Gasman

Sunny afternoon - Kinks

I try hard to stay on the opposite side to our excellent but loud guitarist - I don't like my ears ringing for 24 hours after a gig...

Last night's rehearsal for my band Mustang Sally was in a beautifully restored Victorian village schoolroom in the middle of nowhere, use of kitchen, sparkly bogs and a flat load in and out - it even has acoustic panels on the ceiling, so a good sound too - it made me feel good even before unpacking the bass. I used the Roland Cube 100 combo and took along the new Talman shorty 5-string for a change. Three new numbers (Footloose, Maneater (me on sax) and Money for nothing). All went well until our lady singist said she didn't feel right fronting the last of these, not able to phrase the words laconically enough, and a bit low for her too. I stood next to her and sang along with her to try and help her fit the words in - big mistake! I suddenly found myself catapulted into the lead vocalist slot for this number by popular acclaim having successfully avoided it by shoe-gazing whenever this 'opportunity' had arisen before... What a fool I am... have pity on me!

By agreement with the other 4 members I'm always the last to arrive at gigs - gives the drummer, KB and PA chaps time to get set up - also, I usually have furthest to travel. End result of this is that I have no choice where I position my gear, so my response would be 'I'm squeezed into any corner available, and grateful for it!"

My first brand new bass, a F Jazz bought in 1981 had this same problem in the same place. Returned it to the local music shop (remember them?) that I bought it from and demanded that they took it back and got me one that worked properly. I had to wait three months but a new one eventually arrived - it played perfectly. The shop assistant apologised and said it was a known problem on that model of instrument - the 'new' bass they sold me had been returned once before, but the manager had told the staff to re-sell it at full price and hope some idiot never played the G string above C... (well, that's perhaps a lot of us, I guess) To tide me over a mate sold me his Hofner President for £20 (about £100 today), a very nice bass indeed.

Honest Injun / InGen? De quoi parlez-vous?

We were in the bar at Mere, we used the alley to dump the bags and cases. The pub in Shaftesbury was the Two Brewers - last year we played the farewell night for the two previous proprietors who are now running another pub in Ilfracombe, the new landlords are still feeling their way, I think. The location of the Marnhull RBL is weird, middle of nowhere, Deliverance vibe...

Here's a brief catch-up on Mustang Sally's gigs since our Jan-Feb rest period. First off we were asked to play a Sunday afternoon gig (3pm) mid-March at a pub in Shaftesbury that had recently changed hands. Rain stopped us setting up outside as originally requested (thank gawd - it was ruddy cold too!) so we played in the bar to a maximum 'crowd' of about 25 people. I can't imagine why the new landlord thought it would work, but we got a paid rehearsal and a few compliments from the punters out of it. Next up we played the Mere social club, a tiny venue with the acoustics of a concrete prison-block shower room. More punters this time but I didn't enjoy it, had great difficulty trying to hear what I was playing; the miked bass drum was interacting and clashing with my bass in the PA mix, in the end I disconnected the line-out from my amp and played old-skool direct to the room - better but still not happy with it. Most recently played at the Marnhull British Legion - fabulous acoustics (real wood floor) perfect mix, good crowd, and as compiler of the set list I 'accidently' forgot to include Sweet Home Albania - result! Not exactly Glasto-level gigging, but they all count on my admission scorecard to Bass-Heaven in the afterlife, where I hope to be hitting the frets alongside Bruce, McVie, Nilorius and all the other bass legends...

I would thank my cat for finally proving that my bass looks much better claw-worn and reward him with some more fillet steak...

We were supposed to finish at 11pm but the 'one more song' brigade persuaded the singer to keep going until just before midnight. I packed up my gear while pretending that I could hear what one of of the drunken punters was shouting at me (I'd been deafened by the guitar amp on our tiny pub 'stage' in a window recess) by nodding and agreeing with him about everything; he looked surprised - he was probably telling me that I was a truly 'king terrible bass player. As the gents was swimming in p33 I crept out into the car park, found a dark corner and pi55ed into the bushes - alas, it was up a slope and my efforts flowed back down to kiss my shoes good night... Said cheerio to the other guys, loaded up, fired up the Jeep, turned on a Peter F Hamilton sci-fi audio book, cracked a can of Red Bull and munched a Yorkie bar - enough caffeine and sugar to see me through the 55 mile drive home in the rain without falling asleep at the wheel (I did that once, crashing the Transit on Bodmin Moor at 2am after a Penzance gig with my London band., not a good end to a 20 hour day..) Got home at 1:45am totally wired, cup of tea and Marmite on toast, sat with cat on lap in lounge watching DVD of 'Apocalypse Now' until 3:30am with subtitles so as not wake Mrs G ; fell asleep then was woken again at 5:30 when said cat wanted his first breakfast and litter box clearing out - life can be so exciting, rock'n'roll all the way!

My current favourite is the line from Echo Beach, main riff with and without arpeggios, thunderous descents, stops, all played at warp speed...

Given the many hundreds of basses for sale on this site and at genuine dealers (eg Andy Baxter) why take the risk?

If it's a last chance way to continue playing, why not give it a go? A high stool rather than a kitchen chair can look very elegant!

Probably just Dog...

Thank you everyone for your kind words and thoughts - it has really helped me get through the day...

Last night’s gig was one I never anticipated, wanted, but felt compelled and eventually pleased to do. My son died three weeks ago suddenly from a second heart attack a week after having stents for the first one, seems the surgeon did half a job. Julian was 46, three kids, fitness fanatic, my best friend, top DJ and drummer Today was his funeral. His widow had booked an acoustic duo for the wake in the local pub. However, the girl singer had to leave early for some reason; the landlord knew I played and pointed me out to the remaining guitarist/singer suggesting I might help, so as my gear was in my car I played bass and sang with him for the second set. It was good distraction therapy, busking 15 numbers I’d never played before with a guy I’d never met. Despite this glimmer of light in a dark, dark day I’ll never be able to rationalise why I’m still here at 74 to write this while he will never read it. Parents shouldn’t have to bury their children...

...or he might get his Tiffany twisted...

I’m impressed that there are ANY opportunities for western style music in your locale, must be like pushing water uphill...

....oh yes, and Charles Berthold!

Got it in one (or should that be six) strings...

Thread title says it all, but of course Your Marmite May Vary...

Please tell me - apart from playing on Youtube - what is his musical career?

Ah, Kingston! I went to school there (Tiffins) and used to loiter around the music shop by the bus station before getting the 406 bus home to Ewell. While up at Oxford (68-71) I waited for my grant money to arrive in my bank account and then dashed back to the music shop by Kingston market to spend it on s/h band essentials, including a lovely Marshall 50 for £45 and a Selmer Goliath 1x18 for £25, then a bright red Marshall 4x12 slope front, good times! The main music shop in Oxford (Russell Acott) was more for classical and jazz instrument lovers, like going into a museum...

Just my own opinion, but isn’t Mr Berthould, genius technician as he may be, a self-promoting PITA and the antithesis of what bands actually need in a bass player?