casapete

So sad to hear this. Condolences to John’s family and many friends. RIP.

Have to agree with most of the above. I just don't get the festival thing, and never really did when I was younger too. Attended a few major ones ( Reading, Knebworth etc) because of the line ups, but now it seems people part with large sums of dosh before they even know who's playing so presumably going for the whole festival 'experience I guess. In the late 70's I did the Blackbush Picnic thing - Dylan, Clapton and others playing to some 300,000 people I believe. Nightmare of a day for me, which ended up taking 4 hours to escape the car park after all the NCP staff had gone home early leaving it as a free for all to exit. Best one I went to was the Capital Jazz fest at Alexandra Palace, again late 70's - great line up including Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry. Went to the one a year or two after which was relocated to Knebworth - again, great line up and well organised too. Also stopped doing any big gigs pretty much as well - arenas just don't seem the right way to enjoy the music I like. Along with paying more for the privilege of being miles away / crap sound / watching video screens. For that I expect to pay less than if it was a smaller more intimate venue. Blimey, what a grumpy old s*d I've become......🙁

Tort on black works for me, but then so does white pearl. Only one thing for it.....fight!!!

Me too. Not sure about having lots of instruments on show TBH, much as I love 'em. Maybe just one every now and then though - my recently acquired cherry Gibson 335 being the current favourite.

The older I get, the less geeky I am over anything really. Never been one for altering / upgrading basses unless really necessary, although always like to keep them in good clean working order. Bit fussy about looking after all my kit, but only to a point. Don’t have bass related t-shirts , although some Fender apparel still in my wardrobe. Still enjoy this site along with music mags, and attend a few guitar shows when I can. Always check out a band’s set up when I go to gigs, particularly the bass rig ( so damn those IEM users....😉) and derive a lot of pleasure hearing a nice old bass played well through a proper amp.

Joke surely. “ Funerals” ?

Nice strides and shoe combo there.

Was it just me, but didn't find that / him remotely funny in the 70's ? I wouldn't even dare to listen to it now...

New Springsteen album is released this weekend, containing this. OK, I know it's a bit like 'Everybody's Talkin', but still working for me anyway. Great pedal steel too, nice...

I didn't mean he/it was sinister, just pointing out that the song and /or title probably wouldn't be well received in these sad times in which we live, however innocent they were originally.

Staying with Queen, ‘Fat bottomed girls’ could be seen as not acceptable in these times of body issues, along with it’s content about “naughty nanny”.

Ditto ‘Young girl’ by Gary Puckett and The Union Gap , but a bit more creepy.

This. A week or two away will make everything seem better when you return. It’s a time for new experiences and a break from routine so just enjoy it.

When you think about it, so many tunes ( Rock, reggae, rap etc etc) have lyrics which can maybe be interpreted in different ways. I remember seeing George Melly years ago singing 1920’s Bessie Smith songs which were full of double entendre and the audience ( including my mother embarrassingly enough!) loved him. It was the humour and clever innuendo that made it acceptable I think, unlike today’s more obvious and blatant references. ( Just realised I’m sounding like a Daily Mail reader, apologies...) Other songs which later fell into that category include ‘Shake rattle and roll’ ( “I’m like a one eyed cat peepin in a seafood store”) and The Coaster’s ‘Poison Ivy’, all about STD’s !! On a slightly different tack, not sure how ‘Little Children’ ( Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas ), ‘Clare’ ( Gilbert O’Sullivan ‘) or ‘Save all your kisses for me’ ( Brotherhood of Man’) would be viewed in these perhaps less innocent times?

Roll over lay down - Status Quo? Centerfold - J.Geils Band? Some girls will - Racey? And for some balance - It’s raining men - The Weather Girls 😅

Still looking, so if you know anyone who fancies the job then please get in touch. Thanks.

Keith's black Tele seemed ideal for the job....

Agree with the above Mart about getting some professional help. Just don’t go blaming it on the Dano though okay? They get enough bad press as it is...😅

I’m sure you already know that your best chance of a good deal is to try and sell your stuff privately and not trade it in. ( Not even sure if gear4music do trade ins TBH? ) That way you will be able to negotiate a better deal with your cash in hand. The Gig Shop on Beverley Road in Hull have a fair selection of PA stuff too, and there’s a guitar shop on Freeman Street in Grimsby that carries some kit, and may even do p/ex . Failing that, it’s going to mean a trawl around Leeds, Nottingham, Manchester etc I think. Good luck!

The one I had ended up being a rental amp with a local PA hire company. As far as I know it’s still going strong, must be around 40 years old now! Great amps.

Remember a lot of people using these, especially in club bands up here in Yorkshire. The game changer was when Peavey brought out their 400 series amps - a huge 210 watts, 2 channels ,graphic eq, switchable compressor etc etc. Sounded ace by comparison and although costing more money were definitely a massive step forward. Ruled the roost until the advent of Trace!

Yup, I do the same, emphasising any notes that may be overly loud in the room which need attention from the desk to rectify. Think it’s worth mentioning what a sometimes seemingly futile job soundchecking in an empty room can be for the band and engineer. When you get the audience ( or as he calls them ‘meat baffles’ ) in, it must be so hard if the settings need altering a lot from the sound check.

Our sound check always follows the same routine. 1. All instruments line checked in turn (sometimes string section together to get a good balance ), followed by each microphone. 2. Four songs played - first is for overall instrument balance / lead vocal, second for same (but is louder than the first), third for backing vocal balance and the fourth for solo instrument levels (violin and guitar). We don’t necessarily play all of each song, but tend to when it’s a large room where the sound guy wants to listen in all areas. This is often the case in theatres with multiple tiers where his job is so much more difficult. It’s also the first band I’ve been in for years where we are pretty disciplined, as I can’t stand people playing over other people’s individual check. Widdly guitarists nearly always.