Bilbo

It also doesn't account for how LONG each post is i.e. a gear porn thing would have a post that says 'WOW' or (+1) whilst a theory post may be 400 words or more. My subtle point was that all of the stuff we talk about here and only 1% of it is about actually PLAYING the instrument I just thought it was funny!

In a moment of autistic delight, I have collated some statistics relating to the use of this forum, specifically identifying what we, the 4,514 registered members, use it for, assuming that these are the things that matter to us most as a collective. Firstly, we have a list of forums/ subject areas in order of frequency of usage: Forum Number of threads Off Topic 3,341 General Bass Discussion 2,866 Items Wanted 2, 749 For Sale: Amps, Cabs & Effecs 2,567 For Sales: Basses 2,203 Bass Guitars 1,889 Amps & Cabs 1,436 For Sale: Other musically related stuff 1,400 Ebay Links 1,280 Repairs and Technical Issues 1,025 Introductions 831 Effects 798 Gear Porn 717 Miscellaneous Equipment And Accessories 648 Feedback Section 607 Gigs 531 Recording 524 Theory & Technique 296 Bassists Wanted/Available 291 Double Bass 211 Recycling Unwanted Items 195 Basschat Affiliates 194 Build Diaries 178 Site News 132 Basschatter’s Reviews 120 Ask an expert 90 Bass Tutors 85 Groove Library 25 The headlines are that the greatest percentage of threads, at 15.89%, are Off-Topic. So, in a nutshell, we use it most to talk about stuff that has nothing to do with basses (actually it means that 84.11% of our discussions do relate to basses so that’s encouraging!). General bass discussiosn form the second largest group at 13.63% with the next 35% of our threads going to the movement of gear of some description from one set of sweaty Basschatter mitts to another. Ogling each others gear forms the basis of 3.41% of the threads with only 1.4% of the discussions realting to theory or technique. The statistics also reveal that we are collectively more interested in knowing what everyone thinks of each other (2.88%) than we are about knowing how to play the bass. Things change little when we look at the posts per subject group: Forum No. of posts Off Topic 71,002 General Bass Discussion 55,532 For Sales: Basses 26,170 Bass Guitars 25,621 Amps & Cabs 17,870 For Sale: Amps, Cabs & Effecs 17,814 Gear Porn 11,586 Ebay Links 9,920 Effects 9,514 Items Wanted 8,546 Repairs and Technical Issues 6,974 Build Diaries 5,892 Miscellaneous Equipment And Accessories 5,855 For Sale: Other musically related stuff 5,696 Introductions 5,043 Recording 3,003 Theory & Technique 2,917 Feedback Section 1,884 Gigs 1,841 Basschat Affiliates 1,818 Double Bass 1,583 Site News 1,565 Basschatter’s Reviews 1,144 Recycling Unwanted Items 1,105 Bassists Wanted/Available 900 Ask an expert 645 Bass Tutors 213 Groove Library 87 Again, the greatest percentage of our posts, 23.53%. are Off-Topic. That means nearly a quarter of all posts submitted here are not bass related at all. To be fair, 18.4% are general bass discussion but then the statistics plummet sharply to less than 9% on discussions about bass guitars. The real saving grace, however, is that, in actual post terms, were are more interested in playing the bass (0.96% of posts) than we are in talking about each other (0.62%). The fact that we are more interested in building instruments (1.95% in Build Diaries) than we are in actually playing them (Theory & Technique 0.96%) renders this to be a shallow victory. Compare this to the fact that 4% of the posts relate to us drooling over basses in Gear Porn and we can only conclude that bass players can’t read but do like looking at the pictures. And, before anyone asks, no, I don’t have any friends.

[url="http://www.jazzinstruction.com/instruments/bass.html"]http://www.jazzinstruction.com/instruments/bass.html[/url] [url="http://user.tninet.se/~uci207u/page1.html"]http://user.tninet.se/~uci207u/page1.html[/url] Now I don't want to see any posts about VAT, lost Phillipino basses or Sarah5string until you've all learned these exercises and can read. Now run along and play.

Got a DVD out of Blockbusters last night and it only cost £3.87 instead of £3.95. That's 8p saved. At this rate, if I take out 31,250 DVDs, I will have saved enough for a 5-string Wal PS That's one a day for 85 years. I'll be 130 years old by then. Ah well, I could still get the Stones gig!

Nope. Me neither. Must be you, mate.

[quote name='YouMa' post='342050' date='Dec 1 2008, 04:36 PM']How far out from felixstowe do you gig bilbo,into essex aswell i presume?[/quote] This year I have been as far North as Kings Lynn and as far West as Oxfordshire. A few London gigs and, yes, some in Essex.

On course for my 120th gig by the end on December - that's 40 more than last year!!! Best year ever since I was born (which occured at a very early age)!!! Credit Crunch my a8&£!!!

That's a coicidence! I was 23 when I was your age.

Great piano trio gig at The Fox in Bury St Edmunds with Chris Ingham, probably Suffolk's best jazz pianist. Great sound and some great interaction, dynamics and grooves. Chris is also an author and has written books on Frank Sinatra, The Beatles and Metallica. I also played with Chris in a Quartet that afternoon when we played to 2-300 people who had gathered to watch the Christmas lights in Stowmarket get switched on. We played all that Christmas dross but the irony is, because it was not a jazz gig, despite its low key status, it was the biggest audience any of us had seen all year! Personally, I do it for the glamour.....

:lol:

[quote name='Alun' post='340579' date='Nov 29 2008, 04:24 PM']Sax player Dick Hamer? He's still about - do the odd big band gig with him. The Four Bars was a fab venue and much missed :-) Cheers Alun[/quote] Yeah, that's my man. He gave me my first ever jazz gig. Say hi when you see him (Rob Palmer - he won't know bilbo )

[quote name='steve-soar' post='340637' date='Nov 29 2008, 05:27 PM']The drummers kit has fell over.[/quote] Ain't you ever seen a drum roll?

[quote name='Clarky' post='340631' date='Nov 29 2008, 05:22 PM']Hey Bilbo just noticed that your IP name presumably includes your birthdate (23 July 1963) - this makes me exactly three days older than you. Older = wiser? Maybe not![/quote] Yeah, but I LOOK older!

At last! A picture without a fruit machine in it! [url="http://www.jazz-nights.com/SaraMitraGallery3.htm"]http://www.jazz-nights.com/SaraMitraGallery3.htm[/url] PS Have I got the smallest stack in the world?

Its weirdly nice, Jase The Cardiff scene sounds like it has changed since I was playing there ('88 - '94). The nearest I ever got to fusion was Dick Hamer's Rhythm Method, doing Crusaders and Steps Ahead coversas I recall. The Four Bars Inn - halcyon days!! You would have been around 20. Did we ever meet?

A bass is for life and not just for marriage! Welcome back.

Never mind the bass playing,who writes the charts?

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='339461' date='Nov 28 2008, 11:53 AM']He means the bass bit before the vocals come in [/quote]

Not cool.

Shouldn't be up to the mob either!!

[quote name='birdy' post='339797' date='Nov 28 2008, 04:18 PM']Disagree with this. By excusing his behaviour you are in essence validating it and saying its ok because of his age etc etc. By all means forgive him but do not excuse him. Just my opinion. I agree that berating him in public will not help anyone. Steve[/quote] I am doing neither, birdy. I have worked with some nasty, vicious criminals in my time and know about the worst excesses of people. Comensurate, court based sanctions is what I do when I am not playing bass. But I know that, however resourceful some of us are, there are others amongst us who, for reasons we do not know, cannot make sense of the world as easily and, as a result, get themselves in situations that they struggle with. So tBBC was the youngest Troop Commander at 19? I think that's fantastic. But I know other people who, at that age (and a damn sight older), cut themselves with knives or stub cigarettes out on their arms in order to help themselves get through the day. We are all individuals trying to make our way in a world that throws different kinds of s*** at us all day. Sometimes we cope better than others. If we are lucky, we always cope. But sometimes, some of us don't. Understanding why people do bad things is potentially the first step to making them not do them again (sometimes they don't need to understand, they just need to stop doing them).

[quote name='BassMunkee' post='339652' date='Nov 28 2008, 02:41 PM']Snigger. You are on a cold and lonely path in The Misty Mountains. You go East. Gollum appears. "What has it got in it's pockets?" You go North.[/quote] My and Golly (as I call him) go back a long way. Apparently he hates me forever. He hasn't seen me for ages

[quote name='Adrenochrome' post='339659' date='Nov 28 2008, 02:45 PM']Bilbo, could you do less hours in your day job and do more music? It's something I wouldn't mind doing when I'm a bit older.[/quote] That's being considered as we speak but my fear is that I would lose the income and NOT spend the time doing music but keeping the house cleaning and laundry more up to date and 'doing those little jobs around the house'! If my book gets published, other doors may open!

The kid's only 19 and is in a hole he can't get out of. I couldn't find my own a*** with both hands when I was 19. Leave him alone to lick his wounds. Pathologising him will make it worse not better. He has to make peace with his own conscience before he can move on and berating him in public will only slow that process down.

I did a great jazz gig on Wednesday and had to drive the singer there because her partner (the drummer) had to go there directly from work (teaching). Both Andi and Alex are university trained pros whilst I am a self-taught semi-pro. The conversation got round to gigs and it transpires that I do more than both of them. When I think that through, it feels good. I earn nearly £40k in my day job (+ pension, holiday and sick pay) and all the gigs I do are on top of that, some function work but mostly small group jazz. I get VERY frustrated at not being able to play, study and compose music every second of every day but that is not actually a money thing because, if I could compose what I would like to compose, its market value wouldn't necessarily generate a great deal of income. I think that point is that, if you are going to be a pro, it is like any other small business. You have to be nice to customers, smile when they are being complete t***ers, deliver the product they want when they want it. You do your accounts, offset your expenses, save your tax, do the Math. If it works (as it does for Jake), then that's fab. If it doesn't, you have decisions to make. What are you, as a small business(wo)man going to do about it?: rebrand, change your product line, train and develop, regroup? Or just sell up and go get a proper job? If you treat it as a business and offer the same commitment to it as any small businessperson should, you will see rewards. Whether they are enough is up to you. There has always been a sense that being a muso was a way to get to Oz and that the streets there were paved with gold. They are if you are lucky but only in a 'right place at the right time' 'lottery win' kind of way. In my experience, you get the breaks if you are ready for them and able to commit. In a round about way, I could have been in Feeder and had a career as a Rock god (!?) but when Grant went to London to make his fortune, I chose to stay where I was in a secure day job and get a mortgage. There are days when I wish I could be playing the O2 but I can't help remembering that Jon Lee topped himself so, whatever the glamour suggests, it can't all be roses!! Life is not about one choice and one path. We are all on several paths at once. I don't know Jake at all but, from the contact I have had with him, I think his attitude to life is great. He will be happy because it is in his nature to be. Whether he plays or teaches or both, he will be happy because he will make his decisions with integrity and conducts himself accordingly. My decision, as a musician, is to try to play music I like as much as I can. My approach to music is as an artist not as a businessman (my abilities as an artist are deeply questionable but my intent is honourable) and, for me, the music is its own reward (I got less than expenses for the jazz gig on Wednesday but it was the best gig I have done all year). How we feel about what we do is determined by a range of factors and being either pro or semi pro is actually only a tiny part of that.