Pete Academy

Working in a music shop, I've noticed this trend. Fewer young people want to play bass. It's not the cool instrument it used to be. My theory is that there isn't a bass hero for the kids. The players in the current bands are faceless, with little technique to fire people up. We need another Mark King or Flea. For example, when Give It Away by the Chilis was in the charts, loads of kids were coming into our shop and playing the riff. Saying that, people are talking about the guy in Royal Blood, so interest in bass should hopefully take off again.

Nearly Dan are playing at The Wardrobe in Leeds on Saturday 20 September. www.thewardrobe.co.uk

We played at the Sage theatre in Gateshead last Saturday. I used their house rig, which was an Ampeg SVT 2 Pro head and an Ampeg Classic 4 x 10 cab. I usually use a Markbass LM 500 head and 2 x 4 x 6 cab. After much fiddling I got a great sound. You still can't beat valves for bass.

Nearly Dan are playing at The Sage theatre in Gateshead on Saturday 6 September. www.sagegateshead.com

Nearly Dan are playing at the Concorde 2 in Brighton on Saturday 16 August www.concorde2.co.uk and The Jazz Cafe in Camden London on Sunday 17 August www.http://mamacolive.com/thejazzcafe/

Nearly Dan play the Band On The Wall in Manchester on Friday 20 June.

Nearly Dan are playing at the Band On The Wall in Manchester on Friday 20 June. [url="http://www.bandonthewall.org"]www.bandonthewall.org[/url] Tickets £13. Doors 7.30pm. One of the UK's finest venues.

Nearly Dan are playing at Colston Hall in Bristol on Saturday 7 June. Tickets £16. Show starts 8pm. www.colstonhall.org

[quote name='Pete Academy' timestamp='1400415825' post='2453588'] Gasllighting Annie almost gave me a nervous breakdown. And I can't nail Kid Charlemagne the way Chuck Rainey did it. However, I'm happy to put some of my own personality into the songs. [/quote] Sorry, that should have read 'Gaslighting Abbie.'

Gasllighting Annie almost gave me a nervous breakdown. And I can't nail Kid Charlemagne the way Chuck Rainey did it. However, I'm happy to put some of my own personality into the songs.

Nearly Dan has been going 17 years. We've covered around 60 tracks over this period. I can't believe the amount of hours we've put into learning those songs, but it has improved my playing immensely.

Nearly Dan are playing at Alexanders in Chester on Thursday 15 May. www.alexanderslive.com Please note tickets are limited to 120.

It was a daft thing to do, but now I think it was worth it.

I'm not sure if they would have done the same. What was going through my mind was: A load of people having already bought tickets; the band were on their way in a hired minibus; the hotel rooms had been pre-booked. I just didn't want to let everyone down, so I took the risk. I couldn't help feeling the hospital staff were trying to cover their arses, but in retrospect I can't really blame them.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1398617980' post='2435787'] Don't know Pete, but glad you got it done... Sounds horrible so top marks. [/quote] Thanks mate

Probably a bit reckless of me, but I made the decision.

It was an agonising choice. Time was running out and the doctor kept saying I needed to stay in hospital. The rest of the band had already set off. I just thought how many people would be disappointed.

I looked liked the Elephant Man. No chance of groupies. (Not that we ever get any)

Over the years, as I work in a shop, I've had to get trains to gigs. One gig in Hartlepool I arrived 5 minutes before we were on.

Our band, Nearly Dan, had gigs pre-booked in Edinburgh and Glasgow on April 25 and 26. This is an annual jaunt for us. The Friday was sold out, and the Saturday was selling well. On the Thursday before, I started to get an infection in a tooth that had recently been filled. My face started to become swollen. I called my dentist, but the jobsworth receptionist told me I couldn't get in for a check. The next day I was supposed to be picked up at 10.50am. My face was massively swollen, and my eye looked like it had been hit by Mike Tyson. I went to my doctor, expecting her to give me a strong antibiotic, but she took one look at me said I needed to go to A & E for emergency treatment. I told her I needed to go to Scotland for gigs, but she said it would not happen. At the hospital they said I needed to have the tooth out and would have to spend the next 24 hours on an intravenous antibiotic drip. I maintained that I'd already missed our minibus and needed to be in Scotland for the gigs. The doctor said: 'Do you value your health or your gigs?' I asked if there was any alternative. Against their advice, I agreed to have the tooth removed and a intravenous shot of antibiotics, plus a course of strong antibiotic tablets to take. Thanks to my girlfriend, I made a train that got me to Edinburgh just in time, at a cost of £91.50. The gigs were great and I'm now on the mend. What I ask is: Would you have done the same thing and risked your health for a gig? What lengths have you gone to in order to let ensure the show must go on?

Nearly Dan are playing at Oran Mor in Glasgow on Saturday 26 April. www.oran-mor.co.uk The gig on the night before at Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh is sold out.

Thanks, mate...great to meet you. Thanks for the kind words. Really appreciated.

See you there

Nearly Dan play the Hare and Hounds in Kings Heath, Birmingham on Sunday 13 April. www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1394296409' post='2390025'] is there any free sex this time around [/quote] You never know