jonnythenotes

With very little gear available to try out, and no tickets available for York or Birmingham, it looks like a bit of a waste of time and money. Why bother advertising tickets for venues that don't have tickets....or at least if they have all gone, remove the advert..

All of these super rich people are so far removed from reality in terms of having no financial worries whatsoever, no outstanding bills or credit, they have access to anything they want regardless of cost, and all there chums are in the same boat. This must have an adverse affect on you mentally, in that the only thing to strive for, or worry about is making sure you are just as famous when you wake up the next morning as you were when you go to bed the night before, and also that there is no one else out there who is better than you...... Mirror mirror on the wall....

Nice one....

The real stars to me can..... write, produce, sing, play, engineer, write for other artists, were/are and always will be in the news, can sell out any gig anywhere, need no PR people to keep them at the top, and don't have to tell us how famous they are. Whether you like them or not, here are a few that spring to mind... David Bowie, Elton John, Dave Gilmore, George Michael, Kate Bush, Paul Mcartney, ( Man of the moment..) Lionel Richie, Joe Bonamasa, Nial Rogers, Brian Eno..... To name a few. These make some of these modern day talking heads look like novices... Yes....they are all of a certain age....but that's the thing, they have been at the top for years. That alone to me is greatness.

I Never go to any gig without two amps. Always one on top of the other, and as happened once not long ago, my main amp packed up, and my back up PF 500 was up and running in the time it took to transfer the speakon caple, power lead and guitar lead from one to the other...about 45 seconds. The sound was also set to the room as I always sound check both amps before each gig. To me, that peace of mind is invaluable, and you can pick a decent used 300/ 500 watt amp for a couple of hundred quid...the money you get from a couple of gigs... It's ok fannying about with the PA if your amp goes bang at the local boozer, compromising your sound, the bands overall sound, and also your credibility, its not really a big deal, just embarrassing, ( also takes more than 45 seconds and completely flattens the confidence of the band.) Now escalate this to a private function...wedding, birthday bash, Christmas or New Year party....Not good. Spend a small amount of cash on a back up amp and this potential problem is removed effectively and permanently. Just my opinion based on 35 years of playing...

Technically you have won Badderer....not sure about my use of 2 'e' s...

W*nkeyest......

At a pub quiz last night......Rearrange this name......Kanye West.... into something a bit more naughty...... Everyone scored full marks..

......"Just sloppy has-beens resting on their fame laurels"...... From further back up this thread... Looks like a bit of a cheap shot to me.

It's outrageous to knock these guys because they have not the same energy as they had 45 years ago... What do you want off them FFS... These lads might not be with us in a few short years, so give credit and respect where it's due. They have seen it all and done it all, and are still capable of doing it in a more subdued manner, so we should enjoy it while we can. I am no spring chicken, and these elder statesman make being in a band when you are passed fifty still acceptable to a much younger audience. If it wasn't for the likes of Bowie, Clapton, Jagger,Richards, Daltrey,Iggy, Macca, Lionel Ritchie, Townsend, and thousands of other brilliant performers who are well passed their sixtieth birthday, it would be much more difficult for us as mature musicians to be accepted, and not get sneered at as being 'passed it.' These older performers have ploughed a wide furrow for us, and it sickens me to think some people have lost sight of what they achieved, and try to mask it with small minded ' in the good old days' statements. In the early and mid sixties, there were a handful of bands and creative musicians who put together music as we know it today. To take cheap shots at these same musicians now, purely because they are getting on a bit is just not on. If someone can tell me when it's not cool, or when its 'age inappropriate' for me to carry on gigging, I will laugh in their face, and then tell em to stuff their advice it up their rear end.

Spot on Cato....

From that bloke who headlined last night, to Lionel Richie....(with a real live band.... ) this evening.. Real music, a real voice, real musicians and hugely entertaining, with no shock your granny language, and humility by the boat load, and I think it's a fair bet he won't try any Queen numbers out... Nice one Lionel and co...

Laughing all the way to the bank....

This is the worst live ' music ' I have ever seen...every time I turn the tv back to see if he's finished, he still on... just pay him off, and get some music on...

Need to let the disbelief settle in before I comment...

Had a Gibson EB 5 for 3 months... Gigged it once and it was granny pants.... Worst buy of my life. Looked cheap and it felt so crappy that I cringed when people asked to try it out.... If I hadn't sold it....(and lost out on it,) .....Guy Fawkes would have even wearing it in a few months time.... Totally useless....

I have very large hands, and also very long fingers. If I play a bass that has a realy slim neck, I find that all the finger joints on my fretting hand are bunching up or 'crabbing ' making any sort of fluency over the neck very difficult. It's hard to explain, but if you clench your fist so your finger tips are touching the palm of your hand, and then look at all of the joints that are turning through 90 degrees, it might make sense. If you then open your hand out into the shape it would make as if you were holding a grapefruit, or just let your hand fall into its naturally relaxed state, the difference is obvious. With a larger neck forcing my palm and fingers into a more open shape, it saves me having to put all of my finger joints into the 90 degree positions, using the muscles, and the time it takes to tense and relax these muscles for every note you wish to fret, instead of almost floating the more open hand over the fretboard.

I think I remember that bass Mr Riva..... Was it a sunburst with a dark wood fretboard..?

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Discreet....that was an undies changing moment..... What a corker..... and to use a line in all good Harry Potter films.... 10 house points awarded..

Sorry discreet....no points awarded for becoming temporarily insane, and selling something that good in the first place......although a picture or two could earn you quite a few drool and envy points..

A bit of fun here... I bought my Trace Elliot T bass in 1996, and its still with me now. I have had so much gear come and go over the years, basses, amps, cabs, pedals, you name it, and at some stage I have had it, but this bass is still with me. It's not the best, or most expensive I have ever had, but it is the one that means the most to me, has been all over the country with me, and has got a sound to it that none of my others has, or is capable of reproducing. Sometimes in doesn't see the light of day for months on end, but when it does come out, it's like seeing an old buddy again. It weighs a ton, has got a few clunks on it, it's pretty old school now after 20 years compared to what's out there now.. But with that age comes its own unique voice.... Anyway what's your old faithful, and why.... ( Selling a bass and buying it back again gets you extra points..)