Happy Jack

The self-consciousness thing is the hardest to overcome. You'll never really know what you're capable of if you're always holding back in embarrassment. I used to commute on a very loud motorbike, wearing a full face helmet. I could ride into Central London singing as loud and as committed as I could manage, secure in the knowledge that no one could possibly hear me. I used to walk around my local park on Sunday mornings, football pitches to the North, railway tracks to the West, cemetery to the South, dual carriageway to the East. I just shut up when I got close to dog walkers and joggers.

Sounds like the perfect opportunity to try a set of flats ...

What WERE you watching on telly?

That was a helpful list. Not sure I'd have included LD in that company, and perhaps harsh on RCF to exclude the Evox, but there's certainly some interesting stuff there.

Dave, do you mind if I add a few tips? No? Oh good. Don't have a cold drink on stage with you, and avoid anything with ice in it like the plague. Flat bitter at room temperature is an ideal lubricant, and no, that isn't supposed to be funny. Remember to breathe at the right points in a song. It's ridiculously easy to forget this. Arrange your position on stage so that while singing into the mic you can easily check out where your left hand is on the neck. Don't keep looking down. If you don't get rid of the written lyrics within three performances, you'll depend on them for ever. If you don't know the song, WTF are you doing singing it to an audience? Don't be afraid to simplify the bass line while you're singing, and parts that you would normally play up the neck are harder to louse up if you play them down by the nut instead. Smile and bow.

I saw this and read it as LYTTLE FEAT ...

It's not the heat or the cold that does the damage, it's rapid change. Damp, on the other hand, is always an issue. Storing your cabs in the loft is a great idea, until it's time to get them out for a gig and put them back afterwards. Life's too short. If your garage leaks but has enough space, then pop down to Homebase or somewhere and buy something like https://www.homebase.co.uk/keter-store-it-out-max-garden-storage-beige-green-1200l_p261326?_$ja=tsid:|cid:1047006610|agid:57097309091|tid:pla-406065586939|crid:247522970063|nw:g|rnd:5707226675572190921|dvc:c|adp:1o1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAuP7UBRDiARIsAFpxiRIPNa2AbdcgYwIe9ryQznkOB1JvT6dUQL-ZT8V9IdZ590d3SVR7o3QaAiAwEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CJ79wKP42dkCFTUh0wodSUsOAA I stored my cabs like this for years in an unheated garage with no ill effects at all.

Same for us.

The other three are all buried under your patio?

Completely unexpectedly, the thing that most blew me away at the LBGS this year was the two linear array PA systems being displayed by Markaudio - the Ergo and the Audio Chain. I was sufficiently impressed that I've persuaded MoJoKe of this parish (Kevin, who was in charge of them at Olympia at the weekend) to give me a private demo at gig volumes on Thursday morning (8th March) in Maidenhead. These systems won't be for everybody, if only because of the price, but if there's a Basschatter or two with a genuine interest who'd like to come along and see what the fuss is about, please drop me a PM. http://www.markaudio.it/

Actually, it was Mark Audio GAS, not Mark Bass!

Not necessarily so. How about Alice Cooper?

Good technique there, nice straight wrist. Thumb's a bit higher than I'd like to see, mind ...

Outstanding!

D'you know, I'm not even going to listen to it. I'm past caring. Next up: Did Paul McCartney die in 1966 and get replaced by a doppelganger?