meterman

Oh, bugger. At least there's still Debenhams 👍

They definitely need to up their image game. Maybe go for the tried and tested Joy Division look? I reckon a quick trip to C&A for some nice shirts and slacks, oh and some slip-on shoes, that should do the trick. Sorted. Or just do what The Libertines and all the other 2000's indie landfill bands did and look like late 90's Shoreditch trust fund heroin addicts. Or combine both and the future could be theirs, Rodders! Bonnet de douche!!! Etc...

Although music is still technically my day job, I haven’t been a full time, official member of a band since 1993. When we were active we barely gigged so only owned our own instruments. After our album came out we split up, and I drifted into session work and three of the rest of the band became the backing band for a singer songwriter. They had a system where every penny they earned went into a band bank account to pay for PA, a van, lighting, band merch, insurance etc. Although they had management, they slogged around the country for 4+ years without managing to sign to a label which was their #1 aim. The idea was to hopefully sign to a major label, get an advance and finally have some cash, but it never happened and they eventually split up. Dividing up the gear and the costs of the van and all of that, was absolutely poisonous, it pretty much ended all their friendships and after all of it they never saw a penny for themselves over the five years they were together. Super sad way to go. By rights they should have made it, but they made some bad collective decisions (don’t sign to an indie label, hold out and sign to a major was the biggie) and it cost them badly. A couple of them haven’t spoken to each other since 1998. All because of the way the band split was handled. All of them now have day jobs and none of them play at all. I think the way their band split put them off music forever. Proper shame.

A used Peavey Classic 30 would be a good start for a 1x12" valve combo, should be plenty of them around. Otherwise pretty much any Marshall, Orange or Fender valve 1x12" will get you there. Personal recommendation: try out one of the little Orange Tiny Terror heads with a random 1x12" cab - the sound and volume might blow you away 👍

Is the gear things like shared PA etc? Do the rest of the band have jobs, pensions, savings, band funds, etc? If so, they can afford to buy your share out and get the other guy to play the gig. And they should do that. Alternatively if it’s only a couple of hundred quids worth and you were going to donate it to charity, why not just walk anyway. You haven’t really lost anything, and they don’t sound like the kind of folks I’d particularly want to share a Scotch egg with, never mind a stage or even a rehearsal room. Or, nick all the mics and flog them on FB marketplace and donate the funds to charity. And for afters, taser the rest of the band for being d1cks, new bassist included. You could always tell them, “No gain without pain” or something 💥😂

Yeah, I’m very ‘out of the way’ South! Funny enough I did have a Cumbia band going for a couple of months in London in 2018. Colombian percussionist, Spanish combo organ player (couldn’t find an accordion player), Scottish bass player and myself on guitar. Trouble was, everyone said “ooh yes, let’s play Cumbia” but the percussionist was too Salsa influenced to keep it simple enough, the organ player really wanted to be in a 1960s garage rock revival band, and the bassist revealed himself to be a total jazz fusion head who kept trying to crowbar Jaco licks into everything. Good laugh at rehearsals but not the real thing. Shame really, as that particular combination never properly gelled but a decent rocking Cumbia band will usually have dancefloors heaving. C’est la vie, and all that.

Just off the Av. de Catalogne, about 50 minutes from the Spanish border. No music venues here though. Or shops. Or bars. Just a weird but generally friendly bunch of folks that fled Franco's Spain, and a few lefty Italian types who arrived in the 1950s and the odd (and I mean odd) Brit like me who likes Cumbia and Vallenato music.

I think I've seen that SG copy on here before, it looks bloody ace to me ❤️ I did have one of the same pickups and tried to get it installed in the neck position of one of my Fender Teles, but the guy who did my repairs and tech at the time refused, saying, "I don't want anyone finding out that it was me that put one of those pieces of s*** in a vintage Fender" or something to that effect. Eventually I found someone to put a Mojo Gold Foil in it later on anyway. Well, somebody's got to devalue vintage Fenders so that future generations can afford them, right? 😂

It's a Kay Tulip isn't it? Or Teisco Tulip? The pickups on the guitar version weren't as bad as folks made them out to be, either. Mind, I have happily owned Jedson and Shaftesbury basses so I'm definitely not to be trusted 😂

Gerald Lamb at https://www.osteopathnorthwood.co.uk/about-us/ fixed me up after I was knocked down by a double decker bus. My upper body was so out of alignment that it took a few sessions but he did a brilliant job. He also did great work for my stepdaughter and wife following a car crash in 1998. Sadly he's not in central London anymore but I'd still travel out to Northwood for treatment by him. Definitely recommended 👍

I remember seeing Elzef play live in Paris over a decade ago and instead of the full accordion / brass / upright bass / drums / guitar combo, like here: ...they did a stripped down trio gig of guitar, drums and accordion, playing versions of stuff like this: ...where the accordion player did the bass lines and the brass parts. He was amazing. They also covered a load of classic era hip hop that night with the same lineup and were absolutely rocking 👍

It’s a Squier 5 string for a couple of hundred quid - nobody really cares about the headstock, surely? It’s like moaning about A4 paper not being square or Colman’s Mustard being too yellow nowadays, or the traffic lights taking too long to turn green... (Would be interested in the active Jazz bass, mind)

Glastonbury related: Does anyone else remember the Scouse kids selling fake blotter acid made out of cut-up bits of cereal packets in the 80s or 90s? Never fell for it myself but thinking back, they could have pocketed some decent cash 💰

There’s a track called “There’s No Vibration, But Wait” that I was quite partial to many decades ago. But apart from “Out Demons Out” my memory seems to have blanked them out completely. To be fair, my memory has blanked a lot of things out as I get older 🤔

Was that the one where Traffic played as well? I’d have paid to get into that for them and Gong alone ❤️ All the rest would have been a bonus to say the least!

I never used to go to the bigger festivals as a punter, they cost a fortune, the crowds are full of k-nobs who aren’t really there for the music and are either on the lash or coked up on cheap gack, and if the weather takes a turn it can be pretty chaotic. Plus you’re always miles away from the artists you want to see. I only went to a couple of festivals as a teenager and quickly decided they weren’t for me. Also I hate, and by that I mean truly despise, camping. Playing them is different though, you can drive in, get your passes, have a swifty, do your set, and get back in the van or bus and get straight back out again. Full marks to anyone who can pony up £300+ for a weekend and enjoy the chaos though. I bow down! 🙌 I hope anyone who’s attending Glasto is having an excellent time of it 👍

They're a boutique pedal outfit so £250 to £300 per unit is where they're at. Not the most expensive pedals out there but hardly Behringer. The name comes from a budget US amp company that went out of business in the late 60's that was very popular with blues players. I have a Supro amp that is basically an old Valco amp with a different badge. Decent gear, but some of it is a bit spendy.

The Wirral was good last time I was up there, same for Fife, there seemed to be a lot going on and a number of alternative venues / spaces were putting on small but well attended events. County Durham and Teesside have a few niche pockets of good live music too. Stockton-On-Tees, Hartlepool, Redcar, and so on. Hebden Bridge is another one. Played all those places in the olden days, even did the working men's club circuits (urgh) but there's proper dedicated venues for bands and singer songwriters now. The money might not be the same but there's places to play at least.

You can have my pristine Squier with La Bella Mustang flats for a load less than that 😂 And I’ll swap the tort for whatever colour you like. And ding it up if you want. Collection only, mind. Beverages and scran provided in the deal though 👍

Good luck Douglas 👍

Never sold anything here on BC but I have bought a couple of things. Didn't think to haggle and I'm not sure I would anyway. Most things I see here are usually fairly priced.

Even I'd take AC/DC and Hendrix covers over oompah flipping oompah!

😯 Youch! Beautiful bass but that's about what my house cost! I could always buy it though and live in a tent or something?

Round our way, most of the Fete de la Musiques the last few years have been pretty dismal - mostly loads of oompah brass bands for some reason, or the occasional bad Johnny Hallyday style 'rock and roll' band. Or gypsy jazz all day long, which I can take for an hour if I'm in a good mood but not for much longer. Occasionally flamenco displays too, as Catalonia is only on the other side of the Pyrenees and half our village is Spanish. But I'm right down in the South West and it's very traditional here. I'd imagine (hope) it would be way better elsewhere?