FinnDave

Played a large pub in the centre of Reading last night, 4th time there in the last 6 months, and always the same problems finding somewhere to park. Dedicated (but tight) stage area, decent sound quality, but lack of punters until the final half hour when they all poured in from somewhere else and the previously empty area between us and the bar was full of bright young things dancing their socks off. The gig was slightly marred by one of the guitarists bringing a guitar he didn't like playing, having no strap...and then vanishing during the break and returning 10 minutes into the second set. Another gig with the same band tonight, this time in Didcot, which is about half the distance that Reading is for me, and has a large car park behind the pub we're playing in.

Sounds like trying to park in the centre of Reading, one of my pet hates. And guess where I'm playing tonight??? (to be fair, it's a great venue and usually a cracking audience, but there's nowhere to park and we can't see the side road we usually leave the cars in from the stage.)

Call that wall? THIS is a wall!

For me, a great gig is one where the band is working well together and the audience 'gets is'. My first gig with the Grateful Dudes last Easter was a good example, everything slotted together well on stage, plenty of Dead-style jamming, audience dancing like dervishes, people queuing to buy shirts and shake our hands, that was a great gig. The 4 hour drive home was less great, but didn't take away the buss the gig left me with.

Thanks, Blue, the back row is still performing as the Wirebirds, minus Jenny Haan who is at the front.

He obviously harbours dreams of greatness, or bass playing, to ordinary mortals. Bet those studs on the waistcoat scratch the sh!t out of the back of his guitar - mine was specially made without any.

And people play in more bands, so even remembering the name of band you're appearing with can get tricky!

Pity the audience is looking the wrong way!

I don't have any old shots, all lost, but here's a good bit of stone wall from 4 years ago. Bass player in standard issue waistcoat, hat and shades, of course

Ah, I didn't realise that, wouldn't know a Jam song if it walked up to the bar and bought me a drink. Not really my era. Comes across well, though.

I haven't clue what that's about, but it reads like lyrics or poetry that has been machine translated through several languages. Interesting!

That's true

No worries, I don't really know the music scene in Banbury (I've gigged at a pub in Cropredy a few times, and a social club in Banbury once or twice) but it's fair sized place so would expect there to be plenty of musos around

I wasn't really implying that you are the problem, after all, I don't know you (even though we live in the same county!), but I do know some musicians who have a certain set of problems in a band, so join another, only to find that the same thing happens. After a while, it becomes apparent that they are causing the problem, not the different groups of people they play with. To be quite honest, I only put that line at the end as a kind of tongue in cheek bit of humour, not to be taken seriously. Most other bass players I know are the most reliable members of their bands, a solid presence the others lean on and frequently take advantage of. Good luck with the new band, I find that focussing on only one tends to magnify the importance of the problems within that band, having other musical outlets reduces the pressure.

Except that the term in question is not 'tribute', it is the compound noun 'tribute band' which is commonly accepted to mean a cover band which plays the material from only one artist, and which may or may not attempt to appear to be like the band they are covering visually. On a purely personal level, a band playing my favourite music is a good thing, dressing up to imitate the original artists is a step too far.

But why? If you have a particular enthusiasm for the output of one artist/band, who is to say it is unhealthy or a bit silly to concentrate on playing that material? I listen to a very limited range of music, and am happiest when playing the music from that range. As it is increasingly unlikely that I will ever be invited to join the original band, playing with people who share that enthusiasm, to audiences who also share it, is the next best thing.

When the TV is in our house, I usually sit with my back to, reading a book or surfing the net, with a pair of ear protectors on to cut out the dross. If I'm wearing those, I'll be listening to decent music through headphones. The strange thing is that if I leave the room (loo break, for example) my wife invariably pause the TV until I return 'so I don't miss anything' even though it couldn't be more obvious that I am neither watching nor listening to any of the dreadful rubbish.

How about getting involved with another band, or two, then the one causing the frustration is less important to your life, and when you do play with them, you'll probably be relieved that there are none of the frustrations you get with the other bands! If you find both, or all three, bands suffer the same problems then it might be time to look at what they have in common!

No, I've not come across that, but I'm listening to it now! We played a well-received 'Dark Star' at my first gig with the band at Hebden Bridge last Easter. It's an amazing track to play live, it takes you over completely and at the end of the track I found myself looking round and wondering where I'd been. Definitely a 'Long, Strange Trip!'

He does, there are so many variations to choose from it's hard to know which were intended to be the 'original'! 72-74, some great shows in that period. Cool avatar!

I play in a Grateful Dead tribute, and as the Dead played long gigs for 30 years and rarely played a song the same twice, we try to base our material on a blend of various interpretations the original band played. Makes for plenty of variety, and plenty of work learning it. No danger of getting bored with it, though!

I'll be driving 90 miles each way to rehearse on Sunday, west of Oxford to Leicester. There are others in the band who drive further than I do.

Music stand for a singer? Seems a fair swap, where do I send the singer to?

Yep, I've got a couple of the RM 800 heads and they're great. Never had them above 25% volume, though, even at some sizeable venues. I don't use the front end of the amp anymore, just a Sansamp into the FX return, great sound and loads of power!

Well, I took the strings off it this evening (been away or a few days, hence the delay) and shimmed the bridge with 30 thou of plastic (cut from an ex credit card) so the bridge insert is now upright instead of ;eating forwards at about 15 degrees. Instant success, good sound from all four strings!