tony_m

The only gigs we (Rascallion) have got booked so far this year are at one of our regular village hall venues on April 27th, an outdoor charity festival on July 13th (middle of the nine-band bill), and another outdoor charity festival on August 18th (we're actually headlining this one, but as there's only one other band on, it's not exactly a major coup!). 1. Why you don't have any gigs? Our frontman and rhythm guitarist are both recuperating after recent operations, so we can't commit to anything just yet. 2. Do you rely on an agent ? No. 3. Who finds coordinates and confirms gigs? Usually either the frontman or drummer as they've got the most contacts, so tend to get the enquiries. 4. Are you or any band members in this for the money? Nope, just for the fun of it. 5. How much do you want to gig? When we started, we agreed on once a month at the most (and no pubs!), but tbh it's turned out to be less frequent than that. On the plus side, even if we haven't got any gigs actually booked, we do seem to have become the first-call substitute band for a couple of venues (i.e. the village hall we're playing at in April, and the pub we're playing in August) if someone lets them down and they need a replacement (though obviously this isn't an option at the moment).

Any BLX owners fancy a suitable sweatshirt? 😉 Not me / no affiliation etc. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266640743862?hash=item3e1506ddb6:g:W7kAAOSwh0hltpN5

When we got Civily Partnered in April last year, I was a tad concerned how I'd get on with the ring on my fretting hand (never having worn one before) and was half-expecting having to take it off, but it's not been an issue. (Technical specs: 7.25" radius '51 Precision Reissue / 9.5" radius Squier Precision / 6mm wide x 2mm deep titanium ring from H Samuel). 🙃

Saw this lot playing in Blackpool donkey's years ago, don't know if they're still going or not. Rocked-up versions of chart / pop stuff e.g. Leaving On A Jet Plane, Video Killed The Radio Star, Waterloo, Crazy Horses as demo'd here...

Just acquired a set of tuners from John - lovely, straightforward transaction, great comms, and very quick dispatch and receipt. Deal with confidence.

Just to complete the picture following on from last night's post, the main problem we (Mr Drums in particular) had in coming to terms with the V-drums was how they sounded in the monitors. We were using a set of four SubZero 12" powered monitors which seemed to struggle with low frequencies at the best of times (especially if we had to turn them up to compete with a noisy crowd), and so simply didn't / couldn't replicate what was going out through the PA. Mr Drums was forever concerned that the drums weren't sounding right, despite us and other folks assuring him that they sounded great out front through the PA, and was spending all his time fretting and fiddling with things (including trying IEMs) and tweaking his technique to try and make it sound "right" to him, to the detriment of his actual playing, until in desperation he sprung for the Alesis drum amp/monitor. Coincidentally, at the same time Mr Lead Guitar also sprung for an HH Tessen monitor, which is basically the equivalent of the older HH's we use as mains. This replaced the SubZero he and our frontman were sharing, and I found I could hear enough from it that I could also ditch my SubZero. Between the Alesis and the HH, we reckon the onstage sound is now as close to the FOH as we can get it, just at a lower volume, while my amp provides my personal monitoring plus the onstage bass thump that both Mr Lead Guitar and Mr Drums like to hear and feel. Mr Rhythm Guitar still uses the one remaining SubZero, but this doesn't seem to cause any issues as long as he doesn't inadvertently turn up the lows on it - any onstage boominess is now invariably his fault, not mine, so he gets The Look instead! 😁 Overall, it's taken a while (and no little expenditure) to get to the point where we're all happy, but we got there in the end. Mr Drums has even flogged off his remaining acoustic kit, so there's no going back now...

Similar story here. It's taken our drummer ages and lots of swearing, fiddling with settings, and swapping leads etc. but he's finally happy (well, as happy as he ever gets anyway... ) with his V-drums. He's got a "basic" kit stored which suits most of what we do, plus a couple of others which he switches to for the odd song here and there (slightly different snare sound on one, slightly different kick drum on the other), and has even managed to get the cymbals sounding like proper cymbals. The final key component for our guy (and me tbh) was the addition of an Alesis Strike 12 drum amp which we set up on the far side of the kit from me - suddenly he and I can both hear the drums clearly but at a sensible volume, and the whole thing just sounds and feels right.

Which to be fair, is better than "Play something you know!" as we used to shout at a mates' band... 😁

My first decent amp was a BLX-80, bought new in 1996. Wish I still had it, as it would have been just perfect for leaving in our drummer's reharsal studio, but when we moved to the other side of the country in 2016, I donated it to the guitarist of my old band rather than lug it all the way over here with us (and risk shifting the Earth's axis by a degree or two). 🙄

As I mentioned on the "How was your gig last night?" thread, at the wedding anniversary gig we did back in September at a local village hall, we were asked if we'd do NYE for them. Having verbally agreed on the night with couple of the chaps off the hall committee that we'd do it for twice our usual rate, we then got word a week later via our drummer that the hall committee had now had a vote, and decided they were going to have a karaoke and disco instead! One of the local musos who lives in the village then mischieviously posted "Would like to see a band at the village hall on New Year's Eve, is there one on?" on the hall FB page, sparking a rather heated (and very entertaining) discussion between the hall chairman and various folks who regularly come to see us, which only ended when the thread got pulled by the hall chairman. 😂 Given the atmosphere which seems to have developed over the whole affair, suspect we'll not be playing there ever again, which is a shame as it's a nice enough hall, and only 15 minutes drive away for me. On the plus side, at least we won't need to worry about the dodgy hall electrics!

I used to run an EHX Bass Soul Food as an always-on tone-thickener, but was never entirely happy as it always seemed to teeter on the edge of being a bit too shrill. Replaced it with an Ampeg Scrambler, which seems far warmer overall (subject to the position of the Treble control) and is definitely more what I was after.

In one of my previous bands, I was most definitely the third "best" bass player out of the five of us, the guitarist and drummist both being way ahead of me in terms of competence and experience! Since then, though, my confidence in my own ability has grown, especially since I joined my current band. OK, my technique is still pretty limited compared to some (many / most?), but as long as I strike the right balance between speed and complexity, I know I can keep things nice and solid - it helps that Mr Drums is so good (absolutely metronomic, counts literally everything from the first beat of the intro to the last of the outro, and the words "that'll do" simply don't exist in his vocabulary), that as long as I lock in with him, everything will be just fine.

Just bought Ben's NUX Flow tuner. Simple, straightforward transaction, great comms, pedal in perfect condition, sent very quickly, and very neatly packed. Not a lot more to be said really, another fine Ambassador for the BC community. Deal with confidence. 👍

We do Tom Petty's "Learning To Fry", aka The Chip Shop Song.

And they're gone (again)... 🫣

Not a live album as such, but a live videotape (remember them?). Think I've told this story before on here, but for anyone who's not heard it, in January 1983 myself and couple of mates from the Saxon Militia Guard fanclub made the trek down from Blackpool to Nott'num in a pale yellow Mini Metro (remember them?) hire car - very metal, eh? - for the recording of Saxon's Live video at the Royal Court Theatre. No sooner had we picked up our Guest passes and settled in for a few hours ligging before the show than one of the roadies grabbed us and said "Hi lads, have you come in a car? Great, we need someone to drive over to Leicester and pick up a guitar for Graham. We'll pay for the petrol." So, me and one of my mates, plus the aforementioned roadie, fire up the Mighty Metro, and head off to Carlsbro Music, from where we collect a sunburst Squier Strat before heading back to the Royal Court via a petrol station for a fill-up (on expenses, of course). Fast forward to showtime, and we watch with anticipation from the balcony at the side of the stage, waiting for "Our Guitar" to make an appearance. Eventually out it comes for "And The Bands Played On", at the end of which Graham Oliver throws the thing into the air, drops it on the floor, sprays it with lighter fuel, and sets fire to it. Doesn't he know / care about all the effort we put into fetching it for him?!?!?!? 🤨 Obviously, our other contribution to what was a great show (and a great video IMHO, particularly Dobby Dawson's tone throughout, not to mention his bass pedal "demo" at 11:11 in), was adding our voices to the massed "Wheels Of Steel" sing-back and the "Whoa-oh-oh"s in "And The Bands Played On", despite us being on the guest list, and thus too-cool-for-school. A grand day out. 😎

Fortunately looks like only the Dakota Red version, otherwise I would have been a bit annoyed having picked up a blonde one elsewhere, at a higher price... 😂

Looks like they're back in stock (now at £262), let the frenzy recommence... 🙃 https://www.thomann.de/gb/fender_squier_40th_anni._p_bass_dr.htm

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away (otherwise known as A1 Music in Preston), I spied hanging on the wall a newly-released Fender Classic '50s Precision in Honey Blonde with a gold anodized scratchplate and maple neck, and fell in love with the look. At the time, it was way too spendy for me, plus I didn't think my small hands and stumpy fingers would be able to cope with the 44.45mm nut width anyway, so I left it where it was, but never forgot that look. Fast forward to September 2023, and *that* thread about Thomann and the Squier 40th Anniversary P's. The Vintage Blonde version obviously caught my eye, but after umming and aahing for a while, I decided to hold off ordering one until after we'd got back from our week away in Norfolk. Of course, they'd all gone by then, but a quick bit of online research revealed one in stock at GAK - more expensive than Thomann, but available - so I bunged my order in immediately. Then of course, I came across all the horror stories (mainly over on The Other Place) about dodgy QC on some of these, so was equally excited and worried about what might actually turn up. Turns out I needn't have worried - the body is decent enough (there are slight differences in colour / graining visible through the finish, but this is mainly on the back, and more apparent in photos than it is to the naked eye), the nut and fretwork is all neat and tidy, no loose / stripped screws, the pots are smooth (as has been noted elsewhere, the tone control is way more progressive than that on any of my other basses), the neck joint is tight, weight is nice at exactly 8lbs, setup was spot-on from the factory (though I have raised the action a bit to taste), the satin neck is a delight, she really rings out acoustically, and sustains for days (almost). I had originally intended going for the full '57 vintage look with threaded saddles, bridge cover and G-side tugbar, but I think I'm going to leave her as she is, a lean, mean, rockin' machine (or whatever the Kewl Kidz say these days) - all I've done is swap the strings for my preferred TI Jazz Flats. Unfortunately as the band is currently taking a complete break for four weeks, I'll not have chance to give her a full workout just yet, but she's definitely a keeper. And so, onto the obligatory pictures...

Friday night saw Rascallion providing the entertainment at a 30th Anniversary party for one of the committee members and his wife at a local village hall we've played a few times before. The evening didn't get off to a particularly good start when my trusty Ashdown Five Fifteen minirig started buzzing horribly, and nothing we tried would get rid of it completely. When I realised it was at its worst and most obvious when I rolled the tone above about 20% (or added treble on the Ampeg Scrambler), we decided to just crack on, and I'd keep the tone rolled back. Then we realised it wasn't just my amp that was buzzing, Mr Lead Guitar's was too, particularly when he kicked in his boost pedal. We've had buzzing amp issues at this venue before, but we always just put it down to Mr Singer's crappy old amp playing up as that seemed to be the only one affected. Long story slightly shorter, another local muso who runs an open mic at the same hall and was attending the event confirmed that he had the same problem here all the time, so we came to the conclusion it must be an issue with the mains - oddly, neither Mr Singer's nor Mr Rhythm Guitar's amps seemed to be affected on this occasion, nor were Mr Drums's electronic kit or the powered main PA speakers, so... 🤷‍♂️ Anyway, we fired up at 8pm, trying to forget about the odd buzz here and there. First set went well, and neatly on the dot of 45 minutes (with four tunes still left to do - we really must sort our set timings out!), Mr Anniversary came up to say the buffet was now being served, so we took a break for food (very nice it was too). Once everyone had finished troughing, we kicked off again at 9:30pm, running through the remaining four numbers from the first set, then continuing through the second, dropping a couple of numbers here and there. Think we may have inadvertently hit upon a new closing number for the first set / opening four numbers for the second set going forward, as it seemed to work really well this way! After we reached the end of the planned set, we got Mr Anniversary up to join us on the Kenny Rogers cover he'd requested (well, sort of - he'd wanted to do "Lady", but we'd decided it was too orchestrated for our meagre talents so opted for "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town" instead), which went OK apart from Mr Singer (and thus also Mr Anniversary who was following him) getting the phrasing wrong in verse 3 (yet again). Mr Anniversary then treated us all to an a capella, solo version of "Lady", despite the fact his beloved lady had already gone home as she wasn't feeling well (nothing to do with us, apparently). After we'd churned out "Bad Moon Rising" in response to loud requests for one more song, Mr Anniversary then came forward again, this time asking for just one more, possibly romantic number - I'd already suggested we should perhaps play "You Do Something To Me" given the nature of the event, so despite not having played it for months (even in rehearsal) we did something to them, and then rounded things off with a final "Stand By Me" to send everybody singing and swaying into the night. After a near-as-dammit faultless first set, there were few miscues in the second set (my major flamingo-up being total brain- and finger-freeze on the opening run in "Long Train Running", though I did nail it the second time round!), but on the plus side, the two numbers getting their first public airings ("Peaceful Easy Feeling" and "Listen To The Music") both went well and were well-received. We only had a couple of our regular friends from another village hall up and dancing, but then we didn't really think it was likely to be that sort of a do anyway given our previous experiences at this hall, with this crowd. So, that was that. Our final planned gig for this year, the intention being to now take four weeks off completely (mainly to prevent Mr Drums properly losing his temper with Mr Lead Guitar during yet another disagreement about timings, particularly on intros - Mr Drums can actually count well, Mr Lead Guitar apparently less so... ), then spend the rest of the year re-jigging the sets and nailing down a few new numbers, plus some we've dabbled with in the past, but which have never made it to gig-ready. At least, that was the plan. Then last night's parting shot from Mr Anniversary and his colleague on the hall committee was...... could we do New Year's Eve at the hall? And would twice our usual rate be OK? Well, it's sort of next year really, isn't it... 🙃

I'd probably have been listening to "Crusader" and "Innocence Is No Excuse", while dreaming wistfully of a return to the glory days of "Wheels of Steel", "Strong Arm of the Law" and "Denim And Leather"... 🤨

Now The Beeb are on the case... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66700300

Hopefully M3 is the correct size for the Hosco saddles - I did have a look to see if the specs said anything different, but they didn't so fingers crossed they're the same size as the Wilkinsons!