WalMan

After seeing Moon Safari last Friday at Trading Boundaries (great band and venue) I came home to an expensive ordering session for: Raul Midón - 15 Nov Tiger Moth Tales - 16 Nov; and Lifesigns - 24 Nov …all at Trading Boundaries. I was also reminded by #2 son that he got tickets for me and him for Dream Theater on 20 Oct at the O2. This one will be interesting to get to and move about as it’s the day before my leg cast is removed and I am still non weight bearing so shall be in ‘the appliance’

Moon Safari @ Trading Boundaries on Friday night. There are a couple more there in November I may go for as well

Interesting to see all the comments re thin rather than thick picks. I always find thin picks on bass to be too thin sounding. I am finding I am using a pick less and less nowadays but there are songs that just need it. I have gone heavier over the years and when using them my gotos are all Dunlop 3mm, either Big Stubby (475-300), Primetone (510-300), Flow Jumbo (547-300), or Primetone Classic Sharp (should be 477-300 but I can only see 500 which is too much even for me!! 🤣

Good news for me as attendance would be difficult if not impossible for me over the next 2 to 3 months.

Gutted. I’ve had to accept the inevitable that it’s too soon after the op last Tuesday and I’m really not mobile enough (also wifey didn’t want to drive the first leg to a mate who was going to do the main drive) so I have passed them on to my partner in crime in The Volunteer Club project.

Hopefully Big Big Train at Thorndell Hall on Monday, but that rather depends on how recuperation from the operation last Tuesday comes along

Nice message in from the dep last week "Hi Al, thanks again for depping. Listening back you put a spark back in to the band. My playing was a bit shonky at times but the fun was back and it was relaxed. Here's a link to the recording. I hope you bass sounds a bit better on this one Chris" The final sentence was a reference to my bemoaning my playing on a previous dep a month or so back. The recording was stems straight off the Soundcraft stage box. I can still hear the odd flub, but they'd have been gone in the moment so I doubt anyone in the club picked up on them and I notice only because I am listening back. Bass sounds good though possibly needed a bit more bottom but it sits well - Status S2 -> Boss TU3 -> Boss CE20 -> Trondheim Audio SkarBassOne -> sfx Microthumpinator -> TwoNotes Bass Revolt (green channel)

Definitely run a separate router. Our sound guy runs an XR16. He wasn’t available last night so we took the rig from him and ran it ourselves mixing from stage on iPad. Otherwise it works well. We have in the past had issues getting connected but not recently - the issue I had last night was only for me as the guitarist was able to connect with no problem. Got mine sorted in the end but it seemed to be something between my iPad and iPhone and the former trying to connect to the latters hotspot instead of the router on the XR16. Looks like the XR12 only has two aux outs so might be an issue getting individual monitor mixes if you were using IEM depending how many of you there are. I sometimes wish we had the 18 and option to use Ultranet. I have used the XR16 and also Soundcraft units on two different deps. Either seems fine.

Hard work to a small crowd of punters and a load of technicals for me last night. Took forever to get to the venue for me, then a rushed set up (the others were already there and set up). Issues with vocalists mic, then I couldn’t get my IEM’s running and never did all night so sound was odd for me. It seemed to be a combination of a dodgy lead for him and positioning of the router for me. My iPad wouldn’t connect to run xair until I moved my IEM transmitter further away on the end of a lead and I still got nothing even after the move. Turned out despite checking the transmitter and receiver had got onto different channels 🤦🏼‍♂️ Despite all that the sound out front was really good apparently and the landlord was pleased and put three in the diary for next year so 🤷🏼‍♂️

Another week, a different dep. This time at a holiday park with a funky band. Ampless again just my pedalboard into the TwoNotes Bass Revolt into the stage box and an aux feed to a Behringer P2 for my IEM’s. The band had their speakers but as it was a big club with different areas in the bar their Soundcraft was fed straight to the house system. Seemed to go ok though the crowd didn’t wake up until midway through the second set. Bizarre moment of the evening. After we had finished and the stage was pretty much clear, just a keyboard stand with one left on it. Punter walks up to one of the girls and says “Are you done?” … “Sorry?” … “Have you finished, are you taking song requests?” … we look around the empty stage “eeeeeeeeeer” 🤷‍♂️🤣

I use either XAirMonitorMix or Mixing Station for my IEM’s. A few £’s for individual templates for the latter is no issue

Yup. No excuse, no one needs to see my knees and lily white pins 🤣

Early evening set at Gosport Waterfront Festival on Sunday. The set we’d worked up to bang through to hit the time slot with minimal gaps worked well and finished bang on. No IEM’s and a quick line & level check meant relying on the stage monitors, but with a great sound and backstage team running everything efficiently it wasn’t too much of an issue. Considerably more space than usual and we tried to move around and not be rooted the the spot which went ok - I should probably have used my radio but haven’t for a while now so went with what I know and a lead which was fine. Though the joys of open air and I managed to inhale a fly at one point taking a gulp for BV’s 😳🤮 Genz Benz Streamliner and a BigBaby2 (which was followed onstage by a Big Twin that was sounding nice 👌). Having messed with the settings on the Darkglass in the ‘situation’ at soundcheck on Friday I stuck with what had worked then and I think it was ok out front. Reaction was good and a lot of positive comments followed on Facebook, though I really need to get back in the treadmill based on the photographic evidence!!🫣🤣 A couple of videos that have shown up on FB so far that may, or may not, work : Maniac Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting And so after a couple of days as a weekend warrior ’rock star’ in a couple of hours I have to get up and go back to the humdrum of the day job 😢

Fun night in Bognor at the Hothampton Arms. Great venue with punters up for a good time which always helps. Lots of singing and dancing, but man alive it was hot and airless on stage, thought I was going over at one point. Powered up ready for sound check and the bass was sounding choked and distorted. Tinkered with settings on the Darkglass. Swapped to the Streamliner that I always have set up as a spare (not needed it to date) but no change. Bypassed the pedalboard and all was fine so it was something there but time was getting on so just went for it straight in and without IEM’s which wasn’t great but got us ready and I could check everything on the board again - turned out the compressor control on the SkarBassOne had turned right up. Putting it back to 12 o’clock sorted the problem but I carried on with the Streamliner, which I haven’t fired up for a while. Still sounds great. I love the SkarBassOne pedal, but my one critique would be that pointer on the controls is a notch on an aluminium knob that is impossible to see on stage, or maybe it’s my eyesight as I don’t have that issue with the Origin DCXBass. Part of the second set was a run through live of our set for Gosport Waterfront Festival tomorrow afternoon and seemed to run ok. Another run out for the three new songs which all seem to work well. Still need to sort the harmony lines for all three of us for the middle of the solo in Hold The Line but it still works as a slightly heavier cover minus keyboards running similar to the Who On Earth version. The sets are running well now as well. Keeping chat between songs to a minimum and banging through is great for keeping the atmosphere up, but a nightmare for taking on fluids. The first set had minimal gaps to get to the water. Second set at least had a couple of songs where I don’t come in straightaway and could neck a pint of water. Had a good chat with another member here beforehand but forgot to get his name/handle 🤦‍♂️

Hope I can make it if/when sorted but I shall probably not be able to make it due to an operation on my left ankle in September so I’ll likely not be able to drive

Saturday I was “Anchor Face” Al on the good ship Punk 🤪 All good fun. One rehearsal and a couple of rough play thoughs at home and I remembered/managed to busk through it all watching the guitarist’s hand and catching up quickly when a song completely escaped me. Old skool rig: Hartke LH500 into a pair of BigBaby’s, tuner in the loop and an Origin DCXBass for an extra kick when required, battered FPPR Status S1 that has seen many SEBB’s. I nearly only used one BB then remembered (a) it’s punk; and (b) the band I was depping for has a drummer who really lays in so went the whole hog. Sounded flipping marvellous where I was 😁 I’m not normally allowed to be such an hooligan and ‘twas fun 🤩

Gig with the main band in Fareham yesterday (Friday). A bit quiet to start with but picked up towards the end when the hen party reached peak inebriation - had to step over the bride being comforted and filled with water while sat on the pavement outside on load out. Tonight (Saturday) I am being a Punk Pirate 😁

Big Big Train at the tour warm-up in Eastleigh on 16 September and then Moon Safari at Trading Boundaries in November

Had a rehearsal / run through with the punk band I have a dep for next week. Was (tongue in cheek) accused of being professional because I’d listened to the songs and had a rough idea how they went 🤣 All good clean fun and ran through two sets. Man alive it was loud 😱 I should use my earplugs more often but regularly forego as levels are manageable with most that I work with, but I was glad I had them this time and wished I could find my original stronger plugs at times!!!

Monday was good as it was a run through with our old drummer and my buddy in rhythm of 40 years. We’re like an old married couple and work off each other with a nod - it has long been alleged that we share the same brain when playing 😁 Last night was a run through with keys and guitar for Friday’s dep (drummer delayed return from hols and 🤷‍♂️re the girl vocalists). No great problem as we just ran the basics - tops, tails and odd arrangements or key changes - and got my IEM’s connected to the desk and a working mix running with the Soundcraft ui as I couldn’t get Mixing Station to work with the stage box for some reason.

I watched this auction when it popped up on my auction watch on iBidder. A few things looked interesting and I considered the PJB but it all rushed off to more than I wanted to pay, particularly bearing in mind the additions for buyers fees.

years ago my partner in crime in the rhythm section had a set of sound edge hihats and a “knowledgeable” drummer punter told him “I had a set that went like that and I sent them back and got them replaced “ 🤦🏼‍♂️ Worse. Barefoot shoes but comfortable 😁 Post Covid one of the venues we do went to a lower flat fee and bucket and it has actually worked better for us. One of the barmaids circulates with said bucket and I believe a contactless machine early in the second set when punters are suitably oiled and enjoying themselves, not utterly bladdered. As I say we’ve been better off generally on this basis with the only potential issue being we have no audit over the bucket and accept what comes our way. That’s always a round number, which could feasibly have been rounded up from bar take, but I know of a number of bands who have come away from a busy night with less and feeling shortchanged. Maybe we’re all just too polite as Brits to push back

Played Kingsfest in Emsworth on Saturday for a British Heart Foundation benefit. late afternoon/early evening set that went well. Lots of singing along and a pretty tight set as planned. No IEM’s which would have been nice but stage sound and monitors were ok and good practice for the Gosport Waterfront Festival next month where we’ll also be reliant on stage monitors and no IEM’s for me which is annoying because I’ve got used to them now and miss them. Guitarist started the second half of Final Countdown where he does the horn part a semitone flat and I had to nudge him. Noticeable on a recording/video but most likely gone in the moment live