grandad Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Hello all, I've been reading articles on the forum for some months & have decided to join. This is the first forum of any kind I've joined other than Facebook, which I use to keep in contact with my family & friends. I'm Chris, 62 years young & play bass for 'SHINDIG', a cover band with 3 guitars, drums & male & female vocalists. Our playlist covers the 60's & 70's for the most part & with our practice room at Quarry Bank Community Centre we perform mostly in British Legion & Working Men's Clubs & some pub's around the Black Country & West Midlands. About 10 years ago I took heed of Tony & John's suggestion that I might like to take up the bass guitar. They are elder brother & childhood friend, rhythmn & lead guitarist, respectively. Both played in successful amateur Brum bands in the 60's & needed a bass player to assist them in growing old disgracefully by reliving their teen's. Both continue to tutor me. I shall, I fear, forever remain a novice as the first signs of memory & hearing loss are beginning to evidence themselves. The widely aired GAS quickly took hold & over recent years I have spent a large portion of my children's inheritance on gear. I am currently undergoing 'cold-turkey' & have not bought anything on ebay, other than a clip on tuner, for a month. Amplification: Roland Basscube 100 + SWR 110 Peavey Max160 head + Ampeg B115E Instruments: Tokai EB3 Epiphone viola Bass Collection Speakeasy I have numerous other items that I need to sell after the long journey of trial & error to find the kit I like but I think I'm finally there, (fatal to say I'm sure). Inspiration for me started with the first electric bass on TV, (1959ish), with the late Jet Harris & The Shadows. I met & chatted with Jet at the NEC some years ago. As is often said, he was very generous with his time & advice. He was truly a nice guy. So, I naturally started with a Precision copy, then a Jazz copy, then a Gibson EB0 copy, & tried many makes & models inbetween. The criteria for me were action, comfort, looks & a warm sound. I string all my instruments with flatwound & play with thumb & pick. The speed & technique of younger players elludes me. I watch & listen in awe. I do what I can & learn & improve little by little . I only wish I'd started when I was 15 & not 50. The pleasure I get is just wonderful & music is surely "the poetry of the air - Richter". I hope I can contribute to topics under discussion as I have some knowledge of electronics & acoustics though I am by no means expert in either field. Regards, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorick Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Chris, welcome to the deep side Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Hi Chris & Welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlackAlice Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 'How bin ya" Chris & welcome. I'm in Berkshire but originally hail from Stourbridge. Will look out for your gigs the next time I'm up. Sounds like a great band! Angie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave.w Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Hi, nice to meet you, welcome to basschat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Savage Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Seems to be a lot of us Birmingham/Black Country types around, should maybe resurrect the idea of a West Midlands meetup...I know a good venue in Selly Oak, Birmingham we could use... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arsenic Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Hello, and welcome to the forum. The west midlands/black country membership continues to grow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandad Posted April 15, 2011 Author Share Posted April 15, 2011 Thank you all for the welcomes & meeting up sometime in the future sounds like a good idea. Regards, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seashell Posted April 18, 2011 Share Posted April 18, 2011 Hiya - it was great to see your post! I am also a newbie. I'm a 'woman of a certain age' who has only just started having lessons. Loving it, but wish I had started years ago as I know I'll never get good enough to actually be considered a musician! Your post gives me inspiration that it's never too late to start something new and reach a reasonable level of competence :-) So even if takes me another 10 years I won't be quite past it Good luck with your band.. I will look out for them since I live in the same vicinity. seashell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanbass1 Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Welcome aboard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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