SteveXFR

Kick out the jams - MC5

I was a teenage hand model - Queens Of The Stone Age

I go along to a local jam session and it's always good fun. The session I go to, if there's going to be any covers then they're announced in the facebook group so those who don't know it can prepare. I always just learn the chord progression and go with the flow on the night, no one wants or expects a note for note cover. Because I'm a bit crap, I tend to end up playing when the really good guitarists play, there's so much going on that they appreciate simple bass. I always find everyone friendly and forgiving of my incompetence and encouraging. It's definitely improved my playing.

Freak on a leash - Korn

Classic cars I understand, there will never be a new car even remotely similar to an E Type or a Lancia Fulvia or even a mk1 Escort but you can still buy a P bass or J bass or Thunderbird which looks and sounds pretty similar to an original. Add it in to a band and no one could hear the difference between a 60's instrument and the modern equivalent.

Best buy a Peavey T40 just incase though. That should withstand a direct hit from a nuke.

The world is going to end soon anyway due to either global warming, nuclear war or covid 20 which I think may reduce the value of all guitars.

I was at a festival yesterday and decided that's what I want. Genre specific music festivals where crowds are much, much bigger than normal shows and you're earning new fans as well. As a bonus you get to watch the othe bands. Every band I saw seemed blown away by the size and response of their audience and quite obviously had a great time playing.

I'm off to ArcTangent festival tomorrow, just for the day with my oldest daughter. We're planning to see Dvne, Alcest and Cult Of Luna. We saw Dvne a few weeks ago supporting High On Fire and they were absolutely brilliant. Really looking forward to seeing Cult Of Luna headlining.

We were suggesting names in our WhatsApp group for weeks and getting nowhere then at a rehearsal I insisted we decided on a name and all agreed on Demolition Theory. My favourite that we rejected was Six Foot Shovel. Feel free to take it.

Annoying people?

It would depend on their reaction. If they sit an listen and give a polite clap at the end of each song then that wouldn't be in the spirit of our music. If they'll get up and have a mosh then maybe we could all have a good time.

My Orange OBC410 cabinet. It weighs an absolute ton and is a pain in the back end to get in and out of the car. I don't really need a cab that big but it seems to be worth less than a 2x10 so I'll just live with it.

For many years I didn't like Arcade Fire. Always thought they were pop folk toss. I was given one of their songs (Good God Damn) to learn by my bass teacher and loved it, really enjoyed playing it so I checked out their other music and quite like them now.

Heaviest matter in the universe - Gojira

Catamaran - Kyuss

We had a stoner metal band play our wedding party. That was quite amusing, they came on and ripped in to an energetic cover of Mexicola by Queens Of the Stone Age. There were some shocked looking elderly relatives but we had a great time!

I don't think I could enjoy playing nasty, dirty grunge to nice people drinking pimms in a posh hall

Stone the crow - Down

I play in a grunge band. I want to play dank, grubby bars and pubs. The last thing I want is to play classy venues. I play to have fun, not make money.

I've only got the peasant spec Sterling Ray34 and I did have a matching Ray35. I love the huge tones I can get out of it with tons of bottom and and plenty of treble as well to give it some character. I hated the tone until someone told me to set all 3 tone knobs to minimum and add in what I need instead of starting from the middle position. It works great with a nice bit of valve overdrive. My Cali76 compressor and Two Notes Le Bass both seem to compliment it extremely well. I also find it really comfortable.

There are some musicians who combine incredible technique with great music but they're rare and not really soloists. They use their talents to add interest to a great tune and work with the rest of the band rather than try to look like heroes.

Hanging Tree - Mark Lanegan

That's exactly how I feel about virtuosos like Joe Satriani and Yngwie Malmstein and (this wont go down well) Jaco. Obviously they have an incredible amount of technical skill but incredibly technical playing and fancy tricks don't make great tunes. I'd rather listen to some simple rock than someone shredding for five minutes to an audience entirely made up of 50 year old, balding, fat amateur guitarists.

American Woman - Lenny Kravitz This song stinks but does it stink more than Fly Away? I'm not sure