lozkerr

<deep breath> OK, I'm in. I've offloaded a tonne of stuff this year and I really can't think of anything else I want at the moment, so let's see how it goes. If I get to the end of April, I'll be improving on previous years!

You must be yolking!

Sounds a bit proggy to me...

White Egg Terror might have some mileage as a band name...

Get back out on the Edinburgh riot grrrl scene with my new band. The last one folded back in the summer, due to g-word issues. That upset me more than it should have, as we were making a bit of a name for ourselves. But shit happens and there's no point in crying over spilt milk. Plus brush up on keys, get to grips properly with Reaper and <whisper> try to become a little better than utterly useless on the g****r. Just in case it's needed,you understand 🙂

Those weights are absolutely insane. I wonder if the quoted units are wrong, though? If the 112 actually weighs 23.4 pounds, that would be around 10kg which sounds like a more reasonable figure.

What an outrageous suggestion! 😉

They do indeed. Sometimes it's possible to anticipate them too. Preview shows can be very educational.

I've not done pit work, but I have done stage management and lighting design, so I think I can answer some of this. The phone handset isn't for talking to the band. It'll be hooked up to a talk-back circuit - essentially a closed-circuit intercom system - that allows the stage manager, conductor, lighting and sound operators to talk to each other. If the show uses follow-spots, their operators will be on the talk-back too. Music rehearsals will include lengthening parts of songs, cues to play riffs at odd places and repeat some parts. Those will be agreed between the music director and the show director, and be rehearsed seperately. It's not unknown for the actors not to encounter the band until the first technical rehearsal. They'll have been working with backing tracks up to then. When a show does go off-piste - and you're right, pantos do do that - the people who keep it on track are the stage manager, the conductor and the lighting and sound people. The band will have rehearsed what might go off-script and be able to respond accordingly.

That is exactly what I do. Play last encore (assuming we're asked for one 😉 ), mute amp, unplug and switch off wireless transmitter, put bass into gig bag, pedal board into case, coil cables, change shades for normal specs and get off the stage sharpish. Takes about three minutes to get everything where it should be and I do final tidying up backstage or in the green room. That just seems to me to be the professional thing to do.

I went wireless about this time last year and the feeling of freedom was fantastic! Still have to keep an eye on stage position during songs that need effects or BVs though - I expect I'll get caught out sooner or later...

I am Hard. I am Brave. I shall defeat the Final Boss and absolutely not give into the temptation of the five-string Sandberg and EBMM Stingray that they display so seductively on their website. But if I do... hell, I was out in April! And I've bought the outstanding bits of electric string I need today, lest I fall in a heap in the new year. I. Can. Do. This. Err, I think...

Fantastic night last night at Edinburgh's Wee Red Bar with the 80s covers band. We were doing a two-hander with a 90s band and the place was packed - we came within 27 tickets of selling out! No, the venue, not the band 😉 People were dancing from the first song, which is always good to see and loudly singing along to the last few numbers. We hadn't gigged since June, because reasons, so it was great to blow away the cobwebs. Bass was my Sterling Stingray V into the venue's Peavey amp - I still don't know the model number. Maybe I'll look when I'm back there next week, if I remember. In the meantime, here's me grinning like a gargoyle while belting out Love Shack:

Bought a new Mono M80 from the Gallery a few years ago. When I got it home, I found a padded Mono strap and a 10-metre cable inside. Bonus!