TimR

But actual complaining. Scowling and frowning when the band goes into a wrong section and then having a dissection mid-gig of who was to blame. Can do without that. Encore: audience calling for more, then band has discussion about what to play, some argue, finally decide what to play. Nominate one person to call the numbers. Same with changes to the setlist mid-gig. Sure miss out songs, but if the singer keeps missing out songs and then has a load of time left at the end of the first set, don't complain when we go back and play the songs you didn't want to sing for whatever reason.

It very much depends on the gig. Wedding venues and dinner and dances can be a nightmare with setting up. Sometimes there's a rush to get the band set up and sound checking has to be done as is. Although it's more usual for the band to be running the PA so everything should be pre-set from the hundreds of gigs you've done before. Festivals: I've had two different experiences. One where the headliners do a proper sound check, clear the stage, and all the bands sound check in reverse order leaving the first band on set up before anyone arrives. But more usually, a line check (and basic tone adjustment) for all the iinstruments. Then the mix is sorted as the set progresses. Pubs: similar to weddings and dinner and dances except there's loads of people trying to watch football on the big screen that you're trying to set up in front of. Line check and fix the mix as the gig progresses. Our usual problem is the guitarist trying to kill anyone who is standing anywhere on-axis to his speaker. Then loads of people complain they can't hear the singer.

Yes. Lots of deluded instrument owners around. You just have to keep auditioning. You're auditioning them as much as they're auditioning you. This is where depping and keeping contact with musicians you used to play with comes in. It's all about networking and knowing who can actually play. Turning up to play in a band of people you've neither been recommended to nor do you know who they are is very hit and miss.

I made a conscious decision when buying my bass to buy a bass that could be gigged. I know not everyone has that luxury but a bass that I self insure and don't have to worry too much about being damaged or stolen is worth having far more than a bespoke £3k bass that no one can hear the difference. I have no idea how much my spare bass is worth.

Strings can break if they're old and you remove them and put them back on. They get stressed in the opposite direction. I've only broken them when putting them back on, but guess that may be luck. I've lent mine out at jam sessions for one or two songs but I stand close to the stage. I also take a spare bass. If a band needs to borrow a spare, they can borrow my spare. Electrical and mechanical failures aren't limited to strings and cables.

Keep up at the back. We already did that yesterday. Are you blind?

OK. It's all in your head. I was just commenting on a point you raised, don't take everything so personally.

Why are you always so touchy?

I usually watch the conductor.

We did a gig a few weeks ago with a dep drummer who didn't make eye contact. Ending songs, and altering tempo when we had started too fast or too slow was nigh on impossible.

I suspect they have other arrangements in place to compensate. I think Stevie Wonder is the band leader and everyone will be taking virtual clues off him. Plus I suspect everyone is listening extra hard to what everyone else is playing. Not making eye contact indicates to me that they aren't aware of anyone else in the band.

That shouldn't matter to anyone. The band should carry on regardless and the audience certainly shouldn't see any facial expressions indicating something is amiss.

Don't play with musicians who don't make eye contact. How does that even work? It's essential.

But at the same time, I think it's valid to ask, what would the Beatles sound like and what would they'd have done if they had access samplers and pro-tools. I think there's a line.

Never assume you're in, you can be chucked out of a band, or the others can shut the band down and start it up again the next day with the exact same members, songs, but with a new bass player and new name. Well, not even always a new name.

The only problem with adding things to boring songs, is they often end up a complete mess. They're only boring to play, non-musicians, listening and dancing (and buying the original) obviously have a different opinion.

Sometimes you can be joining a band in a transitional phase. Not always a bad thing, could be an opportunity to put your stamp on things. I'd stick around for a few rehearsals to get the feel of the dynamic as just because you've been sent one communication from one person, doesn't mean they hold all the cards.

I have no idea what a Capo does. Bit I also have come across a load of guitarists who call an Ab a G# regardless of the key and plenty who don't know the difference between a major or a minor chord. As long as they tell you what key you're in that should do. But might be worth doing a lot of ear training so you can hear intervals quickly.

I've always found it a bit odd that people only have one band and don't play in side projects for fear of upsetting the rest of the band, or are upset when a member of the band plays with another band. I'm always up front with bands I join. I will be paying with other people and doing dep work, if we are not practicing or have a gig booked.

Which is why it's important that everyone knows the score. She can then make up her own mind whether to hang around waiting for the drummer and risk you guys having moved on, or find another project. Ultimately, are you actually considering going back or not? If you're not, then don't mess people around. They'll have long memories and people talk.

I'd suggest that you tell the drummer the rest of you are going to work on another seperate project in the mean time and ask him to contact you when he's ready to gig. Then no one is leaving, kicking anyone out or holding anyone back.

If the B sounds dead and the others sound OK, I'd look at reasons for that. I don't think strings lose much if you're not playing the bass much. Buying singles isn't particularly easy for Bass, or at least that's my experience.

Our singer had to leave in 2019. We had been playing classic 'Dad Rock', David Bowie, Rolling Stones, Led Zepplin, Jimi Hendrix etc. We now have a girl singer who is around 20 years younger than us. Gone are all the old songs that no one danced to, we have learned (with a lot of leaning persuasion on the guitarist) a load of tracks by Pink and similar artists. They're fun and take quite a bit of arrangement to make sound good on Guitar and Bass. Lots of the tracks are keyboard and strings heavy on the originals. We have a younger audience now who get up and dance and gigs are falling into our laps, and the music isn't that hard to play, just takes some work to arrange them. It makes a change.

Yes. Sounds to me though that the rest of the band don't have very good ears. Especially if the drummer is playing inappropriate fills. They're probably more interested in what they're playing individually than fitting in with the rest of the band.

What do they change?