Franticsmurf

I find that 'resting' an instrument or pedal, that is putting it completely away out of sight for a couple of months, makes returning to it feel similar to acquiring a new one - well, enough to partially satisfy my GAS. Last year I rested my Sterling 34HH, mainly because it needed some TLC on the electrics and a general set-up. When I got it back a couple of months ago, I couldn't put it down. Currently I'm resting my P Bass (which was my main instrument last year) and my B6 pedal board (the main FX unit last year). Sadly, my talent appears to be permanently resting. 🤣

Being single, I don't get this from the wife/partner/other. However, I get looks and comments from the band when I turn up with something they haven't seen before and since I like to rotate through the bass collection for rehearsals and some of my fellow bandmates have senior moments, I will often get the 'another bass?' response.

It was - and that's not just me on an ego trip - the band played the best it ever had, the audience created and incredible atmosphere and the singer (who organises the whole event) was at the top of his game. 😀

I played at our self organised Hullabaloo festival yesterday. Apart from being the assistant stage manager for our sound man, I was in a 5 piece band made up of people from our 13 piece main band. With two gigs, one of which lasted a marathon 4 hours, it was a busy day. The 5 piece played in the late afternoon and were the first of the bands that managed to get people up and dancing - seeing folks bopping along is always a moral booster. We hadn't been able to rehearse much and although everyone is a competent player, there was that 'will it all come together' feeling just before we started. Part of the reason for doing the 5 piece splinter band is to give the players a chance to expand on what they do in the main band - so each year we choose a couple of songs that will challenge us and feature the players who would normally be at the back of the stage. This year our Uke/trombone player (who is an accomplished guitarist) chose 'Sultans of Swing' on which she played the lead parts and our sax man picked 'Baker Street'. Both nailed it after shaky rehearsals and Baker Street was one of those performances that you realise early on is something special - everything just clicked - and it was amazing to be playing it. It's those moments that remind me why I love playing gigs. Of course, there were a few dodgy moments, mostly involving my singing ('Sultans' and 'I'm a Believer' and a distinctly off key element to my backing vocals on our opening number, 'Pinball Wizard'). But it was all good and there were some nice compliments for the band and my bass playing. The main band (the Hulla band) went on just after 7pm to a full village green - perhaps 700 people - and we played until just after 11. The festival is a charity event and we raise money for, amongst others, a local homeless drop-in centre. They have a choir and we had them on stage to sing with the band (they had played their own set earlier in the day). I always love the choir and band combination as the voices add an extra level to what were doing. This is the 5th years I've played this gig and it was by far the best performance we've done as a band. I was very happy with my sound - I went through the desk with no backline and using IEM and my Sterling bass was sounding so good that I decided not to swap basses half way through as I had originally planned. My kit line up for the day was a Sterling 34HH through a Sine Effects HPF (set at 40hz), MS60B for compressor, noise gate and octave/chorus (for one song) and an Ampeg SCI DI (unused back-up bass was my Ibanez 205). For the songs I played guitar on I used a Squire Telecaster that went through a Zoom MS50G+. IEMs came from a Behringer P16 personal monitor mixer fed from our Behringer X32 desk pre-fade so I had my own monitor mix which I was able to adjust (for example, when the singer decided to play his harmonica at full last through his vocal mic!) Footwear was courtesy of Skechers (if I mention them often enough I should get the sponsorship deal I'm after). As usual no photos have yet emerged of either of the bands I was playing in (as I was the principal photographer on the day). I will amend this post if/when they appear. Edit: Some photos from the night.

The Hulla band is playing it's self organised festival tomorrow and today has been spent setting up the stage and sound, laying out the grounds and generally creating a decent venue. The day started with a large cooked breakfast and concluded with a short soundcheck and fish 'n' chips. Tomorrow I'm playing in two of the 7 band line-up. I'm doing a support slot with a splinter group from the main band followed a couple of hours later by a headline set (well, we do all the work) with the Hulla band. We have a new, purpose built and permanent stage on the village green and it's made a huge difference to the look and feel of the site, not to mention a generous increase in stage space. It's been a long day today and it'll be another long one tomorrow as I'm there from 10.30 as assistant stage manager and the Hulla band's sets tend to go on until the last punter leaves. 🙂

I had a depping gig last night at a local golf club. One short rehearsal where I met half the band (but not the singer). The set list was familiar with only four or five I hadn't played before and the rehearsal showed up another few that had different arrangements than what I was used to. A 20 minute drive to the gig was a bonus. I'd played this golf club about 20 years ago so although it was vaguely familiar, the decor had changed for the better and the band had a dedicated space (although not an actual stage). Following the recent trend the gig was sweaty as although there was a patio door open behind us, there was little movement of air. Every thrash of the cymbal that sent a waft of slightly cooler air my way was a gift. It was a good night and my playing was up to a standard I was pleased with given the circumstances; no major gaffes and only a couple of issues with the ends of songs. The crowd were certainly up and dancing from the first number and throughout. The band were pleased with my efforts and I'm now on their dep list. Kit was my trusty Sterling 34HH, swapping between bridge pick up for the rockier numbers and both pick ups for a more mellow sound for the quieter stuff. This went through a Zoom MS60B for noise gate, compressor and tuning/mute and an Ampeg SRC-DI into the FX return of my Peavey Minimax 600 and a pair of TE 1x10" cabs. It's the first time I've used backline for several years (I DI and use IEM with my main band) and it was great to be able to get the punch out of the TE cabs, which were more than a match for drums, three guitars and a singer. Footwear was Black Skechers.

Depping gig tonight at a golf club function. Less than a week's notice and one short rehearsal (boo) which was very professional (yaay) but there are songs I haven't done before (boo). Most of the set is familiar (yaay) but some of them have different arrangements (boo). The rest of the band seem cool and laid back (yaay) but they sprung one song on me at the rehearsal (boo). Really looking forward to it and to using backline for the first time in ages. 😀

But as long as it was agreed by the whole band, I think that would be fine.

I meant prioritise in the short term to cover a specific choke point. But if the choke points become frequent then perhaps it is time to have the difficult conversation? The alternative is either not knowing who will be playing on the night of the gig (if you can get a dep) or cancelling gigs because there's a clash. Neither are good and the latter will ruin your band's reputation. Could it be that some equate 'Blues Band' with 'easy 12 bar covers' and see it as something they can fit in without too much effort? (I should add that it's not my perception.) As you say, 'near enough is good enough'.

I have been in two bands simultaneously because I wanted to gig more than the first band did. I made it clear to both bands the situation and that when it came to gigs, the first gig in the diary got priority. Practicing was never an issue and rehearsals with either band were arranged so far in advance that they never clashed. In terms of motivation - for me it was gigs. Both bands had great people in them and playing with them was enjoyable and fulfilling but the main reason I play is to be on stage. I don't think failing to prepare or practice is a direct result of being in several bands. If I was struggling to manage the workload the first thing I'd do is prioritise based on upcoming gigs but I would also be talking to all the bands involved to explain. I would have to think carefully about whether this was a one-off or likely to happen again and if the latter, I'd have to make a decision about leaving a band to reduce the workload. As with most things, communication is key and the earlier you talk it through the less heated it will be.

Rehearsal rooms with their own weather systems. 🙂

Rehearsed last night with a band in which I'm depping as bassist on Saturday. I always wonder what tunes will be in the set following the assurance that 'it's all standard pub rock stuff'. In this case it was 'all standard rock stuff' - apart from 'YMCA', 'Living Next Door to Alice' and 'My Girl'. And having spent extra time on YMCA to get the disco octave thing going, it turns out they play it as straight rock. But it was a good and productive evening, no messing but not taken too seriously either. We rehearsed in the director's suite of the local rugby/cricket club and I was stood in the panoramic west facing window as the sun went down. So most of the evening was spent with little beads of sweat trickling down my back. I'll be using my Sterling 34HH and, for the first time in ages, backline consisting of 2x TE 1x10 cabs and a Peavey Minimax 600, bypassing the front end in favour of an Ampeg SCR DI.

Musically, I'll try and play for about an hour a day most days - whether it's structured practice, recording or noodling (usually a combination of all three). My main band rehearses most Sundays, and that's about 3 hours of playing. Physically, I'm training for a trek in India this year so at the moment I'm fairly fit as I'm exercising regularly (I'm just back from a morning on the the Brecon Beacons). Our main festival gig every year tends to go on for up to 4 hours, plus I help out with stage management and sound. I'm usually there the day before an the day after to help out with construction and breakdown of the stage and for the last couple of years I've played in a support band on the same day. All of that tends to be very tiring. For the last couple of years I've treated the main gig like a day of trekking - plenty of fluids and energy snacks to keep me going. 🙂 I don't know whether it helps, but I never drink and play.

I'm the same and for similar reasons. The beat drives the song along and the keys add something extra and helps it build towards the end. But oh, that Mandocello in the first video. Such a gorgeous sound. 🙂

I should explain that most of the band (there are 13 in total) are not dedicated musicians - it's a weekend hobby for them and so anything other than 'song-stop-song-stop' is out of their comfort zone. Like you, in previous bands we've always tried to grab the attention of the audience with a few back to back before doing any audience interaction. I think it makes for a solid intro, sets the scene and lets people know that we mean business. But its new to the Hulla band and to be fair everyone has got it. I have 24 bars before I come in and then it's non-stop for the rest of the songs. The drummer, BL, guitarist and I are the core throughout and it's working well. 😀

I have mentioned before that our singer and band leader is a massive Bruce Springsteen fan. Our gigs tend to follow 'the Boss' in length with 3+hour sets not uncommon. On Saturday we had the dreaded WhatsAppp message from him - 'I'm at a Springsteen gig' - which can often mean last minute set changes as new songs appear following an epiphany during The Boss' performances. Yesterday, with the BL yet to appear at the rehearsal, the sound guy and I were taking bets on which Springsteen songs would be added and, as Sir Paul was also present with Bruce in Liverpool, which Beatles tracks would also make an appearance. We both lost as the BL was very restrained and chose not to alter the set at all. Instead we ran through the first 6 songs, which run together as a solid 20 minute section kicking the set off. It's a new concept to most of the band so we've been working on the transitions and they're finally beginning to gel. The sound guy kept telling me my bass was sounding 'muddy' and I couldn't figure out why as nothing had changed from the previous rehearsal. Right at the end, as we were talking about it, his description 'all the top end disappeared from your sound' made me realise that the 'Ultra HI' button on my Ampeg SCR-DI pre-amp pedal had probably not been engaged and sure enough, that was the issue. I love that pedal but I wish it had indicator lights on the push buttons. Ibanez GSR205, Broughton HPF (set at 40hz) Zoom MS60 (for noise reduction, compressor, tuner/mute and a couple of one-off spot effects), Ampeg SCR-DI into the desk. Skechers. 😀

The Hulla band has its self organised festival coming up and one of the acts on the line up is a choir made up of volunteers for a local homeless charity (one of the recipients of the funds raised by the band each year). They are also singing 6 songs with the band - it's become a tradition over the last three festivals. Last night we had the first rehearsal with them this year. They are very good - their leader is a gifted singer in her own right (she usually joins the Hulla band for the festival gig). The songs they are doing with us are 'For What Its Worth', 'Knocking on Heaven's Door', 'Run', 'One Day Like This', 'Like a Prayer' and 'Burning Love'. There are some beautiful gospel vibes on 'Knocking on Heaven's Door' and 'Like a Prayer' but the song of the night was 'One Day', which had the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. Rig du jour was my recently acquired Ibanez GSR205 through a Vox VX50 bass amp (tiny, plastic but a great practice amp with lovely bass). We were also experimenting with how to mic up the choir for the festival so I was working with our sound man to test a few microphone combinations. Today's homework is to take the recordings we made and separate them into different mic set-ups so we can confirm what was chosen on the night. We tried a pair of small diaphragm condensers, a pair of 'cheap' dynamics and a pair of SM58s in various physical set ups and the sound man decided the SM58s at just above head height, separated by 9 feet (as suggested by the Shure website, apparently) gave the best sound. I was also trying out a Behringer boundary mic which I had recently acquired, more for my interest than a contender, and I was very happy with the results.

I rehearsed with the Hullas last night. We were down on numbers due to holidays but there was a quorum so we decided to go ahead and work on some arrangements and iron out some technicalities. There was also home made cake to celebrate the BL becoming a grandad. It was very productive evening and at the end, the BL decided we'd all been good boys and girls so we had a bit of a jam. And out of the blue, the BL unleashed some pretty cool guitar solos (he's not known for the lead breaks, usually sticking to vocals and rhythm guitar). The energy and buzz was amazing. Even the Ukes section was bouncing. 😀

As has been said by others, I gig because I love playing live music. I love the camaraderie of a band on stage (the 'us vs the world' vibe) and some of the funniest and most enjoyable moments I've had with bands have been with friends on stage or in the studio. I've never lost the buzz I get from a successful gig or a good performance. I'm fortunate not to need the money (although it funds my GAS) and the current band I'm in plays solely for charity, which gives me another little buzz when we do the end-of-year distribution accounts. I've learnt so much from other, better musicians. In the early days I developed a self confidence which I was able to take back to other parts of my life. I'd like to think I've brought some fun to other people along the way.

Several years ago I bought a cheap Gear4Music wireless IEM system (transmitter and receiver plus earphones) to try out IEM before I invested properly. At the time my reason was the same as yours - to be able to hear my vocals. They were plugged in to the headphone out of the PA mixer (which was only handling vocals). I'm still using the same system with an upgraded set of earphones (KZ ZS10s from Amazon) as recommended somewhere in the thread @itu has linked to above. Before wireless, i invested in a Behringer P1 wired headphone amp (with built in limiter) which I had set up in the same way.

I bought a Precision a few years ago following some recommendations on here. That was my first experience of a Precision of any sort. I wasn't expecting an epiphany and (spoiler alert) I didn't get one. But I did realise how well it worked in the mix of other instruments live and later in recordings. No regrets and it's regularly played. It's my go-to bass in situations where I'm not sure what will be needed, and if my main band goes down the Motown route the Precision is front and centre.

I had another recording 'gig' last night (I was the engineer). This time a 'band' - actually two 13 year olds with an original metal song but they wanted a full band sound. At that age, I was expecting it to be hard work but they were very mature about the whole thing with the only distraction being the obsession with capturing everything on their phones for later TikTok release. I had to remind them several times that they were paying for the time! Drums went down with a rhythm guitar guide track with only a couple of false starts. The guitar took a little longer and there were a couple of drop-ins necessary as they were losing track of time (the guitarist wanted to re-do the whole track but most of it was fine). The vocals started out being a bit lacklustre (think 'Disney sings metal') given they were about revolution and rebellion, but once I'd got the singer to tell me why he'd written them, and how he felt, the anger came across in the third take. The guitarist also played bass through the house amp which I recorded DI and with the room vocal mic. It was a nice old Ampeg 15" combo - not sure of the model but great sound DI and with mic. We overran the session by about 30 minutes - mostly TikTok video - and we had to stop for a few minutes while the thunder storm raged overhead. All in all a good session and it restored my faith in the younger musicians who are coming to take over from me. 😀

I bought the adapter following a recommendation on BC. I'd definitely pass that recommendation on. Edit: Being a simple design (no screws or bolts) means you can use the adaptor or go with double ball ends as the fancy takes you. 😀

In my area (S. Wales) there are a few Facebook groups along the lines of 'Seeking band members' and that's how I found my last two side projects.

No pints for the wrong answers. 😂