The Funk

Esperanza Spalding!!! I'm in LOVE!!! :wub: (Stevie and Big Nate are fantastic obviously. Extremely disappointed in The Funky President for fighting the funk so hard and trying too hard to look dignified and presidential.)

You should be able to programme any drum grooves you like in any MIDI sequencer (such as Cubase or Ableton but really, anything) and export it as a MIDI file. You should then be able to upload that MIDI file into the Alesis and get it to play the onboard drum sounds. Haven't looked at the manual myself so I'm not going to try to guess how (but something like an SD card might do it).

[quote name='kennyrodg' post='421319' date='Feb 27 2009, 08:32 PM']I'll defy anyone who says that [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55Rb8IdwkoE"]this[/url] bass line aint Funky[/quote] Great bassline - it's a shame that at one stage a lot of people decided that's ALL you need for a great song.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='420840' date='Feb 27 2009, 01:06 PM']I think TOP are maybe the best example of the drummer being more important than the bass player. Garibaldi is such a steam train groover.[/quote] I'm going to disagree with your theory: Crap bassist + great drummer = sh*te rhythm section + no groove = no funk.

Bollocks! Just saw this. PM or text me about the next one, mate.

Everything everyone has said above is right. I'll just add some random musings. Funk musician metaphors: 1. The fingers in a pair of folded hands 2. A flea bouncing on the rump of an elephant walking through the jungle. There are lots of technical tips and tricks. There's no point knowing any of them if you can't groove hard. Start with just one note per bar - and play it on the 1 while you're at it. Listen to Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Parliament-Funkadelic, James Brown, Sly & The Family Stone, The Ohio Players etc. Stay away from The Meters to start with. Most people aren't ready for that behind-the-beat thing. You're going to need to get used to playing notes of different lengths and at different volumes. If you don't have that, you don't have the funk. You're also going to have pick your spot. Don't piss all over the place. Pick the beats which are the funkiest. There's a big accent on the 1 and a smaller pair of accents on the 2 and 4. Those are always there, which means you can choose to emphasise them either by playing on one or more of them or by playing around them. Learn the song in advance if you can. Don't worry about the drums - you'll be in time. Don't worry about the guitar/keys - you'll be in tune. Just be funky. Get into the groove, feel the music and then pick your spot. On a technical point, get comfortable with both straight feel and swing-funk feel. Swing-funk feel is very, very, very important. [i]Superstition[/i] by Stevie is the prime example of it. Last piece of advice, stop listening to Jamiroquai. Ok, no really, last piece of advice. Don't think about scales too much - every scale can be played funky - but try Dorian. It's usually right.

Only do the next one if he pays you triple, seeing as he hasn't paid you guys for the last 2.

[quote name='HeavyJay' post='417290' date='Feb 23 2009, 11:55 AM']On one memorable occasion the landlord offered us £200 for two sets and our guitarist said, "no no, £100 is fine if you'd prefer".[/quote] What the f***?

[quote name='Musky' post='411362' date='Feb 16 2009, 07:06 PM']Just a quick update to this thread. It would seems Water Rats have changed their policy on booking bands - they now require the bands to pay upfront for 60 tickets at £3 each. Sod that...[/quote] Hahaha! f*** that sh*t. Last week I asked two of their staff - yes, two - to stop calling me. It's verging on ASBO territory. They keep sacking the bookers but if the band contracts don't come from them then how the f*** are they supposed to convince anyone who's played a gig anywhere before to play there? For just over £180 you can hire venues like Dirty South or one of the rooms at Jamm, put on your own night and take ALL the gate money.

Did a week at the Guildhall Jazz & Rock Summer School in '95. Fred 'Thelonius' Baker was one of the teachers. Great player!

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='414254' date='Feb 19 2009, 01:52 PM']I've already tapped Alex [...] [/quote]

Just checked it out online. Looks quite interesting actually - even the cabs. They stick the HF driver in the centre of the uppermost woofer. They're designed to be stacked vertically and they achieve a sensible cabinet volume by increasing the depth of the cab. The head looks useful too. If these come in at a mid-entry level kinda price, they'd be worth looking into for a lot of people.

Good vocals! Ah, when metal singers actually sang. Good tune. (Little sloppy by today's standards though.) EDIT: I can hear Maiden, Hendrix and Rush. Interesting combination!

Blues jam. They're fun and easy.

Brilliant. What a story! Reminds me of a time a guy came over to buy an old bit of studio kit off me. We chatted for 10 minutes or so about my band at the time and music in general. On the way out to the cash machine, I asked him if he's playing in any bands at the moment. Nick: Well, I've just left Jamiroquai... Me: Oh right.

I managed to do that with an ex-girlfriend once after the cinema. After I busted us out she revealed that she would have quite liked to be trapped there all night. D'oh!

I'll have a look. I'm pretty sure these things do exist!

I hope you remember to announce to the crowd that 14th March is Steak & A BJ Day!

Apart from saying that OG is right I'd just add that you should exaggerate everything you do onstage: if you're going to move around, move around just that bit more than you think is necessary; if you're going to stay still, don't move at all - try to look like you're in a trance - there can normally only be one guy in the band who can get away with this, and usually it doesn't work; if you and a couple of the other guys are going to stare each other out, do it with as much intensity and make as much of a show of it as you can; if you want things to look effortless and easy, make them look effortless and easy; if you want to put your foot up on the monitor and point to your cock with one hand while playing a solo with hammer-ons with the other hand, then do it 100%!

[quote name='andrewrx7' post='402894' date='Feb 7 2009, 04:23 PM']Any thoughts on the above as to which is the best way to run the 2 amps together?[/quote] Set-up 3. Sending from the Effects Send and not putting a signal back into the Effects Return might just act as a preamp out on that amp, resulting in no sound from Amp 1. Sending from the Line Out might be higher output than your bass guitar, which your pedal/Amp 2 would not be designed for, although it's not likely to sound bad as a result or anything, especially if you can cut the input gain on the pedal/Amp 2.

[quote name='saibuster' post='403061' date='Feb 7 2009, 09:31 PM']Now here is the thing, we are playing hard rock, or melodic metal, what ever you want to call it, none of us is into indie or any of the more mainstream rock that is happening at the moment. This also means, we are not going to wear the current rocks uniform (black skinny jeans, insanely tight worn out t-shirt, big glam curly hair). This puts us in a problematic area, how can we deliver a contemporary image that fits our music without looking dated or skinny? If it was up to us, we would all wear a plain t-shirt and straight jeans, but its obvious that this would reduce our chance to win.[/quote] Don't waste money on figuring it out - but do put some thought into it! What is the coolest possible look you can think of for a band you'd go to see playing your style of music? Once you've thought of it, go with it 100%. Plain t-shirts and straight jeans are a bit 80s' Eddie Van Halen/Metallica. If that's what you want, then do it. Two things you can't do are: 1. look whacky/goofy; 2. look like you can't be arsed.

I'd love to see JB again - but not if [i]she[/i]'s playing.

[quote name='bassbloke' post='402050' date='Feb 6 2009, 02:48 PM']So your missus is happy to watch then.[/quote] ... Or participate...

[quote name='kennyrodg' post='399747' date='Feb 4 2009, 10:09 AM']Perfect ![/quote] I agree. I think I might have to name my own studio [i]Electric Lardy-land[/i]!

[quote name='G-77' post='399998' date='Feb 4 2009, 02:21 PM']Invite her over to the National Bash & she can play us a few tunes[/quote] That's probably the most sensible idea. Get her band to play an after-party. I think the only attraction would be to bass players - and a small minority of us at that. I'd probably go though. You know if you want to ask her out, there are easier ways. Planes to Holland are cheap these days...