Paul S

That's what I do, except I usually spend 30 mins or so scouring the house looking for them when next needed.

So they just refund you once they have it back, just like before? That is excellent news.

Pre-Brexit I bought loads of stuff, including my band's PA. The only time I ever had a prioblem was trying to do this ^^ so my fault, really. Post Brexit - how does the whole VAT thing work now with returns?

My hands shake too much to do any soldering but something like this works just fine.

Ready, Willing and Able by Whitesnake. I'm ready I'm willing I'm Mable. Explains the hair, I guess.

I am considering getting a mic stand holder for my phone. Standard smart phone size 75mm x 160mm. I don't 'need' one but it would be handy if it was there in front of me. Does anyone have any personal recommendations? Looks like the bottom end of the market isn't worth getting but possibly something sub £20 OK? Stuff like K&M or Hercules is going to be good but seems expensive. Muchas gracias

I'd always summarily dismissed Rickenbackers as one trick clank planks that were too heavy and over priced. By chance I happened upon an accurate, quality, early 70s Japanese faker that was an affordable punt and it completely reversed my opinion about them being one trick clank planks, finding it to be just as versatile as any other bass, just 'different'. I had to move it on as it was too heavy, more is the pity. So now I just consider Rics as being too heavy and over priced

I thought it was 'wake up in the morning baked beans for breakfast. Sold out to every moth and beef-head. Ooooh oh, my ears are alight.

Two I like, because they turn macho rock songs into something banal and fluffy: Judas Priest - 'Rakin' The Lawn' Thin Lizzy - 'Kitten on the Roof' (... a kitten on the roof again, a baby kitten on roof'

I had one that was rehomed in a standard ABS 2U rack case. Worked a treat and saved a lot of weight, too.

I say, well done.

It's your bass so do whatever you feel you want to. Having said that, if it were mine, I'd leave it be and buy a fretted bass. There's plenty out there.

An approach that has worked for me since I first started!

Another good point. We are there next month so will have a chat. But there are no massive surprises, nothing we do is wildly different, anyway - not reggae one minute, Black Sabbath the next (I've been in a band that really mixed it up like that) - all blues rock, which is a pretty broad church anyway. Never slavish copies of recordings but there is plenty of room in the genre to interpret songs - so maybe a Howling Wolf song followed by a Freddy King song followed by a Hendrix song, but all played the way we play them.

Good point :)

My blues rock trio have been offered one gig a month throughout 2023 at our favourite pub and we have accepted. Obviously flattered, at first we hesitated but, discussing it, we couldn't actually flag up too many cons whereas the pros were tumbling around freely. It is a big commitment on both our parts but potentially win/win. And, of course, not set in stone so we, or the pub, could change it if required. Being genre specific like this we struggle to go down well in the 'average' pub band environment. Playing where we know we go down well once a month kind of takes a huge pressure off trying to find gigs. They say we are the best band they have had so want us to play there as much as possible. People will know where to find us - 3rd Friday of the month, Toredown will be playing at the Shamrock. Easy. A venue specific con, Load/unload is OK but parking nearby is a problem. Will people get bored? Up to us to make sure they don't I guess. Keeping the set fresh with new songs - a responsibility lies with us to learn new material but I think of this as both a pro and a con. It's possible we might lose out on other gigs but the regularity of those in the diary would make up for it. Has anyone done this and can flag up potential pitfalls?

Had a support slot for Ipswich based 80s metal band Woden Forge's reunion gig. Venue 77 in Ipswich, which is basically a warehouse tucked behind a pub with a tented ceiling. Stage wasn't massive, Woden Forge boys had set up by the time we arrived so we had to squeeze onto the tiny bit of space left available to us. Sound was amazing, absolutely crystal clear. We've had the same engineer on other gigs and he is great. We played a 45 minute set to the sell out crowd of 200 and I reckon most if not all of them were there when we fired up. We played well (I made a couple of mistakes but nothing crazy) and we went down really well with a crowd who were absolutely up for it. Lots of people came up afterwards to say how much they enjoyed the set. Apparently the whole of the Woden Forge gig, plus our last two songs, went out on a live radio stream. I also understand that our set was recorded on the desk, so hopefully we can get our hands on that. A great night, assisted by a completely hold-up free journey home along the A12.

I was in a Bon Jovi tribute band, Just Jovi, for around 5 years. That sounds a long time but the last 2 years were during COVID so only really count nominally. It morphed from a classic rock covers band where there was a feeling that we would play better gigs and generally have a better time of it as a tribute band. Bon Jovi was picked as we did a few songs in the set and it suited the singers range. We made the change 2016, I stepped down in 2021 after lockdowns gave me time to reflect, Warren @hiram.k.hackenbacker replaced me. Do you have to be a fan of the original artist, or maybe you become one? Fair to say I only knew a handful of Bon Jovi songs when we started. Learning the basslines I grew to have enormous respect for Hugh McDonald as a bass player but, ultimately, not particularly liking the songs was the main reason I stepped down. How important is it to be visually/musically identical? How much latitude are you allowed? We decided to do the whole dressing up thing - wigs and costumes for the main players. 99/100 Bon Jovi fans most likely couldn't pick out Hugh Mc in a lineout as he always took a step back from the limelight so visually my role wasn't so important. Physically I bear little resemblance to him but nevertheless wore similar clothes and the same shape sunglasses - that was about it. Musically was a different matter. I tried, best I could, to replicate the basslines note perfect. Do you ‘get into character’ or is it just a gig? Just a gig, although I did a lot of reading around the band and HM in particular. Does it feel musically limiting, or is it fulfilling your needs? (Maybe you have a side band?) At the time it was one of 3 bands and different to the others so, no, not at all limiting. If anything it made me grow as I was playing with some of the best local musicians, making me keep at the top of my game. Do you have any qualms about tributes ‘stifling original music’? Not even remotely. Tribute bands have a very definite and distinct place in the market. Have you ever met or been seen by a member of the ‘originals’? What did they say? No. What is the overriding thing being in a tribute act has taught you? Discipline, as a player. It has given me experience of playing larger venues and also taught me the value of tribute bands as a whole. Having done it once, would you do it again? If so, would the musical angle be very different? I'd do it again but only for music that I enjoyed myself. That said I am knocking on a bit at 65 so opportunities and ambition may be a limiting factor! I am currently in a 3 piece blues rock band. In one sense it is a tribute to a genre of music but a different approach - we interpret songs rather than cover them, which is very rewarding. It is the music that I grew up listening to, it is a part of my DNA, it feeds my soul. I enjuoy it far more than any other band I have played in and hope it lasts until decrepitude forces me to give up.

My blues rock trio Toredown are playing a support slot on Saturday 22nd for local 80s heavy metal band Woden Forge's reunion gig at Venue 77, Ipswich. https://allevents.in/ipswich/support-for-woden-forge/200023467135535

I have had a few but these were my favourites. Yamaha SB-35. My biggest seller's remorse, getting rid of this. 32" scale perfection. I. Am. A. Fool. I have pestered the guy I sold it to to the point where I believe he is considering taking out an injunction Aria Pro II CSB 'Black n Gold'. I've had two of these, 32" scale again. Bit heavy and a bit middy and nasally but beautiful instruments. This was the first I had which was pretty much in museum condition. Not quite exactly symettrical as the upper horn is very slightly longer. Washburn Scavenger. A Precision bass in everything but shape. again, in great nick, probably 9/10. Had to sell it as is was way too heavy once I hurt my back but a fab thing.

I bought 4 of these smart floodlights (got a message from the seller, as sometimes happens, offering £37.99 for two) and they arrived today. Controlled via the app they are extremely versatile, easy to use, extremely compact AND cheap. Perfect for our situation. So many thanks for the heads up @redbandit599

i thought it was your sister I met that day, Pete?