casapete

Thanks. I’ve often considered myself fortunate to be able to play in some amazing buildings over the last few years, and their history always fascinates me. Theatres have been my main places of work, and although new ones are often impressive it’s the older ones that are the most interesting. Since handing in my notice with the band last year, I’ve played at many of my ‘old favourites’ whilst thinking I won’t be returning to them. 😕 Still, all good things etc…..

Dead right Paul, it’s certainly going to take a while to adjust. I’m hoping to continue with more gigs with the acoustic duo though so not fully retiring, more just down sizing!

Only one gig for me this week, last night at Burnley Mechanics. A great theatre built in the mid 19th century as a mechanics institute, and then converted into a theatre in the late 1970’s. Access not easy, gear in via a lift and then onto the stage using a converted truck tail lift! ( see below ). Friendly crew and good backstage facilities too. We had a full house of around 450, and they were brilliant. Always a lively crowd at this venue, and the band played spot on. Well worth the 3 hour journey over the Pennines, which had some snow and icy conditions which slowed us down a bit. Home by 1a.m., knackered today though so glad I have a quiet weekend.

That's John Conte, been with The Jukes since 2008. A great player and long time Dano fan.

He probably used lots of stuff then. So many of those 60’s bands dabbled with Danos, as they seemed to be readily available and probably not too expensive! I tend to associate them more with 70’s bands such as Sweet and Golden Earring, remember seeing them on TOTP when I was a teenager.

Good tune! I don’t remember their bassist Graham Knight using a Dano though - thought it was more often either a Jazz or a Rick? I was in a group that supported Marmalade in the late 70’s, a great band and really nice guys. Often overlooked / underrated IMO.

Three gigs for me this week. First of two with ‘The ELO Experience’ was at Newark on Friday. A fine medium sized theatre that we’ve done annually for a long time. Had a slight technical hitch at the beginning of the first set, but managed to overcome it and all went well. Saturday night saw us at The Corn Exchange in Kings Lynn. Another of my favourite venues that seats around 750 and it was virtually full with a lovely crowd, all up for a good night. Had some of my family come along who I’d not seen for a while, including my nephew who brought with him some superb sausage rolls and brownies from his cafe in Cambridge which the band and crew devoured. The square outside the venue was taken over by a visiting fairground, so the town was very busy all evening. Bit tricky getting our vehicles in and out but well worth the hassle. I”m counting down the gigs before I leave the band now, so just 9 more to go. 🙁 Final gig for me was tonight with my acoustic duo Milestone at our regular venue ‘The Lookout’ in Scarborough harbour. A really high tide when we arrived looked a bit of a worry at one point but didn’t block our way to the venue. An absolutely cracking evening, my guitarist mate Gary was on top form and dazzled the audience with his playing. Some great requests as ever, including ’Galveston’ , ‘ A certain smile’ and Bat out of Hell’ ! We’re back there in two weeks time, can’t wait.

The identical twin of mine! Great bass.

Forgot to mention, there’s a tidy Korean turquoise Longhorn for sale on FB marketplace The guy wants £365 for it which seems fair, seller is in Wiltshire. Whack Danelectro into the MP search box and you should find it.

Mine is 014836. I think all the ‘Pro’ models didn’t have the tape edging, and haven’t seen any standard Longhorns without it so yours may be unique?! At the time some people said the Pro series spoiled the Dano sound, but having had both I’m not so sure. The wooden bridges and concentric controls probably do alter stuff, but it wasn’t that apparent with mine - both models sounded ace. The upgraded tuners on the Pro, again whilst not vintage accurate, do make life easier, same as the bridge. 😊

Started the first 2 gigs ( of 4 in Eastern England*) at Norwich Theatre Royal on Thursday. Due to a number of reasons we hadn’t played this wonderful venue for a number of years, so was great to return here. Lovely crew and facilities, and a great sell out crowd of 1,300. Gig went really well although I was feeling a tad under the weather - dropped a couple of silly mistakes but styled them out ( I think!). Friday saw us drive up to The Cresset Theatre in Peterborough. One of our regular gigs, about 3/4 full and a nice crowd again. Decent 2 hour drive home too, so in around 1am. * The other two gigs are this coming Friday 23rd in Newark, and Saturday 24th in Kings Lynn.

I'm hating this topic - soon everyone will know how great Danos are, and I want to keep it to a select few! I've loved these things for years. Never had an original one (although nearly did once), but had a clutch of them and they've all been great. Although not as historically accurate, I ended up keeping the late 90's Korean Pro model in blueburst. Plays and sounds immense, and light as a feather. Just one vol / tone and a selector switch so a bit easier to use than the pointer contols, but I generally just leave the switch in the centre position and vol/tone full on. Am starting to trim down my stash of stuff due to impending semi-retirement but won't be letting the Longhorn go.

That’s what I strive for too - clean but not sparkly TE clean if you know what I mean. In a perfect world I’d have stuck with my old 80’s SVT rig, but have used GK stuff for years and it’s been a fine compromise. Have always fancied an Aguilar amp but it’s never happened.

Yup, that’s been more or less me for over 30 years! We’ve had many holidays in the south of France and the UK, and okay a drink is sometimes taken. My main hobby is walking so minimal expenditure there too. 😊

Agreed, although I’m not that enamoured with his guitar playing either TBH. Loses all the simple beauty of Mike Campbell’s original by playing silly OTT flourishes. The female singer is rather good though.

The Yamaha EMX512SC is 500 watts x2 into 4 ohms according to Yamaha. Whether that is RMS is anybody’s guess, but great bit of kit whatever.

I always knew I’d never be what most people think of as a pro musician - original material, record company and management involvement, trying to find fame and riches etc. I have though been a pro bassist for 30 years, doing all the stuff you need to in order to make a living - functions, weddings, corporate events and then theatre tours with tribute bands. I left a boring and increasingly pressurised job in the early 90’s that was making me uptight and stressed, and went pro which initially made me feel the same way! However, it has turned out to be the right course for me, and am soon retiring at the age of 66. I’m going to continue gigging with my acoustic duo, and the odd dep gig that may come along. I understand it isn’t for everyone, but I’d do it all over again if I had a second time around.

Not music but a comedy gig - Russell Kane doing a small warm up gig at Barton Ropewalk last night. I’ve seen many excellent comedians over the years, but this was just a masterclass in how to keep an audience laughing constantly for 70 mins. A brilliant performer, I really can’t recommend him enough if you get the chance to catch him on his Hyperactive tour in late 2024/ early 2025.

My mate Jason used to do the sound at Cafe Indie - was it him there for your band?

Just one gig this week with The ELO Experience, at the Palace Theatre in Mansfield. Only just over an hour away for me, so almost a ‘local’ gig! Sold out crowd of 530 people, nice old theatre which we’ve not played for a few years. Had a few hiccups- drummer’s IEM’s not on for the intro so I had to guess where the opening chords came! Also had a brain freeze and missed one bit in Mr Blue Sky, which I’ve never done before. A (very) senior moment on the eve of my 66th birthday! Anyway, the rest went well, and as you can see our wonderful lighting guy Rob had some new toys to play with.

Same here. My acoustic duo have done a few and were just part of the background noise really. Didn’t overly bother us TBH, not as much as the constant dad rock / folk music requests 😆

I tried both bass combos, and agree they were boxy and underpowered. However, a mate of mine had a Session 15:30 watt valve combo which was an interesting guitar amp. Could be used along with a separate slave combo in multiples to increase output which was I believe a new concept in the late 70’s / early 80’s. Before discovering @obbm on here I used ClearTone cables after first seeing them on a trade stand at a guitar show. Still using some now, great cables.