WalMan

Realised I have songs to relearn / brush up on for two deps before rehearsal for one on Wednesday and gig with the other on Friday … oops. Good news is the Wednesday rehearsal is with a band that runs a silent stage, so the keyboard player, who I’ve gigged with in a couple of bands over the years, was able to send me baseless tracks of them so I spent this evening watching the Grand Prix with the tracks playing from Dropbox on my iPad plugged into the TwoNotes BassRevolt aux in doing a play along on headphones so that’s one sorted 😁 Rehearsal with my main band tomorrow, brush up for Wednesday’s rehearsal for the dep and Friday’s gig Tuesday and Thursday…what could possibly go wrong 🫣🤪🤣

Friday night played a small but friendly pub for the 10th anniversary of the landlady taking over. Not a great deal of space and a nasty hum for a while, eventually traced to the drummers fan that was right next to me. Sound was good but I completely lost the bass at the start of the second set. Coming through the PA, but for some reason not my IEM's. I had had to turn the amp right down for the first set and can only assume that I knocked the master when we went back on, but why it disappeared from my IEM's when it was in the PA was beyond me. Turned the master up and the bass came back but was too loud so initially barely touching the bass (because the sound I was getting was great). Eventually rolled the level back on the bass and everything settled down. Otherwise a good night with a singing, dancing crowd so...

It's also annoying when you learn a song, get it worked up thinking "this'll go well" and it get a blank look at every gig & ends up getting dropped after 2 or 3 tries. Had that with Killer Queen. Good slightly rocked up version based loosley on the Jorn version. Got tumbleweed every time😡 Ours tends to be work up a new one to replace stuff that we've been doing for ages so as to mix ix up but the older songs go and we end up with with the newer ones all the time - that said more recently they have been better known covers guaranteed to get them dancing & singing and it's them difficult to slot older songs back in once in a while Finally, we operate to a single veto so if someone doesn't want to do a song then that's it. Had a few where that's happened, not from me as I am a musical whooer and will give pretty much anything a chance & go with the flow. Most recently I could take or leave "I Love Rock & Roll". A nothing song, but always works at the end of the night. It's 2 minutes, and a POP to play so 'whatevaaaah' 😁

Thanks all. A difficult couple of days Sunday to Tuesday, but music is a great healer 🙂

sounds like a bit of a slacker, are you sure he’s committed to the band 🤣 Got to be done 😁 I’ve planned operations around gigs and tried to get back maybe too soon but I can’t let go 🤪

After a difficult week when we lost my mother unexpectedly - saw her Saturday and Sunday morning, leaving her with a cheery “see you next week”, to 9 Sunday evening in A&E talking DNR’s with the doctors 😢 - last night it was a blessed relief to get out to a gig with a great crowd singing and dancing. Sound seemed pretty good though one of the guitarist’s boost setting for solos could probably have done with a bit more. Drummer’s stool broke halfway through a song in the set and he had to finish the night on one of the pub’s chairs as the stool was not repairable. I clearly dug in too hard even with the IEM’s as I have a big old blister on my index finger. https://fb.watch/shD9Bhs2So/?

I once came off stage at the end of a first set where I was a long term dep trying to talk a dep drummer through stuff and an utter car wreck of a set to be greeted with “you guys are BRILLIANT “ 🤦🏼‍♂️No accounting for taste. I suppose they must still have been able to discern the songs being murdered 🤷🏼‍♂️🤣

Sounds like the afternoon trouble in Bognor yesterday that led to the semi lockdown of all pubs into the evening and a tense atmosphere at our gig had actually moved out of the main town. Three pubs and a Tesco Express all trashed and assorted other mayhem and criminality. 🤬 Thankfully nothing at our gig and a great night was had by all

Good night in Bognor despite the town being in virtual lockdown due to trouble there during the afternoon and early evening. Thankfully whatever it was seemed to be over by the time we got to load in but the atmosphere was a little tense and started and ended with the main door locked and entry only through the fire exit that could be monitored. Thankfully despite all that we had a good night with lots of dancing and the most singing along in ages. We were on a strict 11 curfew with punters warned that the bar would be shutting bang on 11 and that they would need to drink up and be gone quick sharp. Finished the second set and did “I love rock and roll” for the first time as a quick encore. Finished at 10:59 😁 Lots of compliments at the end of the night which is always nice 😊 IEM’s worked well tonight with one glitch when one of the guitars suddenly drowned out everything and my iPad had gone to sleep so I couldn’t do anything about it. Turned out to be something to do with the XLR from his Kemper and thankfully not repeated.

One of my less frequent bands is a prog cover band nowadays doing mainly Floyd, Yes & Genesis. In the past we also did Porcupine Tree, UK & Spock’s Beard, which confused many 🤣 Fun gig to do, though the Floyd covers are a bit of a nothing for bass (IMO). It is a very few and far between gig - two + years between last March and the previous gig. The last gig was self promoted and had just under 100 paying customers through the door. Went pretty well as well. Photos of the set up for that including McMillen 12Step bass pedals through a soft synth on my iPad and acoustic on a playing stand. Probably the most demanding from that set was Firth of Fifth, Roundabout or Spirit of Radio and a lot of the ‘standard’ prog covers feel like it’s just pedalling a single note whilst stuff shifts around on keys and guitar. Volunteer Club in my sig is a proggy project with one of the guitarists in my main band. I was lucky and got the S2 during lockdown and just before Rob announced his retirement. The S2 was a constant at South East Bass Bashes for years and I eventually bought it from Barney when I was in need of a 5 string quickly to use whilst I had an insurance repair carried out on my old L2500. It looks a mess and was cheap, but plays well and sounds great so is always in

It’s a Status S2. Generally my go to nowadays, that or a beaten up FPPR S1 for even tighter venues where cats cannot be swung and I’m likely to be knocking into things all night. Both really solid in tone, light and playable. The Wal doesn’t often come out to play at gigs anymore & just used for recording.

Landed back from hols at sparrow’s fart. Bit of a nap then lock and load. A couple of ‘how does this go again’ moments to start but woke up and cleared ‘flight throat’ for backing vox and overall a great fun night as ever at a small but appreciative pub 🤘😁 I still need to get things sorted with the IEM feed as something doesn’t seem quite right. I should be getting pre-fade, but I’m not convinced that I am. I set my mix, and then it changes leading me to suspect I’m getting post. i also need to get a damn sight fitter and shed a few stone!!!! New bike due I a week or so so I must get on it regularly!

Two nights depping done and great fun as ever. Phone call/ message 9 am Friday morning. 11 hours later load in for gig one. Got through relatively unscathed for a slightly later start and finish at a pub I’ve not played at for years. Last time I depped with them was January and it’s a mix of a set with only a few cross overs to my normal set (though different keys to those I usually play those few in) but good players and an easy bunch to work with and off. Second gig closer to home and a bit earlier to finish which is just as well as I’m in Mrs Walman’s bad books for taking two gigs just before we head off on holiday. Reasonable crowds both nights and running full IEM’s which worked well. A bit more holiday spending cash, which is nice. And so to bed and head to the airport tomorrow afternoon ready for Monday morning 😁

Hobby for me as well, but I am known as a musical whooer by my mates for taking on all offers to play pretty much whatever because I enjoy playing and can afford to (within reason) as wifey is accommodating to my regular disappearance to gigs and rehearsals and the day job keeps me solvent. I probably did around half of @Clarky's journey Saturday in the opposite direction (from the coast inland to Horsham). After costs we had £10 each Saturday night, and the final tot up for 92 punters through the door, after room & PA means I have another £10 to come apparently. 🕺EV & a bit of sun in the morning means I probably broke even on mileage for the gig & three rehearsals - though not once the extra bits to make running the bass pedals easier and other odds & sods are factored in

The band is Epsilon. Sadly doesn’t get to gig often as getting everyone together is akin to herding cats. I also have The Volunteer Club as a recording project with one of the guitarists from The Alibi as a progish non gigging project.

Cheers Jeff good to catch up again after the SEBB. Funnily enough I was last out on the load out (though I did get caught chatting to friends rather than packing up 🤦‍♂️) Just seen a phone clip of Court of the Crimson King from the back of the room last night. The BF/TH was running a Moog Model D soft synth on my iPad with the 12Step and sounded thunderous 🤩

Prog gig tonight and took a large proportion of my gear - Big Baby 2 with the Darkglass, small pedalboard and BassRevolt for the bass - 2 x One10’s with Aguilar TH350 for the bass pedals - was lending the other BB2 to the keys but couldn’t get the mixer and power amp that had worked fine Thursday night wouldn’t at the gig🤬 Generally went well and the crowd were really appreciative which was nice.

🫢oh dear I've never taken that as a backhanded 'compliment' the many times I've had that. 🤣

@AndyTravis pretty sure it was one of these https://www.k-m.de/en/products/stands-and-accessories-for-instruments/fretted-instruments/14761-guitar-performer-stand-black?c=156

I can’t quite remember now, had it a while but I’ll try and find the details. It’s a solid stand and a better solution than the one I used before that fixed to the top of a mic stand and just strapped to guitar to it. Cost about £150 IIRC

Proggy rehearsal tonight. Better than a couple of weeks back when I was too tired and had been working all the hours so also under rehearsed 🙁 Spent some time last night brushing up on parts and tonight it was sounding good where I was stood rehearsing for the first gig in a long while (getting everyone together is like herding cats) Keyboard players gear is unfortunately very old so the hope for a slick set and quick changes is out of the window as certain changes require much stabbing at buttons and scrolling of menus to setup patches. No laptop and preprogrammed setlist and scenes for us unfortunately. Took everything tonight, bass, bass pedals and acoustic on a stand. I rather think for the gig I shall forego the bass pedals as one thing too many to worry about. Shame but I can get by without. Tonight’s studio madness, left to right as you look at it: - iPad running Moog Mariana bass soft synth driven by McMillen 12Step pedals - volume pedal for the acoustic on a stand - Status S2 into Boss CE20, SkarBassOne, MicroThumpinator, TwoNotes Bass Revolt and into the FX return on the studio’s Laney - Faith acoustic on stand I like the 12Step but my big feet and the wrong shoes didn’t help hitting the right notes 🤦‍♂️