casapete

Just watched it, and thought it was great. Mr Buble surprised me, sang really well without that daft effect employed on some of his recent recordings. Not the world's strongest voice but well suited to the songs he did, and superbly backed by The R&B Orchestra. He certainly looked like he enjoyed it too. As for the rest - Chic their usual brilliance, even without one of their keys players and regular drummer. George Ezra - really good, great band. I quite liked The Record Company (despite never having heard of them), Jess Glynne, and Rudimental were good (not sure about James Arthur though tbh). Loved Yola, will be checking out her album. Hot 8 Brass Band were entertaining, and really the only act which didn't impress me in some way was Marc Almond I'm afraid. When you seem to have trouble pitching stuff, don't jump around too, it's not going to help really.... Thought the R&B Orch were superb, one or two new faces in there too. Mr Swift was as brill as always, and loved the EUB.

Gail Dorsey?

Aah, fair play then I suppose.

Did our now usual NYE residency at a local hotel. 4 piece band plus a good friend on DJ duties. Audience numbers for the evening a little down on last year, but they made up for it in quality - really up for a good time and noticeably a younger lot than in recent years. We got to do more recent material as a result, which made a refreshing change. It’s quite easy to underestimate audiences at such events these days, assuming they’ll want old weary stuff when a lot of the time they just want to go a bit crazy to some good tunes! Only downside for me was the naffing drummer went a bit daft in the last set, hitting everything so damned hard that I now have a slight ringing. I should have taken my ear plugs, but based on previous years didn’t think I’d need them. My NY resolution is to pack them in my gig bag for every event I do, lesson learned. 🤨

But ped did check first, that’s the point. They had 2 items listed as in stock, just not in this country. Nowhere did it mention you’d better check where the location of the two items were.

Having a browse on ebay, just noticed that on a lot (if not all?) fixed price items, a 10% discount is possible ( to a maximum of £50). Not very well marked so thought I'd mention it in case other have missed it. As you look at the price details on the listing, above the collection details it should say 'Pay only £...'whatever.. When you click this it shows how much discount is possible, by using the code POWPOW10 at the checkout. The black Stingray I was viewing at a not unreasonable £750 now comes in at £700. Offer ends today though, 31st December, so hurry if you're thinking of blowing any Christmas dosh! Cheers.

Great post. I do a retirement home twice a year (summer and Christmas) with my acoustic duo, and it never ceases to touch me when I see the oldies enjoying it. Was even more touching this Christmas as my Dad had been a resident there but passed away in July, so his absence made it so much more poignant. I got through it okay though (just!) and actually managed to enjoy it too.

Sounds like a great place - embrace it while you can before Amazon comes along to eat it up and spew it out...😒

Looks like the BBC got it a bit wrong on their listing. Yolanda is actually Yola ( aka Yola Carter ), an up and coming country / soul songstress whose first album ‘Walk through fire’ has been produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. Could be good.😀

Absolutely. Also people never take into account the environmental issues - vans making so many individual delivery drops, then more of the same journeys when the item is returned as unsuitable / doesn't fit / changed your mind etc etc. Obviously there are similar factors to be taken into account by using shops, but would be interesting to see how the two different methods compare? Certain things I'd never buy unseen - shoes and some clothing (due to fit and quality), expensive large household items such as suites (can't check comfort / quality) and even some musical stuff (especially expensive guitars) unless I knew exactly what to expect as they are such a personal thing that can only be decided by trying out first. Anything s/h is especially difficult, unless on BC of course 😉

Record shops ( and instrument shops too of course ) must have started so many bands. We used to have Roland Gift in every Saturday when he was putting together his formative band pre Fine Young Cannibals. Also so many up and coming acts used to visit record stores to promote their stuff. I remember meeting Chris Rea and John Mellencamp amongst many others when they were trying to get their debut albums noticed. Didn’t do any harm that our shop was a chart return one of course 😄

Just looking at the lineup for this year’s Hootenanny. Here we go - Michael Buble, Jess Glynne, Nile Rodgers / Chic, George Ezra, Marc Almond, Rudimental, Yolanda, The Record Company, Junior Giscombe, Hot 8 Brass Band, Ruby Turner and the Pipes&Drums of the Battalion Scots Guards. Plenty of stuff there for the naysayers......

Again, at the risk of sounding like the old phart I am, this is so true - patience and taking time to find the best outcome are becoming lost practices with the now generation. Having a world of music available both old and new is a wonderful resource, but causes people to click impatiently after a few seconds without exploring properly. I remember when it was all fields etc.....

Record stores have been having a hard time for decades now. I worked in one in the mid to late 70’s and even then they were challenging times for the independently owned shops. The rot started to set in when large high street retailers such as WH Smith and Woolworths decided to develop their music departments, discounting top 30 albums so aggressively that I remember at one point we couldn’t buy them for what they were being sold for in these outlets. This was then followed in the same way by the large supermarket chains too. They saw it as loss leading to get people in their shops, and this stance took out a fair few independent shops. The good ones managed to hang on somehow ( in my town Andy’s Records, Syd Scarborough’s, Virgin and HMV ) but the writing was on the wall. Gradually, the effects of massive rents, the onset of streaming / downloading and the general change in people’s attitudes to music ownership due to the internet have brought about the current situation, which for an old fogey like me who still prefers to own a hard copy of an album is very bad news indeed. I sympathise with the 2000 odd staff of HMV, and hope you manage to move on successfully. Incidentally, does that mean Fopps stores are doomed too now? Always enjoyed the Cambridge store when visiting family there.

The HMV store in Hull is the last major seller of CDs in the city. Once they go then it will be so much harder to source music here, without resorting to blo*dy tax dodging Amazon etc. I’ve bought plenty of stuff from them over the years, and am really sorry for their situation right now. Same with the Debenhams / House of Fraser scenario, although our H of F store Hammonds has just got a last minute reprieve so all not lost just yet. The high street is surely doomed though, just a matter of time I’m afraid. ☹️

Personally never liked SC's playing, but nevertheless appreciated his skill. There's an upcoming programme on BBC4 featuring him on Friday January 11th , details here https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2019/02/on-drums-stewart-copeland It's part of a series of three programmes featuring drums, guitar and bass!

Some limited stocks available too at PMT stores. https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/brands/wharfedale

Looks like they are £799, with the Guild coming in at £429. https://www.southernukulelestore.co.uk/shop-by-size/bass/ The Ibanez small basses are great value too. https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Ibanez-PNB14E-Electro-Acoustic-2018-Open-Pore-Natural/28RM

If it's a piezo/bridge pickup, sometimes they can be balanced by reseating the piezo strip or profiling the bottom of the bridge so it sits evenly in the slot. A guitar tech could do this for not a lot of money I would think ,if you're reluctant to mess with it! Cheers.

I've heard similar comments before about the HB uke basses. Mine is made by Countryman, standard fretted model, and it plays and intonates pretty well. Think it was around £150 new. The strings and short scale do take some getting used to, but the sound has that sort of short sustain / DB sound. I've used it for doing some swing stuff and it fits in really well with that style. When I bought it I also tried the Kala range and couldn't see where the extra £250+ was going to be honest. A pal of mine has the Tanglewood Traveller uke bass and he really rates that one too.

I think by their very nature they are inevitably a compromise, but still believe there are some great ones out there. My Washburn is a delight to play, and in all the years I’ve had it I’ve never had to touch the truss rod once! Action is perfect - high enough to eliminate rattles but low enough to feel really comfortable. Nearly all of the ABs I’ve seen contain a pickup, as they are undoubtedly best when amplified. However, do many people play a DB (unbowed ) in a band without amplifying it somehow? When I first played a DB I was amazed how relatively quiet it was for its size. Same goes for acoustic bass guitars IMHO. If you’re after more of an upright sound, have you checked out the bass ukes? Virtually no acoustic level at all, yet (especially those with silicone strings) when amplified they can fake an uprighty tone quite well. Also the Taylor GS Mini bass does a good job with this too.

I agree they need to be amplified, but a piezo powered acoustic bodied bass with phosphor bronze strings does sound different enough from my P bass to warrant using on the gig. Not forgetting the aesthetics that add to the acoustic vibe from the other players too of course 😄

Okay, looks like I’m the only person on BC who actually likes and uses phosphor bronze strings then! I have a Washburn AB20, bought it in the mid 90’s. It’s one of my favourite instruments, and having tried various designs of string I still think it sounds best with a set of Fender bronzes on it. Mine doesn’t sound like a DB, but it does sound different enough from an electric bass to justify having it, and has certainly earned it’s keep over the last 20+ years. It mainly gets used in my acoustic duo, where we play all sorts of stuff from old standards to recentish chart material, and I love it. Great neck, balances well on the strap ( neck button...!) and doesn’t have a problem with feedback unless I’m being really stupid with it. The body isn’t really deep so maybe that helps. Only thing I would change is the colour - it’s an okay sunburst but would prefer a natural one. Still a keeper though. 🙂

Thieves have ram raided a warehouse in Leeds and made off with all of Roy Wood's equipment, forcing him to cancel tonight's gig in Hull. Some details of incident and items stolen here - eyes peeled you northern BC people. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-46550652 IMPORTANT NOTICE. We are sorry to inform you tonights gig at Hull City Hall has been cancelled. The warehouse has been broken into and all the band equipment and truck has been stolen. If anyone has any information regarding the whereabouts of any of this equipment (possibly around the Leeds area) including the Fender Strat guitars and red Marshall amps Roy uses please message us, we would be extremely grateful! Update: The truck stolen was an Iveco Eurocargo YK14 TSV, blue cab, white box and was seen driving through a pair of locked gates near Dewsberry Rd, Leeds this morning at 3.50am meaning the truck will be dented.

Went to Hull Minster on Sunday to a carol concert hosted by The EYMS Brass Band. Not a big fan of brass bands in general, however these guys were just amazing! Trombonist in particular was outstanding, and the leader / conductor was brilliant too, hosting proceedings with enthusiasm and humour. Very enjoyable evening, and with the added attraction of mince pies and mulled wine what's not to like?