Cat Burrito

A rare outing on lead guitar with Deadlight for our producer’s 60th 🎉 It wound up being a showcase of all the local talent, with tonnes of variety. Our original 80s inspired goth is always very well received and we had loads of friendly heckles - “you two are too polite to be goth”, to which I replied, “it’s a very misunderstood genre!”. A really special night and a pleasure to be a small part of it.

Best of luck for the future, whatever you decide to do Dave 😎

Welcome Jeff. My Dad's best friend lives in South Carolina (Columbia) as he married an American lady back in the early 70s. I had the fortune to stay there for a week in 2011 and loved it. I was able to borrow an old 1960s mandolin and sit in on a session at Bill's Music Shop & Pickin' Parlor. A great experience. I got down to the coast and saw quite a bit of the area. Following in my father's experiences, coincidentally my best friend from my schools days is also married to an American lady and lives in Georgia. I've yet to make the trip out to see him though. Enjoy Basschat.

I think I have most of their albums but personally I am a massive fan of the Phantasmagoria era, which is when I first got to know them. When my parents met with friends socially, their kids would always get banished to the bedrooms of which ever child lived there. My parents had two friends who had older sons and they had the most amazing collection of records. The impact of those records was massive on me, mostly punk / alternative from the punk era through to the mid 80s. I remember seeing all the old Damned albums there too, including the Black album.

In the Autumn, my band released a 5 track EP based around books we read and liked. The end song was "Monster", based on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Both of us (the band) felt the EP was our finest release so we have done a video to promote a second song. In case people were sick of our faces, we decided not to be in it... although there is a school of thought that could forgive you if you thought we actually were in it! The interesting thing(s) about this track are; 1) It's the first track I didn't play the main bass part. We wanted to mix things up so I played bass VI, keyboard and 12 string guitar on it, 2) The monster growl is actually my cat, sampled and dropped a couple of octaves, 3) The origins of the song were me sat on my sofa with a keyboard but when I sent it to Nick he started recording it with the chords in the wrong order. It actually worked better. The great thing about duos are the ways we interpret each others ideas. Anyway, for the minority who may be interested, enjoy. Warning: contains mild peril!

Definitely going to be filing this one under "strange". Thursday evening on FB and we were tagged in a 7 bands in 7 hours festival as one of the bands had been forced to cancel. Less than 36hrs notice and they needed a band to open a festival in Calne. It was to raise money for a young man who'd been killed leaving a young family. I messaged the organiser and initially had no response. A few people "liked" that we got tagged so I sent a 2nd, more personal message. No response but just as I gave up, he messaged in the morning saying we could open. Very much an electric set but we've only rehearsed the acoustic set recently so in a head vs heart decision, we decided to stick with an acoustic set. I then got added to a bands Messenger group (normally my pet hate in band life but this one had pretty much sorted out the 100s of messages about high hat stands and 4ohm cabs. Everyone seemed cool, which was nice. Pro sound guy, full backline etc, by all accounts. Playing acoustic versions of original gothic songs on folk instruments was going to be a tough sell, especially in what was effectively a working man's club but I was adamant in our self-belief. We had little more than a line check but the plan was I would play my bass parts on the mandocello, before moving on to guitar (a recent addition) and ending on my mandolin. I'd talked Nick into a smaller, more discreet music stand and we now have a band flag that we hung behind us. We go on and it was immediately apparent that we meant business. The (initially) small crowd were actually fairly intent on listening and gave us a warm reception. I noticed the sound on the mandocello kept completely cutting out and coming back in. That was down to the soundman and not the kit. I figured it was purely onstage as nobody batted an eyelid. And like Nigel Tufnel, I am a professional so I rose above it. We were going great guns until when Nick took the mandocello, it completely died. It rather killed our momentum and the soundman was initially clueless. We had a second mandocello (I refer you back to the Nigel Tufnel comparsion) and we bypassed the pedals to get a signal. Initially nothing but then Nick spotted the error (him, not us) and we finished our set. He checked all the kit at home and there was no problem with our gear. Chalk it up as experience. We stayed for a couple of the bands and mingled a bit. All the musicians we spoke to were super friendly but we left as the young teenagers with the Axl Rose style egos showed up. Some of the audience were absolutely wrecked. We saw one woman turn around and offer to smack some bloke in the face. I don't know what he had done but it seemed very OTT. We also made the mistake of momentarily stopping outside the ladies during load out. As the door opened a very mad (in every sense of the word) lady shouted at us for stopping outside a doorway. We'd only stopped momentarily and it was purely coincidence that she'd opened the door as we stood there. She started screaming about it being an entrance (we'd already immediately moved and apologised) before she added very loudly that she only had one eye. I felt the evening was starting to take a surreal turn so we made our excuses and left. We played well, overcame the technical problems, met some great people and encountered one or two characters. Business as usual in a small Wiltshire town.

***People of Wiltshire*** We're delighted to be a very last minute addition to a (magnificent) seven band bill on Saturday afternoon that includes Homer, Street Outlaws, Mike & the Free Spirits, Room 101, Viva and Six O'Clock Circus. It's a charity show for local lad Paul Smith who recently died, to help raise money for his funeral. We're opening the music up at 4pm and will be doing a 45 minute set mixing originals and covers (the best of our 3 main releases). A suggested entry of £5 on the door (less than a quid a band!)

We had an acoustic show case at The Cause in Chippenham. A truly fabulous space. Amazing sound guy who was genuinely interested in the bands, an audience who came to listen and the promoter even made us pizza! We played mainly original material, ending on a token cover. I played mainly mandocello, some guitar and a bit of mandolin at the end (so no bass yet in 2025). The other two acts were a folk singer and a fun time covers band, so a nice mix. The benchmark for which I will base other 2025 shows.

I've commented on vaguely similar threads historically, only to go back and discover my at-the-time dream bass is long sold on. However, around 20 years back, I picked up a cheap(ish) Rally mandolin. It has a pickup and is all solid woods (i.e. no laminate). When I got divorced in 2010, I literally sold everything I had and replaced everything I own. Except this mandolin. I've played others, even identical Rally ones from the same shop at the time but this one just has some magic that I can't explain. It was about £250 and even in the unlikely event of someone offering me £2.5k, it's never for sale. I think it's stood the test of time to show that is one load of talk that I am actually walking.

The early 90s Squiers were made in Korea. They have a decent rep. Personally I'd play both and decide which one I preferred. Just on the photographs, I lean towards the Squier personally.

First show of 2025 for me.

My local guitar shop told me about this ages ago. Apparently it works fine for open chords but once you start playing past the 7th fret, the intonation is a challenge. There may be others who can do better but I rated the guy that said this very highly.

Wow! Thanks Mark. Thrilled to have made anyone's list.

They are rather, aren't they. I owned a couple before and a lovely Gretsch bass. I have never come across a bad one - and I can't say the same for Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker etc.

Not “bass” related as such but as we’re writing a new album for 2025 and I have been in a bit of a writing slump, I picked up this 2015 Gretsch Electromatic G5420T. It’s the first time I have bought myself an Xmas gift in a while but it already seems to be unlocking a bit of my writers block.

I think any band is always so much more than the sum of it's parts. Sure, any musician can follow C, F and G (for example) but the dynamic changes. I guess this in part explains why when people leave (or get fired) from bigger name bands, the fans often pine for earlier line ups. The one (sort of) exception for me would be the fact that I play in a duo. We have a 35yr history and I co-write / co-produce and play several instruments. I don't doubt Nick could go solo or manage in another project BUT it wouldn't be *that* project. And, I hasten to add that this cuts both ways.

Not so much of a "gig last night" but today marks 35 years of playing live! With all the occasional rubbish that life throws at us all, it's been the one constant source of sanity. Across 16+ bands, several countries and several instruments (I reckon 80% of them have been on bass), it's been amazing. I'd be surprised if I manage a 2nd 35yrs and I definitely have reached a stage where I enjoy the small local pubs as much as the ones that sound more impressive. 22nd December 1989 was pretty woeful and I am so grateful we didn't have the internet but it will always be a fond memory because it set the wheels in motion for what was to come.

2024 ended with a cheeky little trip over to the Southgate Inn in Devizes. Armed with just my mandolin, I actually got the bus over. We got a heroes welcome from the regular customers and were greeted with "here come the goths". 😺 My wife snapped this one picture that sounds off a comparatively quiet year on the live front.

Matt bought a head off of me. A smooth and effortless transaction. Recommended.

In Sixth Form (1989), we all wanted to be Sisters of Mercy. My first gigging band was the appallingly titled "Whores in Reverence" who made a live debut as the band in a Sixth Form pantomime production of Cinderella. We did a fairly woeful version of Bauhaus' classic "Bela Lugosi's Dead". Things got better and we wound up playing a handful of shows around various local village halls for most of 1990. Of course it all came crashing down because I was committing the hideous crime of spending too much time with my then girlfriend and wearing a not-on-message Hanoi Rocks t-shirt. They all started a new band without me but I think we moved past it. Two of the guys I stayed very close with and the other two weaved in and out of my life but with absolutely no ill feeling. It was always good to see them whenever paths crossed. The guitarist and I tried doing a band in 2004 but he'd just had his first born so it never really got off the ground. Another member had me as best man at his wedding in 2010 and I returned the favour in 2016. In 2020, the guitarist and I acknowledged our love for the darker 80s sounds and decided to have a jam when restrictions eased. By the time we got that jam, we'd built up quite a list. Before we knew it, we were writing originals, playing open mic nights and building momentum. We signed a little indie deal and have put out two albums, an EP and made numerous videos. Over a 35yr friendship Nick and I have never had a cross word. I am sure we know our weaknesses as people but also know how to act around one another. It's easier with age. The twist was that whilst the original singer is AWOL, last seen in Thailand about 10yrs ago, the other two were openly big fans of what we are doing. With one down on the South Coast and the other in Atlanta, GA, I wasn't sure I could ever get 80% of the old band together. With a lot of organisation, we finally managed a reunion as Reverence 80. Having played all over Europe, once in the US, the legendary Marquee Club and numerous other iconic venues, I have to say that little village pub gig remains my favourite show I have ever done. We're keen to get Mike and Greg to play on our next release. On the 35th anniversary of our first show, Nick and I re-visited "Bela Lugosi's Dead" this week. I wish we could have played it like that in '89!

Wiltshire's darkest boy band Deadlight Dance played what was easily the best open mic that I have done in a LONG time. We thought it would be fun to mix it up and both play acoustic guitars so I dusted down my Gretsch Rancher and spent the last few days practicing. As it's 35yrs ago this month that Nick and I made our live debut (in a Sixth Form production of Cinderella, she lost her shoe at the ball to the soundtrack of us stumbling through Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead), we thought it would be fun to open with that very song. We also did versions of three originals from our latest release, "Chapter & Verse". I thought it was the best we'd played in a while. Directly in front of us was the legendary Nick Harper (son of Roy) and he seemed really into it. His friends all were too. What I liked was that every act, bar just a couple, watched and supported each other. The standard was exceptionally high and I felt confident enough to flyer the pub, which in turn boosted our likes / followers online. I have to say that Nick Harper's set was hands down the most impressive musical performance I have ever seen. He was down tuning notes with the tuning pegs as he played and it was an absolute masterclass in guitar virtuosity. Still the overriding take home for me was good musicians, all supporting each other.

Only because this time I remembered I could lower the endpin! 🙀

I have some friends that I met through open mic that asked me to play with them. They got excited when I suggest I use my upright bass. I like the singer's voice and they people involved but it's not strictly 'my sort of thing' musically. Still, it gets me out the house and I like playing with different people and learning new stuff. I just need to get some experience playing venues with higher ceilings!

I have learned eight songs on my upright for an open mic tonight with my nameless band in the Wiltshire village of Shalbourne. What could possibly go wrong?

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of my duo Deadlight Dance recording our live in a Saxon Church movie / album "The Wiltshire Gothic" so we thought we'd mark it with a cheeky few numbers at our friend Joe's Open Mic in Aldbourne, Wiltshire. Just for fun, I worked out a few on the upright and off we went... We opened with The Cure's Fire in Cairo, bravely tackled Sisters of Mercy's This Corrosion (on the upright bass and mandocello) and finished up with joy Division's New Dawn Fades. We got a second set where most of the acts had gone once they played (I always think that is a poor show!) so did a couple of our original songs and then some other deep cuts from the depths of our collections. The crowd seemed to like us but one drunken local coming out the toilet decided to shout about us being "f***ing s**t!" Everyone ignored him. I didn't think it was worthy of acknowledging at the time. I am sure he's brilliant! I don't know if it's a consequence of growing up post punk but I quite like music being divisive at times and not appealing to everyone. I felt we played pretty well. I was also rather taken with the teenagers who did a couple of set. Nice to see the younger generation giving it a go.