Gasman

Do you need to remove them from the bass first?

Maybe those who consider covers bands a lesser breed might instead take aim at a lower level of parasite if that’s their fun; DJs for instance, although even they can be graded by their input to what the public hear. Watching a classic House music DJ mix live on real turntables, matching music, speeds and beats to the mood on the floor, is awesome, full respect. Guys who just plug in a thumb drive of premixed material, well, we’re getting down to virus level of parasite to a purist. However, it’s all entertainment to the punters, we’re all purveyors of music who stand or fall by whether those punters and of course event promoters want to pay to have us at a gig, whatever we play and however we play it. Why do we do it? So many reasons, from ego-stroking to just getting away from the TV once in a while, all valid. Now, a question that must be resolved; in a battle of the bands, would the Big Ticks prevail against a single @BigRedX?

They do Stiff Little Fingers covers...

I experienced the same coyness from my bank when my credit card details were ripped off and used by a bloke in Croydon to buy a load of exhibition stand stuff from a bona fide supplier. I managed to find out his name and address from them which I gave to the bank, so he should have been bang to rights for a fraud charge. My bank refunded the money rapidly and I changed all my login details. I asked them later if any action had been taken against roguey - they weren’t prepared to say. It left me feeling angry and violated, especially as they’d never queried the bloke’s purchases which were so far out of area and character for me, and I never had any closure on the matter.

This is very unfortunate and my sympathies go to both parties, but it does sound like a screw up by the bank. I suppose that the old fashioned cash deal and exchange in a car park is still the only certain way...

Another gig with my band Mustang Sally (I know!), this time at the George Inn, Mere, Wiltshire on Carnival night last Saturday. The pub is in the centre of the town so the parade goes right past the front door. Although this means that we got a good view of all the Majorette teams twirling their batons and the gaily lit Tableau and Action floats before we played, it also meant that we had to get to the venue by 5:30 'cos that's when the roads were closed to vehicles not in the parade. I made it by 30 seconds after a 45 mile drive from Bridport, after leaving home at four - I got back at 1 am. We are in a handover period between our departing rhythm guitar/vox and incoming keys/vox, so both are doing all gigs up to the end of October making us temporarily a six-piece. We somehow managed to all cram into one end of the front bar. I'd been feeling rather fluey/brain dead that morning so was a bit away with the fairies when loading up to leave home; result, no Ag700 amp in the jeep on arrival! Calling myself a proper See You Next Tuesday, the day was saved by remembering that I did still have my trusty old TH350 in the all-purpose travelling spares box, thankfully with the right speaker lead, so I dodged a bit of a bullet there. The pub was absolutely rammed all evening, plus loads of people outside in the town square all singing along and having fun - I have added a pic (not very good quality!) of the bar area that I grabbed whilst our guitarist and drummer worked their way through the verse of encore All Right Now. The lady on the table is our singstresse, thank heavens for her carefree approach to pub furniture , sense of balance after a few bevvies and some decent batteries in her radio mic! We were immediately re-booked for 2024 - that's a plus - but on the minus side all three of us plank spankers in the band are still feeling a bit deaf today...

Minor GAS eruptions still going on here; a 2 Note booster pedal and a modestly priced compressor pedal have snuck in under the radar, both courtesy of Basschat’s sales pages. How can anything so bad feel so good?

Don’t know why, but I can’t help thinking it would be amusing to substitute ‘NLAS’* for GAS and see if the answers would be the same... * New Lover Acquisition Syndrome

The vocalist in a London band I was in a long time ago swore that the person walking in with the Lady Eleanor wasn’t Roderick Usher but Roy Percusso, not surprising perhaps as the vocalist was also our drummer...

John McVie - tasteful, solid, super sound. FWM in general - not really keen, too many drama queens...

The Enid - Live at Loughborough Town Hall 1980. Symphonic prog-rock at its finest!

Bought Daz's Compressor from his mega clear-out list - great price, easy transaction, top guy!

They say that southern England is a very heavily populated place, but judging by the view from the field in the backside of beyond where we played last night I had to doubt the truth of that! Our band Mustang Sally was a last-minute sub for another that'd pulled out of a farmers 'working weekend' gig at Ebbsborne Wake, in North Dorset. Not heard of it? Well, I'll share a secret - it's not far from Sixpenny Handley... close by Fourpenny F**k. The event wasn't widely publicised, and was mainly intended for agricultural folk to try out their new and vintage tractors on a vast acreage of stubble (no, not my beard...) The hospitality tent and band seemed like a bit of an afterthought, while the two Portaloos stood like forgotten sentinels 80 yards away, a lonely walk of shame in full public view for those taken short and not prepared to pee in a bush somewhere... We could only muster four of our possible six musicians due to the short notice so we set up with just drums, keys/vox, singer/acoustic guitar and me on bass doubling sax. The tent was mostly empty til the last 15 minutes (how unusual) while the punters sat outside and stuffed down hog roast and cider whilst watching a big orange moon rise over the distant horizon. There was absolutely no sign of any other human habitation from where we were set up, on top of a hill - total darkness. It was two hours bl**dy hard work. Still, we had as much fun as we could with our clothes on and it was my best-paid gig since last NYE, so no complaints on that front. Talking of fun and lack of clothes, I got home at 12:30 am to find Mrs G still up and doing a jigsaw wearing nothing but her undies, sitting at a table in the front room window (it was a very humid evening). "What would you like?" she enquired sweetly as I staggered in. "Is there anything special you might fancy?" "Oh yes please!" I replied eagerly. "A mug of Earl Grey tea and a couple of digestive bicklies would be absolutely perfectl!"

It's very annoying to see this cookie warning flashed up on every screen navigation move with no option but 'Got It!' I do not want my browsing behaviour sold on to advertisers. Many sites are now giving the option to reject all cookies, or at least to reject all non-essential cookies, so why has Basschat management gone for the opposite? Meh!

I know that Mr H Jack blocked me a while back for reasons best known to himself so he won't see this, but can someone else explain the point of his posts above? Just for a laugh at someone's name. or is he promoting this ad software?

Two gigs this weekend for Mustang Sally without our regular lead guitarist who's in Spain having a 'working' holiday (he's a therapy consultant and getting paid!). As our rhythm guitarist has given in his notice effective end October we invited his replacement (keyboards/vox) to dep for our lead, so still a five piece but a rather different sound with no stadium rock guitar heroics, but some nice Jools Holland-type keys instead. Saturday was a late start at 9pm at the tiny social club in Mere (Wiltshire). Place was rammed with a - for us - very young crowd (teens-40) who loved what we did and we had a great time - back home at 1am... Sunday was an afternoon start 5.30pm on a very smart mobile stage outdoors at the Castle Cary Cider Festival, with our set ending just before the rain came down at 7.15. I have to say that the crowd seemed to enjoy what we played as they necked every type of medicinal apple juice ever invented, singing heartily along with us especially with 'I am a cider drinker' (arghh!). The stage was a lightweight articulated unit behind a smallish prime mover - it featured lighting and power from an external genny, changing area, steps, retractable canopy and lighting gantry - all in polished aluminium and very stylish compared with the grubby curtainsiders we're used to. WOT NO BASS? Now here's a thing - we had to include my three sax numbers on both nights to fill the sets out. However, without our lead guitarist taking over from me on bass while I honked out front I was a bit worried that the band might sound feeble. However, Dave our new keyboard guy filled in very well with left hand bass and all went ok, tho' I'm looking forward to Francis's return next month... Here's a link to our last number on Saturday - more to feature the sound I'm getting now from the MM Bongo than any claim for originality or musical merit - yes, I'm ready to collect my coat! Best listened to on headphones - recorded on a Zoom H6 on a windowsill behind the band...) https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/2unr7uje04lg6yktrzm3j/Best-Days-Mustang-Sally.mp3?rlkey=t3mz6qncp7sqhpm7nlycpk4ok&dl=0 Here's a couple of pix from Sunday - the stage rig and Gasman posturing again while blasting out 'Geno' on sax... and I swear that the Z Cars T-shirt had been washed since the pic of me wearing it for our West Bay gig last month!

What’s this ‘selling’ thing? I’ve never tried it, only done ‘buying’!

Interesting that this topic seems to have brought out a couple of spammers @redpolo and @georgee... Talking of whom reminded me that the Sweet Things album from Georgie Fame was the go-to accompaniment behind frantic revising for my law degree finals, I still have that vinyl album 50+ years later but can’t listen to it without getting an attack of pre-match nerves...

Every music video meme and cliche under the sun - wonderfully naff!

There weren’t any, they thought piano keys would do the job...

Those luminous green bars look SOOO cool too!

Interesting experience @HornetPinata my sympathy to you for the feelings you had at that time because it's a formative age and moving can be traumatic. It seems to me that mental stress must play a part in this thing - intense concentration, pain or fear (the near-death experience is well catalogued as a trigger) can tip a person into this state. But how does it do what it does? Maybe the brain can project one's inner self outside the physical body to protect it. But then, what do I know, I'm only a bass player...

Bought Two-Notes bass pedal from Andy - smooth, easy transaction, rapid delivery, perfect deal!

So that’s the 32nd Panzer division then (or maybe an 8x4 sticky submit button?)