Happy Jack

I felt pretty spalted last night ...

I've spent a fair chunk of the last year or two visiting pubs on the hunt for gigs for the Junkyard Dogs. I haven't actually kept count of the pubs I've visited in that time (entirely in the name of research and marketing, you understand) but I suspect that it's now drifting towards three figures. That doesn't make me some sort of expert, but it does mean that I've had enough time and experience to reach one conclusion. It is possible [i][b]within 30 seconds of entering a pub for the first time[/b][/i] to assess whether or not it is a pub I will enjoy playing, and[i][b] I don't even need to speak to a member of the staff[/b][/i]. How is this possible? What is the magic that enables me to do this? Beer. The one stand-out correlation IME between a [[b][color=#00ff00]good, happy music pub with a decent crowd[/color][/b]] and a [[color=#a52a2a]bad, dour music pub with three men and a dog[/color]] is whether or not they have a selection of decent draft bitters on tap. Walk into a pub where all the brand-tabs on the pump-handles are turned away from you and all they have is bottled Newcastle Brown Ale, and you may as well turn around and walk out again. Walk into a pub with a choice of three or more decent beers (lager doesn't count, alright?), preferably including Timothy Taylors, and you've found a pub worth trying to get a gig at. The grey area in the middle is walking into a pub which only sells Doombar on draft. Judging by the astonishing number of pubs now selling this uber-bland concoction, Sharps ([i]actually Molson/Coors, for those who take an interest in this sort of thing[/i]) have clearly adopted a very aggressive marketing/pricing policy which might in its own way be an indicator of a failing pub. Please note that this has nothing at all to do with beer snobbery, and the fact that I personally prefer to drink well-kept draft bitter. I genuinely believe that this correlation stands up to scrutiny. I can dream up a number of 'Just So' stories to explain why this might be the case, as I imagine can all of you, but I won't burden you with any right now. What do you think? Are you the gig-getter for your band? Does this strike a chord with you?

God I hate being this predictable: [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]"... [i]as to what features you might want/expect from an all british, hand wired, valve amp [/i]..."[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]How about something that doesn't need two roadies and a fork-lift truck to move?[/font][/color]

The whole haggling / low-balling thing has frequently left me dumb-founded. On at last half a dozen occasions in the last two years I have made a serious offer for a bass on Basschat, that offer being lower than the asking price but driven by my assessment of the "true value" (if such a thing exists). With one exception where my offer was accepted, the vendors have chosen to refuse my offer or even ignore my PM, only to end up three months later selling the bass for less than I offered in the first place. I have no problem with people disagreeing with my assessment, and I don't feel hurt or let down because I didn't get those deals ( ) but it is alarming how many vendors seem wedded to their initial, inflated asking price ...

By the way, and [i]apropos [/i]of nothing, has anyone heard from TIM recently?

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1394480765' post='2391828'] Last gig at the George in Chiswick, on Friday 7th, before the pub closes for a big refurb. [url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluejay_my_photos/13066906115/in/set-72157642167556395"]http://www.flickr.co...157642167556395[/url] [/quote] What can't be seen from these photos is The Battle Of The Coats, in which a drunk-but-friendly punter decided to move the coats which were blocking his view of the band, the drunk-but-slightly-less-friendly birthday party revellers who owned the coats got the hump and invaded the dance floor area, the sober-but-easily-annoyed dancers objected to the invasion, the friendly-but-definitely-not-worth-challenging bouncers had to come in from outside to sort things out, and the brave-as-lions-but-not-entirely-stupid band decided to just keep playing and try to keep their hysterical laughter under control.

Listen to Clarky ... this is excellent advice.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1394539990' post='2392370'] ... he talked about coming to London to record with Primal Scream on their "Rocks" album ... [/quote] Now look what you've done. I followed the link to "Rocks" which led to Wikipaedia on Primal Scream which led to discussion of their new (in late 2012) mystery bassist Simone Butler which finally explained where Simone disappeared to when she suddenly vanished from Vintage & Rare in Denmark Street where I knew her for years as a shop assistant ... Bloody internet. Delighted for her, mind. Nice lady, very smart, and (presumably) no slouch on bass either.

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1394537223' post='2392320'] It may also be possible to use the Pool table this year for those seeking a bit of a diversion from the musical stuff. [/quote] Ah ... the music of the spheres.

I am not a number, I am a free photograph.

It's just the difference between a bass that's been relic'd and one that's been rollocked.

"[i]Needs a little work."[/i] Oh well ... normal for Norwich I suppose.

You don't need aluminium for tuning issues to arise. I played a market gig outside Kew station last summer. We were (supposedly) under a gazebo but the set-up meant that my Ampeg Baby Bass was in direct sun. For the first 30-minute set I was having to re-tune after every song, and at one point mid-song.

Now from a [i][b]buyer's[/b][/i] point of view, of course ...

[quote name='Lee Carter' timestamp='1394449282' post='2391341'] Incidentally, don't worry too much about soloing on blues numbers, my job is to keep the groove rolling not kill it. I find a polite shake of the head works wonders when someone points at me for a solo ;-) [/quote] Damned right. There are plenty of Basschatters who are ardent solo-players, I'm sure, but I'll bet you'd find that they are vastly out-numbered by those who have never played a solo and never will. My bass-playing heroes are James Jamerson, Duck Dunn and Paul McCartney. See how many bass solos those three contributed during their entire careers.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1394392388' post='2390974'] That's at least 70 million people who 'don't like music' then. [i]According to the British Hit Singles & Albums book, he has reportedly sold in excess of seventy million albums worldwide[sup].[/sup][/i] [sup][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Last#cite_note-British_Hit_Singles_.26_Albums-1"]http://en.wikipedia....es_.26_Albums-1[/url][/sup] [/quote] I didn't realise that his sales were restricted to one album per person ...

Just so long as he has his own knives ...

Now tell us how you actually pronounce "[i][b]Pfretzschner[/b][/i]" ...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Some-type-of-audio-cable-/161243178915?pt=UK_Musical_Cables_Leads_Connectors&hash=item258ad7a7a3

The Beatles

[quote name='Prosebass' timestamp='1394277338' post='2389770'] I have been searching in vain for a good, simple, relatively inexpensive, low wattage bass valve head. Guitarists are catered for with a plethora of small valve amps from the £69.00 1watt Kustom to the £250.00 20watt VHT, but these are all high gain screamers. I really think there is a gap in the market for someone to fill here. What do you really need on a nice warm sounding valve practice amp. High low gain input jacks / Volume / Treble / Bass. 8ohm Speakon on the back. Simples [/quote] That already exists. Buy an early 70s WEM Dominator 25 (the one with the 15" Celestion, not the 12" jobbie). 15W of pure valve tone in a glorious open-backed cab, available at home rehearsal volume levels, capable of handling small gigs too, and best of all you won't lose money on it.

And at the non-bargain end of the scale, we have http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-string-bass-collection-bass-guitar-/161238083317?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item258a89e6f5 Horribly over-priced, especially since the seller has somehow managed to avoid using the word "fretless" ...

No idea what that amp sounds like, but I'm certainly struggling with the controls. I'm a great believer in simplicity with amps, and especially so with valve amps. That combination of knobs and switches, channels and bright blue LEDs, promises entire gigs of fiddling about with the sound without in any way improving the bass playing ...

[quote name='Monckyman' timestamp='1394206315' post='2389173'] Gandalfs very own gig bass. [/quote] Don't be silly - that belongs to Radagast. And good luck finding a gig-bag to go with it ...