Leaderboard

Been playing for decades now. Big stages and small, theatrical to rock and roll and every point in between. 2017 the wheels fell off, lost marriage, home, mental health, work, just about all of it. Was lucky to have a family member willing to put me up so had a roof. Got a small pay off from the ex so she could keep everything and help ease my way into whatever awaited. Decided to embrace my 'freedom'. Buy decent gear, keep a vehicle on the road and get out there and call myself a musician. Took lessons, joined bands, started bands, depped in bands, placed ads answered ads. Gave it my all. This week the money ran out. I'm not earning anything apart from the occasional dep slot in a function band and the odd £50 here and there which gets eaten by petrol and rehearsal money. So I finally lived the dream, for a whole 13 months. Got pretty good at the bass by playing for hours every day. Learned I can improvise live to a good enough standard to get paid and asked back. Made some friends. But that's it. I'm going to have to get a job and go back to being a hobby bassist. Unfortunately at my age and with my checkered employment history, the economy about to collapse, and enjoying very unstable mental health, my prospects are not great. Perhaps I just left it too late. I did enjoy saying 'musician' when people asked what I do for a living, that was the first and only time since entering the workplace in 1980 that I've derived any pleasure from answering that question. But it was a sham.

Just got new bass into family and needed to share it with dear basschaters

...And I'm fecking loving learning the bass. I didn't want to be one of those guitarists that would pick up a bass and think by default that they can play the instrument. No. And whilst the guitar actually feels quite alien in my hands now (I must factor in enough practice time) actively learning the Bass has been the best decision I have made in many a year. Thanks for your support ✊

I nearly put this in the Gigs section but as it is a bit more of an event figured it was better housed in General Discussion. Just before Christmas I went up to Camden in the rain and did an audition for what was initially a dep gig. It's kind of grown and I am now doing 2 tours of the UK and going over to Italy, Denmark and Sweden. I appreciate we've all got different tastes but if Glam tinged Power Pop is your thing come and see me at one of the shows. Last Great Dreamers are the band and I have known them through mutual friends since '94 (small world but I gigged with the new drummer back then too). I'll be firing up my new Orange rig and I'm just deciding on which basses to take. It's going to be a lot of fun. Wed 13th February - EDINBURGH Bannermans (w/Enuff Znuff) Thu 14th February - LONDON Lounge666 (w/Enuff Znuff) Fri 15th February - NUNEATON Queens Hall (w/Enuff Znuff) Sat 16th February - BRADFORD Trash (w/Enuff Znuff) Sun 17th February - BUCKLEY Tivoli (w/Enuff Znuff) Mon 18th February - STOKE ON TRENT Eleven (w/Enuff Znuff) Thu 21 February - (TBC) (ITALY) (w/Enuff Znuff) Fri 22nd February - VERCELLI Sonore (ITALY) (w/Enuff Znuff) Sat 23rd February - SAN DONA DI PIAVE Revolver (ITALY) (w/Enuff Znuff) Sun 24th February - BERGAMO UFO (TALY) (w/Enuff Znuff) Wed 27th February - VARBURG Backstage (SWEDEN) (w/Enuff Znuff) Thu 28th February - GOTHENBURG Tregaarden (SWEDEN) (w/Enuff Znuff) Fri 1st March - OSLO Olsen (NORWAY) (w/Enuff Znuff) - TICKETS Fri 15th March - BRADFORD The Underground (w/Electric Boys) Sat 16th March - HRHAOR Festival (Prestatyn, Wales) Sun 17th March - BLACKPOOL Waterloo (w/Electric Boys) Mon 18th March - EDINBURGH Bannermans (w/Electric Boys) Tue 19th March - NEWCASTLE Think Tank (w/Electric Boys) Wed 20th March - LONDON Underworld (w/Electric Boys) Thu 21st March - MILTON KEYNES Crauford Arms (w/Electric Boys) Fri 22nd March - BUCKLEY Tivoli (w/Electric Boys) Thu 18th April - LONDON – Hope & Anchor (Rockaway Beach Club)

This isn't going to end well - I have a beard and a lot of tools. Only today, I was assembling my nice new pillar drill!

I had a Ford Escort that was like that.

Spare a thought for the poor little so-n-so that eagerly opened his tenth birthday present of... Cork sheets. ...

Yes (shortened from the classic "Yes, we have no bananas").

Listened to this earlier after a while of hearing it, apart from being such a fantastic record, the bass playing is so great. Fits the feel of Eltons song so well. Holds the groove perfectly and and plays such great passing notes between the roots, as well as the subtle 16th notes now and again.

And I get to keep my DAY JOB!!!!!

You realise when you post one of these threads that’s me gone for the evening listening to music for hours!!

I think we're talking about 2 different issues. I'm talking about those not willing to put the effort and work into learning a song. That's lazy in my book. Blue

Was that bog standard music you were playing

You're scaring me. 😥

Until they start paying there due tax bill I will not use them for anything. They have destroyed competition and high street retailers by avoiding paying taxes and screwing warehouse staff. Awfull company. I dont care how "legal" their tax avoidance is, its morally wrong and unfair to competition.

...yeah! And his beard-oil & 'craft lager' made by a US megabrewery! (To be drunk out of a jam-jar when he gets back to his urban collective)

where else is he gonna put his artisan cheese, handcrafted sourdough bread and jar of stuffed olives?

I think amazon get bad press because they don't pay enough tax, I blame Governments for that, nobody pays more tax than they've got to, but their business model and customer service is spot on in my experience, which is why they're so successful

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Well I have caved and now have the Club Cab on its way and have just ordered the Lo Cab too. I even tried to barter on the price haha... didn't work. haha

Fixed. No need to thank me.

That's f**kin obvious...

Dude, who knows?? I suspect that cetera may be a bit old to be part of my potential offspring, but the thing is that I have been around a bit and I've just got a clue how it works...

Contrary to common belief learning and covering songs is not easy. It takes committment, drive, ability and time to do it properly. This is just my theory , I think people with strong backgrounds in originals resist learning covers because they feel it's beneath them. I'm sorry but in actuality it's because they probably don't have what it takes to learn a cover properly. What's so frustrating is there are tons of good bass and guitar YouTube tutorials showing you exactly how to play a song from start to end. I have first hand experience with folks that absolutely refuse to learn covers properly. And they all have a million poor excuses. The real reason is, they don't want to put in the work required. Sorry for the rant, but this is a " hot button" topic for me. Blue

recorded at Homefire studios Harrogate. Please feel free to comment weather you like it or not,all feedback is very welcome, I love my bass tone on here,it really kicks derrière & DI'd straight to the desk from my Darkglass AOU If you live in the Harrogate are you can check us out at Bilton Working mens club this evening cheers

Yeah, like Finland to England, pootle around the country and then back again. 6000 miles in a few weeks. That kind of long ride.

Sadly not, I had to pee with my left hand. Not easy when you're right handed, and in case you're wondering, I washed my hand(s) at the next break😂

I take my hand off the neck for various reasons. Thumb cramps up sometimes, ease the arthritic pain in the finger joints, a few times to use a Yo-yo in a particularly long and pointless guitar solo and once, to actually go for a pee whilst continuing to play Let's work together (in A) we were playing in front of the loos and the gents door was right behind me😂

Yeah what about them? I've got hair half way down my back and listen to and play nothing but the Grateful Dead. Fsking hippies!

Absolutely no reason to be forking out for a US fender with these on the market. I’ve owned a few us one in the past , these are nicer

Ah, the old Cheech & Chong gag...the old uns are the best uns...

Revisiting this, I've just ordered a Gruv Gear Gigblade Edge guitar bag. The internal dimensions state a length of 43.5", which would fit the Mustang perfectly. It's not a full-on top-of-the-line bag like their Gigblade 2 or the Mono M80 cases, but it's a big step-up from the disappointment of the Fender FS610 that came out a couple of months ago: https://gruvgear.com/products/gigblade-edge Should arrive on Thurs, so I'll report back then. Si

Not sure marriage will get you a free bass, but you never know! Si

Well lookie what landed today! So... this is a Limelight Precision, with a '67 spec in a light-relic LPB finish. I ordered it last year, and had a good chat with the - extremely pleasant - Mark at Limelight to discuss the spec and the level of relic'ing. I wanted the finish to be a little more muted, so it glows a bit more, and he's obliged. It's a nice weight, less than 9lbs, helped by the Gotoh Res-o-Lites, which bumped the cost up a little more. I've just put proper strings on it (it came with fairly light rounds), and it sounds just like I'd hoped. A really nice P... and it cost significantly less than a Fender Roadworn MIM. I'm about to start a solid week of rehearsals, so lots of time to give it a run out. Happy days!

I am seriously thinking about the V2 M900. I have the V1 and I really like it - but an IR loader and on-board compression would be very useful to me. Apparently the fan is now multi-speed so it's v.slow or off when playing at low levels. That alone has me moist.

Only in certain areas: if it's all virtuoso noodly stuff then no, the returns in punter appreciation are likely to be sparse outside of the odd muso in the audience, but if the work has gone into making the band very very tight and gets the punters up and dancing/singing/engaged, then they'll appreciate it. IMHO, IME, etc, etc...

Absolutely no shame and, to me, you are what your heart tells you. This dawned on me several years ago when I was playing in an excellent band on the south coast. We had the chance to turn pro but the singer didn't want to. He was a huge fish in that small pond but ................ he was a builder by trade. The rest of us concluded that there is an important difference. He was a singing builder and not a building singer. You should not think any less of yourself for doing what you have done and where it is led you. There are bound to be a whole bunch of us here who have done the full time thing and then had to get a 'real' job to pay the bills. As has been said, there are any number of acts that have real jobs to make sure the bills are paid. That's just a fact of like and it doesn't define you. It took me a while to realise that.

Lovely grain texture showing through.

Death Cab for Cutie (Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band)

Now that would be the ultimate Rock pose. But you still replied showing you have a stronger opinion on one handed playing than you lead us to believe. Perhaps you are a secret one handed bass player but too ashamed to come clean on the forum. Take some comfort knowing that its not a death sentence, its an illness that can be cured by proper training, coaching and understanding of why people do this. Always remember you are never alone on BC. Humourous and light-hearted threads or posts are what makes life worth living. Enjoy them for what they are. Dave

... and the wherewith all to know which one that is.

And he has a basket on his bike - What a W ⚓. ☹️

Stewblack, I feel for you. Sometimes life can be a s##t. But, reread what you wrote above, and pick out the good bits. You worked hard and clearly enjoyed, and are still enjoying, the status of being a respected muso. You don't have to stop, just because you have to get some sort of dayjob for a while. It's very common amongst actors as I expect you know - they call it 'resting' (!) And you've made good friends and contacts, and this is maybe the most valuable thing of all. So, keep on keeping on, as they say... 🙂

Exactly, it's not about playing it exactly like the original recording. It's about taking the time to understand the song and learning it properly. What a band wants to do with it after that is fine. Blue

I spend a lot of time transcribing bass and guitar parts for songs I'm going to cover. Some may view this as 'not creative', but it helps me learn things I would not have thought to do otherwise. I won't always stick note-for-note to the transcription when it comes time to play, but at least I have started in the right place! Having said that, I am fine with people doing in a completely different and off-the-wall way, but please, spare me from sloppy covers.

Love Tracey...we were in the same year at school, she went to the local girls school about half a mile from the Secondary school I went to. I think I have all the albums (including her solo albums and the Marine Girls on vinyl) Great voice...deserves more recognition than she actually gets.