Lenny B

I saw him in 96 at the Jazz Cafe - what a gig - non-stop groove!!

Which bass?

Ditto - would like to come, if I can! And if I can and if there's any interest, I'd be glad to do a legal workshop / Q&A (music and copyright rather than criminal / property / landlord etc!) Len [quote name='Sibob' post='719541' date='Jan 20 2010, 08:50 PM']Yeah I don't really see the point in putting my name forward until a date is sorted If I can come......I will lol Si[/quote]

I knew him from Leeds, years ago, but never had any lessons from him. Top bloke. Lovely Jazz if I remember... [quote name='bythesea' post='538752' date='Jul 12 2009, 07:54 PM']I've been looking for a bass teacher recently and have just come across a website for someone by the name of Gary Simons. He has moved to my area and has previously been a tutor at Leeds College of Music. I've emailed and currently waiting for a reply. Anyone know of him? Or is he a member here even? He plays double bass as well as BG so that could prove useful.[/quote]

I think it looks fantastic - will have to investigate the cost of a re-spray!

A most convivial lunch companion

This ties in rather nicely with the third article I wrote for BGM (published in the punk issue a while ago, re-produced below by presumed kind permission of BGM); SESSION MUSICIAN ARTICLE First of all, this article is not about how to become a session musician or what you can expect from being one – there are others far better qualified than I to write about that. What this article is about is some of the main points that should be borne in mind when hiring or performing as a session musician. Is there an agreement? There should always be a written agreement – a contract does not need to be in writing to be enforceable (although this is greatly preferred) – a valid contract can arise through verbal agreement or through a course of conduct (such as regular work on the same terms). If there’s no written agreement, then it becomes very difficult in the event of a dispute to evidence what was agreed, so the best advice is to get it in writing. If you are a member of the Musicians’ Union (www.musiciansunion.org.uk), they have a template session musician agreement that has been negotiated with the BPI (www.bpi.co.uk). However, many musicians these days are not MU members, and many record labels are not BPI members, so there is a great deal of room for variation. How much and when? One of the first things to be agreed will be your fee – will the session be for cash, for a royalty/income share or for a mixture of both? Most labels or producers would rather you get a one-off payment with no on-going liabilities, but releasing a record can be expensive, and smaller labels especially may rather pay you little or nothing now, but with the potential of a continuing royalty should the release be successful. Many session musicians would rather have cash in the hand rather than a potential larger sum in the future, and you may have little or no say at this stage on how future royalties may be calculated and paid to you by the label. A further point for consideration is whether you’ll require cash on the day or will you be happy to invoice and wait for your money? You should agree this before the session and before you incur any expenses. Copyright We’ve previously looked at the difference between copyrights in a song (‘the Publishing Rights’) and the copyrights in a recording of that song (‘the Recording Rights’). We’ll now look at these rights first in the context of a session. As I’ve written previously, the first owner of copyright in a Recording is the ‘Producer’, who legally is the one who ‘makes arrangements’ for the recording (and is usually understood to be the one paying!), rather than the person in charge of recording the session. In order to release, license or otherwise deal with the Recording unencumbered, the Producer should have from all session musicians confirmation (in writing) that they have no rights in or over the Recordings. This is usually pretty clear – it will be an uncommon situation for a session musician to have any such rights. Would the session musician have any Publishing Rights based on their contribution to the song? There is a three-stage test; 1. Does the session agreement deal with this? If the agreement states that the session musician waives any interest he may have in the composition or publishing (in return for his fee), then that is generally the end of the matter. If both parties to a contract have agreed this, it will be very difficult for the musician to later claim any such rights. 2. Does the musician play (or re-play) a line which the artist or producer has shown him or asked him to play? If so, then he will not have any rights in the composition as he has not come up with anything original. 3. Has the musician come up with a line in which he made a ‘significant and original contribution as a joint author to a copyright musical work’? If so, then he may be entitled to a share of the Publishing Rights. In a dispute, questions 1 and 2 above are questions of fact (to be determined by evidence, such as witness statements and cross-examination), whereas question 3 is a matter of opinion. Musicologists will often be called to explain to the judge why the contribution is or isn’t significant enough to be awarded a share of the copyright. Unfortunately, there are no real guidelines as what constitutes ‘a significant and original contribution’, and it will generally be decided on the particular facts of that case, the quality of the evidence and ultimately the judge’s opinion. In both the fairly recent ‘Bluebells / Young At Heart’ case and the more recent ‘Procol Harum / A Whiter Shade of Pale’ case, it was found that the session musician’s * contribution was significant and original enough for them to be awarded a share of the composition years after the recording session – in the case of A Whiter Shade of Pale, 39 years after! However, the judge awarded for royalties to be paid going forward – there will be no payment for past years before a claim was made. Also, permission has been granted for an appeal in the ‘Whiter Shade of Pale’ case, so this may not be the final word on that matter… PPL and Performance Rights As well as the copyright in a recording, musicians have rights in their performances which the Producer or label must clear to allow the performances in the recordings to be reproduced or exploited. This should also be clear in any agreement. The organisation PPL (www.ppluk.com) collects licensing money from broadcasters, shops, restaurants and clubs and distributes this to record labels and musicians – including session musicians. This is not a royalty for sales of a recording, it is income generated by the public performance of recordings. Both you and the label need to be members of PPL to receive this income. Credit Under fairly recent legislation, performers on a recording now have a right to be credited or identified as a performer. This right can be waived, but if there isn’t a good reasons for you to do so (such as your embarrassment at the quality of the recording, or the label asks you to waive it as it doesn’t want the ‘real’ bass player to know he’s been replaced) I suggest you fight for your credit. If however you are to waive it, make sure you’re properly recompensed for doing so. If people don’t know you’re the bass player, it will be hard for you to get the next session… * Matthew Fisher - the organist in Procol Harum – was a band member, not a session musician, but as he was un-credited as a writer, this situation makes a good example for this article.

I sometimes stuff a kitchen sponge under the strings

I couldn't make it in Camden, but just seeing 'Kings X' has brought back the opening riff from the Gretchen album. That takes me back. 89? 90?

and Footloose - 80's octave pedal excellence

One thing I remember reading from an interview with Tommy Cogbill is that he avoided playing the open E and kept up the octave because the bass line comes out better on the radio that way not sure how applicable that still is, but it's very noticeable on this tune