Monkey Steve

give it time...

if it didn't work for you that's fine, but a few comments: There is definitely cross promotion - having backed a few PM campaigns I get regular e-mails telling me about projects from bands I've never heard of but who are in similar genre's to the stuff I've backed previously. the nature of the site is that it's customers are music fans, so it's a good community to spam about bands you may not have heard of. There is no way I'd have heard of, much less bought an album by a female alt-metal band from Brazil if PM hadn't told me about them. Agreed, £5k isn't a massive budget for recording an album and pressing 500 copies of it, if you're an established band with that level of income. But the unknown is whether you will recoup that money by selling all of them. And the big "what if?" is what if PM could have generated, say, 1000 album sales? It would remove the uncertainty of how many to press because they would all be sold in advance As for the 10% vs 15% margin on sales, that's fine for independent bands who aren't hawking their stuff through shops, but that doesn't cover an awful lot of bands who use PM. From my own order history I've bought stuff by Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Killing Joke, Saxon, Gary Numan, Skindred, Therapy? and even Status Quo, stuff that I would normally to go to Amazon or a record shop for, and which turns up on Amazon and in shops once the campaign is over. It's another tool to maximise income, just like TM stores and Burning Shed. Like I say, may not work for you, but yours isn't the only band out there and it clearly works for a lot of them...right up to the point when PM stops paying them the money

In the terms that Copeland is explaining it, I'm definitely a musician of the ear - can't read music to begin with (or not well...actually i could at school because they made us do it, but I didn't play an instrument and dropped music it at 13) so for me it's all about listening and feel, learning the song and rehearsing it until I can play it. However, on your last point, I do have something of a visual memory. Whenever I'm listening to a recording of either something I've played on or to a song that I need to learn, I can picture the frets that I am/should be playing, and I can "hear" when I am picturing myself playing the wrong note (and need to work out what I should be playing)

do you need to book a ticket for a specific bus, or can you get a ticket and use it on whichever bus you need to on the night? The Palladium website is brilliantly vague about stage times and there's no mention of any curfew for the venue, just keep an eye on the event pages, but they may not know until the night. helpful. haven't been to any gigs there, but even if I had, times in London can vary hugely at the same venue sorry, that's no help at all

out of interest (as him being a great bloke was a big issue in the original thread) how did things go on a personal/friendship level after the sacking?

ideal opportunity then

the only way to fix it is to tell him. You can do it nicely, you can be blunt and rude, but it's not going to magically fix itself. And as mentioned earlier in this thread, bad players often don't realise it, Dunning-Kruger and all that. And even good players who are doing the wrong thing won't realise that it's wrong unless they're told I mentioned it on another thread recently, but I found that the better the musicians I've played with, the more straightforwardly these sorts of issues have been dealt with - something's wrong, here's what it is, now let's fix it. the only question is how you introduce the topic of conversation after not having said anything until now. perhaps the recordings are your way in - "I've been listening to them and I'm not sure that this is working, how about you try..." Keep it polite and friendly, that it's a chance to improve things in a positive way, and make it clear that you think they can do it. And follow up on it - take the time to work on the bits you think need improving, praise them when it's getting better, but tell them when it's not. If they can't improve then at least they've been told and they'll know that they are failing.

I've backed a few things on the site (see my other thread on this issue from a few days ago) and I think the reasons for using at are varied. For some bands it a platform that gets them wider exposure than doing it all themselves would provide - I've certainly backed bands that I wouldn't have heard of if it wasn't for PM. And as an extension to that, it's also a very handy website for taking and processing orders. And it also works with targets, so you know how much money you're going to get (current issues aside) and how much you need to spend to get everything done - if you don't hit your targets because nobody's going to buy your new album, you haven't wasted a few grand recording it and pressing hundreds of copies For others I suspect it's a good way to pre-sell their stuff without having to pay distributors and record shops - PM charge 15% whereas between them the shops and distributors can take north of 50%...obviously this only works if PM actually pay up the band's 85%...

Don’t get me wrong - I have a room full of cds and another room full of blu rays. There’s nothing wrong with either specifically collecting things (whatever they might be) or just being interested in something and buying a lot of them. I guess my argument is that there comes a point where collecting crosses the line into addiction, and that point is where it means that you have significant financial problems that would be solved if you stopped “collecting” but you can’t bring yourself to do it. Perhaps there’s no difference, other than your level of income and the point it becomes a financial problem.

Yes, it's not formally recognised as an addiction on the scale of other indulgences (other than the odd horror story of credit card debt) but I have a very close relative who's life is a complete mess because he cannot stop buying blu rays. I know, sounds daft, but he genuinely has an addiction - his main interest in life is films, which he takes very seriously (says the man typing into a bass players forum and who has just bought the Super Deluxe version of The Song Remains The Same, an awful album that I am unlikely to listen to more than a couple of times, but it's the last one to get the Super Deluxe treatment...I can understand that aspect of it all) but that has grown into a steelbook collection (his main problem, because these come in limited quantities so he has to pre-order them in advance to make sure that he gets his copy and he can't stand the thought of not getting them), multiple copies of different editions of the same film (because the Canadian version has a different making of documentary to the UK one, and and the Korean one has some really good artwork) and if there isn't a special edition to buy he'll just get some more films to watch. Literally every spare penny he has goes to Amazon or Zavvi or HMV. Because he can't stop spending money on it, he lives a much reduced life - a tiny studio flat in a rough bit of town (stuffed to the gills with blu rays), no social life to speak of, he lives off of the cheapest food that's on offer in his local supermarket, no savings or finances to fall back on when something adverse happens (other than the bank of ma and pa), and living hand to month by paying most of his salary to cover his groaning credit card bill and then surviving on what is left after the monthly interest has been taken and his pre-ordered blu rays have been paid for. While he's not a high flyer by any means he could live quite comfortably on what he earns if he took better control of his finances. This isn't a hard luck story of somebody scraping to get by on the minimum wage and tax credits, but he certainly lives like it is. Every time he has an opportunity to improve his lot in life, he chooses the wrong option - for instance, he finished paying off a bank loan, and made a great noise about now being able to start actually paying down his credit card...what actually happened was that he found that he could use the extra money to buy some of the stuff that he wanted to get but couldn't previously afford. This happens every time. His life would improve immeasurably if he just stopped buying blu rays for the next six months. But like all addicts in denial he doesn't think he has a problem - he knows what he needs to do, and tells himself that in due course he'll start doing it and everything will be fine. He's like the fat man staring at the cakes in Tescos, he knows he shouldn't buy it, and he knows that he's going to start his diet and start doing some more exercise, so he can just have this one cake and it doesn't matter, he'll be slim again before too long. the only time he ever cuts back is where there is an external reason for his finances to change - a rent increase or an office move that increases his travel costs - and he then bemoans how he's had to cancel a lot of pre-orders and how unfair it all is, having sifted through his lists to see what he can absolutely live without. Sorry, didn't mean to bring the thread down. I'm not against people collecting steelbooks of buying films or basses or anything else that they don't absolutely need...but sometimes it is genuinely a problem

Glad it turned up, if severely delayed. Have to say, while I don't think that DPD are any better than the rest in terms of looking after packages, etc, their comms and app usually make it much easier to plan your life rather that leaving you sat at home all day with no idea of when to expect them...obvs not great when they leave you hanging. Immediate derail, but on Monday I ordered a couple of items from Amazon and seeing that they could deliver that evening, I clicked on that. I didn't have any plans for that night so it wasn't an evening wasted when it didn't arrive (not that I let Amazon know that) but there was no contact from them to explain or apologise. On clicking on tracking the following day there was a somewhat confusing message that it was due to be delivered on the 28th, and the page would be updated when the order was dispatched. So off goes a stroppy e-mail which got the response that yes, their system messed up, but they couldn't fix it and I needed to cancel the order and place another one for the same items. Hmmm. Though they did give me a tenner credit so not all bad

yeah, exactly this, it depends on the context. If the crowd are there to hear a band they I reckon most would notice that the world class musicians are that bit better than the usual fare, but if they're not especially bother by the bands playing, or if the band is playing music that doesn't interest them then they simply won;t notice or care

While I haven't seen such a stupid price on strings before, I have seen a lot of Marketplace sellers who list things for waaaay too much - CDs or books, whatever, that others are selling for a few quid listed for a couple of hundred Here's a listing for the new Song Remains the Same deluxe box set that Amazon have in stock for £180, with one asking £300 and on £500 (plus p&p, obvs) https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B07DTMPNTP/ref=olp_page_3?ie=UTF8&f_all=true&f_new=true&qid=1548853362&sr=8-9&startIndex=20 And from a thread that is dear to our heart, somebody's seen a gap in the market for anybody who doesn't want to wait for Amazon to re-stock: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/0062747835/ref=tmm_hrd_new_olp_sr?ie=UTF8&condition=new&qid=1548854176&sr=8-1 There are three popular theories: It's a place holder - they don't actually have it in stock but when they do they'll re-price it, and the current price is just to stop people buying it in the meantime. I have no idea why this is better than creating a new listing when it comes in, but... They are just seeing if anybody bites, because at some point their's may be the only listing left and if somebody really wants it and does all of their shopping on Amazon, the buyer might not realise that they're being ripped off (though I can't see this for the bass strings). Anecdotally I've heard of some sellers who shift a lot of stuff like this Money laundering. the listing isn't aimed at anybody who actually wants bass strings, it's aimed at one particular buyer who is also the seller (or knows the seller very well indeed) and just needs to show that his money has come from an legitimate Amazon transaction

A few thoughts from me (having only rarely had to look for drummers) The main one is who would you choose to hang out with as a mate? Pick them. And if they aren't likely to become a close mate, at least choose someone who you think you can put up with in the long run. Not that you can always tell, but #3 would worry me - if he's nervous at the audition playing in front of some strangers, how is he going to cope playing gigs? Given the choice I wouldn't be taking the chance that he might have some issues. But beyond that, do they bring anything extra to the band that you maybe weren't looking for originally but it works really well? And equally do they bring something that you really weren't looking for and don't like? My example here is a drummer that a band of mine found who had a background playing jazz, which was not at all what the band was doing. But rather than the meat and potatoes 4/4 we were expecting he came in and added a bit of swing and changed tempos where we weren't expecting it, and in a way that really added to the songs. Made him stand out as being somebody who would bring far more to the band that we had been after. However, if we'd have simply wanted the straight 4/4 then he'd have been completely wrong, even though he could play that quite easily (and he got bored and left when the band's founding attitude of "everybody brings their own ideas to the band" changed to "everybody brings their own ideas and then we do what the guitarist wants or else he'll throw his toys out of the pram")

I read Bill Wymans big book of memorabilia (can't remember exactly what it was called) and as I recall he said that in the early days there was an agreement that anything that the band wrote together/jammed was credited to a pseudonym (again, can't remember the name they picked, but if you look at the earlier albums it'll be credited on there) which was an equal split between the band members. However, when Jagger/Richards took off, suddenly that name wasn't used any more and they got all the writing credits. I seem to remember Ronnie Wood saying, or at least implying, that the song writing credit was made very clear to him on joining, and he got paid far more by being in the Stones and not getting the writers royalties than kicking off about it to get the royalties and not being in the Stones any more

yes, I saw an interview with AS where he complains that while he was happy with the settlement he gets for the Police catalogue, it grinds when his riff is the one part of the song that is taken and Sting gets the writing credit and the bulk of the royalties for a massive selling single. As I recall, Nirvana had a similar agreement to recognise the contribution to the songs even if they didn't fall under the definition of lyrics and melody that gets you the writing credit. The one that appals me was the Rolling Stones, where Ronnie Wood was told that he didn't write any of the songs that he wrote, they were the Rolling Stones and Jagger/Richards wrote everything

After years of only playing 5's in bands and leaving my 4 string looking very lonely and unloved on the guitar rack, I recently did a couple of gigs where I had to bring the 4 out of retirement. Most of the set was de-tuned (on the guitars) to C - so actually tuned up a semi tone on the standard 5 sting, with a couple of songs in standard (E) tuning. Had they given in to my suggestion of "well, it's already in C, why not B?" then it would have been fine, but rather than having to re-tune the bass for two songs, and then back again, I brought my 4 string along. It was a little odd for a while, but I think mostly because the basses (Warwick Streamer and Rickenbacker 4001) are so different to play in terms of right hand positioning and feel of the neck, and perhaps also because I'd been playing the songs on the re-tuned 5 string for a while, and through the mistake of me thinking that I didn't need to ordering the strings on the 4 as I had an old set that I could use which were slightly lighter than those on the 5. But it wasn't a huge stretch, more that it felt a bit odd for longer than I was expecting. I suspect it's was probably more of an off day for the OP

no picking on you Chris (some well made points) but the thread seems to have been completely derailed from "has punk had a lasting influence?" (yes in my opinion) to "do you think punk is better than other types of music?" Much less bothered about the second

there seem to be quite a few bands now withdrawing their projects from Pledge Music, or asking fans to stop backing them through PM and instead shifting their stuff to their own websites Need to keep my fingers crossed that they don't go belly up before the last of the projects I've backed (and have paid for) actually get released... I noticed that they were no longer accepting PayPal...the same also applies for HMV. Clearly PayPal ain't stupid and can sense when a company is circling the drain...

I've a fairly frequent backer of projects on Pledge Music, but it's not been without some hiccups. The last Gary Numan album project took my money about two years before the album appeared (although, in fairness GN himself kept everybody regularly updated on what was happening) and the Symphonic Killing Joke is already 30 months past the original fulfilment date (to say nothing of the half abandoned KJ 40th anniversary project...it seems that KJ have some form for this sort of thing). A couple of recent projects have left me a little frustrated. One was simply pre-ordering a Saxon album, the last in the latest re-issues. That one was cancelled, but I was able to buy it from another source, so it seems odd that they took my money and the items were still pressed, just not issued through PM. Then a Status Quo re-issue of some early 70's albums, due before Christmas, but showing no sign of being sent out, and this time no contact through PM to explain it. So I chased it up, and got a very bland "yes, we can understand you're disappointed, we hope to have news in the next couple of weeks" Undeterred, I assumed that this was down to the bands and not PM themselves, and I backed a project yesterday - pre-ordered the debut album from Hands Off Gretel. This morning I get a message to say that despite having hit almost 250% of the money for the project they are withdrawing it from PM because they have no idea when they will actually see the money. They will honour all orders, but are switching it to their own website because it seems that PM have a history of not paying the artists for quite some time after the project closes. Google led me to this: https://completemusicupdate.com/article/pledgemusic-issues-statement-amid-latest-artist-payment-problems/ So I'm now wondering if Status Quo simply aren't sending out anything until they actually get paid, and i can understand that this would be a massive problem for a new band like Hands Of Gretel, who are left either trying to find the money to fulfill the orders themselves ahead of PM paying up, or delaying their album launch, or disappointing their biggest fans in waiting what might be three months or more after the promised fulfilment date Anybody used PM as a band?

Undoubtedly. From Thrash Metal and all the far too numerous sub genres to name, to dance music (from Joy Division to New Order, and through to the Prodigy), to say nothing of the post punk bands that had a huge influence on BritPop (I mean, Elastica's first album, it's a great punk/post punk album)

Just caught the guitar one - really liked it. Like the drums, I found it better because it had a theme that I thought was lacking in the bass one. Was a little confused by the earlier mentions of Uli Roth,, but happy to see that it was in fact Uli Jon Roth...not sure what's happened to his middle name...the first gig I went to at the Hammersmith Odeon, Uli Jon Roth & The Electric Sun...

yes, and that's exactly why I thought the drums episode was better, because it focused on the role of drums in music and explained how that had developed. I thought that was lacking in the bass episode, and it was more "look - bass players"

I'm a bit similar to the OP in that the one's I've tried haven't done it for me, not for sound, but I can't get on with the lack of tension in the strings, they just din't feel right to play. But that's me, YMMV However, it always occurred to me that for short scale guitars that is solved by putting on heavier strings - I have 12's on all of my electric guitars, but those guitar playing mates with less robust hands than mine will play 8's or 9's on Fender scale lengths, and 10's on Gibsons. Is that a thing with short scale basses?

I love Savages! Saw them at a festival in Bogota, just wandered into the second stage tent as they came on stage - stunning live