ivansc

(grin) look up Wistow in cambridgeshire and tell me how much further out in the sticks you are. Mind you, we are only about 5 miles from the twin Big Cities of Ramsey and Huntingdon I suppose... The players are out there, but like I said in another thread sometimes you have to kiss lot of frogs.

First encountered him playing with my old drummer Willie Wilson and Tim Renwick (both Cambridge lads) in Quiver, later The Sutherland Brothers and Quiver. So he buggered off to join Elvis Costello and the Attractions & the resultant search for a replacement bass player gave Ace their number one hit "how long has this been going on?" written by Paul Carrack, keyboard & vocalist in the band about the rumour that SBQ were trying to poach Ace's bass player, Tex Comer. He also did pretty good on his own and singing for acts like Mike and the Mechanics, didn't he? Interesting that Bruce is known mostly for playing a precision but he didnt get into P-bassing until he left SBQ. Always used a short scale Fender bass with them. One of the busiest bass players out there at the time, but somehow it always seemed to fit. And these days nobody ever mentions him.

In my experience, you have to kiss lot of frogs before you find your princess.... Funny thing is, the best bass I have ever played was the 1962 rosewood fingerboard precision I bought in 1963 and sold later that same year.... Who knew? Forgot to add that my current rig is a Lil Mark III and a home-bodged ex Ashdown 2x10 cabinet with a pair of Celestion Green Label 300watt Neos in it. Main criterion at my age on this one was that it had to be really LIGHT.

The Band

(grin) You forgot the smiley! Original Black Friday was the one Steely Dan were singing about. Wall Street crash.

Er - he wasn`t actually around much in the sixties as far as I can tell, plus he is a jazzer not a pop drummer? I really was talking about JUST the drummers that were around during the majority of the Beatles era. Things did change as we went into the seventies but not much before that as I remember it.. Damn I am going to have to go youtube surf a bunch of old crap now!! That was easy - The Kinks drummer playing orthodox grip mostly on ride but using his foot on the hihat. Next... Charlie Watts was indeed playing a lot of hihat on Stones songs even back in 1964... Both Brian Bennett and Tony Meehan on the ride with the Shadows...Same with Brian Poole and the Tremeloes.... OK it looks like the turning point was around 1964 or 5. Interesting.

useless.

Hi Hat riding is genuinely a relatively new sport. Back in the day most drummers used the ride far more, like Ringo. Dave Clarke was one of the earliest *poop drummers I saw thrashing a hihat and he hardly counts as a proper drummer, does he? Pretty boy, though.... EDITED to accentuate the inadvertent humour of my typo at * which of course should have read POP.

Opinions are like Azaleas - everyone has one. Not that any of it is that relevant these days, but Ringo had a great, sloppy feel. And FWIW I hear he speaks highly of YOUR playing....

(grin) Finding Nico was easy but I am not sure I have the energy to wade through your site on the off chance I might get a free MM bass. Had one a few years back & could never figure out where to anchor my thumb!

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got as a kid: Always get in a band where you are the worst player whenever possible. Now that`ll sharpen your chops up really quickly..... Reading the number of posts up here where people ARE settling for being in a less-tahn-great band makes me both sad AND glad I took this particular piece of advice. I dont care where you are, there have to be SOME decent players in your area. Just persevere.

I have had the luxury of playing with three of the best drummers in the country over the years - one of them even got a bit famous, too. If you havent already found "your" drummer you have a treat in store when you do. First guy I felt this level of connection with was the main reason I have always preferred playing bass, even if I did spend a lot of my "career" playing guitar. Look up John "Willie" Wilson. Another lovely lad like Tony and about the same age difference between me and the pair of them. Anyone else on here found their drummery "music match in heaven"?

Blue: Forgot to add the part about arriving at the French customs and immigration and getting out my passport. Only I had my daughters by mistake! They did let me in, but I had to get my wife to send mine via post and keep my fingers crossed that it arrived at the last place I was going in time for the trip back.

||(grin) The guy I use most these days even gets me GIGS! Known him for a fair few years and initially he tended to speed up a lot. I noticed and commented on how he suddenly improved a year or so back & he said he was taking lessons from a pro player. What a transformation. Rock solid, great feel and learns stuff so quickly we often go out and do new stuff cold. I love you, Tony!

I took millenium NYE at £500 for a solo gig - but included food drink and overnight accommodation for myself and no less than 7 guests. We had a great night & got to listen to all the folks "holding out for 2 grand" moaning about their gigs getting cancelled at the last minute due to poor ticket sales for the next week! Decided I am to old and feeble to last through a typical NYE gig this year so I will be... er... not sure, actually.

People who have excellent technical chops are not necessarily "good players" any more than players who play with passion as their driving force are. Dont assume that technical ability necessarily translatesd into a good pro player, but at the same time dont assume that it means the techies are limited to the cerebral stuff. The chap who was talking about taking sheet music away from pros and watching them founder hasnt worked with any actual pros, I assume. My experience is quite the opposite. Worked with an incredible guitarist who could jam, busk, sight read just about anything and always imbued written parts with his own personality. But you do have to be very good at actually performing a piece to get to that standard, not just either tech or passion. Interesting comment from |Blue about not having the level of commitment it takes to organise the ancillary stuff. Sometimes we forget that the harsh realities of touring DO involve packing your proverbial suitcase for a long stay away and making sure you havent left stuff you will need in the bathroom cabinet! My touring in the UK was done as half of a duo for the most part & it IS difficult to make sure you got everything when you are squeezing clothing for a month plus all the equipment to do the show into a Ford Mondeo estate car.

I have a question: Who decides when someone is officially a "master luthier"?

*sigh* @ basstractor.... So predictable.

I like stuff that is aimed at my butt more than my brain. Says it all for me.

There IS a dividing line in my mind between the cerebral bass players, who are in reality frustrated lead instrument players, like Les Claypool & Stanley Clarke, although at least Claypool doesnt need an extra bass player, and someone like Jaco who - in spite of all his issues - had the chops and a musical sensibility to pull it all together. Mind you, without exception I much preferred his playing when he was a supporting player and serving the song. And I would probably enjoy listening to Chuck Rainey filling the same role rather than showing us his funky chops. Both incredible players.

Blue - with you all the way. It took leaving the UK (where I was already a minor pro player) to realise that it isnt all about being rich and famous. Nashville opened my eyes. No need to be a virtuoso player there, just fit in, be prepared for anything & make an effort to get on with your fellow players at the gig. When I came back to the UK I went straight into touring for a living (got lucky) and made a decent living up until when I quit in 2006. Since then I have slowly wound down my levels of activity but still get out regularly although mostly local. And the point of all this is that I STILL felt/feel passionate about music & never have regretted the path I chose. One important thing: In the UK you CAN do touring and keep some sort of dayjob for the most part.

I love open strings even to the extent of doing naughty double bass playerly cheats and playing an open A "en passant" in key of Eb. If you are quick & smooth you can get away with it and on a walking line it makes all the difference. What I DO find myself still doing is trying to play as much as possible on the two low strings of my P bass! Still find mine and most others I have played wimp out on the D and A strings if you arent careful.

Back when I was really seriously gigging and played with a pick I used to break on average 1 or 2 strings per gig. On a Rickenbacker it was dead easy but it did remind me why I took the rear ashtray of my P bass when I was using that all the time! And of course now I am old and knackered and have all kinds of problems with my hands due to playing too heavy with that pick. Can`t win, can you? As far as other gear issues are concerned I cant remember anything ov er 60 years of gigging other than the odd flat battery or dud lead. TYhat old valve gear was pretty reliable. Unlike the early transistor stuff!

Just been watching that Dave Gilmour Pompeii concert on iPlayer. Dave & I were contemporaries in Cambridge back in the day and I am smugly pleased to see that whilst he HAS lost a fair bit of the weight he put on, even more of his barnet has disappeared. And he is a fair bit younger than me, too. On the other hand (no pun intended) he doesn,t seem to have much trouble with arthritis in his hands as I do, yet....

Aha! I have been struggling to find a cable that really nails that subtly different smoth that you get from grilled air rather than fried air! Never thought of rubbing the cable in bacon fat! Genius....