Steve Browning

Overall, I reckon the real answer to this question is "the one I want"!

I have tried to correct this paucity by having 12 of them now. 🙂

Only 4 of those remain, even the sofa's gone!

They're the two at the back, on the left. Nice to play for sure.

Nope. For your purpose it would be just the job. The DI100 is an excellent unit.

They were lovely to play but the sound was pretty lightweight. Mine were CAR and natural, with matching headstocks. Very pretty.

Aerodyne Precision basses. Not too many of the more familiar Jazz bass version about either.

I have the 10s. They're excellent for the price.

Having seen the band without him, I'm afraid even his presence isn't enough to get me along. Not a fan of James's schtick.

Reminds me of the immortal line (Battle Of Britain 1967) - "Silence. In Polish!".

We're all going to have different tolerance levels. It's only natural. I read the OP as being someone who was evangelical about their beliefs. I have a long standing mate with whom I disagree profoundly about their own political beliefs. Neither of us thrust our view down the others throat, and we get on fine. In circumstances where your livelihood is at risk, then you have to consider things carefully in reality. If you play for fun then continually listening to some bore going on about something you are not comfortable with, then staying around seems pointless, and frustrating.

So you'd walk over your intolerance towards their intolerance of your intolerance?

My partner is in such a situation. She joined a band a good few years ago now. The band, itself, is very long establshed with two (near) original guys left. She loves being in the band but one of them has fully embraced the views of the right and sees any opposite view as being held by someone who has been brainwashed by propaganda. Due to the age of these two, the band is ending soon. The plan had been to get together every so often, to 'rehearse' and play some songs. She is now at the stage where she can't wait for it to end so she is no longer exposed to his views. Seems a shame but he has become really quite vocal about certain things.

I'll just say 'yes' without further explanation.

For better or worse, this is the Teed Up Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/TeedUpBlues

One other thing worth mentioning is how the band presents itself. I tend to look at 'the competition' and look at how they come across on the various platforms. It's not always easy, but you often find that video posted by audience members is poor quality, might include bum notes etc, as an example. We suffer from that as well, and so we do try and have a good think about what we post and whether it represents us as a serious band. The same goes for the images we post. I don't mean you have to group together at a derelict industrial location and scowl into the camera, but consider the images you post to present yourselves as a professional outfit. I'm not putting us forward as any kind of yardstick (far from it) but it's a thought process that you might consider.

Yes. The whole awards thing is a joke.

Happy to meet half way. Maybe a curry or something? Would have to impose the Big Bang Theory rule of no physical contact, up to (and including) coitus. A hand shake is permitted! 🙂

@Mickeyboro I am ashamed to say I don't know the name of your band. I'd love to come and see you guys play. I should also have pointed out that we do about 50% original material in our set.

You won't need to be VAT registered, unless your turnover exceeds the VAT threshold. You'd be claiming back the VAT on your costs but charging VAT to your customers (making you 20% more expensive). Let's say you buy (VAT'able) parts at £600 (incl £100 of VAT). If you plan to make £200 out of the bass you are looking at two possiblities. VAT registered you will charge (500 + 200) + 20% = 840 Non-registered you will charge (600 + 200) = 800. Being VAT registered also imposes admin costs so you would have to add those costs into your pricing model. VAT registration is a no brainer if your customers are VAT registered. Not so much if they aren't.

A lot of it is down to who you know. Teed Up have had the advantage of contacts that Steve, Ray and I have built up over the years. That said, many of these venues have long since disappeared. The more established venues seem to deal with the same nucleus of people, and so you get the same old faces appearing at festivals. You could try wearing a hat and walking on the tables. Seems to work for one act!! Europe is the place to go, for sure. Teed Up have played over there a good few times and the gigs there are pretty much alwas better. As long as you travel with your gear there are no restriction, as seemed at first. Of course, how do you break into that market? It's a tricky one. I would love to have the contact details of any agent in the UK. I don't know of any (feel free to PM with any anybody knows!!). Having something you can send out is always going to be useful. We recorded a CD a while back, and a live one is in the final stages of production (the new XR18 makes the process of recording simple). There's always Monica at Boogaloo. They do a good weekend and you are well looked after. She'll let you know what's needed. Some expectation of a crowd would help, of course.

Not sure you can stop nerves. View them as an asset and use them as a spur towards your preparation for the gig. Quite some debut.

Maybe lay it on its side? I was wondering what you meant about a wedding and then figured you mean the white rose buttonhole thingy. That was my daughter's wedding just over a year ago.

The desk is pretty tidy but the rest of the space is a litte compact and bijou.

Things have moved on since the days of the HiSys2s.