JapanAxe

Eh?

I think this is actually a vanity project rather than a scam. I’ve depped with a couple of outfits that I would describe in this way as vanity projects. (1) Successful entrepreneur who was convinced his much younger other half was the next big thing. Turned out she wasn’t. (2) A band playing the country music club circuit, fronted by a wealthy businessman. Most such clubs can only ‘afford’ solo or duo acts with backing tracks, but the BL books his band in at whatever the club can pay and makes up the difference from his own pocket so that the other musicians get a decent wedge. So I’m guessing this person is sufficiently well-off to pay a retainer to the performers so as to be sure of being able to put their material in front of an audience. The non-existent company still bothers me though!

Cool. Might you be interested in the bridge I’m selling ?

The ad was certainly effective in weeding out this old fart! As to ‘who are we to mock’, it’s the Internet in 2026 and everyone’s a critic.

Reclusiarch Aurelius on SoundCloud seems to be based in Krasnodar in Russia though, not Gloucestershire! No, I am not interested in joining this band, I was scrolling through JMB looking for dep opportunities (I am such a tart). Consequently it doesn’t matter directly to me, but there is a BC tradition of highlighting (for entertainment purposes) delusional or wildly unrealistic band ads. It will matter to someone though, when they sign up to goodness-knows-what in the hope of a shortcut to fame and fortune. I do hope the site rules allow us to discuss things that don’t even matter, otherwise pages of discussion on fret position markers would have to be deleted.

I was perusing the Join My Band ads for my area when I came across this gem: https://www.joinmyband.co.uk/classifieds/performers-needed-t1547705.html Reading between the lines (and perusing this person’s other posts), this is a singer and instrumentalist who has written and recorded a set of material and now wants people to perform it to their exact requirements, even down to using the person’s own equipment. Prospective performers are invited to be interviewed (not auditioned) and advised that the choreography may be a challenge, and that they will sign up as employees of a limited company, of which Companies House hold no record. The whole thing is a massive red flag! I’ll let you know how my interview goes…

I’ve depped with 2 different bands that did exactly this. I actually find it harder to play the whole section in 4/4, plus it amounts to throwing away something that makes the song more interesting and enjoyable to play.

Last night was one of those final rehearsals that was so bad, you just know it’s going to be great on the night!

This Saturday I am playing guitar with Rebel Heroes at Pound Arts in Corsham, Wiltshire. Expect 2 hours of cracking David Bowie covers, from the first single issued under his adopted name, to material from his final studio album. There will be loads of hits of course, but also some ‘deep cut’ album tracks. Tickets are just £18 from this link: https://poundarts.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/1173663861/events/428706891/seats?zone=Seated

Update time! I managed to age the plate a little bit. Christmas / New Year guests are gone and I'm just recovering from my third cold-type virus in a row, so I finally got around to assembling the new control plate and wiring it up. Here's what it looks like built and then installed: Obviously the black knobs are not very 1962 but I like the look. Positive: Much easier having master volume and tone controls. Negative: There is still very little audible difference after the first small movement of the blend knob away from its centre detent. Positive: 3 distinct sounds at the twist of the blend klnob. Like @TRBboy I'll probably leave it in the middle most of the time. It's also become apparent to me that a Jazz responds rather differently from a Precision to the tone control being backed off - not bad, just different. Time to play some more Steely Dan methinks....

I used to dep on bass with a blues band where the keys player thought his electric piano sounded too middly, so he ran it through a graphic EQ pedal with the most pronounced V setting possible. As a result, his left hand was considerably louder than my bass and clashed with everything I played. Eventually his expensive rack power amp went into thermal runaway and cooked itself to death.

I second that emotion!

If he looks like Thomas the Tank Engine I don’t know whether that would be a good thing or not…

Loving the Thomas-the-tank-engine PA speaker!