casapete

Ironic that the main picture in the news story features a Gretsch ( links to Fender ). 😆

Yup, me too. Still got some stuff left that I won’t be needing due to the reduction in my gigging schedule, so need to address what to let go & then that should be me done. But it doesn’t stop me wondering……..

Whilst we’re talking about OT on this thread, I think there are some members who confuse it with ‘Basschatter’s Upcoming Gigs’ in the Performance forums section. 😄

Indeed - it also makes me laugh when someone asks for a request, and when told the band don’t know it they start singing it to you as if that will help, usually whilst you’re playing another tune as well. 😆

I don’t know if anyone has attempted busking this tune, but from my experience it ain’t that easy! Written by Nik Kershaw, it’s fairly straightforward until the middle / solo section where it modulates up and then back down again - quite a clever song which always seems to go down well.

Jeez, forget about the hassle of choosing a 4 or 5 string…..how do you manage in footwear like that Dave? That’s true dedication to your art. 😆

I had the 700 before I got the 1001 and know what you mean. Running the 1001 into an 8 ohm GK 410 I was never ever short of headroom though, but the 700 was that bit more ‘on the edge’ at similar volumes which was kinda nice too. Both great amps, just got my 800RB left now which still gets an occasional airing.

Amazon are advertising Squier by Fender Debut Collection Precision basses at £110.49. Only down 15% from £129.99 but look pretty good for that price.

Northern Soul Orchestrated at The Globe Theatre in Stockton on Tees last night. Around 40 musicians on stage playing some of the best ever Northern soul tunes. Introduced by Stuart Maconie, the show featured the BBC Concert Orchestra combined with a top rhythm section including the wonderful Steve Pearce on bass, nailing all those great lines perfectly. Six amazing vocalists sharing the vocal duties, including newcomer Darrel Smith who totally smashed it. A fantastic evening of music, and one of the best gigs I’ve seen in years.

We’re going to see Northern Soul Orchestrated at The Globe Theatre in Stockton this Thursday. Same line up that did the Northern Soul Proms last year at the RAH. The great Steve Pearce is on bass along with the BBC Concert Orchestra , and Stuart Maconie presenting. Can’t wait!

Another trip up to The Lookout on the Pier in Scarborough for our acoustic duo last night. The bad weather had subsided and it was very mild so an easy drive there. Usual capacity crowd in this small cafe bistro venue, lots of familiar faces so a nice atmosphere. Christmas decs up in the room, and some of the boats in the harbour had lights on as well. Lots of requests, mainly more old stuff from a more err….mature audience. These songs included ‘This Masquerade’ , ‘Africa’ ( I really have to concentrate singing the harmony in this one whilst trying to remember the bassline), and one of my favourites, Springsteen’s ’If I should fall behind’. Audience were very enthusiastic, and we did an encore of ‘Sultans of Swing’ ( which went on a bit but made more interesting for me by a small trawler coming in to moor up just by the window behind us). We’ve just been offered a regular load of gigs for 2025 in this great venue. It’s a 100 mile round trip for us but never a problem, so really pleased. Ibanez PCBE12 into Rumble 100 combo / DI into PA. Clarks black suede chukka boots, size 10.

I ran mine through a GK Neo 4x10. Not light but not as bad as the RBH range. I don’t consider the heads that heavy at 22 lbs. OK, not class D weight but for a conventional amp they are easy to transport, and give a very loud 750 watts into 4 ohms. Sadly now discontinued too, so snap them up while you can. 😊

‘Proper’ amps these. I used GK stuff for over 20 years (the 1001RB for most of them )with no issues. Loved the sound, build quality and overall vibe of them and only moved mine on when I downsized. Well done with your choice, you certainly won’t regret it.

This. But then again, this! A five string would be beneficial to me in my acoustic duo, where we tackle all sorts of stuff in all sorts of keys. However, 5 string acoustic basses don’t do it for me, as well as my 50 odd years of playing 4 strings getting in the way, so I’ll continue with them. Huge admiration for you folks who can swap between the two though. 😊

I was not going to post about my gig last night, but reading a couple of the above posts has changed my mind 😆 Anyway, ours ( 3 piece blues rock band) was a small bar in a country pub in North Lincolnshire. Bit of a trek from the car park, but we had a reasonable space to set up. Around 20 or 30 people in, most of them staying for the evening. Very friendly landlady, left us to decide when to go on. We did 2 x50 min sets, and had polite applause throughout but no dancers. I was a bit on auto pilot for some reason, despite it being our first gig in nearly a month. Subsequently missed a few turnarounds but nothing to derail us. We did receive 3 offers of gigs though! One back at the venue, another as a fund raiser in the village hall and also a small festival next summer. Just goes to show you never can predict the outcome of gigs, even when they appear to be nothing special. 20 minute drive home in the rain, but 14.5 degrees around midnight - very strange. Heading up to Scarborough later for an acoustic duo gig, so hoping the weather stays okay.

The Coal Porters at The Old Parcels Office in Scarborough last night. A bitterly cold evening in Scarborough, and inside wasn’t much better. However, a capacity crowd filled this lovely venue to welcome the 5 piece band featuring the legendary Sid Griffin. Two sets featuring a mixture of old standards / classic originals and some great covers of more recent stuff all done in an ‘alt-bluegrass’style. The covers included The Style Council’s ‘Walls come tumbling down’, ‘Another girl another planet’ by The Only Ones , Bowie’s ‘Heroes’ ( which was fantastic) and ‘Ooh la la’ by The Faces. All great players, especially Kerenza Peacock on fiddle, and Andrew Stafford on upright. One of those gigs where you just have a smile on your face throughout - highly recommended if you can catch them.

Great singer, guitarist and writer, top bloke too. When he played a local gig a few years ago, he covered the Lou Reed song ‘Perfect Day’, and as there had been a popular charity version of it in the charts he got various members of the audience up on stage to copy singing the celebrity parts, really funny.

Thanks, I’ll bear that in mind if I’m doing any restringing then!

Out of interest, any idea what caused the A string to break? They seem quite robust strings to me , and have never had any problems with them on my Ibanez or Taylor GS.

Although a lot of us take singers for granted sometimes, it is a lousy thing to be when you’re ill. I’ve never had to cancel a gig through illness ( apart from when I broke my arm!) but as a backing vocalist I know how difficult it can be when there are colds / flu and other stuff kicking around. My last band had to cancel gigs in theatres on a few occasions when our lead singer lost his voice, and it’s such a hard decision to make. Deps are so difficult to find too - usually if they are any good then they’ll be out working with their own band or even doing solo gigs. Unless your band are playing generic well known covers then it’s a big call to find someone available and suitable.

Any idea what channel number it is? Can’t find it on Freeview in my area.

You gonna bust some similar moves then Mick? 😆

Absolutely. In my old band we used to do a few medleys, and the various songs were joined together by either the main riffs or a few bars of drums. For example,we did a ten minute Motown medley which made this quite easy, as many have well known riffs / intros which are recognisable and share the same tempo. Our aim was to get people on the dance floor and keep ‘em there! The band played functions of all kinds, and we were usually successful in this. ( Other medleys we did included Disco, 60’s, 70’s, Rock and Xmas ). Even now when I hear one of the songs we ‘Medlied’ I still think of how it went into the next one!

The Coal Porters next Thursday at The Old Parcels Office in Scarborough. Great venue, looking forward to it.