TimR

[quote name='gary mac' post='910931' date='Jul 31 2010, 08:12 AM']1973 or 74 at Waltham Abbey town hall, a sort of battle of the bands thing. Sporting a Roger Glover stylee hat and crushed velvet loon pants. First number was Deep Purples Space Truckin'. Epiphone semi acoustic bass. Selmer Goliath 4 x 10" cab. 50 Top amp[/quote] [quote name='essexbasscat' post='910982' date='Jul 31 2010, 10:01 AM']My first gig was at Loughton, about 5-8 miles from Waltham Abbey and that Selmer stuff was all over the place at the time Relise - enjoy that first gig !! hope it goes well T[/quote] Enfield Town a mates 17th birthday party in his house. Dire Strates - Money for nothing. It was in the charts at the time. A 3/4 scale bass through a borrowed home made amp and cab. I've never played that tune since - until my cousins 40th last year when I jammed it with a couple of guitarists and a drummer. Strange times.

[quote name='Spike Vincent' post='910587' date='Jul 30 2010, 07:48 PM']Kim Wilde nearly ran me over once.[/quote] She lives close to me. Both my Dad and the guitarist in his band used to often play with her dad Marti Wilde. Jim Rodford of the Kinks stood in and played a couple of numbers with my band once. I think I will be sharing the stage with him at the end of August. He's in the headline band, we're third from top. Elvis Costello's keyboard player Steve Nieve bought a Elka keyboard from my dad. He sent someone to our house who paid in used £5 notes. They had suffered catastrophic organ failure at the gig the night before. The brother of a guy who I work with is married to Shena Easton's sister. I have been on Blue Peter. That's not tenuous I'm afraid. It actually means I am famous so don't know if this counts.

[quote name='silddx' post='910252' date='Jul 30 2010, 01:39 PM'].... But I was interested in whether people see themselves as lathe operators or product designers.[/quote] I'm a skilled lathe operator who comes up with designs that work but won't win any iPod like awards.

[quote name='silddx' post='910216' date='Jul 30 2010, 01:07 PM']I meant this thread to be about how you consider [b]yourself[/b]. I should have said something like "are you a mechanic or a composer?" but folks would take that ill [/quote] You muddied it a bit by throwing in the Guitarist v Guitar player quote. By then I had forgotten the original question. So I am a musician. Would I still be a musician if I only played bass? That's a difficult one to answer. I think learning all the instruments I have and playing in the different types of orchestras/bands that I have has shaped me somewhat from just a player of instruments into what some high brow musicians would call a musician. My non musician friends would say anyone who plays an instrument is a musician. Once you start to play an instrument you find that there a many different levels of competency. From the bassist who knocks out the roots that he has been told to play by the band leader - through the bassist who plays the notes on a score- through to a musician who fully understands why he is playing the notes he is and would be able to make his own choices on which notes to play in any given context - through to the accomplished musician who can do this in any genre. Did you see what I did there? Musician for me every time with the caveat that everyone has something to learn (some of us lots!) The day you stop learning is the day you die.

I play other instruments so I'm a musician. When I pick up the bass I don't mind either is acceptable. Interestingly you can be a Pianist, Bassist, Flautist, Violinist but you can't be a Drummist. If you play a drum kit and want to be an ist you have to play other instruments and become a Percussionist. Only kidding - there are loads of other instruments ie Trumpet where you don't get an ist. Where does the ist come from anyway? I'm off to do a google.

[quote name='teen t-shirt' post='900581' date='Jul 20 2010, 10:49 PM']well i've gotten in contact with the other one and am in the process of arranging to meet them late next week and they do more of the type of stuff i want to do stuff that will actually challenge me! anyway i'll keep you all irritatingly updated through out the process [/quote] Where are the irritating posts?

[quote name='redstriper' post='906280' date='Jul 26 2010, 08:09 PM']Don't deny your ego: I got my first bass when my girlfriend dumped me, thinking "I'll be a pop star and that'll show her". That was 35 years ago and I still demand groupies, drugs, money, fame, adoration and free food - why else would I do this ?[/quote] Money AND free food - you're a hard man to please!

I think the real test of whether it is a guitar is to give a guitar to a bass player. If he can play it as well as he can play the bass then obviously it is indeed a guitar. After all give a sax player a Soprano, Alto, tenor or Baritone they can play each with no problems and probably a bunch of clarinets too.

[quote name='deathpanda' post='906119' date='Jul 26 2010, 05:49 PM']ah yeah, I see what you're saying, I wasn't trying to imply you were cynical or anything. I was just adding something that resonated with me.[/quote] LOL. I am cynical, just not THAT cynical. I have a thick skin as well so you don't need to worry about implying anything either.

[quote name='deathpanda' post='905904' date='Jul 26 2010, 03:19 PM']on that note, I would also like to add: [/quote] I'm not quite as cynical as that. I prefer to see it as approaching things with an open mind. More of a "I don't know what I'm going to get here rather than this is going to be bad."

Expectation is a weakness and almost as bad as assumption. Expect nothing and assume nothing and you will always be surprised. I am weak and expect and assume that the musicians I play with will listen while they play. One day I will be surprised. I like to play any music that the audience enjoys - I am only happy when the audience is enjoying what we are playing. There is music I like to listen to at home that I think would be great to play but I realise that what I like to listen to is not what everyone else does.

The question is "IS a bass a guitar?" so whether it WAS originally designed as a guitar or not is irrelevant. They are sold as Bass Guitars. So no it's not a Guitar, it is a Bass Guitar. An instrument in its own right? I suppose if you were being really picky then it IS a type of Guitar, but it doesn't serve the same function.

[quote name='Stag' post='901251' date='Jul 21 2010, 08:20 PM']All done and yes nothing happened, there are a multitude of other examples of this previously happening on the net and the banks / police being able to do positively nothing about it. Im not comfortable using it anymore unless its someone I actually know. What has changed recently to make it safer? Im just asking out of interest you see.[/quote] As a seller once I have been paid the money is there. If you are buying then it's no safer than any other method. Its a risk you take when you buy anything. Along with the risk that it works and the risk that it's not stolen. It's one reason why things are cheaper when you buy them from an individual than when you buy from a shop. If you're buying something you have to always think "If this is a scam can I afford to lose £xxx?", or will I pursue the scammer to recover the money. If not, then buy from a reputable site using credit card. There is ALWAYS risk in trading whether you are buying or selling.

[quote name='Stag' post='901175' date='Jul 21 2010, 07:01 PM']I paid someone on eBay via Bank Transfer a couple of years back and my bank could do nothing about it after I realised id been scammed - whats changed?[/quote] I assume you reported it to the police as theft and gave them all the bank details.

[quote name='johnzgerman' post='901141' date='Jul 21 2010, 06:40 PM']i was going to but the guy would'nt take cash on collection which i thought was a bit suspicious seeing as he'd listed it as pickup only.[/quote] We lost £400 when someone paid us in fake £20 notes. Even the bank and the police were impressed by the quality of them. Direct transfer is quick and easy now and traceable. I will only take Building Society cheques for cars.

[quote name='flyfisher' post='870550' date='Jun 18 2010, 10:06 AM']A very good summary, which applies in all walks of life. I've recruited loads of people in my (non-musical) professional career and, after eliminating the people who don't have the required skills, you're left with a bunch of people who are all technically capable of doing the job. At that point, I've always chosen the person I reckon would be the easiest to get on with in a working environment.[/quote] But the $1M question is what is it that makes them easy to get along with.

Mediator. and The ability to coax a decision out of the rest of the band without appearing pushy and stepping on the leader's toes.

Definition of soft skills and hard skills. [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_skills"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_skills[/url]

[quote name='Wil' post='869036' date='Jun 16 2010, 02:07 PM']What can I say, I'm hard for being in a band.[/quote] I auditioned a singer once. He sent me a good demo CD, came prepared, sang all the tunes in their original keys and had experience of various different bands. He came to the audition and got on well with the band and left the room while we discussed whether to give him the gig. We called him back in to ask him to join, he accepted and then proceeded to tell us about how he could handle himself in a fight and about all the fights he'd been in at gigs..... We didn't need those type of 'hard' skills.

[quote name='Wil' post='868926' date='Jun 16 2010, 12:31 PM']This. What do I bring to my bands? Mad bass skills. Good sense of humour. A good ear. Flexibility and commitment. Pro equipment. Good ties with local promotors. Backing vocals. A bag of haribo. Decent hash. A mean cup of coffee. Concientiousness.[/quote] All these together with Reading and with the exception of flexibilty are all what I would call 'Hard' skills. Soft skills are how you react personally with the people around you.

Soft Skills - I like it. My day job is customer facing. We've been on a number of different courses specifically targeting our soft skills. As has been said, as far as the customer is concerned anyone can do the job that you do. The most important thing is that you do what he asks efficiently. ie on time and within budget. If you think there is a better way of doing something and he has employed you as the specialist then it's up to you to tell him in a way that doesn't cause problems. Treat people as you would expect to be treated and you can't go wrong. Don't ever think that because you own the lights/PA/recording gear/rehearsal space/web site/van/band cat etc that the rest of the band appreciate it and will keep you on because of it. If they're not doing it, and you are, then it will be seen as an easy job. Only when they drop you will they find out what extra hard skills you bought to the table. Being able to run a diary is another important skill. Many band members can't do this, I used to send out the gig schedule weekly with all the gigs that we had been booked for. I would still get mails back a week before a gig from someone saying that they couldn't make it. Often these gig had been on the schedule for months.

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='866141' date='Jun 13 2010, 04:43 PM']"25 year old female 5 string bassist looking for regular gigging band that doesn't fall apart because of guitarist egos, drummers who can't hold a can of beer let alone a beat, or singers who think they're the next axl rose/Steve tyler/James Hetfieldand leave in sight of 'bigger things' only to end up doing back alley pub karaoke gigs. Also not interested in screamo kids who plan on writing something 'new, unique, out-there and never seen before' only for it to turn into a 2 hour 'shout down the mic as loud as you can while the 'new' style they're writing is in fact 20 years old. Yes, I'm female but that doesn't mean that you can take the piss/sexually harass me, call me 'luv' and allow your girlfriends to direct their pathetic 12 yr old insecurities and jealousy on me. Expect them to have their jordanesque little faces beaten in should they threaten me for 'steelin mah byfnd innit!' simply because I've shared the same breathing space as you. Own gear and transport, gig experience and patience of a saint. Sarah 07817 xxxxxx"[/quote] Do you think anyone would get past "25 year old female 5 string bassist" before skipping to the phone number luv?