EssentialTension

01 Ever played a gig sitting down? Yes, and I have stood up on upright bass when others were sitting down. 02 Ever gigged on a different instrument? Yes, not often, but rhythm guitar and also percussion (including congas, tambourine, guiro, cabasa, glockenspiel, etc.) 03 Ever shared a stage with a musical hero of yours? No. 04 Any fan ever had a tattoo of your band's logo? No. 05 Ever signed an autograph in a dressing room? Yes, although not in a dressing room and they were confused. 06 Ever cried on stage? Only on the inside. 07 Ever worn a hat on stage? Many times. 08 Ever gigged with a band you hadn't met before the gig? I knew one of the members but not the other personnel or the band as such. It’s fair to say it didn’t go as smoothly as one would hope and there was some confusion regarding the chords even before they were relayed to me. 09 Ever been in a relationship with a fellow band member? Yes, two times in a relationship (and one time there was no relationship, if you see what I mean). 10 Ever played in different bands on the same day? No. Nearest thing would be three gigs in one day with same band - lunchtime, evening, and late at a club. I always found that exciting but exhausting. 11 Ever had anything thrown at you while playing? Only a song with which I had no familiarity. Not thrown but placed at my feet, a pint, on a few occasions, and a spliff. One time, many years ago, an unknown young woman put a nice new pint by my mic stand. My girlfriend, who was standing to the side, strolled over, picked up the pint and downed it in one. I was proud. My memory might be playing tricks, but I think that was at Bogarts club in New Street in Birmingham. Anyone remember that venue? 12 Ever crashed on the way to the gig? Not crashed but returning to Birmingham from somewhere in Wales in the middle of the night some decades ago, one of our two vans (one Bedford, one Commer) broke down somewhere on top of the Shropshire hills. Fortunately, one of the roadies had a spare whatever it was and, it took an hour, but they fixed it there and then and we were home for daybreak. I have a feeling the gig may have been supporting Man. Do you remember them? Or I may be imagining it, after all it was near to fifty years ago. 13 Ever left a band over the choice of set list? Not over set list as such but yes over the ‘character/image’ of the band. 14 Ever slept in the venue despite it not being a hotel? No. I have slept in a van. 15 Ever been supported by a band clearly better than you? Not that I recall but probably. However, I do remember supporting a band of talented young guys who I did think we bettered with our collectively long stage experience. And a few years ago, my four-piece band played at my partner’s and my 25th anniversary gig. Also playing was my son’s ten-piece ‘gypsy dub’ band. I made sure we didn’t have to follow the ten-piece who were much more danceable than my band as well as being highly proficient musicians. As our drummer said to me ‘I see why we went on first’. But always remember music is not a competition, despite what TV tells you. 16 Ever played a gig suffering from some debilitating medical condition? Constipation. Stop sniggering, it’s not funny. I’ve also suffered from the debilitating musical condition of not being as good as I’d like to be, but too late now. 17 Ever been in a band where the guitarist was your favourite bandmate? I don’t really have favourite bandmates. I like guitarists as much as any other musician. I never really get why there’s a not uncommon Basschat anti-guitarist thing. If they annoy you, either leave the band or get a different guitarist, or no guitarist at all. Life’s too short. 18 Ever played in the grounds of a stately home? Only after it was designated a council park. 19 Ever injured yourself on stage? An occasional blister and, once, a cherry-sized lump on the back of my right hand which took a fortnight to subside. My worst ever blister was caused by a tambourine. 20 Ever been told that your bass isn't loud enough? Yes, but not often.

Especially for a short scale, the Supro is a chunky bass with mine weighing in at 8.5lbs/3.9kilos. The neck is more like a baseball bat or a pre-CBS Precision than a modern Jazz bass. Some people would indeed experience it as 'cumbersome'. The satin finish on the back of the neck does speed things up a little.

Don't worry, there will probably be a Mexican version for £799 soon enough.

Yes, or a Bass VI body, with a Precision pickup and a Jazz pickup and an original style Precision neck and headstock. The only thing Telecaster about it is the volume/tone/selector panel ... and Fender's marketing.

Someone told me , or maybe I read it, that, in the early mid sixties, Hofner couldn't make Violin bass bodies quickly enough for the orders they were getting, but they had spare Club guitar bodies and bass necks so they married the two. Is it true? I don't know.

Very nice. I have an Ignition Club.

I had TI Flats on a Michael Kelly Dragonfly - low tension and sounded great amplified but I never used it at a gig, only noodling at home and an occasional jam. For about six years I regularly gigged an amplified archtop Takamine B10 on which, after much experimentation, I always used La Bella 760FS flats - high tension but much more double-bassy.

I only recall that it was six shillings so I presume that was January before the D-day in February. Did the tour last right into the autumn?

The last time, in fact the only time, I saw Genesis was in 1971 at Birmingham Town Hall when they supported Lindisfarne and Van der Graaf Generator on the Charisma package tour. A ticket was six shillings or, as we say these days, thirty pence. That's ten pence for each band.

If you mean by the bridge, I believe it's where his little finger goes.

Brilliant.

Can you polish a turd?

This might interest some of you. Nice playing and interesting guitar history.

Nice but pricey.

I'd be dubious about playing the song. If the singer was black and felt cool about it then I might be persuaded.

However, if you search there are stories of skunk stripes lifting ... https://www.talkbass.com/threads/skunk-stripes-popping-out-on-2-1998-geddy-lee-necks.953557/ https://forums.fender.com/viewtopic.php?t=56871

To me, that sounds more like a knock or even a drop against something hard and really nothing to do with truss rod tension. Any pics?

When I bought a bass direct from Lakland in Chicago, it crossed the Atlantic and arrived with the truss rod and strings in perfect tension. There was no loosening of anything.

I wouldn't loosen the strings when posting a bass ... but I still don't believe loosening the strings caused the skunk stripe issue.

She has more singing talent than me, and that's a fact. On bass playing let's call it evens.

Toilet paper ... https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/apr/23/musicnews.music Michael Jackson ... https://www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz/sheryl-crow-admits-saw-strange-18961072

Are you referring to her toilet paper habits? Or when she was hanging out with Michael Jackson? Or ... ?

Walsh's eyes look like they belong to someone else.

Ideally, that needed a few more guitarists.

Yes, mostly Dan Schwartz on bass on the Tuesday album.