cybertect

The new (out today) album from Peter Bruntnell, Houdini And The Sucker Punch https://peterbruntnell.bandcamp.com/album/houdini-and-the-sucker-punch-3 Pete is a quality songwriter who I have shared a bill with on several occasions over the last thirty years and his bass player, Peter Noone (not that one) welds his Precision with very good taste Third time round today and none of the shine has worn off 👍

Fairground Attraction at the South Bank tomorrow night Just booked to see Martin Newell and The Cleaners From Venus at Bush Hall next April

Working fine for me right now, but I am already logged in.

I had to go check and it was Hal Cruttenden, who is very good whenever I have seen him 👍 I saw Stewart Lee with Josie Long supporting at the Clapham Grand on Friday they were both on top form (though Stewart had to lunge his mic stand at a member of the audience who was being a total knob)

Must confess I don’t think he said that this time, but there was nevertheless a lot of shambling gong on

This pair of nutters: John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett from a front row seat at my local venue, The Sound Lounge in Sutton. I've seen John on his own countless times, but this was the first time I've caught the two of them together and I was not disappointed.

Yes, this seems to a point of contention between Feargal and the rest of the band, with John himself contacting The Independent to get the story corrected when they reported it. 😄 https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/matthew-bell-the-ios-diary-5498401.html A band I was in in the early 90s had a deal nixed by Feargal Sharkey when he was at Polydor, so I will side with John on this 🤪

I live and learn, though apparently that is only Feargal’s story and it is denied by John O’Neill, who wrote the song

I think you’re thinking of Turning Japanese by The Vapors

this should be it https://music.apple.com/gb/album/blonde-on-blonde/178049863

I don't have my CD to hand, but The Hi Res Streaming version of Rainy Day Women I hear on Apple Music is, as far as I can tell, the same performance as the 'Finished Track' on Bob Dylan's YouTube channel, beginning at 1m 35 here (you need YouTube Premium access to get at the official Blonde on Blonde album). and also as posted on Bob's official facebook account on the anniversary of its release as a US single in April https://www.facebook.com/bobdylan/videos/april-1966-release-of-the-rainy-day-women-12-35pledging-my-time-single-in-the-us/3684932811763292/

Same here, Cripple Creek is greyed out and ‘not available in your region’ when you click on it. I believe it must be licensing issues, possibly UK specific from that message. That remastered version of Cripple Creek is also unavailable on The Capitol Albums 1968-1977, although oddly you can listen to what may be a different remaster on A Musical History. I have seen it elsewhere on Apple Music. Camera and Don’t Go Back To Rockville are greyed out on Reckoning by REM, for example.

I shall be seeing Charley Stone supporting The Baby Seals at the Cavendish Arms in Stockwell this evening …then Robyn Hitchcock (with a proper band!) at EarTH in Hackney on Saturday

thanks yes, after an hour or so playing at home this evening I’m very happy 😃

First thing I should mention is that in 35-odd years at this game of playing bass, I've never owned a Fender before, or a P. I popped into my local branch of Guitar Guitar in Epsom this afternoon and this recent arrival caught my eye hanging on the wall at a reasonable price... Rather pretty in Blizzard Pearl, nearly 20 years but barely a sign of it (the lightest of scuffs on the tip of the headstock). Took it for a spin and it felt exactly right under the hand and sounded fine. Sometimes you just make a connection with an instrument, so I resolved to buy it. Discovered at this point that it came with a fitted Fender hard case, which was a nice bonus, and that it had been sold to them by the bass player in a very well known band, but I won't say who here. I take these stories with a pinch of salt, but they are fun nevertheless 🙂

Rickie Lee Jones at the Union Chapel in Islington last night. I've loved Rickie's music for over 40 years, but this was my first time seeing her live, and it was sublime. No bass player, but ably supported by Ben Rosenblum (who picked up the low end on occasion) and Mike Dillon on percussion and vibes.

Do enjoy! 🙂

The solution to this is flatwounds

I suspect you are talking about La Gioconda cafe, which was frequented by Elton/Reg, David Bowie and a plethora of other names. A friend of mine, Peter Watts, recently published a book about the history of Denmark Street, and I provided all the modern photographs in the book. Obviously, I’m a little biased, but it’s an excellent read 😊 http://www.paradiseroad.co.uk/denmark-street-londons-street-of-sound Edit: Might be worth plugging my own photoblog about Denmark Street in which I was trying to collect stories from the people working on Denmark Street before all the change happening along Charing Cross Road really took hold. https://streetofsound.uk I rather ran out of people who were willing to talk to me on the record, but it was fun while it lasted and was the reason I took many of the photos that Peter later used in his book.

I have a Japan-made Sheraton of 1983 vintage, which has been in my ownership for about 35 years. Occasionally, I have a hankering for a Telecaster, but the Sheraton does me well enough for the occasions I need a guitar 🙂

I'm a similar age and with similar experience - permanent low level tinnitus for the last seven or eight years, fortunately most of the time i can tune it out. I did have some custom plugs which were excellent but I managed to lose them at a gig (grr!). Then the pandemic happened and I have not been performing very much since. Knowing I needed some protection led me to try a few mid-range 'musician' plugs for use as an audience member and I have a couple of favourites. Etymotic ER20XS plugs are about as transparent as they can be IMO. They deliver an 20dB cut in volume evenly across the entire frequency spectrum. For me at least, they are very comfortable to the point that I sometimes have to check that I have them in my ears - then I discover how loud the music actually is! I use Etymotic IEMs as daily drivers for general music listening out and about, so I'm very used to deep insertion plugs and YMMV. They are about £30. I recently purchased a set of Alpine MusicSafe Pro plugs, which have three different filters for 16, 19 and 22dB. The three-filter versions are under £25, which is pretty good value. A/B testing them against the Etymotics at the same gigs over the last couple of weeks, the reduction in volume with the 22dB filters is noticeably better than the Etys, but they are a little more mid focused, especially if you push them deep into your ears. Oddly, the different frequency response is less noticeable at higher volumes. The 16dB Alpine filters are more evenly tuned and useful for quieter environments (such as amplified acoustic instruments). Swapping filters while you are in a mosh is liable to result in one or more of them getting lost! As a side note, the Etymotics have a small tab that makes getting them out of your ears again much easier. I have to dig in hard with my fingertips to extract the Alpines. I think they supply a cord which may help, but I don't want anything dangling around my neck at a gig. For ease of use and sound quality, the Etymotics win hands down. if you are going to be playing for many hours in a loud band, they may be a little underpowered, though. With any of these, though, they are like IEMs - your exact experience may vary depending on the shape and size of your ear canals. Custom moulds should be more consistent from one person to the next, but I would certainly recommend either as a backup to keep in your pocket or as a stop gap solution until you can get some made.

https://medium.com/@Vinylmint/history-of-the-record-industry-1920-1950s-6d491d7cb606 20 years before

That's the one FWIW it was strung with flats as far as I could tell when I saw them in Blackheath last night and, yes, I am pleased as punch that I managed to bag a spot right at the front 🙂

Talking of Hofners, this is my '67 Verithin We have been playing music together since we were both 21 years old

Per this discussion, it's played on a keyboard https://gearspace.com/board/electronic-music-instruments-and-electronic-music-production/513627-thompson-twins-2.html?s=e56c4ec83002b0e43e038f04207af7d4