Kinder

Thanks for the replies guys. Looks like a bit of work but as you say HH, once it's done we've got it if we need it again. It's the ICC asking for it. We're only playing in one of the small rooms (Hall 8 I think) and it seems over the top. She's left it late as the gig's tomorow! I ended up reisuring with Towergate for £115 which seems ok... Thanks again. Andy

Hi everyone. Not been on for quite a while but I was hoping to get some advice form you lovely people. We're playng a Christmas do at the ICC in Birmingham tomorrow night and have just been asked for our risk assessment, PAT certificates and public liability insurance docs. We usually play pubs and private parties so have only been asked for insurance at hotels for the odd wedding. It ran out in August so I'm going to have to sort that out today. Fair enough and it will cover us for any decent sized gigs over the next year. (Eats into our measly fee though!) I used Towergate before - anyone know any other [s]decent[/s] cheap insurers? And what do we have to do for a risk assessment? Is there a template anywhere we can use? Sounds like a monumental waste of time! Thanks v much. Andy

Glad you're still loving the Streamliner, Jose!

Stuck in the middle with you? Strong bass line but not too tricky. Usually goes down pretty well although more singing / shouting from the crowd than dancing! And I love playing Fool for your Loving but haven't played it out so not sure how much of a crowd pleaser it is. You'll enjoy playing it though!

I went this year for the first time and had the best weekend I've possibly ever had in my life! It was on mine and Mrs Kinder's bucket list and was for a mate's 40th. Being firmly middle aged we hired a motorhome and it was well worth it. We wouldn't have had such a good time in a tent with the rain and the very ripe toilets, so if you're thinking about going and can afford it then do it in a motorhome! Highlight for me was Dolly by a mile. She had 100k+ people in the palm of her hand, songs were amazing, the (admittedly well practised) banter between songs was so entertaining. We were quite a way back and didn't hear anything about her miming until we got back, so I can only comment on how it was live - and it was brilliant. Also loved Paul Heaton & Jackie Abbot - they played about 5 Housemartin tracks which made my weekend. Kaisers were great, really enjoyed De la Soul, Rudimental, Disclosure. And St Vincent - she's captivating. Also loved wandering around seeing very random acts - if anyone's seen Mik Artistik, they don't come much more random. If you haven't been and are thinking about it, just do it. If we could get childcare we'd go every year now!

Am I the only person who clicked on this expecting to see a Nik Kershaw video? <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/YK42hrONcYk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK42hrONcYk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK42hrONcYk[/url]

[sup][size=3]Slightly ashamed to say it's currently All Night Long by Lionel Richie. We gigged it for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it went down a storm, best reaction of the night by a mile. Very dull bass line but loved watching the drunken dancing.[/size][/sup]

Sorry to hear that but if they're that gutless then you're best off out of it. No idea why people don't have the balls to talk abuot issues face to face. Probably because they're bullsheet issues like you say. Still better than when I found out I'd been dumped by being told by a muso mate that my band was advertising for a new bassist online! They were doing the honourable thing by trying to line up a replacement before they told me the good news. I'm sure it happens all the time but it wound me up something rotten.

Quite a few indie bands had pretty strange names: Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine, The Frank & Walters etc. I'm on thin ice though - one of my first bands was called Uncle Sam and his Gardening Kecks of Doom. Still have no idea how we came up with that rubbish, but it's a pretty good demonstration of why under-age drinking is not clever.

Yep, good bassist. Love the intro to Peace Sells! Slightly off topic but if anyone's not read Dave Mustaine's book and wants to, I'd be happy to send it off to be passed around. PM me with address and I'll fire it off.

I'm the big bugger every time I go to a gig. I'm 6'6" and end up paranoid as hell. I always apologise to everyone behind me but there's not much I can do - not my fault I'm a giant freak!

I was very into Nik when I was a kid but didn't see him live until last year in Brum. The first set was Human Racing in its entirety (brilliant) so they did play Gone to Pieces at album speed. Second set was other classics plus tracks from his latest album, Eight. Well worth a listen if you like early Nik stuff - I think he's a really strong songwriter. What hit me was how good his voice was live, plus his current bassist is outstanding. The whole band was to be fair.

Very sad news. I recently learned Ziggy for my current covers band - what a lovely bassline to play.

I'm an accountant and tax adviser as well as a very mediocre bassist. The mileage rate is now 45p per mile for first 10,000 miles. The annual investment allowance (the threshold for writing off assets against tax in the year you buy them, rather than over a number of years) is now £250,000. If you're spending more than that on kit, I really want to come and see you play!! I'd probably suggest you run it as an informal partnership, so each band member is self-employed. You should strictly register the partnership with HMRC and file a tax return for that each year, plus each partner's individual tax returns. I can't see HMRC getting upset if you instead draw up partnership accounts and then divvy up the profit between each partner, only filing the individuals' returns. As has been mentioned, most bands won't be making any cash after their kit and expenses so I wouldn't bother if you're never making profits. The tax man only gets upset if you're not declaring taxable profits. Taking it to the other extreme, you can offset losses on your partnership earnings against other income. The losses would have to be pretty big to make it worthwhile though! I might regret this, but if anyone's got any questions or it's causing them sleepless nights, drop me a pm and I'll help if I can. Andy

[quote name='phil625sxc' timestamp='1366885409' post='2058458'] saw this a few weeks back which I enjoyed.... :-) [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKJmJkpGpCM[/media] [/quote] They're all off their rockers / t!ts. Or both.

Great skills mate. We're thinking of covering this in my new band so will have to brush up. Just out of interest - have you always played with 3 fingers? I grew up playing Maiden but have always used 2 - tried to covert to 3 a few years back but I'm too set in my ways!

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1366799974' post='2057439'] It's a bit unusual; usually when people do silly bass face, it's because they are totally caught up in the song, in a world of their own. This lady is constantly looking at her fretting hand, seemingly having to concentrate on what finger goes where. Is it legal to do silly bass face when you're not totally in the moment? [/quote] Am I the only one who finds her really attractive? I do like an angry gurner.

Far too soon - about 6 weeks after picking up a bass for the first time at the tender age of 14. The set included Phanton of the Opera & Running Free by Maiden, plus Alright Now etc so a few bass solos to ease me in! The scariest thing was we were supporting a band made up of people from Musical Exchanges in Brum - proper talented musos. God only knows how we got the gig, why we took it or what they all thought. I think I've blanked it out. All gigs after that were a lot easier though!

Lynottfan "Harris/Burr for me." +1 Much as I love Nicko, Clive (RIP) and Steve were tight as a gnat's chuff on the first 3 albums.