Newfoundfreedom

I've only quoted this post so I can like it twice 👍

Indeed. I'm a fascinating person. If humour doesn't cause offence to someone, you're probably not doing it right. Just my opinion of course. Feel free to cancel it at your convenience.

Or indeed Jimmy Carr. His latest show was hilarious, but the cancel culture brigade's reaction to it was even funnier.

I'm not in the least bit offended. Just extremely bored with people who seemingly spend their entire lives looking around for something to be offended by, so they can whine about it on the internet. If you want to be offended, put down your phone, turn off your computer, and look out of the window. Seriously! There's far more important things happening in the world.

Yeah. There's definitely some truth in that. I think maybe it's a safety in numbers thing. My last band was a six piece covers band. So much less likely to be singled out. Weirdly, I was often approached after gigs and told how great the bass sounded when I didn't think anyone would even notice me in the mix. Now we're a four piece originals band, I have much more opportunity to shine, but I feel far more exposed.

The weird thing is, is that a that a lot of people who are perfectly comfortable in social situations, are very uncomfortable when performing on stage, and vice versa. I definitely come across as loud, and even obnoxious in social situations (as some have you may have gathered from my posts on here 😂) Growing up I had more friends than I could ever count, and I can definitely hold my own against anyone, in any social situation, whatever the conversation. I'm a proper big brash northern lad. I was doorman(bouncer)for several years, and I'm built like the proverbial brick privy, so there's very little that can phase me when it comes to confontation, but put me on stage in front of a crowd of people, and I'll go to pieces every time. Conversely, my wife, (who is the singer in my band,) was an awkward child with very few friends, and will generally shrink away, or at least be extremely quiet in social environments, but she's an absolute supernova when you put her on a stage in front of a crowd. I honestly feel so proud of her, and embarrassed at my own failings at the same time. Luckily the two things balance each other out. Honestly, I can't get my head around it. Why anyone so brash would be so timid, and why anyone so timid should shine so brightly in front of a crowd. As I said earlier, this is even the case in front of a small group of friends. Luckily I'm just the bass player so, on balance I can sit back and let my amazing wife Impress the audience. Because if it was up to me. Well.......

Another thing that people don't seen to be getting, is that the anxiety is nothing to do with the fear of getting something wrong (not for me at least) I can quite easily laugh off mistakes, as others have said, nobody dies, it's just not that important. But that doesn't stop the anxiety being almost crippling. The only part of I gig I really enjoy is the very last song. It's almost a feeling of getting away with it. There's something called imposter syndrome. Where you always feel like you're winging it and getting away with it, rather than actually doing it on your own merits. For me, it's more akin to that. It's like waiting to be found out.

All perfectly true and logical. Unfortunately, when dealing with nerves and anxiety, logic plays no part. I can have the song lists, know the material inside out, get on stage, and literally can't feel my fingers, or I'm shaking so badly it's almost impossible to hold down a tight rythm. The logical part of my brain already knows that all of this is utterly ridiculous. But I'm sure everyone with any kind of phobia knows in their rational mind that it's pretty ridiculous. It doesn't stop them being terrified. Not that I'm saying I'm at the same level as someone with a phobia, only that's it's just as uncontrollable by applying logic to the situation.

Very well described. This is exactly how I am. As stated by you, and previous posters, it has absolutely nothing to do with ability or how well practiced you are. My band does our own original material. We practice every week, and we've been together for two years. I know the songs inside out and it still all goes to pot as soon as it comes to public performance. For some people, nerves and adrenalin ups their game, for others it's absolutely crippling.

Aren't they for erectile dysfunction? I think you're slapping your bass wrong. 😳

I get crippling nerves before performing, to the point where i absolutely hate gigging. I can be well practiced and play perfectly in rehearsals, but I just go to pieces in public and make loads of mistakes. I'm even the same if its just playing in front of a small group of friends.

There's one in my local town centre. It drives me insane, and I'm 46.

I'm kind of the opposite. I would never play something I didn't like or wouldn't personally listen to. Which rules out pretty much all Jazz, which I absolutely can't abide, or anything by Oasis purely because I can't stand the nasal whiney t@sspot singer. It was a bone of contention when I was in a covers band, now I'm in an originals band it's not really an issue.

I'm the exact opposite to most of the commenters on here. For me, lyrics are what really sets a song apart. Anybody can write and play a foot tapper, but without good lyrics, any song is totally meaningless.

I've seen this so many times on Facebook groups. Someone giving something away, then the taker also wants free delivery, and gets all huffy when the "seller" won't go out of their way to deliver something they're already giving away for free. The entitled attitude of some people never ceases to amaze me.

I grew up listening almost exclusively to rock and metal. I had maybe thirty or so bands that I listened to regularly. As a result, almost everything outside those bands passed me by. I've never even heard of the vast majority of bands and players mentioned on here. When I joined this forum a couple of years ago I even had to Google Jaco (wish I hadn't bothered) Geddy Lee (turns out, I'd vaguely heard of Rush) and Leland Sklar (who has since become probably my favourite bass player out there). I'll be honest, I still struggle to find any music that comes even close to being as enjoyable as those thirty or so bands I was listening to 30 years ago, and they're still my go to playlist.

I'll be honest, I've never liked gigging. Firstly, I can't stand all the waiting around. If you have an evening gig, it's the same feeling I get when I used to work night shifts. You're just waiting around all day to go to work. Horrible! The setting up and lugging gear around is always a PITA! I can't bare the nerves and anxiety. Playing a gig always feels to me like having a fight. The horrible sickly nerves and adrenalin beforehand, then the rush of dopamine afterwards when you feel like you've gotten away with it. The thing I really hate is when you finally do come off stage, and you've had a good gig, and you're finally getting some enjoyment out of it. Everybody else is already p#ssed, drinking up, and on their way home. So instead of getting to finally enjoy it, you just have to pack up and go home. I was a doorman (bouncer) for several years, and honestly, gigging almost feels like the same job. I love the creative aspect of being in a band, and I love making music. It's always been about hanging around with mates and being creative for me. That's all I've ever really been bothered about. The idolisation of a crowd? Couldn't care less. So to make it all make sense, we've just started live streaming. I have a rehearsal room all fully set up. So we bring the audience to us. Just turn up, turn on the equipment, fire up the computer, and we're playing to an audience. We are actually going to get out and do some "real" gigs this summer. But the majority of them will be afternoon, beer, barbeque, party type events which I much prefer. At least after an afternoon set, there's still time to chill out with a couple of beers and relax.

Same here. One bass One amp 2 cabs. One fx pedal One wireless system One spare lead in case the wireless system plays up One spare battery. That's it. Oh, plus one guitar stand.

With the current state of play in Ukraine and the fast rising fuel prices. I'd be looking at one of these...

I have the ESP, it's an absolute dream to play. The neck is super sleek, it made for an easy shift to playing a sixer. But it does weigh about the same as a large bungalow. The Cort basses look superb for the money. There was a sixer on here a few months ago at a ridiculously good price. I was so tempted!

My two penneth for what it's worth. A sixer with 19mm string spacing would be hell to play. Firstly, I'd forget about that. A sixer is an entirely different beast to a 4 string bass. However, it's surprising how quickly you get used to it. I went from having never played anything but a 4 string, straight to playing a six, and within a few days it became second nature. I can happily and easily change from one to the other, but I actually much prefer playing the sixer because of the tighter string spacing, everything is much more "under your fingers" so to speak. The spacing is actually much less of an issue than learning good muting techniques. If you want a cheap as chips way of dipping your toe in the water with a sixer, buy a Harley Benton. I had one for a while, and as with all their instruments, they're ridiculously good value for money and much better quality than the price would suggest. https://www.thomann.de/intl/harley_benton_b_650_black_progressive_series.htm?i11l=en_GB%3AGB.EUR%3AGBP

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