dmccombe7

Are you guys using agents or getting the gigs on your own. Have to admit the age group of most folks that listened to UK Glam Rock in early 70's means the dancing can be limited to a few songs at a time then a wee break. It was very warm with ambient temperature at 22 oC with no air-con and that's quite warm for this area especially in May. Meant the hall was fairly warm. I had a large 18" gym fan that i use to keep myself cooled down. Not sure how you boost your audience with blues based band in US. Are you advertising on your band FB page plus the usual Instagram or other social media. We also put posts on any local FB gig guide pages. We supply posters for any clubs that take them and most of the clubs will put them up. Some clubs take our FB pic and make their own with whatever they want to add. The one thing i do find a wee bit annoying is the bingo or raffle at the break. Bet you don't get that in US Daryl Is it an option to take on work with another working band, maybe some dep work or are you guys out every weekend ? Dave

I wasn't aware of that but i'm not a fan of The Stones even tho i am of a certain age. Dave

Sorry what was i thinking Mick Taylor. Don't even know who Mick Taylor is. The worst thing about it is that our drummer knew The Sweet and lived in the next street from Steve Priest and even had some drum lessons from Mick Tucker. He was a bit younger than them to be fair. He even got a lift home from the pub by Steve Priest in his Rolls. I should know better. I'll go back and correct that. Thanks for pointing out my mistook Paul. Dave

My VM4 is a 4mm. I'm assuming they use the same size for all their basses to keep costs down. Dave

Hi Daryl, Great wee gig in a small Bowling Club (grass bowls rather than indoor bowling that you probably have) About 70-80 people so it was an intimate wee gig but good fun. Sold out so that was good too. Outside of bands i've been getting rood repairs finished which cost a lot more than expected but its one of those kind of jobs when you start you come across other issues. £6k it cost me last month. I'm now skint till pay day. I had to raid the gig piggy bank. Got another almost sold out for Sat night coming. Think there was 20 tickets left last week so hopefully they'll sell this week or on the night. Had a 6hr rehearsal yesterday too to run thru some new songs for Glam band. Been having a go at Sweet's The Six Teens but its a hard one for the drummer when you start getting into it. Interesting fact but Mick Tucker from Sweet was very good friends with Ian Paice from Deep Purple and they would share drumming techniques. However Paice was left handed but it meant Tucker being right handed would start drum riffs with his left hand rather the normal because Paice would show him how to play certain bits but what that means is that for most right handed drummers playing some Sweet covers its not normal to play that way and many drummers miss some of the drum part out if that all makes sense. Apologies there i'm of topic a bit. Anyways i like that word "chincy" Dave

I'm also with RAC but i was under the impression they responded within 1 hr or something like that. Only time i've used them was when i had a company car and it wouldn't start at home and sure enough guy appeared in under an hour but that was 8am on a weekday. Pretty poor considering you couldn't lock the car or leave it secure. Think i'd be putting a complaint in. You might get a discount on your payments of some kind. Dave

Sod that. Give those kind of freebies a miss next time around. If someone in the band wants to do an event for his mates or somewhere he is involved then he forfeits his own fee but the rest still get paid otherwise its a no go. We have an agreement that no freebies except for band members, not even spouses etc only the band. Dave

What kind of car was it ? That sounds like an absolute nightmare of a day. My sympathy goes out to you but at least the gig turned out good. What's the point of having RAC if you need to wait until following morning for assistance. Think i might be changing to AA if that's how they treat you. Dave

@wateroftyne you do love that bass rig. Having heard it and played thru at your house i have to admit that tks cab is sublime and matched with the HB its just pure heaven. Great to hear the show went well and many thanks for sharing with us mere mortals Always appreciate your posts Michael. PS I'm back using my HB WB-100 for gigs with a passive Godin PJ bass and its absolutely superb. Dave

I was just thinking the same thing. I wish i was that talented at 16 ...... at anything to be honest. Dave

Used to love that Journey song until it was played to death on TV and radio. That bl**ming GLEE has a lot to answer for. It killed that song. Dave

Another wee Sold Out gig at Polmont Bowling Club. Lots of dancing, fun and just a great night by everyone. Half time sandwiches and drinks thrown in too. Used the Godin and the Handbox WB100 with Mesa SW210/115 cabs. Band members said the bass sounded more full. I still need to work on the hi-mids for better clarity at the top end tho. At moment i'm hearing bass and treble. A little more experimentation required Did have an aching back last night so thought i'd check the Godin weight and its 8.6lbs compared to 8 with my Sandberg VM4. Was a long gig tho started at 8pm, had a 30min break from 9:30pm to 10 and played until 11:40pm and then a rake of requests for pics with the band. Paid at half time and feedback was excellent. Got asked if we would be interested in doing a Dec gig at a venue in Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. Guy was specifically there to see us with a view to book and was very impressed. 3-4 other enquiries on how to book the band too so all in all a productive night. Approx 1 hr drive home with virtually no traffic on country roads so that was great. I know these roads well from when i worked at Grangemouth for many many years. Dave

Nice one Michael, have a great weekend with it and keep us posted with updates as and when you can. Always appreciated. Dave

I can honestly say i have no recollection of the venue or how the gig even went. I know all the gigs we did were great nights but individually just can't remember. Was a popular rock venue in 80's. Dave

I once played in Hereford in mid 80's. Have no idea where but i'm sure it was near a cattle market if i remember right. Could it have been The Market Bar ? Memory not so good from that era in my life. That was a wee tour i was doing with my broken leg. Crutches and all. Happy Days Dave

Odd one for me. My first bass was a Columbus Jazz bought circa 76. I left it at a bandmates house who was defretting it for me so i had a fretless and forgot all about it after i moved on to other bands and better basses. He got it refretted and still has it and his daughter used it to learn on. That was back in 1980. My other one is my old Yamaha BX-1 i've had since circa 88. Only worth £100 as a trade so i just kept it. Never use it tho. My next one is one of my fav basses i've had since new in 89 a Warwick Thumb NT that is just such a nice bass but doesn't suit the bands i'm in at the moment. Also a keeper. Dave

Happy days Dave

To be fair they are ok but i do take care going down stairs with them on. Cant leap over the monitors and jump into the crowds with them on Dave

That's the first 5 stringer Ric i've seen in use at a gig. Nice one and love the colour. Dave

Not heard any of his solo stuff. Will have a listen on youtube today. Dave

Oddly enough i was listening to Steve Hillage the other day. Did see him late 70's / early 80's. I was following the history of Camel bassist Colin Bass who played with Gong back in the day. Dave

Amazing bassist with Max Webster too. Think it was Dave Myles when i saw them support Rush in UK. Hemispheres 1979 Tour Dave

Saw them support Rush in the early years. Great band. Dave