blue

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1504599350' post='3365878'] I'm pretty sure that's three questions, Blue. Maybe four if you look at it just right. [/quote] Agreed Blue

[quote name='thepurpleblob' timestamp='1504599552' post='3365882'] Yeh - but I've only ever played in bands where we cover our expenses. I certainly have no problem with people looking for an income from singing. My point was really that I put in Gumtree, "it's not about the money" and still got a load of "how much will I get paid" responses. They're just going to be trouble [/quote] If your telling people up front that your offer does not involve financial compensation then yeah it's weird for someone to ask how much they're going to get paid. Blue

[quote name='NickD' timestamp='1504556015' post='3365703'] Girth! [/quote] That's kind of , no it's exactly what I thought.😁 Blue

[quote name='Japhet' timestamp='1504437370' post='3364800'] Huge fan of Robin, and have been for decades. He's an absolute tone monster and his playing and phrasing is (to my mind) utterly unique and superb. Seen him a few times in recent years and seeing this little old grey haired guy come on stage, plug in and then melt your face is a wonderful experience. He gives me the encouragement I need to believe that you're never too old. Love the bloke. [/quote] Agreed, Every note he plays makes sense and means something. Blue

[quote name='LZD56' timestamp='1504390866' post='3364622'] Saw them in the early 70s at Birmingham Town Hall - Trower, Dewar & Bill Lordan on drums. Terrific band. Think For Earth Below album had just come out. Jimmy Dewar had a superb rock voice. Sadly missed. [/quote] Loved Bill Lordan when he was with Sly & The Family Stone. He's my Minisota neighbor. Blue

[quote name='Left Foot' timestamp='1504509844' post='3365263'] Worst thing I've ever seen was a mates gig. Piss head staggered onstage, fell over a stand and lobbed his pint everywhere, fried pedals, ripped drum skins, broke a speaker. Stopped the show. I can't say I've ever felt too comfortable knowing that could happen anyway. There's always the threat of someone else leaving with your gear after packing anyway. I don't have back up rigs so id just get insurance if your gear is top range. [/quote] When we're tearing down at 1:00am we work as a team and have several eyes on each other's gear at all times. Blue

$5.66 a gallon might put some bands out of business over here in the States. So how do women in the UK judge men? Something tells me I'm going to be sorry I posted that question.😁 Blue

[quote name='NickD' timestamp='1504554924' post='3365685'] RE Dating... Imagine being able to both get home and not having to keep your hands on the wheel! [/quote] Funny, however no self respecting Yankee Woman would date a guy with no wheels.😁 Blue

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1504553716' post='3365673'] Blue, there's big difference between people who live in London and have good public transport and few places to park, and the rest of country. Outside of the big cities, you really need a car. [/quote] That's sort of what I thought Dave. And outside of NYC, I'm thinking your public transport is better than what we have in most US cities. Blue

[quote name='thepurpleblob' timestamp='1504521184' post='3365357'] This is going to sound a bit sexist... I don't really mean it that way but it was odd the way it turned out. Placed ad in Gumtree something like, "Band, we play just for fun not for money, seeks new vocalist. Male or Female but must be able to sing xyz styles. Guitar or keys a bonus". We get paid but nobody makes a living out of it. Fair few replies but every single woman who replied started with, "how much will I be getting paid?". What's that all about.... ?? So we got a bloke who split the band up inside 6 months [/quote] When I win an audition and I'm offered a job before I accept the offer I ask several questions. Those questions will be, how does the money work, how and when do I get paid and how much can I expect to make each month? Blue

[quote name='Monkey Steve' timestamp='1504194460' post='3363322'] I feel your pain. Mostly (as above) from singers, who audition for originals bands saying that they haven't had time to learn any of the songs we sent them a couple of weeks earlier and do we know *some random cover*? Er, no, we don't play covers, let's try one of the ones you're supposed to have been learning (very poor audition follows, always) Or they'll say that they have learned the songs and then demonstrate that they very clearly haven't, singing in the wrong places with no idea of the song's structure or vocal melody. Had one once who did listen to the demo and decided that he would re-write all of the lyrics and vocal melodies - he thought to show off his skills, but as he conceded when i told him that he hadn't got the job, perhaps it was a mistake to not be singing the lines that we would be judging him on, and treating it like a song writing session, to see what worked and what didn't. Although... the best singer I've ever had at an audition was for a covers band. He walks in, says that he's learned a couple from the list we sent him but doesn't know them that well, can he start with Whole Lotta Rosie (one of the first songs we agreed we wouldn't do because it's too hackneyed) just to get warmed up? We all look at each other, everybody except me knows it backwards and I figure that I can busk it well enough, so OK, let's give that a quick run through. He knocks it out of the park. Turns out he was also in an AC/DC tribute band, and now sings the AC/DC parts in Chris Slade's band. He goes outside for a fag and we all look at each other, grin, and agree to ask him to join. I asked him about it afterwards. Told me he knew it was his best audition piece and would get him hired, whereas doing the stuff we'd suggested would be less polished. [/quote] Very interesting story and a great lesson about auditions. At the end if the day you do whatever it takes to get the job. That means regardless of their audition guidelines, the guy that wins is the guy that impressed everyone and knocks whatever he presents out of the park. However, I think the dynamics of a vocal audition is a little different than bass guitar. For bass the guy that chooses the easier songs and nails them is going to look better than the guy who chooses to audition the more difficult material and struggles through the audition. Blue

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1504553417' post='3365669'] The certainly is more of a car culture in the US but don't be misled - for 90% of musos over here a car is pretty much a necessity...! [/quote] Good to know, so most of these "no car needed" posts are probably from young guys that live in the city. They're the 10%. Blue

In the US you can purchase a dependable used car for around 10k and insurance with a clean driving record would be about $50.00 a month. Question, is the notion of being able to hop into your own car at anytime and going anywhere you want not apoealing in the UK? How do guys take women out on dates without a car. Is this another cultural thing. You guys are aware in the States women judge men by the cars they drive. Blue

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1504517693' post='3365318'] IME it depends on the type of band and whether you need a car for other aspects of your life. Covers bands from my personal experience of being in a couple and from what I've read hear do tend to be very insular. Every member is responsible for his or her own gear and each turns up to gigs in their own vehicle. For originals bands it's entirely different. For a start few have to worry about lugging PA and lights about (I've done only a couple of originals gigs in the past 10 years where the band has had to organise their own PA and lights because the venue didn't have any). Secondly any serious originals band playing outside of their home town will have a band van along with a driver/roadie/merch seller so individual transport isn't a requirement, and local gigs can almost always be accessed by public transport or taxi. Also IME originals bands tend to be a lot more accommodating if non-driver members can bring something else important to the band such as free rehearsal space, storage for band gear, free design and printing of posters and flyers etc. And it very much depends on whether or not you need a vehicle for the non-band aspects of your life. I've managed being in gigging bands for almost 40 years now and I still don't own a car. If I did it would only be used for band activities, so my income form the band would have to completely cover the purchase and running costs in order for me to justify it. I've never needed on for my work - before going self-employed and working from home I never lived more than 30 minutes walk from my place of work, the exercise certainly did me good, and on the few occasions when one of my colleagues gave me lift him, rush-hour traffic meant if I saved at least 10 minutes on my journey we were doing very well! The last time I looked into buying a suitable vehicle for gigging, I found I could get a year's worth of taxis to rehearsals and local gigs before I had covered the cost of buying and insuring said vehicle let alone the other running costs. [/quote] I'm starting to think we have more of a car culture here in the States. The only people I know that don't own cars live in NYC. Without a car I wouldn't be able to buy groceries or even get to a doctor appointment. Again age is a factor and location. From the responses it seems like public transport is easier in the UK only if you reside in one of the larger metro areas. Blue

I have no problem taking a high-end amp to a rough venue, but not any of my expensive vintage basses. Blue

Over here in the rural Midwest no car means you can't gig. As a matter of fact many of the "bass player" wanted ads specify " must have reliable transportation" Blue

So public transport doesn't work for everyone. Just like anything else there are variables that come into play. Definitely not for the 4 hour, 3 gig weekend. Thanks for the education on public transport guys. Blue

Educate me. In the States if you don't have your own car you can't gig. There is no public transport to most venues and if there was they wouldn't be running at 2:00am. I've seen a few posts where guys talk about using public transportation to get to gigs. How do you get an amp on public transport, does the bus leave from your home then stop right in front of the venue, do they run into the early am? How does this work? Sincerely Blue

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1504337627' post='3364145'] some of the trouble may be people trying to improve their playing by performing with better musicians than they are, frustrating if you're one of the better musos, or trying to find out how good they are, as well as the totally delusional ones. [/quote] Very good and legit point. Playing with musicians out of your league of playing is great if someone gives a guy a chance. It definitely forces you to get better. Blue

How much are you willing to travel. There are bands around here that will drive 2 hours one way for a $100.00 a man gig. Hardly worth it for most of us. Blue

"Too Rolling Stoned" is one our big numbers. Blue

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1504204037' post='3363421'] my comment wasn't aimed at your post, just a general comment about auditioning new band members, if they can't be bothered to learn a couple of songs for an audition it doesn't bode well for the future I would have thought [/quote] So very true. I can't imagine these types are speedy with learning new material. Blue

[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1504254463' post='3363632'] Well it certainly made me laugh this morning. Thanks for posting Now where's my book of notes and dot thingy's Don't think i could play 4 nights in a row either to be fair altho never tried. 2 nights is most i've done and found the playing easy enough but the lack of sleep was a killer between the gigs. Didn't help that we stayed up till 4am drinking Irish whisky tho. Dave [/quote] US 4 hour bar gigs, after tear down with a 30 minute commute I'm lucky to get home by 3:00. Blue

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1504188512' post='3363269'] We actual gigged with him for about 6 months, but we had to drop quite a few songs with guitar solos in them, as he was embarrassing. We did learn a few new songs so he could sing them, but his guitar style was just not up to scratch. dry distortion on everything, with a bit more distortion on the louder songs.[/quote] Guys, This is a little off topic. However regarding a musicians sound or effects one uses; I think this should be covered at any traditional audition for a "for profit" band. I use my bass octave pedal quite a bit especially in trio configurations. I feel it beefs up the sound. I also use chorus and a little distortion or overdrive for sustain. I will request we run through a few bars of a song to acclimate the band to my sound and volume level. Another thing I want to make sure all member can hear me and get some sort of understanding of my style and approach to playing bass. This way if my sound or style is a problem and doesn't fit I can make revisions or quick adjustment to meet or give them what they're looking for. Can you imagine losing an opportunity because after the fact they said " we couldn't hear you" Even good bands can be amaturish when it comes to the audition process. Make sense? Blue

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1504302675' post='3364069'] I've always had a case for each of my basses but recently questioned this. I generally keep more than one bass out on stands/multi stand so have empty cases which live at the bottom of my bed which Shalla will inevitably kick over in the middle of the night giving me a fright. My question - does every bass need it's own case or can they share? [/quote] I have 2 MIJ Fender P Basses that share a case. It's not ideal wish I had two. Blue