The Funk

[quote name='OldGit' post='476518' date='Apr 30 2009, 11:35 PM']BB King on Newsnight tonight. 80 something and still playing. That man is so cool I like the fact that he can say "I don't do chords" and no one laughs at him You may be able to get it on the BBC's "watch again" thing.[/quote] Thanks for the tip!

[quote name='OldGit' post='476506' date='Apr 30 2009, 11:25 PM']I'm a fan of an "effects" rehearsal where you just work out what effects you'll be using and then spend time setting them up and trying it in a band (albeit rehearsal) situation.[/quote] Very useful. I once spent 4 hours setting up and tweaking my pedalboard before a pre-gig rehearsal. Thankfully it worked!

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='476507' date='Apr 30 2009, 11:26 PM']The last passive bass I had was a Jazz and the hum from the pickups drove me nuts [...] I heard all Jazz basses hum annoyingly - is that right? I would use a passive bass if it didn't do that [...][/quote] I've never actually heard any hum from my passive Jazz. I read somewhere that you get some hum when you don't have both pick-ups on full volume - but I've never found that to be the case.

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='474021' date='Apr 28 2009, 10:19 AM']In their defence, I quite like it as a venue, and its 5 mins from work which is convenient.[/quote] You in the whoring trade or the narcotics industry? To be fair, I live a 10 minute walk away.

Then it must be the lack of context for me on the more complex syncopations and phrasing. Not having a dig. Just trying to help.

You play for Yamit Mamo? Good sh*t! (I'll comment with some feedback once I've had a listen.) EDIT: That's a really groovy arrangement and I'm amazed that that's an untreated feed from the desk. The only thing I'd say is that the drummer could play with more snap on the main groove. All the breaks and accents are wicked though.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='476481' date='Apr 30 2009, 10:55 PM']Im not i can decide what sounds better?[/quote] You only need to decide if you need to sell one. I've got a mix of active and passive basses. My passive Jazz always sounds good (and pretty much the same) regardless of what it's plugged into - even directly into a PA with no DI box. The active Warwicks are a lot more fussy about what they go through. I prefer the slap sound of my active Warwicks to my passive Jazz by a long way but I don't know how much of that is down to the electronics.

Yeah, that's what I think. Around that time, Lenny Kravitz also came out with a song called [i]Rock n' Roll Is Dead[/i], which was kinda true but also total sh*t.That period was the beginning of the end and nothing sums that up like [i]Dookie[/i]. Wikipedia tells me that a lot of the punk rock community at the time accused Green Day of selling out with that record. Having said all that, I think Tre Cool is a great stage name and he's quite an entertaining drummer.

I enjoyed both of those BUT please use some kind of rhythmic accompaniment. When you're playing flashy compositions like these, a basic rhythmic accompaniment can give some context to some of the more complex syncopations and it can also keep you in time! You didn't waver a lot but just enough to distract me a little.

[quote name='urb' post='474982' date='Apr 29 2009, 12:47 PM']Sophie Alloway on drums plays with Roots Manuva now, but she's also in another band I'm doing - great drummer to play with.[/quote] Was so impressed with her after watching you guys in '06 I tried to poach her. I like this version of Push. Trumpet has such a groovy solo!

2 was the main one missing from your list, I think.

[quote name='Faithless' post='476444' date='Apr 30 2009, 10:23 PM']I'm mainly looking for, let's say, a bit more techy/choppy blues bassists, playing modern blues (mixed with other genres..), not the traditional bluesy-stuff..[/quote] Apart from BB King's bass player in the '70s/'80s, I wouldn't bother. When bands play funky blues, the bass player's just playing funk/r&b over blues changes - so why not just listen to funk instead? When blues is mixed with other genres, it's the rhythm section that plays in that genre, while the guitarist/singer bring the blues element IMO.

[quote name='maxrossell' post='475775' date='Apr 30 2009, 10:09 AM']I don't know how many bands do this, but I do know that none of the bands I know personally do it, either because it hasn't occurred to them or because they think that working on sound is gay or whatever, so most of them end up just playing volume wars and deafening themselves. Either way it was definitely worth it to me, and now we sound kickass. Bragging over.[/quote] Apart from our drummer who totally gets it, I used to set up our keyboard player's and guitarist's rigs at gigs for them. They know how to do it now. The entire keyboard set-up is mine (Nord Electro + Nord Lead 2X -> GK combo) and I pressured the guitarist into the rig he uses (vintage Matamp head + '80s Marshall 2x12, for bigger gigs, and my 6W Cornford Harlequin combo in the studio and for smaller gigs). I even researched and bought the vintage Electro Harmonix Golden Throat talkbox for him to use (he paid me back afterwards). If you care about your band's sound - and it's the kind of band where you really are the leader - it's worth going to these kinds of lengths. Recordings sound great. Live, it's rare that a soundman doesn't balls up all this planning and preparation.

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='476224' date='Apr 30 2009, 05:53 PM']There.... I've said it!!![/quote] [quote name='BigBeefChief' post='476231' date='Apr 30 2009, 05:58 PM']'Course you do. They're rubbish. Grown men dressing like 14 year old skateboarders singing about "high-school". How very punk.[/quote] THANK YOU! I've hated them since 1993. As far as I'm concerned, they undid all the good work that grunge did across all genres. Look at all the good albums that came out in '91, '92 and '93. Green Day are so f***ing '80s.

[quote name='Bigwan' post='476068' date='Apr 30 2009, 02:56 PM']Could you guys also suggest blues tunes a classic power trio lineup could play without much re-jigging?[/quote] All of them. The less obvious ones are probably the ones to go for. Every wannabe-Cream act in the '60s and '70s probably nailed all the obvious choices - the obvious choices being anything with a great riff.

[quote name='endorka' post='476136' date='Apr 30 2009, 04:11 PM']I've spoken to people who remember playing music from that era who would certainly back up her claim - for example, rather than spelling out a scale on the staff as is done on the Aebersold style playalongs, some arrangers of band big music would specify the notes the soloist was to use with arpeggios with the extended higher notes in the staff, e.g. C E G B D F# A rather than C D E F# G A B. Sure it is a matter of emphasis... but I think it matters a lot. Jennifer[/quote] I'm sure you're right but would you be able to explain why? Or is that an unanswerable question? I can see how sticking to chord tones and passing tones in the rhythm section can free up a soloist to harmonize the given chord any way they see fit, and the more a rhythm section defines it the less freedom that soloist has. Is there any more to it than that?

[quote name='dlloyd' post='476110' date='Apr 30 2009, 03:38 PM']Most of what I used to listen to when I was really into blues has been mentioned... John Lee Hooker apparently has not. You're all grounded.[/quote] You're so right.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='476036' date='Apr 30 2009, 02:29 PM']Newer guys: Matt Schofield [...] Ian Siegal[/quote] They both make fairly regular appearances at some of the blues jams in London. Ian's fun to jam with.

[quote name='lowdown' post='476041' date='Apr 30 2009, 02:34 PM']AJ rocks, playing wise, and wind up wise.[/quote] I agree. I think he's just saying "use it or lose it" in his own way.

John Mayer. Unforgiveable. Can't go wrong with Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Elmore James to start with. Then you can go for the Three Kings: BB, Freddie and Albert. You can try Buddy Guy, Bobby Bland and Albert Collins from that era. You can go a little further back and try some Robert Johnson, Son House, Skip James, Big Bill Broonzy, Mississippi John Hurt, Lightening Hopkins etc. There's so much good blues that really there is no reason to ever listen to John Mayer again.

I agree with Bilbo. I don't see the difference. I think what we might be discussing is emphasis or focus.

[quote name='RhysP' post='475282' date='Apr 29 2009, 05:17 PM']He's right to be worried about the demise of the large recording studio as they're the only places that can comfortably accommodate his great fat arse.......[/quote] Ouch! I disagree with the first part but that was a zinger!

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='474759' date='Apr 29 2009, 07:49 AM']He's being more than a little provocative. He's just picking up on current trends and extrapolating them to an illogical extreme. He hasn't factored in the demand for live music, for a start. He's presumed that there is no demand and the current trends will just continue to the point of collapse.[/quote] I like it when people do that. I try to do that myself from time to time but I don't have the stature (physical or professional) of AJ. I think he's trying to spur people into doing exactly what you're saying CK - reclaiming their culture.

[quote name='cytania' post='474162' date='Apr 28 2009, 01:07 PM']The miracle is that Denmark Street hasn't been turned into winebars and offices or 'The Tin Pan Alley Experience'.[/quote] What was CK saying about that? I think he said the plans are for it to all be knocked down and turned into something else. I'd be glad if Wunjo's survived. I was sad to see Music Ground with all the high end amps and effects disappear - even though that was all part of the same monster chain.

[quote name='jazzdrums' post='474550' date='Apr 28 2009, 08:15 PM']You don't have to be the world's best player[/quote] If that's true, that all sounds good to me.