Dad3353

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1499253843' post='3330269'] Never heard of them either [/quote]

Stage presence is part and parcel of the actor's attributes, and can be learned by anyone; the techniques are all there. Theatre schools, drama classes, actor studios, dance lessons... That's the way to acquire those skills, assuming them to be important enough in the first place.

[quote name='MrDaveTheBass' timestamp='1499252965' post='3330258']...Where can I get an invisible bear? [/quote] It's behind you..!

[quote name='Yank' timestamp='1499244764' post='3330189']...But then they don't make signature drum sets. [/quote] Not many, certainly, but some, just the same... [url="http://www.gear4music.com/Drums-and-Percussion/Pearl-Chad-Smith-Signature-Drum-Kit-Limited-Edition/A5F"]Chad Smith ...[/url] [url="http://www.musiciansfriend.com/drums-percussion/tama-stewart-copeland-signature-drum-set"]Stewart Copeland ...[/url] [url="http://www.soundattak.co.uk/drums/acoustic-drums/pdp-daru-jones-new-yorker-signature-drum-kit-gold-black-sparkle-detail"]Daru Jones ...[/url] Païste used to market a very excellent set of cymbals (the 'Seven Sound Set'...), signature Joe Morello. When I'm rich, I'll indulge...

I'm a drummer. I moved from the UK to France in the mid-'70s and was immediately called upon to join variety bands touring the West of France. There was a fair mix of musical styles, including for many a very strange (to me, at the time...) genre called 'musette', which is basically light, jazz-based popular songs from pre- and post-war, relying heavily on the accordion (Think Edith Piaf..?). Not a musical form with which I was familiar, with its own foibles and techniques, much decried by the musical snobs at the time as being very much 'old-hat', 'boring', 'stale' (and many other derogatory French terms...). I had to pick up the idiom sharpish; I started off using a soft 'disco' shuffle to cover my ignorance and went from there. As long as the (packed...) floor was dancing, it only got better and better. Similarly when I was offered a role in a Caribbean band, drumming beguine, calypso and other exotic rhythms. The learning curve is quite steep, but really makes one focus, and once the basics of the style have been absorbed, there's great pleasure to be had in expressing oneself in a foreign vocabulary. I'd say take the plunge, at least as a trial, and enjoy the (initially bumpy...) ride; there's little better way of progressing whilst having a blast. Go for it.

Michael Jackson's compilation album follow-up to 'Bad'...

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1499204663' post='3329998']... Is that the one?... [/quote]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1499197439' post='3329924'] Never heard of him. [/quote] Too young, I suppose.

T'ain't even a race, you old fool..! (Well done just the same for participating, 'ropey' or not... )

[quote name='Rick05' timestamp='1499190862' post='3329869']...[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]we would really love to hear any feedback on the songs...[/font] [/quote] Be careful what you wish for..? Just a rapid run-through, so not an in-depth critique, but there's a general trend, to me. Firstly, congratulations on getting all of that down in the first place; a lot of work has gone into the composition and arrangement of those tracks. No, that's not the end of the Good News; the bass playing is absolutely fine throughout (or, at least, all the parts I listened to...), so no worries there. I'd say the same of the drumming, but that brings me to the harder part: the mix. Guitar-heavy, with a very uneven treatment of the vocals, which, although in the vein of the music, varied from low, almost inaudible to raw squealy aggression. Probably fine in the context of a 'live' presence, but difficult to listen to, I found. Muddy, hidden-away drums, with little 'sparkle'; a shame as he's playing 'em well. I think you'd have trouble doing these 'live', unless the singer happens to be a good guitarist too (maybe the case..?). There, that's enough for now, but I'll repeat that you're all to be applauded for the fine effort, and regret that, to me, it doesn't do itself justice in the recording/mixing/mastering department. Good, then, could do better. Bravo. Edit: I've removed your redundant topic, as requested.

[quote name='jacko' timestamp='1499181903' post='3329765']...to stop the speakers farting to death. [/quote] That was their 'technical advice', in exactly those terms..?

I'm not sure that going up or down a tone would bring a Barry White tessiture into Robert Plant territory. I quite understand the different 'voices' we're born with; how does that square with a singer wanting to lower (or raise...) a semi-tone or so..? We're not discussing the same thing, here, I think.

There are probably fewer singers than even bass players who have had any formal training in their chosen discipline, and thus do not have the technical know-how as to how to use their instrument (the voice...). [i]Good [/i]singers can, indeed, choose the range in which to perform, and match their voice to the song (within limits, naturally...). Lessons would solve most, if not all, the issues one has with many singers, I reckon, but try convincing some of 'em of that..!

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1499173811' post='3329678']...but goes bananas when I make a brew... [/quote] I recommend Earl Grey, much better flavour than bananas (although a twist of lemon makes the cuppa perfect...).

In winter, beware just the same of plugging a radiator into the same outlet. There's a couple of kilowatts in that one apparatus. Just sayin'.

[quote name='azfatboy' timestamp='1499102819' post='3329196']...To understand what Mike Kerr is doing with his bass and with his pedals (it's hardly a static setup), all while singing, and to not at least admit the difficulty and uniqueness--seems to be purposefully wearing blinders whether one finds the music itself appealing or not... [/quote] I've no issues with the difficulty nor uniqueness of his prowess, but don't take those alone to be top criteria, that's all. Keith Emerson was skilled in wedging daggers into his keyboard, a quite unique feat at the time, but it didn't make his music more or less valid, just a (good...) showman's trick. I think the same of this bloke's dual-amp rig, which, for however technical it may be, is only putting out distorted bass lines. I'm quite certain that the trombone player is not to everyone's taste (I've heard better, myself...); I was just pointing out that being a 'one-man band' is not as new or original as all that. Keyboard players, for instance, have been doing that since J S Bach and before. Hats off to the fellow for doing his thing; I'll not be vying to copy his pedal-board, and will pass on the CDs. My loss, certainly.

Hmm... Not as easy as I thought. Still, after some reflection and a couple of false starts, here's... [url="https://soundcloud.com/dad3353/slow-slow-quick-quick-stop"]Slow, Slow, Quick Quick Stop. ...[/url] ... for your edification and delight. Enjoy.

[quote name='Barking Spiders' timestamp='1499070371' post='3328876'] Hmm Ed shows why - Eminem excepted - white people, and especially white Brits, should never try rapping... [/quote] Can they still try to play the blues, though..? Or jive dance..? Pick cotton, maybe..?

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1499028643' post='3328739']... Regards Richard Bowtie [/quote] Nice one, Dickie..!

[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1498934993' post='3328136'] That sounds bloody awful! [/quote] Part and parcel of experimentation is the possibility of failure..! Or, to paraphrase Longfellow: 'When it was good, it was very, very good, and when is was bad, it was horrid.' It's a concept, and as such will be explored. I must admit to not being enthralled by [i]all [/i]the sounds emitted by the topic's subject, either.

Zzzzzz... Zzzzzzz... Zzzzz... Harrumph... Yaaaaaawwwwn... What what what..? A new Challenge..? I'm on it, folks; don't panic. Now then, where's my glasses...

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1498865527' post='3327715'] Bloody DOH , you sneaked in there Douglas , even 'toute suiter' than I thought [/quote] Bloody panic, mate; I had just finished the washing-up and suddenly realised the time..! Oh, heck..! Why is software so slow to load up when you're in a rush, but darned quick when you've just deleted everything..? Anyway, t'would only be fitting to make lowdown sweat it out a bit, what with his entry being late 'n all..! Where's the next picture, though, eh..? That's what we're all wanting, now..! ([i]Sounds of tired, slow but insistent foot tapping and old arthritic fingers drumming painfully on the skai armrest. Calls for another glass of milk, and maybe a Digestive , despite the sugar content, but nods off[/i]...)

[left][size=4][color="#222222"][font="Arial, sans-serif"][size=4]And the winner is... Lowdown..! [sharedmedia=core:attachments:167486] Here, then, is your Winner's Certificate (download and save as pdf file, then proudly print and frame...) ...[/size][/font][/color] [attachment=248172:BC_Chal_Cert_2017_06.pdf] [color="#222222"][font="Arial, sans-serif"][size=4]... which looks like this (but bigger, of course..!)… [/size][/font][/color][/size][/left]

Many years (no, decades..! ) ago, I attended an Atari show in Paris (I was freelance programming at that time...), and stumbled across a stand on which a lone trombone player was improvising, in many different styles, using a MIDI connection to an Atari. I can't remember exactly the name of the software ('Tangerine' comes vaguely to mind, or something close..?); this software was obeying his MIDI signals and playing a fully-orchestrated accompaniment, entirely in keeping with the genre he was playing, and very nicely harmonised. He would finish his piece, then play a couple of specific 'command' notes to switch styles, and carry on. Ragtime, Big Band, Orchestral Classical, Hot Rock... He had, it seemed, full control over the system with only his Trombone as both instrument and command. In the light of what I saw that day (I remained quite absorbed for quite some time watching the bloke...), seeing a fellow with a bass doubling up on 'guitar' looks quite modest, to me. I'm maybe missing something (and I'm a drummer, after all...), but I have yet to see what the big deal is, musically speaking. Still, it obviously appeals to some, so why not..? Edit: 'Tango', not Tangerine' (well, I was close..!), that was it. I'm looking it up now to understand further... Edit 2: 'Tango' still lives, apparently..! Here's the bloke, using it for a short video (warning: may contain some Jazz content...) ... http://youtu.be/KQgo3Fbmsf8

[quote name='bassbiscuits' timestamp='1498729302' post='3326573'] I'm not sure where this idea has come from that a week before a gig is too late to change strings? Have i missed something? I've regularly changed mine the day before a gig - as long as you keep giving them a good stretch and play them a good bit before the gig they will have settled down and will stay in tune no problem. I did exactly that last weekend. Quite whether the change in sound was appreciated by the punters is a different matter tho! I should have asked them both... [/quote] I don't think anyone is saying 'it's too late', exactly; just that, if they're not causing any problem, there's no need to change 'em, especially for a very first gig, where there are many more important details to be concentrating on. For more experienced players, changing strings (if necessary...) on the night causes no issues [i]per se[/i], but that's changing for a coherent reason, and in full knowledge of what effect it'll have, plus the tranquillity of knowing that the set will go well, whatever. Our OP here is trying his best to get it right for that all-important First Gig, and the present strings are fine, so leave 'em on. Experiment after the gig, certainly, but now is not the time for that, I'd say.