Nail Soup

Happy birthday! From my side the arrival of children marked something of a hiatus in my music making. For e few years just the odd strum on the acoustic, then back into a bit of home recording , then a few open mics and finally back into a band. That is over a 20 year period. No regrets, I love music and the kids and was happy to balance it out that way.

According to my t-shirt, this is how a folk singer looks with a bass...

Hhhhmmm hard to remember! The book I learnt from taught walking basslines in 12 bar patterns So I guess that could have been hundreds of songs! Then I started an originals band with a mate so we made up our own stuff. We eventually did a cover of Blitzkrieg Bop (The Ramones) so that must have been the first one I learned.

They also seem to have figured out that you'd only go 40p over budget too 😀!

Yes, know what you mean. It would make more sense after buying for example a bass to try to sell you a case or amp than another bass. Personally, I think AI will get there soon, and we'll have few sweet years of sensible recommendations before AI goes too far and we all have to bow down to our silicon overlords.

If it helps, I a) had not seen this before and b) found it mildly amusing.

Been loving this relatively recent song since I heard it on 6 music a few years ago. Mungo's Hi-Fi : Bike Rider

Yes, my band would do it (we are covers). We play for free sometimes anyway, and not in it for the money. As far as I am concerned the venue is doing something for us even if they pay us no money - they are providing us with an audience and a 'platform' (every sense) to play on. I'm doing it as a music fan as well as a musician. I want the venues to stay open or keep doing music and provide me with live music for years to come. Speaking as non-pro, so other perspectives may apply!

OK, just one more............. If you want to get away from "female as lead singer" concept... how about this London instrumental group Los Bitchos?

Rod's a classic London Scot... I was going to say that can't be Scots accent then..... but then I remembered a kid at School who was born and raised in England and spoke with a regular local accent. Until we heard him on the phone to his mum and he spoke in broad scottish accent! I didn't realise that was a thing until then.

For a prog feel which is totally led by female, try Purson (now defuct). Rosalie Cunningham sings, writes all songs and plays all instruments (bar bass and drums) on the records . Bit of a strech from Disney, but up to you how/when to introduce.

What used to be called Indie music has a pretty good proportion of female artists. Try listening to 6 music for a day or two and should hear a lot of female solo, female fronted and all or mostly female bands. Try PINS, Porridge Radio, Hinds for example. Not really rock/prog though.... I’ll see if I can think of something that fits that.

Actually picking out an LP to listen to doesn't happen as much as when I was younger... maybe one or two per week. I don't have a rcord/CD player so it's in the car or MP3 player. The rest of the time it's radio shows... downloaded or live.. mainly 6 Music, plus Radio 2 folk show and Blues show most weeks. but in lockdown I listed to much more 6 music.... get to know the playlist songs really well! The other source is youtube reccomendations, such as a fcebooks chanels, Basschat threads, youtube links and so on. Listen to a lot of spoken word nowadys too. I cut back on TV to priorise music, and try to consume at least one hour of music per day.

Chambers by Lorelle Meets The Obsolete (Mexican Psych) Here's a track - What's Holding You?

I saw Dahka Brakha last year at Earth in Hackney. Absolutely fantastic, one of the best gigs I've ever been to, no question. I'd never heard of them, and got linked to a video on you tube (it was either this one or maybe a TinyDesk concert or similar). So impressed that on the off chance I googled for gigs.... and as luck had it, they were making a rare UK appearance in about two weeks. At the gig, I started chatting to the guy sitting next to me, and he said he'd been waiting a couple of years to see them. I told him about my two-week journey with the band! You may remember a day in the UK last year when it was so hot that trains were cancelled etc ... that was the day of the gig. Bit of a struggle getting there and home. And despite the heat, they wore the hats throughout 😀!

Cheers.......liked the Juliette song, but can take or leave Amy Winehouse.

I saw one of the writers on TV explaing the idea behind the song - that playing music live is their life. So does every word make complete sense now?

And let’s not forget those who struggle with their Do Re Mi. I’m sure that doesn’t apply to anyone on here😉!

According to the Jacksons ABC is as easy as 123. This completely disregards the fact that many people find numerical tasks simpler than language tasks (or vice versa).

Don't you pull the chain after a No 1? I'l get me coat...........

Honestly, I don't think there are enough conspiring parties in there for it to be a conspiracy theory . How about paraniod or delusional instead?

Remember - you've been approached as a bass player in the past, so you must be doing something right! You've learned the songs so that's another tick in the box. Turn up on time, make sure your equipment is OK. Take a mike/stand etc if you got them... good to show you are prepared. Then just enjoy the session - you're either a good fit with them or not, no point trying to force it.

I think creative people use whatever they have to hand. That could be formal training, or it could be a complete ignorance of formal learning. Both work in the right hands. Some untrained creatives are worried that they may lose the ability if they look under the hood. That's a fair concern in my book...... I've no issues with someone avoiding formal learning for that reason.

Great song! But I'm wondering, fantastic wonk-out though it is, if it is really in a non-standard time signature. I counted along and I made it 4 beats to the bar..... or am I missing something?

How about the "inky" music papers? There used to be four and now down to some very different version of the NME. The death knell rang for those seems a long time ago?