Cat Burrito

I thought London Calling was always a tad over-rated but I bought it on vinyl again this year and FINALLY got what the fuss was about. I don't think it was the format (I'd previously owned it on cassette and then CD - twice), more just the mood struck me. The album I have tried the hardest to get along with - and believe me I tried for years - is Mickey mouse Clubhouse! Thankfully the kids are older now.

I think as suggested these things come around again. There was a time whilst growing up when reverb on the snare and chorus on the bass was just standard. Equally the really old stuff becomes a trend for certain niches desperately trying to recreate something from a previous era. I used to love recording 24 track 2" reel but I must confess life is easier now the world is digital.

It's an Eastwood copy... I cheated!

Different bands require different things so my setup varies massively. I'm not loyal to one type of manufacturer and regularly rotate basses. The rock 'n' roll band get this But a bigger show might get this and I'm picking from this (which is missing a Flying V, a uke bass & a fretless, purchased since I took this);

If you email Ampeg's customer service, I've always found them really helpful and they usually reply inside of a day or two. Just use the contact option on the website.

So I flew out to Stuttgart at the weekend with an old friend of mine to see the Rolling Stones. My mate had scored some particularly good tickets but I wasn't quite prepared for how good they actually were. When we landed we could see the Rolling Stones private jet which was pretty amazing to see. However, it got better. We arrived at our hotel and there were fans outside. It turns out they had booked out 1st and fifth floor. The show was amazing. I was floored by Mick's energy, Keith was really on it and noticeable humble. The set just didn't let up from start to finish. The whole band were on fire. And we were close. We were basically right down the front. Back at the hotel I am queuing for more beers and an American voice asks me what beer I am drinking. I turn around and get chatting to the guy - I quickly realise it is Darryl Jones! I ask if he is and he confirms it. I told him he was a great player and decide to tell him how when I was back in college I had to do work experience - Bill Wyman had just left and I was a typically flaky musician student. I asked the lady if for my work experience she could get me the Rolling Stones gig. Needless to say she couldn't. Darryl possibly politely laughed but said it was a cool story. He was very humble about what a great player Bill Wyman was (I suppose on the one hand he has to be but also having studied all those lines he will have a great appreciation). I asked for his photo which he said "not now because we'll get swamped" (interesting how nobody else in the room at that point had recognised him!) but to grab him as he was leaving. The beer flowed and later on my friend snapped a very blurry shot of me with him. A great night... but to think I was happy at seeing the plane! I don't like taking phone pics at shows but my mate snapped a couple. Here they are...

It is indeed an Ampeg PF50t and it is a great sounding amp head. I really like those Aguilar heads but other than weight, there would be no reason to change.

Having been an Ampeg fan for a LONG time, my days of lugging the full size kit have been drawing to a close. I picked up one of the Aguilar cabs at PMT and I'm blown away with how great it sounds. I road tested it with my 3 piece rock 'n' roll band last night and the drummer was asking if I had changed the basslines. "No, you can just hear it now!" I replied.

My CCR tribute band was only formed because of a jokey pub conversation; Creedence Clearwater Revival Revival!

My Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute did "a night of CCR tunes" (obviously) at a pub in Wantage. One drunken punter kept coming up and asking if we knew any Oasis! Bizarrely we'd wind up launching straight into Green River or Have You Ever Seen the Rain, only for him to be completely happy once the music started up again.

I play in 4 bands and have no trouble loosely defining each. I guess we’re focussed on what we do, rather than the covers scenes where you cater for a wide range of taste. If you book one of my bands, you tend to know what you are getting. That said my Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute did get a request for Oasis once from a punter who I think it is fair to say missed the point. 😆

I’v just ordered one of those Aguilar DB112 cabs in the same chocolate thunder colour scheme. 😎

Absolutely... As a company they are between a rock and a hard place. As a personal observation I wish they’d stop launching classic designs as new models but then I get that it is business and this is how to survive.

I would imagine that this is the case for most of us, simply because we strive to improve all the time.

I like it. Perfect combination for me, although nobody can accuse Fender of ripping up the rule book with this one!

Speaking as a child of the 70s who started playing in the 80s, most things have blown my mind in the last 10-15 years.

I am fortunate enough to have a signed photo from DJ made out to me on display in my hall. It sits with my Scotty Moore signed pic. 😎 A pioneer and one of the greats.

I find a dep rehearsal is completely different to a dep gig. When I think it will all go wrong it somehow slots into place on the night. You got the gig for being rated as a good player so just do your thing and enjoy it.

I take my nice kit gigging. Life's for living. If I stay in a hotel I won't leave a bass in the car but if the thieves can lift the Ampeg rig, I figure they've earned a reward

I play in a few different bands that this would be wildly inappropriate for. It was quite literally the elephant in the room for my rehearsal last night with my Americana band. Three hours in a hot sweaty rehearsal studio and nobody mentioned it!

A bit of a whim purchase this one as it really hasn’t been the best of years but I was on the Eastwood site and saw some cheap ex-demo stock. I’ve always liked the natural finish on a flying V and really liked the look of this one. Eastwood’s always seem to play well and be great value for money (at least all the ones I’ve tried do) so I took the plunge. Amazing customer service from Eastwood as always, although DHL could probably warrant a thread on its own in terms of how they tried to deliver it. 30.5” scale, fairly lightweight body with a pretty thunderous sound. No, you can’t sit down with it but standing up, you can release your inner Rock God. And yes, I am probably old enough to know better!

Check out "New Orleans Funk: The Original Sound of Funk 1960-75" https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Orleans-Funk-Original-1960-75/dp/B00004Y246/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1528788219&sr=8-2&keywords=new+orleans+funk

I guess if you'd have spent your formative years hanging around with Bill Black, you'd be inspired by bass too