TimR

Do you have an example of those T&Cs? What legal basis does the right to privacy have at a festival. My guess is that’s similar to the bit of worthless paper you sign before you bungee jump that ‘waives your rights’ in the case of an accident. It’s only there to put people off trying it on.

Yes, but what is being discussed here is the use of the image and the right to privacy. I would suggest that at a festival, the landowner is not going to ban photography and performers waive their right to privacy when out in the crowd and performing on stage. It’s all about expectation and what your average person would deem expected.

I can’t stand this song with a vengeance. Played it for years with a band who wouldn’t listen to the vocalist. All too intent with getting the feel and putting their own spin on it. Make sure you listen to the singer and make sure you fit with the vocal line. There’s a lot going on with the vocals and they’re different in each verse. Playing something fancy on the bass may sound great to you but if it throws the singer out and makes it impossible to sing to, the whole band will sound bad.

@Monkey Steve Private land that is accessible to the public remains private land. However you do not stop being a member of the public just because you are on private land. There are a whole host of laws that still apply in exactly the same way.

Quite. A public event doesn’t become a private event just because you have sold tickets. The tickets are on sale to the general public. All they do is limit the number of the general public attending and give you right to reserve admission. The area becomes a space accessible to the public and is no longer private.

Human rights aren’t signed away just because you acted illegally. Otherwise prisoners would be tested appallingly. If you set up CCTV you must comply with the law and if it films public areas it is subject to the Data Protection Act.

You’ll probably find that the organiser just gave his mate a load of photos from the event to make a poster from. I doubt much thought has been given to it. There will be a reason why you haven’t even asked back? Ranging from you weren’t very good, the audience didn’t like you, you didn’t get on with the organiser, too fussy with the sound guy, took ages to set up, played too long, charged too much, your drummer started a fight, too loud, too quiet, the organiser has a mate who plays in a band who play the same tunes, they asked you but the email went to spam, or the singer forgot to reply... Whatever, you won’t ever find out, but it might be worth reviewing last year to see if there’s anything you would approach differently.

I’m sure there are a few old timers who still enjoy a bit of The Beatles.

It used to frustrate me in previous bands. Often it was double standards. The drummer would tell everyone else they were playing it wrong and then stamp all over vocal lines with unnessacary fills. Now we just pick a tune, bare bones the chords at home and then busk through it in practice. If a tune works, then we spend a bit longer working on details and add extra if it’s sounding empty and sometimes simplifying whole sections to make them sound fuller. Often a bass lick only works when sitting on top of brass, keys, strings and multiple layers of vocals. When there’s just a guitar and bass, you sometimes have to sacrifice quite a bit. Learning a tune exactly as the original very rarely works and in the end as has been said before it’ll suffer from mission creep the more you play it.

On the contrary. It’s the perfect opportunity to demonstrate how awesome we bass players are. One hand, one finger, one string and still we are the powerhouse behind the band. No other musician, other than the cowbell player, has so much awesomeness. Look smug? You bet.

So did a lot of people at the time. The album was critically slated and yet went Gold.

@musicbassman Yes. It seems to drift in and out and I think the guitar is out in places. The whole album came in for a bit of stick at the time from what I can find online. Seems a lot of the music was recorded ensemble and just pick the best take. I initially thought it might be done deliberately as some kind of clever musical device. I quite like it to a point.

What is happening musically on that track? Does anybody know the history?

And the closer to a gig you have to learn that song, the more impossible it is to learn.

I have no idea whatsoever what your point is. Where have I said that semi pro bands rehearse only to pander to someone’s ego? Endless rehearsals and preparation when the band is already tight and have learned all the tunes is completely pointless musically.

It’s when any two musicians try to operate in the same region when they aren’t listening to each other. I once played in a band with two guitarists, it was horrendous. Neither of them could agree on who was going to play what and it was just a sonic mush.

Well, copying songs note for note and playing songs exactly as you have rehearsed hundreds of times is simply playing your instrument using muscle memory. It’s the musical equivalent of riding your bike to work. It’s like the difference between a carpenter and someone who can fit a kitchen. ‘Real’ probably isn’t the right word but certainly there’s a big difference. This thread is evidence of that from replies.

I think you maybe have completely missed the point of my post. It’s the point where you are playing with other musicians to a high standard with very little preparation (sometimes no prep). And you think how the hell did I get here, you question your ability, and you are expecting to be exposed at any minute. Which is total nonsense, because you have prepared, you’ve been playing for years and been in the same situation more times than you can remember and you’re not a fraud at all. It’s certainly not ‘busking’ through the set. You need good musical skills and experience of playing with lots of different musicians to be able to dep competently. The point of Imposter Syndrome is it’s baseless, you’re not an imposter, you deserve to be there and you should be there, it’s just your own psychology undermining yourself. It could just as easily happen to you after months of rehearsals getting tight and playing many gigs and finding yourself on stage in front of tens of thousands of people at a festival.

How many sound engineers does it take to change a light bulb? one, two, one, two, two, two. I’ve never heard a keys player who isn’t far too busy with the left hand. There’s a balance to be had.

@Paul S Good luck. They won’t be expecting too much. Have fun.

@ianrendall that’s a bit of a downer. You probably don’t want to work with musicians like that. If the band don’t smile when you walk in the room that’s not a good start. For a start you’re covering their derrières.

I think that’s the point. It’s a syndrome. People at the top of their game forget all those hours of work that have got them where they are and are suddenly left with that feeling of “How the hell did I end up here? Someone is bound to find me out.” With no reason whatsoever to feel like that. Although I suspect no singer ever felt like that.

Been in the news a bit this week following Michelle Obama’s speech. How many of you guys have been in this situation? I did a dep gig on Saturday night. Was sent the set list, had a brief look through it, met the guitarist and ran through a few numbers. Didn’t seem anything too complex. Turned up to the gig unloaded and set up and then realised I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. Not practiced any of the tunes at home, didn’t know the structure to half the tunes, no ideas of intros or endings. I was screwed. Anyway, felt my way through the gig by using my eyes and ears and smiling a lot. The band thought I was great, the audience thought we were great. We got paid and the band leader was asked for cards. I suppose really that’s what musicians do when they play properly and all this endless rehearsals and preparation with semi-pro bands is mainly just to stoke the singer/guitarists ego. Quite honestly I’d prefer to dep all gigs. Keeps it fresh and reminds me of what a real musician is.

“Not getting lost in the mix” and “chest thumpingly loud” are where the problem lies with bass drum through the PA. most of the bass drum presence is around 120hz, must drummers think it’s around -50hz.

And the drum kit sounds good in the first place. (Proper equipment?)