Cat Burrito

Definitely going to be filing this one under "strange". Thursday evening on FB and we were tagged in a 7 bands in 7 hours festival as one of the bands had been forced to cancel. Less than 36hrs notice and they needed a band to open a festival in Calne. It was to raise money for a young man who'd been killed leaving a young family. I messaged the organiser and initially had no response. A few people "liked" that we got tagged so I sent a 2nd, more personal message. No response but just as I gave up, he messaged in the morning saying we could open. Very much an electric set but we've only rehearsed the acoustic set recently so in a head vs heart decision, we decided to stick with an acoustic set. I then got added to a bands Messenger group (normally my pet hate in band life but this one had pretty much sorted out the 100s of messages about high hat stands and 4ohm cabs. Everyone seemed cool, which was nice. Pro sound guy, full backline etc, by all accounts. Playing acoustic versions of original gothic songs on folk instruments was going to be a tough sell, especially in what was effectively a working man's club but I was adamant in our self-belief. We had little more than a line check but the plan was I would play my bass parts on the mandocello, before moving on to guitar (a recent addition) and ending on my mandolin. I'd talked Nick into a smaller, more discreet music stand and we now have a band flag that we hung behind us. We go on and it was immediately apparent that we meant business. The (initially) small crowd were actually fairly intent on listening and gave us a warm reception. I noticed the sound on the mandocello kept completely cutting out and coming back in. That was down to the soundman and not the kit. I figured it was purely onstage as nobody batted an eyelid. And like Nigel Tufnel, I am a professional so I rose above it. We were going great guns until when Nick took the mandocello, it completely died. It rather killed our momentum and the soundman was initially clueless. We had a second mandocello (I refer you back to the Nigel Tufnel comparsion) and we bypassed the pedals to get a signal. Initially nothing but then Nick spotted the error (him, not us) and we finished our set. He checked all the kit at home and there was no problem with our gear. Chalk it up as experience. We stayed for a couple of the bands and mingled a bit. All the musicians we spoke to were super friendly but we left as the young teenagers with the Axl Rose style egos showed up. Some of the audience were absolutely wrecked. We saw one woman turn around and offer to smack some bloke in the face. I don't know what he had done but it seemed very OTT. We also made the mistake of momentarily stopping outside the ladies during load out. As the door opened a very mad (in every sense of the word) lady shouted at us for stopping outside a doorway. We'd only stopped momentarily and it was purely coincidence that she'd opened the door as we stood there. She started screaming about it being an entrance (we'd already immediately moved and apologised) before she added very loudly that she only had one eye. I felt the evening was starting to take a surreal turn so we made our excuses and left. We played well, overcame the technical problems, met some great people and encountered one or two characters. Business as usual in a small Wiltshire town.

***People of Wiltshire*** We're delighted to be a very last minute addition to a (magnificent) seven band bill on Saturday afternoon that includes Homer, Street Outlaws, Mike & the Free Spirits, Room 101, Viva and Six O'Clock Circus. It's a charity show for local lad Paul Smith who recently died, to help raise money for his funeral. We're opening the music up at 4pm and will be doing a 45 minute set mixing originals and covers (the best of our 3 main releases). A suggested entry of £5 on the door (less than a quid a band!)

We had an acoustic show case at The Cause in Chippenham. A truly fabulous space. Amazing sound guy who was genuinely interested in the bands, an audience who came to listen and the promoter even made us pizza! We played mainly original material, ending on a token cover. I played mainly mandocello, some guitar and a bit of mandolin at the end (so no bass yet in 2025). The other two acts were a folk singer and a fun time covers band, so a nice mix. The benchmark for which I will base other 2025 shows.

I've commented on vaguely similar threads historically, only to go back and discover my at-the-time dream bass is long sold on. However, around 20 years back, I picked up a cheap(ish) Rally mandolin. It has a pickup and is all solid woods (i.e. no laminate). When I got divorced in 2010, I literally sold everything I had and replaced everything I own. Except this mandolin. I've played others, even identical Rally ones from the same shop at the time but this one just has some magic that I can't explain. It was about £250 and even in the unlikely event of someone offering me £2.5k, it's never for sale. I think it's stood the test of time to show that is one load of talk that I am actually walking.

The early 90s Squiers were made in Korea. They have a decent rep. Personally I'd play both and decide which one I preferred. Just on the photographs, I lean towards the Squier personally.

First show of 2025 for me.

My local guitar shop told me about this ages ago. Apparently it works fine for open chords but once you start playing past the 7th fret, the intonation is a challenge. There may be others who can do better but I rated the guy that said this very highly.

Wow! Thanks Mark. Thrilled to have made anyone's list.

They are rather, aren't they. I owned a couple before and a lovely Gretsch bass. I have never come across a bad one - and I can't say the same for Fender, Gibson, Rickenbacker etc.

Not “bass” related as such but as we’re writing a new album for 2025 and I have been in a bit of a writing slump, I picked up this 2015 Gretsch Electromatic G5420T. It’s the first time I have bought myself an Xmas gift in a while but it already seems to be unlocking a bit of my writers block.

I think any band is always so much more than the sum of it's parts. Sure, any musician can follow C, F and G (for example) but the dynamic changes. I guess this in part explains why when people leave (or get fired) from bigger name bands, the fans often pine for earlier line ups. The one (sort of) exception for me would be the fact that I play in a duo. We have a 35yr history and I co-write / co-produce and play several instruments. I don't doubt Nick could go solo or manage in another project BUT it wouldn't be *that* project. And, I hasten to add that this cuts both ways.

Not so much of a "gig last night" but today marks 35 years of playing live! With all the occasional rubbish that life throws at us all, it's been the one constant source of sanity. Across 16+ bands, several countries and several instruments (I reckon 80% of them have been on bass), it's been amazing. I'd be surprised if I manage a 2nd 35yrs and I definitely have reached a stage where I enjoy the small local pubs as much as the ones that sound more impressive. 22nd December 1989 was pretty woeful and I am so grateful we didn't have the internet but it will always be a fond memory because it set the wheels in motion for what was to come.

2024 ended with a cheeky little trip over to the Southgate Inn in Devizes. Armed with just my mandolin, I actually got the bus over. We got a heroes welcome from the regular customers and were greeted with "here come the goths". 😺 My wife snapped this one picture that sounds off a comparatively quiet year on the live front.