bassninja

...and she has great hair!

Did a dep at a party at Queen drumbo Roger Taylor's sumptuous Surrey pile once where Gary Glitter did the filthiest version of Be Bop a Lula, which made me shudder at the memory when he was nicked some years later... Also, Richard O'Brien (Rocky Horror dude) said my bass playing was 'like a piano player's left hand'. Well, I took it as a compliment... And I nearly ran over Richard Thompson, his wife and son (in pushchair) in Petworth in my old Renault. My hero David Palmer from Jethro Tull (now Dee Palmer, following gender reassignment) gave me a kiss on the cheek after I sat in with her for 'Locomotive Breath'.

[quote name='lowdown' post='770495' date='Mar 10 2010, 03:04 PM']You can never turn a turd into a Strawberry. Now that would be a skill. Garry[/quote] I'm suggesting you can still stick sparklers in it and cover it in glitter so it looks less... er... turdy.

Isn't the skill in turning the 'mistake' into something musical? Isn't that right, Jimmy Page? ...and I don't necessarily mean repeat the 'honker' 3 times, louder each time in the hope that it will sound 'out there' or 'inspired'. You're only ever a semitone away from the diatonic...

[quote name='OldGit' post='750413' date='Feb 19 2010, 12:10 AM']What would you play after Greensleeves and Roots? Most audiences think any diddly is Irish anyway ...[/quote] Quite so, OG. Did you mean 'Roots' by Show of Hands? If so, good shout: it describes my feelings about our attitude to our own musical heritage pretty well, even though I find Steve K a bit annoyingly winsome at times."Its my flag too, and I want it back..." Here: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5h4PFBuzvw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5h4PFBuzvw[/url] [/back on topic]

Yeah, the rebel songs angle is always best avoided completely. We had a decidedly republican audience at a (league) football club with strong links to the 'old country' back in the late 80s. They sang all the rebel songs anyway, once the evening gets 'later', and we were packing up. Really fun gig IIRC, good natured and all that. Mind you, our erstwhile agent, who is also a very funny comedian (anyone from Pompey know him?) tells a chilling story about the night he played a Sunderland club in his new black & white suit. To... Total... Silence... So its the same all over. I do, however, regret that Crass were never afforded the opportunity to play a hunt ball.

We have a St Pat's night gig most years, and we have a bunch of songs we trot out once a year in its (his) honour. We always make it clear that we're a band that does [i]some[/i] Irish-y music, but that the guv'nor shouldn't expect a full nights' diddly (as it were). On the other hand, the band in question this year is a jammy/bluegrassy outfit (see my sig) that does quite a lot of pickin' on tunes that are often the Transatlantic counterpart of the Irish/Scottish/English (not so often Welsh) originals. Most times, the audience don't seem bothered at the ethnomusicological inconsistency, though. This has come about after 20 odd years of random to-ing and fro-ing in various bands, to the point where now its fairly straightforward. Since its only once a year, I've never thought to ask how other people how they approach the Great Day (or great Guinness promotion, depending on your point of view)*. * no offence, I hope, to our Irish friends. Including the group who 'persuaded' us not to play any further Irish tunes at a gig in Lewisham, since we aren't from Ireland and therefore clearly don't have the right to do so. I now understand this fully, and am very sorry. *muses*[i]I wonder how Rory Gallagher got on in Chicago...[/i]

I have a 300w powered Trace sub from one of their acoustic PAs, all good if you can get enough level into it (preamp, mixer, channel strip or similar) Also I rehearse (albeit at low/acoustic volume) with a Behringer SansAmp clone>powered 1x12" + horn cab (LabTech? dunno exactly) and I'm seriously thinking it might sound good with a mic on it as part of a recording setup, for a bit of air/room. I've often wondered how both would sound with a crossover to send the right freqs to he right cabs... Have also gone Behringer doodah>Bose L2. Mwa,ha haaaaaa! Great coverage, sounds entirely consistent anywhere in the room, from standing right on top of it to right at the back of the (biggish) room. Doesn't need to be loud to reach everywhere, due to the vertical array and sub unit. If I had the bunts, I'd get one like a shot with an SWR Marcus pre.

I watched some vid of Pino playing his P with John Mayer the other week and dusted off my 73 P with EMG P/Js for a jammy gig instead of my Thumb V thru neck the same weekend. I love the Warwick, but the P is like comfy slippers...

[quote name='Doddy' post='727590' date='Jan 28 2010, 01:47 PM']Other cool Jam Bands to check out are Phish...........The Best of the lot IMO Widespread Panic Spin Doctors (especially live stuff) Dave Matthews Band Umphreys McGee Greatful Dead (obviously) There are loads of great bands in this Genre.[/quote] +1s, also: String Cheese Incident, Phil Lesh and friends, Gov't Mule (with Allen Woody and Dave Schools esp), North Mississippi Allstars and Galactic. The Bonnaroo 2002 DVD, as well as many of the bands from this post, has an epic version of King Crimson's "Thela Hun Ginjeet" by Captain Claypool's Fabulous Flying Frog Brigade: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHH7KB4Tcug"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHH7KB4Tcug[/url] Phish are me own personal faves, mind...

I'd recommend it. I've used it as a DI for live work & recording and it has been fine. Probably the best £35 odd quid I've spent on bass tackle. It would be nice to have some mid control, but the blend control lets you dial in a bit of dry signal, which helps. Build quality is not great; if you need to turn it on & off from a great height with your entire bodyweight, as some people evidently do, I'd go for a more sturdy alternative. For myself, I set it and forget it for the most part. However, if you want a 'makes me sound better' flexibility box that won't get lots of physical abuse (maybe to sit out of the way on top of your amp), its def worth a punt for the price of a decent set of strings.

A mate of mine who was in the army in Germany returned home on a weekend pass and suggested we go to see Motorhead at Guildford Civic. He was very much into Venom and all that hairspray metal bollocks. Not my usual cuppa, but why not? I was more yer whimsical acoustic type then, and thought it would be a bit... uncouth. However, I did enjoy a drink at the time, he had the tickets and had offered to drive. But bugger I down dead, they were superb. Deafening (in a good way), F U attitude, debauched, fantastic. And Lem just radiates cool. Seen them again since, and would do again. \m/

By concentrating very hard and eating a good diet, you could grow another finger. It worked for me. Or maybe its living under that pylon...

RUN AWAY!!! FLEEEEE!!!

+ dozens to 'It makes no difference'. Also 'The Weight' with The Staples Singers, that 'Crazy Chester followed me...' verse. The Last Waltz has been on heavy rotation for years at Bassninja Towers.

Decent response, tip o' the hat to Andertons. I wonder if they became aware of this thread, though..?

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='628942' date='Oct 17 2009, 07:03 PM']Indeed, best wishes for your operation. FWIW, I've heard some [i]interesting[/i] stories about Andertons' amp repairs as well.[/quote] +1 to both Their amp guy repaired my Trace, which failed on the first gig out with the same problem. On enquiry, they were unwilling to break down the bill, except to give me their hourly rate. And got shirty that I even had the temerity to ask... That said, I've also had some nice deals there. I wish I still had that Status Shark

Cool Saw Edgar with Yo-Yo Ma and Mark O'Connor years ago, great touch. Loved this comment on the YouTube page about the 'who's best' arguments though... [i] Some of these comments I've read sound like they were written by people who measure their penis daily.[/i]

The cat on the mixer>the gas almost works by Fairport (7/4 > 5/4) Smeceno Horo by Planxty (christ knows the sig, but rockin the uillean pipes...) [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LTeV7RUPnM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LTeV7RUPnM[/url] I hung my head by Sting is pretty cool IMO.

Not easy. I've always thought, [i]when I stop enjoying it, I'll stop doing it[/i]. Even if you did ride it out as a band with him, would it be worth the hassle, tension, strained silences..? Gotta be able to rely on your hombres, and have confidence in them... Get another guitard, IMHO.

[quote name='sshorepunk' post='624297' date='Oct 12 2009, 07:31 PM']From the Jam are touring soon![/quote] I gather that Rick Buckler has the hump with Bruce and has left FTJ because Bruce agreed to play on the new Weller album, however. Shame... [url="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/pandora/pandora-bucklers-not-from-the-jam-anymore-1792294.html"]http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/p...re-1792294.html[/url]

The first time I ever saw Big Jim Sullivan play in a local boozer, I was so blown away I kept sucking at a bottle of Newcastle Brown absent mindedly while marvelling at his prowess. Come the end of the gig, the Broon had caught up with me. I was so awestruck that I shambled up to him and couldn't do anything but repeat "Mishterr Sullivan..." over and over while shaking my head in bemusement. He smiled kindly and eventually said "Jim will do, son". I ended up gigging with him for a while and even did a couple of albums, but never sought to remind him of our first meeting. However, on the plus side, the first time I met my hero Dave Pegg I must have kept it together, because when I asked if I could tape the show, he offered me a line from the mixer instead. Top geezer all round. Oh, and Tony Hadley (we love him madly) wee'd on my shoe once. Probably by mistake. *EDIT* A 'line from the mixer' merely refers to a stereo audio output, your honour...

...but Al, you looked so calm on the day... Bloody good job though, mate. It was one of the best organised and thought-out local fests we've done, so hats off to you all. Was anyone there from R*x picking up tips?

[quote name='7string' post='588179' date='Sep 2 2009, 11:48 PM']I grabbed a Behringer DI and it's really given a boost to my bass sound. It's like a steroid switch, just beefs everything up a little and I'm just using the suggested settings. I was playing bass with a friend of mine after I got it and he just laughed as the bass just sounded so good. Best £30 I've spent in a long while.[/quote] +1, Good bang/buck ratio for the £, but plastic casing is pretty rubbish.