Dr.Dave

I've been doing our xmas gigs in a santa onesie. Last one's new years eve. It was seven quid on a sale rail at Primark so I thought 'why not'. Gets hot though , near the end of the night I strip off to the loud Bermuda shorts and a string vest I have on underneath !

My gig tonight's in a particularly manic joint , The Hop , here in Wakey. Should be an absolute belter but.... tonight's the night when folk have been out since close of play at work and are over pissed. We have Marc (latin name 'biggus twatus') and Derek (deckus nobheadus ) to field the more scrotal Williams away from the stage and back into the gutter where they belong should any sort of pagga ensue - but if any of you have a pub gig tonight and don't have the benefit of a pet pair of big hitters - enjoy your Xmas gig but watch yourselves.

[quote name='thepurpleblob' timestamp='1386672346' post='2302793'] Picking songs for a covers band seems to be a fine line between dreadful, cheesy stuff and the classic rock song. I'd be interested in opinions. I'll count how many times Mustang Sally gets mentioned [/quote] I love doing Mustang Sally and if anyone wants to know how to do it so it sounds like it wipes it's arse on it's own underpants then come along , watch and learn ! Same goes with all covers. Attitude. Rule No 1 for me..... stop listening to the original and start playing it like it stole something from you. Mind you - this is the guy who does 'In the Navy' in the middle of Primal Scream's 'Country Girl' and a Gary Glitter/Cher medley wrapped around Metal Elvis so I don't suppose it would suit anyone with the slightest degree of subtlety or good taste !!

The first vinyl LP of the gendre that I bought. It was worth it just for the sleeve ! I embroided that sleeve on the back of my denim jacket and slept on Stafford station in the freezing cold to see Rainbow as a result of that purchase. All very primitive to today's school leavers who likely think ' catching cold ' is a playstation game but I wouldn't have missed it. 'High noon , Oh I'd sell myself for water....' makes me bleary eyed just thinking about it.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1386352291' post='2299229'] I am not happy with my playing overall , but sometimes I am happy within the wider context of being unhappy, if that makes sense. The thing about playing an instrument is that you have good days and bad days, and it can be difficult to predict which you are going to have when , so you just have to learn to roll with it and take the rough with the smooth. [/quote] The thing about having a bad day is being good enough to recognise it and do something about it. I make mistakes every night. Every single gig I play. Experience has taught me how to cover that and I bet most of you would never even know.

Yes - but I wouldn't trust it.

I'm 52 , I go out with my mates to or gigs and have a better night out than the Williams and come home richer rather than poorer. I can have any instrument I choose and I can play any tune I can think of. As a player I'm confident - with the hard earned skills to back that up - enough not to need to show off and not to care a flying whatever what anybody thinks. I'll walk on a stage with anyone - anyone - and not be phased , starstruck or feel inferior ( though they might) . I wish I could go back in time and tell the 18 year old Doc how worthwhile all the struggles and effort would one day feel. Could I get better ( whatever that means) technically with more practise and study ? Sure. Will I ever stop learning ? Nope. Am I happy with my playing ? No... I'm ecstatic !!! Oh - while I'm on - those of you who reckon you're not good enough to make pro.......... listen to some of the household name jokers out there driving about in rollers who aren't fit to string your bass before you say such nonsense !!

Given the news and given my high levels of cynicism I think anything mentioning Nelson that could be rushed out quick would shoot to No 1 this year. I expect Bono's planning it as I type , it can only be a matter of time before he does something shockingly embarrassing.

Ah - Floyd ! Simply roll your own P F classic by getting the bass and drums to do something over simple and too slow while the guitar player wails some masturbatory irelevance over the top for 20 mins. 30 mins , in fact. For extra realism - write the lyrics the day after your dog dies.

45 mins then 1hr (ish , + or - 10 mins). That's enough - beer doesn't drink itself , you know ! Nowt wrong with having 100 songs , that way you can swap them about. I reckon we do something approaching 20 most nights from a hard core of about 30 and another 20 we could draw on. To be honest we often have a go at something just because we fancy it or hear it in the car on the way so it doesn't have to be something from a rehearsed list.I often tell folk we're the band that rehearses by listening to a car radio and that's the truth.

[quote name='gafbass02' timestamp='1386000534' post='2294469'] Because of the nature of my band ( we play rocked versions of pop classics, think green day playing Bonnie Tyler/Katy Perry and you're about there) [/quote] You sound like my shower. The latest is I managed to Take some Primal Scream and turn it into the Village People's 'Go West ' halfway through ! Shame you're so far away - I'd be straight there with the notepad out to see what I could steal !

Ha! A favourite staple stage gag of mine - ' We've had a request.... but we're staying'!' Anyway - do I do requests. No. I play what I want to play not what someone else wants me to. That simple. However - if someone does ask for something , I offer instead to dedicate something we are going to play to them instead. This has less to do with not being a miserable twat than it has to do with getting said gullible william to buy me a pint. I consider it part of the game to get williams buying my drinks and have a number of simple tricks to aid that cause !

[quote name='solo4652' timestamp='1385373396' post='2287392'] OK. I asked to singer to tell me more. She sent this email: "To me the bass sounded a bit clinical and too clean. It's prominent, and in time on the recordings and in rehearsal, but on songs like We are Family and Kiss for example we really need to funk it up; I think the bassline needs to have more 'swing and sway' that's what I mean by groove. It seems that you're so focused on getting it right that I worry you're not relaxed and enjoying yourself when you play!" So, the reverb thing may be a bit of a red herring. She says I play in time, but I need more "swing and sway", [/quote] Right - when you're recording dump the snare drum out of the mix and if the guitar distracts you dump that too. Now see what difference it makes. Then play the full mix to the singer and invite her comments. Take her comments on board - as you would expect your comments on her performance to be regarded - but make your own decision based on the results of your experiment. If she still moans - and this is most important - try telling her to go boil her head in a bucket of p***.

I wouldn't mic a cab live unless I was playing stadia and even then would only use one mixed in with the DI signal for a bit of ambience. If you're thinking that DI alone can be a little sterile there are plenty of ways to add cab simulation et. If you DI post eq anything you do to your sound will be replicated through the PA. If you still decide to go ahead I'd look a bass drum mics though the aforementioned SM57 would do the job.

Sorry to be a petty pooper but I'm with the complainant on this one. Peace and quiet at home is something I value highly. It really is no effort to use headphones. I had to go and face off my work shy neversweat of a noisy neighbour at 2 in the morning a few days ago - pissed up and rowing with the fat nightmare he lives with. Not being one to mince words he's been quiet as a mouse since. I expect being told by a bloke in a monkey onsie that he's going to tear your head off and sh*t down your neck is a pretty scary thing !

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1383221538' post='2261676'] I have nothing against covers and tribute bands, but I do find it depressing when people think that it's something to aspire to. It's not the same as classical orchestras and jazz bands playing others' compositions because they are keeping the music alive and bringing it to new audiences, it's more often out of love and duty I think. Cover bands are often doing it for kicks and money from what I can tell, more taking than giving, an easy way to play at being the rock star without the creativity, effort and uncertainty of going out there with original music. There's a sad emptiness to it in some respects. Tribute bands seem to be more born from obsession so I feel better disposed towards them than cover bands. [/quote] Fancy - me going out for something as trivial as kicks and money ....not exhibiting any effort or creativity while I do it..... what a sad empty life I must lead. You've never managed to grasp that some people aspire to be craftsmen rather than artists , have you ? !

[quote name='Telebass' timestamp='1383214633' post='2261561'] I too like to use my own mike (a '58!), but I have used and like those D5s. If I need to replace the 58, that's what I will buy. [/quote] And have a halfway decent ruby murray ... WITH peshwari nan ... with the change. No brainer !

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1382961870' post='2258405'] Agree, but the band is called Fleetwood Mac. It would only be Fleetwood left from the original line up. Also the bands you have mentioned do not have the bassists name as the groups name. [/quote] There was a Fleetwood Mac with no Mac or Fleetwood in it for a time. And there was no Mac in the original line up - Bob Brunning being the band's first bassist.

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1382894216' post='2257670'] Lee Sklar or Pino could always stand in...but lets hope he has a speed recovery. [/quote] I'm sure any number of people could stand there and play the notes but that's not the point. I've only been in my band 13 years - never mind 46 - and I'm buggered if I'd get on stage with some other herbert while one of my band mates was seriously ill. As it turns out - one of our band wives is having surgery for cancer this very morning , hence our cancelling yesterday's gig so she could spend the day with her hub. As I said to her yesterday - 'Get rid , get better ....... and get the kettle on , I'll be round to steal your hob nobs soon enough'.

I'm a massive Mac fan , in all it's differing forms , and the news about John is an absolute sickener. A far better bass player than folk give him credit for - just listen to 'Go Your Own Way' and imagine what a dull little thing it would be without that bass part. On top of that his line from the Chain is the only bass riff I know that get's you a charity box fine if you're caught playing it in music shops ! Legend - get well soon , chief.

[quote name='dudewheresmybass' timestamp='1382868111' post='2257272'] I use a pretty expensive sennheiser that is one of the few mikes that leave my foghorn voice sounding reasonable [/quote] Which is odd because I use a mid priced AKG D5 to deliberately make my reasonable voice sound like a foghorn ! Seems to me your average PA crew uses 58's partially on reputation but mostly because they think - correctly - that it will impress bands because folk in bands don't usually care a toss about mics but they've heard of 58's. I can assure you that my D5 suits/helps my shouty voice and Rod's Beyer suits/helos his talk/sing voice far better than any weedy old 58. And I can't understand some people'sattitude towards PA crew. Of course they're important as I said - but WE employ THEM to do what WE want !! Like any employer our responsibility is to tell them what we want of them. Drawing on and listening to their views as experts in their own field is important but we remain with the final word. The last time I was swayed by a PA crew was in front of 2 BC witnessess and a couple of thousand others at Colne Blues Festival. I wrongly allowed them to use a silly active direct box which they didn;t know how to use and they managed to shoot 48v of phantom power into my Shuker - frying the electrics. If I'd had my hands on the strings at the time... God only knows !

[quote name='dudewheresmybass' timestamp='1382800215' post='2256713'] You'd be surprised how many sound engineers get funny when you ask to use your own mike! [/quote] I doubt you'd be surprised to hear how many sound engineers with that attitude that have crossed my path have been told to either wind their necks in or pack up and sod off ! Sound crew are important folk who can be of the greatest help to musicians - we need to be able to rely on them - BUT , the relationship is one of manager to support service employee. Pecking order. We are the fountainhead and they take their instruction from us.

We take our own mics everywhere. We did a festival thing in Pontefract once with a huge hired in PA and my mic stank of some other herbert's stale breath , disgusting. Needless to say I caught a throat infection. Since then we insist on our own mics. I carry mine in my bass gig bag so I can't forget it. With a '58 ( wouldn't give them houseroom myself but there you go) it's an easy job to unscrew the pop shield and rinse the foam out in a drop of disinfectant then squeeze it dry once in a while. I clean the pop shield on my AKG's with a toothbrush and listerine mouthwash.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1381999566' post='2246438'] since yesterday, I cannot stop thinking about rainbow coloured furry guitar straps! [/quote] Exactly - so if it stays in your mind , it stays in the william's minds too. The one on my Blue Flower look like a dead dog , in fact many folk think I made it from the hide of a dead Alsatian - mostly because of the lies I tell them. I don't mind bass players who are happy to stay out of the limelight and just get on with their gig , that's great - a lot of my favourite players are like that. What I won't tolerate is those who stand in the shadows putting jack sh*t into image/performance/entertaining then bleat that guitar players and singers get all the glory. Cupid stunts. Stop chelping , put some thought into how the williams see you then proceed to the front of the stage and work for your share of the spoils.