Earbrass

Well, alright then, the Beatles weren't so bad. But Elvis really was sh*t wasn't he? What?

Hmm, the hardest mission ever......how about [i]A Bridge Too Far[/i] for a band name?

When I first went to secondary school, aged about eleven, there was a boy who clearly had some er, "issues". He would to get very very upset and fly into rages, or tearful tantrums, for reasons that weren't at all obvious to the rest of us. He would often be followed around by groups of pupils just to see what he would do next. This made his behaviour worse, until eventually his parents had to remove him from the school. I am not proud to say that I was one of those who sometimes followed him round to gawp and laugh at his antics. What I've seen on basschat in the last few days with the "inti" issue has reminded me of those times. This can be a wonderful and supportive place, but I don't think this has been its finest hour.

It would have to be Hawkwind: [i]Space Ritual [/i] and King Crimson: [i]USA[/i] (or other live recordings of the John Wetton era) for me.

Somehow, the idea of being on stage with one of my musical heroes, seeing them look across at me as I dig deep into the groove and hearing the magic words..."get that idiot out of here" doesn't appeal.

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1359406561' post='1954366'] But most of us blokes always jump in to try to find a solution to a perceived problem, it's our nature. I bet we have all done this numerous times with our partners. I believe they find it very annoying [/quote] Very true. One thing learned early on from Mrs E - they don't want answers, they want you to listen, understand and share their pain. Unless it involves computers, apparently. So , to the OP - sorry you feel you have reached the end of the line with the bass, but if changing instrument keeps your love of playing music alive, it's all good.

You're just no fun any more.

No votes for the "reggae"? I picked one up once and couldn't get a note out, no matter how hard I blew.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1359649742' post='1958236'] Let's keep a sense of scale about this... It could be complete Pollacks. Cod knows we've been here before, but I'm a Dab hand at this. Hake of that what you will, but don't keep me Whiting... [/quote] I did consider starting an offshoot of the fish puns theme to cover marine mammals, but thankfully realised in time that it wouldn't serve any useful porpoise.

I had one of these when I was playing in a band. Fabulous little thing. Does everything a bass amp should do, except make you sweat when carrying it upstairs.

Peavey Milestone III, bought for £50 including soft case from Cash Converters Lewisham. Light weight, great balance, lovely neck, jazz-a-like sounds. This was my return to bass after a gap of a few decades. Bought a couple of "better" basses since (including a Fender Aerodyne jazz) and sold them again after realizing that they weren't any better than the Peavey. Now the only bass I own. Have no plans or desire for another.

Big no to sunglasses (sorry, "shades") indoors - it always looks like someone trying hard to be cool. Trying to look cool is surest way to look uncool. Just relax and stop worrying about how you look. There, see, now you're cool .

I also don't get the outrage over this. If you think you're being offered a crap deal, then don't take it. If you think you could make more money setting up and promoting your own gig, then do that. But don't act as if you've a [b]right[/b] to be offered a better deal, cos you don't.

Two things I've found that make composing easier are: - having something to compose [i]for[/i] (I used to do theatre/modern dance/film/tv stuff). Music in this category has a specific job to do, and a specific length of time in which to do it which narrows the possibilities and focuses the creative juices. Plus, you have a director to please, which, again, narrows the choices. - having a deadline. The question "is this the best I can do?" is always harder to answer than "is this the best I can do in the time available?" I remember for one dance piece, I was given a simple 4 bar rhythmic figure to work to by the choreographers - this produced possibly the most interesting 2 minutes of music I've ever written (this is not saying much, sadly). Unfortunately, the piece was about 5 minutes long. PS I agree that the head/heart dichotomy is largely twaddle (good word, that, and tragically under-used), and those unwilling to put the effort into assimilating the required technical skills are inevitably handicapped. Of course you need both. Nobody trying to make a beautiful piece of furniture would say that all you need is an eye for a good line, don't bother about learning to use the tools. Knowledge of harmony, counterpoint and arrangement are the composer's toolkit. Having said that, I think there is a case for separating the creative and analytical processes to some extent - make stuff up without over-thinking it, but then come back (as Spoombung says) the next day with your analytic head on, and then pull it apart to see how the good bits can be retained and improved and the less good bits ditched or reworked. But then again I've not written anything original for years, so what do I know?

I've heard this done a bit with morris and folk tunes - usually a major tune changed into a minor one. Great way to give a new perspective to familiar material.

[quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1358857259' post='1946019'] I've some gigs coming up outdoors with my morris side in the next few weeks. [/quote] Best of luck with those, Steve. Our lot got an invitation last year to do a show somewhere near Peterborough last Saturday - thankfully we didn't get enough takers to accept :-). We did do a wassail last January, though, which was great fun though very cold. I doubt we'll be out before George's Day now.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1358808691' post='1945585'] Yip - for this thread to be any use to the OP, we need something a bit more specific re: flavour of Blues... [/quote] See what you mean, but maybe if you're going in to blues for the first time there's something to be said for getting a feel for the full range of the tradition before diving in?

I don't think this is a new thing. There's plenty of sixties records where the bass is just a kind of dull "clicking" sound (those pesky pick players!). As to the original thread title - if it's a were-bass, perhaps it can only be heard at full moon?

Bessie Smith. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxQncVvsuyg[/media] Aretha Franklin: Dr Feelgood [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5eWL_-eY8Y[/media] Both of which show that blues doesn't have to be constrained to the "12-bar" I, IV, V formula that can quickly become tiresome.

[quote name='moonbass' timestamp='1356516603' post='1910602'] Major 6th = my bonny lies over the ocean [/quote] or The Holly and the Ivy Perfect 4th = Away in a Manger

Am I the only one who doesn't see any pics in the new Classifieds section? This happens in Firefox and Chrome - I just get grey squares where I imagine the pics should be. EDIT: I mean the thumbnails - I can see the main images in the actual ads

Reminds me of a conversation I had a while back with the drummer of my old rock band. She's a massive Phil Collins devotee, and now plays with a couple of Genesis tribute bands, while I've moved on to playing squeezebox for a border morris side. She was explaining how her kit was an exact replica of Phil Collins' one, and how the newer versions have the "wrong" colour hardware, or something. I suggested it was ironic that she was playing "progressive" music but was obsessed with historical accuracy, while I was playing "traditional" music in a band that's very happy to make stuff up when it suits us.

I'm very happy with my lot at the moment. Last night's practice went very well, and was a good laugh too. They're a great bunch of people, and we get some cool gigs; last weekend, for example, we performed at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon as part of a well-attended [url="http://www.witchfest.net/"]WitchFest[/url], and had lots of people (from as far afield as Australia) thanking us for our performances and asking about what we do. About 40 or 50 people turned up to our workshop in the afternoon to have a go themselves.

[quote name='Benplaysbass' timestamp='1353511677' post='1875431'] Mine turned up today, impressed with GAK and their speedy service....being an over seas customer. However not so impressed with the woman who has hidden it up and said you can have it for Christmas. [/quote] Ask her if you can have the manual now, so you've some chance of being able to play with it before Boxing Day is over.

How many bands can get this many people up and dancing to a tune in 5/4? [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I6ilM72a8U&feature=youtu.be[/media]