Barking Spiders

Option 2. I've played in various bands of one sort and another - wedding bands, samba & other drum groups, festival bands... - and in some the organisers fair overdid it with their bookings, with us often playing 3-4 gigs every weekend throughout the spring to autumn. Way OTT. In one group we played 120 in one year...and most of us had regular full time jobs. After that I now much rather do a dozen choice gigs a year.

Recently I was in my local music shop (Head in Leamington as it happens) and a CD track they were playing grabbed my attention, as did the next three tunes. The album is a new one, Life is Yours, by Foals. I knew of the band but was always under the impression they were just one of those dull, identikit indie rock guitar strummers you see all over the place. Far, far from it. So I bought the album and played it several times back to back. The next day I went and got the other six albums and they've been on constant rotation. They've been going since 2005 so I've been kicking myself (not liderally) for having avoided them because of an assumption. Have you written off any band on a whim only to find out much later you were not only wrong but that they've since become a fave.

The drum kit is my main instrument and funk & disco are my preferred genres for playing live so I've tended to play bass in a percussive, groove oriented manner. Also play a slot of slide guitar and bluegrass banjo so i also like to apply slides and banjo style rolls onto the bass. Sometimes it sounds sh0ite but other times it works!

Scott does seem to have more than a soft spot for all this jazz fusion widdly diddly shyt3. Sure these guys have technique by the bucketload but i find nothing to enjoy in these solos. Then again I detest jazz, precisely because the 'tunes' are all about the saxist, drummist, bassist, guitarist etc taking turns to widdle out. At the other end of the spectrum this thread has Michael Anthony and Fieldy clearly off their faces pratting about. The drummer in Korn's good though. And as for Flea's stars and stripes abomination. That might be the worst thing of all in this thread. That said, they're till a tad better than this from Gene Simmons

to be fair, his vids are more watchable than most of his competition

No doubting he has exceptional skills and from what I've seen on YT he possibly is the most technically advanced player I've seen, even surpassing Vic Wootton. Another plus he has a light-hearted approach to his vids. Would I listen to virtuosic solo bass compositions like these for pleasure? Not in a million lifetimes!

Just my cup of tea and I'm not talking about the music🙂

Not so, all that's really needed is a laptop with a powerful CPU like Intel Core, a GPU like AMD Radeon, at least 8 gigs of RAM and 256 gigs of storage. Job done. You can run Ableton Live on something like a 2021 Apple MacBook Pro or a Samsung Galaxy Book Pro. IMO it's pretty safe to assume any technophile will have this level of gear plus you can pick up Ableton Live 11 for just over £300

The bigger picture shows music generally isn't as 'important' for millennials as it's been for old'uns, now that gaming and social media have taken over. For those interested in making music I spose why would they choose to spend many hundreds or even thousands of pounds on a bass +amp+effects or any other instrument when they can produce their own stuff on Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Pro Tools etc for a fraction the cost? In time, the guitar, bass and drum kit are likely go the way of the lute and the rebec.

Last time I looked, last tuesday as it happens, Indonesian made basses are still all very reasonably priced and well within reach of any beginner

Right now it's the excellent Hydroponic Gardens by Swedish ambient electronica masters Carbon Based Lifeforms. The Scandinavians are great at doing this kinda stuff. Recommended if you like Tangerine Dream, J-M Jarre and the like

For about 10 weeks in 2008 I used to have to drive up from Cheltenham to Seven Sisters once a week and back again in the wee small hours. There used to be a show on radio 1 hosted by Nihal and Bobby Friction playing slamming tunes from the Asian underground. This was, is, my fave, some breakneck d n'b with a strong Indian vibe

Couple of huge, mahoosive faves here from the Hospital Records roster. Play very very loud in your car with pedal to the metal...(as long as road conditions are safe of course!)

Squarepusher's 'drill n bass' might probably be a bit hard on the ears for some. I recommend Hospital Records, whose stuff is at the more melodic end, particularly London Elektricity and High Contrast

Pete Townsend and Paul Simonon were in their 20s when they trashed their gear. Mike McCready is currently ....erm....56!

?? errm I don't like Roundabout at all but do really like Owner and for that matter most of 90125.

at the moment I'm listless with omicron b5 and can barely do more than lie down with this on in the background

Possibly best track off one of the best albums of the 80s although it could be this...

Depends entirely if the band is just a hobby that might earn a bit of beer money or if there are plans to gig regularly for a main or second source of income. If the former I'd say just go with the flow and be glad you're in a band. If the latter, I take your point and would try to find a band which shares your outlook

Incidentally BCUC's unusual line up included a bass player who was playing some very inventive stuff

I've probably done at least 10,000 seconds of noodle based practice while sat on the settee watching TV sitcoms

That's what we should all be doing even if you're playing a 23 minute symphonic-jazz-prog-metal 'overture'. Wonder if there's a better quality vid anywhere. And who's the band?

At Blue Dot fest over the weekend. At long bluddy last as it has didnt run in 20 ans 21. Music wise I was there mainly for Groove Armada but happened across several acts I'd previously never heard of but am very glad I got to see. Particularly liked Manchester experimental post punk electronica type combo Mandy, Indiana and Soweto-based Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness who were a blast.

to start with they were fun enough but now it's done at every single match it's got tedious