skankdelvar

Now that many of the heroes of my youth (the 1970's) have got around to writing their autobiographies, it strikes me that 'Making It' is not all it's cracked up to be. Most of them seem to have spent a couple of years at the top and several decades getting over it, with all the encumbrances of tax demands, divorces and drug rehab. I'm sure it's not much different today for anyone starting out to 'Make It'. These days much of my admiration goes to people like Silddx, LowEndBee and others here who combine day jobs, a stable home life and a questing desire to produce engaging original music. The seemingly-apparent gap between them and name artists who dodged the superstar trap - Wayne Kramer, Steve Hackett, the late John Martyn - and continue to produce relevant work is much narrower than we might think.

Hi Bob 'Items Wanted' is buried deep in the 'for sale' forums. Go here [url="http://basschat.co.uk/forum/22-items-wanted/"]http://basschat.co.u...2-items-wanted/[/url] and just post a new topic. I see you've got a 'wanted' post in the DB / EUB section - tbh, that's probably just as effective, but belt and braces is always good. BTW, yer guitarist pulls off a mean Luther Perkins

Hi rockabillybob1 and welcome Nice full sound you've got there - bass and band alike. Fine pair of lungs on you too, mate. If you're looking to buy it's worth posting in the gear wanted section. Hope you enjoy the forum.

Leaving aside 'integrity' - which is a matter of subjectivity and therefore an unreliable universal indicator - might I suggest a practical alternative. Before unloading one's gear, one should establish the height of the stage. An inexpensive tape measure from a DIY store will suffice for this purpose. If the 'stage' is the same height as the surrounding area, it is likely that the audience is there for a quiet pint and will raise objections to excessive volume. Between zero altitude and about 90 cm, one can cautiously turn the wick up a little bit. Ah! I can feel that Rock and Roll coming on! Above 90cm, it is almost certain that one is in a 'music venue' and should feel free to exercise one's integrity by turning one's volume knob fully clockwise. Enjoy!

[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1317371982' post='1389914'] For me there is integrity involved. Yes, even in a covers band. Maybe thats where I differ from "most members here" and yourself. [/quote] It's good to know you're out there for the rest of us. Far too many arse-kissing amateurs (like me) cave in to these wine bar managers and their egregious bleatings of 'Please turn it down'. Before you know it, the rebellious flame of Rock and Roll[sup][size=1]Tm[/size][/sup] flickers and dies. And then we might just as well be jazzers.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1317235634' post='1388549'] As for Cortez the Killer, don't know it but is it by Neil Young?[/quote] Sure is. A splendidly doomy number. F#m / G#m / C#m would give you Heatwave in E

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1317232307' post='1388494']LOL. Thats just your opinion, which of course you are welcome to. Im happy doing what im doing. [/quote] Can I sit on the Basschat mediocrity bench with you? And there might be some others along in a bit. Could get crowded.

Alan Lancaster. A tiny little 'root-driver' with a Mustang hung off him.

[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1317222094' post='1388307'] There comes a point when your own integrity is more important than being told what and how to play by a wine bar manager. [/quote] Never a truer word spoken. Last encounter I had with a wine bar manager, he pushes a menu in front of me and says "I'd recommend the sea bass, Sir." Cheeky f***er. I told him alright, didn't I. "I'm the eater here, matey. I've been doing eating for years. I know what works and what doesn't. And if you're going to take it on yourself to make suggestions about what I eat, I'm out of here. There's just no point. And your decor sucks. You need a repaint" That told him. Plenty of other wine bars out there.

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1317218531' post='1388247'] what colour is this pub we're talking about anyway? [/quote] Black and White. Bob the landlord's a bit pissed off though. Painter told him it was "Midnight Sky" and "Creme De Lait". Same f***ing thing, innit, just twice the price

For some reason I recall a day in late '42. A young chap named Puddephat joined the squadron and introduced himself to Victor Beamish the station commander. As was his custom Victor politely offered him the same, sage advice he gave all the new fellows. Which was never - [i]never[/i] - follow the Hun down. Puddephat looked him squarely in the eye. "Well, Sir" he drawled "That's fine - [i]if [/i]you're one of the old men and pensioners round here." There was a dreadful silence and Victor - an RFC veteran - coloured to his ears. Puddephat was - of course - oblivious to his ghastly error. So oblivious, in fact, that he took off next day, went down after an FW190 near Abbeville and - sure enough - copped a packet from ground fire. Somehow he steered his kite back to Biggin and piled it up in the corner of the field. Victor was first on the scene and dragged Puddephat's poor broken body from the wreckage. "It's getting dark awfully early, Sir" whispered Puddephat, his face ashen with blood loss. "For my mother's sake, spare me a comforting word." "Certainly not" rasped Victor, his Irish brogue thickening with emotion. "You're a silly sod, it serves you right and now the Devil's sharpening his pitchfork for you." Puddephat gasped with shock, coughed horribly and then - as I watched - the shadow of mortality crept across his young face. War is hell.

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1317126442' post='1387016'] Is Gary going to be OK? [/quote] He can move the cursor with his eyes, so he should be fine.

[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1317124653' post='1386970'] Hmm, too simplistic again. [/quote] I think you're confusing 'simplistic' with 'simple'. As for the widely-held animus against pub managers who don't understand the 'Entertainment' industry, that's probably because they're in the 'Leisure' industry. It may seem like a fine distinction but there is a world of variance. In a pub, one is a side-issue. In a music venue one is the focus. Learning to differentiate will benefit one's sense of place and - consequently - one's short-term career trajectory. [quote name='peteb' timestamp='1317124522' post='1386966'] Surely the point is that the Cat and Bagpipes shouldn't be putting on rock bands in the first place! [/quote] A cursory examination of those foldy stand-up things that landlords leave outside their establishment reveals that - at some point - 93% of them extend an offer of 'Live Music'. Just like landlord Bob Roseyring, landlord of the Cat & Bagpipes. He's got a foldy sign with 'Live Music' on it. To which end and to comply with advertising standards, he sets out to hire a 'band'. Something to keep the punters vaguely amused... At the other end of the phone, local man Wal Giggley (43) is beside himself with excitement. His covers band (The W. Giggley Band) finally has a gig. As he replaces the receiver on its rest, his pitifully few synapses are flooded with dreams of local stardom. Time to get the Marshall out of the garage. Elsewhere in town, plumber Gary Plumbob plans a night out with the object of his manly affections, Miss Renee Hedgehogge. A few pints, the famous Cat & Bagpipes 'Oxtail Soup in a basket' and he'll pop the question. Live Music? All the better to smooth the path. A fatal concatenation of circumstances has been set in play, whereby Bob will use excessive force to restrain Gary who is inserting a table leg in Wal's rectum. In due course, Miss Hedgehogge will weep as Gary lies paraplegically immobile, Bob will languish at Her Majesty's Pleasure and Wal will walk funny for the rest of his life. Lives will be shattered and the course of history shall be altered. It was all due to assumptions. The landlord assumed the band would assess the audience and tailor its act accordingly. The punters wanted a quiet drink and assumed the band would respect that. And the band assumed that a quiet family pub was an appropriate venue to unleash the mighty force of Rock And Roll and - let's face it - they haven't got anywhere else to do it (U T M F O R&R, that is). O tempora, O mores. We can all learn from this, I think

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1317121591' post='1386909'] I know many quiet bands who can't play worth a sh*t..[/quote] I know many bands who can't play worth a sh*t. The louder they get, the sh*tt*r they're worth. But you are exactly right. There is nothing finer than a crushingly loud band in full flight and I'm sure your lot delivers the goods to universal satisfaction. The problem arises when some knob totters into the back room of the Cat and Bagpipes (Try our Sunday Lunch Special) with a JCM800 full-stack and proceeds to plaster bloody gobbets of innocent punter all over the rear wall. I have been that knob and I repent most wholeheartedly.

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1317118959' post='1386860'] That's the big difference with pub gigs, in my opinion. If I go to a club, or a dedicated gig venue, then I expect the music to be loud: that's part of the attraction. But pubs and bars play a different, more social role - at least for me - and it's important for people to be able to hear themselves speak over the music[/quote] Quite. If one cannot distinguish between stoked up music fans and a scattering of people enjoying a quiet pint, I'd suspect that the rock-star blinkers are strapped on a little too tightly. It is simply a matter of service delivery - one plays for the audience and for the person who's paying, not for oneself. Imagine you engaged a decorator to paint your walls magnolia and they turned up with a can of purple, whining that they know best and storming off in a huff when you ask them to stick to the brief. It's very reassuring that the majority here adopt the mature approach of meeting one's commitments in a seemly manner. I shall have a nice cup of tea to celebrate.

[quote name='Musky' timestamp='1316861171' post='1383740'] I notice he's selling them BIN for £2.99 + £2.99 p&p. [/quote] Funnily enough, I saw his sale first, made the connection with welders and went looking for cheaper. TBH, they're incredibly thin and need gentle handling. When using, it's easier to take them out of the snap-case and hold the file at both ends. Alternatively, superglue them along short lengths of wooden cooking skewer for a handle / support. For B, E and A strings, you'd definitely need to use a Foxen-esque rat-tail file, but these are good for the smaller strings that normal files won't do.

The paper envelopes that strings come in. Cut one up. Snip several lengths to size. Glue together to form a shim. Drop into the slot, wind the strings up and try it for size (stop sniggering Bankai ). Add or subtract bits of paper till you're happy. Works fine Nut files. £Scrillions from Stewmac or buy a set of welders nozzle cleaners for £1.85 as here: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Welding-and-Cutting-Torch-Tips-Nozzle-Cleaners-Set-/160642401568?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2567088520"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2567088520[/url] ...Then wrap a short length of the relevant-sized bass string in some wet and dry. Rub gently to get the file-scores out. Then some wide dental floss (waxed) to smooth it off and a squirt of PTFE. People charge you £'s for this sort of job and it's a piece of piss.

[quote name='muttley' post='1375587' date='Sep 16 2011, 02:42 PM']Any comparison with cars etc is invalid, IMO.[/quote] Damn. There I was composing a theory which invalidated the wine / quality proposition; the crux being that overall quality has never been higher, therefore the Vintage period is now. Which - for the purposes of this thread - is plain silly. And you've just convincingly knocked out the alternative approach. How about an era-based system, like comic books. With a nod towards perceptions of quality, but also reflecting product development, corporate shifts and other indefinable stuff: Pre 1950: Dark Age 1950-1960: Golden Age 1960-1970: Silver Age 1970-1990: Bronze Age 1990-Date: Modern Age

I liked that enough that I went and listened to some of your other tracks. Over the years I've heard a few new bands in their early days. On a very few occasions the hair's stood up on my neck and I've thought "[i]They[/i] will be f***ing legendary" - Pistols, Clash, Nirvana, Husker Du, Foos. Join the list, matey. Now grab some exposure with both hands and all your teeth.

As founder and leader of a clandestine worldwide paramilitary youth movement numbering literally in the hundreds of thousands, I'm the person best qualified here to establish the validity of the 'Young People Like / Don't like Motown' proposition. A recent study showed that 98% of my loyal membership 'liked' Motown, and 83% considered it a 'significant influence on contemporary music'. And a casual scan of our newsletter reveals that a members' Motown covers band was present at every field exercise in the training year 2010-2011. By contrast, less than 1% had been aware of At The Gates before they were asked the question and only 2 out of our study's 392,304 respondents were able to correctly identify At The Gates when played a compilation tape of melodic death metal bands. I think the facts speak for themselves.

[quote name='Buzzy' post='1370191' date='Sep 12 2011, 10:46 AM']Any Basschatters dealt with Vintage and Rare in the dreaded Denmark Street? I'm thinking of selling my 70s P and looking for an old Jazz Bass. Anyone have any thoughts on approaching them for a possible trade?[/quote] Dunno about trades, but I unloaded a Gibbo on them a few years back. Second best price on the street, (best was Angel music by about a tenner) but they had the cash in the till and he didn't. In and out in five mins, no tutting or teeth-sucking. Any time I've been in there, they've always been perfectly pleasant to me, unlike numerous other stores. The deciding factor for me would be the relative dearth of bass stock.

Bought some xlr cables from Dave. Great value. Dave stayed in touch at all times and sent the stuff fast and beautifully packed. A credit to our community.

Coily black cable of coiliness from about 1976. Unsupported black plastic 'screw-fit' jack covers at each end; 3/4 inch coil diameter; rare white > ground factory mod. I don't take it to gigs these days - too many numpties come up to me afterwards and ask if they can have a look at it. I always tell them "Only if you give me £500 deposit and let me shag your Missus."

Dunno about 'contributing'. Up to the individual. If they bung me cash or flog me something nice at a bargain rate I really don't give a fat rat's ass if they withhold their thinking on Renaissance lawnmowers. But IIRC there are one or two people for whom I have posted feedback who haven't reciprocated. No biggie, but it would be nice. (Sheds a manly tear).