PaulWarning

If punk did anything at all it took music back to grass roots, it had all got too elitist and pompous, no wonder Whispering Bob Harris hated it

you'd probably get away with that, the drums are low in the mix

don't think that'll work very well, there's no point in the song were there's not something else, like drums, going off in the background

yes got to agree @Lozz196 when we're are trying to get pub gigs and they ask what sort of music we play, we have to say Punk but quickly add stuff like the Buzzcocks Undertones and Clash otherwise they get totally the wrong idea, we've had people coming up to us after gigs saying they never realised how many punk songs they knew or liked

nothing much more to say really, once glam died we were left with pretentious prog and artist who took themselves way to seriously, punk really did take us back to Rock and Roll's year zero with the Ramones, the period I liked best was pre 1980 some great simple speeded up pop songs then, after that it all got a bit too shouty shouty for me. A lot of people fell for McLaren's publicity stunt about them not being able to play, some of the bands in the early days had been around for years, Stiff Little Fingers, The Stranglers, The Jam etc, great pop songs don't need to be complicated

yep, John Otway uses something similar during his version of Crazy Horses to great effect

if you walked out because they were musically pony that's fair enough, must admit I was disappointed with them at Butlins last year, extended songs just so his Bobness could prance around, should have gone to see Sham instead, still think it's a bit much for (so called) punks to be walking out because he was winding them up, they fell for it, when I first went to punk gigs 1977 that was part of the fun

His Bobness has his faults but I thought that was brilliant, he upset the so called punks (in fact, middle aged men who think being a punk involves wearing a leather jacket having a Mohawk hair style) by insulting them and some of them didn't get it and walked out, oh the irony

must admit I'm not sure what that means but I suspect it's a fraction of what Sting receives, I read that Sting gets all the royalties from the Puff Daddy song, and I've seen an interview with Andy Summers where he's complaining about it, I would have thought Sting would have done the decent thing and handed them over, maybe his conscience only stretches to saving the Rain Forests

Royalties is a mine field because the songwriting credits are based on the lyrics and the melody line so you get situations where a guitar lick makes a song like the Police's Every breath You Take but Andy Summers gets no royalty at all and to make matters worse when Puff Daddy sampled the riff Sting got all the royalties. Andy Summers has every right to be p*ssed off I reckon

J S Bach's relatives should get in touch about their share of the royalties

we have a rule, if in doubt follow the singer because he'll just plough on regardless, unfortunately the other band weren't aware of it

just remembered a story regarding different versions of songs, we play the single version of Holiday in Cambodia but the album version ending (the extended Pol Pot bit, if you know the song) anyway our singer gets invited up to sing it with another band because they knew we did it, trouble is they played the single version ending, I stood there eyes closed waiting for the inevitable car crash at the end

saw the 'real' feelgoods (no original members, so a tribute really) a couple of years ago, they were awful

I'm afraid you have to make allowances when in a band, you'll be very lucky be in a band where nobody has got annoying habits, and lets not forget we've got them as well, always worth remembering

me and my other half, Wendy, do it at open mics as well, we got a Christmas card to Gordon and Julie , when we do it with the band we dedicate it to our singer, who is called, wait for it, John

I find it upsetting if I see a crap band, (not just playing badly but just standing there looking like they've walked off a building site with no audience interaction) I stand there thinking "How the hell do this lot get gigs, no wonder live venues are closing down" even if they're not doing a genre I enjoy you can tell if they know what they're doing

it's hard to believe some bands turn up at rehearsal to learn a new song and nobody's asked "What version are we doing and what key are we playing it in". As @dmccombe7 says if in doubt just send everybody the version you're going to do, it's not rocket science, and take it with you to rehearsals for when someone (there's usually one) 'hasn't had time' to listen to it and the singer needs to know if they can sing it in that key As regards finishing songs with a fade out, just listen to how the band do it live

Jilted John always goes down a storm especially the ' Gordon is a Moron bit'

can work

911 tabs is another one, but it's also amazing how often the wrong tab gets copied and pasted onto other sites.

I was on a cruise and the house band did alright now, the bass player played slap over the verse!, I went up to the guitar player afterwards and mentioned it, he said "yeah he does get a bit carried away doesn't he" didn't seem bothered, he probably didn't even like the song, and as long as he got payed why rock the boat

our guitarist plays 'his version' of some songs, I don't mind if it's the solo but he insisted on playing the repetitive question and answer bit on Whole Lotta Rosie four different ways, when I pointed out that this was such a well known part of the song people think he just can't play it right (which he can) he threw his toys out of the pram and refused to play it ever again, must be terrible to have such a low self esteem

yep been there, I've even played the whole of Blitzkieg Bop A C D instead of A D E and it was video'd I should add, it didn't sound that bad, not quite right but not obvious bum notes, which is why I probably didn't notice (and I couldn't hear the guitarist)

used to use them, before I went all punk rock and started using DR neons, also a coated string but completely different feel (not smooth), they last a long time as well but not as long as the Elixirs