EliasMooseblaster

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1424441965' post='2696349'] Thank you for the reassurance [/quote] Yeah, if you hadn't told us that you'd had to cut them down, I probably wouldn't have guessed from those photos that they'd had anything done to them!

Well, not even your favourite band, necessarily, but just for a gig you really wanted to see. You kerrazy kids must have a few stories to tell, so I thought I'd share my own story to get the ball rolling. The gig: Hooverphonic, live at Aula Magna, Louvain-la-Neuve Universite, December 2008. Good god, was it really six years ago? I'd (re)discovered Hooverphonic a couple of years prior to this, but as they never really broke into the UK, material was limited. I managed to track down CD copies of [i]The Magnificent Tree[/i] and, with a bit more effort, [i]Blue Wonder Power Milk, [/i]but I'd long since accepted that I was going to have to look for their other albums abroad. (Yes, I probably could have ordered them online, but that would feel like cheating!) So I was reduced to enjoying these two albums and occasionally finding tracks on Youtube or similar, and it was becoming increasingly apparent that they weren't going to come and play over here. Earlier in 2008, they released [i]President of the LSD Golf Club, [/i]which was followed shortly by the announcement that Geike Arnaert would leave the band at the end of the associated tour. This, I decided, would not do: I had already missed out on a chance to see The Who before John Entwistle passed away. I [i]had [/i]to catch Hooverphonic in concert with Geike Arnaert on vocals. I looked through the list of tour dates and decided my best bet was to go to Belgium. From this point onwards, Google Maps plays an important role in the story. I looked at Louvain-la-Neuve Universite on a map and thought "it's not that far from Brussels." And, strictly, it's not - the SNCB website indicated plenty of fairly regular trains out there. I could get the Brussels by Eurostar, catch the train out to LLNU, enjoy the gig and get back to a hostel in Brussels the same night. I asked around my friends to see whether anybody else was interested. A couple of people had listened to the albums I had and were definitely interested when I first mentioned it. Oddly enough, when I explained it would involve a trip to Belgium, they lost interest. Gradually I reached the conclusion that I would have to go by myself. Oh, well. Undeterred, I booked a Eurostar journey and a hostel. And to begin with, everything went very smoothly. On the train over to Brussels, I ended up talking to the elderly businessman sitting opposite me, who seemed intrigued by my little adventure, and warned me that the area around my hostel (close to Gare du Nord) was a bit dodgy, and I should be careful after dark. I found my hostel without incident, checked in and put my bag in a locker in an unoccupied room with six or seven bunks. Was I the only person booked in the room that night? The journey to the venue was a bit trickier. It began with a moment of slight panic, in which I mis-read the timetables and thought my trains to LLNU had disappeared. Then a moment of greater worry, as I located my train and realised that, although the intercity trains are very modern, and frankly put British services to shame in terms of space, comfort and punctuality...the same could not be said for this little stopping service. It was probably on a par with some of the old slam-door rolling stock that was still common in the south of England during the '90s...except that there were no announcements for the stations. By this time, it was pitch dark outside, and I had no idea how many stations there were between Gare du Nord and LLNU. Peering frantically out of the window at each stop, to try and read the sign on the platform to identify the station, was certainly not the most relaxing train journey I've ever had. But I got there. I emerged, triumphant, from the station, and pulled out my Google Maps printout to navigate a strange little town which felt a bit like an overgrown shopping centre. I must have been wandering around blindly for half an hour...even briefly following what looked like a slipread onto a dual carriageway - [i]surely I must be reading this map wrong? Is it the right way up...? [/i]I went back towards the centre of the complex and tried to reorient myself from there. Eventually I did the highly un-British and definitely-not-very-manly thing of asking a local for directions...the venue was just around that corner. It transpired that, whilst Google Maps had comprehensively mapped out a large proportion of major European cities, it had not quite so comprehensively mapped out the smaller towns. Not entirely their fault, these things take time, but if I'd followed their directions, I would have ended up looking for the venue in a layby on this dual carriageway. It was worth the journey. Hooverphonic were excellent, and I remain glad to this day that I made the effort to catch what, for most fans, is the definitive lineup. The journey back was far smoother - being more relaxed, and more confident with the trains, I caught an earlier train and changed at Ottignies, onto one of the fancy modern ones, and realised how much more pleasant my train journey could have been. Gare du Nord was not as dodgy as the kind old man had warned me. And my hostel room was not as unoccupied as it had been earlier - turned out I was sharing with five American girls, which wasn't in the least bit awkward. The following day, I went out in search of CD shops and stocked up on the band's back catalogue as best I could. Then I gradually ran out of things to do and had several hours to kill before my train back, so I found the Delirium bar, where I got talking to a Frenchman who drank with me for most of the afternoon, took my number, promising he'd come to London early in the new year and we should hook up for a beer then, and staggered off half-cut, never to be heard from again. I was probably a bit wobbly myself by the time I got to Bruxelles-Midi, but damn it, I'd had a great weekend.

I offer this one cautiously: REM. I don't know...is it just my friends, or is there a more general perception that there's something fundamentally "uncool" about Stipe & co? I would readily criticise the fact that a lot of their more famous singles all sound too similar to each other - on the other hand, I've just put on [i]Automatic for the People [/i]for the first time in donkey's years, and I have to admit that it's not a bad album on the whole. I couldn't even tell you the bassist's name, but he's doing a pretty good job on a lot of these tracks.

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1424419337' post='2696040'] [/quote] Christ almighty. Reading that quote makes me realise the limitation of only having one head to bang against the desk in disbelief and frustration at this potential trajectory of the developed world as a whole.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1424267740' post='2694536'] Far canal, Ralph, you play like that and you're doing it the wrong way round too? Respect! [/quote] [quote name='KevB' timestamp='1424269335' post='2694550'] There was a poll a year or two back, there's actually a decent number of us on the forum that are naturally left handed but play right handed (including me). [/quote] Having given this one quite a bit of thought over the years - and discussed it with BlueJay, who of course does left-handedness 'properly' - I almost wonder whether it makes more sense: by playing a right-handed bass, my (dominant) left hand is in charge of the fingerboard, where I'd argue most of the complicated stuff takes place! The catch - and there's always one, isn't there? - is that you might well want your dominant hand fingering/picking the strings, for its greater sensitivity. I suspect learning keys for a couple of years before I started the bass was probably crucial in building up the dexterity in my right hand.

Hope you're feeling alright post-hospital; I'm sure it will be good to catch up on that sleep over the next three weeks! Still, oddly enough, I'm going in the opposite direction to you! I'd got to the stage where, having got most of the albums I wanted on CD (including using trips to Brussels as a chance to track down Hooverphonic albums), I was going to have to accept downloaded .mp3s as my future medium of choice, as most of the new artists I was discovering were small, independent and often in different countries. All well and good...until a good friend told me he was looking to flog his amp/speaker system, and Ms Mooseblaster bought me a vinyl LP for my last birthday. So very soon, I'll be moving (partially) onto a nice amp/speaker system, with a nice CD player (I've had to play my CDs on the computer for the last few years) and a turntable. In anticipation of this, I've gathered a few LPs that I'm looking forward to playing. Will I be able to hear and appreciate the difference (especially after years of abusing my ears in loud bands)? Watch this space and I shall report back as soon everything has come together!

One day, when I was about 13, maybe 14, it just seemed like there had been some overnight transformation, and all the other boys at my school suddenly owned and could play electric guitars. I had obviously missed the memo about this during my keyboard lessons. Like many boys of that age, I was partial to a bit of Rock and/or Roll, and so naturally thought that playing the electric guitar might[s] make girls notice me [/s]be a sensible choice. I tried my friend's guitar and - curse my clumsy, elephantine hands! - everything was too small, cramped and fiddly. I would never be able to play the electric guitar. I retreated to my dark cave and pondered my response to this devastating setback. [i]Wait! [/i]I thought, [i]They make these guitars in a bass variety as well, in which everything is bigger and further apart, and there are only four strings to worry about! Better still, if all the other lads are playing guitar, I shall stand out by being one of the few bass players in this small and limited community.[/i] Truth be told, I didn't even understand what bassists really "did" with their instrument. My hero at the time was Ray Manzarek. Undeterred, I found the best value bass I could find in the local music shops (a Squier Bronco), promptly forgetting that I was left-handed, and resolved that I would master this mysterious instrument. I was so serious I even bought a book about it. Then I started listening to The Who. Suddenly my goal was obvious.

Last I heard, Ricky was having to make some extra money on the side providing a voice for those in-car Sat-navs... [size=2](..."I predict a right, I predict a right.")...[/size] [size=2].../gets coat[/size]

[quote name='anaxcrosswords' timestamp='1423921509' post='2690384'] That has to be one of the universal pet hates of musicians, when someone comes up to you (often while you’re playing – even worse) to ask if you can play a particular song. As if you have the world's entire back catalogue of music to pick from, unrehearsed. The ‘people coming up to you onstage’ thing just reminded me of a cracker from late last year when we did a 70s theme night. We included an ABBA number – at the end of it a woman came up to our vocalist and shouted “I hate ABBA!!” [/quote] What can you say to that, apart from "Good for you."?

I've just bought Martin's CTM-100, and may I just say, what a gentleman. Let me come down to his place to try the amp, and then not only arranged for it to be couriered to our studio, but then gave Nightfreight an earful for me when they ballsed up the delivery. A pleasure to do business with.

A little bootleg footage has emerged from the Derby gig on the 6th Feb - anyone else remember this '90s classic? http://youtu.be/PmviL-l6aYo

As somebody who finished a similar eBay Bitsa project last year, I say: good on you, and good luck! Looking forward to seeing the results.

Cheers, Lozz, we're definitely looking forward to it! And, as timmo has just pointed it out to me, it is, in fact, the night before LBGS. So I presume a lot of you will be in the area...if you're at a loose end the night before then come and enjoy some live music!

Cherry White's first London date of the year: we'll be playing up in Islington with touring Italian Desert Grunge band V-Device, and London-based power trio The Cortege. Come and watch us try to crowbar our blues-rock into that mix! [url="http://www.v-device.com/"]www.v-device.com[/url] [url="http://www.thecortege.com/"]www.thecortege.com[/url] [url="http://www.cherrywhitemusic.com/"]www.cherrywhitemusic.com[/url] The Hope & Anchor, Friday 6th March Doors at 8, entry £5.

Perhaps the best course of action for all concerned in this sorry debacle is for them all to sit down and re-watch the South Park episode "Fishsticks."

The first image to emerge of Cherry White MkIII on stage: [b]Feb 6th 2015 at the Victoria Inn, Derby.[/b] This photo was taken by one of the members of Parasight, with whom we shared the bill, along with Grawl!x and Thunderous Jones. A bloody cold venue, but some really excellent music. [attachment=183141:courtesyParasight.jpg]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1423129203' post='2681014'] But this still has the potential for good to come out of bad. GC will fail, drag down Fender, who will be sold, re emerging [b]without Bono [/b][s] with new owners, minus the debt, with a greatly reduced catalogue, realistic sales totals (no one can sell 3 to 4 hundred thousand instruments a year any more) and a focus on the customer and quality.[/s] [/quote] (...unless, of course, he's planning to stage some enormous charity benefit with Bob Geldof to help keep Fender afloat.)

Part of me thinks I'd probably change them more regularly if I could afford to (it is widely said that The Ox used to change them daily when touring, and he is my main source of inspiration, after all), and I've got a few packs of Roto Swing Bass Nickels waiting for when we go into the studio next month. I've stopped bothering so much for gigs, partly for expense, partly because the only person that really notices the difference is me, and partly because I normally play a T-bird or an EB3 with Cherry White, and the darker, thicker sound of those big humbuckers tends to cover up the loss of "sproing" quite well. This is especially true when I'm playing through a shared bass amp that I'm not familiar with anyway! My main conundrum is whether to get yet another fresh 8-string set for the studio, having only put new ones on last week. They ain't cheap, or easy to come by, and the 8-string's only going to be used on one song...but then we will be rehearsing quite a lot between now and mid-March, and I would rather like to give the little bugger a bit of a setup in the meantime.

Thank you very kindly Jack! One last bump to bring this to the attention of anybody who's looking for something to do in Derbyshire tonight...

Funny you should mention the MIM / MIA comparison, as I bought a Schecter Model T (also Diamond Series) after trying one and deciding it was a good step between the two. Of course I'm talking about a passive, slab-bodied 4, and you're after an active 5, but I'm sure if you try one you'll find they're excellent instruments and a joy to play.

Sorry to keep you waiting, folks - I think I am now finally up-to-date. The new job doesn't like me spending a lot of time on FB, so I've finally had a chance today whilst at home malingering! Thank you all very kindly for the influx of "likes" so far! https://www.facebook.com/cherrywhitemusic

Just a quick [i]bump [/i]as it's this Friday!

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1422860111' post='2677540'] 'You aren't tall enough to play bass.' [/quote] It wasn't at a gig, but a similar one I once had was [b]"You can't be the bassist, you aren't fat."[/b] (I seem to remember that this was during that brief period when "Nu" Metal was popular, and the bassists in many such bands seemed to be the more corpulent ones with terrible neckbeards...)

[quote name='Moos3h' timestamp='1422788201' post='2676688'] I call shill bidding. Those things sell day-in, day-out for around £100-150 max. [b]Either that, or when the buyer sobers up, they are in for a shock![/b] [/quote] I do know a young gentleman who spent a not-inconsiderable sum of money on Bruce Springsteen tickets while Brahms & Lizst. To make matters worse, he'd booked them for a gig on the opposite side of the Atlantic. So I could believe that some of these bids were made by a person whose levels of nostalgia were similar to those of AM, but whose blood-alcohol was considerably higher!