Leonard Smalls

I've just made a video with my band.... We all shot some footage of ourselves miming along (or in the case of our guitarist, hanging the washing up with guitar round neck), and I did a multiple green screen overlay with footage of the Battle of Orgreave in the background. It came out quite well and helped keep us a little sane. (See it on the "Show us your playing videos thread or on Choked FB link below)

Video I've just finished for one of our band's recent songs using footage we all shot at home...

I think all basses are ridiculously over-complicated and pretentious. What's wrong with a good old tea chest, broom handle and bit of string?

Best place for it. 😁 (Though, controversy aside (🤣), I've never met a P bass I get on with, and have only every found 1 Jazz I liked, and that was stupidly expensive. Give me my bargain-basement Wal or ACG any day!!!!)

I voted ages ago... But as we're approaching the deadline and we've only had 9 voters perhaps I could get more interest from the locked-down throng by asking "should I use a Jazz or a P bass next time?"

I remember being on security when Kajagoogoo played Leeds Uni in 1983... Don't remember any bass playing at all as we were so busy dragging girls who'd fainted out of the crowd. As soon as they recovered they'd run back only to faint again...

How's about a foray into funky German jazz-rock fusion?

Little noodle I've been playing with...

We should have been supporting Headsticks in Nottingham! Then we were meant to play Hereford next Thursday and the Dementia Aware benefit at the Dolls House on Easter Sunday...

Fancied a bit of anger!

Another one gone...

Here's a proper bass groove, complete with widdly bits (gets widdlier from 2'10) and everything... I liked it so much I nicked the main 2 bits for our band!

D I S C O!

Play it like this and you'll be fine! 😁

All our gigs are postponed until "better times"... Gives us a chance to work on that 20 minute semi-chromatic modal epic in alternating 13:8 and5:6. Perfect for a punk audience!

Recommend these Dutch chaps, proggy, atmospheric and quite groovy. Strangely, I first heard them when I walked into the bar of my local pub - which only rarely has music - and Sky Architect were playing in the corner (I say corner, they took up half the bar!) And from almost the opposite end of rawk, these Bristolians have a new and different sound!

You can't go wrong if you get Big Tony and Trouble Funk involved...

I was on the Events crew at Leeds University, somebody asked me if I'd mix the band who were playing in the Tartan Bar as he had a date... I had very little clue, but managed to get a passable sound from The Sisters of Mercy - it was one of their 1st gigs. I also saw the Red Hot Chilli Peppers 1st UK gig at the Clarendon in Hammersmith - maybe 50 people there - and I was at the infamous Mean Fiddler gig where Hillel Slovak "was taken ill" leaving just the 3 of them to continue. Flea coped very well and played even more notes than he usually does!

I was originally a sound engineer at BBC TV, then moved into Post Production Technical Management... Left London and retrained as an electrician, did up and sold quite a few houses, continued sparkying. Meanwhile, the Mrs opened a garden centre - as it seemed easier than crawling about in spider-filled attics I now work there (part-time, rest of the time I look after our 5 dogs and annoy the neighbours by playing bass very loudly).

Bit of Blood...

As you can probably tell, this isn't a live video, though everybody involved was live... Vid features my occasional band (est. 1983!) and was shot and edited by me... And to show we have appeared live before, here's the Weeds in Sheffield, with Sister Bez (overheard at this gig, one Sheffield youth to another "I don't know what the f... it is but I think I like it!")

Perhaps if Marshall Allen, Sonny Sharrock and Peter Brotzmann had played for the Modern (!) Jazz Quartet (after they'd changed their name, obvs) they would have been a good deal more interesting!