Len_derby

Well done sir. I have the orange version and love it.

Bought a gig bag off Tobie. Well packed, great communication and Tobie was patient when I was a day late in arranging payment. Good transaction all-round. Another great member of Basschat.

As I said yesterday, wow. 😄

One of the many good things about living in Derbyshire is that I'm only a stroll away from Andy. I had the honour of seeing and holding this bass for real this afternoon. Wow. That's all.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1500764167' post='3340101'] Excellent point Pete I think, at the bar band level fun should be the priority. As a matter of fact whenever I arrive at a gig I start the process by creating a fun atmosphere. Not just for me but the whole band. It's really important. Guys, don't show up at a gig with a sour attitude. Your not that important. Blue [/quote] Similar to me Blue. I always say 'if we're not enjoying it how the hell can we expect the audience to?' Although sometimes it's about faking it.

Another festival last night, this time small local one at a village called Doveridge. 5 Hill Out were playing in a good-sized village hall adjacent to the main field. Given the rain this was to our advantage as the place was rammed full. We went down a storm and sold a good wodge of CDs. A break now for holidays and then we play at The Green Meadows festival near Peterborough on 11th August.

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1500278401' post='3336562'] Wellowfest last night. All the press etc. made it look like it was a big deal, and they certainly had the stage, PA, and overzealous security to live up to that. It's a shame they didn't have the audience to match! Never mind, it was still fun [/quote] That's a shame. I know the organiser, David Chappelhow works really hard to make Wellow work. I'm wondering if there are just too many festivals now chasing a limited audience. I know there were at least 3 other festivals within a 25 mile radius of Wellow this weekend. We were at Ripley, which is just the other side of the M1.

A busy, 2 band- 2 gig, weekend. Friday night 5 Hills Out folk punk at a crowded sweaty pub in Ashbourne. Loads of energy both on stage and in the audience. It was our first return since the landlord changed, but he was a happy chappy at the end of the night and even gave us our fee without us asking. A very drunk fan wanted to help us break down and carry the gear out. Erm, no thanks very much. Saturday, blues and gospel with the Daz Kelly Band at the Ripley Music Festival. For a small festival it has a fantastic stage and sound provision. We were in stark contrast to most of the acts (heavy rock covers) but went down well, maybe because of that. It's a charity festival, raising money to keep the small local hospital going but we got a small fee for expenses. I went home and spent it mostly on beer and then grooved around the kitchen with my daughter to the R6 Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show. Incidentally, hosted this week by Colin Greenwood.

Over time, I've tried to stop fretting about it. Particularly in a live situation. Yesterday I payed at a festival with an active Precision through a Trace Elloitt combo. I didn't like the tone I was hearing on stage at all, but the people out front said it sounded just dandy.

5 Hiils Out played a short set this afternoon at The Belper Food Festival. Under an awning in a pub yard, very hot in the sunshine. Amazingly there were three other Basschatters in the audience; Chris Sharman, KevB and Andyjr1515! That's 4 active members at one gig (and already knew each other). Anyone beat that?

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1499532013' post='3332051'] Depends on the type of band your in Tim. In my band I only have control and opinions on my performance and stage presence. Unfortunately we're not the type of band that reviews and has open discussions on this topic. Blue [/quote] Blue, if your band is getting regular gigs and good feedback from audiences and promoters then things are ok. We talk over here about rule 1 of engineering. "If it ain't broke, don't try and fix it ".

Yamahas are great choices for 5 strings in my experience. Enjoy!

I spent a week in Barcelona last autumn and during a lot of wandering around the bar and restaurant areas only found one place that had live music. There seemed to be no music scene of that type. I Conversely, I know someone who retired out to Malaga and keeps himself busy playing in a rock covers band. Most of his band mates are Brits, and from what I can tell so are his audiences!

[quote name='radiophonic' timestamp='1498922448' post='3328002'] . I swear, every Guardian reader in North Nottingham must have been there. [/quote] Hope the houmous was good John! Good luck tonight. A rare weekend off for me this summer. A chance to properly to try my birthday whiskey. Scapa from Orkney.

Yesterday 5 Hills Out played at the Exile Festival in Derbyshire (our home turf). This is on a farm high up on the side of the Derwent Valley with great views. The organisers were vague in advance about what backline might be there so I took my rig. However there was one already set up which the soundman wanted me to use. It was a decent set-up, Ampeg, but had I known that I'd have gone by bus and had a few beers (it was my birthday). A small annoyance though; we did a good set, made some new friends and got a fee as well as tickets for the whole weekend festival. A weekend off next before playing the Belper Food Festival on the 9th July

The George and Dragon in Belper with 5 Hills Out. The pub hosts music every week and has a decent in-house pa and a sound man. We played well but the effects of the earlier England Scotland soccer match meant the crowd was a thin by regular standards. We got a slot at the town's food festival next month out of it (as well as payment), so all good The stage area is fairly generous at The George so I took my Barefaced Big One, with my Genz Benz Shuttle on top. Much air was moved.

Just received a Status gig bag off Mick. Excellent transaction, prompt communications, all good. Trade in confidence.

Good music that's well executed. Preferably at regular gigs, but for me a good rehearsal can be motivating and uplifting too. I don't really go in for the social/friendship side of bands. I think it can be counter-productive sometimes. Some people seem to get upset when I don't want to be "matey", like they needed me to validate them. I'm not really a misery-guts, honestly 😘

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1496653855' post='3312913'] what a nightmare! I hope Belper Goes Green was good? [/quote] It was great Tom, I can see why you liked it. Glad your time in Doncaster went well. The Uttoxeter Festival seems an odd one. We did a benefit gig in the town earlier in the year with a promise we'd get a slot. We weren't greedy, and were prepared to be bottom of the bill but they totally blanked us. We never got a sniff, messages not returned etc. One of my aims for the summer is to actually see you guys. I've got my eye on the dates.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1496605453' post='3312656'] If I ever make it to the UK, I'll be looking all of you up. Blue [/quote] And you'll be very welcome Blue. Do it!

I was having a chinwag with two other Basschatters this weekend; Chris Sharman and Dave Sturt. We were all playing at a local festival, some of us twice. We have a nice little enclave of supportive forum members here in Derbyshire, not forgetting the incomperable Andyjr1515. Andy was probably far too busy on his latest wonder-build to come out.

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1496309957' post='3310359'] This is an ace festival! Shame I can't make it this year, have a good one! [/quote] Cheers Tom. Sorry I didn't get to see you at the Hairy Dog. I had a broken down coach and 64 8/9 year olds to entertain in the Peak District. 32 a side footy match!

Another one in the bag! (Ouch). I've just received a Gator mixer bag from Gareth. Very well packaged and overall as near to a perfect transaction as you could realistically hope for. Thanks Gareth, a pleasure doing business with you.