Len_derby

Where are you living? I’m sure some Bass-shatters, me included, would be happy for you to come around and try a few immoderate purchases we’ve made.

I keep a couple of the reusable handwarmer pouches in my kit for those situations. Back on topic, we had our first gig with the new drummer. Guido, originally from Sicily. It all went well, a few hiccups but no one but the band appeared to notice. Guido is considerably younger and better looking than most of us in the band, which is another bonus.

I'm sure @Mickeyboro won’t mind a slight derailment; if you haven’t read Deke Leonard’s autobiographies starting with, “Maybe I should have stayed in bed?” you're missing a real treat.

Very nice! Did you sell your short scale Danelectro? You had it up for sale here, I was sorely tempted and then you decided to keep it if I remember correctly.

Yes, know who you are going to play to and what their preference is. As an example, my covers band have been booked to play at a celebration evening for an amateur choir. We’ve been specifically asked to play nothing newer than 70s songs. Apparently the average age in the choir is 80. The members I know are lovely people, it’s going to be at a nice location and pays well, so it’s all good.

Hi guys, I follow this thread. However, I haven’t commented yet because a couple of years ago I retired from the church music group I played with. So, I didn’t feel I had much to add. The last couple of post, particularly the one above, bring back shudders 😉 Over the period I served we had singers, and occasionally instrumentalists, who thought it ‘un-Godly’ or ‘too professional and slick’ (their words) to try and improve or even rehearse. It’s a tough gig, hats off to all you who persevere.

Great place, always enjoined playing there. I know what you mean about being recognised, the last time we played our drummer was a trainee copper. Luckily, she didn’t have her uniform on 😆 A different kind of place nearby, but with a similar atmosphere, is The Crossroads Tavern at Alfreton. Worth a try to get a gig if you’ve not been.

They look lush. If I didn’t like you so much I’d say you were evil……😆

Great. Just a tip from me, when I got one for my Barefaced Big One I opted for the sleeve inside the front part which allows you to put in some rigid protection. I slipped in the cardboard base from a large fruit&veg box (it’s tough stuff) and I’ve now got extra protection for things going into the speakers.

I’ve used Roqsolid several times. Probably not the cheapest but, in my experience, good quality and certainly durable.

I’ve got sad love for gigging at the moment. Terry, one of the guitarists in my covers band, Night Shift, has stage 4 cancer. He’s undergoing the treatment and has been told it’s controllable but not curable. He wants to gig as much as he can, while he can - music means so much to him. The previous two weekends to this one we gigged three times in each. He’s shattered after each one and sleeps for 12 hours. We carry and set up all his gear for him. We are having some great times, but it’s bitter-sweet.

Bob Babbit did mine; but then, in an interview Carol claimed she did them, not him! To be honest, it’s all a bit hazy now.

I’m not sure how important the line-up is. Of the people I know who go, all in the affluent 35+ bracket, who they are going to see doesn’t seem to be important. Most of them, to my my knowledge, hardly ever go to any other live music. They’re going for “the Glastonbury experience “, and would shell-out the money whoever was playing. If their attitude is common, sad as it may be to us on this forum, what point is there putting much effort and imagination into booking acts? There never seems to be any difficulty in selling the tickets.

Well, congratulations on getting a favourable reply, eventually! Have you considered taking it up for the three months? If you’re up-front about moving away it may be a temporary win-win for both sides. Obviously, you’ll probably need to bow-out if a permanent bassist comes along, but for three months they get a chance to work on arrangements etc. with a bass and cajon - plus, you get the experience. It’ll be good for your ‘cv’ when you’re in the new area, too.

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.