casapete

I did a similar thing with a Dan Armstrong Orange Squeezer, as used by Mark Knopfler and Steely Dan. Bought it for around £25, and sold it for £200 just before the (inferior) reissues came out. Also sold my 80’s Tube Screamer to a dealer a couple of years ago. Think it cost me around £30 new back then, got £250 for it.

Just got home from our now monthly gig at The Sun Inn in Beverley. Usual request style gig with my acoustic duo, and some great tunes asked for including ‘A town called malice’, ‘Shotgun’ and a bizarre Pulp Fiction medley comprising ‘Miserlou’ segueing into ‘You never can tell’! At one point they had the door locked to prevent any more people coming in, and also ran out of glasses - the place was absolutely rammed. Although a great crowd of people, it is one of those gigs that is very full on - we do three 40 minute sets and with so many people it is impossible to play all their requests. Still, plenty of good comments afterwards, and the landlord was pleased with the turnout too. ( Picture below is from last week at Scarborough, just sent to me by a punter).

Slight derail - does anybody else keep a record of what they buy and sell? I’ve only done this for the last few years, but it’s amazing how much you can forget what you paid for something and what you sold things for too. Handy for when you come to part with things so you can set a fair selling price. ( Also useful when dealing with your tax return! ) Back OT, I try to break even with stuff - buy s/h at a reasonable price and then if I don’t get on with it then hopefully won’t lose much either. However, fads/trends often come along to scupper this but that’s just how the market goes I guess, same as anything else really. Recent hikes in s/h ( and new ) stuff has definitely slowed me down in buying things though - in my mind a tidy Mexican Precision is worth around £350/£400, whereas they now seem to be more like £500/£550 or more. Sold a couple of Stingrays a few years ago before they hit the current s/h price of around £1250 - £1400, but still got back around what I paid for them.

Emailed Andertons a few days ago with a query about GK amp spares. Very quick response, and although they couldn’t help me out immediately, I was really impressed with their service.

What, you play in Hull too? 🤣

Thanks, I hoped it hasn’t seemed like showboating though - just thought it may have been of interest to see what being in a theatre band was like. All through my time doing this I’ve also kept playing pubs, cafes and private gigs ( mainly with my duo), so I’ve always loved the contrast between the two scenarios. Doing the smaller gigs has meant I’ve never taken the wonderful old theatres for granted, and I will miss playing them a lot. ( Tonight though I’m in an ordinary town pub on the outskirts of Hull playing requests for a small and often inebriated crowd. 😆)

Thanks Gary. It’s been a hard decision to make, but I’ve recently turned 66 and feel the time is right to sit back a bit now. Played in bands for 50 years, 30 of which have been professional so can’t complain! It does! Just feel blessed to have been with such a great set up for so long. (Must have been great though, as I’ve never been a number one ELO fan either!j

Saturday night I played at The Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham, which was my final gig with The ELO Experience. Another grand old venue which first opened in 1901, capacity just under 1400 with two large balconies , the upper one being very high and steep. The gig went well, a good onstage sound despite a change of rig as I’ve sold my usual one! Used my GK800RB again, this time with my old standby cab - a Loud Inc 4x10. Really enjoyed using it, and pleased it was enough for such a big venue/stage. It was a near sell out gig which made it great for my last one, as well as being my 800th appearance with the band. I first played with them as a dep at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in May 2009, and then joined permanently in 2011 - first gigs were a short tour of Northern Ireland which were very memorable. I couldn’t have found a better bunch of people to work with, starting out as a 5 piece & then adding 2 cellists and a violinist. It’s been an absolute pleasure throughout, and I really will miss the band and crew (pictured below) who have become like family. I’ll still be playing with the acoustic duo though, as well as any deps that may come my way so will hopefully be gigging more locally for many years to come.

Totally agree with you re RyanAir, absolute tw*t of a company. If your daughter does fly to Nice though, it's only around 12 miles to Monaco. There are usually plenty of coaches from the airport (Bus 80) or take the train from Nice centre - both should take only 30 mins or so. ☺️

Played at the Ipswich Regent Theatre last night with The ELO Experience, my penultimate gig with the band. Bit of a nightmare journey of around 200 miles each way - one of our vans broke down on the A1 en route to Ipswich. Clutch master cylinder was to blame, so RAC summoned to trailer the van back home whilst a replacement LWB hire van was found in nearby Grantham. This resulted in us being nearly 2 hours late arriving at the venue, so a mad set up and sound check with little time to eat etc. The Regent is a big Grade 2 listed theatre built in the late 1920’s. With a capacity of around 1500, we had it just over half full. Was a slow start but they warmed up into the second set - maybe took us a while to settle into it after the rush to get there. Used my GK800RB into the Neo 410 cabinet - last time with this cab for me as I sold it after the gig! It’s been a great cab, never missed a beat. (For my final gig with the band this Saturday I’ll be using my trusty Loud 4x10.) For once a drive home with no diversions, but still got in around 2.30am. Must admit I won’t be sorry to see the back of these long gigs - driving over 400 miles in total and two long sets is getting a bit much for me. Easier drive to Birmingham tomorrow though, so looking forward to it.

That's why I've drifted over to Boom Radio . They play the oldies you've maybe forgotten rather than the obvious stuff which gets very tedious. Give it a try.

Final one of my four gigs this week, played last night at Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury. Opened in 2009, it is situated right on the riverside and holds around 640 people. One of the best theatres we visit, it has a great sound, superb backstage facilities and staff as well as being in a lovely town. We got there early after only driving up from Redditch, so had chance for a wander round. ( I had probably the best pizza ever at a place called Dough & Oil in the town centre, highly recommended! ) Gig went really well, one of our best for a while. Apparently Limehouse Lizzy were playing in the smaller adjoining theatre, so lots of people around. Long drive back home, got in around 2.30am so glad I’m not gigging tonight. My last two gigs with the band this coming week are in Ipswich and Birmingham, so hoping they’re as good.

Second two of 4 gigs this week for me. Thursday was at my local pub with the acoustic duo. Got there at 7pm to find it full, mainly diners. Plenty of requests, including ‘Man who sold the world’ and ‘Starman’ - they still like Bowie round here! Free drinks for us, so as I walked to the gig I availed myself of a couple of pints, unusual for me. Home before midnight, and another gig arranged there later in the year. Last night I was at Redditch Palace Theatre with The ELO Experience. A small Grade 2 listed theatre with a modern facade but original(ish) auditorium, first opened in 1913. Capacity of 420 so a sell out gig. Great appreciative crowd as always here, most people up on their feet for the second set. Since I sold my GK 1001RB amp last week, I used my GK800RB head and it sounded fine into my GKNeo410. Small very raked stage meant not much room but we managed ok. On to Shrewsbury today for a gig at The Severn Theatre tonight.

Very underrated basses IMO, but don’t tell everyone as they’re priced about right at the moment. Cool as f*ck too IMO, but many disagree.

After being a long time Radio 2 listener, recent presenter changes have led me to Greatest Hits Radio. However, their playlist is somewhat limited to mainly 70s/80’s/90s so I don’t get to hear newer stuff. Another +1 for Boom Radio - some presenters a bit staid now but the choice of music is good for my demographic, with lots of songs I haven’t heard for years rather than the usual obvious oldies played by GHR. They also play a smattering of new stuff too. Just a shame they’re only on DAB, as our band bus doesn’t have it.

I missed out on a Jerry Jones Longhorn a few years ago, big mistake.

I absolutely love this tune. Just over 2 minutes of brilliance, especially the bass part (Tommy Cogbill?). Taken from what is often regarded as one of the best albums ever, ‘Dusty in Memphis’. Good that we all have diverse views on this topic though. 😄

It’s a beaut Dave. The action is a tad low for me so need to sort that a bit, but it plays great. Only one sound but it’s a good ‘un! Light as a feather too.

Got a call from a friend yesterday afternoon asking if I could dep at a local social club last night. They have a rock’n’roll night on Wednesdays which is quite well attended, and I’ve depped there before. Just a 3 piece band (guitar, bass, drums), and when I arrived I found out it was a dep drummer too, who turned out to be an old mate who played with me in the same band years ago. Had a cracking gig, both musically and socially. Two 45 minute sets, nice people and well paid! Used my Danelectro Longhorn into a Fender Rumble 500 combo. Home before midnight too, so happy days. Tired today though, and got 3 more gigs this week - tonight at my local pub with the acoustic duo, then Redditch tomorrow / Shrewsbury on Saturday with the ELO Experience.

Sounds horrible - hope you get it sorted soon.

Damn, I’m in Shrewsbury that night Mart - I will get to see your band soon though! Service Station isn’t a big place but they put on lots of bands, as you say mainly rock so hope you shake them up a bit! Am sure you’ll be great, all the best. Pete.

As is often the case in these discussions, I’ll get the elephant in the room out of the way before anyone else chips in. I love this design, beauty is in the eye of the beholder etc….

Where / when are you playing Mart?

Our acoustic duo played another gig at The Lookout on the Pier in Scarborough last night. Usual full house and dozens of requests, this time including ‘The thrill is gone’, ‘Moon river’, ’Unchain my heart’ and even ‘Waterloo’ which I don’t think I’ve ever played before. Nice bassline too, although a bit more limited due to dropping the key so two blokes could sing it! We have one more gig there at the end of this month before a bit of a break until July. Picture taken as we were loading out, a beautiful evening over the bay.