blue

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1471516601' post='3113546'] I did all my gigging with only one bass & never had any problems, as did pretty much all of other players I knew. [/quote] I guess it depends on the gig. I've seen guys that have had amps and basses fail at gigs. Unless you live a minute away from the gig it can be a. disaster. You were hired to perform a service and now you don't have the tools to do your job. It's never happened to me in 50 years, but I still have an spare bass and amp in my car. Blue

[quote name='luckydog' timestamp='1471162495' post='3110832'] Do what you love, and do it now ! LD [/quote] Life is to short and exactly whyI went to playing for a living instead of working for the man. No regrets. Blue

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1471432909' post='3112997'] Cobalt flats! How did you like them? I'm still enjoying what they do in my ATK300. I'm not much of a flat string person, but I like that MM-type bridge pickup fingerstyle 'burp' I get with them, fat and smooth. [/quote] Another blue burst and cool looking bass guitar. Blue

[quote name='Raymondo' timestamp='1471433671' post='3113010'] You could always move to the UK and do 2 x45 mins Seriously mate , sorry to hear of your pain ...I am taking it easy all week to have enough energy to do my gig on Saturday. The very best of luck with your ten year plan [/quote] Thanks, I'm resting up for a grueling 4 hour bar gig Friday night at Kim's Lake Side. Ridiculously small place, but everyone plays there and the owners understand the bar band business. The crowd is cool and we always seem to do well there. It's a lake bar and the clientele has big money. Not unusual to see folks dropping 20s in the tip jar. I know you guys question tipping, but it's a big part of our service culture in the States. Blue

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1470135362' post='3103449'] Just found something a member of the audience took of us at Faringdon Follyfest last Saturday. Not the greatest bit of video, but looks like we were having fun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH8WLD89bEw [/quote] Good bar band stuff Dave. I like the stuff the Wire Birds do, always have. Blue

[quote name='Wonky2' timestamp='1470603374' post='3107082'] Ok, blue, you might have issues as technically you'd be unemployed , but the late nights and 4 hour sets 3 nights running.... You may find an easier way to make a few quid. No, that's not a pleasant thought, but you may find before long it's a choice which is made for you by your failing body bits as It was for me . Enough with the gloom ! Turn it up load and get your bass face on ! [/quote] Raymond, I was sick as hell today, if it was Friday night I don't know how I could gig. I started gigging in grade school 1966, I know it won't last forever. I want 10 more years. 10 more years is doable but not doing 4 hour Colony bar gigs. I have to find 80 minute headliner work. Blue

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1471345864' post='3112283'] Are you talking about a Stingray too? I'm not a big fan of their battery compartment. [/quote] Then you'd love the battery housing on the Fender Jaguar Bass. It's not so bad, if you give it a few hard wacks the noise will stop. Plus side, mine was MIJ with a cool thin jazz bass type neck. I sold mine. Blue

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1471247315' post='3111426'] Like the day I was struggling with my bass when we came back for the second set... and I was just about to bypass my pedalboard entirely when I noticed I just wasn't plugged in yet [/quote] Me too, like the time I wasn't getting any sound and like you, I was ready to go straight bass to amp. Until I realized my Korg Pitch Black tuner was engaged. Blue

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1471247315' post='3111426'] G30? But that has a status LED indicator, doesn't it? [/quote] Yes, it does. However,it was the actual looking at the status indicator part that got away from me. Blue

Perform without a bass player or record without a bass player. The Rascals aka The Young Rascals, live Felix Cavalier covered bass with the bass pedals on the Hammond B3. I believe they used electric bass guitar on their records and I think they used Chuck Rainey. Blue

Happened to me with my G&L ASAT bass at a gig. Had to stop playing. Me and our sound tech opened the casing for the 9 volt battery for the pre-amp and replaced it. Too bad we didn't check the batteries in my Line 6 G30 wireless relay transmitter first as that was the culprit. My advice, don't be a cheapster. Don't by batteries at The Dollar Store.😁 Blue

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1471219650' post='3111381'] Fixed. ... [/quote] Agreed Blue

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1471197666' post='3111188'] That's right, I'd forgotten about "Fuse". They went through quite a few names before they settled on "Cheap Trick" apparently. I think there was a CD of old "Fuse" songs released a few years ago. [/quote] Just wanted to say Rick Nielson's son has been doing a great job on drums since Bun retired. Blue I got to hang out with Rick at a Jeff Beck Show in Milwaukee and years ago at a bar that Rick Deringer was playing. The good old days.😁

[quote name='4stringslow' timestamp='1471214798' post='3111364'] No, it just fits your preconceptions. The fact is my music hobby (or whatever you want to call it) costs me money, but I can afford it so that's what I mean about not caring about the money or more accurately I care enough about my money to spend it on things I enjoy (as far as possible). One of those things is music. Is this really so hard to understand? [/quote] In any context when someone says money doesn't matter, yes it's very hard to understand. Keep in mind, I'm a Yankee. We're a society that's really weird when it comes to money. Blue

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1471193151' post='3111142'] I have a day* job, so I don't actually need the money. However, I really do care about it. * not sure how traditional it is [/quote] That's honesty as opposed to snooty. Blue

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1471187447' post='3111089'] Was that when they were still called "Sick Man of Europe"? Love Cheap Trick, one of my all-time favourite bands. Definitely one of the most consistently good live bands I've ever seen. [/quote] One of my favorites as well, Saw them last month at Summerfest. I live pretty close to Rockford Illinois, where the band is from. They still live there. That name sounds familiar, in High School they were called "Fuse". There are still stories floating around from when they would rehearse in Rick Nielson's parents garage. Blue

[quote name='Trueno' timestamp='1471172916' post='3110948'] Excellent. With a ten minute set up/tear down time I might be persuaded to start gigging again myself. [/quote] For me, setting up and tearing down is all apart of the fun of gigging. We play together and we work together to set up and tear down. Blue

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1471129860' post='3110771'] Ah! It's all beginning to make sense now. The term 'Bar Band' might describe a band playing in a bar but - unlike 'pub band' - also extends to a specific genre. Would I be right in thinking that 'Bar Band' material would be a sort of mix of blues and rock, some covers, some originals? [/quote] I think those might be some elements of the "bar band" Defining "bar band" is still open. Our "Cheap Trick" still refer to themselves as a "bar band". I actually remember seeing them when they we're still playing bars in the late 60s. Blue

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1471177742' post='3111005'] But.... it is true, if you don't 'need' to take gigs because you have alternative means, you don't care about the money so much..you'd probably pick a good gig and dump the 'other' gigs. After playing for more than a while, you might get fed up with gigs that just aren't worth the hassle...from your perspective/thinking. [/quote] That's fine, however it's the snooty attitude that some have. The "I have a traditional job,so I don't care about the money" is what I take issue with. Blue

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1471101399' post='3110555'] This would be a "the old" that exists purely in your imagination then, because never in all my years here have I seen anyone even [i]suggest[/i] that playing as a hobbyist/semipro/part-timer makes them better than a pro. [/quote] No it doesn't, so I agree with your point. My point, was referencing the guys that will go on about their traditional job and because of it they don't care about money they make from playing. That's a little "snooty", in my book. Blue

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1471095972' post='3110509'] I like the monitoring system. In certain parts of London that might be known as "showing a bit of wedge". Was that a festival gig? Doesn't look like any pub gig that I've been to. [/quote] We're a bar band, but the term is misleading. It doesn't mean you play bars exclusively. We play a lot of fairs and festivals in the summer. Bar Band has more to do with the genre of music you play. The Stones are a good example if a bar band. Blue

[quote name='4stringslow' timestamp='1471081744' post='3110382'] Call it what you like, that's your prerogative, even if you're mistaken. I'm pleased you're happy playing music as a job - it's always a big plus to love the job you have to do to pay the bills, which is what I meant by 'obligation'. I'm fortunate that I no longer have that obligation because I'm retired and no longer obliged to work at anything to pay my bills. That's why I say I play and gig purely for the love of doing so, because what other reason do I have? [/quote] Understood, i get a little testy of any hint of the notion that if your playing for money, you can't love what your doing. Toodle Pip Blue

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1471069828' post='3110287'] Pro=professional. Professional being the currently accepted term for someone who earns most of their income from what they do. In ye olden times, use of the word "professional" would be reserved for Doctors, Lawyers and those who put many years of formal study towards their life career. From what you say Blue, you are a professional musician in that music is now your full time job. PS, can you post landscape photos of your gigs next time please? We'd see more of what it's like for you there than we do in portrait mode. [/quote] July 2016 Blue

[quote name='4stringslow' timestamp='1471042398' post='3110252'] Surely 'professional' means earning a living solely from playing music? Not sure about 'semi pro' - someone who earns some money from playing music? Though I'd suggest it would have to be a significant proportion of overall income rather than just 'beer money'. I'm in neither camp so I guess that makes me a hobbyist, but I'm fortunate to be able to play and gig purely out of love of doing so, which means I'm not obliged to gig or play anything I don't want to in order to pay the bills. [/quote] I'm calling "malarkey" on this one. I disagree. This sounds like the old, "I have a traditional job, I play what I like when I want" so I'm a little better than those that play for a living. Sound more like a wannabe IMO. I love every gig I play. However I don't play for love, I play for money. I also play music that I love. I don't find myself playing music I don't like. Personally, I love the fact that I'm obligated to play in order to pay my bills.And what a cool way to pay bills, playing electric bass guitar and singing in a rock band. What you call an obligation for some of thef us is "Living The Dream". I would hope there are others that share my perspective. Blue

[quote name='interpol52' timestamp='1471036617' post='3110211'] Just ignore him Blue. He flounced off a while ago, maybe he'll do it again. [/quote] Cool, Thanks *Interpol Blue *I went to see Interpol at The Rave when they were in Milwaukee.