Old Man Riva

Thanks Si, really helpful and much appreciated..!

That’s great, will do!

Apologies if this has already been covered elsewhere (and I’m sure I’ve read comments in other threads but can’t find them - feel free to direct me!) but has anyone had experience of custom ordering a Lakland? I’ve got a wonderful US JO bass that I love and am having a think about ordering a Lakland of my choosing directly from them. In terms of custom ordering via their website they reference the USA Series and the Classic Series. If I’m reading it correctly they’re essentially the same basses but with the more expensive USA Series they offer more custom options (1.625 width neck, blocks and binding etc.)? I found it odd (though it may be that I’ve missed something) that the base models were so different in price, insomuch as that something as straightforward as a P Bass but with a Jazz neck ordered from the Classic Series range would give me the same bass as I’d get via the USA Series but at a much cheaper price? If anyone has had experience, how did you find it - ease of ordering, were you happy with the results, how long did it take, any things to look out for (customs etc.). Any feedback would be much appreciated!

Inspired by Lord Soup of County Gaye Advert and his Gary Numan post I’ve just had a (re)listen to this by Robert Palmer. It’s a cover of a Gary Numan track (Numan is on keys and his bassist, Paul Gardiner, also plays on the track). I’m a big fan of Robert Palmer and loved this album when it was released in 1980, especially as it contained this superb left-field cover...

I really like Rick Beato. Such a passion for music, which comes through on whatever topic he’s covering and episode he does. I just can’t get on with Andertons. I’ve tried but figure it’s probably not for me - I like the main fella (the Captain) but the zane level for some of the others is a little too high for me! Peach Guitars, on the other hand, are someone I really like watching - for me they strike a nice balance between seriousness and being fun and engaging. The lad (Jack) that does the guitar reviews is a terrific player...

One of my favourite TV shows ever! As a kid I was a sucker for the US cop shows - Columbo, Kojak, Rockford Files, Banacek, Cannon, Petrocelli etc. Some great music too - watched a Columbo the other week which had a terrific Oliver Nelson score!

That site is ridiculous! Between that and old episodes of Columbo that’s my Sunday sorted!

Used to try and jam along to this for hours as a kid. I got the cassette version of the album out of the main library in Coventry and just listened and listened on the mono player I had. The track was a bit of a revelation as it sounded so different, certainly to the more rockier stuff I’d listen to at the time. All these years later and it still sounds as fresh and exciting as it it did the first time I heard it...

Glad you liked it! They brought a touch of Technicolor to the drab monochrome of the early 80s Midlands - at least for me they did! Love that track! I can remember seeing them for the first time on The Tube... completely blown away. There were a few left field Brummie acts at the time - Steven Tin Tin Duffy, Fashion, Swans Way, Hollywood Beyond etc. Must have been something in the Grand Union Canal!

Another 80s club track... Saw them live a few times in Cov and Brum and they were excellent...

A couple of tracks I liked from the 80s... Both sounded great in a club!

Harpoon is now...

I’d get it done, though if you’re feeling unsure then a decent stop-gap could be a fret dress (might send that idea to J.P. Gaultier!). That can often put a bit of life back into worn frets...

I imagine that’s going to be a fairly common reaction!

Looks wise it might do the trick. Price wise maybe less so..! https://www.peachguitars.com/fender-custom-shop-mbvt-55-p-bass-heavy-relic-2-tone-sunburst.htm

Excellent! She’s still got it then..!

That’s a great story! What sort of stuff did they used to do? Vocally I always thought they were the perfect foil for Paul Young...

Definitely. I’m 58, and started going to see bands in the mid 70s. Myself and my mates were obsessed with music, and as we got a bit older in the late 70s/80s could see bands in Coventry at Coventry Theatre, Tiffanys/Locarno, Lanchester Polytechnic, Warwick University, The General Wolfe and more. Then we also had a short train journey to Brum to the Odeon, Town Hall, Hippodrome, Edwards, Barrel Organ etc. We were spoilt for choice as there was always something happening. I feel so lucky to have grown up when I did and been able to see some brilliant bands fairly easily. Some of those nights were the most positive, enjoyable and memorable of my life, such was/is the importance of music, and I was not alone in feeling that...

We had a similar venue in Coventry called The General Wolfe. It was a big old pub on the outskirts of the city and had a great venue room separate in the back of the pub. As well as the landlord giving local bands a chance to rehearse/gig there, they also had some excellent gigs on - including very early U2, Eurythmics, Thompson Twins, Hambi & the Dance, Steve Marriott's Packet of Three, and also a secret Robert Plant Honeydrippers gig. It's probably now luxury flats...

Apparently the story of the Fabulous Wealthy Tarts name was that they (along with Pino) were playing with Jools Holland (before Paul Young). Jools wanted to have a name for the band and especially the backing singers. They agreed as long as it didn’t make them “sound cheap”! Over to Jools...

I saw that band in 1983 at Warwick University. Pino was in full effect! I think it may have been his first solo tour so some of the venues were smaller like WU. He then went on The Tube and it all exploded from there (I think they were asked back onto the show the following week, such was the response to their performance). As I recall there were then a number of further shows booked in larger theatres so the tour was a bit of a mish-mash of club size venues and larger theatres. A really good band...

Mrs Riva feels suitable admonished. She now tells me that she’s listening to Peruvian techno-metal indie releases from 2021, but only those that quote Rimbaud (translated from French to German to Spanish to Quechua and/or Aymara), in an oblique way or not at all. Either that or X-Ray Spex...

Been listening to a lot of it (there’s a lot of music on there!) and some of the performances are superb. The whole band are right on it, but Mogg takes it to another level. Really makes me wonder just how big they could have been had Schenker stayed and they’d built on the foundations of SITN...

It is, isn’t it! He’s such a wonderful player. His version of Goodbye Pork Pie Hat is another one of his ‘moments’ for me...

Funnily enough one of the people I went to the gig was a guitarist who did the same! He was/is an accomplished player himself, though more rooted in blues/rock etc. He couldn’t get over how Geordie was getting the sound he did, especially with seemingly so little effort! I also think they are one of the most effortlessly cool bands I’ve seen - nothing contrived about them, and everything on their own terms (I’m sure they would have had their label challenges/input, but that’s how it seemed, at any road)...