inthedoghouse

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1489683223' post='3258982'] You bring up another really good part of the early process if forming your own gigging band. Having the resources to acquire your own PA and lights Blue [/quote] One of the main things that has prevented me from trying to set up my own.

[b]Don't[/b] be like the guy whose ad I answered on JMB this week who is trying to start a classic rock cover band. In his ad he posted an extremely done-to-death set list which I thought it might be fun for a while and a few easy ££. But he refused to give me any details about himself, his experience or even his name despite several requests to do so. Information flow was certainly a one-way street and absolutely not the way to start to build rapport with a potential band member. I asked him if he had any videos of himself - his reply was 'you show me yours and I'll show you mine'. Very childish for someone who said he wants mature players, I thought. So I sent him some of my vids, but then he said that his vids are a few years old and don't matter now. Also that it doesn't matter what I've (or he) has done previously because 'this is now'. I suppose he's playing a delusional game of mystery with himself. FFS what an idiot! Ten minutes of looking around online last night and I worked out his identity, a decidedly third rate guitarist and singer. Anybody who turns up 'cold' to a rehearsal with this guy is going to be very disappointed. I won't share his stuff on here though.

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1489661433' post='3258694'] It's simple, there are a small number of people in the world with more money than they know what to do with. So do they use it to fund research to cure cancer? Help the poorest in the third world? Fund space exploration to further mankind? Nope, they buy trinkets to try and out do one another. [/quote] I would [b]certainly [/b]like a cure for my cancer!! And I'm fascinated by space expoloration. But I wouldn't mind owning some of Jimi's gear (if it's for real) - not sure I would pay this much though, even if I had the money.

Another vote to Hiscox here

[quote name='Krysbass' timestamp='1489222487' post='3255242'] ... too many of the song choices were driven by the self-indulgence and preferences of the two guitarists. ... we might as well have been an originals band. ... it can be tricky to find the right balance between playing all the same crowd-pleasing songs as everyone else or ending up being too obscure with your song ... the standard of playing was high, but we definitely hadn't got the song choices right. [/quote] Exactly this for me too, apart from in my case it was the singer and guitarist. When I first joined the (newly formed) band I had never heard a majority of songs in the set, even though I enjoy rock music. We had a few "classics" in the set and it was no surprise that they were always the best received. Any sugggestions from me that we might play some better known songs, not necessarily 'standards', was met with almost scorn by one of them. I even tried using an example of a friend's set list. The response "anybody who plays that should be shot". An audience member was overheard to say "why don't they play anything we know?", to which the response was "why don't you know anything we play?". Not really the attitude from an experienced and skilled musician you would hope for. Knowing your audience is such a basic. The result, generally small and disinterested audiences. Very sad, seeing as we were all very experienced and capable players. More than a few times I had people come to be and say what a good band we were but they didn't recognise many of the songs.

[quote] ... plenty of other groups around! [/quote] I wish ...

[quote] ... (band revolves around guitarist and singer couple) which probably speaks volumes. [/quote] I had exactly the same thing in my last band. They weren't a couple though (two males) but they might as well have been. One small disagreement with one of them becomes a big thing for both of them ... end of a really good band, by text message Now I'm back trawling JMB and local FB pages a few times a day with little, if anything, of interest. And I'm not part of any local or fairly local clique, which doesn't help. As I've said on another thread, I really miss and want to be in a rock band again, even after 40+ years of playing (and I need a few £££) but I'm not prepared to be in just [i]any [/i]band for the sake of being in a band - the standard of musicicianship, and more importantly, people matter a great deal to me. You might be interested in this thread too [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/300984-cheesed-off-i-really-am/"]http://basschat.co.u...ff-i-really-am/[/url] Good luck with whatever you do in the future :-)

Pretty much as low as possible here and I have a light touch too

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1489009004' post='3253766'] What on earth does 'non-binary' mean? [/quote] Well, you did ask [url="http://askanonbinary.tumblr.com/what"]http://askanonbinary.tumblr.com/what[/url] [url="https://onsizzle.com/i/uafe-te-deckuf-doors-rideau-st-7-30pm-y-name-is-9826949"]https://onsizzle.com...name-is-9826949[/url] Should go down a storm in the Dog and Duck

[quote name='Monkey Steve' timestamp='1488993962' post='3253587'] I've said it on another thread, but very early on, bands need to sit down and have The Chat about what each member wants to achieve and how much commitment they can devote to the band. Trouble is, even when you have The Chat people walk away thinking completely different things. In one band we all agreed that we would try and play as many gigs as we possibly could, but for two of us that meant literally playing every got we got offered regardless of how big or small the pay packet (often non-existent when trying to establish an originals band, and we weren't in it for the money...just as well), but for another it meant getting as many well paid gigs as possible as he wanted the band to supplement his income (and he eventually left for a functions band). None of us were lying, we just meant different things. Although I've certainly been in situation where people have lied about it. And there is a special place in hell for the ones who claim to be "really committed" to the band when in practice that means it's one of their most favourite hobbies and they'll do their best to come to rehearsals and play gigs as long as they don't have anything better to do that day. And there are an awful lot of people who like being able to tell people that they are "in a band" just as long as it doesn't involve any of the tedious stuff like playing their instruments and learning songs. We should put together a questionnaire to be handed out whenever a new band forms or a new person joins an existing band: Does "rehearsing every Saturday afternoon" mean (i) "rehearsing every Saturday afternoon" or (ii) "rehearsing every Saturday afternoon when Arsenal aren't playing"? Are "gigs" (i) events that have been confirmed that will be honoured unless you are prevented being there due to accident or illness or (ii) loose arrangements that have been pencilled in and you'll play them if nothing better comes up that night? [/quote] Very good post, Steve. We certainly had The Chat several times before it got to the first rehearsal and were pretty much in total agreement. There were never any probs at all from any of us about commitment - all songs well learnt at home before rehearsal, all gigs and rehearsals gladly attended etc etc. It's fair to say we all had the same high level of commitment. I would have liked more gigs but I knew the score when I joined the that band. I think that often people's wants or expectations can sometimes change as the band develops over time though, especially as group dynamics elvolve. But that's for another day ...

I really enjoyed playing War Pigs and Highway Star, but we didn't gig them much

[quote name='gazzatriumph' timestamp='1488992899' post='3253577'] It's sad but true what you say, good luck finding a band [/quote] Thanks, Gazza

Not bass related, so a bit off topic. I did like this one though "Feminine singer seeking band" [url="https://www.joinmyband.co.uk/classifieds/feminine-singer-seeking-band-t956561.html"]https://www.joinmyba...nd-t956561.html[/url]

[quote name='gazzatriumph' timestamp='1488819066' post='3252051'] Most bands really are a pain in the ass .... [/quote] Yeah - as someone said to me recently, you spend all that time and effort building relationships and spending so many hours (at home as well as reheasal) perfecting songs, but you know all the time it's all probably going to fall apart sooner or later. In my last band I made the mistake of believing that some members of the band had the same high level of personality as they did in their musicianship - wrong! I still want to be in a band though, but just not [i]any [/i]band for the sake of being in a band. I still have a very small amount of personal and musical pride left in me after all these years. Oh yes, and I could do with the few quid it brings in, lol :-)

A mention of Black Oak Arkansas usually draws a blank look when mentioned. I first saw them supporting Black Sabbath in '74 - what a gig! I saw them several times after that and still love them. A very entertaining and tight live band. I always list Pat Daugherty as one of my fave bass players - nothing fancy, he just did the job perfectly imho. Oh yes, the awesome Tommy Aldridge on drums before he made it big time. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdk-LcsFB_Q"]https://youtu.be/mdk-LcsFB_Q[/url] Somebody earlier mentioned The River City People :-) We first saw them supporting Tina Turner at Woburn and still love their albums. Actually, I think I enjoyed them more than I did Tina, although she was her usual incredible self :-) We went to see RCP a coupe of times again, but then they split. A band I was in a few years ago used to do a cover of What's Wrong with Dreaming.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1487931201' post='3244203'] Or a 410 & 210? Pretty near it and I`ve always had good results when playing through these set-ups, [/quote]Yep, +1 on this

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1488565112' post='3250133'] Thanks. Re: JMB. It could be that, like myself, their accounts have become corrupted or hacked so that the account is no longer accessible. I can still see my ads there but the owner just doesn't reply to my emails. It's the second time an email address of mine has been rendered useless as an ID on JMB because the site owner wont reset my account. I gave up. [/quote] That's a shame that the owner doesn't reply to or action your mails. I often report spam postings and they are usually removed, so I guess he/she reads their mails. I've sent a PM to several ads when they were only hours old and have seen that my polite request for futher information has been read, but they haven't bothered to reply. File under time wasters and dreamers. I feel like giving up too! :-(

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1488101998' post='3245751'] You really can't break into those circles until someone dies! Even then the regular deps go back nearly that far!! [/quote] Ain't that the truth!

[quote name='amnesia' timestamp='1488099379' post='3245718'] My advice? Try and jump into bed with an already established singer / guitarist / drummer and start something that way. A local 'character'. I'm fairly local to to Nantwich and the scene is incredibly incestuous around that area. I see the same players in different variations of the same band and if you aren't in 'the clique' you don't get a chance. Maybe it is like that everywhere. [/quote] I'm might be a few miles away from you and I couldn't agree more about the incestuous nature of things around here. Maybe it's the same everywhere though, as you say. It's the same on a music scene not a zillion miles from here too. Jeez, talk about cronysm and old boys network! I thought I was really lucky when I hit on a startup band on JMB with people of the same experience and abilty level ... until the first small disagreement (after loads of gigs) and it all went tits up. Not even a discussion - end of. Apprently that's the "leader's" MO. Shame, it was a really good band. FFS I've been in bands that have come to blows and not split. I even had a guy steal from me many years ago and we carried on! Now I'm back trawling JMB and local FB music pages and feeling increasingly like writing it all off as a bad job. Perhaps I'm hoping for too much these days by looking for a gigging band, of a high enough standard, playing music I can enjoy/live with and that I'm not too old for. I've answered a couple of ads that looked promising but decided not to follow them up as far as a meeting because I knew deep down it wasn't for me and didn't want to waste their time. I'm sure I'm not the only one here that doesn't just want to be in 'any' band simply for the sake of being in a band. JMB rant: Why do some people advertise and not reply? Why not put links to any vids or pages they might have instead of waiting to be asked? And it's pretty frustrating when people put "search for mybandname" so you have to spend ages looking for them, and usually giving up, when they could have simply posted a link. I wish all of you out there looking for a band good luck!

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1463407561' post='3051079'] In terms of the strength/weight issue; I've said for a while that people complaining about sore shoulders or backs after long rehearsals/gigs should be looking at weight training - it really does help (and the results manifest quite quickly)! Deadlifts, squats, bench press, overhead press etc... all work large muscles groups & improve your core strength - it's so cheap & easy to do I would recommend that people do it even if they're not currently struggling. [/quote]This! :-) And you don't have to be an Arnie to benefit :-)

Looks like they're making a bass again [url="http://www.gordonsmithguitars.com/shop/guitars/gryphon/"]http://www.gordonsmi...uitars/gryphon[/url] And an SG/EB bass for sale here http://greatbritishbasslounge.com/product/gordon-smith-sg/

They seem exaclty the same to me apart from the silk

I've got an AnalogMan chorus. I had it on my board along with my Tech 21 Driver but I found I was never using the chorus so now I'm a one pedal (aprt from the tuner) kinda guy :-)

I replaced mine too but I wanted to use Fender/Schaller vintage tuners which have a larger plate and require the holes in the head to be expanded. It worked out great through and I'm pleased I did it :-)

I've had a GS 1.5 for many years - a beautiful and simple guitar, basically a LP Jr copy but very well made. I remember playing a gig (lead guitar at that time) in the 70s (in Cheshire, where I live) and a couple of guys came to me before the gig and asked me if I'd like to try one of their guitars. It was a Tele Deluxe copy that sounded and played beautifully. Of course, they guys were from Gordon Smith :-) A couple of years later I had a day off work and ended up running an errand to the GS workshop for the local guitar shop I used to frequent. Really nice guys and at that time the workshop was little more than a large shed in the garden. I'd love a GS bass if I saw one for the right price. It would be great to gig with Brit bass and amps. And no, I can't afford anything from current UK builders :-/