dmccombe7

Most encores i've done are 2 no matter how much an audience shout for more. Normally just one but on the very rare occasion at venues we know and play regularly with both bands we will do an extra song. At that particular venue they run a rock night club upstairs so we usually ask the owner / manager for permission to do any more than one encore. Any more than 2 is generally a bit poor taste in my opinion. Dave

Exactly what i find. 2hrs is about perfect for my stamina and to save me getting blisters on my wee fingertips. At 2 hrs i can control it, any more and it gets quite difficult sometimes cramp sets in after about 2hrs 30 mins. Dave

Our drummer was in The Glitter Band in 90's and even he won't play GG songs. We've tried a few Glitter Band songs but we weren't totally happy with how they sounded so dropped them. We have another one to try at some point if we ever do rehearsals again as we are getting kinda busy and fitting in a rehearsal or two would be a struggle certainly this year. January is usually a quiet month for us so maybe then. We'll need to re-learn the old Xmas songs soon too Dave

Nice one. Well done. Dave

My thoughts exactly but i get out-voted by those of lesser sense. Dave

Its rare we do the full set to be fair. I've raised the fact that doing two 1hr sets is what we should be aiming for with a few songs as a back up but it falls on deaf ears at times. Guitarist would play all night if he could and do it 7 nights a week. Seems to be that if we learn a new song we need to add it to the set along with all the others. My argument on it is that you should leave your audience wanting more and doing such a long set might bore the audience after a while. I personally don't enjoy listening to any band for more than 2 hrs unless its Rush, Genesis or Pink Floyd but i'm biased Tomorrow night we have been specifically asked to do two 45min sets. That's probably the least we've played. That's gonna be a short night starting at 9pm with a 30min break finished at 11pm 2hr drive home because of the roads being closed due to cycling events. Bad enough when its motorways shut after midnight but now its cross country roads meaning i need to travel out to Edinburgh and then South down to Jedburgh adding another 30 mins. RANT over Dave

My longest gigs are when we do the full Set list with Glam covers band at 2hrs 40mins. Doing that on a hot night wearing all the glam gear including a hefty wig makes you sweat buckets. On one occasion i was so dehydrated i started to get the shakes on my hands at the break and i had drank 1 litre of water during that first set of 1hr 15mins. Now i have 2 large 18" gym fans one each side of stage and they help a lot. Dave

What a fantastic thing to do. Well done, love the sentiment of it all. Even tho its a sad occasion this post made me feel good this morning @Linus27. Dave

I feel your pain. Only ever happened to me once and like you i muddled thru enough to get decent applause but i've made it clear in every band since that i don't do bass solos and if the band hits me with an unexpected request to solo i would leave the band. (probably won't but it would be considered) Dave

I'll need to remember that next loud gig we do Pete. Dave

very nice indeed. Dave

We've found that soundcheck in an empty hall always sounds louder. Once audience get in they deaden the volume a bit and all is well in the world again. Dave

Its even more sad that i know who Norman Collier is. 3 times in 200 gigs aint too bad to be fair. Mine was picking up a bit of hiss and i never found out why as it always worked perfect at home when i tested it after the gig. Not every gig tho but it was getting worse and maybe every 4-5 gigs i'd get something not quite right. The Shure is expensive tho but for me its been worth it so far to have peace of mind. Dave

I did have some minor noise interference with the Smooth Hound wireless. Since changing to the Shure GLXD i've had absolutely no issues at all. Literally power up, plug in and play, its that simple plus the pedal has a built in tuner meaning one less pedal in my chain. Can't fault the Shure wireless, built like a tank altho i did replace the cable with a right angled jack and slightly heavier cable. Dave

How far is that for you. I always underestimate distances in US. I can go from coast to coast in Scotland in about 80 miles East to West possibly less. Great to see you are back on track again. Dave

I've had a few minor issues with the Smooth Hound wireless and decided to splash out for the Shure GLXD pedal version and i've had absolutely no issues whatsoever with it even with various other wireless kit on stage ie mics, IEM's etc. One of the best buys i've done. It's left me 100% happy and Wireless GAS free now. Dave

Great stuff Daryl and hopefully the feelgood factor has returned. Dave

Playing at the neck gives more movement of the string to get that clank sound from the frets i reckon. I once read that angling your hand towards the neck and using the side of your fingers gives you that Double Bass tone. The more i analyse my own style I find when playing harder i tend to pluck the string across and slightly upwards from the body and for normal playing i play across but slightly down towards the body. I'm deliberately trying to play lighter to stop blistering and sore fingertips mainly because i'm now playing a lot more regularly. Dave

Have a good one Daryl. Dave

Always a stand next to or near my rig. At rehearsals i might prop up in a corner if i don't have a stand but never at a gig. That's scary neck breaking stuff. Dave

Against the front monitor. You can see it on the bottom pic. Dave

I go thru phases where i grow the nails on my my plucking fingers enough to catch the strings. Add a couple of coats nail varnish to the nails to harden them up can help reduce breakage too. Then they break and i go back to finger tips. The more gigs i play the harder the skin gets and i can get a decent edge on my tone. EQ does help too. Dave

I've been playing around 45 yrs now but unless i'm playing songs regularly i just don't retain them. I'll get away with not playing them for a few months and a quick run thru brings it back. I tend to run thru both bands set lists at least once a week to make sure i'm on top of them at a gig and i've been in these bands for 5 yrs and 2 yrs. 😂 Dave