4000

Will it make me as famous as the Beatles?

If I may, sexism works both ways. I've often worked in environments where I've been the only man, and all the women in the room have incessantly slagged "men" (in general) off day after day after day. It was/is thoroughly depressing.

An astute observation, but based on her family circumstances, sadly inaccurate. 😊 It's more a control thing....

Beetroot. Mmmmm.

I agree that the capes didn't help. 😀 I think this is the thing though, people's perception of them seems to often be more about their image than the actual content of their music. Re Rick, everything he did was thoroughly tongue in cheek anyway. He - rightly - thought the King Arthur On Ice thing was hilarious, and a great way to wind up his critics.

This. Have to say that thinking about it I’m not really sure where the “fantasy” thing comes from re Yes. Jon has openly admitted he uses words for their sound in context rather than their meaning, and in Yes themselves I can’t think of many songs that relate to fantasy. New Age hippyness, ok. 😉. I mean, The Gates of Delirium is supposedly based on Tolstoy!

😁 Actually, joking aside, I’m extremely responsible with money due to having a dad who wasn’t. Which is why I find it somewhat irritating.

I wouldn’t. But she still queries everything I buy. 😉

What if you haven’t got kids, she earns a lot more than you do and you have separate bank accounts, like in my case? 😉

Ah well, just goes to show, as I am not that much of an ELP, Crimson, or Gentle Giant fan, but love Yes and Genesis. Have to say criticising either for not having The Funk is a bit like criticising Motorhead for not being Chic. But then pretty much everything you hate about Yes I like. Don’t really get the “folky chord progressions” thing either, but seeing as probably my all-time favourite female singer is Sandy Denny and Martin Simpson is one of my favourite guitarists I suspect our ideas about “folky chord progressions” may be a little different. To be honest, I don’t really hate any music. There’s some I don’t really listen to (reggae, a lot of R&B/soul, blues etc), but nothing I really hate. Except for Simply Red of course, but Mick Hucknall is a given. 😂 EDIT Have just given PHB and SA a listen (I’ve heard all the others and seen Porcupine Tree live) and they’re not my bag. Too rocky for my taste in prog (as are PT) and a bit too miserable-sounding. What I like about Yes and Genesis is they can be really uplifting. I don’t hear that in any of the others, only the sound of depression (which is something I’m all too familiar with). Of course your mileage obviously varies.

As I said in another thread, I used to look sufficiently like Henry Rollins that I was mistaken for him on several occasions and came to be known as “Henry”. We were pretty much the same dimensions too, ‘cept I’m a bit taller. Think he’s about 5’9” whereas I’m 6ft.

I don’t generally touch nuts or frets either, but that’s all, and it’s an area I’m happy to move into eventually. Hasn’t helped that most of my main basses the past couple of decades have been worth a LOT of money, which has tended to put me off.

Haven’t we already got a thread about recommended luthiers?

And me. Capes, DMs, doesn’t bother me either way. 😉

My favourite would be Chris Squire. Immense, cutting tone and progressive (if you’ll excuse the pun) lines, putting bass at the forefront of the mix and influencing a generation of bassists. For me, he embodies Roto tone more than anyone. Having said that, I also have to tip my hat to The Ox, who was a huge influence on Chris and a million others, and who was without doubt the originator of “the” Rotosound tone. I’ve used Rotos almost exclusively since 1980. The only times I really used any thing else was a period in the early 90s (IIRC) when I struggled to get hold of them and I had to suffer Elites. I’ve occasionally experimented with other strings but for me nothing comes close.

C’mon, you know this is really all about the capes. 😉😂

Or, it’s one of the greatest tracks of all time. 😉😁

Oh, you won’t get an argument from me there. But personal taste and technical ability don’t necessarily go hand in hand.

Just out of interest, any particular mains testers you’d recommend? Something like this? https://www.screwfix.com/p/lap-ms6860d-socket-tester/91596?tc=VB2&ds_kid=92700022850517781&gclsrc=aw.ds&ds_rl=1241687&ds_rl=1245250&ds_rl=1244066&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_sv66u3G4wIVxLHtCh3qVQV7EAQYAyABEgKiOPD_BwE

I think Jon’s main problem for most is that he’s way too obviously “hippy”. Oddly, he’s one of very few high-voiced male singers that I really like (Yes being my favourite band), although even I’ll admit it took a while at first. Unlike say Axl Rose, who to me sounds very much like a screaming baby with an airhorn scraping a metal gauntlet down a 100 foot blackboard. 😉

And that’s absolutely your choice to make. 😁

Pretty much everything I’ve ever played from ‘72 has been great ( my 2 Rics are both ‘72s). Must have been something in the water.

Passable, yes. Pavarotti-esque, not really. 😉😂 Whilst I’m aware Jon’s voice is extremely polarising, I’m a bit surprised anyone can think Hugh is actually a better singer technically.

Never been asked either. In fact many of the venues we play could do with their electrics checking!

Never been sacked, although to be fair as one of the main writers in most of the bands I’ve been in - I’ve always played original music - I’ve been too indispensable to sack. That, plus all the others members would have been too terrified of the consequences. 😉😂(when I was younger - and had more hair! - I used to get mistaken for Henry Rollins, so much so that most people knew me as “Henry”, or occasionally “Rollins”😁). My advice would be to get your own band together. Find people who want to play the same music you do, be it originals or covers. There must be plenty out there. And try and make sure they’re people you get along with, and that there are no huge egos, because that’s always just an accident waiting to happen. I play original music with some of my best friends, all of whom are pretty humble and self-deprecating. I wouldn’t have it any other way.