JTUK

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1425198874' post='2704843'] I've just spotted that Tommy has [url="http://tks.se/tks.se/_vframe.htm"]added a page to his website[/url] that explains the effort he even puts in to the grille cloth. Along with the greatness of the cabs, it's that kind of attention to detail that should make others sit up and take notice, IMO. [/quote] I like this.. and I appreciate that extra effort and little detail which suggests to me that people who can and do do this do it as a labour of love and belief and have real pride and passion in what they do. It is hard to put a price on that..and maybe you can't realistically, but it does set them apart IMO.

Going thru this now.. I want great sound from the kit which is only achievable if he hits it right. Fluency thru the hands....so good hand speed is essential.. Great time and great feel.. and educated chops..plus he must be musical and I'll know as soon as he hits the skin whether he is worth perservering with. Oh..and he must be drum-fit For all that, I'll put up with a few 'foibles'...

[quote name='solo4652' timestamp='1425122202' post='2704134'] Aha! Think I've worked out how to use the Quote button. AWOL singer has just emailed guitarist with a vague "...I'm getting there.....was going to email...probably sort something out with the band sometime in the next 2 or 3 weeks..." That's no good to me but, there again, I'm hopeless at dealing with ambiguity. I've said to the band that we should crack on with finding a new singer and tell AWOL singer that. If it turns out that's not OK with the band, I'm out of there. Steve [/quote] I don't feel any sympathy here about the singers predicament.???...but I don't know what the AWOL singer is going thru... I'd have a quick chat with them and try and be understanding and if it is only 3 weeks, then you'll waste that time getting someone in, let alone up to speed. I guess it depends how much you believe what she says, and how much you want to support them, but if a good band member said to me, they HAD to take time out for personal reasons, I'd be saying, ok, done, anyway we can help? And I would also assume this has been playing on their mind as well... and it is one more issue that is making their life currently complicated..??

[quote name='scoobystig' timestamp='1425068797' post='2703707'] And that there is the head of the nail truly hit Most pubs the LL ain't even there, but you can be sure they check the numbers the following morning Pull people in and put money over the bar and you'll have that gig whenever you pick up the phone to them, alas [b]we did play one pub that was so packed that people were buying drinks in the pub over the road and then coming back over, I'm not sure this was the desired effect[/b] [/quote] PMSL..... what a cheek, but then the LL couldn't serve those drinks anyway... At a local town beer festival, one pub did £58k in the weekend... !!!!! and every band is desperate to be on their rosta for that weekend, but the hassle of 'policing' who gets in in just too much. For the right band, you have a 100 people queuing to get in in in very large courtyard/garden. If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it and of late the pub will not book the most popular band draws as the gains over a regular band are not worth it with all the 'hassle' that brings..!!

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1425083876' post='2703890'] Maybe merge it into a different Jacko song before it gets there, we'll see, lol. [/quote] The only reason to do Beat It is for the solo..and a gtr w**k, tbh... and if he can't do it, you'll fail in front of the gtr dudes..

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1425114760' post='2704035'] Definitely. I was in a band that spent ages having endless meetings and great long rambling emails that never got anything done. Never again. [/quote] But at the start of it all, these set the parameters that you work to. Unless you pay for people's time, you have to accept they can only give it freely and that they do have other lives.. For example, Keys has a really 'full' homelife and if we hassled him, he'd have to leave. His skills make this a bad band move, in our opinion, so we are lenient if he hasn't prgrammed all his songs etc etc .. but he will do what he says he will do, that apart. He is a very reliable member of the band but is slower to learn stuff. We understand and accpet this as he is in credit everywhere else. My new band has at least 3 members where they have two other musical priorities that I can't match. If I want them... and I do.. then I have to accept they will impact at some point. So I've swapped real quality for availability but I know I couldn't get them any other way. I'll let you know if it is worth it. I think this unit will work 6 dates a year... so I'll get my jollies elsewhere as well.

Most people around here with any sort of track record will want £50 per man min or £250 for the band. The pubs will pay more but want to keep a lid on it but basically you need to work out how much you want to push a gig for £350. If you fail at £350..to get numbers in... you'll not get it again so some bands just accept £250 for 2x45's and the LL will wear that even on a poorish night. But, again, do that too often and you'll lose the booking and of course, LL's talk to each other so you need to ask yourself if you can be bothered with such a negatibe rep..?? Conversely, pack out a pub and sell £3k worth of drinks and the LL's will be banging down your door.. To me...that is the entire name of the game and it doesn't matter how good you are... it is drinks over the bar that is the deal..

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1425039093' post='2703240'] It's Nigel's (xilddx) local. Apparently it's only open on cold and wet Tuesday evenings and they only ever have two blokes and a dog in. [/quote] Which one is Nigel..?

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1424994591' post='2702873'] For us it was a well thought out move. The band realized early on they wanted to gig and charge an appropriate market fee. So they decided to add a significant amount of clever covers with a blues rock edge. It's simple as this; at the local bar band level here in Milwaukee, you want to play straight up credible blues, you don't gig or maybe I should say you won't gig very much. So, we chose paid gigging over blues credentials. Works for us, might not for others. Blue [/quote] No, I get it... a bit of forethought and planning is the right path to set you apart. Play to your strenghts...and the strenghts start with what you want to do.. I find I can't interest certain people as they don't want to flog covers... and they have enough work to be to able to turn that away... so I need to approach them from a slightly different angle and make out ... and be able to deliver it... that it is a worthwhile gig. Plenty of people will cover a dep gig and walk away but that is just as frustrating as well and chances are unless it is major fun and NO hassle for them..altho it will be for the band leader... they'll not need to stick around either. The best way to sell it is with a vision and purpose so these guys buy into your ability to carry this off either financially or artistically, or, hopefully, both. Too many bands take the short cut and just do what they can and know and think what will make them popular.. and I can understand that is all £250 a gig in a pub is worth, Often that gig is too much work for the money... but we still do them..???

Sounds interesting...might keep an eye on that

And then we get onto how to please the musicians as well as the audience you intend to play to... There is so much mileage to go

Really took notice of him when I heard him with Chapman years back. I wore the album out.. Can't recall where I saw his name relatively recently....???

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1424991965' post='2702834'] We have a tidy drummer that can handle lead vox but he wants to sing less hence the new front person, she can belt them out no messing, Low down rock, show tunes, through to Christina Aguilera stuff etc no probs! Guitarist is good but not a shredder and just myself, that's where the rot begins [/quote] In that case, something needs to be pulled in a tad.. There is no point going for gold and falling flat... you'll get no thanks for that. If you can find a way to make the track work with conviction then ok..but you'll likely have to change parts completely.. It might take some thought an imagination... I've got to chart 'Women in chains' and I'm think an acoustic will carry the first 2 verses if the vox are strong enough..but we also need to know where to bail out and say, nice try, didn't work.. It isn't the parts so much in themselves, it is how it all comes out together... and it just CAN'T sound weak..

I do get the sentiment that for £50 you get what you get but even so there are minimum standards and the idea is to enjoy it and have everyone else do the same. People vote with their feet and LL's do have choices and you wont get gigs in the pubs you want to gig in. I think there is a brick wall where certain players wont play down to... often enough to be in a pub band so the standard for pubs isn't ridiculously high anyway... unless the band is asking for higher fees which does seem to be happening. I've noticed certain creditable music pubs are 'risking' acts that would charge £1k to play there. This does indeed up the ante somewhat.. I know of a few pubs doing this so will keep an eye out for how often they do it as that will indicate how succesful the enter[rise has been.. For me... rule no 1 and no leeway.. vox need good tone and no bum notes... or near misses. I'll give them 1 a gig..and expect they would allow me and others one..!! but you are really hoping you wouldn't need that but for a really poor night on the members part..!!

That VH clip was so painful... someone in the band HAS to stop that track and restart it...

I can see the frustration about singers etc ...but I am not a fan of nodoby else, ok, I'll do it'. The vox are the focal point of the band and it is the one thing that kills so many bands from the start, IMO. It is hard enough getting a decent singer or a good front man in the first place so making do with whoever is prepared to pitch in..especially if they haven't sung much before, is quite a risk. Far better to be a decent enough BV rather than lead if you aren't upto it.. I'd walk if the band was scratching around like that, tbh..!! If you think it is frustrating that the rehearsals don't work or convince..then imagine that to two men and a dog a few times ..?? Do it properly...IMO.

The thing that strikes me with all the bands is a lack of confidence and imbalance between who wants to gig and who wants to rehearse them to death. Neither is the better way but it seems to me that there wasn't sufficient interest for people to stick around. Picking bands can be easy but you have to be able to get people to buy into what you are doing. It is no use picking a great gtr is he is going to be frustrated with the level of confidence in anyone else in the band...unless he is so concerned with himself, at which point, he is not the guy you want anyway. I don't think you are picking or attracting like minded people..who are on the same page.. and you need to be better at spotting that sort of thing. If you find guys in a band or two.... then they probably not interested in a startup and if you find guys who aren't in a band, then you need to ask why they aren't in a band... There are inbetweens for a few months, but people are either workers and in bands or pretender types who like all the gear and the idea but really it is just an indulgence or an excuse to get out of the house..typically.

[quote name='Bradwell' timestamp='1424980121' post='2702626'] Ha ha, nice one ! Plenty of people buy gear based on the company badge, I got a pretty strong impression that Trace was top dog for a lot of people in the 80's. ............. [/quote] They were as they were a dedicated bass manufacturer at first. They lost out to SWR and Eden who really upped the ante with dedicated bass monitor systems in the late 80's early 90's

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1424820160' post='2700949'] I'm 62, is there really plenty of time? Blue [/quote] No, not really. It depends how good you are on your own and will continue to be as you slow down. My mother lost my father a few years ago and she can't cope with lack of company...and it is when you lose the independence of doing what you could always do, that it becomes more apparent...??

[quote name='sharkboy' timestamp='1424818159' post='2700927'] I met my first wife at one of our gigs many years ago. At that stage, we were gigging at least 2 nights a week, but quite frequently we'd do 4 nights (Wednesday to Saturday) straight for around 3 months. It was tiring, yes, especially since we all had other jobs, but boy the money was good! A couple of days after we were married she asked when I was going to tell the guys in the band that I was leaving - this was the first this had even been mentioned! I told her that had she brought that up before the wedding, there wouldn't have been one. The band was there before her, and if she kept pushing it, it would be there after her too. Needless to say, it was downhill from then on, though the money that I was bringing in from gigging did take the sting out of it. My second wife loves the fact that I play in a band. She comes to pretty much every gig we play, and often tells me how proud she is of me when I'm onstage. She'd never do anything to jeopardise my band, despite it interfering with her plans on a number of occasions. That's when you know you've got a keeper! [/quote] Part one is a horrible turn of events...!!! a few days after the wedding she springs that on you...from nowhere..?? Bands to me aren't the be-all and end-all and they have to end sooner rather than later, but by the same time they are part of your life and you do commit to them, so the way she played that wouldn't have impressed at all. It is all about understanding the other person as to whether you can go forward on those terms...whatever they are..but you should have them out front of you..not a hidden surprise agenda..!!

I think PV's problem was that is was better than it was supposed to be. I never really liked the sounds coming out of the stuff but it was very unbreakable. Lots of other stuff came along which was more immediately appealing and cheaper so PV were caught between two stools. If they wanted to maintain a U.S manufacturing base, you are going to have to justify that premium..like Aguilar and Berg have done.. but PV had the repuation of being cheap and cheerful..and were quite good at that.. but could never get that message across in a every increasing competitive market. I think PV is better than a lot of cheap tat but they never put any distance between what people perceived as their competition. PV up against Blackstar, for example.. and the wrong one will win hands down in a lot of ppl's eyes, IMO..?? Maybe they are looking at the Carvin model..

A flight case would enhance the coupling with the floor... as would another cab underneath. Detaching it would undo that effect and that may be what you want but single 12's on their own can be a weedy off the floor. Directional monitors are just that... no one else will hear them or you unless the band have you thru their monitoring...and then you are getting into how many mixes..?

Blocks without binding..?? no.

Drunken Violin player got caught up in his leads on a very poorly cabled stage and had the choice of putting his arms out to break his fall...which meant his very expensive violin and bow would take the hit, or land on his chin. He took the chin and the thump went thru the P.A. Me and the drummer cracked up and lost time... and were laughing right the way to the end on the song. The singer saw the funny side of it but did wonder what the hell as going on.. The gig was recorded so we played it back on audio and it became stuff of legend. The drunk vioin player wasn't finshed for the night either but that is another story.

I think these guys think that playing the blues is their musical salvation from the pro day job. Some gtrs stick with a blue genre others cover all styles.. which is good for them, but rather waters down their blues credentials..?? Still, it is a fun playing gig.