steantval

[quote name='TheDarkReaver' post='303435' date='Oct 9 2008, 11:39 PM']Who are Free?[/quote] You must be very young. This band was fronted by one of the best vocalist ever (in my opinion) Mr Paul Rodgers, now fronting Queen for their current tour and album.

I'm currently in a new band that is playing a full set of material by the band Free. We are not going out as a looky likey tribute act but are playing the songs as a tribute to Free. We are very passionate about the material and play it as close to the original sounds as possible. Although Free were a four piece outfit we have an additional fifth player on keyboards as about 80% of Free's recordings featured keyboards (hammond, piano, mellatron). We have been rehearsing since February and are now ready to hit the live music circuit. Could anyone out there recommend any venues that would book our type of band? We are currently working on posters, demo's and a website.

[quote name='Groove Cartel' post='300065' date='Oct 5 2008, 07:25 PM']Dave has probably forgotten..... he's not as young as he used to be Are you talking about Ken? Do you have a contact number for him? Thanks Marcus[/quote] Dave keeps everything close to his chest even when it comes to new women in his life!!!!!! I don't know the guys name in Brotherhoods Roundabout but I was very impressed with his bass playing skills.

Visited the Sole man at his shop today, he didn't mention the bassman was leaving. There's not many bassists in the Boro who could fill Jamies shoes as most are rock players and not really into the groove and slap. Nicks probably the man, although there is another superb player in the local prog rock outfit Brotherhoods Roundabout.

Norman Watt-Roy from the Blockheads........just awesome. Now the awful.................Peter Hook. Boring same old riffs , terrible style which makes him look a total pratt while playing on stage.

Went to Nottingham Arena last night to see Thunder, Whitesnake, Def Leppard. I especially went to see Thunder and Whitesnake, but Def Leppard stole the show with a great set and stage setup/lighting. The bass player in Leppard had the most awesome bass sound I have ever witnessed, stacks of Ashdown cabs each side of the stage. The bottom end coming out of the PA made your stomach rumble and made the old trouser legs flap.

The guys in the shuttle did say they could hear it out in space when I was gigging with it last week.

Plenty of bottom end with mine. My back is also loving it too.[attachment=10235:P3210006.JPG]

[size=4]Mr Big by Free.[/size] Ace groove plus a big bass solo in the middle.

Friday night at the Trent FM Arena in Nottingham I was treated to one hour and forty minutes of sheer musical/vocal brilliance by USA legends Journey. Fronted by their new vocalist Arnel Pineda they played to total perfection doing loads of their well known back catalogue plus some new songs off their new album "Revelation". I have not been to a large gig for at least a couple of years and could not believe the PA sound quality and lighting, the sound was CD quality, awesome!! It was pure pleasure to see seasoned musicians I have admired for many years playing effortlesly just a few yards from where I was standing. I would probably rate this as one of the best gigs I have ever seen and really hope they return for another UK tour in 2009.

I was not gigging myself last night but went to see the Journey gig at Nottingham. Man, I was completely blown away, the gig was awesome. This was the first chance I have had to see them having been a fan since their inception. The new singer/frontman has a voice exactly like the original vocalist Steve Perry who was with the band in their earlier days. One hour and forty minutes of real class musicianship with CD quality live sound from the superb PA. HAS ANYONE ELSE OUT THERE MANAGED TO SEE THEM ON THIS 2008 UK TOUR?

No colour, just go for clear perspex. [attachment=9922:P3210011.JPG]

I saw Glenn with Trapeze many many years ago, they were an excellent underated band at the time. A track off his new CD FUNK is on the free CD with Classic Rock magazine this month, excellent groove with Chad Smith on the Drums. The CD also features a new track of the Journey CD, the new vocalist from the Phillapenes sounds just like Steve Perry. Apparently the guy was singing in a Journey tribute band out there and he was spotted on My Space, what a gig, ending up being the frontman for the real band.

I was most disappointed to hear the Paul Rogers/Queen combo do All Right Now (and various other Free/Bad Co numbers) with the "wrong" drum parts, especially the bass drum. Having been a fan of Bad Company for many years I had the opportunity to see Bad Company 2008 a couple of weeks ago. I was extremely disappointed by their performance, it was awful. Although I respect Mick Ralphs for writing some excellent songs, he is now living and performing off a name, what I witnessed was basically a load of old washed up musicians who can't hack it anymore. It's no suprise that Paul Rogers wants nothing to do with this project and avoids speaking about them. If they expect the public to pay to see them they should at least be able to put on a professional show. This lot cannot even play their own songs to a reasonable standard.

Maybe I should expand on my comment about playing covers as close to the original. I totally agree that the arrangements can be changed and I several cover versions by bands/artists in my collection that I prefer to the original versions. What I was getting at is the cover bands that do the local pubs and clubs circuits who are either too lazy to learn the songs properly or do not have the musical/vocal ability to carry them off. A prime example is when I see poor cover bands doing All Right Now by Free and the bass player plays over the verses when the bass actually comes in on the chorus. It's not there on the original so why put it in, do they actually listen to these tracks properly before attempting to play them? I knew Hendrix would be brought up (I nearly mentioned it in my original comments), but the Bay City Rollers , it's pretty sad you have to bring that garbage into the discussion. I'm suprised someone who contributes to this site has pictures of them, my little sister used to have posters of them on her bedroom wall in the seventies.

I have played in cover bands for most of my musical "career". I have a full time job and playing bass in bands is my passion, money is not the reason, so I play the stuff I like. No way could I play the middle of the road/chart numbers for these corporate functions, but totally understand why some folks have to do it for the money. I'm here to defend the good quality cover bands, I know there's alot of s*ite out there, I've seen them, I don't know how they can call themselves musicians and expect venues to pay them!! I believe the songs should be played as close to the original as possible or don't bother at all. I feel that playing numbers from different bands/bass styles/time signatures stretches my ability on an ongoing basis, whereas the majority of players in original bands only play safe within their sometimes very limited ability. I spotted a bass player in an originals band a fortnight ago playing a right handed bass upside down, for f*cks sake, just buy a proper left handed one and get on with it. Your comments would be welcome.

I use Planet Waves and have no problems. I'm currently using a 90 degree angled jack with the neat extra cut out switch, it's saves all those nasty pops and bangs when removing the jack.

[attachment=9182:P3210008.JPG] Loud and Light......

Mark White...........Spin Doctors. Listed to the CD Homebelly Groove.........the bass playing is superb.

[font="Comic Sans MS"]I have just returned from a trip to the USA and visited Sam Ash music where they had a brand new Warwick Corvette 4 string for $1200 about £600. I stood in the store and ummed and arred about buying it but decided not to. I must be bloody mad!!!!!!!![/font][size="4"][/size]

[quote name='Rich' post='184264' date='Apr 24 2008, 07:39 AM']True, they don't, and thank god for that (could somebody tell Mark King please?) However, the original was slapped and it was a killer. Just cos this guy didn't slap it, that doesn't automatically make it better, surely?[/quote] Sorry Guys, I did not say it was better than the original. I just really enjoyed what I heard........................"the groove".

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='183822' date='Apr 23 2008, 02:12 PM']Bring back the slapping from the original track! [/quote] The bass playing was great because the guy was not slappin. As I said a really great groove, not all bass lines have to involve slappin.

How great was it to see older guys really playing well. The bass grooves were superb in my opinion. What do you think?

This is my new set up and I really like it. I'm still playing around with the settings for my ideal sound. It's really light and my balls no longer hang down around my knees. [attachment=7849:P3210004.JPG]

Mayb'e I was a bit harsh saying 80% of it was crap, it was probably about 50%. I totally understand music is a really subjective issue, but I really respect the musicians who put in the time and do their apprenticeship, rather than instant stardom because its fashionable. I just did not get the Punk thing. From a bassist's point of view Geddy Lee v's Sid Vicious, no contest.