casapete

My old function band used to have deps to cover illness etc. However, one time there was a massive mess up with the diary, which meant we were double booked for a prime Saturday in July.This resulted in us splitting the 8 piece band into two bands, each with 4 original members and 4 deps. We got away with it too!

I’ll beat Bluewine to this and go with Paul McCartney. Legendary player/songwriter, and manages to come up with amazing bass lines whilst singing brilliantly. His vocal range has changed as he’s got older, but for me still is up there for all time greatness. Bassist who do lead vocals I also admire? Alan Gorrie ( Average White Band ), Justin Currie (Del Amitri), Jack Bruce.

Strengths - Am blessed with a good ear / can busk really well. Worryingly encyclopaedic knowledge of tunes means I can dep with a lot of bands. Reliable, sober and a team player. Can do good BV’s on the fly and fit in with whatever others are singing. Always listen to all the band and keep all my kit in good order. Weaknesses - Can’t slap, play basses with more than 4 strings, solo. Won’t entertain IEM’s even though I know they probably make sense. Can’t remember keys of songs so need a set list with them on. Despite being good on BV’s, have a very bland voice for lead vocals which I sometimes overlook and instantly regret.

+1. There is a 200 watt job currently for sale on here for £200 which would see you fine for most gigs ( and also lightweight and sound brill.)

Just had notification that there is 20% off all D'Addario strings at Strings Direct, until midnight on 30th August.* Code for the checkout is DADD20. Cheers, Pete. * Offer extended to midnight Friday 31st August

Mmm, don't get it myself. Sounds like it's trying to be too like the original, but with some well dodgy chords thrown in for some reason.

Find a great drummer who can play as well quietly as he can full on.

There’s a Fender 200 Rumble combo for sale on here at the moment, priced at a very reasonable £200. Really loud for their rating, lightweight and sound great. No tuner, but there’s always the option of a cheap clip on.......runs for cover....😁

Saw TRB in the late 70’s at Bridlington Spa, really good band. The guitarist (Danny Kurstow?) was particularly impressive, at a time when punk / new wave players often weren’t. I’ve still got their first album somewhere.

This just blows me away every time I hear it. Just something about the delivery that makes me stop and listen. First heard it on the radio at 2am coming back from a gig down south, just me in the car - nearly crashed as was concentrating listening so much!! Not for everyone I'm sure though, but for me just wonderful.

Yup, I remember that. When I saw Rod in 1976/7 he had 3 guitarists - Gary Grainger, Billy Peek and Jim Cregan. ( Saw Jim in June this year playing a gig with his band Cregan and Co, who were really good.) Rod's bassist at the time was Phil Chen, ex-Jeff Beck etc, another great player.

Absolutely - he was also part of Rod Stewart's band in the mid / late 70's, and had a superb flamed 59 Les Paul which went for a small fortune when it was sold recently.

Love a bit of Jimmy. 'Many rivers to cross' always gets me, fantastic.

Call that a line up? THIS was a line up for me! 1973, £4.40 for the weekend. I remember when it was all fields round 'ere etc....

I'm in 3 bands, of which my main gigging band always gets priority. They don't allow deps at all, and I knew this when I joined them 7 years ago. Fortunately my other two outfits are okay with this, and when there is the occasional clash of dates then I always arrange a dep to cover for me. Am lucky to have a couple of great guys who will dep in either band, so everyone happy.

I have amassed so much music over the years that at times feel there's no need / room for anymore as what I have gets neglected already. That's not to say I don't enjoy new stuff, but in reality don't have the time / interest to actively seek it out. Some people seem to relish latching on to something new, bang on about it for ages and then swiftly move onto the next new thing ad infinitum, after shouting to everyone how hip they are / you aren't in the process. Their need to constantly find something nobody else has yet heard becomes a bit tiresome. Reminds me of when I worked in a record store in the 70's - we used to sell a lot of Northern Soul stuff, but the minute a rarity became widely available then mysteriously everyone lost interest. Most stuff that's new to me is a result of either a mate's recommendation / radio play / Later with Jools (know that's not a popular programme on here but has had some great acts on over the years ) etc etc. Having YouTube and Spotify to hand has been an amazing resource for me too, but I do find myself watching stuff that I've never seen before by bands I already know quite a lot TBH. That makes me probably fall into the category of old gimmer with limited taste I guess...

If it makes you feel any better Dave, we travelled down from East Yorkshire to do a gig in Dorset not long ago, and then travelled back home afterwards. Wasn't easy but a lack of reasonably priced accommodation (due to the time of year ) for 8 band members and 3 crew made it the only feasible way we'd come out of it with any money.

For a wedding band I would think you are definitely underselling yourselves ( assuming you’re pretty good of course! ) I’ll bet the very average DJ on the same gig will be getting nearly half what your whole band earns 🙁

Absolutely. Round here (East Yorkshire) pub bands get paid between £250/£300 irrespective of how many people in the band. To be fair, with the pub business being as it is right now, I don’t honestly see how they could afford to pay much more. Probably different down south?

Just got in from playing with a mate's band in a local pub, depping for their regular bassist who's a good friend of mine too. Fairly standard dad-rock set list, but enjoyable nevertheless. Great drummer who I've known for years so good to play with him again, un-busy player who totally gets what's right for the song. Good sized crowd, quite a few dancing and re-booked so job done. Only thing - it was a bit loud and I forgot my earplugs so will be ringing a bit, stupid of me. I forget how loud some bands play, having got used to theatre gigs with low stage levels. Used my P-bass Lyte into GK MB800/Loud Inc 4x10 and it sounded fine. Haven't used the cab for ages, and have forgotten how good it is to have 4 speakers working away as a change from my usual BF Compact 1x15.

I've had bulk orders from here before - https://www.stringsandbeyond.com/ US company, prices very good although not so much recently with exchange rates perhaps. Pot luck whether you get clobbered with import duty, think I've been hit twice out of maybe 5 or 6 orders. Even with postage costs, I have found them worth trying. Also they do 10/15% off deals every now and then, so sign up on their site to get heads up on these.