Len_derby

Yesterday was something a bit different. My originals-only band, Diamond Bridges, took part in The Rebel Ramble. This was a celebration of the 1817 Pentrich Uprising. A motley band, some dressed in period costumes, walked the route of the rebels from Pentrich in Derbyshire to Giltbrook on the Nottinghamshire border where they were stopped by a detachment of Hussars (in 1817, not 2022 😆). The organisers arranged entertainment at pubs and cafes along the route and we were invited to do The Crown at Heanor. There was a great atmosphere and everyone seemed to be having a good, if foot sore, time. We did it as a freeby, but we made lots of new friends and plenty of cash was going into a jar for the local food bank.

My response is, “Well, it’d be a waste of money playing with/for* you lot” Said with a deadpan face. Not with an Overwater, but my Swift Lite made by our own @Andyjr1515. Just to add balance, I also gig with my Harley Benton short scale P. Similar comments happen😆 *delete as appropriate

I haven’t yet owned, or even tried, a Ray but it’s an itch I’d like to scratch. These days my preference is for short-scale bases. Can anyone tell me, from their own experience, if the lauded characteristics of the Ray also live in the 30” neck version?

The unexpected.

I heard an interview with one of the production team, yesterday morning on BBC R4. It might have been the director, I missed the very start. From the amount of work the band had to put in to create the show, it didn’t sound like an easy option for them. It can be argued that it won’t be a ‘real’ performance but they’re upfront and not trying to fool anyone.

I don’t know if it’s an unpopular opinion but it’s caused a few ‘discussions’. There’s no such thing as good music. There’s no such thing as bad music. There’s just music you like and music you don’t like. That’s it.

I’ve always found that if you want to make a lasting effect on somebody’s day try singing the chorus of Shaddap Your Face to them.

Ok, I’ll start. Why do the band want you to play one bass? If it’s to avoid you spending time switching instruments during a gig, then it’s a good thing in my opinion. The momentum of a performance is easily lost if there is down time while someone changes an instrument. As for which one to choose, my experience is that if you are playing the right notes in the right places and have an audible ‘bass’ sound the audience won’t give a damn what bass you’re playing. If you really can’t choose, why not take turns with each bass? Take the Ibanez to one gig, and the jazz to the next.

Interesting. I was down your way last week, went to Ross and Hereford and was pleasantly surprised that both still had reasonably well-stocked music shops. In my part of the world all the music shops have gone in places of similar size. Having said that, none of the pubs I went in showed any sign of ever having live music on. But there must be something going on…… Ps, no gigs going at the Credenhill camp? They’d be a tough crowd to please 😆

They have a great regimental museum in Richmond, Yorkshire. I was able to take my old man both there, and back to the Normandy beaches. The latter trip, in 2000 was brilliant. Through visiting the actual sites and local museums I was able to appreciate that what I, and my brothers, thought were tall tales where, in fact, the way it really happened.

My dad was a teenage dance band drummer in the early years of WW2*. They sound like they were wild gigs. Bomber crews dancing with easily impressed local girls. Wouldn’t it have been fantastic to play walking basslines to that audience? *eventually he was conscripted and hit the beach as a Green Howard on D-Day.

Most of mine are concerning travel to venues. I think the worst one was getting half way to a gig and realising I’d left my bass on the drive at home. Luckily, the bass was still there when I u-turned to collect it. I made the venue in time too, The Maze in Nottingham if anyone remembers it.

Spot on. There’s a documentary about BB King, taken in the 70s, that I believe is still on BBC iplayer. In it he’s asked how he chooses his band members. I may have the percentages slightly wrong but he answers “40% on musical ability, 60% on them as people”.

Me too. My HB short-scale P bass gets a lot of use.

As a teenager in the seventies I associate liking prog with not being able to get a sh*g. It was a blessed relief when punk came along. Girls liked it too! Luckily, I didn’t take the path of my cousin who pretended to ladies he liked T.Rex. He’s now got enough ex-wives and children to field his own football team. Plus subs bench.

You must have been good, they switched the football off the tele. 👍

A wedding gig at a stately home in the Peak District. A typical long day, there from 15.30 until 23.30, but were looked after well. An extra bonus was wandering through the parkland by the light of the full moon during the breaks.

I think hats worn indoors look really naff. Sometimes I wonder if I’m really a bass player. 🤔

As alluded to by @ChrisB above have you investigated whether you are, in fact, too quiet? I think I’d have been asking audience members what it sounds like out-front and getting some live recordings to listen to. Whatever you decide to do, good luck!

I’m happy to collect from Lichfield and take it up as far as Sheffield if you want to get a relay going @mikegatward. Good choice of instrument too. I took mine out to a local jam last night.

A mate of mine who frequents car boot sales and similar looking for vintage clothing tells me that over the last year-or-so he’s noticed men (always men) hoovering up the cds on sale. A lot of them are dealers in his estimation. This is in York, where there’s plenty of disposable income around for hobbies.

I’ve never had the chance to try a Jack Casady, but they certainly look good. l have a Yamaha Bex that, like your JC, is a lot more versatile that you might think. I did initially have a problem finding a suitable gig bag but eventually tracked down a Bass Centre model that did the trick.

I remember seeing Gentle Giant and Gryphon in the seventies, both featuring a bit of recorder in their sets. Also, is that a recorder on the intro of ‘Stairway to heaven?’ 🤔

Yes, I think you’re right. Possibly not being a ‘front man’ may have made him less comfortable too. Whenever I saw him with Back Door, and memorably one half of a duo with Alexis Korner, he seemed to behaving a whale of a time; what with. the singing and on-stage banter with band mates and audience.

I suffer from very cold hands, to the point where I can’t use them to do simple tasks like unfastening buttons! Consequently, when playing anywhere that’s not pretty cosy I use hand warmers. The reusable, plastic ones are probably the most sustainable but I find the one-use ones more effective. I keep one in each trouser or jacket pocket and hold on to them as often as I need to. I’ve tried various glove solutions over the years but none have really worked for me.