Bluewine

We take 2 ten minute breaks. Blue

Bazzbass, there's much more to it than that. There are guys that don't have the chops and or ability to accurately play those pre determined notes riffs or structure of a song. Maybe you can but I could never accurately cover all the notes and nuances in "Teen Town". Totally disagree. Blue

Agreed, original or cover doing it well takes more work than most think. I hate to say this guys, but most guys in my neck of the woods that are critical of learning covers don't have the ability or disipline to do it. Blue

In the States we don't have a choice. If you play traditional bar gigs it's a 4 hour proposition. I'm just getting warmed up by the 3rd hour. 4 hours is all I know. Sure, I'd love to play 1.5 hour headliner type shows, but that's not in the cards for me. Blue

Different than the women I use to come across too Pete. Key phrase, "use to". When I was young there seemed to be plenty of women that went after guys in bands. I blow a lot of opportunities too. Now that I think about it, at our St. Paddy's gig a female fan introduced me to a significantly younger attractive lady/lass as her single friend. I think all I said was; " Hi, how are you." I didn't recognize the opportunity. I think it's what happens to guys when you get older. I don't have any good lines.I was more hopped up over signing CDs and gig posters. Just being "transparent" guys. Blue

😁, The days of bands playing instruments live at half time ended years ago. Now it's all choreography.lol Blue

Women I meet I can tell, when it comes to gigging musicians they don't get it and don't like it. They want the guy that likes to camp, hunt, fish and attend sporting events. That's not me. Blue

We play the WI State Fair (I'm not sure we're doing it this year) 5 nights in a row, 4 hours each night. To be honest, it's my favorite and most fun week of the year. Blue

I think your right, however and this is only for the 60 plus guys. Look at early live Beatle performances. Paul hardly ever looks at his fret board. If you look at Paul now he does his share of looking at the fret board. Blue

You know what's nice, when you gigging so much you eventually know the whole show like the back of your hand. That's when you can branch off and connect and engage your band and the audience as oposed to being a slave to your fret board. IMO, you only get there from gigging s lot, not once every 2 months. Blue

Perfectly understandable. We're all different. I understand how gigging a lot can work for some and not others. I answer to no one and can sleep as late as I want. I'm single by design, as a matter of fact, I broke up with the last woman I dated because I knew she didn't get rock & roll or gigging. Our guitarists wife comes to every single gig with him, she's never missed a show in the 7 years I've been with the band. I asked her why; "Because I love watching my husband do something he loves" That's the kind of lady I need to meet. No woman is ever going to give me any type of grief about gigging. The money I earn from gigging means so much more to me than the salary I drew when I was a part of the traditional workforce. And I had a great paying career. I still feel that getting paid to have fun and do something you love is, well you can't beat it. Sure there's little inconveniences and every gig won't be great, but I still wouldn't trade away gigging for anything. I'm not important enough to hate any genre of music as long as it's professional and played well and I get paid to do it. I truly love this business and I love playing. BTW, sorry about the rant. Blue

Sometime I think I'm the only fool 65 year old with the same spirit for gigging I had when I was 12. I'd be in heaven if I had gigs 4 nights a week. I love late nights, love the club bar scene, love the money and most of all the attention. I must have signed 5 CDs and several gig posters this past Saturday night. I love that kind of stuff. Blue

Not meaning to derail the OPs thread, but the thought of looking for a band is frightening to me. If and when my band folds I'm done. There are no opportunities with bands that are in this for profit. Not that I would be considered for. Very few bar bands are out there doing 3 gig weekends anymore. Not in my neck of the woods. Blue

Les, we're not good at having rehearsals on adding new material. But even playing 4 hour gigs we have a lot of good material we can't fit into every show. Plus we have followers that want to hear the same songs we've been playing for years Blue

If not for TOTPs I would have never heard this song by The Foundation. They're the first guest on this show. Blue

Yeah,we don't really have that walk to the bar and walk home culture. I guess if you live in a major downtown metro area you could. But for the most part we're a nation of cars. Blue

I like the email approach, and guys if your a hired guns IMO you only need to give notice and discussion with the band leader. Also collect all your gear before giving notice. You really have to be careful about who you decide to give your time and talent to, especially if your in this for creativity and art. I'm in this for money do it's pretty cut and dry why I chose to play with or leave. Blue

I like the TOTP shows from the late 60s and early 70s. Blue

I just noticed that every Top Of The Pops show is now on YouTube. Loving it! Blue

Paul Revere & The Raiders, one of my favorite bands. Mark Lindsey, one of the most underrated front men. Blue

Maybe 7, which is too many, the only ones I use are my MRX Bass Octave, Phase Shifter, and Chorus. I've given up on my MRX Bass Distortion, it very hot and doesn't seem to like my other pedals. Blue

I mentioned a 10 grand minimum for a DUi. That's what you get if your pulled over and you fail the breath test. You don't have to be drunk, a couple of beers can cost 10 grand after fines, penalties, legal fees, breathalyzer equipment installed and uninstalled in your car. All these things can cause getting to work difficult and you can get fired.Not unusual at all. Blue

No need for a lot if discussion, I'm merely curious. On BC I've heard some say they don't like pub gigs and the blame at times has gone to drunken patrons. I've always been detached from this notion because I don't see drunken out of control patrons. In the States a DUI (driving under the influence) will cost you a minimum of 10 grand. This is why we might not see as much of this painful behavior as you might see in other countries, I'm not sure. What is the consequence of a DUI conviction in the UK? Blue

I needed a good gig under my belt and I got it last night. Intelligent, well behaved packed crowd from 7:00- 11:00. We play Ariba's a half a dozen times a year. We're always booked on NYE, St. Paddy's and Holloween. Great sounding room. Low ceiling , carpeted floor and we play right in front of the bar. I was tired and unenthusiastic on my 15 minute commute.Apon my arrival I got into character ( the happy fun, no worries cheerleader ) and after hearing the crowd give us several rounds of well deserved roaring applaud I was energized and was reminded why I love this business. And I get paid to do it, go figure. Blue

Definitely a US thing. Blue