Jackroadkill

Beshchat?!

Yeah, I didn't like it much! Still, I'm still playing so I must have learned a bit from it. I'd had this idea that it might be a good place to learn how to play live, and envisioned a crowd of old sweats who'd nurture the youth; sadly not. in this instance!

Steve, perhaps I should have given more context. I had a very unwelcoming and even humiliating experience as a young man. It was really grim; I was 18, had no live experience and only very basic chops. I didn't realise it at the time but it was basically an excuse for one or two flash bastards on the local scene to polish their egos and belittle other players. I was thoroughly belittled, to the point of being told that I couldn't play for toffee and should give up and stop wasting everyone's time. I'm certainly not going to tar all blues jams with that brush, and have subsequently been involved with plenty that have been great, but that first experience nearly saw me giving up before I'd started.

I've played charity gigs for nowt and thoroughly enjoyed being part of them. I find that having some connection to the charity or knowing the organiser helps. In my last band we had a formula - everyone in the band gets to call one freebie per year, and this was usually a charity gig.

My first experience of playing live was at a blues jam, and it damn near put me off for life.

This is my bitsa Jazz; it has an unknown body which was previously a manky brown sunburst, a CV neck and tuners, Limelight pickups and a big green Russian tone capacitor. I painted the body in CAR using rattle cans and it turned out pretty well. Although it's a bit heavy it plays well and sounds awesome, so overall I'm well happy. I could have just bought a CV, I suppose, but I had way much more fun doing this.

What a difference 16 hours makes - I've been listening to Vengeance by New Model Army this morning and Stuart Morrow's bass playing is crazy, frenetic, odd-sounding and chuffing brilliant.

Probably The Clash's London Calling. The bass sound of Guns Of Brixton is worth the price of entry alone.

Last year the top floor was set aside for bass (and the performance area, I suppose, which was full of widdly guitarists and their 12,000 pedals, but we don't talk about them). I'm hoping for the same this year.

Yeah, I might as well wish to see the Beatles, really.

I'd give my right ball to see Kyuss.

Very true; the best guitarist I've ever known was a (mostly) functioning smack addict and he ruined every opportunity he ever had, burned through a fabulous collection of vintage guitars and ended up living in his parents' shed at the age of 40 due to his addiction. He finally went clean in about 2000, I'm glad to say, and has had a much better time of it since then. Where his talent could have taken him I don't know, but I do know exactly where heroin took him.

Piles Davis Booby Vee Nick Drape Slit Pickens Cat Lower Joel Ramone Pose Carreras

Meter, Paul and Mary Mr. John Grace Flick Bevellers Wrong Tat Stevens Moundgarden Fuzzcocks Buddy Gut Bream City Film Club My Lying Bride

My Humps - Black eyed Peas.

Shite, if I'm honest! If I hear of anyone who needs two bass players and some craziness I'll send them in your direction!

I just want to get a band formed again. It's eighteen months since my last (and favourite) band folded and I'm keen to play gigs again.

It'll be similar to mine, then. Mine's late 1990's and it's a beast.

It's not for sale, but if you still need one I'm happy to lend it to you in the medium/long term.

My main regret about not playing guitar any more is that my Sheraton just lives under my bad, waiting.

Maybe this should become a BC tradition - everyone with an Elf gets a turn at putting it somewhere odd in December and posts a picture. Hang on, this is BC - visits to A+E would become commonplace, so maybe scratch that idea!

I think for me it's a bass that costs more than it's worth to me in practical terms. I'm not a fancy player, and I like good, solid, un-showy workman-like tools (not just in the bass sphere, in life generally). I don't have a lot of disposable income so I tend to choose my purchases carefully. My main basses are both Fender Player P's, and I think they're a lot of bass for the money. Therefore, I'd say that an American Original P would be what I'd say was expensive, as, nice as they are, they wouldn't offer a significant improvement in my hands, however much I might like one.

Rot Wood Rot Orbison Rot Harper

Very sorry to hear that your father's not well, sir. A lovely gesture.

Does it make a Bass IV good for metal?