dmccombe7

That's odd as i don't class EK as part of Glasgow. Paisley, Hillington and Renfrewshire i've always thought of them as subarbs of Greater Glasgow area. Think the fact that Glasgow Airport is in that area kinda throws me a bit. Dave

I have no idea. I've always just assumed its part of Glasgow but now that you mention it the postcode is PA My apologies if i've offended you there. I'll correct my post above. Dave

Great wee regular gig for our classic punk covers band Emergency Exit in The Cave in Paisley, near Glasgow Its a 6-9pm slot so home via kebab shop around 11pm ish. This is one of my fav gigs TBH. Night started well as we arrived with our gear with a local being literally thrown out by bar staff who had been asking him to leave on several occasions as he was very drunk and annoying a couple who were sitting quietly waiting for the band. Then during our 2nd set Jen the owner escorted another very drunk outside altho he was ok and just left without a struggle. Oh happy days in Paisley. Started the set to approx 15 people (its a very small pub so that makes it look busier than you'd expect. By the 3rd or 4th song it started getting busier and by the end of the 1st set it was very busy with several ladies up dancing away. Now that was fun (ny). And that was without our usual local support who were all attending a birthday party. All good tho. We even had one of the Blue Angels come up specifically to see us after playing the Club House last week. He's the organiser for the Ayrshire BA. He's actually a really nice bloke to chat to about bikes and band gear. He even owns a Hesketh (motorcycle for those that don't know) that he bought new in 1982 when they first appeared. That must be worth a fair bit of money nowadays. Anyways it turned out to be another fantastic night in The Cave. Early enough finish to miss the on-coming motorway closures that were being set up as we drove home. No pics or vids as yet but if any appear i'll pop something up. My usual punk gear. Sandberg MarloweDK into Ampeg SVT7 and Mesa SW210/115 cabs. Dave

We have one cat that hates to see my wife leave the house. He sulks at the front door on way out and he now sits facing the door when we arrive home. On the other hand our other cat doesn't give a monkey's what we do unless its dinner time. Dave

Yep our gig on Fri night they waited until we came on stage for 2nd set and decided to do the raffle. Was stood standing for 10minutes while our singer did the announcements of winners. Drummer sat with head on hands and elbows on snare and guitarist was able to take guitar back off and sit down at his end of the stage. I couldn't because my basses were at the side next to me. Felt like a right TW*T. But they looked after us well, fed us from the buffet which was left in our changing room for us at half time. Paid at half time and re-booked for next year. Job done. Was one of our best nights to be fair. Everyone was in party mood from young girls to our older generations all up dancing. Dave

Geddy for me too. Jeff Berlin in his earlier days. Dave

Nice return gig to Camelon Labour Club in Falkirk tonight. Sold Out twice now. Dancing all night from the first song. Audience were so much into what we were doing. Just a great feeling and privilege to play for them. Great night. Using my Sandberg VM4 into my Ampeg SVT7 Pro and Mesa 210/115 cabs. Dave

Blue Angels gig tonight with Emergency Exit punk covers band was same as always. Few girls dancing and a general lack of interest until we finished and then we got a lot of compliments. They even said we could purchase one of their Tee-shirts but i didn't have enough cash and by the end of the night their merchandise was put in a van and away somewhere. Maybe next time. Band played well with only one mistook in one of the new songs so not too bad at all. The guy that organises it supplies the PA and a few flashing lights so its an easy gig to be honest plus they always give us a hand with gear. I literally didn't lift anything into the gig. Seriously what other gig do you get that. Free food laid on too altho it was for everyone who was there but they know how to feed themselves. Lot of unusual smells coming from the back rooms too but best not go there. Lets just say i could have floated to my car at the end of the night. Nice wee hours drive across country. Dave

Got a Blue Angels gig tonight with the punk band Emergency Exit so that'll be interesting as always. At least its not pissing down and blowing a gale like the other times i've played there. The very small stage area is right next to front door and every time the door opened throughout the night i got an icy blast on my neck. It got so bad i put my hoodie on last time i was there. I was absolutely frozen down my left side. Its not like you can complain to them Dave

Looks like a decent size stage their Mart. Nice one. Dave

that's made my morning. Still laughing as i type this. Dave

I think i'm ok at what i do. I get comments at gigs about being good but i tend to think that its more down to being fluent rather than fast or showing off. Most bands i play in say my selling point is i learn songs note for note and they like that. They generally rely on me knowing the song inside out when we start rehearsing and i am usually asked how a certain part goes. Our new-ish guitarist told me last year that in many yrs of playing a certain Xmas song in Glam covers bands i'm the first bassist to actually play it correctly and he hasn't had to explain how to play it. I'm not a flash slappy type bassist, i just play what i'm asked and can keep a steady pace thru songs. I do love picking songs out by Jeff Berlin and learning little bits of them just for my own benefit. Not so much recently as i've backed off with my aggressive finger plucking but many bands liked the attack i managed to put into a rock song but the blisters were getting too much for me and i struggled doing 2 gigs in a row over a weekend. Now i play lighter in the Glam band but still like a bit of aggression in the punk band. I do have to watch what i'm doing when i have 2 gigs in a weekend I've been to bass bashes and watched some amazingly talented players way better than i'll ever be. I just don't do solos and get embarrassed doing them even in bass shops when trying out a new bass. I'll just play basic stuff in shops with a very occasional fasty bit. I guess i'm your typical shy bass player. Dave

I did read somewhere about a guy that has had many Stingray's over the years but since buying the Central he's a convert so that kinda said it all to me. I tried a few MM basses years ago and couldn't take to the neck. I love my VM4 and Marlowe basses and the quality is 2nd to none for me. I do quite fancy the natural Central that someone posted further back on this thread. Look forward to reading the follow up to your question. Dave

I've played it a couple of times at jam sessions back in 80's but not recently. I've not even heard a covers band do that one in many years. I always found the first verse bassline very tricky 😁 Dave

Smoke machine always on the floor when i use them. Usually i try to keep it out of sight. Find out where any draughts are coming from and position it to blow across the stage. With our Glam band wearing costumes and wigs we tend to have large fans at each end of the stage so a smoke machine just doesn't work very well. Dave

Check the smoke nozzle Daryl. If it's oil based it'll have oil residue on the nozzle. If its water based it will be dry. If it's oil based make sure not to point it towards anyone's gear as it will leave a residue on the gear. Played a gig a few years ago and their smoke machine was oil based and it was right in front of my pedal board. I had to clean the full board when i got it home. I didn't spot it until we were all set up and they fired it up. Dave

the gift that never stops giving Dave

The newer water based smoke machines shouldn't cause you any probs. I know the older oil based ones used to leave a coating of oil on anything near the smoke outlet but the new ones don't do that. Its more a water vapour. I have 2 smoke machines using water based fluid and our singers have no issues with them but to be fair i've not used them much in past few years. Maybe i should fire them up again. Dave

Gorgeous basses. Unusual bass rig set up too. Do you use both amps at same time or is one just a back up. ? Had a Streamliner 600 years ago when they first came out. Wish i had kept it. Dave

Just home from a Blockbustarz Glam rock covers show at Longstone Hearts Club in Edinburgh. Not a big venue and we were told we could use the house PA so that was good altho it wasn't the best of gear but we managed to sort it out enough that we could carry on with the show. Originally we had terrible feedback and the tone was weak and thin. Its at this point i wish we had just brought our own rather than faffing about with strange PA's Anyway it turned out to be a fantastic night. Sold Out too plus we are back early December. Fair bit of dancing thru the evening and exceptionally good feedback. My fav from a fellow bassist telling me he plays bass in a 3 piece band but "i was absolutely fecking brilliant and the star of the show for him" That made me happy but general feedback is that everyone is now booking tickets for the Dec Xmas show at the venue. Stage was small and we weren't able to move about much. Changing room was a managers office where security cameras are fed to. We were on TV They were that impressed the organiser said they would add another £100 onto our Dec fee because they were so impressed. Now you don't get that very often. No pics or vids as yet Using my Sandberg VM4 into Ampeg SVT7 Pro and my Mesa cabs. Shure wireless and an EBS envelope filter for Virginia Plain mid section. Dave

Great pic Daryl. Dave

Onto Ampeg these days Mart but still got old faithful Mpulse. Dave

Will need to try that Mart. Dave

100% agree a little courtesy and helpful advice would have gone a long way. I just don't understand all of this. They sell bass gear but being nice to bassists who are customers shouldn't even be something we are discussing here. Its a given as far as i'm concerned. Such a shame and a worry to be hearing all these shocking stories. I'll still use BD as my first port of call until i get any sign of a poor response and that will put me off using any shop again. Dave

I was down that way on Sunday at Retford during the day and A1 was closed just after i was leaving for Worksop. Scary when a main road is closed. I had no idea England got the storm so bad but you could see the flooded fields each side of the A1 in that area. Well done with the gig under those circumstances. Dave