casapete

We’re in the Isle of Man doing a gig tonight in Douglas, but have been here since Monday. Just along from the theatre we are playing there’s an open air stage running gigs, Big Stage @ 1886. Primal Scream were playing on Monday, and then last night we caught Ed Force One, a local tribute to Iron Maiden. Not my kind of thing but they played great and were quite authentic (according to our guitarist who like IM). Very few people attending though, despite being free and also week 1 of the TT racing event so a lot of people around. Tonight we’re up against Rag n Bone Man who I’d like to have seen, and later in the week there is James Bay, Madness, Nike Rodgers and Chic and The Darkness.

Another +1 for the HD206’s . Great quality especially for the price.

Jimmy Webb at The Stables in Milton Keynes tonight, a perfect venue for him. A stunning evening with the award winning songwriter, just him and a grand piano. Some wonderful songs interspersed with amusing stories of how they came about, so interesting to get an insight into such a prolific storyteller. Support act was Ashley Campbell (Glen’s daughter) and Thor Jensen. Both accomplished guitar players and some lovely harmonies too. A great evening. Jimmy is touring the UK now, highly recommended.

Telecasters , with humbuckers! (Not that there’s anything wrong with a standard Tele - solo on ‘Stairway’ etc.....)

When I was in a function band, I detested 'Chelsea Dagger' . Didn't like the song or even worse the crowd reaction. Football chant type rowdy pis*ed up singalongs are one of my worst nightmares.

Same here Chris. When we first got married in the 80's I had a day job and also gigged 2 or 3 evenings every week. Without that income it would have been much harder for us, and doing so meant my wife could look after my daughter at home for the first five years before she started school. When I went pro my goal was to gig until I paid off the mortgage. Didn't see me getting divorced though, so stuck with gigging to pay off the next one! ( Still playing as my only source of income, and eventually paid off the 2nd mortgage ). Things change in life all the time, and I've just rolled with the punches. I was never a big fan of the 9 to 5 / corporate thing, and not a day goes by when I don't think how fortunate I've been in having a job which I still love.

True dat. Sure I'm not alone in remembering buying strings in paper packets, which were often far from factory fresh. The more recent practice of strings being sold in sealed plastic packs has meant the shelf life is much longer. D'Addario have a Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor' in their packaging, whatever that is, as well as a recycle program for strings.

Haven't heard this in ages either. Remember seeing them do it on the OGWT early/mid 70's, ace tune. Quite funky and different sections which make it more, err....interesting. (P.S. drum solo warning around 2.25...)

What about this bit of late 60's MOR - fabulous!!

I love an instrumental, especially those with great brass. This is the first one I thought of.

I suffered from arthritis in my right hand a while ago - I play fingerstyle. I'm useless with a standard guitar plectrum ( on bass as well as guitar!) but found these which are great. Made by Ozark, they are specifically designed for bass use, longer than a guitar pick with a stepped design. Much easier to keep hold of, and saw me through until my fingers became useable.

My spare bass gets taken out of it’s case every 6 months or so, and actually gets gigged even less frequently. It’s had the same set of D’Addarios on it ( rounds) for a few years, and I can’t remember if they were new when I put them on. Strings do seem to last a long time without regular human contact. 😆

Can’t find the YouTube link, but a while ago a guy was on there showing how you can restore a bit of the brightness of new strings by slackening them a off a little one by one and ‘snapping’ them sharply, making them whack the frets. This removes a lot of the gunk in the windings ( of roundwounds) and temporarily gives them a bit more life. I tried it and you could hear a bit of difference, although suspect it may give better results on really filthy strings? Worth a go and costs nowt....😀

Whilst I understand people not liking these voices, for me both Presley’s and Orbison’s are those which were intrinsic in my early appreciation of popular music. Sure, both recorded some stuff which wasn’t that memorable, but also recorded definitive songs of the 20th century. Elvis Costello’s voice is probably even more ‘Marmite’, and many didn’t like his almost sneering style. Strangely I was immediately drawn to it on that first album with it’s standout track ‘Alison’. Top fella too. 🙂

Perhaps something instep with BC readers.....

I’ve earned a living from being a gigging bass player for 30 years. Am now in my mid 60’s and will continue for a while yet, assuming my health allows.

I think I’ve subliminally bought into the idea of Fender or Fender influenced basses being my go to. Probably most of the bassist’s I’ve admired since I was a kid, from Jameson onwards, seemed to favour them and I guess it’s stayed with me. That’s not to say I’m blind to other makes /styles - I love Danelectro stuff and retro looking basses like Reverend etc. I also like Musicman basses which are the logical follow up by Leo to his classic designs. I had a Hohner B2A for a couple of years and loved the design, but let it go as couldn’t quite cope with the way it hung on the strap. Don’t think it was because I liked any Steinberger players, just enjoyed the radical design compared to a Fender. Wish I’d persevered with it as it sounded great!

I like EC on a Strat and a Gibson, although do feel that his tone in Cream ( who I didn’t particularly like) was wonderful. Like many others, I first heard that great Les Paul/Marshall tone used by him on the Bluesbreakers ‘Beano’ album, and even today it still sounds incredible. His signature Fender Strat was designed with an active preamp to try and get more Gibson-like sounds, but didn't get that close IMHO.

I’m hard pushed to choose between them - both amazing IMHO. I also feel that about another of Whitney’s covers. I love her take on ‘The greatest love of all’, but George Benson’s earlier version ( despite a few near pitchy moments) is also superb. Great song I guess.

I was driving back from my girlfriend’s house and heard the news about Elvis on Radio Luxembourg, who I think were the first station to broadcast it. Carried on listening to Elvis stuff on RL into the night and I’m sure at one point they played ‘Got a lot o’ livin’ to do’ .......😆

Actually it wasn't! 😆

That's hard to imagine. Lennon was killed December 1980, so guess your class was born in 1965/66, when The Beatles were world famous and still had maybe 4 or 5 years left as a band. I was 4 or 5 when The Beatles first became famous, and remember it all quite vividly. I guess by the end of the 60's and into the 70's the band maybe wasn't such a big deal as it had been for us?

Just an ‘expensive PA ‘ I think Douglas. Had he owned the ‘super’ version he may have had that spare channel? 😆

I’m in 3 ‘bands’ - my main theatre one (which takes priority), an acoustic duo and an occasional country band. I also fit in some deps and function gigs where possible just to try and keep my hand in and vary things a bit. From my experience it’s always a hassle with bands when people don’t share the same perspective and / or have day jobs which decide when the whole band can play / rehearse. Finding players whose lives allow them enough flexibility to fit in with everyone else really is key to a good working unit, and sometimes this can be almost more important than musical ability. I speak from experience.....🤣

Wonder if he didn’t have enough vacant channels on his mixer to accommodate 2 DI’s but didn’t want to look incompetent? Can’t understand any other reason why he was being so awkward.