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Doddy

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Everything posted by Doddy

  1. What other gigs do you usually do besides your function band? There is plenty of work around over the christmas period with the christmas party scene or if you can land a panto. Other than that, most of the regular pub, club, and restaurant style gigs are still happening, so if you've got a good repertoire and you're a half decent reader you should be able to find work.
  2. It's Glen's gig now. He's done the last couple of tours, and has just finished recording the upcoming Blondie album.
  3. I doubt that the band that plays the Academy Awards rehearse every week. I'm guessing that most of the players see the charts either at band call (or maybe a week or 2 beforehand at most), then have a couple of rehersals including a full dress rehearsal, followed by 'see you next year'. They won't be going to a rehearsal room every week to work out songs and arrangements- that's the job of the arranger and MD.
  4. It's a really good pedal, and Ive used one quite a bit. I think the EQ is great, the drive is nice, and the compressor works well (I pretty much never use compression, and if I do it's super subtle). It's also designed by Alex Aguilar, so you'd expect it to be decent. I've got individual pedals that I prefer but as a one box solution, the Fender is great.
  5. Wasn't he playing MTD Basses around that time? I seem to remember him being pictured using them on the cover of Bass Player Magazine back then.
  6. This, although I use the GS 100 because I don't really care about the locking yoke. I think Ultimate are the best stands available, and are all I've used for years.
  7. I've played for a few tribute shows over the years, so here's my opinions.... Do you have to be a fan of the original artist, or maybe you become one? Not really, but it helps if you at least like the music. If it's for more than a one off show, it can be difficult to do it justice if you don't like what you are playing. How important is it to be visually/musically identical? How much latitude are you allowed? I've been lucky, in that it doesn't have to be 100% perfect. I normally get a bit of leeway, as long as it is in the style of the music. Do you ‘get into character’ or is it just a gig? Nope. Just put on the appropriate outfit (which may or may not be supplied) and go play. It's different for the singer though, who generally does have to play a role. Does it feel musically limiting, or is it fulfilling your needs? (Maybe you have a side band?) I've never played in only one situation at a time, so I've always got other things on the go. I've never felt limited though. Do you have any qualms about tributes ‘stifling original music’? No. They are generally totally different scenes Have you ever met or been seen by a member of the ‘originals’? What did they say? Yes. I've played for 3 or 4 Elvis' who have won the Graceland Ultimate Elvis contests, and a couple of tours featured Elvis backing vocalists The Sweet Inspirations. I did an ABBA show that was featured on a Channel 5 documentary about them. More recently, I'm playing with a Blondie show that regularly does gigs with Blondies drummer Clem Burke, and their original bass player Gary Valentine. What is the overriding thing being in a tribute act has taught you? Honestly, not much from a playing standpoint. The main thing is catering for the fans who just know the hits, and the hardcore fans who want to hear the album tracks that the original band doesn't play. Having done it once, would you do it again? If so, would the musical angle be very different? Yeah, I've done a lot of different tribute shows over the years, and as long as they are enjoyable and the gigs are decent, I'll do them again.
  8. I wouldn't say that Willie Weeks has a small body of work. His discography is huge..... https://www.allmusic.com/artist/willie-weeks-mn0000961599/credits
  9. I'm pretty sure that she just sat in with Jamiroquai at soundcheck rather than actually played gigs with them? (Still cool though) Also, I don't think anyone has mentioned Linda Oh yet? She's killing it in the Jazz world lately.
  10. I haven't used the OC5, but I do use an old OC2, and for me that is the octave sound. I've got the Sub n Up and I think it's ok, but not great. I found the octave sound to be a bit bland and characterless. No where near as good as the Boss or the EBS (or even the Whammy if you want 8va). Having said that, it's not actually a bad pedal and will probably be fine for a lot of players. I just far prefer the sounds of analogue octavers.
  11. That's New York session legend Neil Jason.
  12. Honestly, I think Marcus's tone is more about the preamp than the pickups (which I believe are stock Fender). You could look at a Sadowsky preamp or a Bartolini if you want to be authentic (Marcus's bass has a Bartolini TCT preamp). I think that would get you closer to that tone than a pickup change would.
  13. Mine are all 21 feet, so around 6 and a half metres
  14. Same. I had so much hassle at school when I stated that I didn't want to go to university and I was going to go straight in to music, despite the fact that my Dad had earned a living as a musician for nearly 30 years at that point. Anyway, it's 23 years since I left 6th form, and I've never done anything that didn't involve playing music.
  15. I hadn't seen the Thomann bag before but it says they are made by Music Area, so it will be quality. Music Area make branded cases for companies like F Bass, Dingwall, Skjold, and Yamaha. And I have it on good authority that they are the ones who actually make the Reunion Blues cases. They are like the Cort of the gig bag world.
  16. Personally, I don't like lyric sheets with chords. I don't think that they convey enough information. I would rather have no charts, and just be given either a sporify link or an audio file of your band, so I can make my own if necessary. No charts is better than bad charts. With decent written parts, you are actually opening up your pool of players because you can get someone last minute if your regular deps are unavailable, who can nail the set first time. If you have decent charts and audio (and money), you can pretty much hire anyone you want.
  17. That's cool if it's a band where everyone gets an equal shout but (unfortunately) it doesn't always work like that. If you are working as a sideman or a sub, you might have to play a different instrument than you want. I got offered a ton of decent gigs with a busy band (some of the gigs are with members of a pretty legendary band), and the condition was that they wanted me to play a black Precision. So guess what? I leave the F Bass at home and take out my black Precision.
  18. It depends what you expect from the dep. If you want specific lines playing, I'd expect to be given a fully notated bass chart. If it's more of a jazz gig, then lead sheets are generally best. I'd only give someone a basic chord if you were sending it to the dep in advance with a copy of the track, to make learning easier. Even then, I'd prefer a proper chart though.
  19. What's wrong with having a Boss Flanger on your board? Boss make some great sounding pedals, so if you can get a great price on a BF3, get it. Honestly, I've got loads of pedals, but for Flanger I still really like the old Boss BF2 and the Ibanez FL9.
  20. The Hyperdrive is a great pedal. I like the NM2 as well. Ashdown have made some nice drive pedals. I tend to favour either the Earthquaker Devices Plumes or the Homebrew Hematoma for overdrive.
  21. I'd look at Reunion Blues. They make excellent cases, especially the Continental Voyager and Aero models.
  22. If we are talking English players we have to mention Paul Westwood, who was doing everything in the 80's/90's. Great player and great guy too.
  23. He's probably better known for his own stuff now, but his discography as a NY session player is huge.
  24. I'd prefer both. No point playing amazingly if your instrument sounds less than ideal. I'm not talking about promoters. I'm talking people band leaders and/or artists who hire you for a gig, or producers who book you for a session. If you turn up with a quality instrument, it puts peoples minds at ease that there won't be any issues with things like excess noise or intonation. You don't want to be the one who is holding up a rehearsal/soundcheck/gig/session or whatever because the soundman or producer is hearing buzzing from your bass. If you are playing in your own band and doing your own thing, play whatever you want, it's cool, but there is a reason why the list of pro players who use 'budget' instruments is a lot shorter than the list of pro players who use nicer instruments, especially in the sideman/session world.
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