Monkey Steve

In terms of influencing what I play (not necessarily how I play) it's probably Geezer Butler, but with hefty nods to Cliff Burton and Geddy Lee. But for one bass player that I listen to and go "wow" (and I love listening to stuff that I just can't picture how it's done) it's Art Liboon every time.

[quote name='AdamWoodBass' timestamp='1487695896' post='3241931'] PMT in Manchester have always been good when I've been in, very accommodating and happy to let you noodle away on something even when you're just having a browse. The only shame about my recent visit was the lack of interesting bass stock, just dominated by Fenders and Ibanez's. I love a good Fender but not much of a fan of Ibanez. Also seemed like there was nothing amp wise accept for Ampeg, Ashdown and TC. They used to have a huge variety but I guess times have changed and retailers only stock what is popular to maximise on sales. [/quote] Frankly I don't see the need for the Ashdown or the TC in that list - far too much choice!

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1487696330' post='3241939'] I have heard it said on here that if you practice /rehearse all the time, you just get good at rehearsing/practicing and actually playing gigs is a different skill. My Americana Band rehearse every week (and it does my head in) unless we bring on new material, which we are doing this year, thank goodness! [/quote] Not sure I agree with this, but playing live is definitely a different skill which improves the more you do it - playing the odd gig every few months won't do much to polish your tightness as a band, but playing live every night for a fortnight most definitely will. I can also notice when the band tips from being a well rehearsed machine into being over-rehearsed and mechanical, and it's usually because there hasn't been enough live playing. Things don't quite click like they should, and that vital spark has been squeezed out.

[quote name='nightsun' timestamp='1487687086' post='3241825'] I always have a 'Just in case' bass, sometimes it joins me on stage, sometimes in stays in the case depending on space. Being a tad anal, I also have a spare head, leads etc. Two cabs, the chances of both going are slim.....must find some wood to touch now. [/quote] when transport allows I am that man! And even when it doesn't I'll have as many spares as I can cram into whatever gig bags and rucksacks I have with me. The downside is that I then tend to become the one person in the band that everybody knows will have everything, so they don't bother. I swear, one guitarist in an old band can't have bought himself any picks for years, and once even came to the gig without his guitar strap because he assumed that someone (i.e. me) would have brought a spare that he could use. Told him he'd have to play sitting down...suddenly found that it wasn't too far for him to pop home to get his strap after all.

When I first started gigging it was one bass because that's all I had! Never had a problem...so oddly when I had more than one bass to choose from, and importantly when I had a lift, I'd always take two. I tried justifying it because of different basses suiting different songs better, but in all honesty it was more about having a spare "just in case..." Last band was playing the small clubs of London on multi-band bills with backline provided, and with travel by tube, so back to just one...and I did once have a minor electrical problem but fortunately half way through the last song of the set - if we'd had to play any longer they'd have had to do it without the bass. My new band has different tunings so I may need to be back to two basses (and they also have transport) but actually this can be covered by a quick re-tuning of a five string (they use down tuned guitars which I can cope with by tuning up a semi-tone) so we need to see if I can re-tune in the time it takes them to swap guitars. When I was playing guitar in a band I always took at least two, ideally three. partly because the different tone argument holds more weight on guitars (although it's another one where the crowd probably don't notice as much as you think they will) but mainly because I always broke a string - always the G string. there was a running joke amongst the regular crowd on which song I'd bust the string on, and I'd spend the break between sets re-stringing and I'd even change the G-strings on the guitars I'd been playing where it hadn't broken, because it was going to happen sooner or later

[quote name='operative451' timestamp='1487442468' post='3239875'] And Curve - i think they sort of got shoved into the Bands With One Word As Their Name category of shoegaze but... [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay_uOANgo4M[/media] [/quote] I bought my Wal of off Dean Garcia of Curve. Lovely bloke

[quote name='solo4652' timestamp='1487674066' post='3241650'] I do loads of home practice to learn my parts and I sort of pride myself on arriving at rehearsals well-prepared. Trouble is, not everybody has the same attitude. When we make mistakes and then agree on changes to address them, I make notes so I arrive at next rehearsal having incorporated those changes into my playing. I expect everybody else to do the same. But they don't. Result is same mistakes continue to be made, even though we've agreed what to do about them. Result is a bassist (and drummer) who rapidly gets fed up. Bands could easily make do with fewer rehearsals if members bothered to make notes/pay attention to rehearsal recordings. But often they don't and, for me, that means I can't relax before a gig if I feel that a band is under-rehearsed and just about to go on stage and repeat all the same errors. Train hard, fight easy. [/quote] I totally agree with the issue of different people wanting different things from practices and it causing problems if they can't agree...normally it festers and eventually leads to a sacking or splitting up. And also the social aspect. As long as there aren't any issues within the band, hanging out with your mates for a few hours and playing the bass is a lot more fun than not hanging out with your mates and not playing the bass, surely? The one that sticks out for me was an old guitarist in a covers band who was late for everything - rehearsals, gigs, everything, but it was never his fault - his satnav took him the wrong way, or something equally as unlikely, when it was very clear he just hadn't set off in time. For rehearsals he insisted that his boss wouldn't let him go before that day's work was finished so he couldn't be sure of when he would arrive, and was always at least an hour later than the rest of us in arriving at the studio, often much later. He then let slip that what he actually meant was that once his boss has let him go he then went and did his usual evening chores, like doing the weekly shop with his girlfriend, and then would sit down and eat his tea before packing his gear into the car and setting off for rehearsal, while we've been sat there twiddling our thumbs for an hour or two waiting for him (and with all of us having skipped eating to get straight to the studio after work). he thought it was unreasonable of us to expect him not eat or to come to the studio any earlier when it clearly wasn't his fault that he was late. That didn't end well for him.

Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! It's not just about knowing your own part, it's about the dynamics of the songs and the interactions between everybody. I hate gigging until everybody knows everything backwards. I also have war stories about learning 30+ songs in a month for a covers band (the first time I'd ever played guitar in a band - another one where the band hadn't learned everything that they were playing correctly, more like guesstimates based on the limitations of the old guitarist) and while I got away with our first couple of gigs, it was nowhere near as good as we were when we'd properly learned everything. Once you are up and gigging then you don't need to practice every week, although I was talking about this very thing a couple of weeks ago with a drummer who has had to leave a band (because of a job/house move) that has been solidly gigging for some months and thus not rehearsing, and he is very concerned that he only knows how to play his old bands stuff, and his technique has gone to pot. tells me he's not going to be trying out for a new band until he's spent a good few months working on his technique. Not sure i agree with him, but I can see the point he's making.

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1487362985' post='3239378'] You are simply being pedantic. It was a fictional situation and I stated [b]relevant[/b] experience, better qualification, and coming over much better in the second interview stage. I said nothing about age of applicants so again stop being pedantic. What would be the point of having lots of bricklaying experience at an interview for an electronics management position? It has to be relevant.Do keep up. I could just have easily have swapped the genders and percentages about and said the woman had the best qualifications etc and that's why I employed her, and made the same point, but that would not have given you anything to froth at the mouth about. But I dont have an axe to grind. [/quote] Oh dear. If we're going to be pedantic then I suggest that you re-read what I posted rather then getting upset at what you thought I was saying (but wasn't). You are arguing against positive discrimination. I am arguing against institutional discrimination. These. Are. Not. The. Same. Thing. I was actually saying that your completely fictional example was a good way to test whether there was any obvious or unconcious discrimination , and whether the selection criteria are valid. It is perfectly acceptable to choose the man without needing to maintain quotas. However, the problem is that you need to test whether your definition of what is relevant is not inadvertently discriminatory - you say that the man has relevant experience but how was that set, and does your definition of what is relevant avoid any unconcious discrimination. You say it does, but you would, wouldnt you, because it's unconcious. Do keep up. But, clearly I'm a right on feminazi. Whatever

we seem to be mixing up a whole load of different issues and ideas here. Positive discrimination feels wrong, because it's making people select people for jobs, college places, whatever, based on a selection criteria that is not to do with being the best applicant. But it's sometimes a necessary evil when there are issues of institutional racism/sexism/ageism. The fictional example from Mikel is actually a good one to pick apart. The reason that the male applicant is deemed to be better than the female one is based on a range of factors, one of which is experience. How is that relevant for the job? It's immediately discriminatory on the grounds of age - 50 year olds will have more experience than 25 year olds. If it's an industry in which women are chronically under represented then it's very likely that male applicants will have more experience than females so it adds the question of whether it's sexist. So to just demand "experience" with no context can be ageist and sexist, and becomes a barrier to entry. If however it's "experience of doing X, Y & Z because they will be a core part of doing the job" then it's completely reasonable to demand it. And worse than this, we don't realise we're doing it. We are a species of very limited imagination. We think that we are brilliant at our jobs, so we think that anybody like us will be brilliant at the job we are hiring for. We've got twenty years experience in the industry so clearly people with 20 years in the industry will be better than people with only five years in the industry. This is exactly why company boards are full of middle aged white men, because middle aged white men who make the appointments think that middle aged white men are brilliant at running companies. And there's this: [url="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2009/oct/18/racism-discrimination-employment-undercover"]https://www.theguard...ment-undercover[/url] it's a few years old but it's a perennial chestnut that the media will update every few years - I recall seeing something very similar in the last couple of months. Add to this that studies have shown that diverse companies, the ones whose boards aren't full of middle aged white men, perform much better. Diversity of age sex and ethnicity isn't just token, it brings diversity of thinking and companies who embrace this tend to do better. Maybe Mikel needs to think about appointing the woman because it's time for some fresh ideas that yet another middle aged white man isn't going to bring.

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1487341722' post='3239145'] That Gordon Giltrap tune sounds like a theme tune from some obscure 70's sports programme. [/quote] I believe it was the theme song for the BBC's Holiday programme. I was dragged along to see him live once, back in the '80's playing with Ric Sanders, and he was pretty well know at that time. And he saved the theme tune for the encore because everybody knew it (even me and I knew nothing else he played all night)

I dunno...it just seems weird. Like others have said, we all think that a really old bass that has been knackered in an approved way has a vintage vibe that is very cool, but it feels wrong to have knackered the bass in the "wrong" way. Oh how we love to judge other people's choices that make absolutely no difference to us personally. It is after all what the internet is for. But it's really interesting to hear that it's not just the look of the instruments (which is how they are sold) that is affected, and they actually feel played in. And I think a lot of that is to do with just how much extra companies like Gibson charge for relic-ing your guitar for you (and don't get me started on what they charge for making sure that your guitar is relic'd to be an exact match for a famous player's guitar). My favourite story is a mate who was buying a Bare Knuckle pickup and rang them to confirm the order. They asked him if he wanted it in chrome, gold or uncovered, and if chrome or gold whether he wanted it relic'd? He asked them how much extra it was for it to be relic'd? Nothing, they said, we just kick it around the workshop for a few minutes.

[quote name='HengistPod' timestamp='1487235653' post='3238183'] As my band is finding, it can be very hard to find people. Our girly singer threw a flake and walked out at New Year, and we've been looking for a replacement since. It's not for want of people answering ads. We've had at least a dozen who sounded enthusiastic, loved the set list and thought they'd be able to fit in really quickly. Then, almost guaranteed, they pulled out the night before the "audition". One guy turned up and was absolutely awful (but funny). Another guy turned up and was totally brilliant - amazing singer, professional, owned an enormous PA. Hands were shaken, promises made, then he told us he had a few solo gigs booked so we better compare schedules. We compared schedules - he was booked every Fri and Sat until April 2018. You have to wonder why these people even reply to an ad ... though I suspect he just fancied having a blast with a band rather than backing tapes. Got a bloke coming down on Friday evening, but honestly I fully expect him to pull out today. Not that he's given any indication of that, but the law of averages and all that. So ... no, it's not easy! [/quote] In my experience, singers are the worst for this - I've been through it for three bands and for two of them we eventually broke up because we couldn't find someone who was any good. A lot of no shows - possibly a confidence thing, and worse than those who apologise the night before the audition are those that suddenly go quiet on the day of the audition, so you're sat in a rehearsal studio that you've hired specifically for the audition twiddling your thumbs for a couple of hours while their phone diverts to voicemail. And a lot of people who think they can sing but just can't. One more thing to blame X Factor for is the rise of people who are convinced that they are amazing singers because their friends all told them they were excellent at a karaoke night last month. Or have only ever sung along to songs in their car or their bedroom and never actually hear themselves or played with a band. Put them next to a drum kit and a guitar amp and suddenly they have no mic technique and no way to cope with normal band volumes so all you get is out of tune wailing.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1487333766' post='3239039'] Difficult to beat Hanoi Rocks, Tim, good call. Mike Monroes current material is also really good. [/quote][quote name='radiophonic' timestamp='1487334847' post='3239055'] There's a name I haven't heard in a long while. I saw them live, supporting (unbelievably) Wishbone Ash (who had Trevor Bolder on Bass at the time). After the initial shock realisation that the singer was male, 95% of the audience just sat down with their backs to them. They lasted about 4 songs, which just goes to show. [/quote] First band I ever went to see live - Guildford Uni on the Two Steps From The Move tour. I remember being most impressed that amongst his assorted drum hardware Razzle had a stand specifically shaped to hold a can of beer, like an alcoholic cup holder. No accidental spillage for these professionals!

There's a Kiwi band I love called Shihad, that can't get arrested over here despite being huge down under. They tried breaking Europe in their early days (I saw them supporting Faith No More back in the mid 90's) with angular indy metal, very Killing Joke (with the first album being produced by Jaz Coleman). Then they went a bit more hard rock, tried to break the States with a name change to Pacifier (after 9/11 when their US promoters told them they would have trouble getting gigs with a name that sounds a bit like Jihad), gave that up as a bad idea, re-named Shihad, and their last album was back to their angular indy metal best (no coincidence that it was once again produced by Jaz Coleman). Sadly they rarely play over here any more - maybe one gig in London if they've got a new album out. In a similar vein, Shihad's guitarist produced the debut EP by a band called Weta which is fantastic hard rock - check out Got The Ju on Youtube. There then followed a very average album and they seemed to disappear after that. Sticking to down under, there's an Australian hip hop crew called the Hilltop Hoods who I love (although their last album was a bit of a let down). Honourable mention to the Flatliners - a Canadian punk band who's The Great Awake is one of my all time favourite albums

[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1487068859' post='3236655'] Explains it all. Is it based on album sales only ? Dave [/quote] No (but that may not be entirely insignificant). Your record company nominates you, and the nominations are then reviewed by a panel to pick the final nominees. the lists for all the categories then goes out to the industry professionals in the Association who cast their votes. So it's very much a back slapping exercise, and while album sales don't directly play a part, they are likely to play a part in who's nomination gets approved - if you've sold 8m copies and you get nominated, clearly you;re going to get selected above a more interesting album that's only sold a few thousand. That may or may not influence the final vote - Bowie cleaning up indicates that sentimentality may have a role to play, particularly when he's won in categories where a big chunk of the Association members may have no strong feelings. Unlike the Oscars they do not get sent copies of the songs, they are instead given access to a listening stream. Do we think that Country, R&B and classical producers are going to critically appraise whether Blackstar is better than Moon Shaped Pool, or are they going to give it to Bowie regardless of the competition?

[quote name='Left Foot' timestamp='1487169023' post='3237719'] Ah man, what the f*** this sucks guys. Kinda hoping that you'd know someone who was spare but this just reads depressing. I hate playing in my house, I'm like, whats the point. I've been looking for drummers more recently but gonna change tact and try find some guitarists. [/quote] The one thing I have learned is that there isn't one thing that works. There's no magic wand to conjure up exactly the right band members all keen to do exactly what you want to do. So try everything - musician wanted ads (both placing and replying to) everywhere you can think of (rehearsal studios, local press, on line, etc), chatting to musicians, whether mates or like minded people, Meet Up groups, whatever. And if you're doing nothing else, then just doing something, even if it's not your ideal scenario, isn't a complete waste of time. Maybe the guitarist you find knows a drummer you could ask if it works out, maybe you join a covers band and find that everybody actually wants to be doing originals. If you're getting frustrated at not doing anything then at least do something even if it's not exactly what you want

I've suffered from this from time to time, and just how much I'm bothered about it tends to depend on how good or bad the experience of my last band has been. But I do find that if I don't do something pretty quickly I cross that dividing line between being "somebody who plays the bass but isn't in band at the moment" and "somebody who owns a bass but doesn't play in a band" - usually at the point where I stop regarding being able to watch TV on a Thursday night as a treat because the band can't rehearse this week, realise that watching TV is what I now do on a Thursday night, and wonder what the point in me having an SVT in the spare room is if I'm never going to play through it. Weeks turn in to months, then in to years and being in a band becomes something I used to do...but then something usually turns up. I'm always very conscious of the difference between wanting to "play" in a band, which involves time in a rehearsal studio, playing gigs, etc; and "being" in a band which seems to involve telling everybody in the pub that you're in a band but very little of the actual playing.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1486993021' post='3236068'] I'd like a lesson like that: Something to get you thinking about it and approaching from another angle or getting the inspiration going. (I'm in the same position as the OP. I've started selling up) [/quote] My mate rarely used the same teacher more than once or twice, and tells me that it's all part of the idea - not to learn somebody else's habits or theories, but to challenge your own way of thinking and break out of the playing the same way all the time. Just looks for someone in the area offering lessons for advanced level

sounds like you either need a complete break - few days off from the bass completely so that you start to miss it - or need something completely new to try on the bass to mix it up so it's fun rather than a chore. On the second of those, a mate of mine who's a very good guitarist, will break his downward spiral of dull practices by booking a guitar lesson. tells me it works by getting somebody else's perspective on stuff, and a set of suggested practice routines. He once spent an entire lesson explaining to the teacher that what he was saying about modes was completely wrong, and even that was great for him because he came out wanting to brush up on some of his theory.

I had this in both arms a few years ago - directly caused by lumping Mesa Boogie speaker cabinets up and down the stairs to my first floor flat every week. My doctor showed me a scan of my tendons and they were completely shredded. I was referred to a doctor in Harley Street (thank's to BUPA) who was doing something a little experimental. They draw some blood and then inject it into the torn muscles and tendons which fools the body into thinking that it needs to repair the torn fibres. Not pleasant - the elbow hurt like hell for a few days afterwards, and given the severity of the problem (the doctor was seriously worried about his success rate as he'd never tired it on anything so severe before) I had to go back to get one of my elbows done a couple of times. But they are now absolutely fine - avoided lifting the cabs for a few months and no problems since. I don't know how widely available this is - I had to use a treatment code that the doctor gave me which got past the BUPA restrictions that may have applied if they viewed it as experimental (something like "injection using ultrasound" rather than "trying something new to fix busted tendons") but I would thoroughly recommend it. A quick google shows me that it is Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) treatment, and seems to be reasonably well known now, although Google also showed me an article telling me why I shouldn't have it done. This actually seems to be slightly different to what I had done - PRP sifts the blood and they only inject the stuff that is actually needed, whereas on me they simply drew it out of one arm and injected it straight into the other. Still, good to know I was a guinea pig for something that works.

[quote name='TrevorR' timestamp='1486684224' post='3233912'] Not been yer but there's the new big GuitarGuitar in Camden. An area which also has many good music venues, of course (my personal fave being Green Note - but that may be a bit too Americana for the gang). [/quote] +1 Camden's usually got something on. If they like the heavier end of things the Black Heart is a rock pub with bands on upstairs most weekends, and there's often something happening on the Lock or at the Stables Market (not Camden Market, which is largely over priced T-shirts). A lot of record shops round there too. There's also an exhibition on at the V&A museum about the late 60's music culture, but they may need to book as the link says it's very busy at the weekend: https://www.vam.ac.uk/shop/whatson/index/view/id/2183/event/You-Say-You-Want-a-Revolution--Records-and-Rebels-1966---1970/dt/2017-02-10/free/2

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1486569836' post='3232882'] My band has done it and it was pretty successful too. This is what we discovered: 1. Anything other than Friday or Saturday night is a complete waste of time, money and effort, unless you have a suitable venue and enough money to be booking bands who are well known enough to entice people out on a school night. 2. Pick a format that works for you and stick with it. Decide whether you want covers bands, originals bands or an open mic night, if you are looking to build up a regular audience, because IME there is only a little crossover between the three. 3. Start small and grow carefully. There's a point at which something which is doing a turnover of a few hundred pounds an event suddenly turns into something that requires a lot more financial risk if you want to carry on expanding. Don't get too over-ambitious. And this is what we actually did: We made it work by using a venue that was already putting on bands although so they were already set up with an in-house PA and a roster of people to work it. We got a once a month Friday night slot with a percentage of the bar takings that was used for publicity and to pay the bands. We put on bands in a very specific genre rockabilly/psychobilly/garage rock so that over the months people knew what to expect and we could be a little more daring with our choices of headlining bands once we had established an regular audience. We started off by booking reasonably well-known up and coming bands from out of town (such as Pussycat & The Dirty Johnsons, The Franceens, The Ricochets), with our band plus another popular local band as support. That way we could maximise our audience for the evening. We called in a lot of favours from people we knew for poster design and general publicity, as well as having proper DJs to play music between the bands rather than just relying on an iPod playlist. It helped that we made it into a proper themed evening, where it was more than just a few bands playing in a pub. After the first 6 months people could simply show up even if they hadn't heard of any of the bands before, but know that if they had enjoyed it last month, they were going to enjoy it this month as well. Good luck! [/quote] +1 to all of this - a club night with bands will always get more people through the door than just having band playing, and it's far easier to get people to part with their money for entry they key is finding the market, catering to it and promoting the hell out of it. Emphasis on the promotion. I've helped mates organise gig nights and have seen the extremes, from almost empty rooms above pubs with tumbleweed blowing across the stage to rammed pubs with people being turned away at the door. And the difference was always how well the nights were promoted. A poster taped on the pub window a week beforehand isn't going to bring any extra punters in, it's only going to scare off the regulars who don't fancy that sort of a thing. Use local listings, free ads, whatever you can, and target similar events for flyers, etc. Also agree solidly with the "pick one or the other" suggestion - jam/open mic nights are the same crowd of musicians doing the same songs every week - I have seen very good ones where they encourage bands to come and play sets, but half the crowd are still stood at the bar clutching their guitars waiting for their turn and nobody extra ever came just to see the bands. If you are going for jam/open mic nights then I suggest you do a bit of local research - what other nights are they on (and make sure they don't clash - there are only so many musicians to go round), what do they do well/badly, do they cater for a specific crowd and ignore another (for instance if it's a load of old white fellers polishing their strats and waiting their turn to do Lay Down Sally then you might want to try something different, say a metal jam night) One other tip - look for bands who will get a crowd in. By which I don't mean a band who already have a following and expect to be paid very well for bringing them (although if you can pull a favour or two and swing that, great), but see if you can find a band of local teenagers who will promote the hell out of it on social media and bring all their mates because they've never played live before. Not for the whole line up (they may be terrible and if the locals have to listen to three awful bands playing every Friday they're probably not going to come back for very long)

Thanks again everybody. I think that probably about wraps it up, and the conclusion is that I can find enough plausible deniability for my conscience that I can sleep at night, after nodding off to my homework playlist... Just to be clear, I will not be involved in the sacking, and I do not have any say in what the band do or when they do it. So for all of the people posting that the band need to do X, Y or Z, I may or may not agree, but am certainly not in a position to influence that (at least not directly, only as a possible influence over timing) and more to the point that wasn't the question I was asking. However, knowing the exact position of the band (which I won't/can't share) I still think that the plan to get a replacement in learning the stuff in the background is the most sensible. For the more nuanced posts about me steering clear until the band do X, Y or Z, I take your point and largely agree - stick to the line that I am an option for them as and when they need a new bass player, not the new bass player who is to be unveiled as and when it suits the band to sack the incumbent. Which is in effect how things stand already, and there are no commitments on either side.

OK, time to pitch in again. A lot of differing opinions, and I thank you for all of them, but also a lot of misapprehensions about the band situation and the current position of the bass player. Again I have to be very careful what I say here because if i were to explain a lot of it, the game would be given away. Let's just take it for granted that the incumbent is quite simply not good enough. There are some things I could tell you (but won't) that would have you all posting "well, he should have been sacked months ago/should never have been hired in the first place", but let's boil it down to this generic statement. there are a lot of their most popular songs that they have not been able to play live for the last year because the bass player is not good enough to play them, and they have spent a good few months writing the songs and letting him contribute and they are not happy with what he has come up with. He has been made aware of this, he has been told the standard that they expect him to reach, and he has repeatedly come up short while insisting that they are wrong and he is good enough. Basically they have got Sid Vicious when they needed Stanley Clarke (a little extreme at both ends of that comparison - I'm certainly not Stanley Clarke either - but you get the idea). There are no other underlying issues about their treatment of bass players or other musicians - it's not like they have a record for treating other bass players badly or under appreciating their contribution, it's simply that this particular bass player is not just a bad fit for the direction in which they are trying to move the music, and frankly is a very bad bass player to begin with. They did not want to write or record the bass lines, but they did not want to put out an album restricted by his contributions. As I understand it, the band is pretty much in agreement that he has to go, although a final decision hasn't been signed off on, but they have discussed replacements (and I understand my name was mentioned) but the sticking point has been the live commitments and inability to take a break from touring to give them time to get someone up to speed from scratch. However, with a new album out in a few months time, which the bass player will not be able to play live, they have to do something. And telling him that he really, really has to practice hard is not going to get them there. However, that's none of my business. And I'm not asking about what the band should be doing - IMHO they are doing the best thing for the band, albeit that it entails not treating the bass player very well...but there's a counter argument that he gets to play a few more shows and festivals over the next few months (for which he will get paid) that wouldn't happen if they sack him now for fear of being seen to take advantage of him. What would you prefer? Getting sacked today, or doing a paid gig tonight that you'll love and getting sacked tomorrow? And I don't mean that in a passive/aggressive way - I can genuinely see the arguments both ways (or, as an ex-girlfriend put it to me once "if you've been thinking about breaking up with me for a while i don't understand why you kept sleeping with me" - sometimes "well, you seemed to like it too" isn't the best answer...I may not be helping in the cause to prove than I'm not a bad person here...) Whether he is sacked today, tomorrow or stays forever is not my concern, and to be very clear, I am not taking any direct part in the band's decision, the sacking itself, and as far as I'm aware there are no plans to get me in behind his back for rehearsals when he's not there. I will not be banging on the rehearsal studio door demanding to know if he's been sacked yet now that I've learned the set. However, my conscience still tells me that I'm being a little dismissive of my role in all this - clearly learning all their stuff so that they have an option to get a replacement in quickly when they do pull the trigger is going to have an influence on what they do next, and it could be my role that means he gets sacked ahead of the album coming out rather than at the end of the Summer festival schedule. But with my mate's hat on, I genuinely think that's the best option for the band, because he is damaging their reputation already and will damage it further if he remains in the band, regardless of whether it's me that does it (and I suggested this when I had no clue they would ask me). I am clinging on to the fact that he's going anyway because that is most definitely what is best for the band, and if it's not me it'll be someone else, so why not do it when it'll be great fun? After all, if they had just sacked him and were asking me if I could learn their set in a hurry we'd all be saying "what a great opportunity" not "how badly did they treat the last bass player?" I dunno, I keep coming back to the fact that I'm helping out a mate's band do what i think is the best thing for them, plus if it all works out then I get to play a few gigs with a band who's music i like. maybe I'll just have to live with my conscience