uk_lefty

In around a month I'm going to dep/ sit in with my guitarists other band. They play a handful of originals and some covers. I've got a CD of five of their originals, the gig will be those five plus a couple of covers I probably have never even heard of. Their bass player is away but it's a big gig they don't want to lose, the guitarist is a good mate so I want to do a good job for him. The thing that concerns me is that his bassist has quite a distinct style, I'll not recreate it, and in some ways don't think I should... But how true to his style should I stay? The songs have simple structure so there could be free reign to play however... I will ask the guitarist what he wants but if he says "do whatever" I don't want to upset the rest of the band by throwing them off. Not sure if I'll get to rehearse with them more than once... Any advice gratefully received

I think I "looked the part" of cheap Mark King immitator but only playing fingertyle (if you ignore the shorts that I still get stick for off the band!!!)... Only problem being thirty years late!

I'd find this quite demoralising. I don't understand why the size and weight is an issue unless they have to move or store it for you? And if it sounds good who cares? I'd try to ask questions to deconstruct their argument. Stand the drummer, guitarist and sound guy next to each other and say "right, I need to hear the bass either in ears, in a floor monitor or on stage, I don't care which. What do you three want?" And then they need to sort it out between them but you've been generous enough to be clear you'll take any of the three options. Then I'd say to whoever is moaning about the size and weight "it's ok though because I carry it on a trolley and I drive and store it myself... So why is the weight an issue?" Wait for the lame excuses you can cut down easily. You could come up with some carp about "but it gives me that Kev Fletcher sound!!... You know? Kev? Fletcher...? The jazz guy? My favourite bassist..." Because you've said jazz and favourite bassist they won't even Google it to know that Kev Fletcher is someone completely made up. Lots of us want the gear our heros had so maybe that would make them back off a bit?

You can buy that in the UK/ Europe pretty easily. You don't need to go to the US. By the time you've paid duty etc. You'll be at European price anyway so you won't save anything at all.

Last audition I had I already had played half the set list in old bands so brushed up. Learned all the simpler ones of what was left, printed out the chords for the others where possible so I could busk along, and stalked the band on Facebook and saw they were learning "money for nothing" so learned that too. Got the gig, never looked back. There were one or two songs where there was a distinctive riff or lots of changes I couldn't get my head round in time but I knew enough of the rest that it wasn't an issue for a first audition. Just show a good attitude and an open mind, which it looks like you are doing, because it's about more than just playing the right notes in time.

Singers Christmas sorted. Ta

Just Google'd for this pedal... £171?!?!? No thanks

Where do I buy one???

When i played my first ever solo gig and had to ask the audience what the first line of a song was while I played the intro over and over... problem was I was playing some weird alternate version of Radiohead's No Surprises that I'd heard on a bootleg and nobody at all knew it! Served me right for trying to be a smart derrière

It is a good set up with the 2x RM fifteens. Haven't yet done the 15+ 2*10 but the 2*10 on its own sounds good.

Depends on the cake. Fish cake? Better with gravy.

I've run 2 separate 1*15s very recently. Firstly using an Ashdown Rootmaster 1*15 as an extension cab to a Mag 300 combo, then two Rootmaster 15s powered by a Rootmaster 500 head. Never needed the amp above "1" or "2" with full band and got a HUGE deep and rich sound. Always had the tweeter off. Regretted selling one of the cabs a while back and bought the first Rootmaster cab I saw at the right price, which unfortunately is a 2x10 instead of a 15. These are modern, lightweight compact cabs and the sound of two of them together was superb. I play fingertyle 90% of the time. The cabs weren't all deep rumbles either, got some good articulate sounds from them, including with fretless. You don't see many 2x15 set ups these days but I'd happily be doing it right now.

Everything is better with gravy.

Silly boy's not wearing shoes. Not happening in my band!

You beat me to it.

Wrong Jovi has been taken but if you gave out sweets to keep people quiet during slow songs you could call yourselves Bon Bon Jovi... Or if your singer has a stutter

I was in a band that never got going on full, sadly. Good singer, very good leader player, we worked well so we auditioned a drummer. A guy turned up and he could talk and talk and talk... Nice enough bloke in that his heart was in the right place, but just not very self aware. He had a billion suggestions for everything, even down to the way the lead player played. Alarm bells should have rung when he talked about how many bands he'd fallen out with, but his reasoning being that if you don't like suggestions you talk about it and agree or compromise, which sounded sensible. His playing was ok but not spectacular. A few errors but ok. He had spent an age faffing about asking for specific weird drum bits from the rehearsal rooms and making a fuss now I think of it. Anyhow, we've all worked out that he's ok, talks too much but we could get used to him... No. Last few songs and he's giving us all orders. Including that at our first gig the drum kit shall be at the front and singer and guitars at the back. We make our excuses and we are trying to get out the door. Oh and he's decided he should lead sing on a few tracks. Then as we are desperate to run away he slams the door shut, lights go off and he gets out his glow in the dark drum sticks. It seems the gig with him at the front of the stage, singing, with us as his backing band, shall also be played in full darkness apart from his sticks. We put it down to excitement and think we will bare with. Then he emails us a thirty song set list that includes Robbie Williams, the Osmond's and other caravan park karaoke classics. We were playing talking heads, etc at the time. Robbie Williams was the final straw for him. Drummers, eh?

I keep trying to start an INXS tribute band named Stranglew4nk, some right weirdos come to audition

I had a band called Not the Hoople once. We did two gigs. We were not a Mott the Hoople tribute, it was a silly joke name because one of the local bars had tribute acts with really lazy names that may as well have been "not Queen" and so on. We were an acoustic duo. We did have a Mott the Hoople fan arrive who thanked us at half time before leaving saying "it's good but not what I was expecting". To be fair, it wasn't even good.

That was the name of a Chilli's tribute for a while, remember seeing the poster. Of course if you're not a Chilli's tribute that's fine, you could be a group of monastic scholars who smell badly, in which case nobody can argue with the choice of band name....

I did a few months of gigs playing the Sam and Dave version of Soul Man while the guitarists played the Blues Brothers version.... I always just assumed the rhythm guitar was lost, it did happen a lot. Took us months to eventually talk about it and get it "right"

My first band was called Guantanamo. I liked the idea of alluding to a political point without actually making one. I also wanted to get an orange jump suit to gig in... And the singer sounded like he was being waterboarded. Anyhow, we got our first gig at an all day local music evebt and, good local exposure, purely off our band name. The phone call went "sorry mate we're full up and there's a long reserve list.... You're called what??? Can you do the 7pm slot?"

I know there are various pickguard threads but what I need is quite specific... I need a replacement fender jazz pickguard. For a lefty MIM. No big deal? Well yes, it's an early 90's MIM so a generic replacement doesn't quite fit. The bass is currently wearing a generic replacement but I had to file out the pickup hole to fit the pickups better so the current pickguard is a bodge job. I need to find someone who I can ideally post this pickguard to so they can see the dimensions, location of screw holes and the size of the pickup hole required and make me a replacement. Can you recommend anyone, ideally UK based so I can post it off to them with confidence they will understand what I want and be able to work quickly? Thanks

I know there are various pickguard threads but what I need is quite specific... I need a replacement fender jazz pickguard. For a lefty MIM. No big deal? Well yes, it's an early 90's MIM so a generic replacement doesn't quite fit. The bass is currently wearing a generic replacement but I had to file out the pickup hole to fit the pickups better so the current pickguard is a bodge job. I need to find someone who I can ideally post this pickguard to so they can see the dimensions, location of screw holes and the size of the pickup hole required and make me a replacement. Can you recommend anyone, ideally UK based so I can post it off to them with confidence they will understand what I want and be able to work quickly? Thanks

A phrase I will be using at work A LOT from now on!! Thank you!