EssexBuccaneer

This, but with a Seymour duncan pup and DR neon red strings 😎

Great night tonight at the Vulcan Restoration Trust beer and music festival. We headlined night 1, and had a solid set despite the sound on stage being a bit iffy (I could only hear myself and the drummist for most of the set). The hangar was one of the more unique stages I’ve played on, with a pretty iconic piece of furniture out front!!!

DM 👍

Ha! My lad was there! He sent me a vid of you guys! I was gonna suggest to the band we have a look at getting on the bill next year 😊

Well, the pub that didn’t want us to play anything too heavy….. We ended up playing Rage against the machine, Limp Bizkit and others, because the punters loved it. The landlady told us that it’s not her cup of tea, but we went down a storm and she wants us back. There was also a chap who hosts a podcast, who wants to have us on to talk about the band and the local scene. One of those nights where the money is a nice bonus. Handshakes all round, and lots of compliments. Pretty stoked right now! The only complaint was that it was a *very* tight squeeze!

Uploaded it like a photo, then ‘insert’ - file size is quite restrictive though!

Lots of water, couple of paracetamol before you go on, and have a great one! Good luck!

A little clip from last night. A first outing of ‘Fight for your right’ IMG_5040.mov

Just got back from The Bull in Braintree - a venue that apparently hasn’t been putting bands on for long, but they have a nice area and very friendly staff. The gig itself was a mixed bag - halfway through the first set we had a few dancers/singers up and moving about, but with one song to go in the first half a *really* drunk guy came to the floor and was acting up. We hit the break, he continued to play up, there was a scuffle and he was thrown out. It killed the atmosphere and we didn’t get anyone back up until 3-4 songs to go in the second set. It is what it is. Back out again tomorrow, playing a social club where they’ve asked us not to play anything ‘too heavy’ - so we’re intrigued by what crowd we’ll have!

We normally play 2x60 + encore, but on Saturday we’ve got a gig 9pm-midnight. We don’t have enough to Padd out the set (we’ve only been gigging a year in August) so we’re going with 3x45 and taking decent length breaks 😆

Great time tonight, we nailed the Beastie Boys ‘Fight for your right’ and Nirvana ‘Lithium’ at their first rehearsal, so we’ll throw them both into Friday and Saturday’s sets this week 😀 Was a hot one though! A huge fan was barely enough to get us through! IMG_4564.mov

We’re learning Black Hole Sun - we’re playing a wedding and the bride is an enormous Grunge/Seattle scene fan. I’m legitimately concerned about blubbing when I play it. Chris Cornell is such an idol of mine. Going to try to convince our singist to let me have the line ‘No One Sings Like You Anymore’ 😛

We played there last year, albeit inside (was a cold night!)

I played the Ruskin Arms in my last gig for my originals band, in 2002. As one of the places associated with Iron Maiden, it was an honour to take to that (smaller than expected) stage. Good memories.

Same. I have a cheapo strat that I’ve tinkered with extensively, the humbucker addition transformed it. I did consider a fender neck, but the *cost* 😮

It’s a fine line - yes you’re there to entertain, but is there really much fun in playing identikit copy/paste set-lists to every other band? Our setlist is a mix of very well known (zombie, Enter Sandman, Seven Nation Army) and some lesser-spotted bangers like Longview, Self Esteem, Higher). And that’s how we like it.

I genuinely don’t get inter-band squabbles about ownership contracts and all that nonsense. You have to trust each other and accept that some expenses are lost as soon as they’re paid out - or you don’t have a band. We have a simple system. We as a four-piece all own our own gear. The PA belongs to the band, as does the lighting rig. They’re sunk costs. Money from gigs goes into a band kitty/account, and will be used to buy any merch, plus strings, drum skins, sticks etc. If anyone leaves, they owe the band nothing. The band owes them nothing except 25% of the kitty as their share. This stuff should be kept simple, and friendly - no good comes from arguing about what percentage of equipment you ‘own’ as an individual.

Had a great time yesterday in Ipswich at Rock Against Leukaemia, held annually at the Steamboat Tavern. Unfortunately our slot was 17:00 and apparently there was some sort of football match on at the same time 🤔 It was only a 45 min set so was over in the blink of an eye but the punters enjoyed it, and we were tight. Because the backline was provided I only took two basses and my pedalboard, so felt underdressed and worried all morning that I’d forgotten something 😆

I use ultimate guitar for their pro-tabs, and often YouTube play-along tabs/lessons. If a piece is too challenging then I’ll simplify it and build up to the ‘proper’ version. I have learned some stuff by ear, starting with root notes and adding my own frills around them. it works for me.

Here’s one I like taken by my Guitarist’s missus at a recent gig. Playing my Fender pupped Chinese tat/custom thing.

A bit late here, but on Saturday we played a cancellation at The Chadwell Arms in Grays. A slow night, but we played well and added a couple of new songs to the setlist which went down well. The landlord/lady had a good chat with us after and told us how much they love having us down. They’re increasingly frustrated with the low numbers (was relieved to hear that it’s not an ‘us’ thing 😀). Despite the turnout, the punters had a good time, and wanted an encore to our encore, so we were pleased with our night’s work.

First rehearsal with our very own PA tonight, went smoothly. First run through of Cars and You Shook me all night long as well, both immediately gig-ready so well pleased with our night’s work.

This is a double win, because with enough beer the HB will sound just as good as anything else 😊

I like to tinker, and I wouldn’t get that pleasure from a high end bass, not to mention being terrified to gig with it because of the inevitable punishment it would take. I like low/mid range basses that I’m not afraid to upgrade and play around with. Just ordered a Seymour Duncan pup for my HB five-string and I’ll take great pleasure from gigging with it.

Am so sorry for your loss.