dmccombe7

Private 60th birthday party last night for us with BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam. Also our drummers birthday same day. Organiser saw us 2 yrs ago and thought it would be great for his dads 60th. He had shown him vids from the gig 2 yrs ago and his Dad loved them. Was in a church hall with its own bar which was kinda strange but a well organised event. Approx 40-50 guests. We were paid while loading in so that was a 1st. Not a big fan of private parties tho as not every guest will be into Glam so it can be a bit MEH !!!. Birthday Boy had no idea what was happening and we were asked not to give it away. Covered the logo on bass drum and no band t-shirts worn also no backdrop. 1st set was a bit slow to get moving. We had some feedback "drone" issue coming and going with singers mic that we just couldn't nail it. It wasn't fine at soundcheck. Turned out it was pick up from snare drum so we managed to resolve it for 2nd set. We had a few dancers 1st set and it was turning out like many private parties ("dead") but we were getting well paid so thoughts of paid rehearsal were going thru my head. We were all invited to partake which was really nice to be asked and we didn't want to disappoint our host and be rude so we partook of a few bits and bobs and were even delivered a tray of food in our changing room which was a large room just off the main corridor. 2nd set it just all seemed to clicked, sound was perfect, dancers filled the floor and party was officially started. Decided to use my Handbox WB-100 last night for a wee change and boy was that a treat. I forgot how much i liked an all valve amp. Warm depth of tone with the mids boosted as advised by our very own WoT and the clarity was just so good. Using the Sandberg VM4 into Keeley comp, WB-100, Mesa SW210/115 cabs and the sound was amazing. I need to use that amp more often. Feedback was excellent with several folks looking to book us with one guy that manages a few other clubs being very impressed. They want us back as a proper function rather than a private event and bar manager reckoned it would sell out. She even wanted a list of where we play so she can come along. All very promising. The number of people coming up at the end complimenting us was quite touching at times but obviously a few beers had been partook by the end of the evening. Something i don't usually mention but here goes :- Arrived at venue 5pm Set up and S/C 6:30pm Doors open 7pm 1st set 8-9pm 2nd set 10-11:15pm Loaded by 12:15am Home and unloaded 1:30am Bed 2am Dave

The things we do for bands Dave

You can set the Keeley Bassist solely as a limiter but i've never actually tried it. I have it set in a way that the trigger LED only just flickers when i play harder or boost the bass or treble on the bass itself for certain songs. You can get a Keeley compressor with all the knobs like other comps. I just wanted simplicity. The other thing is that my tone doesn't change when its on or if it does i cant hear it. Even when the led is on constantly when i've got it wrong ie one of the controls has moved by mistake in transport or set up on stage the tone is still unaffected. You can hear the compression working tho but the depth of note is still there. If you want all the usual control knobs they do have others available. They generally manufacture HQ studio gear. Dave

The boots have zips but you need to adjust the laces for the top few holes depending on whether you tuck your sparkly trousers inside or have your wide flares on the outside. They are a bit sore on the feet and legs if you need to stand in one place on stage for 2-3hrs. Ok if you can move about tho. Dave

My first was Little Ole Wine Drinker Me and then Mississippi. Still got all my music books from 70's tho including Genesis Seconds Out (fully autographed), Pink Floyd DSOTM and Animals, Alice Cooper, Eagles, Camel and Supertramp are the highlights. Happy days Dave

WOW that's amazing. What desk is it ? Dave

Drummer just got a new Ford Kuga and it came with a load in cover that velcros onto the carpet and folds out over the bumper. Quite a smart idea so gonna look into that. Dave

Yep those Screwfix trolleys area godsend. I carry my 2 cabs and sometimes amp on it. Never heard of setting up desk with white noise. What / how does that work. ? Dave

Same here Greg. Dave

I guess i'm just someone that wants to help others so i expect others to be the same with me. Dave

Its one of the reasons i started going to a gym 4 yrs ago because i found i was struggling to lift things. Out of breath quite easily was a worry. In my head it was either unfit or something seriously wrong. My wife went thru something similar when she was around 40 and it turned out to be a heart condition where one side of the heart hadn't grown at same level as the other. She was given tablets to help and a year later there was a remarkable 50% improvement and she's now fine but it was going thru my head that it could be same thing or worse. I opted for trying the gym and within 3mths i lost 2 stone from 15 to 13st and wasn't out of breath anymore when doing things. That was gym 3 times a week just doing our own thing. Since then my muscle mass has grown and i am feeling exceptionally good. I'm not there to be the next Arnie but its more about body maintenance to help as i get older. I have no real problems lifting gear these days with the exception of the large PA cabs at circa 40Kg each and its more the lift and tilt to get into back of my estate car that's the issue trying to avoid resting them on the rear bumper and scratching my paintwork. I turned 65 last Friday so hopefully i'll keep playing for a few yrs yet but once i know my body is failing i'll walk away. Dave

Only another 83.5million to do Rob. No pressure. Dave

Had an SVT4-Pro circa 15yrs old. Loved the tone but like others have said it kept cutting out. Was found to have dodgy soldering below the valve bases. Got it repaired but wasn't happy so sold it on. Have an SVT7 Pro and its been great and never missed a beat. Its now my back up to the Mesa TT800. I still have a notion for a classic SVT but the weight puts me off. Dave

you're a better man than me. i wouldn't accept that and would walk away now before violence erupts Seriously tho why do they not give you a hand. I turn up early to give our drummer a hand in with his gear. Dave

Yep same for me. I carry the PA and my bass gear to gigs unless we hire a PA. I normally set up the PA and cables along with all mains for stage area. I also help load the drummers kit mainly to save a bit of time. The more of us doing the lifting speeds up load in/out times. Problem i have is that i need to load / unload the PA cabs by myself at home which are 40Kg each. My own bass cabs being lightweight are only 20Kg each. Especially tiring unloading the car into my garage at 2am. Even worse if i have to reload it the following day for another gig. Dave

Had the same thing when we restarted earlier this month after a busy festive period. Our 2nd gig was on Sat and my shoulders ached a bit too and my wee fingertips on my plucking hand were a bit tender by the end of the night. Dave

Hopefully the guitarist realises its time to call it a day and everyone is relatively happy and the band can continue with a replacement. Its not an easy one to go thru. I've always said if my health hinders me playing in a band i'll let the band know its time to quit and give them plenty of notice. Dave

Thank you very much. I do rabbit on a bit when i do them but i enjoy describing gigs. Dave

That's exactly what happened. I agreed to wait until after the next gig and take it from there. The band have been really understanding about it all. After the gig i realised how much i enjoyed it and decided it was better to stay with it. Band were over the moon about it and were not looking forward to searching for a replacement. As they said its not just about technical ability, its being a good fit for the band on a personal level too. I can't deny its a lot of fun, both on stage and off. Dave

Superb version. One of my fav Deacon Blue songs. Your band is exceptionally talented. Love it. Wouldn't mind seeing you guys. Dave

yep i like that. Dave

We played that one before you came in OR we'll be doing that in set 4. Dave

Last night with BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam band in Bishopton Social Club turned out a fantastic wee night. When we arrived we were quite taken aback by the size of the venue. It was small with only 8 tables seating around 40. It apparently holds 80. Manager said things have been slow but he was surprised at ticket sales being so poor. Anyways it didn't look too empty so we just went for it and the audience were up for every bit of it. This was THE best audience interaction we've ever experienced. Enough so that when the singer was introducing the band he mentioned it was my birthday and the audience erupted into a "happy birthday" to me. When he mentioned its the drummers next week they did the same all in great humour. For a laugh he said the guitarists was in 2 weeks and off they went again and then Lynn's birthday was May and off they went and finally our singer Mikey even got a "Happy Birthday" too because they thought he was missing out. The whole night was like this. Not a lot of dancing first set but when we came back 2nd set they had obviously been lubricated at the bar and were up from first song. When we joked about what song we were doing next they responded by cheers or disappointed "awe's" when we didn't do an Osmond ballad, but just a great fun night. One of the best nights i've had as far as audience participation goes. Great positive comments at the end of the night too. Had one guy come over at the end and asked if i was the bass player and when i confirmed yes he said it was the first time he'd seen a bass player play the proper Jean Genie bassline with all the runs and fills. He was a guitarist himself. Organiser told us we were the best band they'd ever had in the club and those that never showed will regret not being there, but we have been asked to come back with date to be confirmed. We even had the honour of the amazing DJ Celebrity in Scotland Mr Tom Russell in the audience and at the end he couldn't be any more complimentary. "Band was very tight, obviously well rehearsed and compared to other Glam bands i've seen, far superior." Our Sweet covers were superb but unlike tribute bands we were covering just about every Glam band. His mate has provisionally booked us for Jan 2026. When we asked about the venue and if PA and lights etc his reply was "i want you to replicate exactly what you have tonight" so i'm guessing he liked it 1 hour drive home so not too bad. Was home for 2am. Usual gear. Sandberg VM4 into Shure wireless, Keeley comp, Mesa TT800 and Mesa SW210/115 cabs, platform boots as standard. Dave Not from last night's gig but the boots can be seen.

2 gigs in one weekend is a struggle for me never mind 2 in one day. WOW. Dave

Worth every penny IMHO. Dave