Jacqueslemac

It's for a landmark birthday present, so the decision has to lie with your heart.

Before I played an instrument I used to think "musical differences" was just a cover for something else. Now I realise just how big a thing it is!

Slightly off topic, I reckon my bass playing has improved more by playing in bands than it ever would have if I only played with backing tracks and/or just by myself, no matter how many lessons I'd had.

When we're trying out ideas for songs, there are often songs we try that someone decides they don't like before we get them to gigging standard. Sometimes Lead Guitar overrules the others by saying "it'll go down well with the punters". Sometimes he's right, but mostly the songs will get the same reaction as most of the others - it's not the ace of the set in other words - and it's just a song he likes. A recent favourite of his is "45" by Gaslight Anthem. I don't mind the song, but the first time we played it, it completely bombed - total silence from the audience. The next time the reaction was muted. I wonder how many times it'll be before Lead Guitar decides it should be dropped. We used to do "Tribute" by Tenacious D, which I hated. It took me months to get it banned. I didn't walk off stage, but often asked Vox if he wanted to play bass on it (which he could, easily, but Lead Guitar refused permission). Eventually it got dropped and I don't recall a single audience member (a quarter of which are old friends) asking for us to bring it back into the set. On stage, I reckon the band should pull as one. Off-stage is where all the bitching and squabbling belongs.

My surf band has been looking for a rhythm guitarist (or keys) for ages. We've had a couple of nibbles just recently. Last week, one guy who had been booked in baled out a couple of hours before (not unusual, but still annoying as we'd send him chord charts, samples of our rehearsals, the original tunes and what not). The other guy says he hasn't been playing long and it sounds like he's got pretty cheap gear. BUT, we don't need a flash lead guitarist doing all the Dick Dale runs, because we already have one (with the matching attitude as well). I spent half an hour on the phone last night explaining what we're looking for and trying to convince him to have a go, because he seems to have the right outlook, but just lacks confidence. Tonight I'm meeting him for a drink in a local pub to talk some more about what he'll be required to do (hell, there are only about six chords he needs to know and a lot of what he'll need to do is pick out root notes) and try to make sure he doesn't feel too intimidated when he turns up for the audition/rehearsal next week. The band is a really low-key, laid-back venture, as we mainly play for fun. I'm in a gigging band already, so we're not looking for more than a couple of gigs a year and maybe some decent studio time, but it's still been quite a struggle just to get a rhythm guitarist to spend a couple of hours one evening just to see if they like it.

You could try the Warwick style strap locks. instead of having cup on the strap, there's a prong that fits into a hole in the end of the button that sits in the bass. I used to find that my Schaller locks would rotate (on the strap), so that they ended upside down. They never came off the bass, but felt vulnerable, as the cup wasn't underneath the button on the bass, if you can see what I mean.

Hang on to that email! I reckon it's even more uniquer than very unique, though.

On reflection, it may be difficult, but not impossible. I'm sure people with far more musical knowledge than me could point to the influences, but have a listen to: UFOs by Amplifier Geneva by Russian Circles Where did those come from? And how about Talking Pipes by Magnum 500? It's clearly "surf" but wouldn't have been created without borrowing heavily from other sources.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1361869173' post='1992014'] Old people have been asking that since the late '70s. Has all the music since then been valueless? [/quote] Value is in the hands of whoever is listening to it. What I meant is that it's difficult to write something that's clearly different from what's gone before. Everyone who writes music has been exposed to so much variety, it must be very difficult to write something that hasn't been done before in some shape or form. We're all influenced by what's gone before, whether or not we know it. For example, listen to Paradise by Dr Feelgood and then listen to Curfew by Jags/Steve Carl, recorded 20 years before. Did Wilko do it on purpose or was the melody just lodged in his brain somewhere? The first person to decide to use a guitar, drums and bass in a band had nothing to act as a point of reference. I remember Jack White insisting on keeping the White Stripes as a two-piece so that he had to explore new ways of creating music within that parameter. he felt that if he added another guitar, the music would end up sounding like too many other twin-guitar bands.

How much of the new music that's being created now is truly new, as in innovative? There is so much that has already been produced, it must be very hard to create something that isn't just a slight tweaking on what's gone before. (I watched the documentary about modernism in music last night, which demonstrated how music that was very different from what came before - and ignored the "rules" - was too uncomfortable to listen to that it's pretty much disappeared.) My stepdaughter works in the fashion industry and complains that there's nothing really new being created in that industry. It's all re-hashing of what's gone before, with a slight twist so it feels fresh to consumers. As a consumer, I never listen to the radio. I do listen to a lot of music, but it's often as a result of an interview, or book I've read. I find myself travelling down alleyways from music I know, so rarely have any idea when the music that's new to me was first recorded. For example, when my band wanted to play Alive by Pearl Jam, it wasn't until I saw the video on YouTube that I realised it hadn't been written just a couple of years ago. I've recently been exploring Rockabilly from the 1950s. It's mostly new and fresh to me.

We play it. We usually carry on straight into Everlong by the Foo Fighters or Growing on Me by Darkness. I can't say it gets people dancing, but heads do usually nod along in time and we get a good round of applause. We used to open our set with it, but I need time for my fingers to warm up! We also play less heavy stuff (Rolling Stones, Arctic Monkeys, T.Rex).

Yeah, I know what you mean. Trouble is, we have a few gigs coming up, have learned quite a few songs together, have even developed a few of our own arrangements (our versions of Toxic and Genie in a Bottle go down well and are fun to play) and the annoyances of rehearsal nights seem to fade away when we're actually performing. And I have a one-quarter share in the PA. Doesn't stop me keeping an eye open for another band more aligned to what I'm after, mind.

[quote name='onemanband' timestamp='1361319827' post='1984679'] and here's the problem..........the drummer and I just do not get on, both musically and [b]personally, [/b]and I don't think we will. As this has also resulted in the musical direction moving away from the original project I have decided to walk away.....so, has this ever happened to you?? [/quote] Late last year the drummer in our band walked. We used a couple of deps for two gigs we had booked and I offered up the names of two other drummers I've played with. Unfortunately, lead guitar decided to shoehorn in one of his mates (who also knows Guitar No2), without an audition. Since then, his chosen drummer has improved a lot (he needed to and is obviously putting the effort in) and we've done a couple of gigs without too many cock-ups. Trouble is, he doesn't listen to a thing anyone else is playing (and often we finish the song a couple of bars before he notices). So, I find I don't get on with him musically at all (our band doesn't have a rhythm section at all, at the moment, just two people doing something similar) and I find him an arrogant self-important little idiot. I've not walked yet, but I don't find it anywhere as much fun as when I had a drummer I could really lock in with (even if she did come up with some fills that walked all over mine!). ...and don't get me started on his choice of songs to cover!

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1360938276' post='1978684'] That's exactly what's happened. You've raised a good point about yhe guarantee. I thought that , once you left the shop, headphones were 'non replaceable'. [/quote] I think they're non-returnable as in you can't take them back if you don't find them comfortable. If they break, then that's a different matter entirely. The cheap Maxell ones I'm just about to return have "2 years warranty" printed on the box.

I always keep the receipt and the box. The ones I buy have a two year guarantee and break after about a year. Like you've found, it's the wires that go (I reckon where they exit the reinforcing collar near the jack) and the volume on one side goes. I get two pairs for the price of one. Still annoying that they're treated like a consumable.

Off topic, sorry, but the violin was the first musical instrument I tried. I found one in the attic and as the teacher who was teaching my sister clarinet also taught violin, I asked if I could have lessons. The violin turned out to belong to my dad's grandmother (and I doubt it was new when she bought it): I never got very good at it and gave it up partly because it wasn't electric and I couldn't find any bands I liked with a violin in them (this was the mid-1970s). I decided I wanted to play bass instead (same number of strings, see). So, back on topic - you may never have to think about resale value!

My copy of the latest issue arrived at the weekend. I've flicked through and only read a couple of articles so far, but... I haven't found a single typo yet. If the rest of the mag has been as well proof-read as the bits I've read, then that's a big step forward for me.

I've flicked through my copy and only read a couple of articles but I haven't found a single typo yet. If the rest of the mag has been as well proof-read as the bits I've read, then that's a big step forward for me.

This has been a very useful thread, thanks. I've decided I no longer want to do the wedding gig we've been half-promised. I don't think the extra money is worth having to play those songs!

We're going to add White Wedding by Billy Idol for a wedding we should be doing in June. We already do: Sex on Fire (which we mostly hate doing too) Chasing Cars (which we never practice because none of us like it any more either) Living on a Prayer We also do You Give Love a Bad Name Grounds for Divorce and our singer wants to sing Hard to Handle to the bride (he hasn't seen her yet, mind).

Oddly enough, the only problem I've ever had on here was when I was buying. It was only for a small item. I agreed to pay the asking price and asked how much it would cost to post. The seller asked for a figure I thought was a bit out of proportion, given the size and weight of it. I offered half that and said I'd happily transfer the funds the same day. I heard nothing for a couple of days and when I checked the PM thread found out he had "withdrawn from the conversation" (or some such computer-speak). I sent a note saying that I'd take his lack of response as a "thanks, but no thanks". Is a little courtesy too much to ask?

Bought a couple of pickups from Josh. He must have sent them within a few hours of me transferring the money. They arrived very well packed and ready to be installed. Buy from Josh with confidence.

Guess this one's gone AWOL then!

Anyone?

When we recruited a new singer we had to drop a fair few numbers because they didn't suit the new guy's voice. However, he didn't just slap down a list of songs he wanted to do. It was much more democratic.