lozkerr

The Drugs Don't Work - the Verve.

Looks nice! I'm tempted to bid, but I'd be scared of damaging it - I've always been a bit accident prone...

Plenty, but I'm not a big fan of Hollywood films and never have been. I recognised one or two of the other names, but if you'd asked me what they were famous for, I genuinely would not have known.

I got 1/10. At least I know who Homer Simpson is!

Oh Lord. I'm so sorry to read this. I can't think of a worse place to be. Are you any good at DIY? That's not in any way meant to be a flippant comment - there is a lot you can do yourself if you put your mind to it. Over the years, I've retiled a roof, re-plumbed a house and flat, done plastering, wallpapering, laid flooring and carpet, installed fireplaces and curtain rails, replaced wiring including light fittings, switches and power points, installed kitchen units, replaced doors, laid carpets and slapped paint everywhere. It can be done. There are some things you can't realistically or safely do yourself without experience and/or qualifications, such as structural work, messing around with gas fittings or certifying wiring installations, but you can certainly do a heck of a lot of the spadework yourself. The secrets are - break big jobs, such as a room refurb, into lots of little ones, think about the order in which things need to be done, don't be afraid to have a go, practise techniques you're not sure about, learn from your mistakes, buy good-quality tools and know when you must get the professionals in. For example, once you've mastered making watertight soldered joints - Yorkshire ring fittings and a good blowtorch are your friends there - you can fit an entire gas-fired central heating system yourself except for the boiler - that is most definitely a pro job unless you're a Gas Safe engineer. Fitting a boiler is going to be a lot cheaper than paying someone to do the whole system from scratch. And you can work as a pace that suits you and your finances. It's a bit like becoming a musician, really. Also, and this is crucial to maintaining your morale - keep one room spotless and used for living only. It sounds like you already have that, so keep it that way. No tools or materials in there, no filthy work clothes, no effing nowt. Not even overnight. Because when you start to feel overwhelmed - and I can promise you, you will - you need to be able to shut the door on the carnage outside and retreat to your own space for some R&R.

I've been very lucky - like @knirirr, I'm working in research IT. Currently slogging away on covid-19 work, as it happens. When I was offered the gig, I had to pay my own travel between Leeds, where I lived at the time, and London. When lockdown came, we switched overnight from traipsing into central London to fully remote working. I should have a nice wee nest egg now after six months of WFH, but inevitably I've spent it on Patreon subs, singing lessons and buying gear for the band even though it's anyone's guess when a bunch of superannuated weekend warriors will take to the stage again. But at least we'll be fully tooled-up and good to go when that day finally dawns. I know I'm very lucky. Some of the full-time musos I know are really struggling and even though we're not exactly besties, I worry about them and feel very guilty for being more secure than they are.

I do wish you hadn't mentioned that. My credit card's itching now...

I'm out. Snapped up a cheap EUB from the marketplace. I'd been toying with trying an EUB for a while, but couldn't justify the price and didn't really want the hassle of moving it on if I didn't take to it. But £140 isn't going to break the bank. Still, at least I made it to the end of September! (I've also bought a PA, camcorder and lighting rig but was going to claim a pass for those on the basis that they're for the whole band, not just me.)

Me too, Silvia. An online show is nothing like the buzz o the real thing. I'm just hoping it'll be back next year.

If you find it, any chance I could have a copy too?

That is sadly true. I was just lucky to find myself on the right side of the fence.

Yes, very much so, but not in the bass department. I went to a provincial grammar school, which thought of itself as a public school, except it had all of the pretensions and none of the class. It was big on sport, which I absolutely hated and resigned myself to years of misery. Then I started music lessons. The music teacher was a real character - a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists no less, with a famously short fuse leading to a fiery conductor's temper. Most of the kids, and many of the staff - including the headmaster - were sh|t-scared of him. But he and I got on famously after he discovered I had a good singing voice. I found myself in the music crowd, where you could get away with a hell of a lot as long as you were delivering the musical goods. The school was big on music thanks to him - I had a part in an opera directed by the Master of the Queen's Music, took part in choir recitals broadcast on Radio 3... it was great. Sadly, it didn't last. We moved away and my confidence went with it. It took a while for it to come back - changing schools half-way through O-levels had a horrible effect on my psyche. I bounced back a bit by mastering the marching snare drum and rising to become Leading Bugler in the school Corps of Drums, but my musical ability, such as it was, took a back seat for far too long. I've recently started lessons in singing while playing bass, and quite a bit of what I learnt way back when is starting to return. Thank you, Mr Tickner. And may you rest in peace.

You say that like it's a bad thing 😉

Just stumbled across this old thread... I've recently started lessons in singing while playing bass. I'd tried off my own bat a few times and not made much progress, but having a teacher who both talks the talk and walks the walk has made all the difference. We started with a simple Wilburys number - End of the Line - but finding I could sing, play and crucially, stay in time was a massive confidence boost. I think it'll be a wee while before I can front a band and do Won't Get Fooled Again though!

Uh-oh, polly ticks. IBTL! 😉

Seems to be an issue with gear from the USA too. I'm still waiting on an Eden WTP600 that I ordered back in March from our local Musicroom. Covid lockdown obviously didn't help, but when the shop reopened, they contacted me to say there were delays right along the supply chain and did I want to cancel? I said no, but I'm still waiting.

I'm in the same boat - our last gig was in March and since then we've picked another set o twelve songs. I can play them all quite happily, but I'm swithering between champing at the bit tae get oot there again and shitein ma trews at the thought o playing anywhere outside my living room. Had a wee health scare too - I ended up in A&E with a suspected cerebral haemorrhage the other week. That was Not Fun. Thankfully, I'm OK. From our regular Zoom chats, it looks like the rest o the band are in the same boat (A&E visits excepted!). We've all slipped back and although no-one's said it out loud, it looks like we'll be terrible when we get back together. Thing is though, many musos, both amateur and professional, will be in a similar situation. There's nothing we can do about it other than to recognise where we all are and put some effort intae recovering lost ground.

The first song I learnt completely by ear was Joe South's Games People Play. Bit of a lightweight number but I liked the catchiness in the bassline. I then put some effort into reading bass clef and cracked Queen's Hammer to Fall, which is a song I love and was one of the reasons I picked up the bass in the first place.

"Moons" being the operative word...

Aye, the hand size is deffo a factor. My Fender Jazz Deluxe V has a 34" scale length, which I'm used to now after playing it exclusively for a couple of years now, but the stretch can sometimes be a bit much, as I have quite small hands and short fingers. I get round it by using the 1, 2, 3&4 double-bass technique instead of trying to stick to one finger per fret, and it makes a big difference. I don't think I could go back to a four now.

You'd have had to have tried harder than that with me. I love that album.