Jacqueslemac

Excellent! If it was done on a budget, then doubly so. Enjoyed the music as well...

Do we have a date yet, please? I can bring my lightweight Zoot cab (1x12 plus tweeter) that can be lifted with two fingers. Gear - pick between my Variax (always a talking point!) and two or three of the others. You choose! (Depending whether or not I'm free on the date chosen, of course...)

There are quite a few dating-type websites - such as [url="http://www.bandmix.co.uk/?gclid=CJyX6raSwa4CFQ1lfAodgRwoIQ?gclid=CJyX6raSwa4CFQ1lfAodgRwoIQ"]Bandmix[/url] and [url="http://www.find-a-musician.com/Musicians-Wanted.php"]Find-a-Musican[/url], [url="http://www.musicians-in-your-city.co.uk/?ggid=1"]Musicians-in-your-City[/url] and so on. Try those too.

I finally bought my first bass in my late 40s (having wanted to do so for 20 years or more) and now I'm in two gigging bands. There's something incongruous about blokes our age playing punk, but who cares? We were there when it started so we kind of own it!

I've always thought that "sitting in" referred more to the lines you play, while "cutting through" referred to the tone you use. In other words, I try to do both. I want my lines to complement what the drummer is doing while not contrasting with the guitars (except perhaps with the odd fill), but the tone I strive for is clear, rather than muddy. At a jam session last night (playing Hey Joe), the guitarist asked me to turn myself up because he didn't want to solo without the comfort of a solid bass sound behind him. Which was nice.

Yep, top place. I attended an awards dinner there, hosted by Bob Monkhouse (and Ronnie Corbett the following year). I had to go on stage both years to collect an award, so met both of them. It's a bit daunting just to be up there for 30 seconds, so well done for performing too!

We played a black tie dinner last night. When we sound-checked, the organiser asked us if we had to be "all Spinal Tap, turned up to 11". The place has a sound-limiter so we were playing quieter than we rehearse, so it put us all in a bad mood. Then we had to vanish for three hours while they had their meal. Most of the time was taken up in driving back to our rehearsal space to collect a stand the drummer had forgotten. She drove really badly, made a couple of mistakes, got overtaken by two emergency vehicles (at different times), which really rattled her as she's only 20. The result was we all sat in the pub wishing we could go home instead of gig. As a last desperate measure we put 500 Miles by the Proclaimers on in the car on the way to the venue. All singing along at the tops of our voices put us in a better frame of mind. The dinner was running late, so we went on a little late. None of us started off very well, but as soon as people started dancing, it lifts your spirits, doesn't it? By the end of the second set we had the dance floor packed. The sound limiter kicked in on our last song, but the crowd carried on singing until the power came back on. When the venue told us to stop playing, the crowd still wanted more. Amazing how gigs often turn out completely the opposite of what you expect, isn't it? And we got another booking. Next step is to develop two set lists - one for pubs and one for getting people to dance.

We played Song 2 at a gig (black tie dinner) last night. Several people yelled out "better than the Brits" when we finished, so it's not just us who noticed how bad they were!

See [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/168983-nbd-fender-modern-player-telecaster-bass/page__fromsearch__1"]here[/url] also!

If I'm free, I'll be there. Happy to bring a selection of basses (plus my modest collection of mainstream pedals), depending on who wants to try what.

Only a teeny little bit.

...and East End Boys. (That's a clue!)

For me, it's a compromise. If the bass part is intrinsic to the song, then I play as close as my ability allows. If the original isn't that important, then I sometimes make my own up. I play for my pleasure, not money.

What is important to you when buying a bass? For me, a lot of it is about how it feels in the hands, so playing it unplugged is a really good first step. If it feels horrid, then does it really matter what it sounds like? As others have pointed out, unless the shop has the exact model of amp and cab you use at home, there's little to gain from using one of their amps. You'd be testing their amp as much as the bass. I take my Amplug along and plug it in, just like I do when I practice at home. Then I have something to compare it with at least.

We had the same problem and have overcome it with a combination of turning everything down as much as possible (there's a tendency for everyone to gradually get louder) moving the singer as far away from the drummer as possible bringing in a monitor for the singer tweaking the PA settings lots and lots while also experimenting with mic placement in relation to the PA and the singer's mouth. We've managed to get the singer loud enough now, that I have to push my earplugs in really deeply!

I remember being conned into going to a gig to see Toyah. I forked out a whole 50p and it turned out to be one of the first gigs where she refused to get her kit off towards the end! That was 50p I could have spent differently. Oh, the music was good, though. Much crowd participation of the "get 'em off" variety was met with the riposte "I'm going serious now" or some such. Ah, the heady days of punk. Anyway, enjoy the tour.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1329412027' post='1542137'] Yep I remember R&B when it meant music like Dr Feelgood. Quality band, wish I`d seen them live. Did see Wilko last year, with NWR on bass - now [b]that [/b]was R&B! [/quote] I did, several times, with Wilko and after. R&B with a punk in-your-face attitude. That's where the definitions fail to serve any purpose. I seem to remember the audience was mostly the same as turned up to see the Undertones and Toyah, except for the safety-pins and spitting element.

That's what the manual says. Only use beeswax on the natural finish ones. From memory, it's a bit sarcastic about using it on the other finishes!

New thread [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/168264-east-anglia-bass-bash-20-new-and-improved/page__fromsearch__1"]here[/url]!

Well done that man! I'll put it in my diary as soon as a date is sorted, but no luck on the band, I'm afraid.

I'm one of those unlucky enough to also be the band mule. My rig takes five minutes to break down and shove in the car. Then it's helping the drummer (luckily she no longer wanders outside for a fag while we break her stuff down). Her complete kit goes in my car too. Then it's mucking in to take the PA and lights down. The PA all fits in my car as well, plus the mic stands. It used to be a case of going to the guitarist's house and unpacking everything but my gear, but nowadays all he takes is the desk. My drive home (usually without passenger) is a time for reflection - and wondering if I can be bothered to unpack everything and take it indoors straight away or next morning. My basses go inside straight away automatically, but most of the rest is left in the car overnight (on a drive, not on the street!). That trip home is a special time, isn't it? The roads are quiet and I usually don't listen to any music (unlike the rest of the time), so it's just me and my thoughts.

As someone has pointed out, defining which bands were "punk" is really difficult. The Stranglers are routinely listed as among the "core" bands, but wasn't it the Pistols who described the Stranglers as "long haired hippies"? I think it was because they had an organ.

What's "Punk" in this context? As has been pointed out, it was more than just the music. It was the whole "do it with passion and do it for yourself" even if you didn't have the ability. It was about doing it without getting involved in the corporate music business scene. Even the music definition was blurred. At the time The Jam were lumped into the same bracket as the Undertones (who wore nice, knitted tank tops on Top of the Pops - very "punkl"!) and the Sex Pistols. I reckon Norman Watt-Roy knew how to play bass with Ian Drury (he was in the Blockheads then, wasn't he?). Anyway, I hated the safety-pin punk at the time. I was a Teddy Boy.

I felt very inadequate at the last one, I must confess! I'd never get my band to travel that far for (another) charity gig, I'm afraid. We seem to do quite a few of them as it is. Looking forward to bringing my collection of basses out to play, though! Any requests?