ricksterphil

8 minutes ago, Franticsmurf said:

"On a dark, lonely mountain,

With the wind in my hair

I could see the street lights

Several miles over there

Then a voice in the distance

Said 'turn left by the trees

You can drive off any time you like

But you can never leave'

Welcome to the Rhondda Cynon Valley

Such a lonely place, such a lonely place

Playing a gig in the Rhondda Cynon Valley

No bars on the phone, and no way home"

Brilliant

....shoe-in for a worldwide hit

1 hour ago, Franticsmurf said:

....ending up on top of a lonely mountain

looking down on the lights of the road I'm meant to be on,

 

 

Great song lyric.....

2 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

 

Happy Easter to you to Daryl and to our fellow BC'ers.

 

Yeah, I appreciate where you're coming from here. Personally I think it's really nice if bandmates can be both "band" and "mates". It feels a little too transactional / mercenary / cold for me if I'm giving up a Sat night to be with my missus and our friends in order to gig, if there's very little interaction or banter with my crew - doesn't actually have to be much but it makes all the difference to a night out if we have a catch up and laugh together between sets and at the end of the gig. Age doesn't necessarily have to be a barrier either - I've several bass chums where 2 or 3 decades can separate them from some of their bandmates age wise, but with whom there's still a close bond and connection.

 

Radio silence can definitely be a little disheartening - do you have a band WhatsApp group or similar?

Our drummer is something of a character, he's 6ft 4 and hefty and has more banter than a coach load of politicians. He works as a night club doorman and often works a full shift post gig. He has some lurid stories to tell, including getting bottled by the wife of someone he was throwing out. So band life is never dull and our WhatsApp could probably be turned into a mini-series.

Are you interested in selling the extension cab on it's own?

Gig in a new venue for us, The Black Horse in Whitwick and it went pretty well with the punters enjoying our set. Admonished by the landlady for not playing til 11.30 and a bit diss-chuffed that she came up to the stage pointing at her watch. Still, there was a stage of sorts and in-house lights. Second time out for two original songs penned by the band which were well received. I used my go-to bass & rig of Mike Lull P4 and Handbox R400 + Handbox cab with my now regular pedals consisting of a cheap n cheerful graphic EQ to dial out those booming notes + the good old Thumpinator. I might add a compressor in the future.

Next up for us is supporting The Phil Ashmore band at The Soundhouse, Leicester on April 14th

I was drooling over this when it was for sale before and was kinda relieved when it sold. 

Begone G.A.S. 😂

We played the Grand Union in Leicester on Saturday night. Our first outing of 2024 and it went really well and the crowd loved it. We're a Country band so hats and boots are de rigueur for us, but the bar staff joined in and also wore their western gear. 

Pre-gig photo with said bar staff

We got free food and a drink post gig so all in all a good un.

The band is Southern Frontier Country Band and I was using my Mike Lull P4 through a Handbox R400 and matching Handbox 1x12 cab. I used my Thumpinator, bought off here, for the first time live and was pleased with results. I'm not sure what that gizmo does but it seems to focus the sound somehow

RIP OHM

LED battens on floor stands so they are upright is what we use.

Powering them is a pain with 13amp cable everywhere so ideally rechargeable would be better, but they're costly.

Bought a Grizzly Bass pedaL from Ian. Easy transaction with excellent communications

PM incoming 

RP holding down the low end

Play nicely children 

25 minutes ago, Rich said:

 

I flew with Ryanair once (emphasis on 'once'). It was a pretty crap experience all round, massive lateness notwithstanding... however, the lateness had a silver lining. It was late enough and a long enough flight to trigger the maximum EU261 compensation amounts... the flights had been so cheap that the compensation actually paid for both the late outward flight and the return one, and the car hire and part of the accommodation costs. It was almost a free holiday. 

Michael O'Leary is still raging about the cost of that one 😂

Been wracking my brains trying to think of a company/brand I dislike and then I remembered Ryan Air.

In a remote French airport I put my bag on the scales and was told it was overweight and the extra charge was 90 euros. Can I have my bag back to take some stuff out please, says I ? No, came the reply, it's already been checked in. 😡😡😡

Can't say I've never used Ryan Air since, but avoid them if at all possible.

On 24/02/2024 at 21:52, StingRayBoy42 said:

Sounds like you're Dyson with death...

Ba dum Tish

This

His album How I Go is also excellent 

2 hours ago, Gasman said:

Q: How much do you want to gig?

A: Forever! Put my Bongo bass in my coffin, I’ll be sentenced by St Peter to playing Sweet Home Alabama eternally in the worst pub in Hell - my just desserts for not living the life I should have lived...

😂

1 hour ago, Bluewine said:

 

I should consider myself lucky. We never seem to travel more than 40 minutes one way. 

 

Now , we do have a rare hour commute Saturday,  however I'll be sitting in the van sleeping.  Does that count ? Lol

 

Daryl

 

Definitely counts Daryl 👍

1. Why you don't have any gigs? - No gigs since chrimbo but we start again 16th March and have 20 booked for the year including a support slot at a festival for Luke Combs UK (the tribute act). Enjoying the time off rehearsing new stuff and recording

2.Do you rely on an agent ? - nope, never had any success with them

3.Who finds coordinates and confirms gigs? me and the guitarist

4.  Are you or any band members in this for the money? yes, but as pocket money

5.How much do you want to gig? 2-3 times a month. I used to travel far and wide to gigs for ships and giggles but like to keep it to an hour's drive max if poss 

Here's a video taken and produced by Terry Maxwell

Remi Harris and Man of the World - a tribute to Peter Green.

Last night at The Musician in Leicester. Remi is a guitar phenomenon and a major figure in the gypsy jazz world, which is probably why many have never heard of him. He's touring at the moment so I urge you to go and see him. If you're a Peter Green fan like me, you will be amazed at the level of his playing and how well he nails the Peter Green sound and feel. The band are all excellent and tighter than a gnat's chuff.

3 hours ago, MichaelDean said:

We rehearse in the live room of a studio, and they've got an Ashdown 810 in there. I find it's total overkill for the space, but apparently they've had a few 410s and people have destroyed them whereas this has the power handling to cope with the abuse.

I have noticed that at some practice studios, all the volume and gain knobs are well past the 3 o'clock position from the previous user. Mostly in Pirate where there's nobody on site to manage the place so I assume it was how the previous bassist set up. No wonder speakers cones get blown.

The other common theme at the 2 Pirate studios I've used is a pervasive smell of weed everywhere 

On 30/01/2024 at 22:19, ricksterphil said:

Band rehearsal tonight and this was my rig

 

 

I expected to be blown away, sadly the sound was very lacklustre despite much knob twiddling. Still, must be £3,000 worth there at new prices.

Should have mentioned where

https://www.facebook.com/QuadStudios

Lovely rehearsal rooms and great gear

12 hours ago, ricksterphil said:

Band rehearsal tonight and this was my rig

 

 

I expected to be blown away, sadly the sound was very lacklustre despite much knob twiddling. Still, must be £3,000 worth there at new prices.

The other rigs I've used at this rehearsal space are all full-house Markbass stacks. Our two guitarists were salivating over the Fender Reverb's they were using.

Having spent years at Prate using knackered Ashdown gear or other rehearsal spaces with ancient Peavey or Marshall gear, this we're using now place is a luxury