FinnDave

We have played as a three piece once or twice, the main thing I noticed was how much less space we needed compared to our usual 5 piece. That makes a lot of difference in a small pub, more room for paying punters!

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1410218864' post='2547338'] We're often up in Reading so I'll keep an eye open to see if you are on when we are up that way. Cheers [/quote] Cheers, Phil, keep an eye on our facebook page for details of gigs. And if you bring along any Babe Ruth records or CDs, Jenny will be happy to sign them for you, she still loves to chat about the band.

Saturday night we played in Cropredy. Good crowd, first set promising, second set (with Jenny Haan singing) was best yet since she joined us, a real tour-de-force that helped sell a few CDs when we finally left the stage after two encores (and one after the first half). Followed of course by the long break down, packing up and drive home.

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1410071451' post='2545758'] Wow Jenny Haan, loved Babe Ruth, unusual sound at the time and she had such energy on stage. Still have Wells Fargo and The Mexican on the iPod [/quote] She'd be pleased to hear that! She is still full of energy and her voice is as good as ever. It sometimes seems unreal to be sharing a stage with her, but she gives it everything, even in rehearsal.

Usually asked to do 2x60 mins, tonight was supposed to be 2x45 mins but both sets ended up at round an hour each after encores. And we don't get £600 even with a fairly famous recording artist as our lead singer.

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1409845808' post='2543904'] Have a look at a set of ACS Pacato earplugs. Cheap, but comfortable enough to stay in your ear with the all important filter. Obviously, if you can go the full deal and get some moulded, that's where you want to be. But from my experience of the xmas trees, the full on moulds, doc's proplugs, the yellow foam things and the Pacatos... the Pacatos are where you want to be on a budget. [/quote] Our drummer uses these and thinks they're great. He lost one recently and asked me to get him a replacement set from ACS when i was passing. Look good value at £13.00 a set.

[quote name='slumjacket' timestamp='1409922026' post='2544616'] Sorry meant to say that psychedelic nu RnB sounds fantastic! [/quote] Thanks

I spent the last year or more playing in a blues rock band and used either my jazz with round wounds or my Precision with flats, until I had a eureka moment and restrung the p with rounds, now I have the perfect sound for the style our singer describes as 'psychedelic Nu R&B'.

Landord's birthday bash at a biker pub, we were asked to fill in as booked band feel ill (or some one in it did). Good fun, good audience, our singer was on top form. When she announced the last number I felt bitterly disappointed that we wouldn't playing again for a whole week.

I might be displaying the depth of my ignorance here, but I was under the impression that cellulose and nitro cellulose are alternative names for the same thing.

The Wirebirds with Jenny Haan will be getting this event started at 11.30 on Saturday morning. I am told that anyone who knows Swindon knows where 'The Big Screen' is, I just hope I can find it! [url="http://www.swindonweb.com/event/?m=40&c=13489&v=2447&t=Swindon+Involved"]More info [/url]

My memories of the Rhythm House are from the second half of the 70s, so I shouldn't be surprised to hear it's gone.

I went to college in Stockport many years ago. Is the Rhythm House still on Hillgate?

How hard does to have to be? Last time I was asked if another bands bass player could use my amp & cab the answer was simple. No. Job done.

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1408960836' post='2534858'] Only just tuned in. They are playing Apache now. Which reminds me...in an interview Hank Marvin said his fave guitar riff is Black Dog. Which only increased my admiration of him! :-) [/quote] I'm sure our Jenny would be delighted to hear that! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyPKee16zdY

I found my current band though 'join my band'. I ended up managing the band as well as playing bass (mixed blessing, but someone has to do it), and had to sack the person who originally advertised for a bass player, since when the band has gone from strength to strength. As said many times in this thread, if you want t to work, be prepared to to the spade work yourself, most people shy away from it.

[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1407402313' post='2520082'] GAK could have one for £6.00, I still wouldn't have it. It is hideous in places where most basses don't even have places. [/quote] Agree. I wouldn't have one if they were giving them away with a fiver stuck between the strings. Just wrong in every way.

I have a P and J, mostly play the P recently. (except in my avatar, obviously!)

I have my phone in flight mode during gigs as well as I use to keep track of time, a lot of places have strict deadlines and get into trouble if we play too long

I have a slight variation on this, last night I was about a foot away from our hard hitting drummer's kit and it was still drowned out by the harmonica player! A couple of months ago he bought a modded Fender Bassman combo (ex Yardbirds, supposedly) and can probably be heard at least two counties away.

The annual [url="http://www.follyfest.co.uk/"]Faringdon Follyfest[/url] takes place this weekend, in, of all places, Faringdon, between Oxford and Swindon. The Wirebirds ft Jenny Haan are on stage at seven on Friday evening.

I agree that there is a world of difference between performing at an event organized by a charity (as the wonderful post by Steve-bbb, above, illustrates so well) and the generic 'organize an event then claim it is for charity' type which in general is simply a rip off. In future we will be careful to only accept freebies for genuine charities.

Our guitarist swears by a liberal spray of WD40 before every gig. Not sure I'd try it myself, though.

I'm getting seriously pee'd off with charity gigs. In the last couple of hours I've had emails from a charity we agreed to play for in September asking us to be there for 4 hours and asking whether we needed electricity! Less than an hour later, sent the schedule for an even in Swindon telling us we have a half hour slot! Seems to me that anything labelled 'charity' is taking the piss and will be treated as such in the future. Last time we were promised 'publicity' for such a gig a couple of us went to a local radio station, gave an interview and a free CD only for them to drop the interview, play one with another band and use our CD as if it was the other lots! I reckon bands are worth what they are getting paid, so a free band is worth sweet FA to the organizers.

We've had a similar experience, Saturday late afternoon gig followed by filling in for a cancellation in a pub a few miles away. Second gig did seem very short, but was standard length. And oddly enough, the place we played the Saturday afternoon at last year wants us on a Sunday afternoon this year.