casapete

Squier do the FSR Classic Vibe Bass VI in various non burst colours, including Shell Pink, Lake Placid blue, Purple Metallic and Walnut. 😊

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You would think so. In fact Martin have been using a laminated birch composite on the necks of their lower end acoustics for a while now, calling it ‘Stratobond’.

Other guitarists with finger injuries include Jerry Garcia and Tony Iommi. Its amazing how people can adapt and continue to make music.

Robbie McIntosh and Michael Messer’s Blues party at Pocklington Arts Centre in ten days time. Acoustic and slide guitar brilliance, looking forward to it.

We’re trying to maintain our ticket prices to pre-pandemic levels at the moment, but it’s inevitable that it won’t be sustainable for much longer. We have 11 people who rely on the show as their main income, so it has to be feasible in order to continue. I just hope people understand that when deciding whether to come to our gigs!

My main work in a tribute band (playing mostly theatres)has been pretty good in 2022 considering all that’s been going on. Our audience numbers have been what we’d hoped for, but many of the gigs were booked for before or during the pandemic and rearranged, so we’re under no illusions that 2023 may be the same. I fear for our industry generally, with energy prices inevitably taking their toll on leisure choices. Combine this with our band’s overheads rapidly rising and it starts looking pretty grim. Spiralling costs in fuelling our vehicles and hotel rooms more than 50% up on recent years don’t help. Theatres have been more willing to look for ways in which to increase their revenue, many at a price to bands like mine. There does seem to have been a massive effort to recoup revenue lost during the pandemic in whatever way possible. All this does make it seem like we may be in for a rough ride - I sincerely hope I’m wrong. To finish on a more optimistic note though - gigs for my acoustic duo are looking good for 2023, with our regular venues committed to bookings along with a new regular gig looking likely. 🤞

Me too. A great watch, Rick Rubin asks some brilliant questions and also knows when to shut up and let Macca talk. This series (along with the ‘Get Back’ one) made me realise even more what a genius Macca was.

Find out what each is worth, and then sell the one that best sorts out your financial situation.

Beat me to it Steve. I’ve had ClearTone cables for years and they’re still going strong. As others have pointed out, you can’t go wrong with leads featuring Neutrik connectors and cabling such as Van Damme.

That sounds like the same as here in East Yorkshire, where bands can expect similar fees if they are a draw. Having said that, I remember earning the same amount 15+ years ago on such gigs! It’s one of those situations where you can see both sides - a pub has to make a profit, and because most bands are either amateur or semi pro ( however you define that...) then they assume you’re doing it primarily for enjoyment rather than for the money which is probably how it is. Nothing wrong with that of course, but with the massive rise in energy prices and potentially fewer people leaving home to drink a few £7 pints whilst watching a band, it’s not looking likely to rise anytime soon.

Just back from playing in Scarborough with my acoustic duo. It’s a cafe / restaurant on the harbour side called The Lookout, only small but with a very appreciative audience. We play it on average about once a month or so, and it’s my favourite venue. Small PA engineered by the organiser who happens to be a tidy bassist too, so I just rock up with a bass and combo. Tonight I went back to using my old Washburn AB20 - for the last few months I’ve been playing my little Ibanez - and I really enjoyed getting back to a 34” scale bass. Just use a Fender Rumble as a monitor so it’s an easy load in /out. Tried just going ampless but due to the position of the PA cabs it’s not quite enough for me to hear myself clearly so I don’t mind. Next gig there is end of November, and we’ve been promised regular nights into 2023 as well so happy days. (Just added a pic of the view from the cafe balcony)

When my band first went down the IEM route we had a mic or two set up for just that, but once everyone got used to the change over it soon got overlooked.

Mine were the usual suspects for someone growing up in the 60’s. Jamerson / Babbit at Motown were probably my biggest influence but I could never get close to playing like them, so was also drawn to Bill Wyman / Keith’s stuff with the Stones, along with McCartney, and of course all the basslines in the great rock and roll stuff by Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis. Into my later teenage years in the 70’s I loved the playing of Ronnie Lane, and hearing what Andy Fraser was doing in Free made an impression too, as did Garry Tallent’s stuff with Bruce Springsteen. I never got into Jaco / Stanley Clarke or prog stuff like a lot of other people did at the time, preferring some of the punk / new wave players.

I think if you’re in a situation where your Helix / IEM set up will definitely work for any gigs you are likely to get in the future then I agree that it’s probably pointless to hang on to your MB back line. ( Personally I would still keep something just in case an old school set up was required.) My main band are all IEM users apart from me - I don’t like in ears / headphones at all and prefer to hear the room as well as my amp/cab set up. I know it’s an unpopular choice these days but its just what personally works best. I’ve lugged bass rigs all my life, and the rise in more portable speaker cabs and amp heads has been a fantastic change for me, only wish it had happened sooner! Buying a Barefaced cab was a complete game changer, and now in my mid 60’s I can’t comprehend ever going back to anything bigger/heavier on gigs where I’m having to transport and lug in my own rig. ( I suspect there will come a time when a dep gig arises where it’s IEM’s only, but for the type of gigs I usually get offered round here it seems unlikely, for the time being anyway ).

Great beardage! Was yours real Dave? (Loving the pint of bitter on the mic stand too...)

Great series, am going to watch it again while it’s still available.

Definitely after, and sometimes before for me.....😆

I’ve done a fair number of residencies. In my old function band we did the same bar every Wednesday evening for 15 years! As you can imagine we became a bit of an institution in Hull city centre where a slightly older crowd than the usual weekend rabble kept us popular on the ‘old town’ pub run. We used the gig to run new songs as well as providing a platform for prospective customers to come and see if we’d be suitable for their wedding / event. Of course this could also sometimes backfire if there was a rough crowd in or the band had a dep singer etc. The venue also got us in on Tuesday nights too for a few years, which for an 8 piece band was a godsend when weekend gigs for us were thin on the ground. I currently have a monthly residency in a local pub with my acoustic duo, which is well attended and great fun. The landlord has also bought another pub in the next village to where I live, and has asked if we can do that one monthly too, so a couple of regular gigs is very welcome. He is also great if we need to change the gig day due to our ‘main’ bands schedules conflicting, which makes life a lot easier. These gigs are based on the audience requesting stuff, so no problem with too much repetition of material - more like ‘how the hell can we do this....?!!’ I think for any residency it is key to strike the right balance between fresh material and some of the stuff you’re mostly known for. After a few gigs I’m sure it will be evident how this ratio is best achieved. Hope it works well for you!

Can't really add anything else that's not already been said. From my experience, it's amazing how many drummers cannot just play a straight 4 (or whatever the song demands) , without over embellishing everything. It's down to listening to what's going on / necessary. Players of other instruments obviously do this too, but for some reason it's most noticeable when it's the drummer.

My name is Pete, and I play bass in a tribute band - The ELO Experience. I've been doing it for around 10 years now, with the band being formed a few years before I joined. When the band first started I believe we were the only one on the go, now there's a few more appearing. So, here we go! Do you have to be a fan of the original artist, or maybe you become one? I think it definitely helps, although in my case I wasn't a full on ELO nerd - actually prefer Roy Wood's stuff to the later ELO albums. Have grown to like most of the ELO stuff now though, especially the crowd pleasers. How important is it to be visually/musically identical? How much latitude are you allowed? A difficult one this - when the band first started out, the visual thing wasn't so important, with all the effort being put into sounding authentic. However, mainly due to people coming to our gigs it was decided to make our singer look more like Jeff Lynne. At first I went for a bit of a 70's look with my stagewear, but this has gradually changed to more how Jeff Lynne's band have looked recently. (If any people here know how the late great bassist Kelly Groucutt looked in ELO then you'll understand my relief!) We do try to sound reasonably authentic, with some changes being deemed okay to fit in with our line up, Never had anyone call me out for anything yet, so think it's okay. Do you ‘get into character’ or is it just a gig? As I'm not playing anyone in particular then this isn't an issue. Never see it as 'just a gig' though, I always approach it with a positive outlook, thinking the paying audience deserve to see a band who look up for it. Does it feel musically limiting, or is it fulfilling your needs? (Maybe you have a side band?) I don't find it limiting - I'm no amazing player and some of the lines do stretch me a bit which is probably a good thing. I still do other things outside the band - I'm in an acoustic duo which is great fun, along with an occasional gigs in country/rock band 'The Fork Handles'. I also really enjoy doing occasional deps. As the tribute band gigs are mainly in theatre type environments, these other gigs are usually in smaller venues - pubs, clubs etc, which I've done for over 40 years now. Do you have any qualms about tributes ‘stifling original music’? None. As others have mentioned, it's only a type of cover band at the end of the day. Hope this doesn't sound overblown, but Jeff/ELO didn't play live for years, and I like to think we played a small part in keeping his music going with all his fans through that period. Have you ever met or been seen by a member of the ‘originals’? What did they say? Our singer and keyboard player were invited to Birmingham when Jeff Lynne was visiting to immortalize his handprints on Broad Street. They got to meet him briefly, and were suitably blown away. (Also met Jeff's mate Jasper Carrot too!) When ELO were rehearsing for their 'comeback' gigs we had some of the band come to see us at Richmond Theatre. They were rehearsing nearby so thought they'd come and check us out. Fortunately I didn't see them until after the show when they came down to talk to us. I met Lee Pomeroy, who was absolutely fantastic. He said some nice things and even had a go on my bass! All the band were lovely and happy to chat for ages, & we were absolutely thrilled to meet them. What is the overriding thing being in a tribute act has taught you? Never underestimate your audience. Also always remember how much love they have for the music you're playing and try to do it justice. We have some fans who follow us all over the place, and I never forget their commitment and support which allows us to keep going. Having done it once, would you do it again? If so, would the musical angle be very different? This is actually the 2nd tribute band I've been involved in, the first one being a Neil Diamond show. That got rid of some of my doubts over the whole tribute thing, so by the time I was asked to join my current band I kind of knew what to expect. I would consider another tribute band if the situation ever arose, and would most enjoy something like a Stones / Motown / Springsteen type of thing (although don't think I could do Jamerson's Motown bass lines justice TBH). However, I'm approaching 65 and hope that I can carry on with this band until I decide to slow down a bit gig wise - doing gigs all over the UK does push me at times, but still absolutely loving it!

On BBC4 now they are showing ‘James Brown : BBC Four Sessions’, recorded at LSO St. Lukes’s in London. Great band including two bass players. 😊

As well as being the finest UK female vocalist ever IMHO , Dusty was key in getting many Motown acts on British TV for the first time - although the Motown RSG Special was put out by ITV I believe.

Sending positive thoughts for your recovery.