Happy Jack

Since 2005, and listing only the bands that actually gigged: Squishy Fish - rock covers [formed in The Horniman pub and originally named The Horny Men, the rest of the band changed the name at a drinking session without teling me. I left after the first gig] The Fields - dreadful functions band [originally formed by parents of children at Fieldings Primary School] Bang To Rights - pop/rock covers Brentford Nylons - loose covers Junkyard Dogs - pop/rock covers [this was Bang To Rights but without a keys player] King Ralph - steampunk originals [most people assumed that the 'King was an abbreviation] Rocky Elvis - 6'5" Elvis impersonator with a scractch TCB band, dep gig Soul Disciples - Northern Soul, dep gig Dani Molino - Spanish singer/songwriter Karena K - English singer/songwriter Mick's Lawmen - power trio with an identity crisis [the drummer really was called Mick Law, so the name was a no-brainer] Sapphire Grooves - hip, laidback covers Long String Hawkers - ramshackle semi-acoustic Depression-era (1930s, not 1980s) songs Hinterland - English singer/songwriter, dep gig Westbound Piccadilly - country/folk originals, dep gig Red Herring - stupidly STUPIDLY LOUD rock trio, dep gigs Resonance - functions band, dep gigs Chiltern Hillbillies - country band [supposedly, not so much on close inspection] Fat Walters Band - Southern rock, wandering into country Raw Delia - blues rock Damo & The Dynamites - old school rock'n'roll and rockabilly Broken Spoke - country band [an attempt to do it right after leaving the Chiltern Hillbillies] Harmonica Lewinsky - cheeky cockney rave-up [I'm not making this up], dep gig Streamline 55s - rockabilly Soul Seniors - classic soul RAMcache - original pop Across those 26 bands I've played about 500 gigs, but about 400 of those were with just three bands.

There's a lot of 'em about. https://www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-dept/guitar-pedals/pedal-power-supplies

And ain't that the truth? These days I am increasingly playing in one successful band (the rock'n'roll outfit, which could easily play a hundred gigs a year if there were enough weekends) and a bunch of side projects which maybe play a couple of dozen gigs between them. The side projects will take what gigs they can get, and in most cases "how much are we getting?" is the last question anyone asks. Meanwhile, the talent around which the rock'n'roll band is built has daddy/daughter issues and needs to spend more Saturdays with her next year. No problem. I've put our rates up by roughly 20%. Having been a Finance Director for most of my career has its uses, such as knowing about Price Inelasticity Of Demand. Yes, you read that right. If demand for your product (in this case, a band) is very strong, then demand will go down by less than you put the rates up. Translation: Put your price (gig fee) up by 20% and demand (number of bookings) goes down by 10%, for example. What does that look like in the real world? If a band plays 20 gigs in 2022 and charges £300 for each gig, then they generate 20 x £300 = £6000 in revenue. If the same band charges £360 for each gig in 2023 and loses 10% of its bookings as a result (two gigs), then they generate 18 x £360 = £6480 in revenue. They do 10% fewer gigs but earn 8% more money overall. And that, ladies and gentlemen, I see as a Win/Win. 😎

Listed: 2 years ago Condition: Good (Used) Good condition items function properly but may exhibit some wear and tear. I may need to update my definitions of 'good', 'function', 'properly, 'wear and tear'.

At last! Someone has actually posted about a SMALL valve amp!

Loving this to bits, Andy. That's a very sleek, elegant design you have there.

Rather unfairly, Charlie Dore is remembered by many as a One Hit Wonder. She's had rather more of a career than that suggests!

Replied.

Living in the past again ...

Just get all colloquial on their derrières and tell them that three smidges make a dab, and five dabs make a splash.

Easy-going 5-piece soul band has lost its bassist (well, more accurately, I have moved sideways onto keyboards) and needs a permanent member to take on the appalling burden of playing classic soul basslines from Stax, Motown and Atlantic all the way through to Chic and Amy Winehouse. These basslines are the reason I started playing bass in the first place, and I can't be the only one. We have a couple of titchy festival-style gigs in the diary for September (each a single 1-hour set) and probaby a decent private party in December, but we can't really start chasing down gigs until we have a settled line-up. Fly in the ointment? The four of us are all either self-employed or retired, which means that we can rehearse (at studios in Chalgrove, near Wallingford) on weekdays around lunchtime, which is nicely low-stress and of course cheaper, but means that this role isn't for everyone. If you're up for this, or know someone who would be, I'll be right here waiting ...

With my rock'n'roll band, I rehearse chiefly by gigging. 🙄

I played the stage outside The Marquess Of Lorne last year with a rockabilly band ... great craic.

From the Cheap Pedals thread I started six weeks ago: Two pedals that I have used extensively since Covid are the Digitech Drop and the Digitech Luxe. That's about £350 worth of kit (if you can find them) and very nice they are too. I broke my Drop at the last gig - trod on the p/s at the pedal socket, doh! - and I simply have to have a whole-tone pitch-shift for one particular song so I went looking for cheap alternatives. I found the Mooer Pitchbox MPS1 for £59. It's about a third the size of the Drop, it does exactly the same job only with rather better tracking, and if you flick the switch from setting #2 (pitch-shift) to #3 (de-tune) it also does exactly what the Luxe does.

https://www.lemonrock.com/sidewinder

Nah ... the difference is that the guy in Clip #1 is actually playing live while he does the whole Riverdance thing, whereas the suited & booted chap in Clip #2 is miming. Badly.

In truth, I've never been convinced by through-body stringing.

Troo dat, but with many drummers that's absolutely a losing battle. I'M JUST TICKLING 'EM!!!

That's right up there with "Queen Tribute seeks Freddie Mercury".

The only person who can't hear the vocals (usually) is the drummer. Guitar(s) and Bass stand up front, with their heads close enough to the PA tops that hearing the vocals is no problem at all. The answers are totally different if you're playing Glastonbury or the Albert Hall. If you're playing the Dog & Duck to 40 people, then arriving in an Edwin Shirley pantechnicon and loading-in a ton (literally a ton) of PA kit is going to win you no friends and no re-bookings. The main reason (IME) that someone needs a monitor is that everyone else has a monitor and the noise levels on stage make it impossible to hear anything unless you have one too. Take away everybody's monitors and you reduce by half the gear you need, reduce by at least half the volume levels on stage, provide everyone with lots of extra room, and save a fortune. I repeat ... you're playing a PUB!!!

This is a big, BIG topic and I would move forward slowly and carefully, if I was you. If you're not putting the whole band through the PA, then forget about putting the kick through it and buy something lightweight that will be good for the vocals. If you're starting to play pubs, why do you need monitors? What do the band members need to hear that they won't be able to hear in a pub? If you're not weight-lifters, consider buying a power amp and a pair of lightweight passive speakers ... why would you want to lift a pair of power amps above shoulder height at every gig? Above all, go and see some Basschatters local to you play some gigs, check out what they're doing, ask what works for them and what doesn't. My signature contains links to both my bands and all their gigs; if you're anywhere near one of those, come along and talk to me or @Silvia Bluejay and we'll tell you what we can.

Noble are based in California and have a long wait-list. Their product is tiny and will disappear into pretty much any piece of luggage. If you book a flight to California several months in advance, the flight is much cheaper. Currently, the cost of such a flight is about £150 more than the cost of importation. Just saying ...

It's just another waffle opportunity, a bit like a really low-profile Twitter account.

No no no ... to see a profile, you just have to look at a Member side-on.