casapete

John Deacon. A great player with some tasty lines in much of his work with Queen, but never really got the band as a whole. I found some of the early stuff okay, but can’t be doing with the mid / later overblown material and have to turn it off when it (frequently) gets played on the radio.

Whatever deals I can get on D’Addario EXL strings, usually £20 to £25 a set. Used to get them for a lot less from the US but recent increases mean it’s barely worth it now. Get through about 4 or 5 sets a year on my main bass, and never had a duff string or one break either.

You’re dead right - early Rod stuff was fantastic. Jeff Beck era /Faces / Early solo career being the peak IMO. Didn’t mind the later stuff but I agree that the American Song Book and ‘soul’ albums are truly abysmal. At that time he wasn’t selling his pop stuff, and IIRC financed the American Songbook albums himself and made a fortune doing so - no accounting for taste etc. His dreadful appearance at the Buckingham Palace thing recently was pitiful, which he acknowledged too. However, I did see him live recently and his voice was actually pretty good, not the same standard as in the early 1970’s of course but then few singers can claim they are. I’ve always liked singers who are instantly recognisable, and his voice is just one of those, whether you like it or not.

Yeh, me too! Not a fan of his vocal style but I like the overall arrangement. I do the song in my country band ( the Canned Heat version ) and also do the Ferry one too, so it’s easy to get them mixed up!

I actually like both of these - although they are not exactly the same song. Wilbert Harrison wrote and sang the original in 1962 , as 'Let's stick together' (as per the Ferry version.) He later re-recorded a version as 'Let's work together' which was subsequently covered by Canned Heat in late 1969/1970. Despite the songs being very similar, the lyrics are quite different in places. The Canned Heat version was one of the first singles I bought, and still sounds great. It was one of the early songs I played along to in my bedroom, and introduced me to gritty 12 bar stuff. Bryan Ferry's take on it also sounds good to me, especially as it features one of my favourite guitar players Chris Spedding. ☺️

I’ve always liked the look of Reverend stuff, and how much love they get on here. Yours is a killer! Just wondered if you know how heavy yours is, and does it balance well on the strap whilst playing it standing up? Cheers.

We’ve done this song in our country band for over 10 years, always gets the punters up. Great tune, usually the last of the set.

Great story and pics Mick.

The ELO Experience. Been doing this venue annually for maybe 10 years now, with audiences gradually building up.

We played at Buxton Opera House last night. Sold out crowd of around 900 in this grand old venue, which dates back to 1903. Another of my favourite theatres that we visit, I’m realising I always prefer the older venues to the often bland newer ones. Had to have a beer and pizza at the wonderful Buxton Brewery Tap House before the gig, where they were promoting us! Last week the band played at Camper Calling Festival at Ragley Hall in Warwickshire. Due to a family thing I had to dip out, but my friend Doug did a great job depping for me - first time in over 11 years I’ve had to miss a gig and it was a belter too!

I don’t think that’s necessarily the case? I seem to remember my tech guy saying that for bass amp use that the smaller cable diameter you mention is adequate. I believe the bigger stuff is mainly for high power PA stuff. Happy for someone with more evidence / knowledge to prove me wrong though 😊

That was wonderful, best music I’ve seen on TV for ages. Great singers and brilliant band, with Steve Pearce owning all those brilliant bass parts.

Northern Soul at the Royal Albert Hall on BBC4 now!

Absolutely - Steve Pearce nailing it too!

Some more vintage stuff tonight on BBC4 - old ‘In Concert’ programmes starting at 10.50pm with The Eagles, followed by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Average White Band and Billy Joel.

Was a while ago when I tried rechargeables, and came to the conclusion that I was best sticking to standard Duracell ProCell 9v batteries in my bass. These can still be had for around £14 for a box of 10 on eBay.

I have a lot of respect for players who can use different tunings. I can’t even get my head around 5 string basses, so guess it’s ‘old dog / new tricks’ syndrome for me.

I think the only people who have left on bad terms in bands I’ve been in have been singers! We always had a policy in our function band of giving a minimum of a month’s notice if you weren’t happy, but some of the singers seemed to want the drama / attention of storming out for some reason. This was usually preceded by weeks of being argumentative, late, sulking etc. We always believed if you’d had enough then just do the decent thing and give notice before leaving. (Unfortunately we also had people who seemed to thrive on conflict and creating bad feeling who didn’t leave!) I’m so fortunate in my current band that everyone is so easy to work with. Any issues are dealt with in the proper way, and there is a genuine feeling of all working for the common good.

I honestly think Dave that it is better to keep doing frequent gigs than the odd one with gaps between. For me I find your body gets into a ‘routine’ of doing it, and so long as you can get quality sleep most days it is more of a state of mind than anything else. For example, in the last ten days of July, I managed to do gigs in Bury St Edmunds (2 days), Scarborough, Hull, Swindon, Manchester, Sunderland and Beverley, plus a full day’s band rehearsal too. At 65, I do get the usual aches and pains but can fortunately overcome them most of the time - worst bit is getting out of the band bus after a 5 hour journey!

God only knows is just one of those tunes that still stops me in my tracks whenever I hear it. Sorry it evokes sad memories for you Mick, as you say the lyrics are amazing especially combined with the song structure and vocals. I went to see Brian Wilson a few times in the early 2000's ( before he sadly declined & when he had that amazing band) and it was a truly spiritual point in each gig when they played that song.

Mine would be these -

I love a great Dylan cover song - earliest I recall were by The Byrds, probably before I knew who Dylan was! 'Mr tambourine man, 'My back pages' and 'All I really want to do' being some of my favourites, along with 'You ain't going nowhere'. Loved the way the Rickenbacker electric 12 string was used on some of these. However, along with 'All along the watchtower' by Jimi, this is probably my most played Dylan song. Also covered by Sam Cooke, Stevie blew me away with his version from 1966 when he was not yet 16 years old. Backed by The Funk Brothers (and sounds like JJ on bass?), this always makes me stop in my tracks, just wonderful.

Absolutely. We play at The Caird Hall and it’s always a great audience there. (We’ll next be there on Thursday 19th October.)

Cheers Mick. The band has always been my priority, although in fairness due to finances as much as loyalty!