Muzz

My current faves from the set are Rio (which I play with a pick, because...errr...I think I was watching a lot of Bobby Vega at the time it was suggested, and I wanted to faff about with all the ghost notes) and Stuck In The Middle, because when that's right, it bounces along a treat. Both go down very well with the crowd, too.

OK, bit of a catchup one...last two weekends were double-headers, starting on a Friday with the Orrible Monthly Residency pub, where as I arrived at about nine (we don't start till tennish - it's a late bar place) the place was festooned with the merry blue lights of the 5-0: two cars and two vans, all there to remove a resident (the landlord rents rooms above the pub: if you want to pay £21 a night including breakfast for a very exciting and possibly unpleasant evening, I'll pass you the details) who wouldn't go. Usual routine in there, tho: total indifference from the dozen or so regulars, and a late finish. Bah, but I'm used to it. The Satdy was a much livelier place, the only downside of which is it's a good 80 minute drive ooop into Lancashire proper, again another late bar (we were asked to start at 11, and sure enough at 10:45 it was like a switch had been flipped that said Add Crowd To Maximum), but much dancing and singing from the punters made up for the previous evening, the lateness and the drive home. Trio format meant a bit more money, too. Then to last Thursday, a corporate gig at the posh Midland Hotel in Manchester with the old trio...usual corporate/wedding hoohah, though: there for 5pm, set up and done for half six (in-house PA and (very good) engineer), then hang around for the speeches/videos/charity auction, etc, etc, which inevitably overran till 10:45pm. At that point (exactly as last year) the organiser said 'Just go on and do an hour, it'll be fine', so it wasn't too late. We'd all dressed up for the gig (and by dressed up I mean black shirt & trousers, not proper dressing up like Dave's Glamtastic outfits), but this year's theme was Rock Night, so we needn't have bothered. It was ironic, though, that the portly balding CFOs dressed as Slash and Axl actually looked pretty accurate these days, and the more two more elderly (and thinner) blokes who came as Keef and Mick were pretty much indistinguishable from the real thing at 20 feet... Lots of bubbly-fuelled enthusiasm from the crowd, though (and at £200 a ticket they were clearly getting their money's worth), which is always nice. A super-light load-in and out (we all just carried our stuff in one go), too. Friday was back down to the hoi polloi with a bump, tho; a regular gig in Burnley at a place that has bands on (on one end of the dance floor) before it turns into a club night (bands do 11-12:30 or so), then you pack up in between the ever-encroaching dancers and leg it. It's a banging gig, but for mostly the wrong reasons; the place has been on the slide for a good while (the amount of Weasel Dust circulating was ridiculous; the urinals were full of small suspicious plastic bags, you could smell it in there), and we had some mither from some lads who thought it was hilarious to turn one of the PA tops round on the stand repeatedly until I went to stand next to it; I played two songs with hammer-ons while I held the speaker with the other hand. I had my cheapo P with me, and was ready to ping someone in the grill with the business end, but thankfully it eventually sank into their tiny befuddled minds that moving away from the band might be a good idea. They need more and better security in there these days; as an example, about midnight a bloke fell down the stairs (bogs upstairs), and smashed his face badly, and a very drunk girl came up to us first to tell us mid-song aand demand action...like we could do anything about it - the security were all outside chatting. The paramedics turned up and were tending to him while people stepped over his unconscious form to get to the bogs. Lovely place. Hoping for a nice quiet early-start (well, nine would be nice) pub one this weekend...we're in poshish Timperley, what could possibly go wrong? Cheapo P, Stomp, inears...

Oddish one this weekend; a 3:30pm start yesterday at a Bowling Club in Burnley...yeah, sounds like a recipe for disaster all round, but it was OK. In fact it was better than of late because we had the #2 drummer who I know of old, so we got to entertain ourselves during the more boring numbers (Sit Down, Sweet Home Alabama*) by playing off each other around and about the song. Audience were another 60+ lot; age, not numbers, sadly, despite the landlady saying 'It'll get really busy later'; I can only presume she meant after we'd left, because there was no evidence of 'busy' anywhere; maybe 25 people all afternoon. 2 x 45, encore not requested, so they didn't get one. We had more room than we've had in a while, which was OK, and I was home for half six, which will do, I suppose. Under-8lb Cheapo P, Stomp, inears. * Revived on the spot for the set (I pulled my face a bit) because they weren't an indie crowd, so we'd shelved several songs, SoF being one of them, so I guess swings/roundabouts...

I've used ACS custom fits for years, they're very good indeed, and any custom fit is a big step up from foam tips. I have custom fit ACS attenuators, too, which I use on my motorbike and at other people's gigs.

I'd agree with the 'they certainly make you think you're better' sentiments above, plus for those super-talented musicians inextricably linked with drugs (most of whom we have no definite Clean performances for to compare with the opposite), I'd suggest they were fantastic despite the drugs. The shrinking number of stoners I know (they're all artists of one sort or another ) have always come up with convoluted excuses to get out of it while pursuing their art (including a common contradiction in terms of 'it vagues me out, I can concentrate more'), but if you've convinced yourself you need to be altered while performing, then that will subconsciously restrict your performance when you know you're not. I can, however, completely see how Weasel Dust is the entertainer/performers drug of choice for stage times, providing the King Of The World sensation that allows uninhibited performance. It's when the audience are the ones gurning and grinding and thinking (in spite of all the rational evidence otherwise) that they're All That that it becomes tedious.* * Wow, I got into a bit of a 'that' loop there...my apologies. I must stop snorting Shake'n Vac**... ** Terrible high, but leaves you with lovely fresh sinuses...

We've added (even) more Oasis songs to the three/four we have in the set, if we weren't all so good-looking we could think about a Trib act... 😐🙂 Playing (mostly) in the North West it really is a no-brainer for Oasis stuff; like it or not, the punters love it - they did even before those Gallagher boys became the topic of conversation again...

Gig at the BL's local (and the place I did the Jam Night Band residency for a year or more a while back) Satdy night, it had been booked for a 30th with public walk-ins allowed, too. Small bar, very full, tiny stage with five people on it so no room and boiling hot. It sounded OK through my inears, tho we were on the 4th choice drummer which meant a busy night for me, but the guest singer is very good, so she made up for it (sort of). Got paid, but motorway closure meant my journey home was twice as long as it usually is. No setup or breakdown, as the BL had been there during the day setting up, and left the gear (PA, lights, etc) to pack up Sunday. Bonus. £150 Squier (modded) P, Stomp, inears. Packed down in 4 minutes. Boom.

Does that bloke in the bright orange hat and the camo jacket actually want to be seen or not? 😐🙂

I can get ballpark on pretty much anything with the Stomp, but, as has been said above, I still sound like me doing it. Once I'd come to terms with that (and the realisation that no-one else is listening that hard, especially not the paying punters), it made life a lot easier.

Yep, that's essentially what I do. Although I try not to boost and cut kids; you can end up in a lot of trouble for that sort of thing... 🙂

I play in bands with a big spread of songs, and the switching between pick and fingers (with a bit of EQ tweaking on the bass - something with a sweep-mid control is most useful, but just rolling the passive tone off does it, too) is enough to make the change. I do have a Rawkier preset on the Stomp for the very noisy ones, but even that's just the basic preset with the gain turned up for some grit.

Both of the above, plus about 1000...my main musical habitat these days is wedged into small spaces in pubs right next to the drummer, and that's where IEMs are of the most benefit. I slipped one half-out during one song on Satdy night, just to see how loud it was...I put it staight back in fully...

Yeah, I know, but he's not listening...which, ironically, might be something he struggles with in the future...

Decent outing Satdy night in a local-to-the-BL-but-not-me pub we've played before. Dep drummer B (A is seeking gigs elsewhere, C is the best of the lot but he's put his price up, D is...well, D) I like playing with (he's depped before (for a good run) a while ago in the trio I used to be in), tho he's an, erm, forthright drummer, so he's a little louder than the others. Rock solid, tho, and has a seasoned musician's confidence, so he's great to stand next to. No percussion, but we had a keys player who's a friend of the BL, but very Starlight Lounge Michael McDonald for a pub band - in fact, his main living is solo piano bar stuff. When he was good, he was very good (he's clearly an accomplished musician in his own genre), but he couldn't not play on some songs where he really shouldn't, if you see what I mean, and he didn't like the drummer's onstage volume. There was even a Dep Flounce at the end of the evening. He moaned to the BL, who picked up the moan about onstage volume, so I spent yesterday with the tray of Ferrero Rocher out doing my best diplomat impression trying to get them to compromise. Don't think it's going to work. The BL says he doesn't need ear protection with other drummers (and we play in small spaces), he has IEMs but doesn't use them, he has an RCF 12 PA top as his monitor instead. I've told him, anyway... A shame, because we sounded better with Dep B than we have in a while (through my IEMs, anyway), we've got Dep D for Satdy, at a muso-infested place (the BL's local), we're having a rehearsal with Dep D before then to get him fully up to speed.

Last weekend was a two-gigger (would've been more but the BL also goes out solo, so he had four), started with the monthly place, where there were no serious assaults and the Polis didn't show up (which was a bonus...tho I do question my musical choices when I'm typing that at this stage in my part-time career), we had a guest singer, a really talented girl who myself and a couple of other guys had tried to get a band off the ground with not so long ago: she's very very good, but ultimately not committed enough for a regular gigging band, but the occasional gig with her is a lot of fun, because it means a different setlist. Surprisingly lively in there (perhaps the reduced threat of being knocked unconscious had boosted the crowd...yeah, I know), and we had the second-choice drummer, who's so loud we don't need to mic his kit (a slight issue with the whole inears hoohah, but I can still hear him, it's just not as defined as through mics), and he and I had some fun with the older bits of the set; near the end, the BL seemed unable or unwilling to end Go Your Own Way, and stuck in a soloing loop, so the drummer and I gradually sped the thing up to about 200bpm until he couldn't keep up, and we ended it... I shot off at the end (one of the joys of bass, Stomp and inears; I was done and on the road in about four minutes) to go and pick the Lad up from Manchester Pride (he'd gone down on his own, didn't want him trying to get a taxi/bus/tram back solo; much of Manchester was faaaabulous, but there's still dickheads everywhere looking for trouble on the fringes), all was well. Satdy was a pub local to my mother-in-law, and my Lad stopped at hers, and he, his Gran and his Gran's bessie mate (the latter two have been going in there for 67 years) came to see us. It was nice to see them there, a 19-year old and two 85-year olds up and dancing for a good chunk of both sets 🙂 Fourth choice drummer, tho, so I spent a lot of the time doing my best Border Collie impression keeping him in time and on the starts, changes and ends. It's draining... This weekend it's the second choice slammer and an additional keys player (no percussionist) who've never played together before; they're both good semi-pros, but one's RHCP and the other's very much Steely Dan, it'll be...interesting...

Well...yes and no. If you save the Inevitable Cheese for the last few songs the punters are well oiled, and that's exactly what they want to hear: something obvious they can sing along to. It might come as a shock, but 90% of punters aren't as aware of music or as opinionated about it as musicians are... The trick is to do it well, of course, no matter what it is.

I've owned and moved on a lot of basses, but I've never wanted to own a Hofner violin, a Ritter (too expensive anyway), a Fodera (ditto), a Wal (ditto ditto) or the Jaguar-type shapes. And lots of smaller luthier stuff which I just don't like the look of. Other than that, I've tried lots and lots, including fretless (even a Wishbass...eeek), pointy BC Rich, T-birds (love them), Dingwalls, headlesses (inc.Status), Stingray(s), Warwicks, Alembic, Yam BBs, Overwaters, ACG and all the usual suspects, 4, 5, 8 and 12-strings, with flats, rounds and everything in between. These days my main criteria is low weight, which would rule out an awful lot of basses before they start. I've mentioned before I've come to know I'm a 'split-P pickup in the right place' bloke, so I can now look at a bass and know it won't suit. Knowing that twenty years ago might have saved me a chunk of money, but then I'd have missed out on the fun, and sometimes you have to try things to learn you don't like them.

After last week's Proper Music Pub outing, back down to reality Satdy night, in one of those 'Why do they even have a band on?' pubs...landlady was apparently new to the game, and wanted us on at 8, when we'd arrived at 7:30 for a previously-agreed 9:00 start (new mixer, a Soundcraft ui24, we'd given ourselves more setup time (normally an hour's plenty), despite the BL's assurance that he'd leart all about it and all would be fine, it wasn't - my inears were one side only, we'll get that sorted this week before the weekend's double-header), and then when we took a break at 9:45 she said 'I'd like you to play till half twelve'. She was politely and gently disabused of this notion (we're not Bluewine's band 🙂), nevertheless we went on about ten to eleven and finished after twelve...not that it mattered; another place with a sparse-ish clientele, average age about seventy, who went as far as polite applause. We finished the main set to the same polite applause and not a single shout for more. BL called two anyway, more to fill the time out than anything. It's draining, playing gigs like that. Gear was fine, apart from the one ear situation: never had an issue with the previous two digital desks I've used, the Soundcraft must have a different Aux Send setup, I believe there's a Mono switch in my Behringer P2 (never had to use it yet) which will sort, we're doing a 'technical rehearsal' (which I suggested last week) during the week. Next weekend's gigs will be with two different dep drummers, one of which is good, and the other...isn't. Friday's venue is a monthly residency-type thing in the grim place which was swarming with the Polis after that serious assault. Of course that's the one with the better drummer. Can't wait. Still, we got paid... Just remembered; big upside of the Soundcraft mixer is the mixes are all accessible via iPad/phone; I took my iPad and stand, so no hutching across a tight stage to get to the faders mid/between songs...it'll also do pre/post feeds to the Aux Send channel, so I can get my bass sound as is from the Stomp, rather than post-EQ for the mains, which is quite different...sounded really good in one ear, anyway...

In my post I pointed out that the BL who organises everything gets to call it, I do nothing on that front so other than working diplomatically around things sometimes, I generally zip it and get on with being as low maintenance as possible. If I wanted to make judgement calls I'd need to put a lot more work in.

The last two frequently-gigging bands I've been in (one for 15 years, one for the last couple) have both been run by the singist/guitarist, and to be completely honest I'm more than happy to let them do it. It takes an amount of energy to get it all underway, and that energy is fuelled by an ego which needs it, so I've always been happy to zip it and let them lead, and my job (apart from the obvious one of learning and playing the songs right) is to be supportive and diplomatic around that. I've said before that there's more than one skillset that makes a good band member, and if my part in the machine requires me to play some songs in some ways that I wouldn't choose to myself, it's a small price to pay for not doing all the other background work a gigging band needs to play the gigs.

Oooo, I'm late to this one (and hasn't it been busy and miffy? 🙂 ), but I like watching CB, and I fully get where he's coming from - if I could do what he does (and that'd take more rehearsing hours than I have left on the planet, plus some kind of genetic booster to get me even started properly) I'd do it like a shot, and I wouldn't lose a moment's sleep over it. And, as has been said, he's an ambassador for the bass in today's social media world (albeit one that sets the bar impossibly high) and doesn't take it all too seriously. I know Nige Clutterbuck, and he's been accused in the past of similar 'non-musical wittery' before, but most people/keyboard warriors who have suggested that on t'internet have failed to take into account that it was part of his job for a good long time (he worked for Rotosound, and 200mph slappery draws the crowds at trade fairs and online), and also he's a great bassist when he's not doing the show stuff.

No gig the weekend before last, it was cancelled just as I was loading the car (agent/new landlord non-communication, I'm completely bored with agency gigs now, the only ones we've had cancelled have been because the agent hasn't confirmed the gig (or forgotten to tell us) - I mean, agents have one job after the gig's been placed, right? Pfffft), but Satdy's made up for that. The Polished Knob in Tod, a proper music venue pub for a change: raised stage, drum riser, house PA, lights, etc, and more importantly a clientele who are there for live music. We didn't use their analog mixer, we just ran the feeds from our digital one to it (so my inears worked perfectly), and it was all good: dancers from the first song, three encores, etc, etc... Fans mounted high around the stage even kept the temperature pleasant (and that's not something you hear said in Tod very often). I can highly recommend it as a venue. Such a great change from the run of completely indifferent venues/crowds (and I'm using the term 'crowd' here very loosely) in pubs of late, it was positively life-affirming. We'll be back in the New Year (unsurprisingly, they're booked out till then) and I can't wait. Oh, and a new system for controlling the BL's tendency to have us way too loud too early: the percussionist (who goes out front for the soundcheck to listen) tips me the nod if we're too loud (he and I are on the same page re volume), then he distracts the BL with something while I surreptitiously drop the mains a little and turn the BL's monitor up. Did it Satdy, BL didn't notice. Don't tell him. 🙂 Potentially more problematic gig coming up Satdy; apparently the landlord's just got out of custody, having been arrested (for what no-one seems to know); after the Police turning up to that gig a couple of weeks ago (and briefly almost doubling the audience size) it appears we'll be back to normal. I'm not taking an expensive bass, and will be checking exit routes before we start playing. Modded Squier Sonic P (still very very good), Stomp, inears.

Coincidentally, I was noodling around yesterday lunchtime, and scrolling through the iPad to see what I could play along to, when I spotted Back Of My Hand...great song...

I had a new pair from ACS a few years ago - I stepped up to, IIRC, the two-driver one from the single drivers, and they were very uncomfortable getting them in and out, and wearing them. I contacted ACS, they double-checked, and they'd given me someone else's moulds. They were brilliant about it, and rushed me out the right moulds with their (at the time) top 5-drivers in... My Gran had a volume control on her hearing aids, which she used to devastating social effect when she needed to...if she reached for her ears while you were talking, you'd be in the doghouse later...

A P doesn't even have to look like a P... I've had all sorts of basses over the years in terms of makes and designs (and I'm going nowhere near what woods they were made of, nononononoooo), and the only ones that really stuck were ones with a split coil pickup in the P-position, because that's the sound I like. Pretty much all of the basses I've got now are that, tho to look at some of them you might not know: I've a Shuker Horn with a split-coil EMG soapbar, a Shukerbird with a split-coil Dingwall soapbar, a BB414 with a Yamaha split-P, a JJB Sig with a custom-wound Split-P and my current Cheapo Fave is a Squier Sonic P with a DiMarzio P. Some of them are passive, some have a John East Uni-Pre, they're all very different shapes (and woods, eeeek), but the two things they have in common are the strings and that pickup in the right position. A few of them have two pickups, but I very very rarely use the bridge pickup. I can get My Sound out of all of them very easily, and that's because they're all essentially a P-Bass. And none of them are a Fender...not because of any problems I have with Fender (I've had a fair few Fender Ps, too), it's just worked out that way.