ubit

I need to play. I love it, but my job means I can't arrange gigs as I'm not sure when I will be away. Because of this, I find I'm not playing the things as much as I would like to. When I'm gigging, I play them all the spare time I get. Im hopping for a change in working conditions soon and hope to get right back into it, as it's my life!

We have had the situation where playing pubs, you get folks leaving to go somewhere else or coming in from somewhere else. You don't want to waste your best numbers on a small crowd when you know it's gonna get busier later. I have even resorted to the old " we've had a request to do this one again" trick. It's a bummer if someone sits all night and moans that you are repeating. It can be annoying " wasting" a crowd pleaser on a small crowd.

I'm of the opinion that you have to start with a bang. Trouble is, in our chequered past, we have been booked for the wrong gig and we have ended up playing all our popular ( as we imagined for that particular audience) songs, then had nothing left to do other than heavier rock songs. Then again, one night a bunch of older ladies had a great night and even commented at the end " you thought we were a bunch of old fogies didn't you? " just shows, sometimes you have to just play what you play and own it!

We just seen The Mission in Glasgow. Awesome as ever! They were supported by Peter Murphy. Legend. But what a total cock he was! His sound was terrible, ok, not his fault, but his attitude stunk. He kept throwing mic stands around for his roadie to pick up. At one point he threw away his acoustic guitar and said " stop, stop, this f***in things out of tune, I can't play with this " he'd used it for two songs, so it was him that put it out of tune! His song choice was questionable, with every song being dreary atmospheric dirges. There was a super fan beside us and he was booing loudly at the end. We were very disappointed in his whole manner. I heard he had posted on his Facebook page , that he was doing a meet and greet if you paid two hundred quid cash! What a tosser! Luckily The Mission more than made up. Highlight was when some fans hoisted their wheelchair bound mate up high, so that he could share in the atmosphere. Class!

My mother sang in local shows , so there was always a show biz type vibe in our house, but that's nothing to my Mrs. Her whole family plays something and her two brothers are amazing guitarists!

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1475173054' post='3143791'] By listening to records & trying to copy what I heard. [/quote] This !

[quote name='Fisheth' timestamp='1474799713' post='3140548'] Sabaton in January, that's about it for me. Possibly Maiden in May and then SOS fest in Manchester with Power Quest headlining though. [/quote] Interesting I just heard their song " no bullets fly" after reading the book about Franz Stigler and Charlie Brown Great story and a great song !

I finished it and I can honestly say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Some of the situations were very close to home and the humour was infectious. Great book !

I use an Ampeg SVT2 Pro amp. With a Barefaced super twin. I also have a pedalboard with various pedals but only use the Boss compression, Boss phase and a Sans amp for distortion. I am deeply in love with this set up and can't see me changing anytime soon. The Barefaced speaker has so much bottom end, yet weighs so little!

I'm halfway through it now and am loving it. I can relate to many of the things George gets up to. I fancy Verity like hell too!

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1472286526' post='3120014'] The amps themselves are not the problem...just how they are used. [/quote] I concur!

AC/DC

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1472130495' post='3118746'] I think you are getting two threads mixed up? The problem is of the volume of the band is always too loud not the on going playing for nowt thread, if I played on a band that only played for free that was too loud I'd leave. [/quote] Nope, if you read the posts above

I love that fresh out the packet feel. The rounds grip your skin in a way that doesn't happen when they get worn in. I don't like strings that have been gigged two or three times. It's all down to taste and this is a never ending argument, but I love new strings! As for flats, I think you should just play them!

Our drummer , whilst not being on the bread line, has a pretty poorly paid job. He gigs as much as he can to help with cash. I can do without the playing money, but I enjoy playing and like getting extra beer money. I can't understand where the argument comes from

Ibanez necks are famous for being " fast" but this comes at the expense of string spacing. I have a K5, which is a pretty nice bass , but the strings are too close together for me. I struggle to get to grips with it. It's definitely built for small hands, not my sausage fingers.

Going to see The Mission in October. Supported by Peter Murphy. Really looking forward to that gig , two gothic legends! Going to see Diamond Head two days later. Another blast from the past. Gonna be a great week !

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1472046259' post='3117977'] at a local pub venue with in house PA, the sound guy just turns up the guitar in the guitarists monitor when he wants him to turn down, (after he's asked him nicely) says it works everytime [/quote] This shows that with a sound man, it's not really an issue. Most pub bands don't have the luxury of a dedicated sound man and rely on one of the band setting levels ( if you use a PA that is ) You also rely on someone in the audience letting you know " how it's sounding" I'm the singer as well as being the bass player and I am tied to the mic stand and struggle to get out front to hear how it's sounding, so have to rely on others This annoys me because I want to know we have a balance as I don't trust our guitarists opinion of a good sound. He once told me bass should be felt and not heard. There is nothing worse than hearing a decent band with a poorly balanced sound. It can make people think they are bad when they are not. A loud band can be off putting to the audience, but if the stage sound is too loud it puts off the members and as I said earlier, your ears will compensate by blocking certain frequencies. We played a small pub once and decided not to use our PA. just back line. What a difference. It was one of the best sounds we have ever had. We realised we needed to be quieter but it lasted one gig, then it was back to loud as hell.

We definitely play too loud. I know the sound is better when we turn it down. The PA should do the work and stage sound should be quiet. I've heard of pro bands where the stage volume is ridiculously quiet. I reckon it's our drummist that spoils the balance with the sheer volume of his kit. Maybe an electric kit is the answer. I know that constant loud volume is not good and your ears defence is to block certain frequencies. Trouble is, you think you can't hear yourself and turn up. A vicious circle with audience enjoyment being a. Casualty.

I don't really get it anymore. I know we can play. I know I can sing. I think I get more nervous that our guitarist will drop a few Les Dason notes in , rather than I muck up.

Break a leg mate

I remember we got called in to guest on local radio. We were interviewed and then had to play a live acoustic version of Angels ( it was a long time ago). I was shaking like a leaf even though I'd sang it loads of times in pubs. It's knowing that if you muck up, people ARE going to notice , unlike when you are playing In a pub!

I've just bought it. I'm looking forward to reading about the things that happened to me !

Twice. One of the times was during our first song at a gig. First song, first note. I managed to finish the song but didn't have a spare on me. We had to drive up to my house to get one. I always carry spares and a spare bass now!