KevinJazzBass

The Beat are a great band and very underrated in my opinion. The Beat at the minute have only two original members... Ranking Roger taking lead vocals and Everett Morton on Drums. However Roger's son Matt also sings and is a great addition to the band. On Keyboards is Micky Billingham who played with Dexy's Midnight Runners and then in General Public (with Dave Wakeling, Roger, Mick Jones and Horace Panter). I met the band for the first time last year when I interviewed Roger for my Dissertation on protest music in the Thatcher years. I have since seen the band 3 times and swapped numbers with Roger, he is such a nice guy and we're keeping in touch . David Steele played some great basslines back in the day too. Big Shot is a personal favorite. Great news that you got to support them Raggy. What is your band called? Hopefully I might see yous together in future. Kev

Hi Josh, I have an SVT-DI for sale on this very forum. I think they're a great piece of kit but I just cant afford to keep it now that I have an SVT3 Pro. I used to use it to add some tube warmth to the sound of my BA115HP and also for recordings to a great direct bass sound, it worked fantastically. It gives you a tube sound at a fraction of the price and looks great on stage when its all lit up. Kev

What a great thread, it's really interesting to read about everyone's backgrounds and see how much they differ. Unless I have missed something I am the first person to name Blink 182's Mark Hoppus as a major influence. His lines and are simple, effective and complement the bands songs and overall sound. They are also great basslines for a complete beginner to get their fingers round. That was when I was 15 in 2001 and the reason I started to play bass was because me and my two best friends wanted to make our own pop punk band, one of my friends wanted to drum and other was already pretty good on guitar so we organised a sponsored run and raised almost £200 from friends and familiy... with which I bought myself a Westfield Precision copy in navy blue from the music center in Middlesbrough. Since then I have been hooked and from my love of punk grew massive interest in the playing styles of Paul Simonon and Bruce Foxton and following The Clash's Reggae influence and The Jam's Soul influence I found my way to Aston 'Family Man' Barrett and James Jamerson.... That is pretty much where I am now. I also really enjoy playing Jazz, Blues and Funk. Kev