skankdelvar

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1487942902' post='3244394'] For you Sir Skank, the headstock. [url="https://flic.kr/p/SpVrnV"][/url] [/quote] Thank you Sir. [i]That's[/i] the logo what we like.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1487957313' post='3244617'] I thought R&B had always been used to refer to present-day black American pop music, partly to do with the Billboard charts needing a name for it? I may be way off the mark with that. [/quote] You're quite correct. In the late 1940's Billboard changed the name of its 'Race Records' chart to 'Rhythm and Blues'. What's interesting about the above advertisement is the excruciatingly euphemistic tone of the copy: [i]'Records listed are race records that sold best in stores according to Billboard's special weekly survey among a selected group of retail stores, the majority of whose customers purchase race records'.[/i] Of course, Rhythm and Blues are - like Country and Western - two discrete musical genres, which means there's absolutely no impediment to starting a Rhythm & Western band.

I am currently engaged in a project designed to clarify the distinction between Rhythm & Blues in its classic sense (music made by and for young black Americans 1948 - date) and the British variant as exemplified at its zenith by bands such as the early Stones and the Feelgoods. While still a work in progress I now unveil such early fruits of my cogitations as I hope may eventually remove all confusion: * R&B = Louis Jordan > Beyonce * RnB = Early Stones, Feelgoods The distinction clearly hinges on the use of an ampersand which is fine in the written form but when spoken risks being elided into a confusing 'N' sound. I would therefore propose that the classic American form be indicated in conversation by pronouncing it as three clearly separated syllables, ie [u]R[/u] [u]And[/u] [u]B[/u]. The momentary adoption of a slightly posh, clipped tone as exemplified by Mr Paul 'Nearer My God Than Thee' Jones of the BBC's R2 Blues Show may assist. All helpful suggestions welcomed. [color=#faebd7].[/color]

That's just about [i]exactly [/i]the Tele Custom I'd like. Natural finish, Strat-type pot knobs and (probably) the straight italic 'custom' logo. A Mick Green job, in other words. [color=#faebd7].[/color]

[size=3][b]Philosophy night at the BC Arms[/b]: So, speaking hypothetically, will ya just f**k off and die?[/size]

I imagine many young people might be deterred by the frequent references to 1960's TV shows and discontinued lines of confectionery, not to mention the steady drip of RIP threads.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1487431165' post='3239767'] Full points for the use of 'PC brigade' there. [/quote] How many points do I get for 'hand-wringing, do-gooder SJW liberals'? Quite a lot, I would have thought.

At times like this I rather wonder how many of us have [i]ever[/i] raised our hand in a work meeting and presented a plan whereby the management might address inequality and challenge social norms. Hardly anyone, I suspect. In the same way there are vanishingly few debates on BC about re-balancing its overwhelmingly old, white, male profile. Why? Despite all the froth and fury no one here really gives a toss about encouraging 'diversity' because * Changing things entails we get off our arses and actually do something and that would get in the way of chundering on about our little hobby bands and string gauges and stuff and * Lots of people here would hate it - not least, I suspect, many of those so fervently and visibly in favour of 'change' - were BC's comfortable 'Old Bobs Club' atmosphere to be dispelled by an influx of teens and women.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1487348766' post='3239216'] Possibly coloured by spending too much time working at the BBC. [/quote] BBC? Not me, Chief. Commercial sector. Finn Dave's the ex-BBC chap. In any event, I'm a great supporter of women in the workplace: they most of them work harder than men and they'll do the same job for less pay. It's a win-win situation.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1487341626' post='3239143'] The real question is why has only one woman applied? And that is more likely down to inbuilt sexism and what we see as norms in society.[/quote] The 'reason' only one woman applied (in this hypothetical situation) is because it was constructed as a hypothesis. So the reason there is only one woman is obviously [i]not[/i] 'down to inbuilt sexism and what we see as norms in society' but because the situation was described that way*. I would suggest that your frankly disconcerting inability to spot the difference between a hypothetical and a real world situation is because you were pleasurably distracted by the opportunity to trot out the 'approved' answer, i.e. 'Inbuilt sexism and societal norms must be challenged'. An un-focussed platitude of this nature would be understandable if coming from a crafty young lad intent upon ingratiating himself into a feminazi's pants but quite unfathomable when the proponent and his audience alike are (with a few exceptions) flabby old men. [quote name='TimR' timestamp='1487341626' post='3239143']The only way to change it is to challenge it and ask people to question why they think that way. [/quote] More to the point, Tim, there are about 29,997 men and three women on BassChat. What are [i]you[/i] doing to encourage more female members? Because, trust me, ponderously man-splaining about 'sexism' isn't going to have the chickies storming the turnstiles crying 'Whoa, that TimR, I wants me a piece of [i]his [/i]ass'. * [size=2]Addendum: It now seems there may have been [u]two[/u] hypothetical women although I must admit the possibility that one or both of them may have been a hypothetical man [i]identifying[/i] as a hypothetical woman. Anyway, let us not be judgemental. Time's a-wasting and there are norms to be challenged in the top meadow.[/size] [color=#faebd7][size=2].[/size][/color]

Oh, and the reason 50% of cover band musicians aren't women is they're most of them not interested in doing it. What are you going to do? Put a gun to their heads and say: 'You can be the singer. Wear something nice, not too tight.'

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1487279546' post='3238665'] If 3% of the population are black then that 3% should be represented in every activity. [/quote] What if a minority doesn't want to be represented? You can't [i]make[/i] people do ballet if they'd rather be doing something else. Or what if there is a [i]higher[/i] than 'average' representation of any particular minority group within any particular activity, say, for example, Welsh people performing at Eisteddfods? Should there be fewer Welsh performers there? And - if so - who's going to decide which Welsh people will have to pack up and go home? And who's going to tell them? And will they tell them in Welsh? Because if they tell them to go home in English someone will kick up a stink and shout something like 'That's "[i]Mynd adref chi bobl mewn rhesi 1 drwy 21[/i]" you English c**t!' even if the person doing the asking is themselves Welsh but can't speak Welsh, which is another oppressed sub-group actually but let's not get into that otherwise we'll have Plaid Cymru druids out the ying-yang for days on end, banging on about the threat to indigenous culture and Tom Jones. So basically f**king pointless, really. [color=#ffffe0].[/color]

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1487283252' post='3238710'] I was a big fan of The Truth in the early 80's. They rose from the ashes of Nine Below Zero after their split. They never really made it that big, although they did get on Top Of The Pops with this. Any one recall it? [/quote] I never heard the song but I remember seeing The Truth's Dennis Greaves sashaying round the corridors at Alaska Rehearsals wearing a voluminous pair of yellow and white striped parachute trousers, presumably as part of his 'image change' from the besuited NBZ look. Me and our drummer The Toad looked at Dennis and burst into peals of laughter. Dennis scampered off into the office to hide. Great times. Oh, yes, bands adore no one heard of: [media]http://youtu.be/RDGindE4_6o[/media]

[size=5][b]Shergold Atrocity - We Name The Guilty Men[/b][/size] [size=4]J'Accuse:[/size] Messrs Barnes & Mullins (Musical Instrument Distributors) who [url="http://www.bandm.co.uk/news/shergold-guitars-are-re-born.html"]bought the Shergold name in 2015[/url] and who commissioned this pig's ear. Mr Patrick Eggle - the designer of the 'guitar' (also designer of Faith Acoustic Guitars, another B&M own brand) Mr Brian Cleary (B&M joint CEO) green-lit this appalling act of [i]lèse majesté[/i] and signed off on an un-loadable web site full of hipsters with pigs. [center][size=5]~[/size][/center] And for those who cannot be bothered to wait for the Shergold site to load, here are some images in all their sordid ghastliness. [b][size=3]Eggle-ish headstock, Fret-King style pickguard, Seymour pups, Tele Bridge (WTF?), Gibbo-ish reflector knobs[/size][/b] [size=3][b]Ugh.[/b][/size] [b][size=3]Marginally better HB and P90 combo, still a bit crap.[/size][/b] [color=#ffffe0][b][size=3].[/size][/b][/color]

[quote name='Bassman Sam' timestamp='1487280041' post='3238670'] I'd be up for some of that. [/quote] We'll need a van. And some pitchforks. I'll supply the death stars.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1487278541' post='3238656'] Skank, you'd be even more livid if you'd managed to load the website! It's quite beyond parody; pictures of fashionably bearded gents in pastel suits and loafers with no socks, pigs on leads and little moustache icons all over the place. I'm not even making that up! [/quote] Thank you for your animadversion, my old friend. You may have saved me from an apoplectic coronary thrombosis. That's not to say I am against hirsute, pig-fancying hipsters. We are all God's children, after all, and I suspect that the chaps in question are no more than window dressing designed to bamboozle Our Nation's smiling, innocent children into parting with those meagre savings they have accrued from newspaper rounds, lawn-mowing, etc. No, I am in no doubt that the progenitor of this egregious foulness is either (i) a criminal mastermind, possibly Dr Fu Manchu of evil memory if the country of manufacture is as I suspect to be or (ii) a pudgy middle-aged failure named Bob (from Tunbridge Wells) afflicted with the baseless and laughable delusion that he is some sort of latter-day Ted McCarty or Ray Dietrich. The only reasonable response to this sort of outrage is an angry mob equipped with blazing pitchforks and poison-dipped death-stars. [color=#faebd7].[/color]

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1487238255' post='3238217'] This bridge was enough to put me off them. It may be pretty and retro looking but who wants to play with a guitar where you can't get your intonation straight? [/quote] Having lost patience waiting for the site to load may I offer thanks to Mr Ghost Bass for publishing the above image. Sweet Jesus? A (slightly chopped) Telecaster bridge plate, saddles and pick up on a 'Shergold'? Are these people utter f**king morons or what? I mean, the purists will be puking into their hankies while youngsters will be saying 'Seen that before, chum'. Oh, and logo'd up Seymour Duncans. Sh*t my pants, that's [i]original. [/i] Basically it's a frigging parts-bin special and that's just looking at about 7% of it's total surface area. One wonders who is the designer behind this aesthetic sewage? A certain guitar 'improver', perhaps? I'm so angry I feel like that bloke who was watching the Sex Pistols on Bill Grundy and got up and kicked in his own TV screen. That angry. Twats.

Head-stock tuners are for hobbyists. Real pros use a head-stock GPS compass so they can precisely align their strings in parallel with the Earth's magnetic poles for optimum 'growl' and 'punch'.

[quote name='fleabag' timestamp='1487011090' post='3236259'] There's one thing here thats ad nauseaum and its not Tina Weymouth [/quote] How strange that you should mention Nausea. For there is a strikingly prophetic passage in Sartre's 1938 existentialist novel La Nausée which bears upon this very topic. Antoine is sitting in the park contemplating things (as is his wont): [quote] [i]J'étais là, immobile et glacé, immergé dans une extase horrible. Mais au milieu de cette extase, quelque chose de nouveau venait de paraître; J'ai compris la nausée, je l'ai possédé.[/i] [i]Une pensée me vint: à l'esprit, je vis une petite femme blonde et mince aux petits seins. Elle jouait de la guitare basse avec fervence et aplomb. Comment décrire sa technique? Compétent? Non. Captivant? Non.[/i] [i]Un mot anglais: great. Oui, c'était exact. Je ne la connaissais pas, mais j'ai décidé de l'appeler <<Tina>>. Elle était l'essence même de l'existence. La nausée etait temporairement dissipée.[/i] [/quote]

[quote name='Phil Adams' timestamp='1486567328' post='3232853'] Float On by them Floaters [/quote] Good call.

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1486400613' post='3231475'] But this is basschat not drumgrunt [/quote] Quite so. Drumgrunt - me likey!

[quote name='Monkey Steve' timestamp='1486398183' post='3231446'] I've not been pushing for this...well, I have been one of a chorus of people telling the band that their bass player isn't up to it (and in fact not telling the band, answering their questions when they've asked what I think), but it's been "sack him" not "hire me". In fact I was genuinely surprised when he asked me [/quote] Don't sweat this one, chap. If they're sufficiently jaded as to be soliciting opinions from a number of people then the sh*t's going to hit the fan sooner or later, and whether you were involved or not. His fate was sealed long ago. Sod's law says the band will either (i) throw a 360 and keep him on (ii) hire someone else or (iii) split up because the 'key member' is heartbroken about his bosom pal being deep-sixed. Whatever moral qualms may be expressed on these occasions, one notes that whenever a 'dodgy drummer' thread appears here it is generally the consensus that the offending sticksman immediately be taken outside and shot in the back of the head, the better that the band move forward with all promptitude.

Seems the band have not yet reached a consensus about what to do in the short term. It may be the case that the 'key member' may insist the current bass player stays until the new material is launched. Or he may not. Either way, that's for them to sort out and the OP bears no responsibility for whatever decision they make. If they sack the current bass player there's an opening. If they approach the OP to dep it's his choice whether to accept or not. That said, the OP may wish to suggest to his friend that the band audition a couple of other deps anyway. That way, if he's gets the job it's on merit. Of course, the band may reject that suggestion and take him on anyway, in which case he has discharged any such 'moral' responsibility with which he may have burdened himself.

My condolences on your loss.

The Brits tends to be about new music that's either entirely unlistenable or hopelessly derivative. With some coffin-dodgers thrown in to make the crowd go 'Croikey, I thought he was dead'. If one likes that sort of thing it's the sort of thing one will like. The RnR HoF is [i]precisely[/i] about honouring established acts, many of them older than the wallpaper in one's granny's living room. To this end, one would view the inclusion of bands like: [quote] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Journey, ELO, Yes, Pearl Jam, Tupac and Joan Baez ... Cheap Trick, Joan Jett, Ringo, Steve Miller, KISS[/font][/color] [/quote] as inherently germane to the nature of the event [color=#ffffe0].[/color]