Mickeyboro

Two thirds - Neville Staple is not present, but Horace is. They’ve redone ‘lunatics’ for the new CD. Have just found a good short interview with him (below) that states the Jazz he uses is a Japanese made one with Seymour Duncan’s.

Saw them last night in Bournemouth on the first UK tour date and would highly recommend. Last saw them in 1980 supporting Dave Edmunds... a lot of water under the bridge since then. Horace is one of three originals with Terry Hall and Lynval Golding, so was obviously told to get upfront - not that he ever stopped moving in the old days. He looked not unlike Norman Watt Roy’s younger brother in a denim shirt and slacks, playing a shiny new white Jazz (swopped for a black one with dark pearloid pick guard for one number, presumably to retune as it was hot.) A 90 minute set but no chat to speak of so plenty of songs. All they had to do was drop a first album classic and the place went up! Horace’s playing on the early stuff is so much more sparse and, to my mind, more effective. What a player, though, he still has it. Tour is sold out, but I got 2 tix that afternoon on Facebook from people who couldn’t go. Definitely worth it! New album has its moments too...

Have you considered the elf and safety implications?😁

Mark sold me a pedal and the transaction was quick easy and courteous. 10/10 and then some!

There’s a wig available on another thread that might assist... 😁

Syrups r us? I smell a pop up ad in the offing! 😩

Forlorn Mustang? So the guitar is a copy and the wig is genuine?😂

I wrote for a national rock mag a decade and a half ago, and was bending the editor’s ear about a feature on Budgie. I spent time on the road with them and turned in a piece, only to have it rejected. ‘I thought this was a band worth writing about...boring!’ said the editor. A paragraph in the middle of the feature concerned a support tour with Ozzy Osbourne, when he would use their dressing room to have a sly puff and hide from Sharon. I cut and pasted this to make it paragraph two and re-sent the piece, otherwise as was. Back came the immediate response: ‘Great! Why didn’t you write it like this before...?’ 😂 PS Happy birthday Burke

Gave me a couple of unwanted leads, for which many thanks!

Bought a bass from Paddy. He is a total gent, and is unreservedly recommended!

Graham Gouldman is an endorsee but I haven't seen him use his much.

On my yearlong trip round the world, CCR songs were the ones I heard played live in small venues most. By bands, at least. Solo singers...believe it or not, Cat Stevens!

I would like them please! Pm incoming..

I think there’s also the question of what the goal is. In the Fleetwood Mac band the singers had been going out with backing tracks but wanted a band for bigger, better-paying gigs. Seemed to me being a pub band bashing away wouldn’t cut it. Hence my comments about volume, light and shade etc. I could see the hard work going to waste when they decided to revert to the tapes!

Great points made so far, folks. Appreciated. What a great forum this is One thing I feel strongly is that a new arrival (not me necessarily) will often have a more objective viewpoint which might help a band refine/improve their act. Assuming they want to, of course. My regular (till Saturday) outfit actually lured me in by saying they wanted to graduate from playing covers to clubs to better-paying corporate gigs, but actually lacked the determination to fulfil that. Hence my frustration with them...

I seem to have a history of being too opinionated and probably missing out as a result. But am I reasonable or a pain in the neck? Recently auditioned for a Commitments type group. Learned five songs, all uptempo stuff. The drummer was about 19 and, at my audition, tore into everything at a rate of knots. I commented on this, and also asked if we could do a ballad (My Girl) as a contrast. They played that too fast, too... I didn’t comment, but knew my goose was cooked. More recently auditioned for a 70s Fleetwood Mac tribute. The volume at the first rehearsal was way too loud, so I commented straight away and got black looks. They did turn down though. The second rehearsal I said nothing but could actually not hear myself at all! I sent an email to the leader putting forward my concerns, and that the drummer and guitarist, both heavy rockers, could do with throttling back and getting under the skin of the music rather than bashing it out with no regard for dynamics. The reply was similar to the one Lindsey Buckingham got a year ago... Go your own way! Finally, for now, on Saturday I quit my regular gigging club band after 18 months of biting my tongue and accepting plenty of lucrative gigs in exchange for not rocking the boat. Sum total of my contribution - two new songs in an otherwise unchanged repertoire. Maybe I should just go solo... 😉

Rattled my Bong? U2?!😆

I would have thought Davy too good for a tribute band. But good luck to him...

Hard to get hold of! Gerry seemed a bit up himself IIRC but guess he felt his side of the story needed to be told. Has a definitive book on Rory ever been written?