peteb

But from the point of the view of the band (or any other business), would you continue to employ someone who is potentially a liability? I have a little bit of sympathy for Parada, given that he has some medical concerns (that may or may not be justified) about getting vaccinated. But I certainly don't blame the band. I know of someone else in a very similar position who is going to lose his job in the next few weeks unless he has a change of heart. The company don't want to sack him (he's a good worker and pretty popular), but that is what they are going to have to do.

I'm not sure why people are getting upset or so defensive about their heroes. I'm sure that if Neil Peart had been asked to dep for Metallica then he would have acquitted himself very well. I'm sure that Steve Jordan has the basic chops to play the Metallica gig (not so sure about Charlie), but I doubt that he would be very convincing! They are all great drummers, but nobody is equally brilliant at everything.

I'm not disagreeing, but it is a start and might keep some people in work

I have just seen the Guardian article about this. Great news, especially for some of my friends who work / play tours in Europe for a living. Just shows what a bit of lobbying can do...!

That is why I was trying to find a HDN cab, which is supposed to be more like the HD series but without the weight. I should add that I've got a HS410, which is superb - possibly the best 410 I've ever heard. I also had an AE212 for a while, which I liked and is what the CN212 is supposed to be an updated version of.

I am thinking of swapping my two HD112 cabs for a lightweight Berg 212. I was holding out for a HDN212, but I missed out on a couple of CN212 cabs at Bass Direct recently and I am beginning to regret it. I did have an AE212 before, which I really liked, even if I prefer the HDs (but not that much in it really). I don't suppose anyone who has owned any of these can tell me how the CN212 compares to the HD or HDN (or even the AE) cabs?? I have to say that I am pretty happy with Berg cabs and I am pretty likely to go this route. I’m not going to get a Barefaced cab, as technically impressive as they are (although, never say never – I’m not getting any younger). I might be interested in how something like a Vanderkley (for example) compares though.

I am thinking of swapping my two HD112 cabs for a lightweight Berg 212. I was holding out for a HDN212, but I missed out on a couple of CN212 cans at Bass Direct recently and I am beginning to regret it. I did have an AE212 before, which I really liked, even if I prefer the HDs (but not that much in it really). I don't suppose you can say how the CN212 compares to the HD or HDN (or even the AE) cabs??

Can I ask what Berg cab are you using?

Different times mate! I am currently playing in a couple of original bands; a pub covers band and a tribute band (or possibly two). As far as I’m concerned, these days they are all playing to completely different markets. I would have no intention playing a standard pub gig with either the tribute or the originals bands. The strange thing is that the same punter might go and see all of these bands, but with different expectations for each – the covers band for free in a pub for a beer and a singalong on a Saturday night, expecting to pay to see the tribute band in a club for a night out where they know what to expect or pay (probably less) to hear original material in a rock club to discover something that they hadn’t heard before.

Rest well Dusty and thanks for all the music...

Funnily enough, they seem to be pretty popular with everyone who’s worked with them. We (at least the Escape original band incarnation) were in a studio near Wolves a couple of weeks ago and the girl running the place was talking about how Magnum record / rehearse there and that she would tell Tony Clarkin that we had been when he was due in the following week. Certainly, Tony has been positive when talking about us and they sent one of their crew to say hello / check us out at an early rehearsal and then worked with us to make sure that our artwork wouldn’t have any potential copyright issues. I can’t fault them for that. We were supposed to play a bike rally somewhere near you last year before the first lockdown hit us. If the band is still going next year, I will let you know if we make up there!

Unfortunately, I'm not sure what's happening with the tribute. There are a couple of related projects (same or similar personnel) that have taken precedent recently and a key member has left. We will see what happens when we reconvene next year. If you’re interested, check out our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/storytellersnight or the website https://www.storytellers-night.co.uk/?fbclid=IwAR08AUqjH33KQ5QXWf2uYW5bStYhT41cAS67N8CC9-gBmjvoB-2IKaHrsQk

I play in a Magnum tribute that makes no attempt at all to look like the original band. We do get the sound pretty close, but there is no attempt to play things like solos, etc note for note. However, a lot of Magnum fans like us and we have got positive feedback from the main band. I think that the main thing is to capture the spirit of the band you are doing the tribute to.

Beaten me to it

I know Rob - he's a good lad and about a foot shorter than the real Lemmy...! Apart from that he's got the look spot on...

I had one of the early jazz bass models, which I did a lot of gigs with. It had had a slightly longer (34.5”?) scale that I thought was a great idea and gave it a really nice feel. It did come with a cheap bridge that I swapped out straight away, but a really well made bass that was great to play with a superb neck. The trouble was that somehow, I could never quite get it to sound how quite I wanted, despite changing pickups and installing an East preamp circuit, etc. I ended up moving it on and eventually getting an Xotic jazz that played just as well but sounded far better. Still, the Mayones was a great bass if you liked that sound.

Good idea! They've had to cancel. I've been asked to learn the set as they will probably need a dep for a couple of gigs in two weeks time!

Just had to turn down my first gig of the year! Just got a call @ 3:30pm from a guy I’ve been talking to about doing a band with next year, asking if I could do a last minute dep for a Led Zeppelin tribute. I would have had to finish work pretty early, jump in the shower, load the car up and drive two hours to the gig. If it had been a straight blues rock gig, I would have happily busked it.But I think that it’s a bit too much of a push for a Zepp tribute with an audience who will know every song backwards. As much as I love Zeppelin and know the catalogue, I don’t really know that many of the parts (at least all the way through). I’ve asked him to send me a setlist so I can have a listen for any deps he might need in the future. A shame though…

Actually, that P bass you've linked to does look great and at about £670 or so (probably nearer to £850 by the time you go through the rigmarole you have to import from Europe these days), it still looks pretty reasonable!

My missus is a Catering Manager at a chain of nursing homes. She has got them to use their entertainment budget to put on acoustic gigs out in the car park of some of the homes and then getting several of our friends to play to entertain the residents.

Yes, I sold an AVRI57 with the intention of looking for one of these until I got the opportunity to buy back my old 70s P bass! I don't think that you will get a better Fender P bass than the recent Am Stds unless you go vintage (and that is always hit & miss). I wasn't bowled over by the only Limelight that I've evr played, but Lakland obviously make really good passive P & J basses (in fact one of the best jazz basses I've ever played was a US Lakland).

Personally, I would look at an American Standard Precision from 2011 to about 2015 (the ones with the CS pickups). They are really nice basses and you can pick them up quite reasonably secondhand.

Just to mention that the "heavy outdoor music" was from a pub just down the road from Lidl. As far as the penalties go, the guys who took them did so because they were the best in training. Unfortunately, it was perhaps a step too far for two young lads with limited experience at that level (no such excuse for Rashford who is a regular penalty taker and has plenty of experience, he just missed - it happens). Maybe they should have left an experienced guy like Henderson on the pitch, just in case. Who knows! Whoever took them would still have had to beat the giant Donnarumma, the best goalkeeper in the tournament!

Joking aside, that’s the problem right there. The game went ahead with a crowd of 67,000 because the government is desperate to push the idea of a ‘Global Britain’ (against all evidence) and didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of Brussels & Dublin, which had pulled out (the latter at the last minute due to Covid concerns). There was no way that they or UEFA were going to restrict the crowd, hang the consequences. To add to this, once it became clear the England had a chance of winning, the government was looking for a significant slice of reflected glory. Ironically, it became a PR disaster following the disgraceful scenes outside the stadium on the day and the players’ reaction to comments made by the PM and (in particular) the Home Secretary.

Cool! Unfortunately, lockdown caught my new pub covers band halfway through rehearsing up a set, so we are starting from scratch again (well not quite, but nowhere near ready to start gigging straight away). I will let you know when Sons of Robin are gigging this side of town - always entertaining! Perhaps meet up for a beer?