peteb

Great gig on Friday with the Led Zep tribute at the Cluny in Newcastle. Great venue, great sound and went down a storm to more than 180 paying punters who packed the place out. Newcastle is one of the towns that is keeping the gigging circuit that I frequent alive. Let’s hope that places like the Cluny can keep going and survive the current mess that the country has got itself into. All in all a great night, right up until after the gig when I found that I had a flat tyre and a striped wheel nut and didn’t get the 100 miles or so back home until 4:30 in the morning…

Last night at the Cluny in Newcastle

To be fair, having a banjo anywhere near the stage is far from ideal...!

For me, the great and criminally underrated Mars Cowling (bassist for Pat Travers)

I like the first album and I love a lot of Kotzen's stuff, but could never get into the second album...

I used to get Lo Rider Nickels (same gauge) from Amazon for around £20, imported from the USA (one set at a time to avoid duty). They seem to have tightened up on that, but you can still get them at £31 with free postage...

Just bought it off Amazon - if it is anything like the Deke Leonard stuff then it will be worth reading...

Off the top of my head, the bass chair with the original Bad Company lineup, or maybe early Whitesnake. I can't really say Thin Lizzy, as they just wouldn't have been Lizzy without Lynott. I would love to have played with Pat Travers as well. Gov't Mule might be my current dream bass gig of choice...

It is basically a hi-mid cut from what I can tell - at least, that is how I use it...

That's true, but there are different levels to what is considered to be playing it well. I might claim to be on a higher level than a lot of guys that who play on the pub circuit and I have played a national circuit with people who have toured with household names, etc but there are guys who who will obviously get gigs way ahead of me to play on proper tours. The likes of Tony Franklin will be at least a couple of levels above that. There's another level of musicians who can turn it on in a recording studio on demand (I'm not saying that Franklin isn't one of those guys). There's playing it well and there's playing it well...

But there are differently levels of musicians and what constitutes 'nailing a performance'. I'm guessing that I probably play at a higher level than a lot of 'the people on here', but I'm no Tony f**kin Franklin...!

You say that, but in reality we can all only dream of hitting such heights...

You have to remember that Bush and Gilmour would have been asked to participate in an event that they supported (The Secret Policeman's Ball) and put together one song. KB may have sung a duet with someone else (not sure if she did on this one or not). They would have thrown together a bunch of musos that they had been working / drinking with, to perform one song. Remember, this isn't a bunch of kids in a bedsit - it's a bunch of top players, some of whom are very well known. Time is money at this level and, more to the point, everyone is very busy. This is a cause they support, but it isn't vital to their careers and the point is to show their face They would have done one rehearsal, worked out what they were going to play and then, probably gone to the pub. They were never going to not feature DG playing guitar, as he was arguably the best known person worldwide on the stage (certainly the most successful). It was a throwaway, one off performance - a chance to play with friends and support a good cause. I thought that it was fine for what it was, although of course, it was never going to hit the artistic heights of BRX and his chums in their bedsit.

Tony Franklin's hair was a bit half-hearted compared to Nick Beggs' more extravagant effort!

But could you really? Could you have put together an arrangement at a brief rehearsal and then played it the next day at a big one-off charity event, in front of a large crowd and TV / video cameras? Its one thing to say that, 'of course, I could have done it better than Tony Franklin, Dave Gilmour et al', its another thing for that claim to be credible.

A mullet, Jaydee and a Trace Eliot - the full 80s triple! Nice one...

FWIW, I thought that the video was alright. Not as good as the original recorded track, but a decent live rock band version of a much loved song that was recorded with a completely different arrangement. Would people have preferred that she sang along with backing tracks?? Only on Basschat, eh...

Franklin's rather extravagant haircut was merely a product of the time. in fact, I sported something quite similar around that period. Do you seriously think that in 30 years time people won't be laughing at pictures of young guys with tattoos on their necks and full, bushy beards?

I can think of one - playing in a rock and roll band...! This thread does seem to somewhat resemble a temperance meeting. Remember that Alan Holdsworth and many other well known musos quite happily drink on the job. When I worked in a theatre many years ago, the guys in the pit band used to plan their boozing around their stage cues! The only reason that I rarely drink when I'm playing is because I'm usually driving.

These days I'm usually driving to gigs, so I might have a pint before playing but no more. If I'm not driving I may have a couple more, but certainly not getting any where near drunk (besides, there is a limit to the amount of beer you can drink before needed to keep rushing off stage to go to the loo)! Some people can play when they've had a few and some can't. I wasn't too bad, but my drummer mate struggled after more than a couple so would always stay completely sober! I was once completely lit up and somehow managed to get through the gig, when a bass player that I know came up to me at the end of the night to complement me on how great I had played (didn't miss a note according to him)! It did help with that band that it was a pretty simple set and that we were gigging constantly...

Many years ago, I made the mistake of buying a suit from Next. The worst fitting suit I have ever worn, never bought anything from there since. Shall we get back to why cheap basses are better than more expensive ones now??

I made a point of getting my mpulse serviced every year, just in case. These days, i carry round a little TE Elf amp in my gigbag just in case. As a 200w Class D amp, it isn't really loud enough, but it is small, sounds OK and will get you out of trouble in an emergency (I also have a DI box in my gigbag).

I would have thought that the mpulse was as good as anything Orange ever did, even the old ones! There's only so many opportunities to use all the amps you've got. As I've mentioned before, I got the HB R-400 as an alternative to a Class D amp as I've decided that I'm just not prepared to accept the compromises that you have to make for Class D technology. Much as I would love to try a WB-100, I don't think that I would use it enough to justify buying one. No matter how good it is, I can't see it being that much better than my mpulse or R-400! There are certainly a few bargains around for s/h Eden amps. I recorded an album using an old Eden once... great amps!

You do still have the Mesa amp, don't you Dave?? I'm surprised that you haven't heard of Cornford Amps. They're great, but very expensive...

Forgot that, along with the 'Jaco was cr@p', for the full royal flush...