Franticsmurf

Hi Ralph.

Hi MSB.

Great multi-band line up yesterday. I managed to play three times with different bands - a couple of songs to support a drummer whose guitarist and bassist/singer had pulled out at the last minute (all new to playing and never played live and I think the nerves took a hold). I played three songs with the band of 13 year olds I'd been mentoring all week (they were brilliant) and a couple of tunes with ex-band mates in a jam at the end. I was using my Gretsch Electromatic shorty - first outing on a stage for her - through a Laney RB2 (the communal bass amp) DI'd to FOH. The rest of the day I was on sound duties - with around 20 acts and varying levels of professionalism (from 0-100% 😀) it was quite a challenge. But no complaints, and several compliments from people I respect so I'm happy. And the students from the Rock School performed really well and all went home as happy rockstars! No photos of the kids (of course) but here are a few of the acts. As I was also the photographer, sadly no photos of me either. Today is a day of rest, calm and quiet. 😀

Hi Paul.

They never did that when I went to se them.😀 I missed out there! The buffet looked as if it had been there all day so there were probably enough bacteria to have a similar effect.

We did one like that at the end of last year. Birthday, not well attended but in a large club so no atmosphere. No dancing until right at the end and the guests were split into two groups that didn't mix all night. We were glad to get out as it felt a bit wierd.

Playing here tomorrow - I've spent the last week with with a bunch of like-minded muso/mentors putting 7 bands together from students of the Spidermusic Swansea School of Rock. The age range is from 6-15, none of them had played in a band before and on Sunday they'll each be performing two covers and an original on a proper stage in the fantastic Gorseinon GEC. The manager, Andy, has been brilliant and opened up the venue specially on Thursday to show the kids around.

I always wanted to be in a band that called itself 'Weaveworld' (from the novel by ?Clive Barker?) as it sounded proggy with a hint of sci-fi/fantasy. But the band never existed and the groups I was in didn't meet the requirements (usually because they didn't like the name). Then on day we used a dep bassist (I was on guitar at the time) and he was in a band called... Weaveworld. I liked the band I was in and his band was full.

The name of my first band was Nightshade - Hawkwindesque sci fi originals and a few related covers, around 1988. Never gigged and no singer, quickly morphed into: Jovian Winter - Similar originals and covers but with a few more accessible covers thrown in to try and extend the set to 90 minutes. We had a marathon naming session at which the classic suggestions 'Cheese Sandwich' and 'Jackboots of Buddha' were put forward. Fragile Earth - proggy originals, a few similar covers to flesh out the set. Frantic Smurf (hence my tag) was a one off reunion of the three bands above in one appallingly chaotic gig. Well attended but soon forgotten. Mr McHenry - all covers, an eclectic mix from the four of us which included 'Like a Virgin', 'Blockbuster', 'Black or White' and 'Black Dog'. Ramtops - Britpoppy/rocky originals with some strange time signatures. Shine - Britpop covers There followed several years go duos (I played guitar and bass with the same singer for all of them) including 'Getting Even', 'RUK', 'Stigma', 'Louie & Co' and the last one which became: The Insiders (and later, The Insiderz) which had a great pub rock set and a not so great (I wasn't a fan) function set. On and off I played bass and sometimes guitar in this one for about 20 years until Covid. Skeleton Krew - a one-off gig at a venue that liked us. We played on the Friday as 'The Insiders' and they had also booked us to do Halloween which was the following night, but they didn't want the same band name on the posters. The Long Road - music of The Eagles, which worked alongside The Insiders as it was basically the same line-up. This lasted a couple of years until Covid. The Rewinderz formed from 4/5ths of The Insiderz, initially to play rock 'n' roll covers but sort of slid back to the pub standards when the R 'n' R gigs didn't materialise. I record, but don't perform, my own originals under the name 'Phunki Drengka' (which is one of the many ways to spell the name of a village on the Everest Base Camp trail).

On the face of it, 2 quality gigs per month would be my choice. But thinking about it for a while, some of the best gigs (the ones I've enjoyed and the ones that have gone down best) have been at the lower end of the venue spectrum. I've done the 100+ gigs per year thing and it was valuable for learning the practical side of being in a band and made me a better bassist but it also resulted in many of those gigs being played with less enthusiasm from the band than perhaps the audience deserved. I stopped for a while as I found myself turning up to a gig prepared to 'wing it' rather than having learnt the songs properly (particularly true of the duo gigs I played) and I didn't like it. In the last few years (2020 aside) I've been fortunate enough to play with two bands that have been getting decent gigs. One organises their own festivals, charity gigs and Christmas gigs that are always well attended. The other uses an agent to get some good work. I would say that on average since 2018 I've played 15-20 gigs per year between the two bands and that, to me, is comfortable.

Yes. I have a couple of right angle jack plugs reserved just for sofa practice. So I guess I merely tolerate sofas that are not designed for bass guitar practice while seated in comfort using any old lead. 😀

When I was a teenager trying to be cool, it was frowned upon to like anything in the charts. So I missed out on the likes of The Police, Gary Numan, Duran Duran, Simple Minds, REM etc. I have been introduced to them through the power of the set list. Learning new songs is a great way to find some great tracks overlooked first time around.

Hi Gary.

Hi JG.

Slowly but surely. I'm not currently working on songs that need a fretless sound, so it's very much a spare time project. I also occasionally play a 5 string and I wouldn't go as far as to say it's like learning all over again. It's just remembering there's an extra string, and making use of it. 😀

I was a guitarist before I was a bassist (and for a short time while I was a bassist). I learned on my own, no lessons and no band to play with. I think had I not been able to learn chords and therefore play along to songs on the radio or even write my own, I would have given up. But I was always a very rhythmic, not given to soloing but enjoying playing riffs. So for me playing a different instrument was my way into live music. My original musical interest had been triggered by playing bass guitar at a jam at mate's house (they took pity on my lack of musical skills, hung a bass around my neck and proceeded to play 'Flash' by Queen). 😀

Hi Grizz. I got myself a cheap HB fretless (Sunburst JB75FL) to try out fret-free playing. I love the guitar. 😀

Hi Amin, welcome on board.

Nothing wrong with wanting the name, but for me it's the sound. I wonder if sometimes the name affects how we actually hear the instrument, too? And, of course, it's an approach that is slowly being lost with the demise of the 'live' music shop in favour of the virtual showroom. That's why forums like this are valuable - to tap into the practical knowledge of a large sample of real people.

Welcome back. 😀

I have a Stingray 34HH - great range of sounds and certainly satisfies my growl requirements.

Yeah, me too. I prefer an interesting bassline that sits within the song that I can embellish a little for one verse rather than a solo where everyone looks at me. My audition for the current band was very similar only I was playing bass guitar. BL shouts 'C'mon Dave, bass solo' in a fast 12 bar song and after a bit of a stutter I play the 12 bar riff sequence with a little more attack on the plucking (the facial expression came naturally as it was a little faster than I was comfortable with at the time) and whoosh, I'm in the band! 😀 As the BL calls it every time, I worked out a simple solo that keeps everyone happy. As for bass solos out there, I'm not really into bands that do them, so I can't think of any at the moment.

As an aside, I'm surprised how many here don't use their pinky. I never used to but thought I had to so learned to bring it in to play. 😀

Given that you say you were absolutely smitten on playing it, you'll always think about the Tokai, either with a warm "this is the one" as you play it, or "I wonder if that was the one" if you let it pass by.

If you're starting to play bass from scratch, i.e. no previous fretboard experience, then you'll be able to more easily develop a style of playing that suits you and your circumstances than if you were re-learning. As has been said above, borrow a bass if you can, or get a cheap one, to try things out for feel. Once you have tried the bass, you'll know what you like and don't like and there are plenty of people here who can advise you further based on what you've found out. If you go down the cheap bass route, you could restring it to try it left handed. Good luck.