xilddx

Had a lovely gig with Kit Richardson at the Silver Bullet in Finsbury Park last night. Great onstage sound with only a very quick line check. Holds about 100 odd people, full of Arsenal fans when we got there, a few stayed for the music. 15 foot stage with four wedge monitors, two flying and two on the stage, quite immersive and it feels like one is inside the music. Could hear a great balance of all the band including the violins which is rare. Not sure how the young sound guy managed that so quickly and easily. The FoH sound was very good too, very balanced, good volume, nice and clear. Plenty of channels on the desk for the whole band, miced drums, keys and a synth, vocal, two violins, guitar, bass. There were 8 bands on. We were third from last and went on at 9.15pm. We kept about 50 punters there, they seemed to love it! I think we played a blinder, although I made a couple of silly bum notes through taking the odd risk, like a two and a half octave triplet arpeggio that I hadn't played before but I really felt the need for those notes and an unrestrained compulsion to do it. It sounded good too, apart from hitting the last note flat We had a dep 2nd violinist, Elona, who had barely heard the songs and had to sight read Kit's crazy scores with loads of expression marks. She was AMAZING! She totally nailed it and said she really enjoyed it. Kate, our regular violinist, really enjoyed playing with her and we are hoping Elona can play with us again. I think we made some friends last night. Great gig!

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1323478205' post='1463901'] I kind of agree, but the principle motive for making music should be for the sheer joy of doing so - be it pop, metal, jazz, classical , blues or whatever..... [/quote] So what intellectual process did you go through to arrive at this conclusion? I don't have a choice about making music. I HAVE to do it, or I wither and die. I tried it once. Don't misunderstand me, I get a lot of joy from writing and playing, but I get plenty of pain too. Music without humanity is just machine or language operation, or manipulation for financial gain.

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1323477023' post='1463895'] All I am trying to say is that playing music should be a positive thing that one should take joy in and should not be over intellectualised I don’t know if you have read the Bill Bruford autobiography (as referenced in the Robert Fripp thread), but just compare his rather joyless outlook on playing music to that of Roy Haines, the veteran jazz drummer, who he seems so in awe of and who was still touring at the age of 83, purely for the love of it…………. [/quote] I read it recently Pete. People have all sorts of complex motives for making music. Some people do it to get shagged, some do it as a political tool, some do it to heal themselves. You surely can't advocate only one facet of motivation, or tell people to stop feeling how they feel and expressing their feelings through music. Life isn't all KISS and Westlife mate, where would we be without music that came from the pain and beauty of what is to be frail and human? Music teaches us about what it is to be human, whether that's Son House, Miles Davis, or Stravinsky.

[quote name='witterth' timestamp='1323475356' post='1463884'] Thanks for that Input C3PO [/quote] Sorry, no disrespect to Pete, but !!!

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1323474744' post='1463875'] I don’t mean to upset you or anyone else, but I think that you and others are expecting too much from music, despite it’s obvious importance to your life (and to mine for that matter) The one time that I had anything like serious problems in my life, it had a negative impact on my playing (despite being a bit of a refuge), simply because it affected my concentration levels. I think that you should enjoy playing music simply for what it is rather than projecting any other problems you may have into it…… edit: that this a general statement and is not especially meant to relate you [/quote] So what is music if not a representation of the person performing it?

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1323472855' post='1463857'] To be honest mate, I think that you (and a few others here) ought to stop over-thinking things and just f**kin play and enjoy it – this particularly applies to yourslf as you obviously (unlike some of the others) can actually play! [/quote] Pete mate, with all respect and despite the compliment, that is such an unkind and ignorant statement that I'm having a hard time understanding why would make it, assuming you have read all the posts on this thread.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1323462321' post='1463755'] I haven't reached rock bottom yet, by my reckoning I should be arriving there round about March next year. I'm not constantly in the depths of despair - I can't allow myself to be as I've just got so much stuff to sort out before there can be any sign of things getting better. It's just that music is no longer the universal panacea for me that it once was, and to be honest with the amount of time I've invested in music over the last 32+ years I'm feeling badly let down by it. [/quote] Firstly mate, it's hard to predict the future and I hope March brings you love and light. Secondly, I'm fascinated to know how you think music has let you down. I only ever think, after 30 years of playing, that I let myself and music down, when I don't make magic happen through laziness, lack of ability and understanding, or through self-loathing.

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1323439850' post='1463422'] This has been a really good thread to read. I've had some terrible family problems over the years, especially between myself and my older sister. There were times where being in the house when she was there could get unbearable and I'm certain that during that time of my life, I became a much more driven person creatively and became really committed to music. [/quote] Had a similar experience mate, I have changed since then, but so has he, and it's easier now, but still a source of worry and anxiety for me, and fear of feeling like I did back then, and knowing I can react to things in the way I did, I NEVER want to feel that way again. However, my musical life took off as a result of me needing the comfort of music. Also, one of my very closest friends suddenly dying in April changed me a bit. I recorded most of the bass on his album (which he'd almost finished and which we are releasing pothumously), I was basically embellishing his ideas and replacing his synth bass parts. I remember sending him the bass track for a song he wrote about his girlfriend who had donated a kidney to him a few years earlier, it was a really important song for him. I had reharmonised the second half of a part with a sax solo on it. He phoned me later on and told me the bass on that part gave him the shivers, he loved it! That made me realise I should trust my judgement and take more risks. That was also compounded by the wonderful comments I got on here about Kit's EP. I'm starting to feel like I have an identity in the way I write bass parts, and although I'm severely lacking in many areas, I am starting to believe in myself.

[quote name='Chlo_treacher' timestamp='1323434496' post='1463303'] My dad commited suicide in march, music was pretty much the only thing thats gotten me through. He was also an amazing musician, although classical and I owe almost everything to him. He was the one who made sure we always had the rolling stones or the who or bob dylan blaring out as kids. My whole family are pro musicians too, but he was the one totally in love with the pop side and from the day I announced all I wanted to do is play bass and be a rockstar he did everything in his power to help me get there. The funny thing is, despite having an amazing few years getting my career finally going, its only actually really picked up after he died. Like from the week after it happened. It hurts I can't ring him up to tell him but you know I have a sneaky feeling he already knows....x [/quote] Christ Chlo, that's an awful thing to happen. I'm glad you are living the dream you both had though, no better way to honour his memory. Best wishes.

[quote name='jakesbass' timestamp='1323422559' post='1463074'] I lost my Mum when I was 15 and my Dad 3 months ago, music has always been a refuge and outlet for the pain associated with life difficulties, but is also represents, in me at least, outpourings of joy, like the birth of my kids. [b]When you get my music, you are getting me.[/b] [/quote] So sorry to hear about your dad, and your mum of course, Jake I hope you're ok. But I really like your last sentence, that should be the goal of any artist. There are many out there where [b]When you get my music, you are getting Jaco [/b]seems more appropriate.

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1323424718' post='1463116'] No it's not easy to do and in truth I'm not even sure it's a particularly good way of dealing with the trials and tribulations that life throws at all of us from time to time. I guess the only saving grace that rigid compartmentalising has is that, if I'm feeling sensitive or emotional about something, I can put myself 'somewhere else' and come back to whatever made me want to retreat at a later time when it's less disturbing. It also wrecks relationships, not sure if that's a plus or a minus... [/quote] I believe compartmentalisation is a coping tactic. It may work, but for me, I want to be whole and hopefully greater than the sum of my parts. I do agree it can help deal with a lot of unpleasant things, I don't think it's possible for me to do though.

[quote name='SebCarr' timestamp='1323423840' post='1463090'] I write more music when I'm sad, and at the time I'm convinced it's good. It's probably not. It's probably awfully whingey! But I feel like I have something to say. When I'm happy I have less to say. Something awful happened to my brother. He had a stroke at 28, and lost a lot of fine motor control, and a lot of movement in the right side of his body, and had trouble with speech. As a very keen guitarist obviously this was pretty devastating to his musical ability. But the thing is, music became a path to recovery. You have to use and rebuild the neural pathways to recover properly, and learning to play guitar again became a really good way of doing that. And being self taught, he'd learnt in a fairly haphazard manner, with subsequent gaps and weaknesses in his technique. Starting from scratch meant he got to rebuild his technique from the ground up. Sometimes when he's tired or overwhelmed you can still see notice the damage caused by the stroke, but he's made a really good recovery and is a better guitarist than ever (and he was [i]really[/i] good before the stroke). I think his love for music was a great motivator, and instrumental(!) in his recovery. [/quote] What a great story! Thanks

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1323417174' post='1463022'] I'm going to be the odd one out here. I segregate my life to prevent 'bad' things from crossing over into 'good' things. Work, home, unpleasant activities and music are all treated as seperate entities and I don't let them get anywhere near each other. [/quote] That's hard to do. I'm over-emotional and far too sensitive to be able to do that with any success. I always found playing a bass or guitar comforting if I'm feeling crap, trying to express my feelings on an instrument has been really good for me, for my mind and as a player.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1323389613' post='1462958'] If nothing crap has happened to me or falling out on me from it happening to someone close to me, music doesn't really happen for me. Horrible things are bound up in the Caricatures album. Everything is going smooth for me at the moment, so I'm being extraordinarily uncreative, and working on my technique and gear, ready for when it does come. Mostly other peoples gear, my gear rules. Recent stuff I've been playing is arrangements of stuff I wrote when things were crap. [/quote] I totally know where you're coming from. When I was writing that's exactly what it was like, music and lyrics. But I agree with k d lang when she said you don't have to be miserable to write songs. My guitar used to be my best friend, every emotion would get transferred through it. Not so much now, but I still do it from time to time.

Clarky and Jack, thank you!

Hey I'm cool Witterth! Thanks I think his death had a softening effect but also made me a bit more daring and risky. He had no fear of music, I do. We are doing a gig of his music and posthumously releasing his album at it on 28th Dec at his favourite pub. Should be fun and a great celebration of his life. Thanks again mate, hope you're ok too.

That's a really lovely answer. I'm so glad you got something positive, musically, from your tragedy. I hope he is proud of you mate. x

Did it, or would it, change your musicality for better or worse, and how?

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1323353808' post='1462374'] Like a number of people here I had problems with the output of the G on my Stingray. There's a fix for it on here somewhere but I can't find it.... basically strings off, carefully remove pickup cover, remove springs under coils, lay coils in rout in bass body, carefully press pole pieces for A and D strings until they're level with E and G pole pieces (they'll find the right level if they're on a flat surface), springs back in, cover back on, strings back on..... problem solved. I'm now happy with all my basses. [/quote] You see, I really would find that completely unacceptable in an instrument of that price, and having to void the warranty by making good a design fault would piss me off to the point of suicide.

Hey, thanks to you all! Good luck with your gigs too, break a leg! (or maybe the guitarist's )

All Fenders. Not enough frets. Precisions in particular, stupid nut width, awful to play.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1323192552' post='1460425'] One day I'll get to see you play (but unfortunately not while I'm this busy with work)... However please let us know how you get on. We have a gig booked there in February next year. [/quote] Thanks mate, I will do!

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1323190883' post='1460394'] When I bought a BSA air-rifle new as a teenager the stock had a matt/satin finish. It was hit with overspray of WD40 every time I dried the rifle off, within a few weeks it had a very high glassy finish - which was also quite tough. [/quote] Bloody strange, that.

[b]KIT RICHARDSON - Sat 10th Dec - Silver Bullet, Finsbury Park, London[/b] [url="http://www.thesilverbullet.co.uk/listings/?lgig=b47c8220-e99a-4051-8a3d-ddff834bb33c&performance=1"]http://www.thesilverbullet.co.uk/listings/?lgig=b47c8220-e99a-4051-8a3d-ddff834bb33c&performance=1[/url] I think we are on about 8pm-ish Looks like a nice venue too, very close to Finsbury Park Station [url="http://www.thesilverbullet.co.uk/"]http://www.thesilverbullet.co.uk/[/url] Cheers, Nigel

[quote name='thumperbob 2002' timestamp='1323188101' post='1460305'] I went the other way- from the Sansamp BDDI to the Pod. Seem to have spent my life programming whatever I had ( lots ). Cannot believe how anyone could use the standard patches- especially live where even the most conservative patch is too much. [b]The absence of a mid control really did it for the Sansamp.[/b] [/quote] That's why I got a ParaDriver. Still ended up getting a POD. The Hartke VXL Bass Attack was the best sounding Active DI I've had.