Cat Burrito

Good players who say they don't practice are not strictly speaking being honest. You HAVE to practice at some point or you won't get better.

Cheers @Lozz196, There most certainly is. I believe it is out around mid to late August when we go out on your with Electric Boys. I will be sure to let you know. 👍

The debut release from Slyder Smith & the Oblivion Kids is out today. We shot this video out in Ibiza where we debuted live last month. The drummer & I will be featured more in the next few videos but my bass (Ric through an old 70s Bassman) is right up there in the mix. Check it out!

This year I put together a pedal board for my mandolin and used the cheapest pedals I could find. It was a funding decision, rather than spend months buying the best pedal. I got some old firewood, cut it to size, painted it and added some velcro I had laying around. The most expensive pedal was £20. We're playing 80s alternative stuff in that band and I am delighted with how good it sounds. So yeah, agree 100%.

Stevie Nicks once said "cocaine wasn't a problem for this band until it became a problem". I think the same applies for alcohol. I work with 4 people across two bands who could be described as functioning alcoholics. For me, I won't go on having more than a second pint. I've done gigs having had more and they don't work well for me. I am lucky in that alcohol has never been a problem for me. On a big session, I only ever manage a few pints at best. I'm just not very hardcore and eternally grateful that this is the case for me.

I'm like Uncle Albert when it comes to medals! 😸

All local though? 😏 I have a few UK and European tours coming up though for the redemption.... same band each night though!

Not the Swan? The singer from one of my bands lives there and I was surprised how good a scene there is there.

I had three gigs Thursday through Saturday (local, Hull and East London) and a video shoot on the Sunday (Bristol). I was kind of relieved when Thursday AND Saturday's shows both got pulled / postponed. Friday night was a trek from Wiltshire all the way up to Hull for one show, that had been postponed 4 times during covid. With fuel prices at an all time high, it wasn't going to be lucrative but I've never been to Hull and I like playing places I haven't been to. The traffic was awful; at every point where there was an opportunity for a delay, there was one! The two main guys in the band are both about to launch solo albums so I wondered how well we'd all get on. I arrived ready for an argument, with anyone! However, the mood was great. The venue was The New Adelphi Club which has hosted everyone from Pulp to Adam Ant to Green Day over the years. The sound was superb, the lighting was the best I have ever seen it and everyone was super friendly. I didn't get to eat until after the show but a fan bought me dinner and the venue loaded us up on a decent rider so my only costs were fuel (ahem!). A great night and with the rest up on Saturday I didn't look too shattered for the video shoot on Sunday.

It happens but it is rare. I went down to just two Squiers a few years ago and used them at some pro gigs and one an album. We played a show in Windsor and the support bass player came up to compliment me on my tone and bass - he then clocked the logo and began backpedalling massively. This stands out in isolation. I am now back to mainly expensive basses simply because at that time I could afford them and it's nice to have nice things BUT I think most people judge a player on their playing, not their kit. I'd rather see a good band with rubbish kit then a rubbish band with all the gear.

My T-bird and Ric are through necks and I love them. My Hofner is a set neck and I love it. My Precision and Jazz are bolt on and I love them. So for me it depends on the bass. None of it is a deal breaker.

It wouldn't surprise me @ezbass and I had exactly the same thought.

I enjoyed it. Brain in neutral and just try not to overthink things. I think John Lydon's moaning has really helped raise the profile.

As a player, it is about connections - whether it is with band mates or an audience, it's good to share. As a listener, I have absolutely no idea. Different things for different reasons.

As the thread seems to have gone on this tangent - the last two shows I went to (Peter Hook and The Mission), both singers used iPads. They didn't perform to them, they were simply there as a safety net. Nobody cared and we all enjoyed the show(s). I kind of grow tired of all these pious statements (aimed at the guitarist in the OP and a few pompous friends on FB) about iPads on stage, clip on tuners on headstocks etc. Does it *really* matter? If the performer is glued to the iPad or the musician is loudly tuning up through the PA, fair point, but otherwise...

Sounds like you've dodged a bullet. The scene after a couple of rehearsals is going to be significantly less than 6 months in a band with a guy like this. My experience is that some people take it as a relief, some people are fine but get a bit sulky afterwards and some people get silly from the off. I guess your true personality comes out, depending on how it is done. Sounds like you've been more than fair and he's shown is true colours.

I have the Crush 25 for practice, the Terror head for small gigs and the AD200B for big shows. I love Orange and don't play heavy metal. Mine has done everything from power pop to alternative . Old school tones. I like Fender and Ampeg too but Orange are very consistent.

I'm reading that thinking of my experience with record companies in the early 90s, had they shown up, you would have probably gotten signed! 😺

Saturday 10th December 1994 (I still have the tour poster) at the Angel in Nottingham, my Bath based sleaze rock band (the last bastions of the old days that had been otherwise killed off by grunge) hit the town. We didn't know what to expect and showed up to what initially looked like an old man's pub. We were backstage still nursing hangovers from the previous night(s) and our roadie came in to say the audience all looked like us. Thinking it was a wind up we initially ignored him but he said they were asking for me personally (I used to run the mailing list). I went out front and he was right - we'd pulled our biggest crowd. People started buying me drinks and I spent the first part of the evening ligging at the bar. We came to go on and made an entrance walking through the crowd as our intro music played. It was a highpoint of my musical career at that time. I was definitely feeling the effects of a few too many beers. We walked onstage and I noticed my BV mic was considerably lower than my skinny 6ft3 frame. I staggered up to adjust it and promptly fell off stage before the first note! Low slung bass thankfully unharmed. It got the biggest cheer of the night! Against all odds, we actually went down well but I don't think I recovered from my muppet moment.

I think that's very sensible @Lozz196. Having played with pros, ex-pros and local lads who just want a laugh, I think it's about fitting in to the band you join. I've bitten my lip a few times when playing with amateur bands (gaps between songs, showing up to rehearsal having not learnt songs everyone else has bothered to do etc). I also think anyone after Andy is going to look like they have a relaxed attitude! 😺

My 80s Alternative / goth duo played on Friday, just locally on the road I grew up on. Last time we were acoustic so we decided to bring the full band with our electric set, drum machine and sequenced keys. We walked in and some of the locals starting saying "Here come the professionals!" Assuming they weren't comparing us to Bodie and Doyle, it was a great welcome. We did a really solid set and returned later on with mandolin / mandocellos to back the country guy. A great night.

He's played most of the classic / iconic basses to be fair. I know the era and I too was taken with them when I saw Simon with one. They always made me think of Siouxsie and the Banshees but most people think of them in terms of funk. They also seemed quite popular during the Britpop era.

I would just because of my punk rock youth. My last gig in my Americana / Roots band was me in brothel creepers and tight jeans with a Flying V bass. That bass literally was the elephant in the room!

And blues 😺

I think nearly all players are going to be influenced by the instrument choices of the artists they like. Nobody buys a Hofner beatle bass to join a doom metal band or a BC Rich Warlock to join a folk band. Stuff does crossover though. I note the association with rock / prog and Rickenbackers but I always associated mine with Tony James (Gen X).