LeftyP

This for starters;

Do people still care what song is number one at Christmas these days?

Van driving with glaucoma - head for the hills! Seriously, good luck to the guy. A bit of showmanship is often lacking in performers these days. Yes, there is a balance between self belief and self delusion but if he can make a career in music - good for him.

Some people should not be allowed out as they do not know how to behave in public. I think I may have mentioned these incidences before but just in case; I was chatting to a singer who told me that in the middle of a song a punter came to the front of the stage and asked if he had change for the juke box. Then there was the lovely female singer doing a brilliant version of "The Power Of Love" (Jennifer Rush song) and some guy walked across the front of the audience, stopped and turned back to look at his mates and shouted, "Was it a pint of bitter, Dave?" There are times when I give up with some members of the public!

If you like acapella then this album is a gem.

One of the teams at a recent quiz night came up with "Quiz Team Aguilera" which I thought was clever.

I was once in a Christian band called Revelation. We wanted something Biblical but found someone else had beaten us to the name Genesis!

If they are incognito - how do you know?

Why not look at the type of music you play and choose something from the title or lyrics of your favourite songs. If you play Motown stuff how about "Grapevine" (as in "I heard It Through".....). Fond of the Carpenters catalogue, then how about "White Lace And Promises" - great for a wedding function band! I always thought that "Wave" would be a great name for a Latin American combo - after the Jobim tune. The world is your lobster!

The consumer body 'WHICH' have just stated that many of the Black Friday deals are bogus (love that word) and some products can be bought cheaper either before or after the BF event!

"The Power Of Love" by Jennifer Rush. She had a really powerful voice and I did have a couple of her albums on 12" LP. She recorded some great songs but could not match the big one.

Not wishing to prolong the left handed v right handed debate that seems to have taken over this thread, but I've just tried to play my violin bass as a left hander. I am naturally left handed and do everything, except using a knife and fork, left handed. As I stated earlier in this thread, I was advised to try playing guitar (classical at the time) right handed. I am glad I did and it feels fine to me. However, this line of discussion got me thinking again so I gave it a go as a left handed player. I was all over the place! Allowing for the strings being upside down, I could not even fret notes correctly and the whole experience felt alien to me. I'm not sure that persevering with it would make much improvement as I had very little control over the instrument even without trying to fret some notes. It will be different for each individual, but if you have never played a guitar before (as in my case) then playing right handed eventually just seems normal. I was taught to use my knife and fork in the "conventional" way when I was young and that is normal to me. I do, however, cut bread and spread butter with the knife in the left hand and the soup and dessert spoons also go in the left hand. I move side plates and glasses around in restaurants to accommodate my left handedness and that can cause great confusion for the people sharing my table!

Well, I'm left handed and play right handed. When I first joined this forum I explained that it went back to when I was trying to learn to play the classical guitar. I had never played guitar before and my teacher told me to try right handed as classical guitars are braced to have the strings fitted in that way. He also pointed out that you don't find left handed pianos (although someone did post a photo on here of one!) or trombones etc. Plus, as I had nothing to unlearn, it wouldn't make much difference to how I progressed. I'm glad I took his advice. I cannot even attempt to play a bass as a lefty or even hold it correctly. I do everything else left handed (except using a knife and fork). Playing as a right hander has not affected my playing - I'm just rubbish anyway! Back to the plot about daft things some people say. I was chatting to someone at church on Sunday and I said that I would have to go and check my bass before the service as it was near a radiator and it may need re-tuning. Her amazed reply was, "Do you have to tune a bass?" I'm sure it was a genuine question and not a comment on my playing!

Now that brought back some memories of listening to Radio Sweden in the early 70s. I actually bought this LP!

I'm a lyrics person but they must be held together on a memorable tune. I like good thumping dance stuff (Motown etc.) but I like a song to have some meaning to it. Singer songwriters like James Taylor and Harry Chapin have written some wonderful poetic songs and Jimmy Webb is the past master. I can't stand songs that simply repeat one line over and over. Having said that lyrics are important I was blown away by this performance of Dutch singer Trijntje Oosterhuis I found on YouTube. There is a concert by her on YT where she performs Burt Bacharach songs (in English) and it is superb. I don't understand any of the words in this song (it's in Dutch) but it obviously moved fellow singer Tino Martin to tears. It is from a brilliant TV series in the Netherlands called "Beste Zangers" and the backing combo are really tight.

I'm not sure today's event qualifies as a "gig" but, hey, it was great! I play in our church band and today we had a church "away day". We didn't go far - from Carlisle to Keswick in the English Lake District. Door to door it is less than 30 miles. My drive took me up over the northern fells where sheep graze and wander across the road. I had to stop at one point to let a brood of peacocks wander across! The autumn colours were in full bloom and there was not a breath of wind as I drove along the shores of Bassenthwaite Lake into the small town of Keswick and our venue. Around 50 church members attended the event with just four of us providing the music. Our band leader played semi-acoustic guitar, the drummer just used a cajon, I played bass and we had one female singer. The day started with tea/coffee and pastries. We then played six songs interspersed with Bible teaching and more tea/coffee and cakes! We had all taken packed lunches and after eating some of us went for a walk along the shores of Derwent Water under a canopy of golden leaves. On return there was tea/coffee and more cake! While we were out some people stayed in the hall and watched a re-run of the England v South Africa rugby final. We then retired to another room and watched Toy Story 4 - brilliant. Then it was back to the main hall for a bulk order of fish and chips from a local "chippy", more cake, then home. That is what I call a gig!!

I'm sure I've posted pics of my bass on other threads of this forum but not the Short Scale department where it belongs! It's an Italia Maranello Cavo bass strung with La Bella flat wounds. Although short scale, it takes La Bella's medium scale strings perfectly. With a semi-hollow mahogany body it is fairly light at a smidge over 7lb (which is why I bought it), and I've been playing it for coming up a year next month. You don't see many around but I like the way it feels and it sounds good too - even with me playing it!

"Groovin' by The Young Rascals. The bass just sets the mood perfectly.

A few months ago we had a men's breakfast at church and I was in the hot seat in a Desert Island Disc feature. I chose my discs and one of them caused quite a stir. If I could only take one track with me to the desert island it would be MacArthur Park by Richard Harris. Many of the assembled men had not heard of it and were totally confused by the "someone left the cake out in the rain" lyrics. The whole 7 minutes 24 seconds of it is a symphony of metaphors from the pen of Jimmy Webb. The opening line; "Spring was never waiting for us girl, it ran one step ahead, as we followed in the dance", could have come from Lord Byron or Thomas Gray. Once you know the story of how it came to be written (and there are several variations on that theme) it all falls into place. The melody changes from delicate ballad to out and out rock with a full orchestra holding nothing back. The fact that it was sung by a 'hell raiser' of an actor, not noted for his singing, just adds to the enigma it has become. Every time I listen to it I hear something new and with such variations in pace and arrangements it never becomes predictable. Many people find it totally confusing but I love it!

Hello from a fellow church band player. I like your forum name as it is my big sister's birthday!

Not a bass album as such, but I've just been sent a double CD compilation of country songs by Brenda Lee. I must confess to not paying much attention to "Little Miss Dynamite's" song book but this is a very interesting collection of 50 tracks. What has struck me about the album is the bass playing. Just about every song is augmented by a melodic yet subtle bass line that really gives each track depth and feel. The bass is not overpowering or dominating and there are no 'over the top' solos or slapping but the whole compilation is a lesson in how to use the electric bass to enhance a song.

OK, here we go but culling them down to 10(ish) was hard! In no particular order; A Hard Day's Night - The Beatles. My favourite fab four album. The Collection - ABBA. There has to be an Abba compilation in there. Like To Get To Know You - Spanky & Our Gang. A musical extravaganza from a unique band. Fotheringay - Fotheringay. Nothing more to say. The Song Remembers When - Trisha Yearwood. Superb modern country singer and the title track is a beautifully crafted song. Best Of Burt Bacharach Live - Trijntje Oosterhuis. Dutch singer who does the Bacharach catalogue proud - find the concert on YouTube. Just The Right Sound - The Association. I was a teenager in the sixties and The Association were one of my top groups. Ahh, nostalgia ain't what it used to be! Prayers of the Saints Live - Sovereign Grace. A Christian songfest with some great lyrics and vocal performances - especially from the girls. Sojourner's Song - Buddy Greene. Another Christian album by a great singer songwriter. If there's room, and I'm cheating here; A Carpenters box set and the Reader's Digest 6 CD set of 25 years of Motown. Please sir, can I have some more!!!!

I must confess to being late to the party with this band. The name put me off - I thought it was a rapper! Some cool stuff here.