SpondonBassed

There is a strong cult here in the UK for dressing in the style of cinema Westerns before going out to the pub. Actually it might be fading out by now but frequently I used to see the local wannabe cowboys with their gals at the bus stop. I can't knock it. It's as valid and harmless a pastime as being on a pub pool team I'd imagine. Sometimes the outfits can look good. They ALWAYS look like fish out of water in this country however. I don't wannabe. Do you get the same sort of wannabe cowboys? I'd imagine the real ones are not so widely seen. From your link: "Cowboy Up. Not your typical band! -Shovel Drum! That's right, drums played on a shovel! -Upright bass player -Guitar player on the bar -Great Harmonies -Crowd interaction -Top beverage sales" No mention of cows... can't be the real thing.

I can understand the notion of attending an event populated entirely by bassists might not go down as well as a hair of the dog that bit you the night before but you must have a set of ear defenders somewhere. If you aren't finished your Thunderclone bring it anyway. Andyjr and Norris both brought parts of projects with them last year.

Come anyway if you're free on the day.

It just happens that I have a shed with sufficient room for four basses...

Mezzoforte have their moments too. Maybe being in Ireland helped but it was a great find because it was outside of the US/Anglo monopoly on commercial music. It's an instrumental band which helps. The band formed in 1977.

So... four with pedigree and a mongrel/bitsa. That's your answer. Put the four good'uns into trust so that each child inherits one and just play your bitsa. It sounds like you are attached to your bitsa more than the others. Then stop getting SWMBO in the club so that you never have to drop serious cash on a bass ever again. I hope everything goes well for you and your lady on Wednesday and I look forward to your NABD (New Ankle Biter Day) post.

This might help in your search for ideas. Caution: It will only be of help if you are a boffin or you are friendly with someone who boffs big-time.

Are people bringing their custom built cabs too? I have worrying tendencies towards cabinet making.

I'm in. Can I bum a lift from anyone going past Spondon please? I'm ready to contribute to fuel costs. I'll travel light with my Pitbull and no amp unless called upon to bring one.

Paging @Les Some counselling might be required here Les. Sorry, Misdee. We had the showband thing going on. I was going to dances in the seventies and eighties. I lived in the countryside and I had to put up with the rural stuff until I left home. The showbands were the only thing to draw crowds in from the sticks. They'd cover tunes with a sort of wannabe American twang that sounded shyte to me. They never played soul. It's doubtful that it would be tolerated by the older ones in the community. When I got to Dublin I went to discos and live events. I saw Clapton at the RDS. Slane Castle was another good venue that I went to for the first few years. I saw Bowie's Spiders from Mars show there. We heard Simple Minds playing at Croke Park three miles from where we lived just by opening the window of our kitchen. Happy days. Yeah, fights, lots of those in the rural dance halls. We'd line up usually in two factions and I think it was just excess energy fuelled by drink because I never knew why we were always scrapping. No-one got maimed usually though. I was always able to avoid getting caught in fights in the city. It's not the same now. You seem to need a stab vest wherever you go. Like Bean9seventy says, it takes a bit of hindsight to understand some of the origins of what we take for granted now. I am only today catching up on a lot of stuff that went on right under my nose.

You will have less risk of nasty spores in the sawdust with that. It looks really nice. I'd be considering whether I could afford it on the back as well as the top.

Welcome back Tom.

Both have their merits but I think the first sandwich laminate is good. Possibly more stable if the woods expand at different rates too.

(I believe he hit the ground with an almighty Boosh!)

But it wasn't to BS 5261-2 dammit!

If you look to the left of this post you will see last year's beard. I cut it off at the chin and tidied myself up when I last had an appointment with my vet. The beard went into a supermarket bag. I'd have put it on EB if I'd been aware of the demand for them by gullible 'Tubers. Beard in a Bag - get yours now from any reputable old scrote. £50.

I like the quote from this: "Disco music is funk with a bow tie. —Fred Wesley, James Brown’s trombonist." In this article, it is said that disco started as early as the sixties in sophisticated dance clubs in Paris and New York. It became more widely known in the seventies because of its popularity in the gay underground dance clubs in New York and those sophisticated Parisian clubs. @Bean9seventy; Thanks for the Arlene Phillips' Hot Gossip clip. If my memory serves, I saw that for the first time on one of Kenny Everret's television shows.

It's an interesting topic. You're welcome.

From this it looks like you are right. "Carpenters’ version was punchier than the original, with a swinging harmony and shorter pauses. Richard used a click track to synchronise the vocals (masterfully arranged into four-part harmonies tripled into 12 overdubbed vocal parts) and achieve the right effect. It took 47 takes just to get the extended “wahs” the way he wanted on the closing chorus."

Hahahahaha! Nice of you to illustrate the chorus effect so literally.

A similar thing happened to me just over two years ago. Genuine sixties band, band member getting treatment for cancer - the singer this time - the others wondering if they'd have to find a singer as well as the other three roles they were looking to fill. Just to say before it is forgotten, the singer made a full recovery and is back singing. When you get to that age, you have the stamina to fight back. I was offered the role and accepted but then they went with someone else before my first practice! Later they contacted me again with the same offer. I am not one to wallow in self-pity and hold a grudge but my carer duties had grown significantly. This meant I could not deliver the commitment expected. I had to turn it down in fairness to the band. I just didn't want to become known as a flake if I had to cancel at the last minute for another domestic crisis. I wish I had thought of your job share idea then. It might have worked well. The core of band comprised of drummer, singer and guitarist. They were there playing the sixties hits as soon as they were released. They were in their late sixties and seventies too. It would have been a magnificent education for me. Ah well. I hope it works out like that for you at least.

I don't mind admitting to enjoying some of the Carpenters' music. I'd like to have heard Karen's voice without the chorus effect on it however. Did the vocalist use chorus too?

It amazes me that I can get strings made more quickly than one of the local music shop takes to get some in. Your situation is just as amazing. Well done for being patient. Most people these days would be ranting by now. Looking forward to your NBD post.

Thank you. I like the last image best.

Cor! That's a big 'un!!!