dmccombe7

For some odd reason the punk band doesn't add any Xmas songs. To be honest i dont really know much about punk songs other than whats in the set list and a few other Ramones songs i quite like. I'll have a listen to your suggestion as i've never heard of it before. Might recognise it once i hear it tho. Dave EDIT : i do remember it now that i've heard it. I've put it forward to the punk band but we only have one punk gig in Dec.

We're doing Let It Snow by Sweet, Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade and I Wish It Could be Xmas Everyday by Wizard this year. Wizard song has a different ending in each of its 4 choruses so trying to remember them has been the difficult part. Dave

Sounding great there Blue. Dave

I have a padded Hot Covers one specially made. It has a zipped open end with only the handle showing at the other end. Put the amp on its end and drop the cover over the amp, lie it flat and zip up the end to completely cover the amp. HotCovers.co.uk Apologies but i cant seem to get the actual link copied and pasted ??? Dave

We always have a rehearsal plan. It might be just a set run thru or it might be specific songs we have some issues or concerns. Recently we had a rehearsal to go over the 3 Xmas songs we've selected. I dont consider our band professional or competent enough to learn the songs on the night kind of thing. As it turns out we turned up at rehearsal, ran thru the 3 songs and hey ho first time was spot on. We ran thru them again and all good. Having booked the studio we just ran thru some songs that anyone had concerns about. We have a new guitarist that learned the set (35-40 songs) in 3 weeks before gigging but he's perfecting the guitar parts now that he's settling in nicely. I've been in bands that had no idea what they were doing, no plan, no suggested songs with the hope a jam session might produce something good. I didn't stay long with those kind of bands and wont audition for bands that dont have a basic plan on what they want to do. If its a start up band i want an agreed set list started before the first rehearsal. Dave

Think this says it all really. I'm guessing for most of us on BC its part time or a hobby.

That's just the start of your Fender GAS creeping up slowly on you as you get older Dave

Ah Lovejoy. Now that was another great programme. Why dont they show that on TV again instead of constant repeats of Frasier, Big Bang and all those other shows that have been running continuously for god knows how many years now. Dave

Pretty sure pro bands all learn their parts before they turn up for that week or month of rehearsals before a tour. If its your job you need to be on your game and show up prepared. Unfortunately for most bands its a hobby or part time and they dont have the option of concentrated rehearsals before gigging so i get the rehearsal thing. I personally dont see a rehearsal as a social event but more a work event. I do enjoy the rehearsals tho and we do 6hr rehearsals when we can to cut down on travel times but we'll have 2-3 coffee breaks during it and that's when we have a blether and a chat about band type things. Our band are a bit scattered across Scotland from Wanlockhead, Lanark, Bathgate, Boness and Perth which would make for difficult socialising. No matter how you view rehearsals, if you enjoy what you do then its working for you and each to their own. Everyone's happy. Dave

I think that's probably the reason my Glam band has remained together for 4-5 yrs is because we dont see each other outside of the band with maybe an occasional once a year coffee meet. Only been with the punk band about a year but its same singer and drummer in both bands. When i was younger it was mostly my mates in the bands and it did cause some friction. Dave

on the road to the Dark Side you are. Dave

I'm sure Rush did something similar, might have been Zep but i have Deep Purple in my head but it was a long time ago i read it. Dave

Steely Dan were in the studios when i was there rehearsing for an up-coming gig the following week. They had it booked for a full week altho much of that was guitar set ups and PA testing. A lot of techy stuff going on but the band were in there playing at one point during a Sun afternoon. Also seen Beyonce, Michael Schenker, Justin Currie and Amy McDonald all doing similar. Think the Michael Schenker thing was with Chris Glen's band tho. May well be this was their rehearsal before the tour start in Glasgow. Justin Currie was there over a 3-4 week period and Amy McDonald almost lives in the studios according to the studio engineers but i've never actually seen or heard her in there. ? Some of the older Pro rock bands used to say they hired a large venue or warehouse for a month before a tour and are in there every day. I guess its a good way to rehearse for a major tour. Dave

just ordered a set thru Amazon for £30 altho delivery is 10th Dec. At that price its worth a try. Currently using D'addario XT's on my 2 main basses. Dave

Cheers for that @Shaggy I did a search but that one didn't come up. Dave

Recently put D'addario XT strings on my two Sandberg basses and they've lasted quite well and feel and sound nice. Came across the DR Black Beauties at £30 / set on Amazon so thought i would give them a try. Not due until 10th Dec tho. Anyone using them and what do you think of them. I saw Geezer Butler on a few adverts stating they are the only strings not to give him blisters. Some old posts i found from 2013 stated a few dead G strings but i'm hoping that issue is resolved by now. Dave

They do that when you score more than 100% in the exam Pete. ? 😆 I got a few of those too. Dave

Both bands i'm in will do a 1st set of 1hr 10mins and 2nd set 1hr and 15-20 mins plus any encores. Sometimes we'll drop a song if time is getting close to closing time. In total we play about 2hrs 30 mins in total with a 15-20 min break on top of that especially with the Glam band as we do a costume change. With the Glam band it takes the singer about 30 mins to get ready as he has his face paint to get on and then we have our costumes to get ready for the gig. At the end of the gig we get changed and dried off before dismantling the gear. We also get a lot of requests for pics with us in our gear which is nice. Dave

I dont mind rehearsing if its producing good results but agree with everything else you've said. Gigging makes you perfect things a lot faster. Punk band i learned songs in 3 weeks and started gigging and i picked up on any mistakes i made and sorted them for the next gig. Glam band rehearse more often mainly because of personnel changes over its 4 yrs but now we are settled we book a rehearsal every couple of months just to run thru every song we know and keep them all fresh. Obviously learning the Xmas songs and have a rehearsal tonight to tidy them up ready for our next gig on 3rd Dec. Dave

never managed to see SAHB. Its one of my disappointments in life. Them and Kiss.

Normally i love driving too but i think its because the Glam gigs take a lot out of me. The heavy wigs and wearing quite thick jackets and platform boots causes me to sweat a lot more than with the punk band and i think its just that i always feel that bit more tired after those gigs. We do have large fans (excuse the pun) at each side of the stage to provide some cooling which is now helping a lot to keep cool. Summer gigs can be hard work LOL Its fine driving on twisty country roads because you tend to be a lot more focused but when i hit motorways is when i have had that brain drift thing. That's why i limit my drive home to 2hrs after a Glam gig. (approx 100-120 miles which is a fair distance on twisty A roads in Scotland. To be fair most of my gigs are in and around Scottish Central belt area and approx 1 hrs drive. Dave