ubit

I’m with Cato! Buy stinky poo!

Mrs Ubits brother is left handed but plays guitar right handed. Not only plays, but plays incredibly well!

I used to hate when my mate, the guitarist, would glare at me or mouth “ that’s wrong” it used to annoy me because no one would have noticed until he did that. Plus, he was terrible for hitting bum notes himself or playing a Les Dawson solo!

As I’m also the lead singer, if I lose the place , generally the song falls to bits. When we were a duo, using a programmed drum machine, we had to stop. Usually would hit them with something we knew well , then after a confab. Maybe during the break, we would attempt it again later. When we went back to a live band with a drummist, generally you could save the song as long as you could give signs to each other. I used to say, if I sing a chorus by mistake, just follow me because it’s easier to follow me doing singing and bass, rather than me trying to change mid lyric. Another option would be to stop the song and blame tuning issues. 🙄

Indeed!

We always had a few drinks. A couple before, then during the break. We didn’t do any serious drinking until we were finished. Playing and drinking with me is fine. Playing and getting out of my face isn’t.

I Mate, I appreciate what you are saying and I certainly do not want to be cheeky or insulting, but if you are a therapist and your advice is just be as good as you are, I reckon I could do this job! 😂

I think also , when I play a strange instrument, I take a while to get used to the string spacing and action. More so with acoustic guitars. I find them to be vastly different to each other. I’m so used to my Taylor, that it takes me ages to get proficient on other acoustics. It’s a strange affliction because I have 15 basses of different shapes and sizes at home and I play them all at some point when mucking around.

I’m afraid a tipple or two isn’t an option when working offshore and usually when I visit a music shop. Funnily enough, the one place it is available is also the place that I don’t need it. The pub. 🤔

I’m just surprised that f a nny is censored as it’s not really much of a swear, especially in the US

I’ve been playing for longer than I like to admit. I am no virtuoso but I think I am a decent player. I know my way round the fingerboard and when in a band situation can play AND sing to a reasonably high level. I still seem to fall to pieces when I’m flying solo with potential critics listening. This is a mental thing and certainly not down to the fact I’m not good enough

I work offshore and on the current installation I was walking past the Rec room the other day when I heard someone noodling on a bass. I investigated and found one of the supervisors playing a cheap Yamaha bass through a Fender Rumble. He explained that the welfare dept. Had paid for some cheap gear to muck about on. He said he was actually a guitarist but was trying out the bass as it had just arrived. I said I play the bass and he said, great, we can have a jam some evening. I went along a few nights later when I spotted him in there. He offered me the bass and plugged me into the amp. Everything left me! I was all fingers and thumbs. Everything I tried ended up being a mess. I couldn’t understand it. I’d played all of this stuff until I knew it back to front. I can only think that playing an instrument that I’m not used to and also being aware that people are going to be judging you must affect my nerves. Im fine playing rehearsed songs in a bar with the band. For some reason music shops and any other situations where you feel pressurised into delivering a solo performance and I just turn into a vacuum. Things I could play at home with flair, turn into a mess of fluffed notes and forgotten passages. It annoys me so much because you can feel them thinking, he talked a good gig but really he’s crap.

I have an SVT 2 Pro, but I use it with a Barefaced Super Twin. Sounds lovely and at least the cab is light and easy to handle.

Hang in there mate. As I said, I have been down this road with the dark passenger. Things can and do get better, but sometimes you have to make that happen yourself. It takes a strong mindset but give yourself goals and try to meet them. If all else fails , remember there are doctors trained in this area who can help. Above all, don’t give up!

I always liked a drink before playing as I found that my voice relaxed better after a couple of beers. As long as I didn’t get totally smashed, I’d be fine, as was the rest of the band. Everything in moderation.

Mum always knows best

Is that what he’s doing since Sugar and Hüsker Du? Fancy that

Not doubting his ability at all but to be fair, nowadays it’s so much easier to practice when you are young. All the online help you can get that we never had. Before anyone says you can still do it, bedroom practice when you are 14-16 is the best practice you will ever get. You just have so much more time.

My go to basses are my P and my J but I still like to have others to play about with at home. GAS will never leave me, because even with lots of guitars, pedals and amps are always calling me.

Reminds me of when Celtic signed a player from Brazil called Rafael Scheidt. The commentators bottled it and called him Rafael. It still gave opposition fans loads of fun!

Or R sole

You have to be quite savvy with the sweary filters sometimes. meow meow riot 😂

I had only ever been in bands with my mate , who is the guitarist. Now he is my mate but he also drives me up the wall. After our full band had all gone their seperate ways, we decided to go it alone as a duo. This worked for years until he developed carpal tunnel syndrome and couldn’t play. He is so tight that he wouldn’t pay for private, so waited on the nhs appointment. This, he was told would take a year. What are you going to do? Everyone asked. Oh, no one will want to play with you he said. I was mad. I was the bass player and the singer. People knew me. I decided I was going to find another band. By chance a guitar player got in touch and we secretly rehearsed with his drummer mate, who turned out to be superb. When we did our first gig, my mate was raging that I hadn’t told him but I just remembered all the laughing and ridicule that he gave me. That band turned out to be great fun. My mate is passive aggressive and a bit of a control freak. This new band felt free and we had a great laugh and produced some good sounds. My mate used to tune up after every song. This new boy would tune up at the start of each set and it was bang into the next song. I loved it, but then the guitarist started being late for gigs and coming drunk. I got cheesed off with this eventually and realised that order is more my bag. My mate finally got his operation and we carried on. Eventually we recruited the drummer and a new band started. After a few years, I’ve realised that my mate will never change and is always going to be a control freak. Now I’m at a stage where I can’t play because of my job, but I’m determined, if and when I get back, I’m not going back with my mate. He just infuriates me.

Not quite so cool though is it? A kid called Slash in my school would have got the pish ripped right out of him! 😂

Speak for yourself. Here in Scotland they would be called fudd. As in you are a right craddock! It funny, some cool American nicknames are our slang. Slash? I wonder if he knows that that means a pee in Scotland ?