Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 Last nights gig had a PA provided, so we didn't bring ours - we just brought our own mics & stands. When we got there it was nowhere to be seen & we had to ask where it was. A few boxes were brought out with a case of cables there was no beary-man to set up & operate it. I learned that Ashton the company than manage to make the worst ukulules available today also make mixer amps. Oh Dear. As I'm the only member of the band with any kind of beard its naturally assumed I know about these things, so instead of warming up and chilling out I'm getting stressed out about guessing how it all connects up. Eventually found all the bits & bobs - including guitar cables to connect the monitors to the power amp. It sounds fine for the soundcheck - Steely Dan's "Do it again". Then when we start playing I get stressed out for half of the first set fiddling with the PA while playing (but doing most of the fiddling between songs) as the vocals kept cutting out making it sound like Norman Collier is guesting with us. Eventually after swapping lead & BV mics/ swapping the monitor channel with the main channel and turning off the reverb & limiter I eventually realise its the drummers monitor thats somehow causing everything to cut out. So I can only unplug it to remedy the sh*tty sound. Started actually enjoying the gig when we did Pink Floyd's "Money" The guitarist's new all-valve Laney combo sounded fantastic, but I missed the wah pedal he usually has controlling the fx his Line 6 amp on "Stir it up". We got punters up & dancing to our original songs which is aways nice. When we finished it only felt like we'd only been playing 15mins. Long drive home with my new [url="http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131342"]Sat Nav[/url], so mrs Pickguard was relieved of map-reading duties and we enjoyed having John Cleese directing us home, especially when we reached home and he said "You can get out now, but I'm not helping you carry your bags", perhaps he should have said "I'm not helping you carry your cab". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 Played a lovely "garden party" yesterday in the pouring rain - Luckily they had us playing in the dining room! Was an Indian GP's family & you have never seen such amazing food. I want to live there, LOL! Did my usual Sunday stint at the Sands Venue in Gainsborough this dinnertime. Lovely roast beef afterwards as well - A weekend of food? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doctor_of_the_bass Posted August 10, 2008 Share Posted August 10, 2008 Did a wedding gig with our `Jazz' lineup down near Stanstead Airport in a most charming barn venue - known as the `Pledgdon' barn, just outside Henham. Got there, quick setup, two 45 minute sets, some tasty nosh, home in Peterborough just before midnight. Nice! Used my Dean Pace EUB through my Littlemark head and 4 x 10" - normally would have used the combo but felt like a change! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niceguyhomer Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 [quote name='BassBunny' post='259482' date='Aug 10 2008, 07:07 PM']Great to see you last night Alan. I know what you mean about a P Bass not working for you. The Spector sounded awesome. Can't wait to let loose on mine. Cracking Band and really great material. It's nice to see a bunch of guys working together and with so much energy. Your vocalist really knows how to work a crowd. .[/quote] Thanks - you're a gentleman Stuart - great to see you and Mrs. bassbunny. I must get to one of your gigs soon - let me know when and where you're playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 [quote name='waynepunkdude' post='259240' date='Aug 10 2008, 12:40 PM']Just woken up was a f*cking great show last night tell you more when I have energy.[/quote] I don't really know how to explain it so I'll show you a pic. The guy on the far left playing the mouth keyboard thing is in another band but had learnt one of our songs on it and as we were missing a lead guitarist he did a few songs with us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 Blood On The Dancefloor!! The punters were dancing. The girls took their heels off. A punter dropped a glass and didn't tell anyone. The girls cut their feet to ribbons. The blood flowed. The ambulances came. The bride wore red. I can't believe the venue didn't stop the dancing and clear the dancefloor! I certainly hope they have public liability insurance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 [quote name='bilbo230763' post='259879' date='Aug 11 2008, 12:45 PM']Blood On The Dancefloor!! The punters were dancing. The girls took their heels off. A punter dropped a glass and didn't tell anyone. The girls cut their feet to ribbons. The blood flowed. The ambulances came. The bride wore red. I can't believe the venue didn't stop the dancing and clear the dancefloor! I certainly hope they have public liability insurance![/quote] That made me cringe Just found this pic, we had a Hybrid band at the end of the night the G & L isn't mine even if I wish it was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 It was like 'Carrie'!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 [quote name='bilbo230763' post='259891' date='Aug 11 2008, 01:00 PM']It was like 'Carrie'!!![/quote] Right how much blood are we talking? How many ambulances? In my head I have horror movie style spurting and just a flood of blood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 We did the Waldorf Hilton in central London last night, Simon Cowell was in the lobby when we arrived, but he wasn't there for long. We didn't take that personally... ...it was an OK gig, we had a dep keyboardist and sound engineer. The keyboardist didn't know his parts and the band just lacked spark. Most of the audience went home during the first set as well but that was kind of OK because we had a smaller and more energetic group for the second set who we had a bit of fun with. I found my car had been broken into and my glove box ransacked. The thief got in through a rubber window seal and left his prints on the window pane (although I have yet to check in daylight whether the prints were clear) and made off with £5 of stuff because I never keep valuables locked in the car. I mean, honestly. Five quid? That's pathetic. I bought replacement bits online when I got home. He really needn't have bothered, he could have [i]at least[/i] nicked one of the CDs... ...maybe he didn't like my taste in music Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Did a wedding in Leicestershire last night. It was a strange pairing between my jazz band & my rock band. Paul managed to become 'King of the Swingers' and combine it with some 50's rock'n'roll. Quite successful if not as slick as I'd like, but interesting. Funny how when you add a guitarist to the usual trio, everything suddenly gets a lot louder! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 (edited) VW-Fest at Margam Park (South Wales) - pouring rain, in a huge tent but more mud than Woodstock. Happy crowd, soon had the place bouncing. But why is it always a free bar when I'm driving????? Back there this afternoon for another show (4 gigs altogether this weekend! Missus not impressed ) (Edit; We're not "The Blims" - they were on after us & kindly lent us their drum kit to save faffing about) Edited August 17, 2008 by Shaggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I'm totally exhausted this morning. Played at a classic car show during the day, about three hours. Home for a bite and then a party bash in the evening for two hours or so. I won't be touching my bass today. Think a fishing trip is called for tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thumperbob 2002 Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Did a fairly high class wedding in my Soul Band Soul Patrol- more bentleys and Mercs in the car park than I have evr seen. Nice crowd- we did well playing in a large marquee with no sound engineer- vox and brass only pa with the rest just backline- sounded Ok but really by the time we went on - 2 X 50 min sets- everyone was half cut- free bar but I was driving. Forgot how much hard work weddings are though- ( I had to sort the sound out for the speeches and announcements- lots of waiting around ) I suppose thats why we charge so much for them. Our singer Kippa was half cut too and was just mauling the audience and forcing them to sing and also taking the piss out of them- in a friendly manner though- they loved it- all these posh people going mad for it- we must be doing something right Helen our part time vox was on form - what a voice!!- the best singer I have ever worked with - and I`ve worked with a lot of pros in my time fnar fnar. My Marshall vba 400 and Marcus miller sounded great- It sounds great everywhere ( more or less flat eq )I have realized. cheers Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alun Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Bit of an odd gig last night - had a phone call in the week asking me to do a wedding but explaining that they didn't expect me to learn the set as they had all the bass parts on tracks anwyay, they just needed someone to make up the numbers Recieved the set Friday afternoon and it was a nice mix of 70s-00s pop and rock stuff so decided to have a bash at learning it all anyway. Spent Saturday afternoon learning/transcribing 27 songs and did the gig live - just as well as the audience was full of musicians who would have spotted me miming instantly! Cheers Alun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassninja Posted August 17, 2008 Author Share Posted August 17, 2008 Coach & Horses, Chichester. Good crowd, I was happy with my sound and I think we all played pretty well. One bandmate not too happy with everyone else's sound, though. I'm considering either IEMs for him, or a bloody isolation booth, possibly in the car park. [rant mode] How can you be surprised if the cool piece of kit you've just bought doesn't sound [i]immaculate[/i] as soon as you switch it on without even trying it first? Repeat this over the course of a year with about four pieces of kit that he believes will render all others obsolete and it gets a bit tedious[/rant mode]. Its a good job I know him well enough to say so (fairly diplomatically) without it getting all testy and handbags-at-ten-paces. I'll try once more: [i]" Ok fellas, we really need a PA rehearsal"[/i] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 (edited) Last night's gig was fantastic. I've not been happy with my sound for a while now as I have had to keep the gain low and the DI send low otherwise it would overdrive the desk. I usually leave the adjustments to the guitarist but decided to have a gander at the desk. I pressed the 20dB pad button and went back to my amp. I was able to turn the gain and the send up quite a bit before getting anywhere near the level it as at before. The resulting changes enabled me to get the GIVE overdrive to kick in on my GK 700RB II head and I was back sounding like my old self again. I had also been trying TI flats on the bass for the past couple of gigs but they're like rubber bands to me and I just couln't get a decent sound from them so I had changed back to a fresh set of Optima Gold strings yesterday morning. Anyway, to the gig: Everyone was really up for a good time and loved everything we played and because they were so into it and we really enjoyed the sound and everything else, it definitely rated as one of the best gigs of the year. We got asked for about a dozen songs that we had never played before, luckily we knew enough of them to have a bash. Something that may be a bit of good advice - if you're asked to play a song by someone try to avoid playing one in an unusual time signature. We got asked to play something by Pink Floyd and I started playing "Money". Not easy if you're not confident playing in 7/8. Edited August 17, 2008 by Delberthot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 Debuted my SWR Baby Blue/modified GK MBX112 hybrid rig at a jazz trio gig yesterday. Not 100% as yet (first time out, as I said) but very promising indeed. Need to spend some more time with the amp's eq and fill out the bottom end a little but, volume-wise, the little poppets are delivering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 [quote name='waynepunkdude' post='259898' date='Aug 11 2008, 01:05 PM']Right how much blood are we talking? How many ambulances? In my head I have horror movie style spurting and just a flood of blood[/quote] One ambulance but we are talking swimming with blood and a toilet full of distressed female wedding guests all with their feet in the sinks (as reported by our female voclaist). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyparrot Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 did a 60th birthday, not many people but they had a great time, and that is what counts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 Played the Navigation at Newark. Had the whole place dancing, but it was soooo loud! Now, I know I'm getting old here, but I much prefer my jazz band to The PHD - So much quieter and expressive. Still have ringy ears this morning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterbass Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 A frickin nightmare: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=22839&pid=264390&st=40&#entry264390"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...mp;#entry264390[/url] Only improved by a post-gig round of lime-golf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 (edited) Mine could have been worse I suppose... [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=25697"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=25697[/url] Edited August 18, 2008 by Bigwan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 The Western Motorhome Show, Malvern, Worcestershire. Basically... a country music do in disguise, but a big well-run one. The stage was in a geet big hall in a showground. The PA was nice, as were the staff. However, the 'backstage facilities' consted of a marquee with a bench table and some foldy chairs. Bearing in mind it was tipping down, it was verging on chocolate fireguard territory. So... we hung around inside for a bit after the soundcheck and then went for an Indian in Malvern. What a lovely little town (and Indian restaurant!). I'd like to come back sometime. Anyway.. the gig went fine. The crowd (about 1000-ish) were there for the music rather than to linedance (although a little of that went on... to Bo Diddley's 'Who Do You Love', for example. Very odd, and quite entrancing). All in all, good fun. Even the five-hour drive home straight afterwards was bearable... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassninja Posted August 21, 2008 Author Share Posted August 21, 2008 Last night, a country pub where we've played loads over several years. Not bad but not great either. Good to catch up with some of the locals who we've come to know since we started playing there. Drunk Scots guy asking for 'Time in a bottle' on several occasions was amusing, and we noticed young ladies going into the loos in suspiciously large groups. I wonder what's in there? They certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves after they came out again. Hmmm. I bet they smuggled a flask of tea in or something.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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