blue

[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1415901209' post='2605086'] If you're the poor sod who owns half the PA but actually humps all of it in and out of the van before and after every gig, then drives up to an hour and a half to the gig, sets it up with the drummer (cos the guitarist is a useless tw*t), then plays, puts it all down and drives home at 2 am...rather than some bloke who just turfs up with his axe asking where do I plug in, then yes I want paying, being in a gigging band has very little to do with playing, probably less than 25%, unless you're Rush of course. [/quote] That goes without saying. Here, at the local bar/club/festival level, all the agency represented bands with all the top end sound and lights making the big $$$s are usually marginal musicians. However, not being in a gigging band has very little to do with playing as well. Blue

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1415886554' post='2604833'] I'm growing to really dislike Class-D stuff. I much prefer the weight of tone that you only seem to et from big old heat-sink amps. Might try and find a GK 400-700RB and a cheapy cab. Had a 400RB for 4 years; weekly rehearsals and gigs and never missed a beat! Also used a beat Torque 4x10 that never failed too. Truckstop [/quote] I'm a GK guy 1001rb with GK RBX cabs ( not neo ) 1 15 with 2 10s on top. Been gigging heavily since 2009. No problems. Watch something go wrong this weekend. Occasionally I get nostalgic about the tube SVTs and Orange amps I had back in the early 70s. But I understand those amps are not what they use to be. Blue

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1415897950' post='2605029'] I have got to take issue with your parochial viewpoint. Take what you're saying the other way round - are you saying that because music is a hobby for me and while getting paid is nice it's not the principal reason for me playing bass must mean that I'm probably not a good bass player? A little extreme, and I don't believe that's what you're saying, but can you appreciate how such a comment could get up someone's nose a bit? [/quote] No not at all. Sorry for the confusion. What I am saying pertains to what I know about the Milwaukee Market. We have several known top notch players who do not play without a fee. I guess there could be other good musicians that play for free. Maybe I'm just a different cat, I can't imagine a musician playing in a band at a bar for 4 hours and the bar is turning over money like crazy and walk out empty handed. Blue

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1415897860' post='2605028'] I know of several musicians whoa re so good I'm sure they could do it for their day job, but they'd rather just keep it as a hobby and do it for free. Saying that good players won't play for free is a bit insulting [/quote] I'm curious. Are you saying you know musicians that are bringing gear, PA and lighting to a club and playing from 9-1, a 4 hour gig are doing it for free? Blue

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1415896132' post='2604994'] That's ridiculous... I've met loads of great players who play for free. Getting paid means your playing something people like enough to pay for, that doesn't necessarily translate into being any good... jedward get paid [/quote] Might be regional, in my neck of the woods accomplished musicians are not playing for free. And we might need some clarification here too. Are you saying you know musicians that are bringing gear, PA and lights to a club and playing from 9-1, a 4 hour gig are doing it for free? Blue

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1415885843' post='2604822'] I know plenty of good players who work for free, and some brilliant players too.... Again, it all depends on whether they are earning a decent enough wage elsewhere, and how much time they have, how much they enjoy the music etc But I think you'll find many good musicians work for nothing, or next to nothing You could say that financially hurts those who need to earn via playing - but that's also another thread of course [/quote] In the Milwaukee area, the musicians that are really good are doing this for a living and would not entertain performing for free. If your talking about originals bands, yeah there are always musicians that will get involved, however they are rarely of the same caliber of the guys doing this for a living. Blue

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1415882861' post='2604778'] Well, good players wont work for free, so that is a limitation you'll have to consider, IMO. But agree on the second point, but it is possible to have a good band that does stuff you enjoy ..( I'll enjoy it a lot more if we do it well ) and get paid .. but you do have conside rmarketing elements as well...as in most things where money gets involved [/quote] +1 Good players don't work for free. 2nd point playing with good honest people having fun is a must for me. However getting paid ts a big part of the fun. I don't play bass guitar for free. Blue

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1415848803' post='2604482'] [b]Bass Player wanted[/b] Age / gender immaterial. Paying gigs booked every week up to 2016. Guitarist will turn volume down on request / drummer is never late and sets up in ten minutes flat / singer welcomes critical input. Play whatever you think best suits the song, we don't mind. [/quote] Where do I sign! Blue

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1415439593' post='2600276'] Another benchmark - and very difficult to do IMHO - strange accents[/quote] Nice groove, I dig it. Blue

[quote name='miles'tone' timestamp='1415136650' post='2597178'] The one song that has shaped my 2014 and the groove that has inspired me, after discovering the band here on BC, is: THE ENTRANCE BAND - FINE FLOW - DALLAS TX: [media]http://youtu.be/1w95c6g0UNk[/media] They also released a cool instrumental version:[/quote] Good example of how groove means one thing to a person and another to someone else. Blue

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1415844067' post='2604470'] It's not just 'no prospect'... there are people who just like to rehearse and [i]never [/i]gig. But they won't let on because obviously this would make it difficult to find band members, so they just rattle on about how good it's going to be to 'get out there' but they have no intention of ever doing so. [/quote] I know what you mean, but hard for me to understand. As a product of the 60s, when I was coming up everything was about getting with a good band and getting out there gigging. You know, [i]"oh man The Centurions are playing at this place and Red Bread is playing at that place".[/i] Everybody wanted to gig. So that has always been my thing. I'm so fortunate to be in a band with a lot of bookings. I was talking to a younger guy, late 20s, and he was always telling me about his band, a metal band on a daily basis. And so I finally asked him, [i]"so, where are you guys playing and gigs coming up"[/i] he looked at me like I was talking a foreign language and said; [i]"Oh we just record"[/i] So yeah, there are guys out there, even in this forum that have no connection to or desire to gig. On the rare weekend we are not booked, I go into depression mode. Blue

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1415837233' post='2604456'] Another take: After rehearsing for ages with no prospect of being gig-ready, we are looking for another person to join the succession of bass players that have got bored and quit [/quote] Unfortunately I really think your on to something here. Thing is, there are guys that love metal but don't understand how good you have to be as a musician to pull it off. The pros do it and that's great. I have seen local metal bands and my reaction has always been; [i]"My Stars, don't these kids have a clue of how much training and wood shedding goes into being able to present this genre live?"[/i] Blue

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1415838696' post='2604459'] I can get no real indication from the ad if the band has any potential or not. Exactly how do you sell a new band to a prospective bass player in an ad anyway?? Word of mouth is always better. If you are the sort of person who likes 80s metal (and I do know a few) then it might be worth a telephone call... [/quote] I'm not sure how you sell a new band for 80s metal. I think, at least here you might want to sell it as a solely [i]"for fun"[/i] band and make that clear. Anybody from the area knows there is no gigging market for metal bands around here. Blue

[quote name='dougieb' timestamp='1415803852' post='2603955'] I have one of these in white and it is a very impressive bass for the money. The Gibson USA pups deliver an awesome bottom end, good luck and good playing times! [/quote] I'm a guy from the 60s and back in the day the Gibson Thunderbird was a bass that really made a statement.It meant if you were in rock you meant business. I had the Epi but I traded up to a 1991 Gibson Thunderbird with ebony fret board. The Epi and the Gibson TBird look similar, however they are 2 very different sounding bass guitars. Blue

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1415796886' post='2603833'] Cool if that works for you - but I think that's a bit sad. Who is to say what the potential of that new "start-up" band may be? Every band had to start somewhere... [/quote] Fact, most start up bands over here don't last long enough to see their first gig. I'm 61. 30 - 40 years ago I was up for anything in and out of all sorts of start ups. Now it's only about the fun of gigging with an established band with a decent book of business. Blue

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1415789926' post='2603729'] Are you saying that you would never join a new, unproven musical venture? [/quote] Yes, at this point in my playing career, I am in an established gigging band ( 3 years, band has been together for 8 ). I have no interest in [i]"start up" [/i]projects and would never join a band that was only offering a new,unproven musical venture. 30-40 years ago, sure. But not now. For me it's about;[list] [*]Fun [*]Gigs ( as many as possible ) [*]Decent respectable pay, I need the money [/list] Blue

It's obviously a "start up" project. I like it when this is specifically specified. Most ads usually start out with [i]"This is a Start Up project."[/i] Blue

[quote name='jgmh315' timestamp='1415821190' post='2604185'] I'd apply straight away. Shame it's on another continent. [/quote] I know there are some guys that merely like playing music they like in the bedroom or basement and don't care about gigging in the traditional sense. This would probably be a good opportunity for that type of guy. In Milwaukee there are really no bars or clubs that book local metal bands. For a guy that's looking for gigs and money, I don't think this is it. Blue

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1415814685' post='2604081'] Well yes, it may not be many actual songs... how many songs do you need for a set? Is there a minimum number? [/quote] Depends on the material, but working bar bands over here need on average 12-15 songs per set for our typical 4 hour bar gig. Blue

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1415813630' post='2604061'] That's interesting, because I thought he must be [i]over [/i]25 years old by some margin - I can't imagine anyone younger than that having the determination and application (and attention span) to get three sets of material together! [/quote] Good point, however, I wonder if his definition of having 3 sets of material together is the same as mine. Blue

[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1415813416' post='2604052'] At first, I thought that they sound like they were more interested in fun and mates playing their favourite tunes rather than providing a show that could earn them any money.[/quote] Agreed, around here if your not concerned with playing music people can dance to, you don't get gigs. Blue

My initial thought was, the guy that wrote the ad is new to gigging and is probably under 25 years old. Blue

This exercise is always fun. What was your initial thought after reading this ad.Remember your initial thought not after you've had a chance to think about it? [i]"We are looking for a “Bad Ass Rockin Bass Player” in the Milwaukee area. We have almost 3 sets of material, and want to play out soon. The format is mostly 80's metal. We are not concerned with playing dance music. We are focusing on playing the music we like. This band is a blast to be in, and everyone has an equal say! Give me a call and let's set something before you say no. You have to experience the good time that this band has to offer!!! I can't justify the fun in a phone conversation"[/i] Blue

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1415783722' post='2603641'] I get that to a degree and the punter is often pretty limited in what they listen to, (but then they can also surprise you as well but best not to always assume you are educating them ) .......... but most people recognise something a bit more special. They can't quantify it...or understand it but it registers. Some of that 'factor' maybe dressed up in flamboyant ways but we have a local star around here who really connects to an audience...just as that same audience might be wowed by a top class act at a major venue, so they understand that much, I find. They might not look at it in the same way as a musoc might be able to...and some muso's would miss the point as well.... but I find that good players connect as well as they play. That is what I call the 'X factor' [/quote] Here in the Milwaukee area there are only a few bars/clubs that attract the people with the more sophisticated musical taste. Most people here will not recognize the X factor you describe. I used our local hero Greg Koch as an example, he's a great player however he will only connect with those that [i]"get it"[/i] and that will not be [i]"most people"[/i]. It's a very limited group of people here that get this type of band and playing at this level. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYIkTJp6jnw"]https://www.youtube....h?v=GYIkTJp6jnw[/url] In Milwaukee when your average group of people walk into a bar and here this type or level of musicianship they leave. Sad but true. These folks with limited musical tastes will not surprise anyone here in Milwaukee. Don't get me wrong Greg has fans that specifically go out to see him, like me for example. But not [i]"most people"[/i] no, not here in [i]"Sweet Home Alabama "[/i] land. Blue

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1415733662' post='2603233'] Funnily enough, it's been the opposite for me. When I was younger and had higher ambitions I treated it like a business and I didn't care so much if I liked everyone I played with as long as the band was putting itself in a position to have a shot at some kind of success. Now I'm older I can't be bothered with people I don't like [/quote] I don't think were that far apart. I like everyone in my band. Good people is a must have for me. However were not friends. Blue