EssexBuccaneer

The frankly laughable unbranded pickups on this project reached the point of irritation at rehearsal last week, as the bass was *so* much quieter than my other basses. So with a little help from next day delivery I was quickly able to get my hands on some Fender noiseless pups. Despite being a less then stellar solderer, it’s all working fine and packs a lot more punch. I also threw on some black beauties and am wondering what to do next. Perhaps some new tuners…

Dull is subjective. It’s a plodding, low energy song. I don’t despise Queen (whilst also not being a fan) - they have far better songs to choose IMO.

Am currently learning We Are The Champions because my guitarist thinks it’ll be a great singalong anthem to slot in the set. I hate it. It’s dull, and it won’t work with our 90’s rock/metal/grunge thing. It’s going to stick out like a sore thumb. I’m having a mental block over it, presumably because I hate it so much. I can sense a band discussion on the horizon.

Was going to ask the same thing!

Great rehearsal tonight with some new material as we’re in a gig-desert at the moment. The Rasmus - In the shadows Linkin Park - One Step Closer Tom Petty - Love is a long Road (shamelessly cashing in on the GTA6 popularity!) All were nailed well, surprised at how good Linkin Park sounded, I think we all expected it to fall down horrendously, but pleasantly surprised! Maybe, just maybe, we’re getting tight

The project I’ve always wanted to do would be a covers band, with the stipulation that none of the songs should be ‘hits’ - album tracks only. And another idea for a covers band, but only play songs that are 6-7 mins or longer (yes, I listen to a lot of Iron Maiden!)

Good rehearsal tonight, we’re adding Kenny Loggins ‘Danger Zone’ to our set because we’re playing The Vulcan Restoration Trust beer festival next year (in a hanger, with the Vulcan bomber as centrepiece 😎) and we wanted something suitable for the gig…. First runthroughs with a backing track sounded alright. Decided to try to without, and preferred it - so that’s how we’ll do it. The backing track was fine but it didn’t sound like ‘us’.

Friday night at The Papillon in Southend, after a nightmare week trying to find a PA hire. Long story, we were told by a singer of another band that we can use his - before he backtracked 4 days before our gig. We suspect it was never ‘his’ to begin with… Anyhoo we played ok, few mistakes here and there, some not so noticeable, one or two very noticeable on some new tracks (Sabotage and Higher) but we had a good crowd dancing and singing along all night, and another encore request. We’re happy with the way it went down. Rebooking might be a problem as they’re booked every Friday in 2024 already so we’re on the cancellations list and hoping for them to start Saturday night gigs (as they’ve been mooting for a while now). Great crowd, good sound and decent pay. Hard to grumble.

Lemmy told you?

I was never inspired to play bass - I was a teenage guitarist. Strictly rhythm, as the song goes. Always wanted to be a shredding lead player like Dimebag, but never had the chops. Anyways, I was playing guitar in a band and socialising on the local live scene every week, when one of the bands that had befriended me lost their bass player with a gig imminent - they asked me to step in (I had no bass, no amp, nothing). We all chipped in and got me some cheap gear, I learned the 30 min set (root notes only!) and we were off to the races! I relied on my energy and ‘presence’ over musicianship in those early days (and probably still do!) After giving up gigging for *many* years due to shift work, I eventually found myself in management with a regular 9-5, and wanted to get back into playing. I once again picked up the guitar. Still frustrated at my lack of widdlyness, I returned to the bass ‘for a few hours’ to relax. Whaddya know? The four-stringer felt like an old friend, like I’d never left. A month or so later I was rehearsing for the band I’m now in.

Hard agree. I loved Pantera growing up, but that association ruined everything for me.

It’s in Basildon, in the town square. Obvs I won’t name the venue, but its reputation for live music is less than stellar.

Yeah that’s why I’m in a quandary, we’ve had great feedback from the gigs we’ve played, and had no trouble keeping the crowd happy. It feels like we’ve made huge strides given the newness of the band (as individuals we have plenty of experience, but as a foursome we’re brand new). As others have said, I think if we were an originals band trying to make a go of things, we’d have played it. As a covers band who are pretty comfortable who we are, and the value of performance we bring - I’m wary of underpricing ourselves and other bands in the area.

We turned a gig down yesterday, the first one we’ve turned away. We have four gigs under our belt and all have gone well, we’ve received glowing feedback and got repeat bookings. We’re really pleased with the progress we’ve made in our first 9 months together. Yesterday we were asked to play a local venue on a Thursday night between Christmas and new year - the venue is known for having no crowds, and pay is a share of the bar takings. Usually pitiful (under £50). So we said we’ve no interest. I’ve woken this morning feeling a bit poorly and I’m second guessing the decision - on the one hand we’re a new band who want to get all the experience we can, but on the other hand we know we can’t bring a following yet (because we haven’t built one up!) and it’s soul destroying to play to an empty room for no money. Are we really in a position to be turning gigs away, even if they’re a guaranteed waste of a night? At what point did your bands start saying ‘sorry, we’re better than that venue’?

I started playing guitar at 13-14, teaching myself with books borrowed from the library. My best mate was a lead guitarist (and a great one at that, one of those annoying ‘naturals’ 😀). He joined a band with some dudes I didn’t know when we were 17, and after their first gig they asked me to join as rhythm guitarist. It didn’t last long because he had to go away to uni but I was out most weekends watching and befriending local bands - one of whom had a sudden need for a bass player. I had never played bass, didn’t own a bass and knew nothing about bass. So obviously I joined! Learned bass ‘on the job’ by following what the guitarist was doing, then growing in confidence and adding my own flourishes.

Broadening this topic, because that’s what my brain does to everything - what importance does an identity have to covers band? We could play all the generic hits all the time, and probably please a large number of people whilst also alienating a chunk of the public who loathe pop music, and also probably playing a load of stuff that the band itself don’t like. Or alternatively play niche material that appeals to a smaller fanbase which will potentially be more loyal and travel to see you. Would probably be a more fulfilling/satisfying band to play in, but at the risk of fewer gigs. Personally speaking I don’t think I could play in a wedding/functions band - it’s just not my thing, regardless of how good the pay is or how solid the summer bookings are. It’d just drive me nuts to play a load of stuff that I don’t enjoy.

We have AIC in our set, which is predominantly 90’s and 00’s rock/metal. We have our little niche, and the idea of sticking in something purely because the punters will enjoy it is anathema to me - it’s got to be a song that the whole band want to play. That’s not to say that the audience reaction isn’t important, it definitely is. Green Day’s Longview is on the bubble at the moment because the crowd seems to lose a bit of interest during it - so we may replace it. Now we could easily play Basket Case instead and get a guaranteed crowd reaction - but that would make us like every other covers band in the world, so we’re not doing it. You have to enjoy what you’re doing, because (IMO) money isn’t enough to get me out of the house and onto the stage. I’ve got to love the songs I play, and that translates into a better performance, which in turn gives your crowd a better night.

Mate, that’s great news! Would love to get in there! (I’m sure it’ll happen, we’re in danger of running before we walk - we’ve only played 4 gigs). Congratulations! I’m on-call that week, unfortunately so can’t get down - but sometime soon.

I’ve got 3 gigging basses for 3 different tunings in our set. I don’t yet have a tech to bring me the next bass, but maybe one day 😆

I’ve been told that I’m not like most bass players, because I’m “not the boring one standing around looking serious”

Well it’s not last night, but I’ve learned this evening that we’ve been booked to play at The Pappillon in Southend on Dec 1st. It’s one of the more important venues to get your foot in the door in the area, and it’s a pretty hard gig to land, so we’re all stoked! Not expecting an enormous crowd on Southend seafront in December, but if we can impress the owner/booker then maybe we’ll be able to swing a night or two next year!

What do you guys do with the cash? Do you split it for pocket money? We stick it in the band kitty, currently saving for the PA, but broken strings and stuff all comes from the ‘band money’

Pubs round this way pay 300-400, we’ve played a charity event for free, and had a couple of ‘cheaper’ nights as a favour to a friend of the singer (around 150 per night) so we could get some good footage for social media. Moving forwards we’ll be asking the going rate with the exception of charity events. It’s not about the money as much as it is not undercutting anyone else in the area. Musicians deserve to get paid adequately for their labour.

We’re called MLC (mid-life crisis) and our set is full of 90’s-2000’s rock/grunge with some metal thrown in. Stereophonics, Green Day, The Offspring, RATM and Metallica all make an appearance! We’ve tried to stay away from doing a setlist of *all* hits and gone niche with soem artists but we may have to rethink a couple. Example: we play Green Day ‘Longview’ rather than American Idiot or Basket Case, but on its first outing last night it was clear that the audience lost a wee bit of interest before picking up again with Nickelback ‘How you remind me’ Its a fine line in creating a set that doesn’t sound identical to other covers bands, whilst also keeping an audience happy!

Had a great gig at the Chadwell Arms in Essex last night. Had the option of playing their hall or the pub and we opted for the pub as it was more intimate and the crowd was enthusiastic but small. Totally the right decision, felt like a proper pub gig with the punters just a couple of feet away. We went down a storm and the landlord wants us back 3-4 times in 2024. Our first full length set (90 mins) and were asked for an encore. Am still buzzing this morning!