T-Bay

I can’t stand still, often just sort of walk around a bit if there is space and will occasionally try to talk with the drummer if it’s a big guitar solo. The fastest stuff we play gets me bouncing around.

First gig for a while, it’s a repeat booking for a local prom. Strange one on paper but we always get a cracking reception. We adapt the set a bit and Chuck in a few more modern ones. Ended up playing three hours and loving it but boy am I knackered this morning!

That reminds me of Jasper Carrot saying he had heard that 99% of drunk drivers crash within a mile of their homes, so when he was gypsy's kissed he drove to his mates house twenty miles away.

American thinks everything wrong in the world is down to Russia, who would have thought we would live to hear such a thing………

They aren’t really comparable, playing in a band is a mix of many more things than driving. For example, it would be rare for a driver to be vomit inducingly nervous before driving, but isn’t that rare with band members and isn’t linked to skill levels. One of the main reasons alcohol is so bad for driving is the increase in reaction times, unless you play some really rough pubs then a super quick reaction time isn’t a prerequisite for good performance. Alcohol is relaxant/ sedative which is seriously bad when driving, but can reduce the effects of stress and anxiety such as might be found in someone playing in a band.

I have got a Boss GX100 multi effects pedal, there are a few Facebook groups for them and I have noticed a couple of people using them for synth stuff, might be worth looking on YouTube to see if there are any videos of them. They are incredibly flexible and can be tweaked in a ridiculously wide range of ways to get the sound you want.

A pint before and one during seems to work well for me (as long as not driving obviously). Played a pub a few years ago where the landlord was a proper real ale guy and we were set up next to one side of the bar. We chatted with him before and are all beer lovers so got on great, during the gig he would send four pints over every quarter of an hour or so. We recorded the gig and I still amazed how good we sounded at the end. It was only 100yds from the guitarists house and we finished the night with a few more pints. The crowd were properly up for it as well and it’s probably the best pub gig I have ever played. I could barely find my way out the door when we left. Sadly it has now been closed and is being bulldozed for housing.

Pure energy, The sex pistols, RATM, The Idles, early Nirvana, Sugar, stuff like that

Could be worse, we played a venue where they decided to use a smoke machine behind the curtain. We started playing, curtain opens, smoke rolls out in a very naff 80s way. 30 seconds later the fire alarms go off. Everything stops and we have to evacuate the building. It was a proper theatrical smoke machine so no idea what happened but didn’t help the gig!

But all that wear will have acted to lighten it a hell of a lot, probably only weighs as much as a bull elephant now.

Brilliant then, as you were……..

It will still sound amazing though

T- Rex, 2nd chorus of 20th century boy sounds more like Robin Hood than rock and roll RHCP - ooh aah, guess you never meant it. That took me ages to get and I still sing ooh aah, kiss your little Muntjac

As long as you don’t impoverish yourself or your family where’s the harm? Look how much some people spend on gym membership a month, or go out drinking every weekend, or smoking, or £400 a month just to have a new plate car or a million other things. Anything that enriches your life is a plus, if that thing can be sold for the same money or thereabouts if you get bored of it is a bonus.

To be fair, If I was in a trench and heard a bagpipe it would terrify me, you would think. if they can inflict that on their own WTF will they do to me if they catch me? But joking aside, the bravery to go over the top with bagpipes, knowing the positive difference it will make, and knowing you will be target number 1 is beyond belief. I could never have enough respect for those brave lads who did that.

The idea of a mosh pit at an ABBA gig has made me laugh out loud, I would genuinely love to see that. As for the App, whilst a great idea it would need to work alongside recording the show in dodgy video, mostly of the back of someone’s head with awful sound just to ensure you have a memory of event you barely remember because you were too busy recording it.

I appreciate all sorts of music that I wouldn’t listen but that doesn’t mean I have to agree that something is good purely because it is popular or because you (or anyone else) like it. Similar to Stock, Aitken and Waterman’s output many years later, ABBA signify all that is wrong in the music industry to me. Generic pap to appeal to un-discerning public. Others, like yourself, disagree but that does not make my opinion any less valid. I wouldn’t go and see ABBA in any case, but nor would I go and see an avatar version of bands I love. It just seems utterly pointless, if I am making the effort to see a live event I want to see a live event not a fancy film that is the same every time with no interaction. It just smells of dumbing down the whole live music experience to me. It just has no soul.

Help me Obe Wan, you’re my only hope………

To you, but certainly not to me. Mediocre middle of the road generic formulaic pop pap imho. Each to their own and all that.

Technically amazing but utterly soulless. It’s just like a fancy 3D tv at great expense. But if people are crazy enough to pay the prices it will carry on. Not for me, but then I can’t stand ABBA so wouldn’t go if they were all playing live at the end of my drive, except to tell them to get lost.

No idea unfortunately, the switch ‘fattens’ the sound and adds a bit of drive

Great for a low cost pedal. It isn’t as transparent as the spectracomp I have but works really well. Very pleased with it.

I have a Fender Ultra, and a cheap Squier I bought for £60. I have also had MiM in the past. The ultra is quite simply the best I have ever played. No one thing jumps out but everything is better and the sum of those parts just make it a delight to play. Is it 30x better than the Squier? That would be hard to argue. Do I regret splashing out on it? Nope, not even for a second. I tried American Pros at the same time and they were very nice as well but the ultra had the edge as you would hope. If you buy second hand it’s not even much of a risk as they hold their value well. If you can afford it without going into debt I would go for it.

Not in a million years, but I could sort them one that would do the job that I am not precious about.