The Funk

And if in doubt, whack up the mids

[quote name='Toasted' post='670757' date='Dec 1 2009, 09:14 AM']I like rumble a bum! You'd have to be careful what company you shared that in. Anyway, I've been asked to join - a sucessful night all around. We'll have to see how it goes.[/quote] I was going to say "good sh*t" but after the "rumble a bum" mantra, I'm not sure it gives quite the right impression.

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' post='603179' date='Sep 19 2009, 09:03 PM']Hey Guys How do I get a gig, who should i ask? where should i look? And what should i do to get ready, for example, how long should the set be? What should i bring? and the like Regards Adam[/quote] How to get a gig: 1. find out which venues in your area put on the type of music that best fits your band 2. find out which promoters put on nights there (check the venues' websites / facespace pages) 3. contact the promoters through their own websites / facespace pages 4. tell the promoter what type of music you do and the likely size of your audience (minimum 20). The set should be 20-30 minutes long - this is a question for the promoter. You should bring 20 paying punters, bass, DI, amp (if no backline is provided), strap, leads, spare battery, spare set of strings. How to get booked back: 1. turn up to soundcheck on time 2. try not to cause any problems for the promoter / venue 3. ensure you bring 20 paying punters to come see your band (for every 3 who said they were going to come, only 1 actually turns up) 4. don't overrun - if you've got a clear time for your set, stick to it 5. thank the promoter / venue staff afterwards.

Strip club round the back of the venue...

Enjoyed that. Cool guitarwork - and the rhythm section obviously kicks arse. Shouldn't it be called [i]Femme Fatale[/i] though?

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='669125' date='Nov 29 2009, 02:33 PM']Love the Bass, really love the playing but god, what fantastic expressions :-)[/quote] That's what I was going to say! I really enjoyed that. The playing was a lot of fun but the bass faces were simply superb!

[quote name='ironside1966' post='669339' date='Nov 29 2009, 06:58 PM']Shame, your band sounded good[/quote] Thanks! They're a great bunch of guys. We might get back out there in the new year but probably putting on our own gigs as opposed to the crap places we used to play. Even the good places are a little crap when you're at the mercy of a jaded soundman and a penniless promoter.

[quote name='ironside1966' post='669268' date='Nov 29 2009, 05:35 PM']If your experience of engineers is predominantly bad then maybe you need to play better venues or pay more for a PA or it might time to look inwards[/quote] I don't gig anymore.

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='668538' date='Nov 28 2009, 05:51 PM']I remember they had some signs around the band areas along the lines of 'we don't care if you're David Bowie, our job is to get the bands on then off and we're not gonna take crap from you or your sh1tty little band'. Anyone else remember that?[/quote] I can't stand sh*t like that. How can an attitude problem be official policy? I bet if it was David Bowie they would spend all their time kissing arse and wishing they knew what they were doing.

Had one at Ginglik. She was a bit rubbish really and a little rude - but no worse than the knob-wielding knob-twiddlers at every other gig.

Good policy! When are you guys playing next? I popped down to see you guys once somewhere in West London a couple of years ago. Very enjoyable gig!

There's one shithole in Soho we used to play fairly regularly. The gigs were quite fun but some of the compliments completely floored me. [i]"I saw Hendrix and Cream back in the day... and you guys are right up there with them"[/i] [i]"We have bands like you back home [/i][the Mississippi Delta and New Orleans][i]... but you guys are better"[/i]. Another moment like that was at The Jazz Café where the applause just didn't seem to stop and where the crowd and promoter insisted on not one but two encores. Can't beat the feeling of "holy sh*t - this [i]isn't[/i] actually a self-indulgent, monumental waste of time, money and energy".

[quote name='karlclews' post='658126' date='Nov 18 2009, 02:23 PM']Incidentally, Mike, if you go for the Shuttle 6.0 instead of the 3.0 you get a good tube front end - sounds like that's one of the things about the BBB that you'd want to keep. And the Acme B1 really does sound like a bigger cab, so it may eliminate your hankering for a 12. I was amazed when I first heard it. But you need quite a bit of power to get the best from it, so again, I'd recommend the Shuttle 6.0 over the 3.0. K.[/quote] I'd go with Karl on this. Valve pre of the Shuttle 6.0 into the Acme B1 (raised up on something) would sound great! Might not sound all that different to your BBB though Mike (which I thought sounded fantastic!).

At quite a small venue with a massive PA we were once asked to point them backwards/to the side. Thinking about it later it was kind of obvious - it means the sound of out front is cleaner, but more importantly that we could all hear each other for a change!

You don't need a second bass. I have 6 or 7 (not quite sure). I only need 1. I always gig with spare batteries for the actives. What more do you need? How many of you have ever broken a string on a gig?

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='659325' date='Nov 19 2009, 03:28 PM']Don't announce the song names and play them so badly that no one can recognise them.[/quote]

There's the story about Chuck Berry playing with the Stones. Keith et al had learnt the songs from the records only to be told by Chuck that he'd never played the songs that fast in his life. Did I hear that one wrong?

I always thought it was A blues/minor pentatonic. Haven't played it in many years so I can't remember it all that well. Someone might have said it's in the key of F if it's the IIIm chord but I can't remember it so I can't say if they'd techincally be right.

The best all-rounder is a Fender Jazz. I still love picking mine up and having a noodle.

[quote name='xgsjx' post='651691' date='Nov 11 2009, 03:20 PM']Best thing to do is start your own band.[/quote] Agreed!

[quote name='ColinB' post='656661' date='Nov 17 2009, 08:42 AM']A 'line in' connection usually connects to the amps power stage, missing out the pre-amp, not directly to the speaker.[/quote] Indeed

If I was a billionaire I don't think a few thou would seem that big a deal. So I'll second Joe's "it's all relative" comment. Right now, I wouldn't pay that much for a bass.

For some things cut/paste/loop works brilliantly. I've got a little solo side project where I'll be playing or programming every instrument and doing just that for effect.

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='651426' date='Nov 11 2009, 11:03 AM']One of the hardest things I find about playing the bass is learning how to serve the music rather than one's own egocentricity. [...] Learning WHEN to and when NOT TO get clever is as important as learning what to do when you enter that territory.[/quote] Agree 100%.

Happy ending. Sadly, couldn't hear much of his playing in the ads.