TimR

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1488352732' post='3248071'] I don't know how litigious American society actually is but media (mainly film and TV) tends to paint a picture of a society where lawyers are the "go to" first step in many disputes. Whether or not that is the case it seems to be going that way here. Solicitors are the only winners in any given dispute. I think greed has become a greater driving force here in the UK than ever before. Everyone wants a cut but no one wants to pay for their slice of pie. Sad. [/quote] That's just the media though. Those no win no fee solicitors are quite particular who they take on. Real solicitors usually outline exactly how much a case is likely to cost and the likelihood of winning during the first (paid) consultation. A solicitors letter is cheap, following up on your threats isn't. Try and sort out any problems amicably.

Totally agree there.

Wonder if he's using it as a cursory illegal worker check.

[quote name='Ziphoblat' timestamp='1488227856' post='3247075'] Not really seeing what laptop DJ's have to do with a thread about electronic music. [/quote] It's about what constitutes a musical performance. If you're running a preprogrammed sequencer, is that a performance, even if you originally played the sequence in live to record it or could play that part live? At what point does a backing track stop being a creative performance and become just a rendition of a preprepared song. And does it matter. We didn't go to watch a DJ perform, he seemed to think we did. .

I went to a dinner and dance on Saturday night. They had a disco. Standard stuff. Play the tunes, not chat between tracks, no introductions to tunes. At the end of the evening the DJ thanked us "for being a great audience." The mind boggles.

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1487930802' post='3244196'] Anyway, after last night's vocal rehearsal and subsequent discussion, it is apparent that I can use whatever I like. She just wanted to have an image of a new, modern prog band, fronted up with old style guitars. But as it turns out, the guitarist who has a PRS is also preferring to use that so it's kind of a moot point now... [/quote] Excellent. Sorry I missed that part.

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1487931981' post='3244219'] This is actually a very good point. Did actually use my '75 Jazz for the video we did: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GF_MENE7lY [/quote] Well that's very odd. They're happy with the guitarist playing a guitar that looks like it's been attacked with a grinder?

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1487776566' post='3242750'] I think it's the fact that it's Sonic Blue. The comment was that it looks like a 'toy' bass, compared to a Fender. [/quote] I would say that's the problem. What colour guitars do they have? It might look a bit odd in photos and detract from a cohesive band look. Playing live under light it'll not notice. I would suggest to them that you will use one of your other basses for photo shoots and publicity stuff. I played (still have it) an '87 Jackson Charvel bass compete with 80s Hair Metal style pointy headstock in a function band. It looked really odd, and out of place, even to me. I changed it and although people said how nice my new bass was they didn't qualify that with 'compared to your old one'. So I'm guessing no one minded.

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1487923622' post='3244107'] My audition for a ceilidh band consisted of turning up to a gig and playing (they did ask me to). No chord chart, just got told the key for each tune, and not only was it a genre I'd never played before, I'd never heard any of the tunes before either. They decided to keep me. However, the rock covers band I've just joined is of the same mind that I am - get the songs polished with me in, get gigging (target is 20-30 gigs a year), rehearse if there are things wrong and to bring new material in. steantval said 45 songs seems like overkill. My covers band that has just folded had around 50 songs, and we wanted to increase that a little more. It means we could choose the 25-30 songs we fancied doing for that gig, rather than (like a club band I used to be with) playing an identical set at every gig for over ten years. [/quote] Function bands are a different kettle of fish entirely. I used to have a pad of 100+ tunes that we could call on depending on the audience demographic. Pub Rock, I have memorised about 50 fairly basic, mostly 3 chord wonders. There are a few that needed some rehearsing to get to a good standard but I think if we had put our minds to it we could have learned 3 songs to gig standard in one rehearsal. The problem is getting everyone to put their minds to it. In previous bands it's easier if the client has requested a specific tune, it focuses the whole band, although usually we would read the music for a one off and do a couple of run throughs at sound check. .

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1487881606' post='3243913'] but that's not really about rehearsing or not... I don't expect you are a telepath! If you're not even told exactly what it is that you'r supposed to be playing you cannot really rehearse it either. What you're doing is preparing to increase your chances at guessing right on the day. And that, while it can be fun, is not a serious way to operate. [/quote] You should play some jazz gigs. I've played gigs where I've never heard the tune before. Chord chart, watch, listen and pray.

Many people just like the idea of being in a band. They're not actually interested in gigging. These are the bands that just rehearse and always find something not quite right. They'll say they want to gig and discuss endlessly how to get them but no one ever goes out and gets one. I've learned to spot them quickly avoid them now. I suppose there's the opposite end of the spectrum where no one wants to practice and only want to gig. I've depped in bands like that, it's a bit disconcerting when they don't even provide you with a set list to prepare for, there's no way they're going to meet up beforehand to run through the set. "It's all standards, you'll be fine."... I guess if that's not for you then move on. I'm not playing with drummers who "play like it's the last time they're going to get their leg over" either.

You have the perfect scenario then.

[quote name='mrtcat' timestamp='1487768178' post='3242592'] Happy to rehearse if there's something that needs sorting. In that situation I want to see a proper plan for the session and it needs to be focused and productive. Rehearsal on a weekly basis is, in my experience, rarely beneficial. If drummer and bass player are good then being tight should be possible after very limited time together. If you have to rehearse week in week out to get tight then there's a limiting factor at play somewhere. [/quote] I ageee. If you're playing gigs regularly, rehearsals aren't necessary and if you're not gigging regularly then targeted rehearsals on the lead up to gigs are beneficial. There's a balance. I'd also call a rehearsal if a number of tunes that you've been playing for a long time start to fall apart. Sometimes parts of tunes just disappear from your memory for no real reason and get replaced with something that doesn't quite work. Then you're in a situation where everyone on the band starts questioning what they're playing and the trainwreck occurs. If the same tune train wrecks in the same place twice then it's time for a rehearsal.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1487730452' post='3242273'] All bands are different. We have a band leader, so there's no " we suggest " option. The BL picks what songs we play and the version. Makes life a lot easier. Blue [/quote] Is your band leader the singer? I can't see any band working unless the singer has a big say in the songs. However, the B/L and singer need to have a very close understanding of exactly what direction the band is going in. I'm not sure that our singer asked exactly the right question when he joined the band, and seems to want to pull in a different direction to the rest of us. Which does keep it fairly fresh and away from 'the usual suspects' when it comes to song choices but it can become a chore choosing new songs. Although, he was already there when I joined. Like you, I just turn up and play and make the odd suggestions, whether or not they're taken on board doesn't bother me as long as the leader has an idea of direction. It does make suggesting songs that will work a lot easier.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1487695261' post='3241923'] In my case the alternative versions were by the same band but the album versions that they played had whole extra sections with completely different chords that never appeared anywhere in the single version that I had learnt. [/quote] Ha. Yes. What's the point in that? Our singer is a bit odd when it comes to that sort of thing. We suggest a well known song by an artist, he'll then say no, he prefers X obscure version or some completely different tune by the same artist form an obscure album that no one will ever have heard before. It's hard work. Just choose a well known song. Learn it. Play it. It's not rocket science.

No. Learn the verse, chorus and midsection and listen to the vocals!

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1487678759' post='3241716'] Lots of people see a band rehearsal as being the time to learn the song. I know a lot of people see it as a social event too. The most recent band I played for that rehearsed was for a NYE gig at a racetrack. We were all given our individual parts weeks in advance. We were expected to learn them at home, the practice was just basically to make sure that everything worked, which is what a rehearsal in my mind is for. [/quote] Yes. Practice at home rehearse with band. A band practice is where you pick parts of a song to work on because the arrangement isn't falling into place.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1487675352' post='3241676'] It's interesting that we see a lot of comments about people not wanting to play in a covers band from those that have never tried mainly, the presumption is that once you have nailed Brown Eyed Girl you are all set and there's no skill or challenge to be had but in reality and especially for dep players there's keys,tempos, syncopation, stops and starts, nods and winks going on to keep you busy, the best players do it without looking troubled at all maybe with nothing more than an email a few days before the gig, I know dep players that would do a better job of my regular gig unrehearsed. [/quote] I think there are a lot of musicians who get extremely anal about copying a tune exactly. If you're learning a new tune there is a lot of production junk in modern music. The skill lies in being experienced enough to know what is junk and what is a key part of the tune. Nailing runs that are synchronised with a drummer are nice to have. I'd never spend hours learning one without having heard what the drummer is going to do as the chances are he's not going to have nailed it (unless he is one of those anal types). Again I've spent too long in bands where getting the song exactly as per the original has mattered more than getting the song sounding good.

Yes. I've been in too many bands that don't have a plan when you walk into the rehearsal room and don't even have a plan for the next rehearsal when the leave the room. That's a waste of time. You only get tight by gigging but you all need to be confident walking out on stage knowing you know what's happening. So there's a balance to be had.

I'd make a list of all the songs and take it to the next gig. Every time you get through a song and are happy then cross it off, any song you're unhappy with put a mark next to it. Go home practice the songs you've marked and work out whether you know them or whether the band are doing something odd. With a new band I wouldn't be happy until I'd played each song four or five times with them. Whether rehearsing or on the fly at a gig.

[quote name='fleabag' timestamp='1487540471' post='3240682'] Who said eating pub nuts would do you any harm ? [/quote] It was in the Daily Mail. But yeah, ok. Sorry mate, didn't realise they were for regulars only. .

[quote name='fleabag' timestamp='1487530908' post='3240524'] There's a queue , mate. Also, dont touch the nuts in a bowl on the bar. [/quote] Get out you youngster. I've been eating snacks off the bar all my life and it never did me any harm. All that new fangled scientific analysis. Poke it.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1487446679' post='3239917'] There are a couple of interesting points here, and it's true Basschat is largely composed of men of a certain age range. Partly this may be because that's who are drawn to the site, but any concerted effort to bring a more diverse range of people here would feel a bit contrived. I reckon we could do better at not making people outside of the usual demographic feel uncomfortable though. I'm thinking of things like the time when it was quite reasonably suggested that incessant knob jokes were perhaps not the best way for middle aged guys to interact with women closer to their kids' age, and people didn't seem willing to take that on board. [/quote] Also we don't use text speak here so it pretty much is a non starter with anyone who can't spell or use proper grammar. I was on a forum where it was rigidly enforced. Kids lasted about 10 posts before they'd had enough.

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1487439088' post='3239842'] of course give that the definition of Bigot is, and I copy and paste, 'a person who is intolerant towards those holding different opinions' means if you call somebody a bigot you are in fact a bigot [/quote] No. It's perfectly possible to tolerate bigotry. Calling someone a bigot doesn't mean you can't tolerate them being one. .

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1487437650' post='3239830'] How many points do I get for 'hand-wringing, do-gooder SJW liberals'? Quite a lot, I would have thought. [/quote] You have already won the internet several times over.