TimR

They're just a bunch of notes. I learn them. Then I play them.

That is still a song I must learn. Project for tonight when the misses is out. Isn't there a Rhythm Stick thread somewhere?

They're is some weird stuff going on with autocorrect at the moment. Earlier on I wrote their instead of there in a thread and I'm one of those people who hates it when people don't know which one to use. Wayne that's a good one, I think you went in for the kill a bit early, could have been worth some mileage. Anyone else bored going to have a go?

Don't think many complex tunes. The other day the new band I'm in suggested we did an Iron Maiden tune. I said I'd played The Trooper in a band in 1987 and that was the last time I'd played it. We played it top to bottom having never played it together before. Weird.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1348562835' post='1815108'] Theory will tell you all the notes you could play. Only listening, experience and personal taste will tell you the notes you should play. [/quote] Yes. It's a two way street. Your ears should be able to tell you that a 3rd will sound good, but your theory will tell you whether it should have been a minor 3rd of major third you just played, and your ears will tell you whether you were right or not. If your theory and ears aren't up to scratch there's a 50/50 chance that you played the wrong one.

For speech? Senheizer.

It's basic teamwork. 90% of the bass players job is to lock in with the drummer. If you're playing basic pop it's very hard to go wrong. Learn the tunes and play them. People get into trouble when they try to reinvent the wheel. My brother had a lot of trouble with a bass player who kept adding frilly stuff and messed up the basics. Auditions like the OP just highlight that there are people who don't pick up their instruments between practices and who don't listen to the original and stick to the form. Most of the issues I've had in bands are when they've decided to make a song their own by adding verses and missing out tricky middle8s. The first question to ask is do they have charts? The second is do they play as per the original?

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1347470972' post='1801343'] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][i]Clue:[/i] The pub is in Hertfordshire next to a river.[/font][/color] [/quote] Is that the Inn Before the Lock?

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1347320612' post='1799421'] ... The guy told me that they were all very experienced musicians, played in bands for years, and aim to be gigging in a few weeks time. ... [/quote] The more bands you play in and the longer you have been playing, the more you will learn to smell a rat early on. This forum is good for advice from other players but somethings you just have to learn. You say 'He told', did you speak to him or was all correspondence through email. I find speaking to someone on the phone gives you a much better idea of whether you're all on the same page. The pauses between answers, the way they speak, questions you can ask as soon as they arise based on his previous answers. It's then very easy to say on the phone, "Sorry I don't think I'm what you're looking for."

[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1347403611' post='1800499'] ... Since then I have only had a few approaches from people who'd heard I played and got the occasional "We should totally do something, dude!", but nothing's ever worked out. ... Jam nights are no good because what I'd really like to do is Blackened Death Metal... At my age! ... [/quote] Few good points there. The first is flaky people who don't have a great deal of drive or are busy doing life stuff. I know plenty of musicians, but tying them down to play is hard. I think if the gigs are there and you know what market to aim at you're sorted. If there is no market for the music you are into then you either have to broaden your musical aspirations or never play. I'm not sure which direction the latest project I'm in will go. It's not lacking in drive, not sure if the genre is right, not sure if all the musicians can commit to regular gigs (or even want to). Meanwhile I'm thinking time for a jam night. Although last nights rehearsal with my other band was smoking. Go figure!

[quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1347403471' post='1800495'] If you word it like that you'll probably be inundated with singers who think "that sounds like my type of band". What you won't get is the X-factor wannabees with no clue. Try it, you have nothing to lose. Steve [/quote] Reading it this morning it doesn't look too bad. Lol.

It's sometimes difficult to pitch an advert right. We need a singer. I'm conscious of putting out an ad that says: "We're a bunch of 40something guys who've been in various bands but never gigged together. We've had 2 rehearsals and have 8 songs that are sounding good but need a singer to go any further. Hope to be gigging within a month of finding right singer." All truthful but wonder how many takers we would get.

[quote name='Chrismanbass' timestamp='1347272906' post='1798577'] Bought one of those for my band and ended up having to buy normal par cans to supplement it in the end as its not really powerful enough on its own good piece of kit in terms of the space it takes up however if you buy it i'd suggest buying two as one really isn't powerful enough to light a band we use four of these to supliment it which gives us a good range of options at venues however if i had my money back i would've bought 8 and 2 T- Bars [url="http://www.decks.co.uk/products/LED_Par_Cans/LEDJ/LED64_Floor_Can_Black"]http://www.decks.co....Floor_Can_Black[/url] the bottom line imho is that you very much get what you pay for (i know its very easy to spend others money) however if you buy stuff on the cheap then it will look cheap [/quote] Yes, that's what I have. T bars were £25 from Maplin (£29 deal at the moment) and 2 each side are fine. As I say trick is to get them high and at the right distance from the band. Too close and you get dark areas, too far away and they're not bright enough. As I say, I may get 2 more to sit on the floor, particularly at the back for drums. Experimenting with what you have is always the key thing. If you put them in one position and don't get what you expect, move them around, then go stand at the back of the venue with someone standing on stage. Time spent doing this at your first gig pays dividends. Mine were definitely less than £85 though!

Regarding recording. The hardest part is getting the scratch track down. Offering the facilities to do a multi track recording in whatever format for the band to take away and overdub/remix at their leisure is a good bonus.

Wouldn't they get in the way too? I use 4 led par cans on two stands, one stand either side of the stage. The trick is to get them up as high as you possibly can so they shine downwards. All set on automatic sound to light. I used to run them via a DMX mixer but it was more hassle than it was worth. I am considering getting two more par cans and putting them on the floor next to the monitors. At £50 each they're cheap really.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1347189884' post='1797776'] At this rate we'll soon see famous bassists being given a country's highest honour in recognition of their contribution to music. Er, hang on . . . . . [url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19532151"]http://www.bbc.co.uk...t-arts-19532151[/url] [/quote] Nope. Nothing in there about him being a bass payer. Think he played piano at the Olympics.

SpinyNorman is right, to some extent. I'm sure there were band leaders - I'm guessing Glen Miller who toured with their own bands and wrote their own material.

Strictly speaking I suppose you are only covering a tune if it has been previously recorded. I suppose in the case of Cilla Black/Diane Warwick they are both recording a tune written by someone else and each of them could be considered as the original recording artist. It always makes me laugh when people say they do Hard to Handle, but the do the Black Crows version, not the Otis Redding version. A quick glance at wiki tells me that loads of artists have covered it and Otis didn't write it alone. It's all semantics. A song is a song, doesn't matter who wrote it as long as they get some credit or, more importantly, the person recording it doesn't take the credit. Regards the playing someone else's tune is lazy comment. There are very few good singer/songwriters out there that can perform songs to their best. Some songwriters even write songs with someone in mind to sing the song. Imagine if every west end musical starred Tim Rice and Andrew Loyd Webber in the leading roles!

Jimi Hendrix played mainly covers IIRC. Does it matter? Loads of 80s tunes were covers of 50s tunes and loads of 10s tunes are covers of 80s tunes. My dad said my grandad used to complain that 50s tunes were versions of tunes from the 20s. If I hear that line "We take a tune done by someone else and make it our own." I'll scream! I think if you make a statement that you write all your own material then that's one thing. Even if you do rearrange a song written by someone else. Plenty of bands do it, some don't even change the original arrangement and you wonder why they bothered to release it. If you're a covers band, it just means you don't write your own material. I think it's still a covers band if all you do is rearrange the tunes. The Worzels, Hayseed Dixie etc make no secret of it.

So are we now blaming the relaxation of performance licensing for a glut of places to perform and too much opportunity? So now really is the chance for good bands to start to charge decent rates? If i can keep an audience of 100 people in a pub why should I play the Coach and Horses for £200 when the White Lion will pay me £250.

It's quite remarkable how many pub landlords only do it for the beer, only open the odd Saturday night, only serve the beer they like and don't expect to get paid.

[quote name='Jambo10' timestamp='1346529228' post='1790346'] Last night, ourselves, along with 2 supports (punk band and rock blues band) did a charity gig, 4 hours of solid live music. ... [/quote] Seems an odd mix - who were you Hopi g the gig would appeal to? What sort of music does your band play? How much do you usually charge? I think if you want to raise money for charity you're usually better off doing a regular pub gig, donating your fee to charity and passing round a bucket.

It's always difficult when you are asked to leave a band, it's also just as hard to ask someone to leave a band. I've been on both sides of the fence. It may seem hard at the moment but you shouldn't really take it personally, or like has been said a few times on this thread, it'll eat you up for years. The best thing is realise that you don't fit in with their current plans and move on, don't harbour a grudge, tell them if it doesn't work out you're still available. If you were in a band and another successful band headhunted you for a major tour, what would you do?

Landlords also know which weekends will be traditionally quiet. First few weekends after the new year before pay day. Last weekend of Summer holidays - people with kids getting ready for school, the shops were manic with last minute "my shoes are too small" and "forgot to get new shorts for PE" coupled with universities going back and holiday prices for people without kids dropping to somewhat less extortionate prices.

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1346634700' post='1791466'] .... and it was £7 to get in! [/quote] There's your reason right there.