Stub Mandrel

I think mine is about 1976.

Saw Fury... possibly supporting Phil Campbell? They were good.

Just over two hours for me

Dudley?

Redditch? Worcester?

I'm not the world's best singer, but the chance that tuning down a random selection of songs half-step will make a meaningful difference to more than one or two songs is negligible.

Alas, Spondon is no longer a hop, skip and a thirty-minute drive from my abode.

Band have to live with what I decide to bring along on the day! Turned up for a dep with my Hohner B2 once, and they loved it.

The Box speakers are decent but some are heavy. I gave away two 2x15 + tweeter cabs, they were just totally impractical, but I know a rehearsal studio that uses them and they sound great.

Two of my irrational prejudices right there...

Jazz is the other band's, not mine.

The Small Feces. (American spelling 😁)

Is it a Himmernezz? No it's a Yamaha.

RAY CHARLES on what does it take to be a good Blues singer : Oh, well, that’s a great question, because you know, you can’t just say any one particular thing. First of all, let’s be honest about it, it’s important that one have a little talent, I mean, that, that would help, let’s face it. But I think that to have to be any kind of singer I think you have to have feeling there, and feeling cannot be taught. You can teach a person notes, you know, just like in music, you know, you can teach a person to play the piano, play an instrument or you can teach a person… they can go to voice school and you can teach him how to sing. But the one thing you can’t teach is you can’t teach feeling, you see and that is the key I think to any kind of singing… can the person, and what feeling is to make that they’re saying so real that you believe whatever they’re singing about must have happened to them because they’ve got so much feeling in their voice. The same as an actress who plays a part on the screen is so real you forget that’s it’s just a play, but you become so involved… to me that’s what feeling is all about, is to make yourself, whatever you’re singing about believable and of course I don’t think you can teach that. I think the person either has to have it or they don’t have it.

May I make a plea for a south of Brum venue as many Welsh basschatters would join in.

American dates...

Not long got back. Played a local venue for the second sunday in a row, this time with the Fortunate Sons. Unexpected gorgeous sunny day meant a packed audience and plenty of dancing. Again played best part of 2 hours and 35 songs(!) We were much tighter than our previous gig. I'm getting more comfortable on bvs, so joining in on more songs. The singer caught me out by shoving his mic in my face during Moni Moni... Went for a sunday lunch with my partner beforehand. A pint of coke, pint of Guinness and a bottle of becks zero on top, with two hours of bouncing around and I have a fine stomach ache. Lots of people I know there which was nice. I loaded in from the front. The other guys were less lucky. The route to the back is like a scene from the evil dead...

Bit like the sickparrots but more predatory...

The water filter in my fishtank 🤣

The smaller Altos are another 'affordable' brand. Our club uses bigger Alto powered speakers andcthey sound find and have proven vastly more reliable than HH. Last night we had a drum machine and then a guitar through them without backline no problems (except the guitar turned up far too loud).

Well... First, the chaos of setting up three bands well (solo singer plus band) using the same mixer with two guitars using the desk, a drum machine and an electronic kit. Somehow it worked, but the second band's guitarists did the "crank after soundcheck" thing which scared off a few punters and did their sound no favours. Their bass player (also the organiser) used my kit. Our set was as interesting as promised, despite Fritz doing his back in which made it a little tamer. In my labcoat I wheeled in the patient (we skipped the straitjacket). He shambled to the mic as Nigel the specialist delivered the narration. I handed Fritz an acoustic guitar so he could start his 'creative therapy'. He played the Fractured Persona song with us backing quietly. The first four songs I went fretless Maya P. As it cranked up the fourth song was pretty punky so over to fretted P and plectrum. Then back to fingers except for Kill the Klown, which featured a sledgehammer clown attack on our singer who reponded by chainsawing the clowns head off. The prop chainsaw was wirelessly miked up too We ended up doing our encore, largely without our rhythm guitarist who truned the volume down on his guitar and forgot. We knew some of the songs were memorable and it was surprising to see people joining in some of the choruses, so comfortable we weren't just a novelty show. Lots of decent feedback despite obvious first gig hiccups. Memorable for us and the audience.

Spival tap Private Walker's band

A bit of a bugger to get right.

Surely.

Spinal Tad (Very small band in proportion to an 18" Stonehenge).