TimR

[quote name='Bradwell' timestamp='1433257363' post='2789480'] Just checked, $100 currently equates to £65.26. For comparison, Jobseeker's allowance for those of us 25 or over is up to £73.10 a week. Any chance you could ask this bloke to email a preliminary copy of the contract for proof reading? [/quote] You think you'll get more than one gig a week?

I uploaded a video of a weekend away with some mates with a backing track. YouTube correctly identified it and as the tune was available already on YouTube they just went ahead and published it. I think there is an advert at the start. There was no 30 day delay

Maybe it's one of their ex-bass players bearing a grudge. Sending out phone number would seriously inconvenience the band leader.

Someone should really call that number and record the conversation.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1433178083' post='2788615'] I would have been much more likely to allow myself to become deluded for, say, $1500 a gig. [/quote] That's why I think it's genuine and someone who has no idea. Maybe someone very young.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1433164680' post='2788427'] Apparently 77% of Americans believe in angels and illiteracy runs at around 30%. I've just put my American in-laws in a taxi to the airport after a half-term visit. They are [i]very [/i]conservative, middle-class and close-minded, yet are among the tiny percentage of Americans who hold a passport - they are considered to be weird, dangerous left-wing intellectuals where they live - Florida. [/quote] Possibly. Although I think 'tiny' percentage is one of those popular myths. http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/03/americas-great-passport-divide/72399/

I think it's a genuine email. It scans well as a stream of conscious thought from someone who really believes he's going to make it big but has had the rug pulled. I think it's typical of the dreamers you get and I guess he's very young, certainly naive. I wouldn't want to get involved in that kind of thing. I wouldn't want to see anyone paying for a flight to the states to meet a stranger. Short story to illustrate the way 'some' Americans think and remember that a large proportion don't own a passport. - My friend was stopped for speeding on Route 66. He was doing 70mph. The policeman asked where he was from - London, England? Did you drive all the way here from there today? I bet they don't drive at 70mph in England do they? .

$100 a gig. That's £65! Send me the details...

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1432654534' post='2783634'] Unless I'm missing some kind of joke , the carpet is there for that exact purpose. Drumkits tend to slide away when you play them unless they're on a rug or piece of carpet. [/quote] I'm glad you stepped in. I was beginning to feel like I'd missed something as well.

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1432502856' post='2782177'] Drumming abilities aside (and how much of a dick he comes across as in this film), he's a very successful business man. His opinion is generally worth a listen! [/quote] I was really referring to the weight of the drummers input when selecting a bass player.

Note the Lars Ulrich comment "That maybe what he says, but it's about what I feel." And they knew to listen to Lars.

[quote name='BILL POSTERS' timestamp='1432483145' post='2781882'] Either spray the plugs different colours - easier to see on a dark stage than labels. Or just fit a 13A fuse in all of them and stop worrying. [/quote] Or just label the 3amp ones and the 10amp one so that at the end of the gig they get put away with the lights or my amp?

[quote name='Weststarx' timestamp='1432307430' post='2780310'] Im with this guy ^^^ I've always found with a keyboard player, its something you want there on some songs and not at all on others. Its also another person to keep happy and less 'room' you have to play with as a band at gigs. I have seen it work though plenty of times with a singer/keyboardist [i](is [u]keyboardist [/u]a word/thing?) [/i]with the keyboard off to the side of them using it occasionally. Personally and probably immaturely I also think its slightly uncool to have a keyboard ist/player/piano man [/quote] Depends on the keyboard. Ideally a 5 octave keyboard is all you need. Then having the keys diagonally rather than facing the audience as otherwise it can act like a barrier between the player and the audience. Especially if they have a music folder plonked on top.

I usually leave my spare bass in the car when I gig but on Saturday (due to dodgy parking arrangements) I took it into the venue and left it 'on stage'. The guitarist asked whose the hard case was and when I replied it was mine then asked (disappointedly) if I'd bought a new bass. So I told him (to his apparent relief) it was my spare one that I always took with me. I've just realised I didn't open the case to show him, and I didn't open the case when packing before the gig to make sure it was actually in the case. In fact I can't remember the last time I actually saw that bass. I just lug the case around. It could be empty for all I know I probably have one more bass than I need. I'm going to make sure it's still there and works tonight. If I remember...

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1431937236' post='2776264'] I have a trombone... [/quote] I wouldn't worry about that. Nobody can play Trombone.

[quote name='jonnythenotes' timestamp='1432221062' post='2779361'] I have been in Soul / Motown/ Funk bands for years, and every time we have worked with a keyboard player, it all turns to crap. It seems the better a player he or she is, the more they feel they have to prove this by stamping all over the 'space' that Funk / Soul / Motown has to have to work properly. With a bazillion synth and fake sounds at their disposal, they can turn a good band into a Bingo warm up act, with all their synthy /brassy/ stringy sounds instantly available.They take up as much space as a brass section, or a couple of guitar players, and the poor bozo standing behind the keyboard player, with no space whatsoever might as well go home as he can not be seen by the audience, and feels completely removed from the rest of the band.....The 'bozo' is also known as the bass player.....A keyboard player has a habit of holding down block chords ( particularly with his left hand, ) which absolutely ruins any bass lines, or sounds you USED to like playing. Image wise, nothing looks worse rhan the back of a keyboard, with wires spewing out of the back, and a music stand on top of rhe whole wretched thing... It looks gash....My only concession would be a piano player, as this is a percussion instrument, in that when you stop hitting it, it stops making a noise. If you are fortunate enough to find a keyboard player that does none of the above, does not have an over inflated sense of self importance, and also understands the less he does, the more it makes every thing else stand out, then you are extremely lucky, or a miracle worker.Personally, I would avoid a keyboard player like the plague......get a good sax player or sax and trumpet...they look great, take up less room, and act as punctuation in a band,instead of an avalanche of what's not needed...... There you go..... My fire and brimstone anti keyboard sermon is over, but it's true.. [/quote] Not a fan then? 😄 My brother plays keys. However, he's a multi-instrumentalist (including being a superb drummer). He sings so his keys are at the front of the stage. It did take him a few years of prodding until he understood 'less is more'. Although there's a lot of musicians playing other instruments who still don't get the basic concept. Unless you tell people they're over-playing, they'll continue playing in the same way.

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1432223696' post='2779403'] My local music shop has less than 5 basses in, loads of guitars and tons of keyboards. I was talking a drummer friend recently about how difficult it is to find a good keyboard player - if there are so few why do shops dedicate so much more room to keyboardists?? [/quote]r There are thousands/millions of keyboard players around. They just don't want to play in bands.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1432146589' post='2778668'] ... The action of the driver was not great. ... the initial action was wrong. ... [/quote] Is it not great or is it wrong. It's not a black and white issue. Many of us have packages delivered to us with no issue whatsoever. The OP doesn't seem bothered that the package could have been stolen so I'll assume he lives in a nice area. The cardboard wasn't damaged so again I'll assume that the box was gently lowered over the gate. The box was slightly damp. Boxes get wet In transit anyway, if it's a worry that the contents will get damaged in the rain that's down to the original packing. I've made a few assumptions there based on evidence. I've yet to see any evidence that the package was just thrown over the gate.

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1432129200' post='2778415'] Blame her in doors, then.... [/quote] Could blame anyone. Someone always needs to take the blame...

[quote name='Jazzneck' timestamp='1432127286' post='2778382'] OK people, it was me that started this argument trying (angrily) to quell the witch hunt and point out that the actions taken had unexpected and unwanted spin-offs. I also stated back in post #165 that, like the OP, I want to draw a line under the discussion. My views are still the same. Some people on BC, just like in the real world, are more pragmatic and easier going than others. Just let's leave it at that, shall we? I think stuckinthepod and I have had enough, thank you. [/quote] I suspect most people in the real world are more pragmatic all round. It's only when they get on the internet that everything becomes black and white, blows up out of proportion and everything is taken to extremes. I wonder what the response had been if Stuckinapod's wife had taken the bass inside quietly and just told him when he got home. Instead of sending a photo while he was at work (along with whatever other pressures he was dealing with). Funny thing life.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1432126017' post='2778362'] It's ok I got shot at, the guy didn't hit me. [/quote] No. My wife sent me a picture of a cardboard box leaning against the gate in my back garden.

So the bass was 'thrown' over the gate. [quote name='stuckinthepod' timestamp='1431350360' post='2770256'] I really hope so too. My wife checked for impact damage and couldn't see any so I've got everything crossed all is well when I open it up tonight. [/quote] He'd not even seen the box. Just has a pic that his wife took!

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1432108410' post='2778126'] Easy to say when you are not personally involved and have the benefit of collective hindsight... For someone who has plenty to say about what [i][b]other[/b][/i] people think, you seem to have a lot to say about this "incident" yourself! I'm not sure you are changing anyone's minds or perceptions. [/quote] Even the OP said he'd calmed down the next day after opening the pack and finding the bass was fine. That's what I see as one of the problems with the Internet. No one takes a step back and has a think about what's actually happening. Straight away get on a forum, get more worked up with the help of forum members, fire off an email, demand your pound of flesh. Disproportionate reactions. .

That's another black and white view. Where you think we're either supporting the lazy driver, the hard done by OP or the evil big corporation. How about we look at what actually happened and formulate a proportional and appropriate response. Before going 'nuclear'. .