Skol303

Yeah I'm getting the same error by the sound of it - and I'm using Mac ware too.

Well done mate! Sounds like it went well....that stage invasion must surely be a good sign of a cracking night. A packed house helps to pay the bills, sure. But a lively one is what matters. Good work! :-)

Hope this month's pic is alright for everyone?! I did find some very tasteful wintry landscape photos; some trippy pics of fairy lights, etc. Then I came across the one above and thought yeah, that's suitably Christmassy innit? ;-) PS: as a token of festive good will to fellow BC'ers - and as a small way of saying a big thanks for the support last month - I'd like to offer a Basschat polo shirt to this month's winner. A new one that is. Not something from my laundry pile... Cheers all.

Good to hear you enjoyed the gig anyway Owen! I didn't get any takers among fellow Mancs for the ticket, crying shame as it sounded like a good one. Would have gone myself had I not been up in Scotland that night... Cheers anyway mate.

Big Soul II Soul fan here and I thought they were GREAT! :-) Watched it on catch up today and must admit I was slightly nervous as I thought they might have lost some if their shine, but not a bit. ^ I didn't think the Palma Violets were 'that' bad... They had bag loads of energy (I liked the drummer) and I could see how they'd appeal to the right audience. I think that sort of college garage band stuff always sounds a bit derivative anyway - as did the bands they're mimicking, and so on and so forth. But yeah, Soul II Soul wiped the floor :-)

Just PM'd Charic with a pic for this month. I'm sure he'll be on the case once he's finished drinking his way through last night's rider and turfing out the groupies from his tour bus… (Hope it went well Rick!) PS... [quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1354310058' post='1884797']...why doesn't Basschat create a downloadable album with all the tracks for each month of the composition competition? I for one would love to collect all the tracks from last month and this month (I wasn't aware of the competition before then) and the future ones, and happy to pay for them.[/quote] ^ I really like this idea! Gets my support.

^ Thanks everyone! I love this community :-) I'll definitely be setting up a build diary on BC for the bass. Would welcome your input in that. I'm thinking I might opt for a body shaped like Jimmy Savile's face, with the neck forming a big cigar...thoughts?? ;-) Right. I'm off to drink a strong one. Muchas gracias amigos!

WOW!!…I'm lost for words. Been up for nearly 20 hours today so thoroughly knackered and can't think of anything clever to say other than a MASSIVE THANKS to everyone who voted this week (both times!). A respectful doff of my cap to comrades who took part in the challenge; cheers to Bluejay for plugging the voting on the BC Twitter; Charic for setting all this up in the first place (hope your gig’s going well mate!); and of course Paul at 13 Guitar Co, who I'm looking forward to having a chat with… :-) Everyone here must know that my track wasn't the best of the bunch in terms of technical skill and musicianship. Not by a long chalk. But it's been the most popular in what ended up as a three horse race - and it'd be good to know why so I can pull it off again! Anyway… I'm not going to put on a load of fake modesty about the result - I'm stoked! :-) Off to crack open a bottle of something and will be back in the morning - most likely with a headache - to email Charic with a pic for December (who'll probably also have a headache).

 Cheers! And thanks again. I feel very honoured, corny as that might sound. Paul x

F'IN'ELL! Just got back from up north... thought I was going to be trailing by now but WTF has happened to the scores today?!!! Gobsmacking amount of votes. My SoundCloud plays have gone crazy too. I ain't complaining about that - seems like Elvis has had a spurt on as well. Must be a load of new sign-ups amongst these voters, unless the BC community has finally come out in force?

 Anyway not long to go... I'm putting the kettle on :-)

Final bump! (see first post)

Looks like people are only voting for the front runners now which is a bloody shame. Bit rich coming from me I know but it's starting to feel like an eBay auction Ah well. I'm gonna put out one more call for votes then I'm out in the Scots wilderness till I get home later tonight (and its bloody freezing!). Hopefully back in time to catch the final scores... Adios amigos!

[quote name='Elvis Valentine' timestamp='1354207806' post='1883661']So when does this whole thing finish?finally. once and for all. lol[/quote] This is just the first round. Next comes the traditional clog fighting, following by a staring contest and then a game of strip poker to finish off... But in all seriousness it's Friday at midnight.

Right, here's my effort at a final push for votes. I'm traveling for most of tonight and away till late tomorrow, so I've just put out a call for 'last orders' on [url="https://twitter.com/skol303"]Twitter[/url] and the [url="http://soundcloud.com/groups/basschat/discussion"]BC SoundCloud[/url] page. Very nearly 100 votes in which is bloomin' great. See y'all on the other side...!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1354144140' post='1882827']Heh! Quite a bit of development and artistry in Electronic Dance Music, but I don't want to make a big deal out of it... [/quote] Oh f***sticks! I'd just written a long - and what I'd thought intelligent! - post about songs, instrumentals and the often misunderstood world of proper electronic music (not friday night meat market sh1te) and my damn computer just wiped it before I could hit send. So I'll summarise: I agree with Discreet. My background is in electronic music and there's a world of stuff out there that people don't get to hear. Much of it massively more imaginative and pioneering than the vast majority of traditional guitar-based bands. But that's a big ol' can of worms right there... best close the lid and move on. Do people connect more with songs than instrumentals? Maybe. Songs are probably more memorable and I'd wager the majority of people prefer something with lyrics over something without. My own personal top ten (which changes daily) would list probably more instrumentals than songs - but that's a reflection of my misspent youth in clubs and raves during the 90s. Halycon days It's funny, 'cos I normally make the sort of music that most people here would hate! I've had very little feedback on basschat to my electronic stuff, apart from the likes of 51m0n, Shep and co who always chip in with comments on the production (always greatly appreciated!). So I've taken these challenges as an opportunity to go way off piste - for me anyway - and have a stab at songwriting. I'm genuinely surprised by the support I've been getting so far - and to be honest I'm going to stick with the vocal tracks for the time being as I'm having a lot of fun making them, learning new stuff and seemingly picking up some new friends along the way. Anyway... this has turned into a long post when all I wanted to do was pop in and say "nice one" to everyone who voted today and got the total back up. Right, I'm outta here. Night all.

Good luck mate! Seriously, you've got the support of everyone here You've put the hours in with practice, so you know that side of things is covered. Draw some confidence from that and don't worry too much about your 'stage presence' until after the first couple of songs, by which time you'll have slotted into your groove and will be more relaxed and happy to let go a little. Disclaimer: I haven't gigged properly in nearly 10 years but solid practice and Dutch courage used to work for me (in moderation - it's a careful balance. Two pints was always my optimum). Enjoy it and let us know how it goes.

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1354122575' post='1882388']I have a suspicion as to what could have happened...[/quote] [i]"No Charic... NOT THE RED BUTTON!!!"[/i] Never mind mate, what's done is done. Very courageous of you to 'fess up as to what might have caused it.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1354112267' post='1882200']I can't help but feel that given the rather special nature of this month's prize, that voting should be suspended until the site has been fixed properly - after all what's to stop the same problem happening again on Friday just before the closing deadline?[/quote] Good point, but I think the crash was an unexpected 'thing' - it might happen again, it might not. I think we're all pretty much flying by the seat of our pants on this and hoping for no further problems until the votes are in (Friday midnight). If the site crashes again I'm just going to eat my own pants and take up the banjo. Always good to have a backup plan. PS: thanks to everyone who's bothered to come back and vote. Still 30 or so missing in action, but the response so far has been good.

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1354107632' post='1882109']I'm sorry your not happy with the decision but that's how it's going to run...[/quote] No need to apologise, Charic! Not your fault mate. Stuff happens - and nearly always at the worst times possible! That's the Law Of The Universe. I'm personally 'ok' with a re-vote. Not ideal but seems like the least messy solution and I agree that a vote by Paul at 13 Guitar ain't ideal either. I mean, he might love my track but that would seem to be too substantial a change to the rules this far down the line. Plus, it's heaping a bunch of pressure on Paul which doesn't seem right. The re-vote seems to be underway, so I'm happy to let it run its course whatever. /Zen mode on [quote name='Elvis Valentine' timestamp='1354105265' post='1882053']I have also stuck a like on facebook this time.[/quote] ^ Careful mate, that kicked up a bunch of stink earlier on in this discussion (fishing for votes among mates, etc). Handle with care! [PS: if anyone wants to see my Facebook page to check for nefarious self-promotion then I'll happily PM you the link. You need to be on Facebook to view it - and not afraid of looking at baby photos. Hundreds of them! I never use FB, other than registering for competitions, etc, but my other half is always tagging me in photos that appear on my page. My lawyer is onto it...]

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1354106912' post='1882092']I'd say start again guys, I've put the post up on FB again and hopefully most voters will come back and vote again. If we see it's going majorly different then perhaps an alternative solution can be looked into then but I think we need to see what happens first.[/quote] Ok mate. I can roll with that

[quote name='Stephen Houghton' timestamp='1354105265' post='1882052']It was said original votes could be added again which is fair enough, but to start again isnt fair in my humble opinion[/quote] [quote name='Elvis Valentine' timestamp='1354105265' post='1882053']I agree if everyone knows how many votes they had it should just carry on from there.[/quote] I think we need a decision here... I'm against stopping the vote again as it appears be back on and doesn't seem right to mess the voters around [i](I sound like a frickin' politician!).[/i] If people are in favour of adding previous tallies back on to everyone's totals then I'd obviously be a mug to complain! Seems fair to me, but I can understand why people might object. [b]Charic: your the boss here; over to you on this one I think mate...[/b]

BUMP FOR NEWSFLASH! (see first post).

[quote name='Stephen Houghton' timestamp='1354102848' post='1882008']I dont think thats fair Skol, voting should carry on from where it was everyone knows there number of votes before the crash. Or let 13 guitar decide, i know charic said it may push towards one style or another, but everyone votes that way anyway. The people who voted for you may not read it as they think they have voted already, or may not even look on web and it could screw your chances up.[/quote] Cheers for the kind words, Stephen, but I honestly don't mind. This particular cluster f*** pales in comparison to some of the stuff I've had to deal with over the years (cue montage depicting emotional backstory... ). Yes, it sucks good and proper, and I imagine there are plenty of folks who'll relish a second chance at the win - I know I would - but [i]ce la vie![/i] I've posted about the re-vote on the same channels I did previously, and I guess the laws of maths dictate that if the same number of people do and don't bother voting again then I should still be in with a chance. And if not, heh, I'll just go sit in a corner and cry my bleeding heart out (is this emotional stuff working on anyone yet??). So personally I think leave it as it stands. The votes have already started again and I think it'd do more harm than good to future challenges if we said to people: "Voting is back on... but now it's off again". I was really heartened to see that so many folks had voted, so let's hope that continues.

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1354100196' post='1881976']... keep the rules as they were and it's the closest to fair it can be [/quote] Ok. I've taken that as a green light to get the message out that voting is starting again from scratch. Just slung a message out on [url="https://twitter.com/Skol303"]Twitter[/url] and the [url="http://soundcloud.com/groups/basschat/discussion"]BC SoundCloud group[/url] (you can view them by clicking the links). I don't have any Facebook contacts worth spamming about it, just friends and family, so maybe someone else can take care of that end of things. Not happy, but I'll just have to suck it up like a goddamn He-Man [i][< that's meant to be a He-Manly face, not an angry one...][/i] Good luck everyone (again!).

Well that obviously sucks gigantic balls from my perspective! (I was on 20 votes). Can we rely on everyone voting again? Or is the vote now to be decided by those remaining folk who hadn't yet got round to voting before the crash? Seems like an odd way to rectify what's happened, but then I'm bias and not the best person to decide. Ah whatever... I don't want to seem like I'm throwing my toys out of the pram, so I'll just go along with what gets decided and chalk this up as one of life's wonderfully sharp kicks in the knackers. PS: that custom bass is going to be cursed, you know that right?

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1354056776' post='1881620']He was whacking everyone and if by raising my concerns about people's voting habits I have caused some sort of issue with the competition, and he doesn't get the prize he deserves (assuming he would have won), I will never forgive myself [/quote] Don't worry Nige! Really mate. I don't think there's anything personal going on here (see my post earlier tonight). I'm genuinely open to whatever comes of whatever's going on - if anything is going on!? :-) This discussion has definitely got me thinking though. I have no idea who's been voting for me. I've told people to check out the entries and vote on Twitter, on the BC SoundCloud group and in the General Discussion forum here. Not sure what to think if that's the reason for my tally in the poll...can't say I mind if people have made the effort to listen and vote. Good on 'em! But equally I'd be p1ssed if my efforts to plug the competition had backfired and were deemed unfair. But if so, heh, I'll roll with that ;-) Seriously. Anyway, don't fret mate! I don't feel like you or anyone else here is gunning for me. Having a prize on offer does seem to have changed the spirit of things a little, but not in a 'bad' way per se. Right...I'm off to watch Later on catch up now. Night all! :-)