bluesparky

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='499384' date='May 27 2009, 10:23 PM']This post has been edited by bluesparky: Today, 10:07 PM [/quote] Yup, i edited it to add the words "as a tech" just to make my job clearer!. I'm not in the band - i'm a man with a screwdriver - hence being on the wrong side of the stage! I think Lee's position is one which is certainly more than a little above my playing level and experience!

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='499247' date='May 27 2009, 08:13 PM']Where's Lee Pom then?[/quote] He's playing in the band, Milton is guitarist and Donovan Hepburn is on drums, Mike Stevens is MD and i can't remember the name of 2nd guitarist and keyboard players..

[quote name='OldGit' post='497687' date='May 26 2009, 12:14 AM']Take your Zoom H2? [/quote] I'd not heard of that before, it looks quite cool. Dammit, now i want one.. Something to spend the tour bonus on!!

[quote name='steve-soar' post='497756' date='May 26 2009, 08:18 AM']Hi Sparky, do you know a guy called Nick Jevins?[/quote] Hello mate, no, i don't know a Nick Jevins, but i do know a Nick Evans through work.. - close but no cigar....

[quote name='beerdragon' post='497720' date='May 26 2009, 01:14 AM']Yeah but whats the name of the band? don:t do that to us![/quote] Take That.

I've currently working as a tech (but not playing, sadly) on the rehearsals for an upcoming tour that i'll be busy on for the next month or so (I can hear you all yawning about another work story from me!!!) and it's been quite interesting. The scale of the tour is massive (stadiums, ending at wembley in early july), with the whole of the music being played live. There are a couple of guitarists, bassist, drummer, a few keyboard players and the 4 lead vocals too. However, the monitor system is all in-ears and we've not got any PA in the rehearsals as it's all about blocking through the setlist with the dancers and sorting out the choreography etc. This means when they're playing the songs all you can hear is the drummer, and bass / electric guitar amps as the keys and vox are only appearing in the in-ears. Therefore, the pop songs that we all probably (unwillingly) know sound so different, really quite rocky and funky in places - also a bunch of them sound exactly like other songs. Of course i'm not suggesting or insinuating that the songs have been copied or ripped off, just that without the keyboard hooks, riffs and tunes and also no vocals, completely changes how you hear certain songs and it's easy to recognise chord sequences which also appear in other songs and from then on the "other" song is stuck in your head. Just like the isolated bass tracks thread has highlighted how different things sound in an unfamiliar context. It's been great hearing it like this, as it's uber-tight musicians playing the backbone for pop songs, but they're also rocking out quite a bit to give the live side of it quite an edge. I can always feel my fingers twitching, desperate to grab hold of a bass and play - it's been a fantastic motivation. Once stripped down, the songs actually sound great, there are quite a few intricate fills and riffs that you just don't hear because the focus of the pop songs are on the vocal melody. Oh, and we were rehearsing in an incredible old empty enormous airship hanger, so the reverb was fun too! Anyhoo, that's just what's on my post-pub mind at the mo! Cheers,

[quote name='Simon' post='497164' date='May 25 2009, 11:21 AM']23 people downloaded your transcription and didn't post, so I will. I had a look over your transcription and thought it was excellent! Pretty much the same as what I got in mine ([url="http://www.thebassment.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53"]@ The Bassment[/url]). Well done.[/quote] Yup, great track and transcription, cheers!

[quote name='OldGit' post='492396' date='May 19 2009, 02:37 PM']dig the moves too [/quote] Ha ha, yeah, very funky. I like David Sanborn, i used to do Run For Cover in a band, the marcus miller bassline and solo were great fun for me!!!

Ahh, this has given me a warm feeling inside. Lovely. Such a nice place to be!

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='489406' date='May 15 2009, 11:32 PM']You ever heard their first album? Utter tosh! Mothers Milk, BSSM and for me One Hot Minute are their best. One Hot Minute gets the vote purely for Aeroplane, Coffee Shop and Shallow be Thy Name, very underrated album Back OT, i'd like to thank the OP for reminding me what an ace band these guys are, dug their CDs out and gave em a good listen tonight. Used to cover Twisted many moons ago[/quote] Controversial! Some of their first album does take a bit of effort to listen to, but Get Up And Jump and Grand Pappy Du Plenty are great songs. BSSM is my all time favourite album, i'll never tire of listening to it. Although saying that RHCP are my favourite band with flea being the biggest influence on my playing - am i revealing myself to be obsessive if i say i've transcribed all of their released and unreleased tracks? However, some of the recent cheesy ballads and pop songs are almost harder for me to enjoy than their really early stuff. Nothing will ever top the funkyness of mellowship slinky, funky monks sir psycho sexy and the coolness of knock me down and subway to venus (the intro bass fill is awesome). Back to Cass lewis - the basslines to I can dream and all in the name of pity are cracking fun to play. Love it!

[quote name='cheddatom' post='488886' date='May 15 2009, 01:57 PM']Aren't they back together now? I think it's recent news.[/quote] Yup, they've reformed. They did a couple of warm up secret gigs at the Kings cross venue (water rats?) and there is a tour later in the year. A colleague of mine is their LD and i'm doing my best to get on the tour!

[quote name='dood' post='488423' date='May 15 2009, 12:46 AM'] Ahhh, love this song! Deacon on a Wal! [edit] ok.. so that should have embedded this video! I suck!! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8CefyvKcFY&fmt=18"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8CefyvKcFY&fmt=18[/url][/quote] Aaaah, late night drunken posting, nothing like it!

[quote name='Delberthot' post='488337' date='May 14 2009, 10:58 PM']Have to admit that he's my all time favourite bass player. I'd absolutely love to meet him and chat to him and buy the red precision that he used on the 'One vision' video. Queen and Paul Rogers? There aint no Queen without the Deacy[/quote] Tell me about it.. I was gagging to see him make an appearance whilst spending 3 months working on the tour last year.. Who else can be as rock 'n roll as JD, playing in front of 80,000 people in the '86 Wembley concert video whilst wearing such short, short denim shorts! R'n'R!

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='487532' date='May 14 2009, 08:05 AM']That Freddie Mercury, eh? What a joker ... [/quote] Ha ha - a real tea / monitor issue situation there!!

[quote name='Delberthot' post='486588' date='May 13 2009, 07:52 AM']When I was just a nipper I put a bit of foam under the strings in front of the bridge cos I'd seen John Deacon do that on an old concert video. Didn't like it though.[/quote] I was just thinking that i was sure i'd seen John Deacon play with what seemed to be half a loofa shoved up against his bridge but i wasn't sure if i imagined it or not. Can you remember what song it was?

Very cool, you're right about the annoying introduction interviews etc though! I've only got my laptop away with me at the mo, but it sounds good through my eenie weenie speakers though!

I'm not going to write anything relating to the subject in hand - all of it has been said in previous posts (and threads) and i don't really have an opinion that is strong enough to warrant a post, it'd pretty much be "yeah, hmm, OK" to both sides of the argument. BUT, the comments and put downs in this thread have certainly got me chuckling!

[quote name='Simon' post='479147' date='May 4 2009, 05:37 PM']No worries bluesparky. No harm done Thanks Higgie! Pete, I'm afraid there is no plan to re-release the books. I tried several times with the publishers to get them out there again and failed... so what will be, will be. I'm currently working hard on The Bassment, and there are a lot of transcriptions on there - with more added every week.[/quote] Cool, last thing i want to do is rock the boat! (unless i've got a gig on a ship that is...)

[quote name='Simon' post='478984' date='May 4 2009, 01:36 PM']Yeh, I did... but I'd appreciate it if people didn't make my transcriptions available online without my consent.[/quote] Of course, i certainly don't mean to undermine the hard work you put into writing and publishing them. I've been looking to buy a copy of the books for a while now and keep hitting a brick wall as they're never on sale here, on ebay or anything else like that.

Didn't Simon Merrick do a couple of Jamiroquai books? I'd love to get a copy of one - does anyone have any copy for sale / a digital copy of it? If there was some way of getting a copy or scan of them, then i'd be forever indebted to whoever could help me out.

[quote name='allighatt0r' post='476914' date='May 1 2009, 12:25 PM']Drop-D is only good for one thing.... KILLING IN THE NAME! [/quote] And take the power back - I have to have some pretty strong willpower not to flick that riff out when i've got a bass tuned to drop D!

All of "one hot minute" album by Chili peppers - easy, and fun to play. Also, sympathy for the devil is another.

[quote name='Zoe_BillySheehan' post='477574' date='May 2 2009, 10:15 AM']what about a [url="http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/1/7/6/252176.jpg"]Bar Stool[/url]? Z x[/quote] That looks quite cool actually! I'd have to be pretty strict about my posture though, i can see myself easily have a bent back and stooping a bit much!

[quote name='leschirons' post='476588' date='May 1 2009, 12:40 AM']I tend to practice standing up as I found I could play great when sitting down and then cocked it up on stage so I think it made me over confident.[/quote] I find that too, it's a lot easier to play sitting down and the different angle of my arm when i'm standing often means i can't quite play as smoothly as when i'm sitting down. The practicing standing up is definitely a sensible thing that i should do. Thanks for the input, I'm still not sure what road to go down. I'm still too upset about my beloved chair being broken - I feel like Marty Crane from Frasier!!

When i practice at home i'm usually seated, and after years of searching for the perfect throne i came across this: [url="http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/6170996/Trail/searchtext%3EMANAGER%27S+CHAIR.htm"]chair[/url] It had all the things i was after: Leather (hmm.. feels nice!) Wheelie ('cos it's fun) Spins round (again, 'cos it's fun) Reclines (Hmm.. comfy) Fitted my desk wonderfully (handy!) and above all, most importantly, it has no arms so when i practice, the neck or body isn't continuously bashing against them. UNFORTUNATELY, the base is made of plastic, which has now snapped in several places where the castors join the legs. Once it cracked, then broke in one place it pretty much destroyed itself in a matter of hours due to the structural integrity being shot to bits. This has now essentially just left me with just a comfy seat - which is pretty pointless. My desk is an Ikea one, nothing fancy, average height from the ground, and it fitted it perfectly. So, now, i've got to get another chair (there is no way to fix this one and it is out of warantee - by only a fricking month!). I'm sure most of you haven't put this much thought into what you sit on, but i did actually spend ages looking for this and thought i'd found the perfect chair when i got this. It's just a big pity the base is made out of crap plastic. Any suggestions / thoughts? In my mind this post is bass related as i bought it to be comfy for when i was playing - more so than when i was actually doing proper work at my desk - i know what's more important to me! Cheers.