Newfoundfreedom

That's how I do it on a good day. 😂

I'm not sure this counts as my worst gig, as it was also my first, last, and only. So also I suppose that would also sadly make it my best. It was back at high school around '91 at the height of the Manchester music and indie scene. There were maybe half a dozen people in the whole school of maybe a couple of thousand students who were into the rock / metal scene, and 3 of those was our band, plus one older lad who could barely play a note but he was in the band because he had a van and a PA. Anyhow. We turn up to the gig, which was supposed to be several bands supporting a local "professional" band who were actually signed and making records. So we get there having absolutely no clue how a proper sound setup works having only every played through practice amps. But we figure it'll be OK because we'll get time to suss it out watching the other bands before we go on. I still to this day don't know what happened but someone just came up and said you're on first. So off I went onto the stage with my bass, shaking like a sh#tting dog with no idea what I was doing. It was then I realized I didn't even have a guitar lead to plug in, I just assumed one would be provided. So off I went hunting around until a member of another band lent me a lead which I swear was about 3 feet long. Now it might be worth mentioning at this point that our drummer was also the singer, so I was essentially the "front man" as I did a few backing vocals. So here I was. Chained to an amp with a three foot lead trying my best to lean forward enough to get somewhere near the mic. I must have looked like a bulldog at the end of a chain trying to gnaw on a slightly out of reach bone. Looking out across the hall full with a couple of hundred floppy curtain haired indi fans, (I swear all I could see was hair and noses) who had never heard anything heavier than The Charlatans, we launched into our first song, Metallica's Seek and Destroy. ..........nothing ..........absolutely nothing. It was like watching 200 rabbits in headlights. I swear no one even moved an inch. Song 2, Am I Evil, by the aforementioned Metallica, and I'm sure I see a couple of people shuffling and moving around, probably going to the toilet or getting ready to leave. Song 3. Enter Sandman. Luckily this was in quite heavy rotation on MTV at the time so at least a few people had heard it. Then a miracle happened. The whole place was jumping around and moshing. I swear I may have even seen a forehead or two. I walked off the stage after those three songs feeling like a rock God! We found out later the whole thing had been videod and to this day the guitarist, who's still a very good friend of mine still has a copy and occasionally reminds me by sending me snippets. It always makes me laugh and cringe in equal measure.

Aw shucks. I've never been called a hero before. Many, many other things, but never that 😄 Thanks for the kind words, but really I'm just lucky enough to be a survivor where so many aren't so lucky. Anyway, that's enough monopolizing the thread. Next! 😉

Thanks. It's extremely difficult to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it, whereas those who have will instantly recognize at least some of the traits in themselves. Luckily, and perhaps amazingly, through it all I somehow managed to keep my sense of humour. I'm sure that has saved my life on several occasions.

Ok let's have another crack at this in a less flippant manner. I was engaged at the age of 18, and had a mortgage at 19. By the age of 20, while most of my friends were out partying, going on holiday, buying flash cars etc, I was working upwards of 80 hours a week just to try and survive. My family had moved away from our home town so I had no support network. I was exhausted, severely depressed and just trying to survive. I didn't have time for playing, or even listening to music, and had long since sold all my equipment to pay bills and keep my car on the road just to get to work. Three years later this really came to a head when I split with my fiance, lost my house, and came very close to suicide, all at the ripe old age of 23. Now I'm 43. Extremely happily married for the last 10 years (actually been together for 17) and we've worked extremely hard to get where we are now against all the odds. Including a back injury which put me out of action for 2 years just when I was getting back on my feet, the loss of my second home as a knock on effect from that, more financial problems than I could list, and hardly surprisingly, given the situation, my own ongoing battle with depression. I finally got out of the rat race 3 years ago and moved to Bulgaria. We've just moved into our very own home after spending the past 3 years working our fingers to the bone renovating it. It's hard to explain how much this means as most people take a home for granted. But I've spent most of my life working 60+ hours a week just to pay someone else rent, and for a few years had to live in caravans and motor homes because I couldn't even afford to do that. Now we have a beautiful home that's all ours, no mortgage, no rent, and more importantly no one can take it away. I've just started playing bass again because it's the first time I've had the time to do it since I was 17. I'm not a great (or probably even good) player. I still don't have the money for flashy equipment, but to have the time and freedom to play again is just amazing. I've just started playing in a band for the first time since I left school. So while some people yearn after their youth. You can keep it, because for me everything after about 18 was a living hell. I'm happy to be in my 40's. In fact, I've literally never been happier.

Takes strap off. Bass remains in place. 😂

Definitely one of the better ones.

My main priority at 20 was surviving and keeping a roof over my head. No time for playing music because I was working 80 plus hours a week to try and keep the wolves from the door. I've spent most of my life in the same situation until about 3 years ago when at 40 I finally escaped the rat race. Which explains my username and the re kindled romance with the bass.

Couldn't sound much worse. 😂

I wish I was professional enough to watch the football while I'm playing. I'm too busy watching my fingers and thinking , this little piggy goes there, that little piggy goes there.......

If the demo video is anything to go by. That's almost 6 grand for something that sounds like a wet fart.

If you knocked off the last zero it would still be too expensive. 😂

If I had to pick an exact moment when I said enough is enough, the guitar scene was it. Cringe worthy.

I have a love hate relationship with GOT. Absolutely brilliant series, but it's an absolute head thrash trying to keep up with who's who, who belongs to which clan, who are they at war with again? and ooh, Dragons!!! It can be really hard work. Not the kind of thing I'd watch to switch off and relax, but definitely worth sticking with.

Usually "woohoo this is sounding great!" Which almost inevitably leads to me cocking it up within the next 3 second.

Not to the same extent. I'm only in my 40's but I was in a band at school and one of my best mates was the guitarist. We've both long ago moved away from our old home town. But every few years he would jump on his motorbike and have a ride over to where I lived just to enjoy a ride out and a catch up. We'd inevitably end up in the music room (which was a shed at the bottom of my garden) and just jam. It was always like putting on a comfortable pair of slippers. It just fit. I often regret that we ended up living quite a distance apart, even moreso now as I live overseas, and sadly he doesn't even really play any more. Which is a great shame because he was an absolute natural from the first time he ever picked up a guitar. Such is life. 😏

I didn't want to initially. He kind of grew on me as the series went on. Although to be fair that was also largely in part to the stunning Karen Gillan, who made the show extremely "watchable". 😉

Horses for courses. I liked Christopher Ecclestone, and even Matt Smith. But for me the absolute height of the show was David Tennant with Billy Piper. Capaldi was an abomination, although to be fair it wasn't entirely his fault, because the script writing and production dropped through the floor after the hand over from Matt. On a slightly different topic (or circling back to the original) I highly recommend Terrarium TV for anyone who's had enough of terrestrial. It's free but you will need an Android device. I've used it pretty much exclusively for the past 2 years or so. Just Google it for the download. It's brilliant!

I haven't watched "live" TV for well over 5 years. Absolute dross. In fact I very rarely watch any UK TV at all now since Peter Capaldi destroyed Doctor Who and Jeremy Clarkson killed Top Gear. I think they were the last 2 UK shows I watched. Now I mostly gorge on US TV box sets.

+1 I thought it was just me.

Hey, that's my first kit build!

Anyone we know? (Just because I'm nosey 😉)

Agree 100%. The Gretsch is my main bass. It looks, feels and plays absolutely fantastic. I also looked at the Hofner but dismissed it because it seems to fit into a very limited niche and I wanted something I could use every day on every song. For me the Gretsch fits that bill perfectly. (And gowd damn she's purdy!) I still fancy a Hofner, and may indeed pick one up one day when finances allow and I can indulge myself in a niche instrument just for the fun of it, but for a superb every day instrument.........

That thing costs more, and probably weighs more than my house.

A pia? No.