Dave Vader

The hilarious thing about this post is that I was searching the forums for a review of Alice double bass strings, since the ones on my EUB have started snapping.

Got very excited to find a post about them, and now I realise it was mine.

They do 3/4 now, will go and buy some

(Hi all, btw, been too long, I'm sorry, I've been busy on other stuff)

19 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

Ordered, unseen. D.A.Holwill is recommendation enough.  Amazon review will follow (good or not so good..!  )

Thanks Douglas, always enjoy your reviews.

2 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Does this book still have your sense of humour running thru it or have you gone for a more serious book this time. ?

Just read the Amazon write up and its sounds like a proper serious book. I do enjoy your books but its the humour that draws me in.

Dave 

It's still got gags Dave, but the different Author name is to make sure the horror element is obvious, and not to accidentally pick up the rom-com audience I've already got.

I can't help making jokes - whether they're meant to be there or not.

5 hours ago, TheRev said:

'Bigtown Fair' - I wonder where that might be?

🤔

I am not always very subtle in my obvious references

If you've been umming and aahing about getting the sequel, The Ballad Of Fat Labrador is available for free on an Easter Lockdown special until Thursday

You've got nothing better to do, why not have a read?

mybook.to/fatlabrador

Hi all, I've been keeping myself amused in the current apocalypse by recording the pop covers I've been doing down the local open mic nights since I've been without a band. Thought you lot might enjoy a giggle, so here's a Miley Cyrus cover (there's also Britney and Taylor Swift on the Youtube channel if you fancy any more)


 

21 hours ago, mep said:

Fat Labrador arrived and will be my holiday read next week.

Thanks mep, weather's looking up for your holiday now as well.

Thanks Nick.

There's a small possibility of dragging another book out of them at some point.

I don't think I've dredged up enough of the misery of playing the summer festival circuit yet, there's a mine of jokes there.

Thanks SP, glad you liked it

2 hours ago, JellyKnees said:

Tribute bands though? Seems a little too close to musical theatre for my tastes,

Lots of people like musical theatre, people pay lots of money to see musical theatre,

music without the theatre is pretty much just listening to records, in fairness

23 hours ago, PJ-Bassist said:

No need to apologise.  It's nothing to do with the concept of a covers band, I have no problems with cover or tribute bands.  I've enjoyed many an evening watching them, I had one at my wedding and to be honest a Jazz Quartet playing standards is nothing more than a fancy covers band anyway . 

I was simply reading the book around the same time my own covers band was picking up a few gigs - I was starting to experience the giving up whole weekend days to travel to events, set up then wait around for a number of hours until time for us to play, then tear down late at night.  I have a young family with 4 kids aged 10 - 2.  It wasnt a source of income I needed and so playing in a busy covers band quickly lost it's appeal to me when it meant missing out on being there for my family.  IIRC that is somewhat similar to how the character in the book was feeling as the Artful Badgers picked up more function gigs and weddings, I just remember reading it and thinking jeez, this is the truth about playing in this type of band and actually right now this is not what I want.

Fair enough, that actually was my intention. Life's too short to pander to dickheads every weekend when you've got better things to do.

18 hours ago, PJ-Bassist said:

I read your Weekens Rockstars novel and thoroughly enjoyed it, though it did put me off joining a serious covers band or buying that Candy Red Nate Mendel Precision bass :).

I am sorry, that was never my intention. You could have made a few quid.

I hear good things about those Nate Mendels

3 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

I'll respect anyone's decision to vote how they want, bow down to whatever god they want, eat what they want, consensually sleep with whoever they want, or even play in cover bands. 

That said, I've never seen the appeal in playing other people's songs and have have been subjected to too many Creme Brulee's over the years that have shaped this opinion.  Too many coordinated outfits, too many guitarists pulling a w*nk face playing someone else's solos (badly), too many bassists gurning their way through anything from Chelsea Dagger or Boogie Wonderland all the while acting like they actually wrote those lines.

Nah, not for me, so am I going to get a kicking?

 

Never call my bluff, or you will see a man running away screaming like a small girl.

Back in the day most bands started out doing covers with a few originals thrown in, that way you get the following easier, so by the time you're doing all originals you're not playing to empty rooms. See the Rolling Stones, the Beatles and Led Zeppelin if you don't believe me.

The terribly earnest approach to only playing original music that began to pervade in the 90s made for a lot of very boring gigs with no songs you could sing along to.

I'm currently spending my time at open mic nights playing singalong pop music on an acoustic guitar - Madonna, Gaga, Britney, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Backstreet Boys, and I've never had such a good reaction to anything I've ever done. Then I chuck a song I wrote in the middle and it seems to go down better. Seems obvious.

30 minutes ago, Raymondo said:

Ordered ...arriving tomorrow...just in time for my trip to Tenerife in two weeks!!!

I arranged my whole schedule around your holiday, glad it paid off

I have, as requested, gotten on with it

Weekend Rockstars 2: The Ballad Of Fat Labrador is very much available today

Here's the paperback link, since amazon have failed to link it to the ebook

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Weekend-Rockstars-Ballad-Fat-Labrador/dp/171256787X/

And here's your ebooks https://mybook.to/fatlabrador

Thanks to all of you for your kindness and support - I put BC in the acknowledgements this time round.

14 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

I've only got space for your books Dave so get a move on mate before i put something else in there. 

Hint taken.

On it

On 31/01/2020 at 18:06, dmccombe7 said:

.plus it fills a space on the bookshelf

The days of there being space on my bookshelves are long gone, I envy you

57 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Still waiting for a hard copy of the follow up Dave. Any idea when that's coming out. I'm not into the kindle thing. I like real books that i can hold in my hands 

Dave

The hard copy will be available at exactly the same time as the ebook, it's just Amazon don't allow pre-orders on hard copy due to people setting the whole thing up, then forgetting all about it.

It's a lot less hassle for them if many people complain about a blank ebook than having sent out 100s of blank sheets of paper.

Fret ye not chaps, you'll be able to order it for as cheap as I can make it (in the first week at least) as of Valentines Day - which I think is a fortnight today. In all honesty, it'll probably be a few days earlier as Amazon have stung me before by keeping the paperback in review for 72 hours when it's usually pretty instant, and I would like people to be able to order it on the day Ive been advertising everywhere for the last few months.

(I didn't think I'd be in to the kindle thing either, until my wife bought me one a few years ago and the 4 hour train journey to London and back was so much easier to get through, honestly, try it.)

31 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

Darn it..! The Sequel seems to be Kindle Only for the moment, at least on Amazon. Is there a way to pre-order a hard copy (y'know; paper'n'all...) for the Old Folks among us..? Please say 'Yes'; cash waiting ...

Amazon don't allow pre-orders on paperbacks Douglas (in case people forget they set them up and the automated system sends out a paperback of notes that say WRITE A BOOK HERE BY FEB 14TH).

Rest assured I will be badgering in here again when it comes out (PB might be up a couple of days early anyway to avoid launch day sag from Amazon).

I won't let you miss it.

On 30/12/2019 at 18:36, mep said:

Just finished Weekend Rockstars. Really enjoyed it. I'll be getting some Fat Labrador soon. Got the Bovey Jovey name as it's not far from where I live. All the band names are good. Can't have been easy making them up when just choosing 1 for a band is always difficult. I was trying to work out which town it could have been or inspired by and shortlisted Exmouth,  Teignmouth or Barnstable?

A lot of those band names are bands I've been in over the years and the rest are ones I've been trying to get used by bands who don't like my band names.

Barnstaple is in there, yeah, but the actual winner is Bideford - where I spent my formative years. Locals will recognise all the pubs - as long as they're old enough to remember them before they closed.

15 hours ago, Pigman said:

I’ve just discovered this and ordered myself a copy of the first one for my next holiday 👍

Thank you very much, and I hope that holiday isn't too far away