lozkerr

We're having fun and games getting that one up to gigging standard. Most of it's a simple shuffle, but the keyboard solo is giving problems - bass and keys are drifting apart. But we'll get there.

"Hi! I'm Eric Clapton and I'd like to welcome you all to our testimonial Rock Against Racism gig!"

I do some - the grunts on Back On The Chain Gang, the outro 'la la la la lalalala' on Don't You Forget About Me, the chorus of Teenage Kicks, 'hey man' on Suffragette City, 'too high, too far, too soon / you saw the whole of the moon' - but that's about it. It does beef up the sound for definite - more than I thought it would when I started. During lockdown, I took lessons on Skype on singing while playing bass and followed that up with vocal coaching when I realised my singing voice had gone to pot. My main band has two great vocalists, so I'm keeping the BVs to a minimum, but I am toying with putting together a punk band doing 1970s covers where I sing and play bass. I've been told by more than one person that I have a death stare that would intimidate Lemmy... it would be fun to put that to good use!

I might point out here that Cassandra was always right...

Two here as well - a main and a spare. Haven't needed the spare yet, but Sod's law dictates that the only time I will need it is when I've forgotten to bring it.

Tricky one, this. I'd probably go for 1977 - 1986, but I really liked the Britpop years as well.

I really want to learn how to play bass guitar with my DB bow now. What a load of claptrap.

Very possibly. It's hard to tell.

I have small hands too, and the wide neck did take a bit of getting used to. I got there in the end, though!

Fender Jazz Deluxe V, 2009 model.

A welcoming happy demeanour...

Back On The Chain Gang is one of my favourites too! Thankfully, it gets a regular airing at gigs. Some others that I love playing: Night Out - Ellen Foley Suedehead - Morrissey Hammer To Fall - Queen Sanctuary - the Passions Losing My Religion - REM Turn - Travis Another Girl Another Planet - the Only Ones Cover Me - Percy Sledge Up Around The Bend - CCR

I've done something similar, and although we were using amps, we kept the volume way down. No drums and our singer didn't need a mic - she could cut it in opera if she wanted to. Hard stop at 9pm. We're surrounded by Airbnbs, so I'm not too fussed about annoying sodding tourists. If we ever have long-term neighbours again though, I'll be sure to let them know what's happening. Seems only fair.

Might be a Yank. In American, any noun can be verbed. And any verb can be adjectorized.

This is my setup. If I'm transcribing or working on finicky stuff, I'll sit on the bar stool and concentrate on the fingering. Thank you, that's quite enough from the cheap seats. Once I've got something nailed, I'll either perch on the edge of the bar stool or stand to practise it. If I have to sing as well, I'll always stand to practise.

I've been tempted by BASS LCK a few times, as it spells out 'bass lick' and my initials are LCK, but I can't justify the 600 quid it's going for.

I'd fight you for it - that's a beautiful bass!

I'd likely add some dosh to it to buy a Sei Flamboyant 5.

That's exactly how I do it. Get the bass line nailed, simplifying it as much as necessary, to the extent where I don't need to think about it while warbling. If I do, I invariably lose both parts, which is kinda embarrassing.

Down with the Sour Grapes Gang!

Mine is utterly mundane. It's a contraction of my real name - Laura Kerr. Imaginative, huh...

Top tip, thanks! I'll give that a go.

Same here. I've started boosting the mids, cutting the treble to get rid of a jangly sound and cutting the bass to get rid of muddiness. I use the B string a lot and cutting the low frequencies has made a big difference to the clarity.

Interesting to see the amount of dislike of Oasis on this thread. I'm quite happy to play any Oasis song, with one exception: Wonderwall. God, how I detest that racket. It should have been called Caterwaul. It's the one Oasis song I would instantly veto when picking songs. There are plenty of better songs - Cigarettes and Alcohol, Little By Little, Don't Look Back In Anger, Songbird, Roll With It, Champagne Supernova, even Stop Crying Your Heart Out, but Caterwaul? Faggeddit. The only other song I hate as much is Sherry. If it ever got to the stage of 'play it Laura or you're out of the band' I'd switch off my IEMs so I wouldn't have to endure the horrible noise. Those musical atrocities aside, I can usually get something out of the simplest bass lines - German Film Star and Bad Moon Rising for example - as it's the overall performance that counts. Thankfully, I'm in an 80s post-punk covers band, so I get to play some decent stuff.