lurksalot

I am not proud to say I have never had a bass lesson , but victor wooten, while being a fantastic artist , never inspired me , a bit like on the blues guitarist thread , loads of incredible players that sometimes seem to be w*****g the planking. I play competently , though not extravagantly , I have no 'chops' I play as much or as litlle as I feel is needed , my technique may not be purist ,but , I am not welded to my guitar and I reckon bassists hearing what a bass line is is sooooooo true , to most others the bass is purely filling the sound spectrum. Bass players need lessons in manual handling , GAS avoidance , self esteem (and when they have that ) sound and light engineering , me, I love it I do

As a band, know your audience and your customer, I suppose it depends to some degree if you intend to entertain the customers audience, or bring your own ,but it's relevant of whether you play your own stuff or covers. ed for much typo stuff , and in such a short post

[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1350858701' post='1844474'] Microphone stands are your friend! - My lads band have a banner about 8 x 2 and a couple of boom mic stands adjusted to max height are just right. - and the pole through the top sits nicely in the mic clips. [/quote] Quality , great idea

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1350853024' post='1844373'] Ouch! - I've a few clients been using the same banner(s) for a number of years; they might have a tier system of manufacture like a lot of things. [/quote] Maybe a tier system of roadies might be the issue here , but breaking down in the early hours with any 'helpers' having had a few jars, will test them [quote name='mrtcat' timestamp='1350848020' post='1844271'] Ours cost about £40 and is made from a black cotton sheet with iron on printer paper from staples. I just printed the letters, cut them out and ironed them on. My wife tidied up the sheet edges by stitching a hem all round. The top hem is a big loop so we can either run a pole thu it, pin it up or gaff tape it to the wall behind. Since this pic was taken we splashed out another £5 to have our website address ironed on. Works a treat as now any pics taken of us in pubs don't havre dart boards, lamps, brass tack, specials menu etc in the background [attachment=121743:IMG_3523.JPG] [/quote] this is brilliant , it obviously works a charm and a route worth pursuing .cheers.

I am sure that is value for money but I would have thought a backdrop would go the other way round , by the time we have the backline you would not see half of that unless it is on a high box behind the drummer and then could be limited by a ceiling height. I like the lightness and ease of use though, but could possibly do with a bit more size and a little less 'cleverness?' thanks for the link Stu

I am looking to provide a backropdrop or banner for the band, nothing fancy or flash (due to costs) but not overly cheap and nasty either , but cheap and cheerful might work !! My thoughts were centred around some white artwork printed onto black lightweight cloth that could be threaded on a telescopic rod like a fishing pole . this could be hung from, or over, lots of stuff on the back of a pub wall . with a size of about 8 x 5 ft will that work? any thoughts from the collective? Thanks in advance

We had top night last night, a great crowd who we kept on the boil all night , and a totty fest to boot. Rhythm guitar blew his amp , but used the singers who only plays the odd bit . in all a good evening . a couple of weekends of now just in time to get a chance to run through some christmas numbers

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1350811338' post='1843615'] of course the big thing is 'it's how you play them'. I've heard covers bands doing most of the songs mentioned here, sometimes I enjoy them, sometimes not, I always think that a crowd can sense when a bands just going through the motions, In others words if the band isn't enjoying it how the hell can you expect the crowd to. [/quote] This is a biggy. We can do lots of the old favourites but don't list them , but if the crowd are up and bouncing then these are the songs that can drop in and work brilliantly , they are popular for a reason.

A totally sureal gig tonight .............it was the drummers workmates 40th b/day bash and we were booked for it ...... but as it turned out it was a surprise b/day party for me . still buzzzing what a night , we played really well , I got to scream a few words and I will need a few drinks to c hill out ,, party on

If we don't mic the kick drum on some smaller gigs , I sometimes reinforce the percussive element with muted playing or full muted palm slaps , it can provide a bit of a thump sometimes .

[quote name='tonyf' timestamp='1349703543' post='1829286'] There's also that bloke from Good Luck Charlie on The Disney Channel. Bob. Just so there's no misunderstanding, my 7 year old daughter watches it. Not me. Right?! Are we clear?! [/quote] Are you trying to convince us you are not a HUGE fan of the Bob Duncan Experience I don't watch it either ..........Good Luck Tony

We did a 40th with a pirate fancy dress theme, it was a great night and everyone was up for it with some fantastic outfits , some of the girls were brilliant, short skirts, frilly tops, thigh boots and top dancing, boy did I drop a few notes I had made up for it beforehand though as we had a couple of kit issues which I cabled up a bit different and it worked quite well and they all thought I had saved the day.

I thought these were dimmable , no need to have them bright as a bright thing

I made a couple of enquiries on a bass from the states , and boy do they want to do a deal, they will reduce the declared value fro vat and duty etc , but they are in the realms of pestering , I am not a tyre kicker and I respect the fact that they are asking for a sale , but I am not keen on the tactics and the duplicitous paperwork .

I bought a couple of remote control dmx cans , ADJ I think and a laser , not a masive light show but I can alter the look quite easy and the sound to light works ok , but not really adjustable . I ofetn find the ceilings quite low and stage area small so I tend to bounce the lights off the ceilings and it tends to go a lot further as the whole stage area is washed over .

Brilliant , great fun and a good idea , I would however consider micing up the kick drum , it isn't quite high enough in the mix

I didn't really mean to have a muse v PIL argument , though I too am very much getting more from the 'punk' genre now than I did originally probably, in a middle age, middle class hijacking kind of way I guess, that would offend the stapled devotees. I was rather, dissapointed at the "live" or lack of it aspect to the show , I would hate it to fall into the TOTP cheese fest that it became.

I really get jools cred and talent and generally like "later" and ive seen threads about recorded "live" sessions , maybe I am missing something and the live bit is purely that we see the artists are breathing in real time but.... I have just seen Muse again , and I know that if I move insignificantly from the mic or turn away , my vocal falls out of the mix , I know my technique is not fantastic, but I cannot believe that the performance coming through my TV speakers is that which is being performed "live" in a number of cases . then PIL come on and it looks pukka ??

come along now gents, A predominantly male discussion group discussing methods of improving wrist stamina and no one has mentioned 99 then change hands ?

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1348398556' post='1813074'] Damp squib in Leeds getting damper - so we we unleashed our secret weapon halfway through the 2nd set. Mustang Sally - the tune so collectively hated by us snobby musicians. 3 lookers straight up on stage to be backing singers ......... morphed the ending into Lulu's 'Shout'................... place went mental. Back into our regular rocking set with our newly found audience still going nuts all the way to the end and screaming for more. Lesson to be learned , folks. [/quote] for parties ,theres no doubt that old favourites are favourites for a reason , Summer of 69 works in a similar manner

A busy weekend for the Razors A 40th party on Friday, went really well , we were a tad loose and changed the set on the fly to keep the crowd lively but it worked well. Last night it was another 40th but the lead guitarists youngster had a bad temperature and it is a recurrence of a previous issue so was touch and go , but reckoned he could join us for an hour if her temperature leveled out. after some quick hashing for the first set , he called to say he would get there in 20 mins , so we held off and nailed it , after 3 songs of the second set he got a call and had to go, so we winged / chopped and changed and got through OK , the birthday boy was chuffed with the show after being very nervous when he new the guitarists/our problems. As everyone was up for a dance by this point, I think artistic detail was less important than a good singalong , still the rhythm guitar stood up to the plate and his confidence carried it. The youngster is getting better today , but they were close to calling ambulences last night .

I still get the big I am , from a few angles , mostly customers , who generally have been given advice by mates in the pub that are experts in everything after a couple of pints. Generally , if someone needs to argue how 20 years of experience gives them one up on you , you might find that they only have one years experience and it is 20 years old !! Learning to handle/ignore/influence/learn from these people is what your experience will teach you .

Welcome No ( if I may be so familiar)

Cheers Andy, could do that , but just less kit is good , as is less set up , if it was my own stuff supporting the idea I could get on with it but the old Pareto principle comes in , you spend 80% more effort for a 20% sound improvement , or something like that . Some might say sound is all , but a harmonious band atmosphere helps aswell !!