wateroftyne

Oh, it's being repeated on BBC Four right now!

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1466012226' post='3072831'] I would love to watch Sting play and sing up close. Love him to pieces! Great player and great singer [/quote] My pal is in the band. I'm very jealous....

https://tonylevin.com/road-diaries/peter-gabriel-sting-2016-tour/us-rehearsals-begin

Looks OK to me. Correct left-hooker logo. Dodgy late-70s burst. Gasket under the neck plate. I don't see anything dodgy from the pics.

Check out New Moon Insurance, too.

No problem - I'll try not to give anything away..! 1. The covers thing was introduced pretty early on in the process - early enough for us to say 'thanks but no thanks' if we decided it wasn't for us. By that point we'd spent enough time chatting to the production company to be confident that they were going to make a serious show with an original music element to it. So we talked about it as a band, and decided to learn some covers, have some fun, and see what happens :-) 2. Every band played an original and a cover at each stage. So in addition to what's been seen, we played a cover in the kitchen which is so far unaired, and an original at the gig. You can catch a brief snippet of it from the soundcheck in the show. I have to give cedit to the editors - while songs are obviously massively chopped down, they've worked hard to do as good a job as possible. I think everyone would like to hear more of the songs, especially the original stuff, but the commercial pressures of the modern world wins. 3. The production company were keen to film the bands in their usual environment.. so they got us in Phil's kitchen 'cos that's where we rehearse! Mind you, I don't think they were prepared for a tiny Northern kitchen. The crew got a bit of a shock when they squeezed in through the door. Hooky and Rhod were sitting on garden chairs 'cos it's all we had left. Ha ha.

[quote name='arthurhenry' timestamp='1465852963' post='3071663'] I have done and have carried a bass in a hard case and another in a gig bag around with me all day. Inconvenient (and painful!), but worth it to know they are safe. [/quote] Like many bands, we usually carry lots of instruments, It's just not practical. You just have to weigh up the risks, just like when you get on an aeroplane, or go on a roller coaster, or buy a lottery ticket.

[quote name='arthurhenry' timestamp='1465852690' post='3071657'] Keep the bass with you, leave it with someone you trust or in the place you are staying, not in an unattended vehicle. [/quote] You don't tour much, do you? :-)

[quote name='arthurhenry' timestamp='1465852491' post='3071652'] It seems that convenience sometimes overcomes common sense, perhaps because, as was stated above, people just don't think it will happen to them. [/quote] It's always a risk, but that's what insurance is for.

[quote name='arthurhenry' timestamp='1465852176' post='3071647'] In what circumstances would it be unavoidable? Band members or friends can take turns to stay with a vehicle, or help to carry instruments. [/quote] Fair enough it you leave home at 6pm to travel to a gig, and then head home afterwards. If you're away for a number of days it's not practical to be tied to the car 24/7.

Sometimes it's unavoidable. Be sensible, keep it out of view, and make sure you have proper insurance.

That looks lush. Nice one.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1465822573' post='3071252'] They're fantastic live... and great guys (and girl, now, for the past year or so). We've shared stages a few times... they are loonies, but the good kind of loonies. Love them! [/quote] Yep.. lovely, bonkers people.

Ahhhh.. shucks, everyone! You're very kind

[quote name='thebassist' timestamp='1465755105' post='3070771'] Prices seems nuts at the moment. All at around the £10k to £12k mark! [/quote] My name isn't Mark...?

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/282884-handbox-bass-amplification-new-to-the-uk/"]HandBox R-400... [/url]

Yep - we had one a few weeks ago. A big do, and... no stage manager. Complete chaos, and it turned into a war of attrition between everyone involved. No fun.

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1465733242' post='3070547'] Exactly my feelings about Kissmet - and finding myself really a bit put out by the focus on covers. Isn't part of the entire point of the show that these are original "part time" bands making their own music? NB quite happy to make an exception for The Caffrey's rather excellent re-imagining of Don't You Want Me. Not sure if that makes me a hypocrite, but I do feel the best covers are interpretations, not imitations. J. [/quote] There's been lots of discussion around the whole covers thing, and it's a fair point. As far as I'm aware, all of the featured bands play predominantly original material, but I guess at some point a decision was taken to ask bands to play a cover and an original at each stage to broaden the appeal of the show. I can totally understand the reasons behind it, and as we don't really do covers, we just had a bit of fun learning some. :-) The amount of people who've picked up on our original song from the episode is amazing - it's being talked about more than the cover, which is nice.

[quote name='No. 8 Wire' timestamp='1465679351' post='3070218'] Loved your playing (and singing) really excellent band. Would love it BBC4 put the whole performances on youtube as well as all the auditions that didn't get airtime too. [/quote] Cheers :-) I assumed - and hoped - they'd be put some full performances on the iPlayer at some point. Maybe after the final?

A cup of tea, a digestive, and watch the news. I am SO PUNK ROCK.

Lots of off-the-shelf Maruszczyks are in your price range. [url="http://www.public-peace.de/index.php/bass-guitars/maruszczyk/jake/4-string"]Here's a link to their P derivative[/url] - some of their other models might come in at your budget, too.

My Maruszczyk's are around 7.2lbs each. Both play & sound like great P's should, and have no neck-dive at all.

Ah.. cheers, everyone. It is warm-hearted, and I'm glad that comes across. It's a genuine celebration of live music. And Hooky was lovely, not anything like as prickly as I'd expected. The whole production team have been completely pro throughout. FWIW, [url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07f2hmw/uks-best-parttime-band-2-north#playt=0h32m20s"]the kitchen bit[/url] was recorded via a single - very nice - mic in the room. I'm using my little Ibanez Promethan combo. [url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07f2hmw/uks-best-parttime-band-2-north#playt=0h52m39s"]The gig at the Sheffield Leadmill[/url] was DI & a mic'd Ampeg fridge. Flats all the way :-) The final is on BBC2 a week tonight.