dmccombe7

What a cracking event. Love it. Dave

Well done. I remember in mid 80's doing PA hire for a Canadian Cajun band at a local venue. Was a great night with so much energy and a great fun gig. Dave

Enjoyed that, not my usual kind of music but that was really good. Thanks for sharing. Dave

I did actually see Jonny and the Self Abusers in our local Sat afternoon venue in Wishaw back in late 70's. They were ok but not my kind of music but i vaguely remember the drummer as having very basic kit possibly a snare and bass drum or similar. Was a long time ago and an afternoon of beer does tend to make your memories a bit vague. Dave

Both correct. I decided to have a look on line to see which bands were Post Punk. Surprised me to see The Clash, The Police, The Jam all listed there as they were about in 76/77 when punk took off. To be fair i'm no expert and was never really into punk altho i did enjoy some of the hits and the energy some of them had. Its an odd collection as Simple Minds were in there too. I always regarded them as part of the New Wave type bands. I'm guessing anything after Punk can be regarded as "Post Punk" era which is kinda wide open to interpretation. Dave

what is Post Punk ? Dave

Punk isn't really my thing TBH but i have to admit i enjoyed playing the songs and the band members are all first class people altho guitarist is on holiday at moment and we didn't want to spoil his holiday. Singer said he was thinking of retiring from the band soon anyway as he appreciates the other 3 of us are busy with the Glam band. He has a Ramones tribute band on the go now too. If i do look for a side project i think it might be back to classic rock or if possible Prog covers band which i've never quite managed to find others into same things. Dave

Sorry to hear that. Bit poor for a band to split because someone raises an issue for discussion. That kind of thing really annoys me. Looks like our punk covers band will be folding soon too as just not enough interest or gigs for that matter but on the plus side the Glam band is fairly busy with bookings already in for Xmas 2025. I might see if i can get another side project from the Glam band just to keep me busy maybe 1-2 gigs / mth kind of thing. Problem i have is that the Glam band are fully booked thru Dec both Fri and Sat with occasional Sun gigs and another band might feel a bit bad about getting no gigs in Dec Dave

Thanks Paul its better than i could have imagined but then again i am a Mesa fanboy since buying the Mpulse and PH212 cab. Well worth the wait. Dave

I could cover the cost of all your accommodation and travel arrangements cause i'm a nice guy. Dave

Can i ask what you've gone for @BassAdder60. Always nice to hear what others are using. Dave

Thanks Steve and as always your opinion was spot on about the amp. Its superb in every way. Anxious to gig it now and next gig is with the Glam band so that will be a good test as i'll use both channels with different tones and with only vocal PA it should be reasonably loud backline. Once again many many thanks for all your help and advice over the years i've owned Mesa gear. 👍 Dave

Yep i'd travel down for that gig. Keep me posted Dave

Its finally arrived after 3+ yrs. My Mesa TT800 and its incredible. Won't go into detail as i've posted a NAD here on BC but here's some pics as evidence i now have it. Trust me this amp is amazing. I love it. Dave

After waiting over 3 yrs for this amp i can safely say it was worth the wait. It arrived around 12:30 today from Andertons. Its superbly built and the tone from both channels is just amazing. Obviously i'm still getting used to it but having read the manual a few times since originally ordering Apr 2021 and again April 2024 i feel i already know it. Ch 1 is the Boogie Channel and has a more rounded valve type tone but using the manuals suggested classic rock settings i think i have just found "my tone" its exactly what i would set an amp to. Ch 2 is the Subway channel and has a more modern feel to it with faster attack. Setting it almost flat with a slight boost of bass and i love it. On both these settings i have the HPF at 9 o'clock position. Can't really say i can hear a difference at house volumes but that seems to be where most people set it based on TB forum. The thing that really jumps out at me from the word go is how clear every note sounds across the strings no matter where you set the EQ, no "dead spots" like i've experienced with most other amps when you adjust the EQ. Its so well balanced and every note just seems to sing. As i got more used to it in the first hour i tweaked the SW channel treble to get a slightly Ric sound (still experimenting here so don't slate me at this stage) as i like to go from a more "P based tone" to a "Ric based tone" and in between depending on what song i'm playing and saves changing basses every other song. I have to admit at 64 yrs old i never dreamed i'd be this excited about a new bass amp but its like getting your first real bass rig all over again. I'm so excited its like Xmas as a kid. Here's some pics. Excuse the mess as i had to squeeze the lightweight rig next to the Mesa home practice rig in the Bass Cave. Dave

You can park in the little lane just up from it where The Bungalow is. We play The Cave regularly and we all park our cars there. Jen the Manageress told us all the bands park there. If after 6pm you can park in various areas around the patch. Bit of a bummer loading in tho. Always bring a trolley or ask the bar staff for a loan of theirs. Dave

Nice review from the Dreadnought's resident band critic Alex Hastings. Unfortunately no pics or vids have surfaced yet. Dave "A packed Dreadnought Rock was the place to be on Saturday for lovers of music with an 'early 70's' vibe... Namely Glam Rock.!! Blockbustarz were back in the place that rocks to follow up their fabulous Christmas party gig of last year.... Mike, Colin, David, Lynn and Barry 'Bazza' Haywood were glammed up to the max, in their sparkly, shiny and very colourful costumes, not forgetting platform shoes akin to small step ladders.. ... For nigh on 3 hours, they blasted out hit after hit, leading to a few 'missed buses home'... That's rock n roll.. ..... It just happened to be Brian Chizzmeister Chisholm's 58th Birthday and Bruce Henderson's big 6-oh..! And they both had the happiest of Birthdays.. .... Bazza on drums was wearing a glittery pork pie hat, and silver shoulder pads an NFL quarter back would be proud of... It didn't stop him from rattling the skins though... Lynn didn't need to cheat in the 'long haired wig department' as she blasted out shared vocals with Micky Blitz. . The anti hooligan safety fence was in operation tonight following Lynns unfortunate black eye incident of last year... . Just as well going by the frantic, frolicking, footwork of the group of Glamtastic lasses in front of me... ......... . We had Sweet, Mud, Alvin Stardust, The Rollers ,Bryan Ferry and many more. The crowd were into it big time. "Ballroom Blitz" they roared as I looked behind me for any 'Attack from the back..'.... ... "That's neat, that's neat" they yelled as all and sundry tried the 'Mud' dance.....The fence was being tested as they swayed along to the Rollers and rocked along to Saturday Night's All Right For Fighting from Elton... "Schools Out" sang Micky Blitz as the crowd chanted with him. Chizzy was in the zone now and I wasn't far behind him... .... T-Rex, Sailor, Showaddywaddy, Bowie, the tunes kept coming, and the fence huggers were still 'Giving it laldy' as George Thom would've said.."'Under the moon of Love! " sang the faithful... Another favourite from Mud, The Cat Crept in, Crept Out Again ( lyrics of genius!) led to more step over your feet dancing. Brilliant.... Sometime during the mayhem my name was heard being shouted by Lynn followed by the words" Tell Him! "... Cue some lunacy from yours truly ably assisted by the Birthday boy himself, Chizzy, as we bounced around to" Tell Him' from Hello... What a song, a song I've been jumping around to since 1984 in the Twig (Eh Billy Haggarty ?)....... The chaos kept being chaotic as the band gave us Hell Raiser, Elected, Waterloo, the Jean Genie, Virginia Plain, Can the Can and yet more...... Magnificent effort.. (I'm feeling burnt out just reading this )... I'm sure the Time Warp was in there somewhere.. It was now getting a bit hazy as the Belhaven Best was starting to kick in... .... The punters were having a ball, as expected and Micky Blitz and the band cranked it up some more for the final push. A rousing Loch Lomond came up as a mid song medley to the delight of the crowd. Teenage Rampage, Devil Gate Drive, and the song the band take their name from, Blockbuster were all played for the punters, who by now must have been on their last legs.. None more so than a 'doon the fronter' who'd just came home from Benidorm in the afternoon.. Respect.. ... As the time approached 11.30pm or thereabouts, the band took their well deserved leave from the stage. What a gig, what a night and what a crowd. Another top night in the Dreadnought had been had. Once again top marks to all concerned.... Big Hastie over and out from the Goth , Armadale... (I just made it home in time for one last beer)..... Elton got his song wrong, Saturday Night's All Right For Drinking...... If you see him, "Tell Him".....

That's an abysmal state of affairs. To expect bands to play for nothing is shocking. You did the right thing. We would have pulled out too. Dave

Cozy Surely that isn't access thru the stage area is it ? Dave

BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers last night in our fav venue The Dreadnought in Bathgate. Has to be the best run venue i've ever known with the best owner, manager, Sound Engineer and even the bar and door staff are all just really nice, helpful people. Decent audience circa 100+ based on what we got paid at the end of the night so that was good. (ticket deal) Very hot even with the venue's large fans going on the stage. 2 litres of water over the full set. Sound guy Pete said that's the tightest the band have been and we had people dancing from the stage barrier all the way back to the bar area. Audience were brilliant and really into from the first song. We requested the stage barriers this time as last time a rather drunk guy fell onto the stage and damaged the singers wireless unit and knocking her mic stand and giving her a burst nose and black eye. Had 3 new songs added to the set for last night with a little bit of nerves on them when we played. Few minor fluffs that no-one else noticed but the band and were well covered by the band. As guitarist pointed out at the end "you know you are doing well when the front row are all women and girls dancing away all night or hanging over the barrier to watch." Used my Sandberg VM4 thru Shure wireless into Ampeg SVT7 and Mesa SW210/115 rig. On stage sound was a bit odd almost like a touch of bass boom / rumble and i was tweaking for a bit to sort it out only to find it was the guitarist's cab that was booming on stage as i use a gramma pad. Full PA support and FOH was spot on as always in this venue. Home for 2am, bed for 3am. Dave

All the best, pretty sure the adrenalin will give you a wee rush and get you thru. Try not to excert yourself to much, restrict any stage theatrics and stand in one place might help and drink plenty of water and maybe a spoonful of honey before you start each set. Hope all is ok. Dave

Just a boy. Dave

Based on some of the vids i've watched you don't look that old ? Dave

Great news, my TT800 is at Andertons ready for final payment and delivery. Just need to call them today when they open at 10am. Its only taken me approx 3yrs to get one. Biting my nails with excitement this morning Dave

I've gone from Jazz necks to 5 and 6 stringers and back to slim necked basses mainly because i feel more comfortable with them but i agree if its the only bass you have you do get used to it. My problem is i have more slim necked basses and if i picked one of them up i'd be drawn back towards them again. Dave