dmccombe7

Nice deep bass tone there. Love it. Dave.

Last nights gig with Emergency Exit punk covers was at The Riverside in Dumfries. The band has been playing this venue for 7yrs now (3yrs with me) but unfortunately due to noise complaints from locals that moved in recently the venue has suffered from noise complaints and the owner Ann has finally had enough and has decided to retire so i think that will be the end of live bands in this venue. She retires next week so we were privileged to be asked to play for her. Sad moment but she had been to court so many times in past 2 yrs with it and won because she was putting live music on before these people moved in. Decent turn out and very enthusiastic dancing around the bar and conservatory areas. 1hr drive home so that was easy too. Guitarist had a senior moment when he started Teenage Kicks in Db instead of D and he just couldn't get out of it and it was a disaster moment but we just made a joke of it and the audience appreciated its live music and sometimes we have senior moments. We did cut it short tho. Band has a meeting this Thursday to see if we want to continue doing the punk covers band as venues that will accept punk are becoming less and less and the audiences are dwindling from 3 yrs ago. Its odd because any time we play we get a great response from all generations and age groups. Original member from 78 is doing a Ramones tribute too and is thinking its maybe time to call it a day. I'm 50/50 on it mainly because i like the people in the band and i really quite enjoy playing the songs. They have a lot of energy especially the SLF songs which have become my fav songs in the set. Will see how it goes. Dave

Few catchy hits for me but just not my kind of music. No doubting their popularity tho. Same with Blur. Dave

4 gigs on a trot must be hard on the wee fingers. I'd really struggle with that. I struggle 2 days in a row. All credit to you. Dave

You have quite an unusual RH technique. Very light touch which probably helps to give that nice warm rounded deep tone. Very nice indeed. Great choice in music too. Dave

That was a brilliant thread @ped. What an amazing range of tones from your choice of pick ups. The Bridge pick up reminded me of an EB3 Andy Frazer sound and then you moved into a more mellow P sound and no actives to help. Love it. Dave

I'm assuming those aren't the original pick ups ? Dave

I'm sure we all have a song in our set lists that either works or doesn't work. I think we've agreed to keep Sat Nights Alright for rock venues rather than the clubs where dancing is more common. Only other times is when we need to do the full 2.5 - 3 hrs worth but we are trying to keep it down to 2x1hr sets as much as possible now. Dave

Some venues it fills the dance floor but others (most) it can clear the floor altho people will sit and record us on their phones when we play it. Its not really much of a dancing type song IMO. Good to play tho. Dave

Like you my small singles collection includes Teenage Rampage and Ballroom Blitz too. They were the first "proper" band i listened to and then Bowie took over until Station to Station. After that it was Thin Lizzy, Kiss, Alice Cooper and of course Rush in 76. Dave

Now that's a great idea. A before and after sort of thing. We just need the final "after" pic to complete the set 2 gigs in a trot with a long drive kills me these days and i'm not so keen on it altho once the gear is set up and i've been fed and get on stage to play the adrenalin must kick in and i love it all over again until the following morning and i'm completely wiped out. Dave

Thanks for sharing your gear Rich its an interesting set up and being a bass geek its always good to see what others are using. Do you mind if i ask are you using IEM if not using a cab or relying on PA to hear yourself. ? Dave

I can see that fawn coloured shorts are your image hook there. So how was the gig and what gear were you using. ? Yes i am very geeky In both pics you look as tho you are focused on something or other. Pic 1 i reckon you're thinking about what bass to use tonight. Pic 2 "i should have brought the Jazz". Dave

Most people and certainly the younger generation have no idea the work, effort and time bands like Sweet put in touring. These guys learned their trade thru live work before and during The Sweet years. All competent musicians and all excellent trained vocalists hence the amazing backing vocals. Their B side singles were usually a heavy rock song of their own while the A side was written by Chinn & Chapman. If you listen to some of their heavier songs its very much in line with earlier Deep Purple style of music. Very under-rated band and possibly why they never really did much after Sweet. They weren't taken seriously. Anyone of those guys could have stepped into DP and easily covered the set list of songs. Quite a sad story when you follow them. Dave

Our drummer knew the Sweet and had a few lessons from Mick Tucker when he was a teenager. Apparently Mick and Ian Paice were best of friends and used to trade drum secrets with each other so Mick picked up a few things from Ian who was a lefty drummer so he was able to start a drum part with either left or right hand which makes copying his drum parts difficult at times. Mick was a terrific drummer and also an amazing backing vocalist. Dave

We do. Great song. Doesn't work in every venue tho. Dave

Yep our singer does the "are you ready Dave ?" round the band and we all reply in one way or another then we go into the song. Its the first song we do so a great starter. We start with Sweet and end with Blockbuster including the sirens that i trigger from a sampler pedal. Encore or our last song to be honest is Shang-a-Lang by Bay City Rollers with the guitarist doing some Scottish themed songs during the intro before we actually get into BCR song itself. We usually pack the dance floor with that one. Dave

At the end of the Glam gigs we regularly get asked for photos with the band and that's ok but usually i just wanna get off stage and cool down a bit then pack up and head off home as sometimes my drive can be up to 2-3 hrs each way. The furthest was 4hrs each way for a biker festival that the female singer attends every year and knows everyone there. Dave

Not the best sound quality but hope you like it Daryl. Someone posted it from their phone. Dave http://www.facebook.com/marion.harris.10/videos/2356025798119902/?idorvanity=559305587911326

We keep asking for the many folks that take vids to post their clips on our FB page but they rarely do. I'll see if we have it Daryl. To be honest our audience are regularly from an older generation (my age) and not too savvy with technology. Dave

Have to say its pretty poor that the sound guy didn't nail down the feedback fairly quickly. I don't know you or the band but knowing what causes feedback and understanding it can help everyone identify the cause of it on stage. No need to be an expert just a basic understanding. I'm lucky that i worked with a PA hire company back in late 80's and learned a lot from the SE who was also the guitarist in our band plus my age means i've had a fair amount of experience over the years. Dave

Sometimes getting a response from an audience is like pulling teeth. It happens. The best way to look at it is its a paid rehearsal and just get on with doing your songs and enjoy yourself within the band. You'll find that if you are good at what you do and you look as tho you're enjoying yourselves on stage then people will take to it even if not into the same music they'll appreciate a band having a good time and looking confident and relaxed on stage. I always appreciate any band that is decent and enjoying themselves no matter what style of music they play. Next gig you'll knock em dead. Dave

I used to be like that but i guess i just got used to it over the years and now i just tend to ignore most times unless the camera is right in my face when i get a bit embarrassed about it. Dave

Think i'd be ok changing things on a cheap bass and gaining some experience rather than change things on an expensive one. At £150 you don't have as much worry of severe / permanent damage Best experiment on a cheap bass. I like the look of it too. Dave

Yep that's not on and i have to admit i find Rugby Clubs are typically old school ugg mentality but in fairness the ones i've seen have been relatively harmless but very boisterous. With regards @Bluewine at the hunting gig i'm not sure i'd want to take that gig but he is in a different boat from me and gigging is a job for him and he relies on the income because of his lavish lifestyle We're simply not used to the hunting fraternity in UK apart from the deer and grouse shooting which is "licensed" and "needed to cull the numbers on the estate" pivel. Its simply an income and a day out for the snobs of this planet and those that strive to be snobs. Not a fan of hunting for the sake of killing. Dave