Stylon Pilson

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1473785706' post='3133130'] Update: I bailed. The prospect of learning/achieving the standard for Spirit of Radio, Knights of Sydonia, Bohemian Rhapsody and Carry On My Wayward son sucked the life out of me before I picked a bass up. Thanks again for all the positive comments. [/quote] How did you phrase it? Was it: A. Hello, after looking at the list of songs you presented me with for the audition, I've realised that your definition of "pop covers" is quite different to mine, so I won't be coming to an audition after all. Best luck in the future. Or B. Hello, after looking at the list of songs you presented me with for the audition, I decided that it looks too hard and I quit. S.P.

This Mark fella makes for very interesting reading. One of the highlights so far of the London portion of the diaries, in my opinion. S.P.

[quote name='markmcclelland' timestamp='1473085114' post='3126732'] [color=#1D2129][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][font=inherit][font=inherit]Karate Kid meets Whiplash and I'm right in the middle in this intense entry. I'm mildly wondering if I'm going to get a rather annoyed call after posting this one.[/font][/font][/font][/color] [color=#1D2129][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][font=inherit][font=inherit][url="https://marksdiaries.wordpress.com/2015/12/19/day-261/"]https://marksdiaries.../12/19/day-261/[/url][/font][/font][/font][/color] [/quote] Crikey, that came out of nowhere. Very much a change of pace and style. S.P.

Looks like you can delete attachments through this page: [url=http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?app=core&module=usercp&tab=core&area=attachments]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?app=core&module=usercp&tab=core&area=attachments[/url] S.P.

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1472830695' post='3124626'] does it need a battery? [/quote] It uses a lithium battery that lasts up to a year. The important thing to note about this device is that it doesn't work the way that you (probably) think it does. It communicates using bluetooth. So it will only report its location if you, or another person with the TrackR app on their phone, is within bluetooth range of it. Otherwise, your bass stays lost. S.P.

[quote name='4stringslow' timestamp='1472720911' post='3123572'] Click bait [/quote] Joke's on them, I use adblock. S.P.

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1472719494' post='3123547'] Agreed, most of the answers you'd really give aren't on the list, but it's just a bit of fun, innit? [/quote] Maybe that should have been the last question on the survey. [b]How did you feel about this survey?[/b] [b]A. It's just a bit of fun, innit?[/b] [b]B. I often found that none of the options provided were a perfect fit for what I believe would be my true response in that situation. For this reason, I find your survey greatly flawed, and wonder whether it can really be considered scientifically rigorous.[/b] S.P.

A few years back I sold a Peavey stack, which included two 1x15" cabs. The guy came to pick it up in a Nissan Micra. He also brought his girlfriend and a chihuahua along, for no good reason that I can think of. Somehow he managed to fit it all in, but I wouldn't be surprised if he hit a bump on the way home and popped the rear window out. S.P.

According to the quiz, I'm Flea. I'm sure that the person who compiled this quiz knows exactly what they're doing. S.P.

When you're feeling under pressure, do something different. Roll up your sleeves, or eat an orange. S.P.

[quote name='markmcclelland' timestamp='1472581680' post='3122363'] I use tissue which I soften in my mouth then mold into a ball and stick it in. [/quote] I think I've figured out why the Punching Preachers let you go, you revolting beast. S.P.

[quote name='markmcclelland' timestamp='1471865641' post='3116442'] [color=#1D2129][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][font=inherit][font=inherit]Omater's first London gig - finally - and I go see an ear doctor and get a few surprises.[/font][/font][/font][/color] [color=#1D2129][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][font=inherit][font=inherit][url="https://marksdiaries.wordpress.com/2015/12/19/day-242/"]https://marksdiaries.../12/19/day-242/[/url][/font][/font][/font][/color] [/quote] That's an interesting coincidence, my current band's first gig was at The Good Ship too. Though it was a rainy Sunday night, and the crowd was exactly like yours - just the other bands and their and our friends. I have to say though, if you were burning through the songs at hyperspeed and you still had to drop one, then that suggests a problem. Had you expected to have more than half an hour? Or were there lots of pauses between songs? On the subject of hearing loss, what do you use for ear protection? S.P.

After some recent entries where everything seems to be going incredibly well, day 230 must have been very disheartening for you when it was happening. You don't go into much detail on the reasons why Craig wanted to give you the boot - would you be willing to elaborate here? I'm intrigued by the phrase "some of the reasons he gives for the decision totally refuted by me." S.P.

I'm wondering whether it's something that's actually been on the cards for a while, but Mark hadn't written about it for reasons of diplomacy, or if it really was as much of a surprise for Mark as it seems. It's the downside of making your diary public - you have to self-censor, because you know that the people involved in it might be reading it. After all, writing something like "had fantastic bonking with the lead singer's wife last night, damn fool still none the wiser", while honest, is probably going to cause a bit of trouble. S.P.

Well, day 230 certainly came as a surprise! Cliffhanger-errific! S.P.

Your electricity supply is a very "connected" thing, and devices can have a huge impact elsewhere in the house. Humming noises might be a result of the fridge in the kitchen, or a dimmer switch in the sitting room. Can make it hard to track issues down. S.P.

I'm in the same boat as you, randymussel, I like the idea of a 5 string, but I've never found one that feels right. But then, I suppose most of this is a question of familiarity - we get used to how a 4-string feels, and so the low B just feels different. Not necessarily better or worse, just unfamiliar. I guess you just have to decide whether the additional range and flexibility of a low B justifies the period of adjustment. S.P.

[quote name='Nicko' timestamp='1470667302' post='3107479'] ...we play fairly high intensity covers and sometimes we actually need a few seconds to catch our breath. [/quote] That's fair enough, but once the applause dies down, you've got to have something ready to fill the space, whether that be someone talking to the crowd, the next song, or something more abstract like a modern dance interpretation of what it means to be a jaffa cake. Audiences are fickle and their attention will wane after about 3 seconds of dead air. S.P.

Having one more gig in your "upcoming" page on your website is never a bad thing. As far as pauses between songs is concerned, then yes it's an absolute momentum-killer and should be avoided at all costs. If you absolutely must change guitar tunings during a set, then you have a few options: 1. Each guitarist has one instrument set up in each tuning, and a competent stage technician to assist with the changeover. Or: 2. Change the beginnings and endings of songs to allow time for tuning. So, say you have two guitarists, and you want songs A and B to be in different tunings. Guitarist 1 drops out of song A 20 seconds from the end and starts retuning. The song ends, and guitarist 2 starts retuning too. As soon as the applause dies down, guitarist 1 is ready to start playing song B. Guitarist 2 comes in 20 seconds later. You should also organise the setlist to "cluster" songs that are in the same tuning, to minimise the number of retunes. S.P.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1470651275' post='3107285'] I wasn't keen on Katy Melua before and I suppose not having a new song in a decade means she can't afford to pay the extra few quid to put the guitar in the hold but I've gone off her even Mir now. [/quote] The way I understand it, hand luggage allowances for space stations are even more stringent than airplanes. Good luck getting a flugelhorn on that flight, let alone a double bass. S.P.

Last night we played at a venue in Reading called RYND. This night had been in the calendar for a while, and then last week the owners announced that they were closing down after the weekend, and so last night's gig actually ended up being a farewell party. Went pretty well, and we finished up with a cover of Rope by the Foo Fighters which we'd only played for the first time that morning. A local promoter came up to us afterwards and said "I've heard it done better... by the Foo Fighters" which was pretty flattering! S.P.

I know how you'd do this in Audacity - after snipping out the between-song-guff, you place a label on the timeline at the start of each track, with the label title being the name of the track. You then use the "Export Multiple" menu item. [url="http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/export_multiple.html"]http://manual.audaci...t_multiple.html[/url] S.P.

Well, given how easy it was to define "covers band", I'm feeling pretty confident at having a stab at defining "professional" and "heft". Anyone with me? S.P.

A lot of the answers here suggest that they're actually answering the question "reasons why you left a band". For me, I once auditioned for a band who were pretty good, but I declined to join. The reason I gave was that the music they were playing was a bit bleak, and I needed something with a little bit more cheer in it. Other factors in my decision were: * the songwriter was very much one of these "instinctive" musicians, who can't even tell you what chord they're playing. That lack of vocabulary can be limiting, and his right-hand man (lead guitarist) had to "prop him up" a lot. * they were auditioning drummers at the same time, so I didn't really have all the necessary information to make a decision. * there was something a little bit "off" about them. I had this inexplicable gut feeling that they weren't entirely stable. S.P.

Duplicated paragraph at the end of day 190 again, Mark. Reading these diaries, I really can't imagine how you're managing to cope with it all. All your commitments smashed together with barely a minute to breathe - I wouldn't be able to handle it. S.P.