flyfisher

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1332350659' post='1587151'] I'd say Motown was authentic. You're making a mistake in categorising who the artist is. The artist is not the singers, that's just marketing; the artist in this case is the whole Motown setup: lyricists, composers, arrangers, musicians, singers, producer, etc. And it made money as well as these artists expressing themselves - those two not being mutually exclusive. [/quote] I wonder what the general view would be about that statement if 'Motown' was replaced with 'Simon Cowell'? Or the Monkees perhaps? Surely there is no inherent 'worthiness' in music, only subjective opinions. As such, I remain of the view that the basic premise of the thread is worthless.

I wasn't having a go at anyone in particular - well, at all really. To do so would negate my basic point. I entirely agree that "authentic" is an irrelevant descriptor for music, and probably any artistic endeavour. There are no rights and wrongs. It's all subjective. But I guess it will never stop people arguing over the Stones or the Beatles or how good/bad Pink Floyd are (is?) or how much a pile of ceramic sunflower seeds is worth.

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1332249120' post='1585484'] For me part of whether an artist is "authentic" or not is whether they have something to say, be it lyrically or musically. Led Zep took blues and gave it a bit of a twist so have more to say than Jedwood who seem to perform whatever they're given and enjoy the ride. (It's possible that Jedwood do indeed have something to say but no one has ever been able to listen to them speak for more than 2 minutes before being driven mad). So for me authentic includes early rap highlighting life in the ghetto, people like Billy Bragg and Morrisey with more political and social type stuff, the old blues men singing about misery, probably most punk, probably singer songwriters like Adele. (I've realised I don't like most of these examples ) Less authentic are people only interested in fame, performing other peoples material with the help of Autotune, or more modern rap that's about bling and power. In the middle there are people like Madonna and Lady Gaga who have something to say but also cultivate a strong image and are media savvy. [i]Edited to make some sort of sense[/i] [/quote] But only some. The whole premise of the thread is nonsense. Why should someone with "something to say" be any more 'authentic' than someone only interested in fame and fortune? Besides, an awful lot of people with "something to say" just spout rubbish - which, of course, is fine because it's their rubbish and they are sincere in their message. In practice, of course, people will tend to admire people with "something to say" if they agree with what they're saying and then consider them to be 'authentic'. But why should, say, Billy Bragg be more 'authentic' than, say, Nick Griffin. Both are surely 'the real thing' in terms of having "something to say" and fervently believing in it. All of which is personal, subjective opinion and you'll either agree or disagree - but it won't change anything.

[quote name='crez5150' timestamp='1332172907' post='1584264'] is any music authentic??????? [/quote] Isn't all music authentic??????

My BiL used to run an entertainments company, organising corporate bashes and the like. He booked the Stranglers for one such event and Mrs FF spent an enjoyable evening 'behind the scenes' before their set just chatting to them. She had been a fan since seeing them in the 70s at the Woolwich Tramshed. She said they were a very friendly bunch. Unfortunately, I couldn't be there, which i've often regretted. Totally agree with the previous comments about the band being built around strong basslines. Legendary stuff.

Agree with the above. In practice, it's usually even better than that because the adoption of IEC connectors makes it easier for manufacturers to use 'universal' power supplies that can cope with mains voltage and frequencies anywhere in the world and then just put the appropriate 'kettle lead' in the box for the target country. Sometimes they may even include multiple 'kettle leads' for even simpler packaging and logistics at their end. Having said that, such things depend a bit on a product's manufacturing volume and product pricing. Some bass gear might be considered a bit specialised, in which case any half decent seller should know if a product was suitable for a particular country. For ultimate confirmation, the product manual will be definitive.

Maplin, for 'consumer' type electronics components and stuff. CPC, Farnell or RS components for a wider range of, generally, more professional components and stuff.

[quote name='essexbasscat' timestamp='1331981201' post='1581620'] FF - is that a Sellars / ying tong yiddle I Po gag ? [/quote] No, it was a reference to the story that George Martin told about one of the first times that he had been recording 'the boys' and the fact that he hadn't really 'teken' to them at the time. Anyway, after the session he invited them all into the control room to listen to what he had been doing and he said to them them that if there was anything that they didn't like, they just had to tell him and he'd change it. Harrison was the first to speak and said "Well I don't like your tie for a start" GM said that was the point at which he started to warm to them.

Have never played a wake but have played at a 'farewell' party for someone who had terminal cancer. I didn't know the person concerned, though she was known to others in the band, which is why we were asked to play. Almost unbearable when one of her daughters (11/12?) sang 'You're Beautiful" to her. This was on a saturday and she died the following Thursday, which astonished me as she didn't seem that ill on the night. Putting on a real brave effort perhaps? Anyway, I thought at the time that it wasn't the sort of thing I'd like for myself, but the family were clearly very happy and appreciative that we played and, in this case, the person concerned wanted it so, frankly, I don't think anyone else's opinion mattered. So, to answer the OP's question, playing at the wake may well upset some people but if the close family have all requested it then I'd go ahead. The wake is really for their benefit after all.

Well I don't like your tie for a start!

Nice reminder. I've seen it before but it's a good excuse to put the kettle on and slob out for a bit.

+2

This is a bit difficult to describe but imagine the socket 'tip' contact. The plug is inserted and the shape of the tip initially pushes the socket contact out of the way. When the plug is fully home the socket contact springs back a little bit into the 'groove' of the plug tip. The socket contact not only makes electrical contact but it also holds the plug in place. All well and good. But, over time, the socket contact may lose its 'springyness'. So, the plug is inserted and the tip pushes the socket contact out of the way as normal. but when the plug is fully inserted, the socket contact doesn't spring back far enough to make contact with the 'groove' of the plug tip - so the cable doesn't work. However, if the plug is pulled slightly out of the socket, the wider part of the plug tip again makes contact with the socket contact - then the cable works. The solution is to slightly bend the socket contact so that it sticks further out into the socket shaft and will once again make contact with the 'groove' of the plug tip when fully inserted. But if the contact has lost all springyness then a new socket is needed.

I'd discuss the predicament with the pub and try to rearrange the gig. But if not possible then, ultimately, I'd honour the first booking. As for being out-voted by the others, I'd regard that as them saying they're moving on - all of them! What if you blow the pub gig out for the wedding, then an even better offer comes in? Will you then blow away the wedding gig? At that rate, word will eventually get around that you're all completely unreliable and the bookings will dry up - and deservedly so in my book.

A friend had something similar on his electro-acoustic guitar. Turned out that the spring contacts of the socket had lost some of their spring. I bent then back for him with some long-nose pliers and they've been fine ever since. Whether this is possible does depend on the construction of the socket though.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1331633737' post='1576085'] You don't have to lock onto the bass drum exclusively, altho a lot do, but you do have to lock into his rhythm.. there may be parts of the song where the kick is out but you can play... but the simplest and most effective way of sounding like a unit is to play along with what the drums do, and accent his most important beats. [/quote] That's a better description of what I was trying to say. I expect the drummer to provide the rhythm and this is usually 'driven' by the kick drum (in the stuff I tend to play anyway). This doesn't mean the drummer must always kick on the 1 (we've already acknowledged the importance of space) or that the bass should play over every kick, but to be really tight the drummer and bassist should be playing to the exact rhythm - like quantising things in a DAW. I suspect that drummers have an internal 'click' (or sometimes an actual in-ear click these days) to provide the solid 1 2 3 4 rhythm and plays to that, using the kick to 'drive' things. My issue, I think, is that our drummer doesn't use the kick because he doesn't have that inner click' and relies on me to provide that driving rhythm and he locks to me. If I play 1234 then it works ok, but I don't always do that and if I try something else he'll slightly lose his rhythm. I then have to decide whether to try to pull/push him back onto the beat or readjust my own rhythm to match him, which then affects everyone else. Thus, it can all get a bit loose. As you might imagine the scale of the problem varies with the nature of the song, but it's generally frustrating. I hope that's a bit clearer. I've tried suggesting he tries playing to a click but he doesn't take the hint.

[quote name='dave.c' timestamp='1331552701' post='1574509'] I've never puked or had puke on a bass before, howerver I have thrown up in a full face crash helmet whilst riding a motorbike, not recommended! and probably off topic as well! [/quote] I've been scuba diving with a guy who puked through his regulator, something they are designed to cope with apparently. Anyway, he was OK and it certainly attracted all the reef fish!

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1331544970' post='1574314'] Boom Tish Boom Tish Boom Tish BoomBoom Tish .. [/quote] Not available for drumming gigs are you?

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1331548305' post='1574380'] From a personal view, my first band didn't have a conventional drummer - just a percussionist with no bass drum. [/quote] Now you mention it, that's a good description of our drummer.

Interesting stuff. Just to clarify my earlier point about 'locking to the kick', I didn't mean that every kick beat had to be covered by the bass, rather that I thought the kick should be setting the pace, which the bassist then plays around. A bit like practicing to a metronome, where you can play all 'around' the click (including leaving the all important spaces) but it's the metronome driving the timing. I'm not sure about the drummer not having to set the time for the rest of the band. That's never been my experience, though that could easily be a reflection of my level of playing experience/ability. I imagine that if everyone follows everyone then it will likely only work if everyone is a very experienced and competent and can all react imperceptibly to things, but less experienced players may take longer to react causing a sort of 'hunting' around the desired beat and making the band sound rather 'loose' rather than 'tight'. But if everyone locks to the drums then a 'tight' result is more likely. But, again, I may not be expressing myself very clearly.

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1331432393' post='1572837'] You have nothing to lock into? Don't just rely on the bass drum,listen to other parts of the kit...the hi hat or ride cymbal is a good choice,as is the snare. I don't buy the whole 'lock with the bass drum' thing. Instead lock in with the whole kit. [/quote] Yes, that's a fair point and I know what you mean (I think). I may not be explaining myself very well. Perhaps the problem is that the drummer is following me rather than being in the driving seat? I've not experienced this before and it doesn't feel comfortable.

[quote name='garethfriend' timestamp='1331404160' post='1572531'] thing I have been doubting my abilities on recently is remembering songs, not the actual notes and structure but the names. I look down at the set list and see the name of the song we are supposed to play next and draw a blank, "is that the one that starts on E?" "we have a song called ...?" [/quote] I've experienced that as well . . . That horrible feeling that you can't remember the song (we're playing a lot of originals at the moment) but, oddly, as soon as things get going you can play it perfectly. It's an odd thing. My way of avoiding this now is to write the starting note on my set list, or perhaps the chord sequence if it's a very new song. This means I always know what to play, so I relax, so I play better, so I relax more . . . Etc.

I'm nowhere near as good as I'd like to be. However, I seem to be adequate enough to play in a couple of bands and, between them, play about 20 gigs each year - though nothing particularly fancy, but I can dream. Our audiences always seem to be pretty complimentary though, and not - I think - just out of politeness. I'm certainly not a 'technical' player, can't slap and have no inclination to learn, but I can hold a beat and genuinely play for the sake of the song rather than myself. My biggest current frustration is a drummer who doesn't use the kick drum, so I have nothing to lock to and end up providing the basic tempo for the song, which means that if I want to play a little off the beat for emphasis or even stop for a few bars then the drummer just follows or gets lost! Funnily enough, I had to miss a rehearsal before last weekend's gig and a couple of bandmates told me that it was a bit of a shambles as a result, which I suppose it gratifying in one respect but frustrating in another. I'd say the best way to progress is to play with musicians who are better and to play stuff that stretches your capability. Trouble is, this is also a recipe for worry. Still, better than always playing well within your comfort zone and then becoming bored. Ovyerall, I'd say that personal doubts just go with the territory. Are there any artists, in any field, who are truly happy with their work?

It's all just a matter of em-fasis.