TimR

[quote name='plumbob' timestamp='1376740088' post='2178536'] Sorry mate ! Only saying that as much as the question [b]“ How can they afford us ? ”[/b]Is true , equally a similar question applies to bands [b]“ How can we afford to play for this ?”[/b] Time, fuel cost of kit etc Now I know most of us do it for fun , to play or whatever , Was just asking with your knowledge is their a business model that we as bands should all follow to enable decent pay or is it the failing of pubs not to correctly see the need and allow for the costing of decent paid entertainment to allow there business to flourish [/quote] Loss leader. Good advertising etc. As the pubs above, musicians make money during the week, teaching, luthering, selling instruments, running IT companies and on other Saturdays playing for corporate gigs and weddings.

Try refining your search 'Pub' is not going to show anything. Leisure Management.

That's what happens when you agree to meet strange men off the Internet at motorway services.

17 people have played it. The majority of them for one song. It's being transported in a hard case. I played the bass on Saturday. It works and has character. We should leave it as is.

Where do you stop? New strings... New pickups... New bridge... New body... New paint job... New neck... New tuners...

That's the equivalent of putting arms on the Venus De Milo!

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1376511307' post='2175334'] All music company merchandise, caps, t-shirts, polo shirts god forbid. All that horrible wearable sh*t. I mean WHO the f*** would be seen in a Warwick baseball cap? (I have one somewhere) A Hartke tee-shirt? An Alleva-Coppolo skirt? [/quote] All band 'corporate uniform'. Band polo shirts or black shirt, white tie etc type dressing up. If a covers band I'm in start talking about 'image' I'm off. Leave image for the originals bands to be, um, original, or not...

I've got 4 LED PAR64 and 2 T-bar stands. Two par cans either side of the band. Does the trick ok. Total setup c£200.

The only true judge is your audience. Unfortunately

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1376439190' post='2174106'] Yes, Nigel; now, go and lie down, there's a good lad. No, just the shoes. You can keep your socks on. We wouldn't want your feet to catch a chill, now would we..? I'll leave the door ajar, and we won't be far away. Close your eyes and think of nice things... That's fine... (Shhhh.....) [/quote] And that's from a self proclaimed hippy?

I'm not sure I would do a 4hour round trip for a Sax player. If there are 4 of you travelling that's 16man hours before you start rehearsing. The rest I could work round. Learn your bass parts, turn up to practices, just avoid getting involved any further.

What is the purpose of the recording? If it's to lay down a demo for gigs then that seems a good idea. Two months, twice a week to get up to speed, record demo, reign back rehearsals and get gigs. It's only ambitious if the rest of the band aren't willing to put the work in. How's the guy with no transport (Let me guess, drummer?) going to get to gigs? That would be more of a concern to me.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1376254558' post='2171457'] Then it would just be like a lot of music used to be. Your favourite group brought an album out and you went out and bought it before you had heard it, as there really wasnt anywhere to hear it. Sometimes I miss that - I often hear of some band and then listen on youtube or spotify or whatever and am not immediately taken with it so I don't listen again. Back in the old days (when I had far less money), I would just buy it and listen to it, and some of the albums that I heard that didn't mean much to me the first time went on to be favourites later on. Almost like it had to be worked at. Of course, the down side was that sometimes you never grew to like it! Actually genesis before collins was like that for me, this thread has made me gone back and listen to some of the older stuff, and where I don't think it will ever fit in as something I will really love, some of it is pretty good. [/quote] I suppose it depends how far back you're talking. In the late 70s the single that sold the album was released a few weeks before, then in the 80s it would get air play well before it was released. Then you might get 2 or 3 singles released from each album. You would also often get the chance to listen to a friends recording too. It's just more a case of the fans being the underwriters rather than the record label based on previous recordings. I didn't get into early Genisis until the mid80s after I had bought Then There Were Three. A friend had a tape of Selling England and Nursery Crimes in his car. I had to ask him who it was the band was remarkably different.

Len should be sending one of the handover.

I messaged Facebook with a photo but whoever is the admin hasn't done anything with it although it's a fairly un-interesting photo of the bass set up next to my amp. I haven't got an easy way of hosting photos publicly set up. There was someone there taking good photos I just have to wait for them.

I think if you read a lot of interviews with session musicians they all come up with pretty much the same answers. They play something that fits. The artist either likes it or asks for them to play something differently. The key is that you are able to interpret what the artist wants. Then they leave the studio and hear the finished article later and think 'oh, I should have played this...' The main issue is often they're only given guide vocals and/or rhythm so the option of dissecting a tune based on whole arrangements isn't there.

Try an EQ pedal. Boost the highs just for your 'solo'.

Good gig last night. Another £80 raised. I messaged a photo of The Baton ready to go on. I'm just waiting for some official photos of it being played.

The Baton is now in leafy Hertforshire. It was good to meet 'Len' and I hope we can raise a few quid tonight. Pictures of the handover will follow no doubt.

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1376071755' post='2169444'] I've got a dead easy way of assessing my ability level. I don't bother worrying about it and just let other musicians decide what bracket I fit in. [/quote] Exactly. It's like a ladder. You just climb up it. Audition for a few bands. Don't take the first one you're offered unless you think it's right for you. It is however, chicken and egg. You have to be brave and honest. If you've never played in a band or never done a gig then regardless of how good your bedroom chops are you will simply be thrown to the lions at your first audition. And if you make it to a rehearsal you'll get eaten alive. If you've played in bands then you should know as soon as you walk in the audition what you're dealing with.

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1376053932' post='2169081'] I suppose I must do then, ... Any theory I do know must have been picked up along the way, but I can honestly say that I don't think about what I'm playing in a theoretical way, what I play just sort of happens, if that makes sense. [/quote] Exactly my point. Just because someone has not sat down and formally studied from books doesn't mean you don't know theory. A five year old child understands the 'theory' or 'rules' (if you like) of English. They've never read a book but they know the alphabet and what words sound like and mean. Theory isn't rules to be followed, it came after the music to explain why what you play works and to enable you to communicate to other musicians more simply. It's not there to tell you what to play.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1376050507' post='2169014'] Need? ... [/quote] Thebrig has been playing in function bands for 7 years and claims to know no theory? How on earth can that be possible? How do you rehearse when you can't identify a chorus from a verse, or that the mid section has 8, 16 or 32 bars, you don't know why the drummer counts to 4 at the beginning of the song, or the singer wants to change the key? All this knowing no theory as if it's a badge to wear proudly is nonsense.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1376047333' post='2168972'] Yes, it has loadsa rool's butt broken they can be yet be still understood and appreciated clearly, init. [/quote] As I say they're not rules. People look at this from completely the wrong angle and this puts a lot of people off music. As an 8 year old I was taught formally in front of a piano with notation. I hated it. It's the wrong way to learn. You need to learn what the notes are called and the quality of chords, the major and minor scales, together with what a 'bar' is and how time works as a bare minimum as far as theory goes before you're not a beginner.

I'm not sure. When I auditioned for the last two bands they had already auditioned several bass players. Neither band were in a position to 'help' beginners, they needed someone to learn 30/40 songs in two weeks and play confidently in front of a few hundred people. Do you need a beginner, intermediate or advanced player for that?

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1376043339' post='2168885'] What are you talking about? Of course the English language has rules. It has rules for grammar, punctuation and many other things. Would you describe Django Rheinhardt as a beginner because he didn't know theory? [/quote] Only when you write it down. When we speak we have to know what we're speaking about.