Bluewine

I hope I'm not derailing this interesting thread, but yeah busy gigging bands are work. Agreed, for those not in it for the money, playing 2-3 gigs a week could be frustrating. I never thought I'd say this about playing but I leave for work tonight at 4:15 and punch out at 12:30am. Keep in mind we will all still have fun tonight and make money. I think there are some that feel if your making money it must not be fun. I'm sure some of us have been in bands where there was a ton of work but no money. IMO starting any kind of band is difficult. Blue

I had one, not a bad bass. However I traded up to the German made custom Hofner Club bass. Completely different instrument. They're not cheap, $2,500.00 Blue

We ask a lot of questions before hiring anyone. We have to be convinced a candidate understands the commitment of a heavy gigging schedule and has experience in a busy gigging band. No matter how good a musician is it wouldn't matter to us. We would never hire the guy that's a great player but has little to no experience. We'd hire the marginal guy that has a lot of gigging experience. Blue Exactly, no busy band has time for guys whose life circumstance prevents commitment. Blue

Exactly, hauling lights, sound, set up and tear down and the grueling effort and challenge of playing and trying to effectively manage 4 hours worth of material has to be about money. I will leave my home today at 4:15pm and will get home at 2:00am. And as I always say, we'll have fun but we don't do it for fun, we do it for money. Blue

What about those Harley Benton PS & J's? They're like $169.00 including shipping. Blue

Spondon is right, my US bias makes it hard for me to voice an opinion. Money is everything over here. Blue

Busy weekend. Probably our last 2 outside shows for the summer. Also we're back to 4 hour shows.:( And Columbus is an hour commute, 1 way. Hope the band is on as well as my playing. Blue Friday 9/7/2018 The Old Rock Hwy 16 & 60, Columbus 7:30 p.m. - 11:30 p.m. Sunday 9/9/2018 C & S Performance Engines Hot Rods on Hampton Car Show 4687 N 124th Street, Butler Noon - 4:00 p.m.

I would have started packing up my gear with no explanation at that point. Blue

Neither do I, and I believe it's the reason I get along with everyone. I really don't see the other band members until our sound check at gigs. Blue

As you know I have a lot of opinions on auditions. Before any of us should audition; 1. Have clear understanding of what your looking for in a band. 2. Do your homework, look for recent videos of the band. 3. Make sure the personal line up is what you think it is. 4. Ask questions, anything that's important to you ask about it. Most bad audition can be avoided if you do your homework. Avoid " I Have To Be In A Band" syndrome. Blue

Ok, no matter how much I practice I'm never going to be the guy with the fast fancy riffs and high technical ability. Blue

The Harley Davidson 115th Anniversary Bash was ok. We opened for Beatalica. Great weather and nice crowd, but adapting to any big stage is always a challenge for us. Blue

Cool Musicbassman, Thanks for your comment Our Vista King Cruise is really a big drink-athon. We lucked out selling out to a supportive engaged crowd. Blue

Very cool, We've been playing the Vista King for the last 5 years. Cons 1. Load in/out is a real challenge. 2. You play 2 hours straight for the evening. No breaks. Pros 1. Excellent pay if you sell out you get 50% of the take. Selling out is 120 ttickets at $22.99 a pop. 2. It's a mere 2 hour gig. That's great for those of usual that play 4 hour bar shows. Blue

Hi Pete, Then I won't complain about the $10.00 I had to pay for parking for that cruise gig Saturday night. Are these little cruise gigs popular in the UK? Blue

Another weakness, I rely a little too much on my pedals and on top of that I could be a lot better at tweaking them. All I really need is a little sustain and dirt. Ivfinally have good settings dialed in on my MRX Bass Distortion pedal which should help. Blue

My kind of weekend Pete. Nice! Blue

Thursday 8/30/2018 Wisconsin Harley-Davidson 115th Anniversary Bash 1280 Blue Ribbon Dr, Oconomowoc 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Another good pay day and we only play for 2 hours. Hope the energy from Saturday Nights boat cruise follows us. Blue

I see deps mostly in pro, functions, wedding, and corporate bands. Blue

Depends, there are bands that won't use deps. We'd cancel before using a dep. We're not a professional band, I think pros use deps. Blue

I'm too old school for my own good. I don't slap, solo or play 5ers either. None are necessary in my band. Blue

We can't control the behaviors of others. Blue

Unbelievable how hard our job is when we have to work with weak drummers. Blue

I like to think my strength is knowing how to be in a band as well as understanding my role in a band. I've been playing in bands since 1966. I have good basic understanding of chords ,what notes are in all the chords and how to make sense of it all. The ability to play bass lines that make musical sense and provide a solid foundation for any song. I'm certainly not the guy with the fancy riffs and a lot of technical ability. I'm not a complainer, I can't control others members behaviors or ideas. I sign on to play gigs , play bass and sing background vocals. I don't care about material choice, it's not why I'm in the band. My weakness, age. Playing 4 hour gigs is becoming increasingly difficult for me. Blue

Excellent selling points in my opinion. Blue