TimR

[quote name='interpol52' timestamp='1452782118' post='2953462'] Yep that's kind of what I meant. Acts that for whatever reason have slipped under your radar, no negative feeling whatsoever. [/quote] I don't know how David Bowie can have slipped under anyone's radar unless they were born in 1990. I mean I was born in 1969, I've heard loads of Beatles tunes but never bought anything or actively listened to them other to learn a tune.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1452764994' post='2953157'] Make sure it stays friendly and welcoming. I went to a jam once, there was a clique of regulars clearly "in charge", I got glared at for making mistakes, the whole atmosphere was rather unfriendly. I never went back. [/quote] Definitely. That's why I think the OP will do better to try and get it going through word of mouth as I tend to stay away from established or generically advertised evenings. The one I attend on boxing night at our local is full of locals who have known each other for years. They're friendly but it's not particularly organised to suit all comers. We had a guy who left it until 11:40 to ask if he could play his harmonica. He was really good. Shame he hadn't stepped up an hour earlier.

[quote name='colgraff' timestamp='1452764836' post='2953154'] As a rule, if someone wants to have a go on my bass (almost always asked during a break) I let them. I might be lucky but said people usually ask because they are interested in basses and haven't seen one like it before. They are also usually sober. [/quote] That last point is important. I was packing up after a gig, we still had music playing through the PA but I was unplugging mics and DIs on stage. There was a huge pop as I unplugged one input and I turned around to find someone playing with the desk faders. I went over and started to have a word, when his 'mate' appeared and said "It's ok mate, he is in a band, he knows what he is doing." Lesson learned. I now unplug at the desk first.

My advice would be to directly approach musicians you know and invite them down. Did you get the details for the three that were there? Call them, make sure they're coming again and ask them to bring people with them.

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1452643544' post='2952067'] Find some new music to listen to! [/quote] I agree. Or a change is as good as a rest. If you're playing the same tunes to the same crowd and the rest of the band aren't up for changing 5 or 6 numbers out, then it may be time to move on.

[quote name='Nicko' timestamp='1452691954' post='2952460'] No, I think your approach is entirely reasonable. You know what you think you want, and check to see if it really is. [/quote] Yes. I agree. There will be lots of factors that have already steered you in that direction. Maybe ones you're not consciously aware of of.

I think if we start talking about styles there'll be huge gaps. Most of us play pop. I think we should try and stick to msinstream pop artists or the list will be huge.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1452687447' post='2952378'] Then I would suggest not commenting on The Beatles. I had nothing negative to say about Motorhead or Lemmy. I know what and how the younger generation feels about The Beatles. You can't fool me. Blue [/quote] Nobody had anything negative to say about the Beatles. Other than they didn't like them and they were in a blind spot. Any other bands in our blind spots you think we shouldn't comment on? Just so that we don't offend you? Madness. Stop being so sensitive.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1452686893' post='2952367'] Not a blind spot at all. I got the name of the band wrong. However, I think I got the year right. Plus my point was merely that I watched a lot of Lemmys interviews and I liked him as well as his perspective on rock and roll. Not sure what your getting at. Blue [/quote] Well, you can't really escape Paul McArtney here. But you still would have to actively listen to the Beatles back catalogue to get into them and understand the music. That's not something I need to do. It's not being ignorant, it's being pragmatic in my approach to what I listen to. The thread is about which bands are you aware of that are very big and influential but who you haven't actively listened to. It's not about who is or isn't being ignorant.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1452685995' post='2952348'] I thought he started the band in 1975. I could be wrong and what if I am? I still like him. Blue [/quote] The point is Motörhead was the name of the band, not Megadeath. They're hugely influential. Span several decades (unlike the Beatles). They've made more than 5 albums. They're an artist you should have actively listened to. Especially as your band play classic rock. I suggest they may well be a blind spot. No one has called you ignorant. Yet.

I don't think I've ever emailed a manufacturer. I'll read online reviews and ask people if they've used the gear. And I'll try it out. I don't buy anything I haven't seen and touched in the flesh.

[quote name='colgraff' timestamp='1452683592' post='2952300'] There's an interesting philosophical argument buried in the question that, if you are aware of it, is it a blind spot? That said, musical blind spots for me (in the sense that my eyelids close either in boredom or irritation: Dylan Jazz Prog rock with tracks over 7-8 minutes long (Early Queen is okay, Yes is not) Reggae [/quote] Yes. It's a blind spot. It means you have to consciously move away from what you're normally looking at to see it. I'm aware that Dolly Parton has a massive following but I'm too busy looking at the numbers I have to learn to delve into her back catalogue and immerse myself in Country and Western. It's just something I'm not interested in.

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1452676416' post='2952207'] I was never really interested in all that prog stuff, King Crimson, Yes etc. I only really listened to Genesis after Phil Collins took over. I know, I,m shallow. [/quote] That's a pretty good example. To me Phil Collins took them in a direction I didn't really like. I like their material up to about Then There Were Three/Abacab. It's not that I don't like the Beatles or Elvis, or even the Stones (another band I'm only familiar with hits from) it's just that I've never been grabbed by a single and thought that I should go and buy an album.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1452652145' post='2952099'] I'm learning more and that many bass chatters have no respect for the pioneers that set the ground work for them. For the most It's pure ignorance. Blue [/quote] It's not ignorance on by behalf. As the OP asks, What artists do you not have a great knowledge of. I used the Beatles and Elvis as two examples of artists that everyone else seems to know lots of material. Between them they produced 50 studio albums. That's 50 albums I'd have to actively source and listen to each several times to familiarise myself with. There are thousands of artists out there but very few have released more than 5 albums. Off the top of my head a few that spring to mind; Cliff Richard, Iron Maiden, Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, Marillion, Micheal Jackson, Simple Minds, Genesis Springsteen ... It's not possible to be familiar with all the greats. Edit: YouTube isn't particularly friendly towards the Beatles, learning their times isn't a simple exercise.

The Beatles and Elvis Presley. I only really know the tunes that I've had to play. Maybe 20 or so. No idea what albums are which etc.

Ah ok. Autism explains it perfectly. You'll only need to hear it once, or possibly only the first part and you'll know where it's going. My son is dyslexic. Some things (academic) he just will never get. Some things (physical, dramatic arts) he just gets straight away. Quicker than anyone else ever could. Just wired differently. But that's all the more reason not to dismiss theory for other people.

The trace Elliot GP7 15". I only sold it because I thought it was becoming unreliable and I couldn't carry it upstairs without smashing lumps out of the walls.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1452021595' post='2945661'] Sorry but this is cobblers - I've been playing for 36 years & I still could not play you a single scale, and I have no idea what a chord pattern or a tension is. This hasn't stopped me being in lots of bands & even doing paid session work because some people just like the way I play. [/quote] This is interesting. You must at least know the names of the notes of a scale and where they are on the fretboard. Do you just have perfect pitch and play completely by ear? You wouldn't last one minute in any of the bands I've played in. How can you dep if the band leader says 'blues in E'?

It's not you. It's the cheap rubbish cables they come with. Even the expensive ones. They're assembled by machine. When my headphone plugs go, I pop down to maplins and renew the cable as well.

Lemmy would be chuffed. Listen to the interview. He didn't like rock stars who weren't in touch with their fans. He didn't like people who were stuck in a time period and refused to move with the times and evolve. If the fans want an element named and the stuffy scientists don't, that's proper Rock'n'roll (or heavy metal)

Although, in this clip he says they're the same thing. http://youtu.be/Vnzr2tPCxMQ Maybe the person Lemmy wasn't mythical, but there's a lot of myths surrounding the things he's supposed to have done.

Yes. We played a pub (twice) with an odd local. All the regulars thought he was hilarious. We didn't. Drummer told us 'we' wouldn't be playing there again.

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1452256298' post='2948104'] Dunno, I teach a bit and students are still asking for Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Hendrix stuff. I guess if a student is really excited by music, then they are prepared to dig a little to find what they like. [/quote] Quite. LED Zepplin, Hendrix and Sabbath were finished at least 10 years before I picked up a bass. I'm now playing Zepplin numbers and Hendrix numbers to people who are about twenty years younger than me. Sure my kids think it's 'dad music', but that's how I view the 60s pop, awful as I think it is, I've learned it at played it at weddings and 60th birthday parties. It's music and doesn't belong to any particular period in time or demographic. My kids have seen School of Rock, they like the music of Zepplin, ACDC etc. They watch Pitch Perfect, there are some pretty 'old' tunes revamped in that film as well. .

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1452252529' post='2948028'] Not sure that "intense" is actually the right word there ... [/quote] neither was I, but it did describe him quite well.

I also auditioned for a show. Only two of us auditioned and were both at the audition. That's nerve wracking enough. The other bass player's face dropped when he found out that we had to sight read the tunes from sheet music. To be fair he had quite a good stab at it by just playing root notes for each bar. I got that one.