Burns-bass

Congrats to your son! I remember doing some gigs with James Morrison a few years back (15 I think). He'd signed some sort of super-development deal and they sent him out on the road for a couple of years to support awful bands like mine. He's obviously made it, but the work he must have put in, I reckon he's earned it. Wish your son all the best of luck in what will be an incredible adventure, whatever happens!

It was a great course and some great musicians went there. Now in Bristol you've got BIMM which churns out some stupendously talented signers, songwriters and musicians. Go to an open mic and the standard is fantastic (sometimes). The sad thing is that there's just not the demand for all these great players and producers. I gave up playing when I realised that so survive I'd probably have to earn money playing bossa tunes on a cruise ship. There's nothing wrong with doing that, but when you're 25 and wanted the rock and roll lifestyle, it hardly appeals. The funny thing now is that I spend most of my time playing jazz standards, so the world has gone full circle I guess. I remember transcribing 'Maybe it'll rub off' by Tower of Power once and getting some of the kids there to groove to it and play fragments of it was great. In the end, the most popular lessons were always the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and I can't stand them so the game was up. I did meet an ex-student of mine who has done really well for himself, which was brilliant. Can't say any of that was my doing, he was super talented!

No, I was teaching the course in Bristol. It was a well written syllabus and pretty solid in terms of theory. I have to say I’ve forgotten a lot of it as I stopped playing between about 27 - 35 after being in a hugely unsuccessful band that got signed (in Germany) and went nowhere.

I worked as a music teacher at Access to Music and privately while following the dream. I never really wanted to do the session thing (not dedicated enough, lazy etc.) I used the time to develop my writing skills which is what I do for a living now. Can’t say that’s the dream either (not mine anyway) but it’s interesting and no two days are the same I suppose. I sometimes quite fancy a 3 year jazz degree but I haven’t got the cash to invest in it, or myself at the moment.

Jazz

I know, I run a business (it’s less than that, it’s 16% give or take), but that’s much less than VAT at 20% of the total.

You don’t charge VAT on second hand items as the tax has already been paid. Same deal with cars as instruments...

If that were James Jamersons Bass there would be a lot of people banging on about how “the gunk makes the funk”.

Paint inside the screw holes too.

If it appears too good to be true, it often is. I thought refin too when I first saw it.

Years and years of wear and tear! The woods changed colour, that’s all.

How do you manage it? If I’m working on a tricky head for example I’ll break it down into 2 bar phrases. They’re not really that complex (just quick). I imagine internalising an entire score must be a huge challenge! Guess that’s why theatre guys are so respected.

True! The best person for the job is Vince DiCola.

As any Rocky fan knows it’s simpler and quicker to do it in a montage.

Funnily enough I’ve just had someone tell me they now don’t want to buy an item after sending me a message this morning telling me they did. Guess that’s the way of the world nowadays. (if anyone wants a brand new PJB Bighead I’m selling one - apologies for the blatant plug...)

The Adams’s family Musical has a complex bass score.

I’ve had a lot of success offloading my gear mountain (well, scraps compared to you guys!). I’ve started prices that I thought were fair and in many cases lowered them. I’ve had a success selling on eBay but refusing to send. I’m like you Stu, once a deal has been done I’ll go through with it. I think people are used to distance buying regulations and the simplicity of returning items if they don’t like them. Personally, almost all the basses I’ve sold in the last 5 years have been in person which makes for a longer, but more satisfying transaction. Last bass I sold was a beat up old DB. Met a wonderful Basschatter and was fully prepared to load the old girl in the car if he wasn’t happy ( he was!). I even have him some duvets and ratchet straps to secure the bass which he insisted on paying for, but didn’t need to. I would say that at times I’ve not responded to PMs immediately. The reason is that I don’t always get notifications on my phone and hate typing on the tiny keyboard. Plus with a family and a business other things have a tendency to pop up! Hopefully things get better. If you’ve got a couple of Barefaced Cans for sale and are near Bristol I’d happily meet you 🙂