Pete Academy

Well...buying a custom bass is like making love to a beautiful woman...

So, Bilbo, judging from your post, am I right in thinking you wouldn't be very fussy about your women, then?

I'm getting a feeling of deja vu. Do you mean bespoke custom instruments, built to spec, or say an off-the-peg Roscoe like mine?

I think he took over from RHT as Incognito's bassist on the albums and live gigs. Monster player.

[quote name='OldGit' post='624727' date='Oct 13 2009, 09:34 AM']Stand close enough to infect them with some of The Famous Funk Sartorial Elegance will you? I personally found the worn denim aspect of the front persons/people a bit disappointing. It's classy music and I think that deserves a bit more attention to wardrobe. The women had done so and Pete had his customary Bass Player's Black get up on but it looked like half the band had left their stage clothes at home .......[/quote] I'll have words with the wardrobe department.

It was great to meet Simon Old Git...top bloke. Hope £50 was enough for posting this review. Great venue , people and sound (on stage, anyway). It's always a tad disappointing to know you weren't loud enough, but what can you do? After the beginning of the year, having the usual band niggles, we seem to have settled again with a more stable line-up. Must be the 12-year itch. It's difficult to know what to play in the set, as there are so many great songs. Over the years we've covered almost 70. I think it's time we brought Aja back, and I'd love to do Gaslighting Abbie and Jack Of Speed again. Don't know if anyone noticed in the photo, but I've retired my Superfly in favour of a Markbass LMK. I love it.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='624372' date='Oct 12 2009, 08:30 PM']Erm did i say i prefer his playing on Incognito. [/quote]

These are absolutely excellent. Sadly, my fat fingers wouldn't let me get to the stretches on these tracks.

I'm a big RHT fan and I love his playing on the Incognito albums (have them all). However, I don't think this is amazing. I actually prefer Tal Wilkenfeld with Beck. The solo is very good but a bit too 'Marcus' at times, especially the slap part. Sorry Bubinga...close but no cigar. BTW, I think it's Julian Crampton on 'Everyday' - amazing track!

You need to get out of the guitar player's frequencies.

[quote name='poptart' post='621881' date='Oct 9 2009, 06:13 PM']Hey Pete - how is the Roscoe?, you have one the finest SKB3005s I have played! Regards Mark PS NJE - good to see you today, I hope you had a nice time at the castle ;-)[/quote] The Roscoe is mighty fine. Here I be: [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Sold_Gallery_files/Pete%20Roscoe.JPG"]http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_sp...te%20Roscoe.JPG[/url] And here it be: [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Roscoe_Sold_files/Bubinga%20copy.jpg"]http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_sp...inga%20copy.jpg[/url]

[quote name='NJE' post='621868' date='Oct 9 2009, 05:58 PM']So I went to bass direct today and it was amazing. Mark was great and spent loads of time chatting and humouring me and my stupid questions and poor bass playing. He is a wealth of knowlege and let me play some amazing basses. It is a great shop, great environment and going and playing these top notch basses really does give you the opportunity to find the right bass for you. I am completely in love with the 5 string maple necked Nordy he has in at the moment, but also was hugely impressed with both the Esh and Skjold basses, oh and the Roscoe and Dingwall (so all of the basses really) He gave me a lot to think about gear wise and along with his guitar tech is going to try and sort out the preamp on my squier jazz V. Just to top it all off I got a great man bag (gig skinz) for my eden head. All I can say is, top shop run by a top chap, thanks Mark.[/quote] Bought my Roscoe from him. Top bloke!

Sorry Old Git, but I'm not sure about this. To me, funk needs space, which is why the original works so well. You can argue it with me on Saturday, but bear in mind I'm getting you in free.

[quote name='Doddy' post='619775' date='Oct 7 2009, 05:17 PM']In all fairness,why didn't you get the money before sending the bass? As it is you've just given him a nice little gift.[/quote] Don't you still owe me fifty quid?

I think I'd be tempted to turn up at a gig with a couple of big lads and ask him nicely for the money. If that fails, take some gear.

I'll forward this thread to our keyboard player. He's The Chordman of Alcatraz.

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='619477' date='Oct 7 2009, 12:33 PM']Who's seen Flea's 'instructional DVD for bass' from around ten years ago? - what a pile of sh1te (IMHO) [/quote] Him and River Phoenix are absolutely WASTED!

Great response to this thread.

[quote name='Crikey!' post='618697' date='Oct 6 2009, 03:56 PM']We have fights at nearly half our gigs i reckon... there was one at a gig in Chatham, we were playing at this 2 tone/ rocksteady/ ska club, we got halfway through the first song, the whole place was dancing and it was packed. All of a sudden there was a mad rush and punches being thrown everywhere. We always stop playing if theres a fight during our set, thats not what gigs are about.. The guy who instigated came up and apologised to us before we started again, his story was basically this... "Sorry about that lads, this bloke behind me poured his pint down my back.. so i said "don't pour your pint down my back" and he said "f*ck off" So i hit him. and if he comes back in here again he wont have a face left to tell the tale with." There was another one the other week where the whole pub turned in to a massive pit, one guy started taking it too far and he got picked up thrown out by 4 men and told not to come back if he wanted to keep his teeth. One a few weeks ago we were playing in this bar where everyone had to walk across the stage to get to the toilet/ smoking area... we were near the end of the set and we saw 3 guys start attacking a bloke as he came out of the toilet. We all stopped playing and grabbed them all and dragged them outside, the guy who was being attacked, we kept inside... carried on playing when it'd all calmed down. The only fight we've had involving the band was one of our earlier gigs, we were packing up our gear when a guy comes flying out of the toilets, face covered in blood. our trombone player comes running out after him and laying in to him... somebody ran over to try and break it up and one of our friends ran across the stage, jumped and headbutted the guy who was trying to break it up. The guy being beaten up was being.. racist, lets say. its a long story. but our trombone player had to run home covered in blood before the police turned up. The guy he attacked had a broken nose, a broken jaw, 3 broken ribs, broken fingers and was pouring blood... it wasn't pretty.[/quote]

Why not give Mark a call or drop him an email? I'm sure you'll be very welcome.

[quote name='51m0n' post='616794' date='Oct 4 2009, 08:05 PM']Its not a bloody race mate Also, as has been mentioned, there is a huge amount more to Flea than the punk funk slap thing, and a lot more to VW (the people's car?!?!) than the double thumping thing. I love em both, and listen to whichever I'm most in the mood for. I would say this though, considering Flea's stuff solely on the strength of that clip is a crying shame, he has written and played some cracking b-lines (slapped and fingerstyle) over the years, my personal favourites run up to and including BSSM, after that I think he loses his way (heresy I'm sure), but I think BSSM was one of (if not the) best bass heavy albums of the 90's, and the best album RHCP will ever produce. Some of VW's stuff with the Flecktones is achingly beautiful too, but his (and almost everyone else's) solo bass work leaves me cold (the one guy who doesn't is Michael Manring, but he's from a completely different planet IMO)[/quote] Great post.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='616755' date='Oct 4 2009, 07:40 PM']If you listen to 'Hollywood' on Freakey Styley, the bass playing is a perfect groove - simple and locked-in. This may be the Flea nobody listens to, apart from his manic slap stuff. You can't say 'Aeroplane' and 'Give It Away' aren't classics. I wish I'd wriiten 'em. Give the guy his due...he has a distinctive style and voice, which to me counts for a great deal in bass playing history.[/quote] I also wish I'd written 'written' properly.

If you listen to 'Hollywood' on Freakey Styley, the bass playing is a perfect groove - simple and locked-in. This may be the Flea nobody listens to, apart from his manic slap stuff. You can't say 'Aeroplane' and 'Give It Away' aren't classics. I wish I'd wriiten 'em. Give the guy his due...he has a distinctive style and voice, which to me counts for a great deal in bass playing history.

1996, Steely Dan played a sell-out gig, but Tom Barney was taken ill just before showtime. They found out I was in the crowd and asked if I could do the set. I agreed and played every song flawlessly. I was given rapturous applause. Then I woke up.

[quote name='GreeneKing' post='616419' date='Oct 4 2009, 12:27 PM']No pun intended? [/quote]