Grassie

[quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1389012617' post='2328696']
Learn a few danceable grooves with your drummer that you can slip into while the two front boys sort themselves out. Make them tight and make sure the two of you can cue an ending with a milliseconds notice.
[/quote]
This might work. Going to try that I think.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1389011686' post='2328678']
Discussing the numbers on stage is very amateurish, arguing is even worse, and makes the band look bad. Why would you want to do that?
[/quote]Yes. Right on the money there sir. It does look amateurish, [i][b]absolutely[/b][/i]! I'm sure there were a few sniggers from the audience too when the singer/guitar got his strop on loudly. I just wanted to go home.

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1389011198' post='2328664']
Sympathise with the OP, I've had this out with our band leader (singer/front man) to no avail. He likes to supposedly 'keep it flexible, go with the feeling from the crowd' but in truth we often play very very similar sets so how flexible is it really? However without knowing for sure what he wants to do next (I suspect half the time he doesn't either) there are inevitably awkward gaps that in some cases seem to go on forever especially when [b]the guitarist is fiddling about with amp setting or whatever for a particular sound.[/b] One of the reasons (along with chronic lack of reinvestment in gear) I think the band has never got out of the pub circuit. Just coming up to my first anniversary of joining but at this rate I'd be surprised if I do another full year despite being reasonably busy.
[/quote]Oh, our gaps between songs could be a lot longer if it weren't for the non-singing guitarist fiddling with his amp settings[i] during [/i]songs. Makes for an interesting dynamic when the rhythm guitar drops out....

Singer/guitarist is the only one who doesn't want to use a written list. The rest of us had to badger him into using one for NYE as we were playing for longer than we normally do, and we also needed to tailor it for the section post-midnight.

Recent gigs seem to have been a bit lacklustre. Not sure whether this is down to band apathy after a busy year or audience apathy due to the aforementioned problems. Whatever, it's causing tension which will also be picked up by punters. And it looks unprofessional too. Not to say that we are professionals, but that's what we all aim to put across isn't it?

[quote name='Urban Bassman' timestamp='1389007148' post='2328590']
Crazy, for all the reasons you state. 50+ gigs a year is good going though. Is there no way you, and perhaps the other member/s of band, could get them to agree to try doing some gigs, say a months worth, with a set list? Hopefully then they'll see the benefits - keeping the crowd dancing, better flow between songs, fewer guitar changes etc and so on.

If they won't do that then I think you'd be justified in going sooner than that IMHO.
[/quote]
We do [i]occasionally[/i] use a written set list, but it's [b]never[/b] adhered to. Songs will be missed out or swapped about because "the crowd aren't up for it yet" or "the atmosphere isn't right yet" or some other BS. When the subject of a list is brought up it is usually answered with "well why don't you write one then? Why does it have to be me?" Fair enough, but it's not me singing them. I've been in this band for a year and another year is all I'm prepared to do. I have a holiday to pay for by May and all my gig money is going towards that. If I didn't have that financial incentive I would have finished on NYE. I've never before been one to say I'm only doing it for the money, because that's never been the case, but with this band it's sad but true.

The covers band I play in doesn't use a set list. We do have a list of around 40 songs that we can pick from, but we don't physically use a piece of paper with songs written on it in the order we're going to play them. This generally leads to some gaps between songs while the two guitarists (one of them sings lead) decide which song to play next. Add to this the gaps between songs while the singer changes his guitar for no reason other than a Les Paul or a Strat was used on the original, so that's what he has to play for that particular song. All this leads to a set that doesn't flow at all, and if we manage to get people up and dancing, the aforementioned guitar-changing-song-deciding-habit tends to kill the moment, and the dancers go and sit down while these two discuss the next song. This came to a head on Saturday when the guitarists disagreed over which tune to play. Singer wanted to play a Free song, non-singer wanted to play a Foo Fighters song. Non-singer started to play the opening riff, while singer told him "no, we're doing Free". This then led to non-singer getting stroppy and going "fine, have it your way", then started to play opening riff to the Free tune in a manner which suggested that he wasn't a happy bunny. Singer then decides to say quite loudly "Oh I'm not in the mood for this!" but eventually we all join in and finish the song. The mood then lightens toward the end of the first set and everyone is friends again. The joys of being in a band with no set list! We have 50+ gigs booked for this year, and I will honour every one of them, but at the end of the year I'm off. Anyone else have to deal with childish, ego maniacs while playing in a PUB COVERS BAND?

[quote name='BigBeatNut' timestamp='1388950086' post='2328047']
I have very similar plans. Start in April. Drummer lined up already, guy I really enjoy working with, and we have a huge overlap in music tastes. Galactic and Meters at the forefront of those. Not too bothered about having a vocalist, but I suspect that to get a decent number of gigs we may have to include some vocal numbers.
[/quote]
If I didn't have a holiday to pay for I'd have jumped ship and started mine by now...

By the end of this year I shall be done with my current band, no more "classic" rock (or rock in general) for me. My next band will be something like Vulfpeck, or The Meters, that kind of vibe. Originals, instrumentals, just some funky s**t all the way.

A Fender Herbie Flowers jazz bass would be cool.

If the question is "Which band would you most like to be in?" then the answer must be "Vulfpeck". Their track "Beastly" is my favourite. Class.

I see Mark D Phillips has started making video adverts......

The worst gig I've done with this band this year. Drums too loud, certain drums clashing and cancelling out my bass, vocals feeding back, songs played in wrong keys, and an ignored setlist. Horrible. New years eve better be an improvement or I'm off...

[quote name='12stringbassist' timestamp='1388277478' post='2320444']






[/quote]I now have 12 string GAS.

Didn't Hamer go under not long ago?

I have a precision and an ATK (which is very similar sounding to a Stingray). The P-bass works very well in some venues, while it can also sound a bit boomy in others. The ATK also sounds good when the P doesn't, so for me, it's all dependent on the venue I'm playing in.

Sounds OK (apart from that odd ringing, similar to the sound you get when you tap a scaffold pole), but looks like a gardening implement. Terrible aesthetics. Not for me I'm afraid. Daft Punk might be interested though...

That is very nice. I've always liked the look of Schecter's - well spec'd for the money. Nearly bought a Model-T a few years back, have fun with your new purchase!

Phil Gould, Reni, Alex Van Halen.

Subscribed. Love your work.

I don't mind some of these widdly-widdly guys - EVH and Satch in particular, because they have TUNES. Vai tends to get a bit otherworldly for my taste, and as for Mr Malmsteen - I couldn't get past the frilly shirts and gut. Or the total lack of soul, the pomposity and the scalloped fingerboard. WTF is that all about? Knobend.

Come 4th January next year I'll have been playing for 20 years, and I've never broken a string. Not once.

Guy Pratt's "My Bass And Other Animals" is a must, but steer clear of John Taylor's one - hardly any insight at all apart from drugs and groupies.

One of their former drummers (Stu Fisher) lives near me. He runs a recording studio down here with a friend of mine.

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1385381698' post='2287486']
Try pointing the extension cab [i]away[/i] from the window next time?
[/quote]
It was...