Nicko

Oops just realised this shoudl be in the general board.

I've just been brushing up on Dani California which is a great song to play, but Flea seems to play a different variation on a theme almost every bar. None of these are too difficult in themselves, but to get every single one correct and in the right place seems to be a huge amount of work, when in reality very few of the punters will notice if I just play a variations selected at random from the huge number that Flea provides. I've had a look at the band playing this song live and Flea seems to improvise anyway. Thoughts?

How You Remind Me by Nikelback and Rocks by Primal Scream are so dull my mind used to wander and I'd completely lose my place. Almost anything by Biffy Clyro sounds easy - mostly root notes but theres always tricky timing. Times Like These by the Foos, again tricky timimg in an otherwise easy song.

I only ever audition with an agreed set of songs, but research the band if possible to have a few more in my pocket so that if they want to hear more they can. Aside from that I bring great timing which makes up for my lack of flashy technique. That, coupled with my magnetic personality of course.

I will whisper this - Cant Get You Out of My Head by Kylie made an appearance on the setlist and actually wasn't the most cheesy song we did - that honour goes to Bubbly by Colbie Collait

Yes it would, it looks quite similar to the first set I ever played as a bass player just over 10 years ago to on a construction camp including a bunch of redneck oil workers. It was unpaid as it goes, but free booze. I enjoyed about half the setlist but the band was the only think that kept me sane living in the middle of a desert, working 60 hour weeks for 8 weeks at a time for 18 months. BTW I dont necessarily want to get paid for doing covers - I do it because I like it.

OMFG, look for a short rope and a long drop

Thats a bit harsh, I'm actualy doing it as a favour to them as its a couple of guys from previous band. I did - as a joke - tell them I wanted double to play Are you Gonna Go My Way but as I said in the OP its the fact they kinda clash with the rest of the set.

I have no proble with the song - it just seem out of place if theres no hard rock theme going on

I've been asked to dep at a gig, and the bands setlist is quite similar to my current band with some glaring differences. Both bands play mainly indie rock - the kind that everyone knows - but the dep gig includes Slither by Velvet Revolver, Whole Lotta Rosie by AC/DC and worst of all Are You Gonna Go My Way by Lenny Kravitz. Slither is one of those songs that Slash fans will know but surely no one else will really get it. Still the bass line is fun to play. If you're going to do AC/DC why oh why would you a choose this? That said I'm a bit of a fa of their earlier stuff so OK. Are you Gonna Go My Way is just one of those songs that guitarists convince themselves that people want to hear - I spent months trying to convince a former band to ditch it mainy because its so mind numbingly dull to play and IME isn't that popular with the crowd.

Normally on the floor next to the pedal board, but on a small stage on top of my amp.

I'm a converted guitarist, having played for a long time before taking any lessons, I found I learnt more in my three years of lessons than I had in the fifteen years before. I fell into bass playing out of boredom while working overseas but the theory really helps. These define how my playing has progressed - all learnt in covers bands. My Girl Daytripper Hey Joe Under the Bridge Jesus of Suburbia (the full 9 minutes version - when I nailed this I finally decided I was a bass player) Somebody Told Me No One Knows

Yes they can, as long as there is a demand for premium brands and the consumer is label concious. Are Audi's better than VWs, and are VWs better than Seats, and are they better than Skodas?

My Squier CV 70s PB is poplar and sounds better than my (admittedly budget friendly) MIA US Special which is alder. May have something to do with the hi-mass bridge though.

Played this at my first ever gig.

When shopping for my current car I actually took my bass with me to check it would fit in the cars I looked at. A VW golf estate accomodates a precision bass in a soft case - I think a hard case might be too big to go widthways. Strangely the audi A3 estate which shares a floorpan does not accomodate the bass because of the design which incorporates cubby holes between the rear wheels and light clusters. The design is common to all audis so it wouldn't fit in the A4 either. The car I was gtting rid of was a Merc SLK which also accomodated the bass easily, with the roof up. Sadly it wouldn't cope with the bass plus a speaker cab and it had to go. I suspect a Merc SL woud fit a hard case, and the AMG version would be a lovely way to arrive at reheasral.

The Fender American Special P Bass is discontinued, but has a slightly narrower dot inlay maple neck than the standard US model, and a shallower C section. New it was a bargain at around £900 so a second hand one would be well under budget if you can find one. Personally I don't use mine much as I actually prefer the sound of my Squier Classic Vibe 70s reissue (MIC). This also has a slim-ish neck profile (only available maple with block inlay). Its been rock solid as my rehearsal and gigging bass since I bought it as a spare, although I think the jack socket is a bit weedy but at under £500 new you should certainly give one a try. If you are in London anytime soon PM me and you're welcome to come try both of these.

Every Muse song appears to be all about Matt Bellamy, irrespective of the lyrics.

I ws an early adopter of ebooks as I was working away from home for 8 weeks at a time, and a sony PRS 505 ereader allowed me to carry a whole library with me, but took up less space than a small book. I was sold on it when I picked it up in the shop and asked what it looked like when it was turned on, thinking the text on the screen was a film, but it was a screen that looked like real paper. I rarely use the ebook unless I'm travelling nowadays mainly because I can be bothered to download the books.

Simple Minds not quite named after the lyric to Jean Genie (So simpe minded....) Again not a lyric, but he Killers are named after a fake band in video of the New Order 's song Crystal.

I have enough guitars and basses that naming them would save time compared to referring to them by model. (the New York, the 339, the Telecaster, the SP6, the Sonoran, the US P, the Squire, the Tanglewood, and Pete's) , but nah, I dont bother. Unlike a Stradivarius all my guitars have a model and serial no to uniquely identify them, apart from "Pete's" which is my brothers bitsa. I think you need to have a very deep relationship with an instrument, or have heavily modified the original beyond recognition, to feel the need to name it.

Thursday January 29, 2009 in the main bar at the Pearl GTL Construction camp about one and a half hours north of Doha in front of a captive audience of about 350 people. I'd joined the band two weeks before and did a 2 hour set of mixed dad rock, pop and classic rock with borrowed gear. I'd been playing bass for, erm 2 weeks, although I'd played 6 string for years.

Currenty thinking of names for the new band, and I came up with Phoney Iommi. Unfortunately we are not a Sabbath tribute, and I discover Phony (sic) Iommi is the name of the guitarist in a tribute band called Children of the Gravy. 😀

I can't help thinking this guy wasn't working alone. A house in LA with a "huge recoding studio", and the means to pay for the fake accounts and travel costs is unexplained. Although he has treated the other musicians and venues with contempt this is s stunning piece of self publicity - the kind of which seems to create fame of a kind for far too many people with far too little talent. It's not necessarily finished either with the potential for a film based on the story.

Nearly, we used "songs you mum might not know"