dmccombe7

The band sounds great. I'm surprised you'd all call it a day when you sound so good together. Any particular reason ? Pretty sure you'd find another band. You sound competent and you do backing vocals so that's a good plus. Good luck for whatever you decide to do but it would be a waste of talent if you don't get back out there. Dave

Can any of the other band members sing and play to a decent level ? Dave

Agree a band needs someone making the final decision and everyone else has to abide by that but some decisions should be discussed as a band. I think any BL should respect the others and not bring in someone new without prior discussion and agreement. Dave

Ask the singer in the other band if they could do it. My drummer and female singer is in both bands and it means the diaries sync a lot easier if you have people in both bands. Dave

Simple answer is NO. I just couldn't work with people like that. You either want to be in a working band or you don't. If you can't commit then step aside and allow the others in the band to move forward is how i view things. That's just a joke and if that happened at a rehearsal i'd walk out. New members being brought in is a band decision and should have been discussed and agreed before a rehearsal and what's the point if he can only stay for an hour. I'm retired so its easier for me on the food front but when i'm gigging my main meal / dinner is a Tesco meal deal taken after sound check. Occasionally i get takeaway food for a change. That kinda goes with the territory i'm afraid. Our rehearsals used to be a Sun from 12-6 with and hours drive each way and we would take sandwiches to that as well. As you say if everyone is singing from the same page you do accept some uncomfortable issues like no hot meals that day but you need to see a return on that sacrifice with the band moving forward. I was in a blues-funk band for a spell and it turned out the BL only wanted to rehearse. I was driving country roads for over an hour each way thru winter conditions to get there and back and found out he didn't want to gig much maybe once or twice a year. I left when i found this out from another band member. The annoying part was the band was pretty darn good and i was enjoying the music. I really feel for you there @Marvin. It wouldn't be me. I'd move on and look for something else. Dave

I've used JMB, Bandmix and even Gumtree over the years and more recently we got our guitarist thru placing a FB advert. When i was younger i just wanted to play Prog Rock but thru the 80's the demand fell away and no-one wanted to watch that particular style so i adapted and played rock. As i got older and after a few yrs away due to work commitments around 2010 i took on any band i could get into just to get some experience again. I was in everything from pop, blues, funk, celtic rock, originals rock, Deep Purple tribute, 70's covers, originals Prog, indie originals and finally ended up with my current Glam covers band and classic punk covers band. My point being that if your music doesn't appeal to many then getting band members and subsequent gigs will be far more difficult and you may need to look further afield for gigs and even band members. What i would suggest is that as an interim measure until you can get the band and gigs you want then take on a different style of music that's a bit more popular to keep your hand in. Just a thought. Think its probably an age gap there as when i was young i definitely wouldn't have played in some of the band styles i listed above and nothing but Prog was ever gonna do it for me but i do wish you all the very best and hope Santa brings you the musicians and gigs you are looking for. Dave

Well done @Lozz196 sometimes it just happens. Its funny how we never rate ourselves as being the "better" musician in the band. I'm much the same. At the moment i believe both my bands have people that are equally matched. If i take any one individual, in either band, i could quite easily highlight their strong points and why i think they are the better musicians in the band. I'm not sure how others in a band judge the bass player ? Is it his technical ability, timing, reliability, commitment and effort he puts in, i honestly don't know. My drummer has stated a few times that its my commitment to playing exactly note for note in the songs that makes it easier for him to follow as he always knows i'm there. Guitarist reckons same as in one particular Xmas song in over 30+ yrs playing same song i'm the only bassist to play it correctly and he didn't need to show me how. Comments over the years have been based on the fact a song gets mentioned and i've nailed it for the next rehearsal. No song seems to be an issue for me. I think many bassists are in a similar position. We simply do our job because we are committed and want a band to work. We're not technically brilliant solo bassists but solid capable players that want any band to succeed. Here's hoping for Xmas that we all find that particular band mix that works for us. Dave

When we started with the Glam band 5 yrs ago we found issues trying to sync diaries on a weekly basis so we pre-booked the rehearsal studio for approx 2mths ahead every Sun afternoon for 3 hrs then we went every two weeks for 6hrs to cut down on fuel costs and travelling time. We kept pre-booking well ahead. It tends to focus the attention when you know you have an appointment every Sunday at 12pm - 3pm. You therefore work around the booked rehearsal times. Is that a possible option. ? We also set realistic targets for the songs to learn for the next week. You need to allow for people's jobs and personal commitments and not try and learn a full set in a week. Pick 3-4 songs every week. The set soon builds up quite quickly. I'm not sure that's the problems you're encountering with current members but keep at it and eventually as @SteveXFR says there are others out there looking for the same commitment, its just trying to get them all together in one band. Good luck and hope you find the right people. Don't fall into the Marvin syndrome. Zaphod will be disappointed. Dave

Brilliant to hear kids are still doing it the right way. Dave

Well done sir. Dave

Yep my Jazz style basses are all 38mm. My Mex PJ also 38mm. Sandberg VM4 is nearer 40mm which still ok Vintera is 44mm. Altho its wide its a thin style neck and not so bad. The more i play it the more i'm ok with it. Maybe a Rosewood neck P bass might suit me better too as the maple neck gives it a bit more zingy tone. Warwick Thumb NT is 38mm too. Dave

Nice one Stevie. The neck width of standard P is what puts me off them. Will look into them a bit more. Dave

Not heard of a Burns Barracuda. Will google it. I remember being at a Burns demo near where i lived back in late 70's. The Burns Bison was just out and Tony Reeves from Greenslade was doing the rounds as bass demonstrator. They made some fantastic basses back in the day. Dave

You have some quite unique basses @BigRedX Nice one. Liking that one too. Dave

Cheers for that i'll have a wee look altho i'm not in the market for any new basses altho a red Sandberg VM4 would be nice. Dave

Nice bass. what is it ? Dave

First Xmas show tonight with BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers band at a sold out Longstone Hearts Club in Edinburgh. Great night. Few wee mistakes crept in for some odd reason. Xmas songs went well tho. Quite a small stage for us and had to watch where i was standing as i had my pedals in front of me and guitarists pedal behind me. Also had a the PA cab on my left next to headstock but all went well and didn't trip over anything or thump the bass of PA. Few pics on FB already but no vids as yet. Here we go. SET #1 SET #2

I do and i'm a big fan of them. Actually got Michelin cross-climates on to see how they fair. Dave

Our singer was taking sips of honey tonight before at break and at the end as his throat was struggling a bit. Dave

WOW i see what you mean. The 45 min set thing is a bit "out of date" these days. General rule of thumb is two 1hr sets. Because we have costume changes in Glam band we take a break of circa 20mins sometimes shorter and depending on venue sometimes its nearer 30mins at request of venue to allow for buffet, raffles or Bingo. (yes there are still clubs that do all that and to be fair they do supply us with sandwiches, sausage rolls and juice at the break and my wife and our female singer have won in the various raffles so all good there) Its no fun being in a band where there's friction and i'd only stay if it was purely a business arrangement that benefits me. Not learning their parts and not getting a decent on stage mix is poor. Its something we strive to get right at soundcheck to allow each other to be heard and to be able to hear the others enough to follow what's happening. You have my sympathy with this band. I don't think i could work with that @JapanAxe. Serious thought on where you go with it might be required. Perhaps stay with it for now but look around for other options. Its easier to find work when you are already working. ? Its a busy time of year for bands too and dropping out now could mean losing a fair bit of gig money on run up to Xmas. All the very best with what you decide. Dave

Gonna be fun getting to our Edinburgh gig tonight. Both singers in Bathgate and Boness have about 3-4" snow this morning. Happy days. Dave

You need to give us an idea of what went wrong so we can avoid it Dave

Not a gig tonight but a 3hr rehearsal to polish up on our Xmas songs for our first Xmas show on Sat. night. All went well from the start. So we just had some of the cake we bought for our singers birthday today. Dave