TrevorR

Yeah, but do you remember Jas Mann turning up on all the chat shows when it came out on the Levi’s add declaring himself the new BOWIE and the saviour of rock and pop music... cringe! Made an awful song even worse...

For some reason there are a few musical things I always get mixed up in my mind and subconsciously just can’t stop getting confused... Katy Perry and Kate Nash... one of them kissed a girl (and liked it) but darned if I can remember which. Ellie Goulding and Laura Marling the same... which one is which? For ages I was convinced Goodbye Sam, Hello Samantha was by Paul McCartney and Wings... even though I know it’s Riff Pilchard. Maybe I was getting it confused with Open The Door (And Let Them In) - this one I've got sorted now... I hope... mostly... My Mrs can never remember Van Morisson’s name which led to the comment in the car when “Whenever Love Shines It’s Light” came on the radio of, “Oh, is this that song by Cliff Richard and Van... Van... Van Halen?” Any of the rest of you similarly confused like me? ”But you're not as confused as him. It's not your job to be as confused as Nigel is.” https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/5e9d5e4c-6d3a-4f50-9ec4-bd8637cd1176#HJhed8js1Tr.copy

The perfect Christmas song... now THAT’LL be Christmas... ...the sublime Thea Gilmore...!

This is probably my favourite one hit wonder... Good set of pipes that lad on the old joanna... wonder whatever happened to him... My other two faves are... ...of course, better known as “the music from the Holiday programme on telly. Gordon introduces it at shows by saying “And now I’m going to play a medley of my greatest hit.” And finally a little slice of NWOBHM... love this tune... it wasn’t exactly a hit but it was in the UK singles chart for 2 whole weeks. Fab bit of typically daft Rodney Matthews on the cover too...

My alternative Crimble choices include Aimee Mann’s One Mor Drifter In The Snow and Horslips Drive The Cold Winter Away...

Just announced today... a “Seconds Out” album tour next year... here’s the press release. 25th November 2019: Off the back of his most successful solo tour yet, selling over 30 thousand tickets for his 2019 UK dates, Steve Hackett has announced that his 2020/21 World Tour will feature the whole of the 1977 Genesis live album Seconds Out in full, plus More! Seconds Out was the hugely successful double album recorded on Genesis’ 1977 concert tour together with The Cinema Show, from their 1976 tour, and featured Steve Hackett on guitar alongside Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks and Phil Collins who had taken on the role of vocalist following the departure of Peter Gabriel. The tour included music from each of the six studio albums from Steve’s time in Genesis and marked his final recordings with the band as he left to pursue his solo career upon its completion. The Seconds Out + More! Tour will visit some of the venues Genesis played on that 1977 tour. There will also be additional material, including Steve’s solo concert favourite The Steppes to celebrate the 40th birthday of his fourth solo album Defector. Steve Hackett says: “I’m thrilled to bring Seconds Out back to life, featuring Genesis material at its most exciting and virtuosic, this time with all numbers played in full plus additional surprises!” Full UK tour dates are as follows: please note - highlighted shows are same venues as 1977 tour Sunday 1 November Brighton Dome Monday 2 November Cardiff St David's Hall Tuesday 3 November Stoke Victoria Hall Thursday 5 November London The Palladium Friday 6 November London The Palladium Sunday 8 November Edinburgh Playhouse Monday 9 November Dundee Caird Hall Tuesday 10 November Carlisle The Sands Centre Thursday12 November Newcastle O2 City Hall Friday 14 November Scunthorpe The Baths Hall Saturday 15 November Bradford St George's Concert Hall Monday 16 November Southampton Mayflower Theatre Tuesday 17 November Cambridge Corn Exchange Wednesday 18 November Oxford New Theatre Friday 20 November Guildford G Live Saturday 21 November Bexhill-on-Sea De La Warr Pavilion Monday 23 November Birmingham Symphony Hall Wednesday 25 November Manchester O2 Apollo Friday 27 November Leicester De Montfort Hall Saturday 28 November Basingstoke Anvil Monday 30 November Liverpool Philharmonic Tuesday 1 December Glasgow Royal Concert Hall Tickets for the Seconds Out + More Tour go on sale at 10am on Friday 29th November from https://myticket.co.uk/ and venue box offices.

I’m also “pre-CBS” so the idea of a YOB Jazz is right out the window too. Maybe a Futurama or no-name Jap/Italian monstrosity would make up for it... hmmm, no. Every time you looked at it you’d just think “You’re not an early 60s Jazz.”

Ah, cool. You were just model matching. Hadn’t twigged.

PS, those aren’t mounting holes on the D tuner. They are the rivet holes holding the tuner to the rotating plate... Hipshot often used the actual aftermarket tuners and incorporated those into their D-tuners. So if the OEM stops making the original tuner they can only use their own variations.

The D tuner on my Wal is a Grover rather than a Schaller MB4. The MB4 version was no longer available when I wanted to order so Hipshot and their customer service guys sourced me this direct, reassuring me it would slot right in and the aligning logs would match perfectly. It did and you’d never know the difference unless you’re looking for it... Wal with the “wrong” tuner Wal with correct but unbranded tuner... If you’re uncertain on which model to order, drop them an email. I found them really helpful.

Never said it wasn’t humongously cheesy. But it’s the blend with the visuals that kills it. Sadly I don’t think Disney have released any clips of that section yet, just audio (which is why I never bothered to post a clip). It’s one of those cases where, if it had been done by Not The Nine O’Clock News, SNL or Spitting Image as one of their song/genre parodies we’d all hail it as a genius mickey take. And yet they’ve stuck it in the middle of a mega grossing merchandising fest...

Oh yes, and it absolutely knows it!

If only they'd made Frozen II in 1984, he'd definitely be (soft) rocking the credits playout version!

Love my MarkBass rig. One helpful hint. When dialling in your tone start with the VLE and VPF filters OFF (fully counter clockwise). Then use the VLE gently to tame the tweeter if needed and the VPF if you want to dial in any smile curve (mine stays resolutely OFF, if I was a slapper I’d probably love it dialled up).

That would be my feeling... if it’s a pub gig where you’re playing to the pub’s punters and there’s also party/hen night etc that happens to be in that evening then you’ve just got a built in audience who are bevvied up and ready to hit the dance floor. Take that as a win! And point out to the landlord At the end of the evening what a successful, floor-filling band you are, and yes you would like to book 3 more gigs please... If you’re booked for a private function by those throwing the party then band rates rise accordingly. If you’re booked for a pub gig At pub gig rates and you arrive to discover it’s a private party... that’s more tricky.

In a Post Script... being a bit sad like that I looked up the credits for the Frozen II soundtrack. Turns out that bass is courtesy of Abe Laboriel Sr, percussion by Alex Acuna (ex of Weather Report) and the absolutely spot on 80s power ballad parody guitar lines were by Dean Parks. Which is appropriate since, between them, he and Steve Lukather probably provided the guitar on 90% of those big, cheesy 80s power ballads in the first place! No wonder it sounded so perfect (and so good).

Although, to be fair, if they were to sack the bass player too... just watch out Twittersphere!

Took the tiddler to see Frozen II this morning. It was, of course, a properly good Disney romp and perfectly targeted at its demographic. The big songs are equally bombastic as Let It Go and will be torturing parents for months to come. BUT by far the best thing was that the creators have sneaked the ultimate 1980s rock power ballad video right into the centre of the film. One of the characters, Christoph, sings an “I’ve lost my girl” tear jerker called “Lost In The Woods” which musically and visually pulls out every Total Eclipse Of The Heart, I Wanna Know What Love Is, Against All Odds cliche... from the framing of an opening shot in the forest which has a branch and pine cone in the foreground so it looks like the character is singing into an old valve condenser mic on a boom stand, to the walking in and out of rays of light.... from a close up with the character’s hair blowing just right in the breeze as he stares off into the distance to the silhouette of a lost love in the distance which turns out just to be a shadow... it was all there perfectly done. None of this would possibly resonate with an 8 year old but this middle aged bloke was grinning from ear to ear. And then when the Bo Rhap style choir of reindeer turned up in spotlights around Christoph’s head I nearly wet myself laughing! Well played Disney. I’ve already suggested to @cetera that he should include it in the set list for the Rock Anthems and Power Ballads show, “Leather & Lace”, with which he tours the country!

My Nots are more defined than my Hots... so... NOTS Oval Lakland bridges Oval Delano pickups Cream pickup covers (like 70s Di Marzios) Modern single cuts Comedy (unergonomic) bass and headstock shapes Warwick flat D shaped necks Maple fingerboards VV wiring, give me a toggle switch or a blend knob any day Lack of frets More than 4 strings...

So sorry to hear about your decision @Lozz196 but it sounds like, in your heart of hearts, it’s the right one for you at this moment in time. As others have said, I’m sure that you’ll find an outlet which gives you the buzz of playing to a room full of people who are loving it but which is sympathetic to whatever balance you need for your physical and mental health.

As with any instrument it's what you do with it. My chum Victoria (Berklee graduate in performance and composition no less) moved over from guitar and keys as her main instrument to uke about 10 or 12 years ago. Here she is doing an impromptu slot at a Never The Bride gig about 9 years ago with the band comping along to one of her tunes... We'd got chatting to Nikki at the interval and she insisted that Victoria do a number...

Old bass day? New old bass day? But either way I’ve now got an old friend back in my hands... back at the SE Bass Bash last month I was chatting to @cetera about my old Frankenjazz and he asked why I never brought it to the Bass Bashes? I explained that about 7 or 8 years ago I’d loaned it to a producer chum for a project and he loved it so much he kept asking to hold onto it for a bit longer. He really loved it and used it on a lot of projects. Months turned into years and I never had the heart to ask for it back. “But it’s YOUR bass, man!” Was Gary’s comment. Well from then on I kept hankering to get it back... more and more... so the other week I dropped him a line and on Monday we met up and swapped it back. I got the bass off eBay about 12 or more years ago from a web shop called Build-a-bass with the idea that it would be the basis for customising. It was back when you could get 2 dollars to the pound so it really was a steal! The story goes that Goerdt from Build-a-bass bought up a load of bankrupt/lawsuit stock from a small builder in Rhode Island (I think) who was building slightly too good Jazz bass copies back in the early 90s and has since been selling the fully loaded bodies and necks as parts. It all sounds a bit suss but, to be fair, the build quality is really good - including the quality of the ash body, the finish and the maple in the neck. Plus when I popped off the scratch plate the whole cavity was fully copper foil shielded and there was a “Sept 91” QA sticker... The neck isn’t as narrow as some Jazzes at the first fret with a bit more meat - which I really love. I like a “proper” Jazz neck, but I like this more! The plan was to change the tuners which were not the best quality, throw on a Badass II, swap the pickups and add a preamp. Of those I only put on some Hipshot tuners, added some Graphtech saddles and put in an Audere Jazz plate. The pickups sounded great and I never had the feeling I needed to change them. Keeping the BBOT bridge also retained the through body stringing. It’s great to have it back. It still feels and plays great and sounds fabulous to my ears. Can’t wait for an opportunity to properly put it through its paces...

Nah, turns out it was a misprint. Hope that @Billy Apple had a nice couple of weeks in Crewe!

Or have “Easy” by The Commodores as their first dance...

If it is a splinter (not 100% convinced but still...) then a baking soda poultice can work a treat for pulling it out... https://www.solvhealth.com/blog/5-creative-ways-to-remove-a-splinter