get advice and ad-hoc lessons from older musicians, etc. You don't get that from the big online box movers...
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12 minutes ago, Geek99 said:
I’m always hard on myself. People content with mediocrity rarely prosper
If only that were true. Many of the most successful people I know have the right contacts and bucketloads of self-confidence, which quite often has little relationship to their abilities...!
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On 10/02/2024 at 22:55, Geek99 said:
I’ve spoken to the organiser (who wasn’t there that night) and he is wisely telling me not to overthink this, suggesting that I come along for a few nights and don’t play and get to know people instead. He suggests that a combination of needing to go, going first and not feeling comfortable didn’t help (own failures notwithstanding)
I think that you are overthinking it. The point of a jam session is to play with different people, take a few chances and take yourself out of your comfort zone. Sometimes it will be quite magical and sometimes the wheels will come off. Inevitably you will make mistakes, but the idea is that you learn from those mistakes. It's not a bad idea to just watch a couple of times to get the feel of it and get comfortable with the people there. But don't let it put you off getting up again when you're ready.
35 minutes ago, Geek99 said:I’ve been back there since, ran into guitarist and apologised for the train wreck. The compère had asked a local dep to give me some tips (they both think I just lack confidence though I’d add “talent”) and I asked my drummer buddy to spend five minutes drumming for me so I can get used to it without a noisy guitarist
I've been in the house band for lots of jam sessions over the years, playing with everyone from Texan blues semi-legends whose albums I had bought (scary, but fun) to guys who have never played on stage before. For the smaller ones, part of the fun is to get guys without much experience and see their confidence grow as they get better each time they get up.
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2 minutes ago, TimR said:
Yes. Been a bit of a mix for me. I have a big network where I live now but I moved into a new area while I was playing in a band long-term. When I left the band it's taken me a few years to build a new network.
If you move into a new area or are just starting out, then there's probably going to be a period of looking around.
It's all about establishing yourself and then networking. You have a build up a reputation as a decent player and, just as importantly, being reliable and not being a d1ck to work with.
I'm looking to move abroad in a few years, so gawd knows what will happen with bands then. However, even out in Spain, I have a couple of friends who used to be promoters and who have got involved with the music scene in Andalucía. There is also a well established English guitar player in the region who has played with someone that I've played in bands with, so obviously I will be getting in contact with him (even though I've never actually met him).
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16 minutes ago, TimR said:
Big name established band, they'll be inviting people to audition, not sticking an advert on Bandmix or Joinmyband.
it's not just bands on the level of Metallica - I haven't auditioned anyone, or done an audition from an advert or whatever for 30 years! Generally, you know people by reputation or you get a call from someone that you played on the same bill with somewhere.
The last time I did anything like an audition was for the solo project for a guitar player who is in a household name old pop-rock band. I was recommended by the bass player, who was leaving his band. He had four guys in the frame (all recommendations), which he whittled down to two At that point, his old bass player decided that he wanted to re-join the band, so that was that!
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Always loved this, but certainly somewhat eccentric...!
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2 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:
It's not a discussion we need to have here and I shouldn't have raised it. Opinions vary, what I like others may not, etc.
My original point was that there are reasonably priced older Fenders out there if you're happy to wait and search. I just hope this one goes to someone who wants it not an online dealer.
It's a perfectly valid point and there's no reason why you shouldn't put it forward for discussion. I agree that if you wait and look around there are some reasonable deals out there.
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1 hour ago, Pow_22 said:
Not a bad priced late 70's P on Bass Bros. How hard it would be to find original tuners and bridge im not sure?
https://bassbros.co.uk/product/1977-fender-precision-bass-6/
Or you could look at it as a player rather than an investment, and accept the d-tuner and hi-mass bridge as genuine upgrades.
I've already got a late 70s P bass, but if I was in the market (and I'm not ruling it out in the future), I would be popping down to Bass Bros to have a serious look at that one.
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6 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:
I'd buy a recent US Precision. These are infinitely better instruments (but I appreciate that's not the context here).
I wouldn't go that far. But, what they are, is vastly more consistent. I've owned a great 70s Precision and played several really nice ones, but I've also owned and played really bad 70s Fenders.
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I've always liked Del Amitri, a great live rock and roll band, and he is a really good songwriter. We can only hope for the best for him.
Obviously, it is very upsetting, not least because a good friend of ours (the wife of my best man), has got Parkinson's as well. She is trying to put a brave face on it, but it has affected both of them quite badly. If anything, he is struggling more than her, which isn't helping him with his own medical issues (non life threatening, but serious arthritis in both knees - not great for a drummer who still has a manual job). I know it's all part of getting older, but it all seems so unfair, not to mention heart-breaking.
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10 hours ago, MacDaddy said:
Didge Digital?
The very same, except we call him Phil.
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10 hours ago, steantval said:
I played in a Free tribute band around 2008 and our original drummer quit due to a clash of commitments with his function band, our guitarist was the head guitar tutor for schools in Lincolnshire and had done several seminars with a well known drummer, this guy then became our new drummer in the Free tribute, his name was Jeff Rich ex Status Quo, Jeff was a real down to earth bloke and it was a great experience to share the stage with him on many gigs.
Funnily enough, Rhino Edwards (the other half of the Quo rhythm section when Rich was in the band) currently plays in a Free / Paul Kossof tribute band with Terry Sless (Koss's singer in Back Street Crawler).
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I have gigged with not one, but three former members of Gerry & The Pacemakers at various times. However, I never with more than one ex-pacemaker at a time. I bet that you're all really impressed...! 🤩
I also used to dep for a singer who once did a Spanish tour with various members of the original Whitesnake line-up, and I am currently playing with the original keys player from British AOR titans FM...
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2 hours ago, chris_b said:
A situation he should have been able to predict.
Sessions range from bringing your own gear and playing what you want, to playing the notes the producer wants on the instrument the producer wants. If you see interviews with US A list session guys, they bring 5 or 6 basses, from a Hofner Club to a Precision with flats. They say they usually end up playing the Precision/flats basses.
I believe that Sean Hurley says that he usually ends up playing the P bass with rounds, but quite often producers will go for the flats option (but its nearly always a Precision).
57 minutes ago, chris_b said:That's why Roger Sadowsky basses were always FSO's, because the NY players wanted better basses and the producers wanted Fenders.
From what I remember Sadowsky saying in an interview, producers wanted an idealised version of the Fenders they were used to working with. He started off modding Fenders for session players, but started building his own when the models he recommended started becoming scarce.
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46 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:
Just been learning Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy, tomorrow will be the first time we play it with the band, it’s a great song.
The first song I ever played live, many years ago...
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8 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:
Maybe not the best choice for an audition on bass..?
I assume that you are aware that there is a rather famous bass guitar version of this?
Still not sure that it is the best thing to play at an audition for a pop / rock band...!
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9 hours ago, Rich said:
But that's the whole point. It's a Hall of FAME, not a Hall of Quality. It's entirely about being well-known by yer average punter. I've been deeply involved in music of all (well, very many) genres since the early 80s, but I still had to google Kim Mitchell. 'Quality' is a whole lot more subjective than 'Fame'.
So I fear the back-slapping canapé-infested sleazenight is going to remain on your ignore list, as it will on mine TBH.
But is it just about fame? Iggy Pop is famous, and is also, very influential. But he didn't sell that many records and therefore has never got the call. Similarly, someone mentioned the Ramones above, who didn't get indicted until after all the original members had died. On the other hand, Foreigner are pretty famous, sold tons of records, yet never got critical acclaim and have only been nominated as they finally undertake their final tour and the BL / last original member has just been revealed to have some pretty serious health problems.
The whole thing is nonsense and seems to be based on what a certain type of cowboy boot wearing, 75 year old thinks is retrospectively cool. As you say, it will remain on my ignore list, unless of course, they invite me to the ceremony, where I will be there sitting at the same table as your good self...! 😉
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33 minutes ago, chris_b said:
No. He's a ignorant foul mouthed moron. That's it.
Maybe, but he is undoubtedly a "Rock 'n' Roll Star" and he's never sort of an opinion. In this instance, he may actually be right!
I will take the RRHOF seriously when they unanimously induct the likes of Kim Mitchell and King's X. Until then, its just a shallow marketing exercise and no real indication of quality.
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Just now, miles'tone said:
Liam Gallagher on Oasis' nomination:
He's got a point!
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30 minutes ago, TimR said:
She's probably easily the most famous.
I doubt there's anyone who hasn't heard of her.
Dunno, you could say pretty much the same for Peter Frampton, Foreigner, Mariah Carey and Ozzy. They are all big household names, especially in America...
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5 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:
Her 1991 album Heart of Stone, which has Turn Back Time and Jesse James on is excellent, all the songs are great, it’s one of my fave albums.
Rather a strange admission from someone with such a punk rock background...! 😉
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1 hour ago, Jackroadkill said:
Was this also in London, circa 20 years ago? I had a girlfriend who did an audition like that, was a mental health nursing student and from mid Wales....
Don't worry, it can't have been her - this was 40 years ago (about 83)...!
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In the early 80s, I was in a band in London with a very good girl singer that had a bit of interest, but there were a few personal tensions and we split up. Me, the guitarist and the original drummer decided to resurrect the band without keys and started looking for a singer. We held auditions over a couple of days in a rehearsal studio in the Elephant & Castle.
The first session turned up a couple of possibles, but the second one was less productive. One girl turned up in a leather mini skirt, dressed up as if for a night out and looked great, but unfortunately she didn't have a great voice. The guitar player later rang her up, saying that she didn't have the right voice for the band, but she had something if they could find the right project for her. He ended up talking her into going on a date with him, which obviously was the intention all along.
However, the best was saved for last. A Welsh girl (who I remember was a nurse) turned up about half an hour late, just as we were about to knock it on the head and go to the pub. It was pretty obvious she wasn't going to get the gig, so we take her for a drink. After a couple of beers, she was still wanting to sing and she obviously wasn't short of confidence, so we head back to the studio. We try to teach her one of our songs, which she just couldn't get. She then reaches into her bag and pulls out a Black Sabbath songbook and decides that she wants us to play Paranoid. We had been taping the auditions, so the guitarist discretely turns the tape off, only for me to flick it back on. She wasn't great, in fact she was awful and singing so flat she was nearly coming back in tune an octave down at times. At this point, her boyfriend comes to pick up her up and she's giving us her details, confident that she's completely nailed it!
I must have played that tape to everyone who came down to my gaff for weeks...
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40 minutes ago, chris_b said:
A pat on the back for a successful career in music seems like a good idea to me.
I'm not so sure that it is. On some level, art should be its own reward and the fact that you've been successful and made a lot of money pursuing your art should be recognition enough! The RRHOF is really just an exercise to generate a relatively small amount of income to those who own the brand, not to mention create rather meaningless controversy on social media. Also, this hall of fame concept is really linked to the stats driven approach that the yanks insist on applying to sports. It's all very American!
However, if such an institution is to exist, then I have no issue with Foreigner or Oasis being in it...
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Brush with Greatness (or, "Hey, I once played a gig with him!")
in General Discussion
Posted
I am guessing that you would have bought it from Ray Allen Music in Shipley, where I got my first bass about a year earlier. As a teenager, I used to live just up the road...