How was your gig last night?

[peteb]

9 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

I play fingerstyle but i'm not snobby about it and enjoy good bassists no matter how they do it. If its good, its good. Simple as that.

I started with a pick for first few yrs then got into Jazz rock and changed to fingerstyle but i was caught between both styles and chopped and changed depending on what i was listening to. I liked Jazz rock but was mainly playing classic rock or prog. Eventually i settled on fingerstyle and just found it easier. I can play using my index finger as a pick but struggle with an actual pick and end up getting cramp after a few songs.

Dave

 

I get cramp when I try to play with a pick these days as well. 

 

I went back to fingerstyle after playing with a pick for several years because I realised that I was a more fluent and had less limitations using my fingers. I was just a better player that way. I do occasionally meet people who remember me as a pick player. 

 

I actually started out playing fingerstyle because of the cool looking, smiling black dude with the afro and P bass in the instructional book I originally learnt from. If he played with his fingers, then obviously I should...! 

 

[Geek99]

22 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

Thanks Obrienp,

 

I'm not sure those guitars were properly mixed. Those guys were constantly tuning between songs.

 

I mentioned this before. We had an hour break between sets . It was heaven to have an air conditioned trailer. 

 

Daryl

 

Yes good bass solo, Daryl. Thought the lady singing could have been mixed a bit higher. 

[Stub Mandrel]

I'm trying playing some stuff with a pick. The originals band has a couple of songs that need a very aggressive sound.

 

I'm rusty and I need practice to get more fluent.... fingers are so much faster!

 

 

It's a completely different technique with the wrist doing more - and in a different way to slap.

Edited yesterday at 11:16 by Stub Mandrel

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I'm trying playing some stuff with a pick. The originals band has a couple of songs that need a very aggressive sound.

 

I'm rusty and I need practice to get more fluent.... fingers are so much faster!

 

 

It's a completely different technique with the wrist doing more - and in a different way to slap.

When i use my index finger as a pick i find the rhythmic feel with my wrist is definitely more of a groove than when using fingerstyle but i just can't translate that feel when using a pick. I also noted that i have a percussive thing going on when i use the index finger as a pick. No idea how that happened but i liked it and just went with it. It fills a song out a lot more altho not ideal or suitable in some situations. Maybe that's just down to practice as i started using my index finger more as a fun element when doodling in the house but i enjoyed it so much i found myself doing it a lot. 

Obviously the increasing use of a flexi-wrist can be helpful in other aspects of life. 😂

Dave

Edited yesterday at 12:34 by dmccombe7

[Geek99]

5 hours ago, Geek99 said:

Originally a heart blood flow drug 

It came up (if you’ll pardon the pun) in my law degree as an example of a patentable second use. 

[dmccombe7]

60th Birthday party in Camelon Labour Club in Falkirk area with BLOCKBUSTARZ glam band. Not a large audience but as it was a private party not much we could do about it.

Played this club a few times and every time they have an issue with us. 

1st - they double booked the adjacent hall for a funeral party and then complained to us about being too loud plus we had walk through the funeral party hall to the changing area in the pool room. 

2nd - committee guy that complained 1st time there was complaining about the load in door being open and all the heat was escaping and we had to use the main entrance door that was wide open because of all the smokers outside so WTF ?

Last night when we arrived girl behind the bar states in a rant that she wasn't told it was a live band ? what other kind of band is there ? There was no area to get changed as they had an all day wedding the following day and all the tables were stored in the pool room and we couldn't get access. We highlighted that we need a changing area same as we always had when playing there. She then suggested changing in the toilets and at that point i abruptly replied absolutely not. Its disgusting to be changing in a toilet. We have expensive outfits and nowhere to leave our personal belongings like clothes, spare outfits for 2nd set, wallets, watches and phones. If we cant get changed we'd be as well packing up cause this just wasn't happening. She started blubbering that its not her fault (bar manageress). As we pointed out its between her and the person that booked us. We had txt messages saying that all our requirements had been passed on to the club and when the woman that booked us arrived she was furious and said she came into the club and told them exactly what was required for the full night.

Singer said only option was to play the gig without the costumes as we were sort of thing but that defeats the purpose of booking a Glam band.

Anyways the buffet supplier arrived and i suggested we use the kitchen area if it was a cold buffet and that's where we went.

When we started to sound check at what was a reasonably quiet volume staff complained again that it was too loud and when we said its because the hall is empty at moment. Few quests had arrived early at this point and staff said they couldn't hear the orders from customers which was ridiculous. My volume was lower than its ever been for any gig. She didn't understand that you cant turn the drums down. They aren't thru the PA. Amps were set to match drum volume. We are not a loud band.

The bar staff were obviously being extremely childish and when not serving went thru to the other function room even tho there were at time 5 or 6 people waiting to be served.

Anyways  back to the gig itself. After a few songs we had the dancers up and that remained thru the night for virtually every song with some songs just a few dancers to others filling the dance floor. At one point there was absolutely no-one sitting down, they were all on floor dancing away.

Audience were great bar staff on the other hand a different story.

All in all we will never return to that venue. We've never seen such unwelcoming staff at a venue. From the word go they were being difficult and awkward as if we had caused the problem. The problem was a badly run club that has been cancelling their own booked gigs left right and centre for lack of ticket sales.

Got paid before we even started and the woman that booked us was over the moon with us and feedback from the audience was all good at the end of the night.

Band played really well with only a few very minor fluffs but audience never picked up on.

Happy Days.

Next week we are back at one of our fav venues The Dreadnought where we are always really well looked after and they are always happy to help the bands. 

Dave

Edited yesterday at 13:41 by dmccombe7

[msb]

Load of misery , that place.

[neepheid]

13 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

60th Birthday party in Camelon Labour Club in Falkirk area with BLOCKBUSTARZ glam band. Not a large audience but as it was a private party not much we could do about it.

Played this club a few times and every time they have an issue with us. 

1st - they double booked the adjacent hall for a funeral party and then complained to us about being too loud plus we had walk through the funeral party hall to the changing area in the pool room. 

2nd - committee guy that complained 1st time there was complaining about the load in door being open and all the heat was escaping and we had to use the main entrance door that was wide open because of all the smokers outside so WTF ?

Last night when we arrived girl behind the bar states in a rant that she wasn't told it was a live band ? what other kind of band is there ? There was no area to get changed as they had an all day wedding the following day and all the tables were stored in the pool room and we couldn't get access. We highlighted that we need a changing area same as we always had when playing there. She then suggested changing in the toilets and at that point i abruptly replied absolutely not. Its disgusting to be changing in a toilet. We have expensive outfits and nowhere to leave our personal belongings like clothes, spare outfits for 2nd set, wallets, watches and phones. If we cant get changed we'd be as well packing up cause this just wasn't happening. She started blubbering that its not her fault (bar manageress). As we pointed out its between her and the person that booked us. We had txt messages saying that all our requirements had been passed on to the club and when the woman that booked us arrived she was furious and said she came into the club and told them exactly what was required for the full night.

Singer said only option was to play the gig without the costumes as we were sort of thing but that defeats the purpose of booking a Glam band.

Anyways the buffet supplier arrived and i suggested we use the kitchen area if it was a cold buffet and that's where we went.

When we started to sound check at what was a reasonably quiet volume staff complained again that it was too loud and when we said its because the hall is empty at moment. Few quests had arrived early at this point and staff said they couldn't hear the orders from customers which was ridiculous. My volume was lower than its ever been for any gig. She didn't understand that you cant turn the drums down. They aren't thru the PA. Amps were set to match drum volume. We are not a loud band.

The bar staff were obviously being extremely childish and when not serving went thru to the other function room even tho there were at time 5 or 6 people waiting to be served.

Anyways  back to the gig itself. After a few songs we had the dancers up and that remained thru the night for virtually every song with some songs just a few dancers to others filling the dance floor. At one point there was absolutely no-one sitting down, they were all on floor dancing away.

Audience were great bar staff on the other hand a different story.

All in all we will never return to that venue. We've never seen such unwelcoming staff at a venue. From the word go they were being difficult and awkward as if we had caused the problem. The problem was a badly run club that has been cancelling their own booked gigs left right and centre for lack of ticket sales.

Got paid before we even started and the woman that booked us was over the moon with us and feedback from the audience was all good at the end of the night.

Band played really well with only a few very minor fluffs but audience never picked up on.

Happy Days.

Next week we are back at one of our fav venues The Dreadnought where we are always really well looked after and they are always happy to help the bands. 

Dave

Dave

 

Miserable fsckers!

[ezbass]

We mainly play clubs and there is always some bloody issue or other. I do not like them.

[dmccombe7]

24 minutes ago, ezbass said:

We mainly play clubs and there is always some bloody issue or other. I do not like them.

Most clubs we play have been exceptionally friendly and helpful to us with some supplying sandwiches and soft drinks in our changing area.

This is the first club we've had any issues with. 

We played a club 2 weeks ago just half a mile up the road and it was polar opposite. They couldn't be more helpful or friendly. That was a great wee night. Sometimes i think certain people shouldn't be working in the hospitality business. They don't have an attitude of helping make the venue better. Everything they do is obstructive and against what most know works best for any venue / club. 

Dave

[Stub Mandrel]

2 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

When i use my index finger as a pick i find the rhythmic feel with my wrist is definitely more of a groove than when using fingerstyle but i just can't translate that feel when using a pick. I also noted that i have a percussive thing going on when i use the index finger as a pick. No idea how that happened but i liked it and just went with it. It fills a song out a lot more altho not ideal or suitable in some situations. Maybe that's just down to practice as i started using my index finger more as a fun element when doodling in the house but i enjoyed it so much i found myself doing it a lot. 

Obviously the increasing use of a flexi-wrist can be helpful in other aspects of life. 😂

Dave

 

I like using my fingers to hit the strings downwards for a percussive sound that's more subtle than slap.

[Bluewine]

3 hours ago, Geek99 said:

Yes good bass solo, Daryl. Thought the lady singing could have been mixed a bit higher. 

 

Thanks Geek99,

 

Agreed, they had the same volume cissue for the lead singer in the band that played before us .

 

Daryl

[ezbass]

36 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Most clubs we play have been exceptionally friendly and helpful to us with some supplying sandwiches and soft drinks in our changing area.

No such luxuries for us, maybe a storage area to change in rather than the bogs. Never any problems with the bar staff, but the committee members, who plainly don’t speak to each other and have agendas. The money is better than pubs, but the vibe is often one of ambivalence, with most wanting bingo and some dodgy Spotify playlist. We’re plainly playing the wrong venues.

[Leonard Smalls]

11 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

my fingers to hit the strings

I'm a thumb plectrum man... Basically hit the string on both the Up- and the Down-stroke! Some times with a slap for emphasis.

Then 3 fingers wiggle about doing other widdleystuff.

[Bluewine]

43 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Most clubs we play have been exceptionally friendly and helpful to us with some supplying sandwiches and soft drinks in our changing area.

This is the first club we've had any issues with. 

We played a club 2 weeks ago just half a mile up the road and it was polar opposite. They couldn't be more helpful or friendly. That was a great wee night. Sometimes i think certain people shouldn't be working in the hospitality business. They don't have an attitude of helping make the venue better. Everything they do is obstructive and against what most know works best for any venue / club. 

Dave

 

Dave,

 

Agreed. In my neck of the woods the nicer upscale venues go out of their way to treat bands nice. These places always comp entrees and drinks for the band. 

 

At The Harley Motor the lady that supervises the place comes up to the band members before the last set to take our orders.

 

Daryl

[dmccombe7]

18 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

 

Dave,

 

Agreed. In my neck of the woods the nicer upscale venues go out of their way to treat bands nice. These places always comp entrees and drinks for the band. 

 

At The Harley Motor the lady that supervises the place comes up to the band members before the last set to take our orders.

 

Daryl

Some clubs we've played have offered us a drink, tea or coffee when we first arrive. Must admit i enjoy a coffee after driving for a few hrs to a gig. It kind of sets a tone for me.

I appreciate that some clubs are struggling at the moment to get folks in but quite a few we play it points towards poorly run venues whether its the wrong type of acts or the timing of acts. Come across some clubs where the guy booking the acts is the DJ and they think that folks are mainly there to listen to a DJ than watch a band. Unfortunately that club is losing members rapidly at shows with many show cancellations due to poor ticket sales.

Dave

[Stub Mandrel]

2 hours ago, Leonard Smalls said:

I'm a thumb plectrum man... Basically hit the string on both the Up- and the Down-stroke! Some times with a slap for emphasis.

Then 3 fingers wiggle about doing other widdleystuff.

 

I sometimes play 'fingerstyle' like that, but usually 2 or 3 fingers (sometimes 4 for trills)

[knirirr]

On 27/06/2025 at 10:22, knirirr said:

Gigging again tomorrow:

 

https://www.charlburybeerfestival.org/live-music-and-entertainment/

 

 

For this gig we were supposed to play various sets around the festival site to spread our jazzy vibes (according to the site).

I guess that this made us look a bit like buskers - at one point a child accosted me between tunes to offer me 50 pence. Nice that it was the bass they liked best. The audience appeared to like what we played, but it's quite accessible jazz.

 

The weather was quite good:

 

[dclaassen]

Good gig at the Felton Club in Peterborough depping with Stevie Daniels. Nice club, good stage, fun and engaged crowd. Played well with a couple of minor goofs. Pedulla MPV fiver through elf head and Genzyme Benz 1x12’s. Justin boots.

 

[super al]

IAfter last week's depping gig with the soul band normal service resumed on Friday with my main squeeze - Felis Leo.

 

We played a Salisbury Live gig in a pub in town. No support, no sound guy, just us for the whole evening! As well as our tunes we played a smattering of covers plus our new song about the guitarist's great, great, auntie! (She was a witch, true story 😄).

 

We had a great time, the band is fairly tight, the sound was great...no sound engineer, that's weird 🤫. We rocked it basically.

 

I've been using my ibanez over my Lakland 55-02 in this band lately. Playing thru a TC Electronic BH550 and a pair of Barefaced one10s. Wearing Airwalk The Ones 😁

 

[Norris]

11 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

All in all we will never return to that venue. We've never seen such unwelcoming staff at a venue. From the word go they were being difficult and awkward as if we had caused the problem.

It's like some people just don't get it. If you don't do something to create a bit of a vibe then a venue will stagnate and die. Then they will be out of a job. Miserable, undeserving, a-holes!

 

We had quite the opposite tonight when the lady that booked us brought us the money at the end of the night and told us we were on more money next time! We didn't ask for more - it was thrust upon us. The place had been redecorated since last time we played - they are investing and it seems to be thriving.

 

Anyway... Conservative clubs. A few years ago it was jacket and tie. Ladies might even bring along their silver shoes for a bit of ballroom dancing. Woe be tied to anyone who sat in someone else's regular seat. Well that was back in the 80s. I'm glad to say the political party clubs that have survived have needed to adapt, modernise and be appealing, especially to a younger crowd. Hence we were playing at the "Conny" club tonight, lots of younger people there.

 

I think we pulled in probably 40% of the crowd. 20 years of playing together and making sure you post gigs up on Facebook pays off, as well as plugging the QR code that I created. It certainly helps us get rebooked.

 

I forgot to take any photos. You've seen it before though if you've read my previous posts. "Stingish" bass, GT-6B, Fender Rumble v3 500, purple suede Gazelles.

 

I wasn't sure if I liked our sound at first. It grew on me though as we knitted together (and got slightly louder/hit a nice balance). The recent decor has changed the sound of the room, but probably for the better. I just hope the loos are next on their list for some attention as they could do with it

[SICbass]

We had a funny/odd moment on stage last night. It’s a well played in show where everyone knows their parts and suddenly, towards then end of a song, we sort of found ourselves drifting. All of us… we were somehow off track, simultaneously falling asleep at the wheel and none us knew how it happened. When we came off stage, I asked what was up, fearing it was me, but everyone else had the same experience, thinking it had been them, in a sort of “I am Spartacus… no, I am Spartacus!” moment. 11 people, all inexplicably lost.

Fortunately, our singer who is an absolute machine in moments like that, managed to guide us to a slightly bumpy landing. How bizarre - no clue what happened. 

Edited 8 hours ago by SICbass

[bigthumb]

Last nights gig was delayed due to a game of football so we didn't start until 9:45. We sat in an empty room until the match finished where about a dozen or so came in from the bar area. The few that were there enjoyed it, pretty drunk by then I'd guess, singer dose not drive to gigs so he was well oiled too. But he dose a great job engaging with them and will take himself and his radio mic over to them and get them involved. He was loving it, I hated every moment. I struggled with the drummer who was all over the place and a guitarist who I'm sure was at another gig. I made plenty of mistakes too it must be said but it's hard not to under the circumstances. I used a 1x12 Markbass combo on its own and it preformed brilliantly with plenty of power but I was unhappy with my Sandberg as I just couldn't get the right sound out of it, great in some areas and completely lost in others so need to do some work with that. 

So a successful gig according to the singer and the venue who have rebooked us but from my point of view, effin' awful! But both myself and the guitarist agree that a lot of work needs doing and this shambles has to improve. 

 

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, SICbass said:

We had a funny/odd moment on stage last night. It’s a well played in show where everyone knows their parts and suddenly, towards then end of a song, we sort of found ourselves drifting. All of us… we were somehow off track, simultaneously falling asleep at the wheel and none us knew how it happened. When we came off stage, I asked what was up, fearing it was me, but everyone else had the same experience, thinking it had been them, in a sort of “I am Spartacus… no, I am Spartacus!” moment. 11 people, all inexplicably lost.

Fortunately, our singer who is an absolute machine in moments like that, managed to guide us to a slightly bumpy landing. How bizarre - no clue what happened. 

Do you think we go into auto-pilot and when one person starts to drift it kind of throws the rest of us because we weren't expecting it at that point in the show. ?

Just a thought.

Dave

[dmccombe7]

22 minutes ago, bigthumb said:

Last nights gig was delayed due to a game of football so we didn't start until 9:45. We sat in an empty room until the match finished where about a dozen or so came in from the bar area. The few that were there enjoyed it, pretty drunk by then I'd guess, singer dose not drive to gigs so he was well oiled too. But he dose a great job engaging with them and will take himself and his radio mic over to them and get them involved. He was loving it, I hated every moment. I struggled with the drummer who was all over the place and a guitarist who I'm sure was at another gig. I made plenty of mistakes too it must be said but it's hard not to under the circumstances. I used a 1x12 Markbass combo on its own and it preformed brilliantly with plenty of power but I was unhappy with my Sandberg as I just couldn't get the right sound out of it, great in some areas and completely lost in others so need to do some work with that. 

So a successful gig according to the singer and the venue who have rebooked us but from my point of view, effin' awful! But both myself and the guitarist agree that a lot of work needs doing and this shambles has to improve. 

 

What Sandberg are you using. ?

When i had a MB 112 combo with 112 ext cab i found i struggled to get a decent on stage sound or even hear myself but when i moved out front for sound check it was a great sound. That was using a Jazz bass back then. I've had that issue with other rigs while using a Jazz bass to be fair. I find my J basses have a sweet spot for their tone that just works but if i tweak the tone away from it i get lost in the mix.

Dave