Muzz

If you want to work, play what people like; if you're not bothered, and would rather rehearse than gig, play what you like (although getting four or five people to agree on even that one seems tricky)... I've rarely met anyone who's keen to be in a working covers band who's actually refused to play any song for the simple reason they don't like the band (or even the song), and every time I did, I thought they were a precious darling who was going to be trouble in other ways...and I was usually right. I'm Last Man In to a busy pop covers band at the moment, and there's been a call for new songs to freshen the set up (always a good sign with a band, I think); all the suggestions I've made so far I've given thought to a few things, in roughly this order: Potential popularity of the song (whether something obvious, or something slightly less so that people will recognise) Suitability for the band (singer's range, band lineup - i.e no keys in band, so nothing keys-defined) Potential for the band to either make it their own, or deliver it well And possibly a couple more I'm doing subconsciously, then, at the bottom of that list: The song/band's a favourite of mine.

Hahahaa, this, definitely. When I was a teenager, there was an extended family kinda do up there (Chester-Le-Street), and an old great-uncle of someone's was sat in a corner (by the buffet, he wasn't daft)...this fella was very proud he'd never been outside Tyneside other than when he went on the Jarrow March in '36, and even though I'd been around Geordies (and Mackems) a good deal, I couldn't understand more than one phrase in ten*... 🙂 * We were as linguistically at odds as the time I walked into a barbers in a small town in Cambodia to get a haircut (I was overheating all the time, and I'd figured a short Do would be cooler (temperature-wise)), and the only thing we could communicate on were the words (he suggested) 'David Beckham'. I nodded in desperation, and he gave me a mohawk... 🙁🙂

As a kid, and for probably the 'tribe identification' reasons mentioned more than once above, I had very judgemental musical tastes (still some of those above, too), but as I've got older I've realised it's not the music that's the problem (i.e. Jazz isn't 'too twiddly', Oasis weren't rubbish at what they did, stuff like that), it's just me. Playing other genres is an eye/ear-opener, too: for a long time I played in a particular type of band, but a decade and a half of function work, depping and Jam Night stuff has busted a few of my preconceptions/prejudices, too. Some stuff I'll never like, but then again I haven't really turned my back on anything from the past, either.

One of my favourite Night Out cities in the country...my Mum lived in the North East most of her life, I have very fond memories of being up there, and when I was old enough to go on my own steam (motorbike and then car), I was out all I could, to places like the Broken Doll, Trillians and the Mayfair. We have a week's holiday further North (Alnmouth way) every year, and any excuse to go into the city is good for me. Not expensive compared to much of the UK, either.

Back at the regular Weds Jam Night we host, and it was a busy one, so I got to play about five songs and spend the rest of the time watching other people play my gear. That thing where you're in the crowd and you get to hear your setup (and bass) from out front? It sounded fantastic...mostly, when people just left it all wide open: there were a couple of people who wound the tone right back, which isn't my speed, but it was still there. And that's just my Small Rig (Stomp -> Modded Rumble 100* plus DI into house desk/wall-mounted speakers), too... Curiously GAS-killing moment; I sat there thinking 'I can't really improve on any of that'... 🙂 * I've put a 'proper' Eminence 12 in it, to get every last db out of it...works very well...

A sterling effort - I remember once we had to phone a Father Of The Bride who'd booked us for the wedding from a service station 50 miles away at about 7 in the evening because the van had died a death and the AA had given us a 2-hour window to attend...awful call, he was very nice in the end, but we all sat around in silence until the AA towed the van back to the starting point and we all shuffled off home...probably the worst (non) gig I've ever done...

I've not been at home for a NYE for about 15 years now, we're playing the same place as last year, and the same place I do a weekly Jam Night hosting gig (I'm playing there tonight, too, with a different band), so it's very much a Usual gig...just more money... 😁

Did you have PA support? Loud drummer? I'm doing a regular Jam Night hosting gig these days, and I could do with a smidge more than my Rumble 100 on (very small)stage, without taking up any more space...

I've owned some very big-ticket basses*, like Status, Overwater, Alembic, GB, Jaydee, a couple of Vintage Fenders, etc, over the years, all of them bought secondhand for under £1500 or so, and all of them have gone because I didn't like them enough to keep them - no specific fault of the basses, they just weren't me. It was good to try them. I've got a teenager to put through Uni for the next 3 or 4 years, so I won't be spending a lot on basses (or any other kit) for a while, but if I had the money, I'd be taking a couple of grand (or a bit more) to Jon Shuker and getting exactly what I wanted made, and I'd be very happy about that. Luckily, he's just finished one I paid for (more or less) just before The Great Lurgy hit down, and I'll be picking it up in the New Year, so that'll keep me going for a good while. It'll have to... * Tho even more mundane ones are pretty big ticket new these days - Stingrays and Ricks nudging over £3k, etc...

If anyone's short of time, Wham's Last Christmas is the same four chords over and over...just sayin... 🙂

As a matter of interest, how many of us are gigging with a setlist that includes more than one (or indeed any) song from The Greatest Band Of All Time? Given that giddiness, you'd expect everyone to play several in their setlist...we're only halfway to the 'still be playing them 100 years later' mark so far...

To be fair, the one on the right looks a lot 'happier' than the one on the left...

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Yep, I'd agree with that; the main driver for me replacing a bridge is simply a better engineered, more practical (more comfortable, adjustable (I like a Schaller 3D for string spacing adjustment) or doesn't-fall-apart - see Gibson 3-Point) solution. Over many years I've come to realise that any tone considerations are ones that I just don't register much, and certainly not once the drummer starts hitting things...

I'm depping (well, more or less continuously) for a new band, and in Good Times (which goes on awhile, as the BL/Singist/Geetard plays sax, too, so he switches to that later on), he likes to single out the players for a solo. He did this without warning at the first gig, so I heel-muted on the open E and the A, kept the groove going, and picked up my pint in my left hand and downed it...he loved it, and tho I'll need a pint handy for that song at future gigs, it's got me out of learning anything too tricky...

This for me, exactly - I've also had a 3000A, an 1100S, a 300 and a 400 (over about 30 years). I'm a simple donkey, tho, and like a P-Bass sound (it'll do more than that, obv), as slim a neck as I can get, and not too much weight. Which made the 414 a winner for me...plus, they're daft cheap for the quality, so it's not too painful for a Buy and Try scenario...

Looking up from my end, after a quiet year, mostly due to the winding-down of the main trio, as the singist/geetard has gone solo for double the money (and I don't blame him for a second), but I've found a new band (and I'm trying to get another rolling, too) with a full calendar, so, with a paid gig hosting a midweek jam night, too, I'll be doing 10 gigs in December...

Imagine that with chrome hardware and bridge covers/surrounds...ohhhhhh... 🙂

Yeah, I've brought that up with him, but it's a numbers game, and as the YT channels show, the majority of punters (who might not all be bassists, either) like it...when he worked at A1 in Manchester, I used to go in, set a smiley-face EQ on an amp, and just clatter the strings with both hands... 😁

I've said this before in defence of the vitriol that my chum Nige Clutterbuck has endured over the years for his showboat-y super-fast slappity-poppity, but the majority of those videos which seem to bring out the worst in fellow bassists were taken at trade shows; Nige worked for Rotosound for a long time, and the showboating brings punters to the stand. Same with YouTubers - they have channels to promote, and like it or not, the Great Unwashed love a bit of showboating. His bass playing is much more than that, and there isn't a shred (SWIDT?) of the showboating in his playing with Dare...

It's not like the Rumble has a massively distinctive sound per se, it might just be the band liked the previous EQ/Tone of the bass (or even the bass itself) - what did the other guy play? Is your bass ballpark with that?