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Cat Burrito

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Everything posted by Cat Burrito

  1. Cat Burrito
    I left the band in 2009 but saw them with Jan a few times. He seemed like a nice guy.
  2. Cat Burrito
    I like a lot of very big artists (Bowie, Elvis, The Stones) but also a lot of very obscure artists. I've never really thought of it as isolating but I accept that in most circles I move in, the mention of a band I like would be met by "who?!" I'm fine with that but I do find myself getting increasingly frustrated with Alexa when it's clearly just been played and I am getting told that "I don't know that"
  3. Cat Burrito
    I had one of the first JC basses and the original lot came with a hard case. Sadly that is seperate now. I was blown away with the bass. I sold it due to a change of circumstances and it was one of many that went in a massive cull. I now own a Gretsch longscale and a Hofner Verythin longscale, both of which are excellent. I don't think you'd go too far wrong with an Epi JC but equally don't be afraid to try some of the alternatives out there too. They're all so much better these days.
  4. Cat Burrito
    I'd love a Shegold Marathon. The neck is slim so the spacing is a bit of a challenge but it is perfectly serviceable for my needs.
  5. Cat Burrito
    I decided to upgrade my Burns SSJ and just picked up this Squier Bass VI. As you can see I have already swapped out the pickguard and I have some flats en route in the post as I can see. The Squier set up is much better and my early impression is that this bass is a killer.
  6. Cat Burrito
    My 80s Goth duo played a blinding support to a local Siouxsie & the Banshees tribute, at my local village hall. A very respectable turnout and we played well. Caught up with at least two people I haven't seen in over three decades. I am on bass for most of it but play some mandolin and was delighted that my student joined us in bass and totally smashed it! Final words from our local review, which said "Eighties new wave electronica is their game, angled toward the gothic alternative, which they executed with finesse and emotion. From a few originals Nick explained they were taking into the studio, to expected covers of Bauhaus and Joy Divison, it was the sort of serious music venue appreciation society type stuff, rather than universal village hall. Though what was particularly adriot in their set was a rendition of Heartbreak Hotel in their house style."
  7. Cat Burrito
    I said from my experience. I was never in Rush!
  8. Cat Burrito
    Agree with a lot of the points made so far. The smaller the kit, the bigger the talent, from my experience.
  9. Cat Burrito
    I've never had issues regularly playing London since '94. I've had issues in a couple of smaller backwater places around the UK but generally no problems. A couple of years ago we drove our tour van through one of the Royal Parks en route to the 100 Club. The officer who stopped us couldn't have been nicer. I had all my stage make up on and he was totally non-judgemental. He asked us if we knew it was an offence, we said we didn't and were a bit lost. He advised us accordingly and let us on our way, with directions. I've been on buses, tubes foot and in flusher times taxis, all without issues.
  10. Cat Burrito
    A non-bass gig became one of the most surreal shows I have ever done last night. It was a small village open mic night that my goth duo has previously done. We were told we could do two small sets so spent the day rehearsing up an electric and an acoustic set. If you've never seen a post of mine, my duo is with the guitarist from my Sixth Form band and although the lowest key of my bands, probably the one I have the most fun with. Just a great excuse to hang out with an old school friend and make music. We arrive at the quiet country pub to discover it is absolutely heaving, to the point we are not going to be able to bring our gear in fully. A hasty decision is made to ditch the rehearsed up electric stuff and just go acoustic (bolstered by some under rehearsed stuff). Next thing the landlady is coming up to me and telling me that it's great to have Boy George in her pub!?! It quickly dawns on me that she must be at least 3 bottles of wine in and as the evening progresses she is dancing right down the front, coining up the phrase from Friday Night Dinner "Be spatially aware!" I make a mental note to keep her very much at arms length. We go on and go down a storm. We get a second set and at one point the young bar maid is coming up to me, mid set, to ask me to come outside and help break up a fight!?! Luckily it was all over as these things are, almost straight away. The irony was that I thought the gig would go down in my history for being my first performance in a cardigan! It's a funny old world!?!
  11. Cat Burrito
    Just a cheap one from Amazon - Lekato. The last one lasted two years and I figure they are about as cost effective as cables now. The latency is much better than it used to be.
  12. Cat Burrito
    I have always struggled with Jazz basses so will be watching this thread like a hawk. Mine sounds weedy and I have had non players say it didn't sound so good. It's fine in a 4 piece but there's zero bottom end. I got rid of a Jazz bass in the 90s because of the pickups and this one looks great, sounds good on it's own and is rubbish in a 3 piece. I see and hear loads of other bassists using Jazzes to great effect so so wonder if I have just had a couple of duds. All my other basses sound amazing so I don't think it's me. I've tried flatwound / roundwound and picks / fingers. Good point with the EQ but I can plug into any rig and sound good - my money is on the pickups.
  13. Cat Burrito
    Bannermans have some insanely talented photographers. The last guy was good and I said that to this guy, joking that he better be as good and I think he was actually better!
  14. Cat Burrito
    I've just got back from the second leg of a UK tour. This time we took in Manchester, Blackpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh. I massively preferred this run, perhaps because it was shorter. I took my Hofner with my small Orange Terror rig (knowing that Edinburgh would have the 8x10 Orange). No issues with the bass throughout. All four shows had exceptional sound. I did laugh at Edinburgh; the Orange rig has a bit of tape over the traditional Orange symbols explaining "Highs - Mids - Lows". Surely us Bass players are cleverer than that, right? My new wireless was great and no major issues throughout. Respectful sized audience in Manchester, busy in Blackpool and the two dates in Scotland were small but very enthusiastic crowds.
  15. Cat Burrito
    I have a set on my Hofner Verythin bass and it's coming away on tour with me tomorrow. I love DR strings - they sound nice and bright with plenty of bottom end and don't dull quickly. I have the neons on other basses and whilst I worried about not being able to see them on stage, turns out I don't look at my fretboard as much as I thought (plus the dot markers along the side of the neck stand out all the more when the strings are black). A very different animal to the Rotosound ones, going from memory. I play rock in the band I use them in with a very heavy pick attack and the marks on the strings are actually very minimal.
  16. Cat Burrito
    School careers officer advice to me was to be a Lighthouse Keeper. Growing up in landlocked Wiltshire! I fared slightly better at college. I had to do work experience and Bill Wyman had just left the Stones. I asked her to get me that gig. Obviously she didn't but she did get me a week on Carnaby Street working at EMAP Metro who had just taken over Kerrang, RAW and Mojo magazines.
  17. Cat Burrito
    Over the years I have usually opted for a personalised band pic & my collection dates back over 30 years now. *sample pic here (usually 1mm thick) More recently I have opted for what I (semi) jokingly refer to as my plastic pieces of narcissism. Good for throwing out into crowds at bigger gigs (but I am not such a narcist that I don't worry that a keen audience member won't return it to me mid performance!)
  18. Cat Burrito
    Adam and the Pants
  19. Cat Burrito
    Good question! You need to pay to reserve seating or your pride and joy could be sitting amongst the lads holiday. We had that on one flight and my bass didn't speak to me for weeks afterwards!
  20. Cat Burrito
    I'm a fairly recent convert to the world of Bass VI. I bought mine originally to lay down some Glen Campbell type lines on a recording session, only for that song to be shelved. I went for the Burns baby blue and it does need a better setup but is generally a fun instrument. It sat in storage for a few months until I dug it out for a post-punk / goth duo that I do with the guitarist from my first band back in Sixth Form. We cut this short video recently for a bit of fun. The film maker was great but just to show my humble attempts at playing one. 100% agree, definitely easier with a pick. It's funny for me that the intention behind the purchase is a world away from the regular usage it is now getting.
  21. Cat Burrito
    I've done it a few times. Check with the airline but Ryan Air called the "customer" "instrument" when I booked the 2nd seat. Every airline is different but with Ryan Air you buy your bass a ticket as instrument for each flight. This was the case in May when I played Ibiza and it rings a bell for Norway in 2019 too. We did have different approaches from other airlines so it is always worth looking at the website. I think Ryan Air get a lot of semi-pro / semi- big bands flying with them so they all seemed to be familiar with this arrangement. We ran into problems in Italy and again in Sweden where the relevant airlines did things differently. This is when they start to ramp up fees and it gets expensive. @petebassist, no experience but I think customs would have a few concerns about the strings and parts in the case. I've certainly never come across this.
  22. Cat Burrito
    Love Me Tender - Elvis. I have the musical notation tattooed on my arm. Upon reflection, referring to anyone in that room at that point as a "musician" might be a bit of a stretch. Thankfully we all got a lot better.
  23. Cat Burrito
    It's a difficult call really and if you have worked as a musician all your life, many don't have enough to retire and are unlikely to slot right in to normal life. With YouTube etc, acts can be checked out and if they are past their best, punters have the opportunity to pass. I'm not a fan personally but I had friends post clips of the final Whitesnake tour and it was karaoke level, at best. Equally people criticise Kiss these days but I thought the tour I saw pre-Covid was better than seeing the original lineup back in the 90s. Some artists look after their voices and age is no barrier - Alice Cooper and The Cure seem to still deliver at the level they always did, despite decades in the industry.
  24. Cat Burrito
    My 80s Goth revivalists duo played as part of Swindon Shuffle last night. Work has been so busy I'd clocked up 19hrs overtime in the past 36hrs (I actively avoid spending more time at work than I have to these days) and we hadn't rehearsed since July. Our tech spec was probably too ambitious for a multi band bill where a line check was all that was going to happen but we soldiered through it. I lost the bass completely at a couple of points and I think the young soundman was a little out of his depth with a PA that was not really up to the job but we were professional to get through it and make a fair few new followers / fans. Against all odds, I'd say we triumphed.
  25. Cat Burrito
    I don't feel any allegiance to any company as nobody is endorsing me. I played Fenders for years because it was all I had. These days I seem to be using my Ric the most but also have a really good Thunderbird, Hofner, Gretsch and Fender. I was happily playing my P-bass last night at home and really enjoying it. Variety is the spice of life, after all.
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