Dr.Dave

Of course - if you can't decide whether to be in a covers band or a tribute band or you want to do something more creative or you don't know other musos into your type of stuff.... you could always do it all at once and try something like this ! [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dAO3J5QJ9w[/media]

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1400711716' post='2456415'] I suppose it depends if they blew the roof off the joint or not as to whether the invocation was justified. [/quote] Dustin Hoffman. Marathon Man. I believe the tale goes that he stayed awake for 3 nights to look dog rough for the torture scene and moaned to dear , dear Larry Olivier , luvvy how much he suffered for his art but felt it was required to get into character convincingly. Olivier tutted and said ' Then learn how to act , dear boy , learn how to act'.

[quote name='spinynorman' timestamp='1400704939' post='2456349'] The worst tribute I've seen was one for Queen. They were all quite unconvincing, but "Freddie" looked like Bruce Forsyth in a vest. The performance was sanitised, aimed at people who quite like hearing Bohemian Rhapsody on the wireless, but would find perspiration on a performer unacceptable. From conversations I overheard at the interval, it was going down well in Malvern. [/quote] We shared the bill with one , went into their dressing room to say hi to find the singer on his knees in front of a Freddie poster. Drummer told us to bugger off while he 'invoked Freddie's spirit'. What can you do ? !

I was in a ZZ TOP trib band for about 3 years. It was a side project of my regular band , Dr Blue. Why ? Because it got us playing in places that wouldn't normally have a pub band like Doc B - all over the UK and in Europe , it also got Doc B in the same places because we would support ourselves. We did huge car shows , night clubs , trib festivals and in Portugal actually replaced ZZ Top when a monster outdoor gig fell through for them and the organisers would have lost a fortune if they' cancelled the event. I enjoyed it - fantastic experience. 50k rig , more lights than Blackpool and chauffeured from sponsor to sponsor in an open limo !! We stopped doing it because I felt I was becoming too much of an actor and we were starting to take regular pub work which I saw no point in doing. I don't really like trib bands enough to go see them regularly but I don't really like seeing other bands anyway - I'm only interested in being a player , not being audience. There are some great players doing it that I stumbled across ( and some complete celeb obsessed arseholes who should get a life too) - and a huge market for it. Simple thing for me - if you like trib bands , play in one or go see one. If you don't - well... don't ! I've never appreciated an alternate view to that and can only put such views down to sniffiness and a 'holier than thou' attitude.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1399878206' post='2448440'] Learning to play guitar as well as Noel Gallagher, or to play bass as well as Percy Jones. Which is more difficult? [/quote] And which is more likely to inspire a young player to want to play ?

It's healthy for a 12 year old to be into music that irritates his parents , I think. That's just rock and roll ! Even if I'm wrong it's certainly a good thing for a youngster to get playing his or her own fave music as soon as possible , that encourages interest and practise. Back in the day I'd have had lessons if there'd have been anybody around that didn't just want me to play 3 blind mice and something by Beethoven and I'd probably be a better player for it. As for bass being easier - no question , to my mind , that you can get to a standard where you can play with other musicians in front of joe public quicker than you can on guitar. How far you take it on after that level is up to you , same as any instrument. Besides - I can never do with this bass v guitar thing . A bass - as most of us here define it - IS a guitar.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1389460813' post='2334410'] the more basschatters I meet the more i realise I'm a really bad bass player... [/quote] So far as I'm aware everybody round here puts their trousers on the same was as you do - besides , there are players riding round in the back of a Rolls who can't hold a candle to many pub players I've seen. That's how I see it anyway - I've picked up as many , possibly more in some ways , elements of my playing from local guys than I have from the big names. Everybody has something different to offer and therefore something worth paying attention to. The real stars for me are those who play the notes they should , not the ones they can. Put your finger in the right place at the right time and you're as good as anybody. If you can run 100m in 8 seconds then you're definitely better than Ussain Bolt. Music is different - it's subjective. There's no absolutes , no better or worse - just different.

[quote name='darren' timestamp='1398877254' post='2438593'] A beard [/quote] I already did beard - I just chose a posher word for it !

A corpulence ? A confederate ? a barbate ? An unslake ? An embuggerance

While Sam Hagar era Van Halen remained close to the top of the tree Dave Lee Roth hardly fell on his arse. The Beatles are an interesting one. Lennon and Macca as a songwriting team could have picked up two tramps off a park bench and been massive. I do think , though , that even on the most basic musical level bands are more than the sum of the parts. I can play a note while our guitarist plays a chord and the result is a noise neither of us could make alone. It's that simple. It's good to play with others , think about what they're doing and put your spin on it. - then they react to that , and on it goes.

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1398607124' post='2435658'] So blokes then?! [/quote] At my age I can't afford to be choosy !

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1398329282' post='2432851'] You'll be playing 'The Chain' by Fleetwood Mac next [/quote] I've been playing Mustang Sally...ish and (a bit of)the Chain in our set for years and I've yet to hear a good reason why I shouldn't. All I do hear is folks thanking me for doing it and moaning when we drop it. What matters is how you play it - in my case I find it entertains the Williams and entertains me best by playing it like it stole my wallet. Do I copy ( the wonderful) McVie's line ? Not really. He wouldn't copy mine. I usually end up in the audience for Mustang Sally to make room for more inadequately clad young ladies of the opposite sex to get on stage and sing the backing vocals. 'Blue Jobs' we call them. Only a matter of mathematics that one or two of them will have a daddy complex !

All I know , from a gigging players point of view , is that with the bridge cover in place not only can you not put a new string on but you can't even get the old broken one off. So it's as much use to me as a chocolate fireguard. Binned the day after I bought the bass 35 years ago. Pickup cover was tossed the same day - got in my way , as did the thumb rest. I expect that lot from a 73 sold on ebay these days would buy me 5 pints of Beardytwats 'aud Wifebeater , Sag Gohst with extra chilli and a peshwari nan and a knee trembler round the back of a skip with a painted hussy ....but I care not a jot.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1398292400' post='2432696'] Song about cars and girls..isn't that Prefab Sprout? [/quote] That song is a dreadful insult to the hugely popular 'Boss' Bruce Springsteen and his army of fans............... WINNER !!!! Get it in the set at once !

[quote name='cclowend' timestamp='1398170197' post='2431099'] Yes. Now that's impressive. I thought about that but haven't got a router. Post a pic if you will. [/quote] You mean you don't have a router like the ones that Argos sell - which of course are covered by a 16 day no quibble money back guarantee should you not find the item to be suitable. Just saying ! Should you decide to embark on such skulduggery - leave off the Kentish Ale in fact should you wish to get temptation out of your reach please forward it to ......I'm yer best mate , me , no 'onest PLC - 1, The Skip - Wakefield.

Been opening our show with 'Bad Case of Lovin' you' for ages now. Half because of the 'Dr Dr' reference - and I've been forced against my wishes to stop putting 'leader of the gang' in the middle - but anyway - always liked R P. Big fan of the Power Station stuff too though I'm sure many just think it's a load of 80s nonsense. Being of an age where I remember music coming on big black plastic discs , the first CD I ever bought was 'Riptide'. I remember 4 of us in the works kitchen trying to figure out how to open the case !

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1397487525' post='2424390'] Fair point. There must be a better word for someone who won't get out of bed unless they're being paid. [/quote] Well that word won't be musician in my experience. How about promoter or landlord. The same experience tells me they're a much better fit.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1397474666' post='2424177'] I'm not anti taking money for things, just that it's not constantly on my mind. I'm unlikely to do stuff I don't like unless I'm paid for it, but I'm equally happy to do stuff I enjoy without thought of making money from it. Isn't that the point of enjoying something? For it's own sake? From my perspective, it seems like there are a lot of miserable people out there who are only willing to play music if there's a few bob in it for them. Nothing wrong with that per se, their choice etc etc, but there are other approaches to life as well. That's all. [/quote] If there's nothing wrong with that - why refer to them as 'miserable' ? Other than that - same here. I'm just happy to be playing - but 90% of the playing I do creates revenue for someone so I think it right and proper that I share in that. If this makes sense - I think it more important to take money from those making it by utilising my services than for me to actually receive it. You have to put some value on your time and aquired skills and in the world of business - which pubs are - the currency tends to be money. I've had arrangements where I was offered 40 pints credit or £50 cash - and I took the pints I was just as happy......Frequently.

[quote name='Diablo' timestamp='1397340365' post='2423082'] "Everybody needs a shot of r'n'b" [/quote] So come on down to my Surgery..... Down to the Doctor by the Feelgoods. Being in a band called Dr Blue I've been singing it long enough!! Give me absolute control over every living soul And lie beside me, baby, that's an order!

I'm nearly 52 - so if I lift my tea cup up too fast it hurts !! Not much point in me worrying about gig aches and pains , then , but my top tip is to buy a pair of cheap motorcycle gloves with reinforced knuckles for loading and unloading purposes. Nothing like a pub door to take the skin off your hands.

I hate it when bands play in their own T Shirts - it's vulgar , somehow , to me but it's only a personal hatred. I don't like jeans because they're too hot to play in so I tend to look like a cross between a flower power hippy and Albert Steptoe wearing a T Shirt with a nob gag on it. I wear a bandana because they're cheaper than hair dye ! Some smart arse bloke once asked me in his best 'I'll impress my mates here' voice.... 'do you get paid to look like that?' to which I replied , 'Yes , of course - by you actually - so what's your excuse for looking a twat?'

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1396791814' post='2417344'] Next time I help my elderly neighbour by mowing his lawn or fixing his guttering, I'll be sure to charge him the going rate and donate the proceeds to the local care home for retired gardners & builders, who I'm putting out of business. [/quote] Out of interest - how would you feel if you mowed his lawn and he then opened up his garden to paying customers to hold garden parties in and pocketed the proceeds ? BTW - If folk here are really anti-taking money for being involved in gigging while other folk make money off their labours... I can always use a roadie to hump and dump all my gear while I sit on my fat arse having a pint , and I'll happily pay you f*** all for it !

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1396713676' post='2416700'] ...which was somewhat my point; I don't think of it as 'being taken advantage of', and I'm not a jealous guy. If someone else is earning through my efforts, I'd be more pleased than upset. Money is not my driving force. [/quote] Nor mine. 30 years of local gov. service , and the cruelly double edged and painful sword of inheritance have furnished me with all the doh ray me I'll ever want or need. If it was I'd be playing music I don't care for in the Northern clubs for 3 times what pubs pay me.. Money is , however , the driving force behind pubs and small venues employing bands. They want to make money. End of. I consider it right , proper , and fair to take my share as their employee. I don't mind what anyone else does - certainly not what you do - so if you thought my use of the word 'YOU' was directed at you alone , it wasn't. I was addressing everyone as to my opinion. It's the only way to make a businessman - which landlords and promoters are - to see that there's actually some value in what musicians do. If a musician doesn't want money - maybe he or she might consider taking it anyway for all the reasons I've listed and giving it discreetly to a favoured charity , or maybe sponsoring a young player to have lessons or buy decent kit.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1396719848' post='2416777'] I would expect that you probably have a lot of musical knowledge and theory, but probably developed through trial/error and flexibly reusing patterns from songs that you know. Maybe you don't know the names for the concepts you've (re-)discovered, but I'd be very surprised if there isn't a whole lot of reusable bass music knowledge in your head. [/quote] I guess that's what I meant really , Mr Twit. I sort of have the knowledge but no ability to define it. I remember the original pub space invaders game. If you wanted the top bonus of 300 points you fired 22 shots then waited for the bonus alien to appear before firing again. After that first bonus you changed it to 15 shots to get the top bonus. Patterns. I sort of play like that ! I know the notes on each fret up to the fifth on the E and A strings and a couple on the D string - just so when someone hollers a key out to me I know where to start. After that my hands take care of it while I get on with remembering the lyrics I have to sing. When folk ask me to teach them I refuse by saying that if you wanted to learn how to play Snooker you'd ask Steve Davis , not Jimmy White. That's me - the Jimmy White of bass playing !

If I'm making brass for someone else I want my fair whack. Simple. I'm also well suspicious of benefit/charity things - you know the deal , where a landlord gives 'a percentage' to the charity. OK - pay me my full whack and I'll give the same percentage to the cause !! There's one born every minute - so wake up and smell the coffee as quick as you can if you don't want to be taken advantage of. Remember this - if you play for sod all , what will the venue say to the young band who want to play next week? The young band that need cash to buy better gear or buy recording time? Those kids will be told to play for nothing too or bugger off - and YOU made that happen.