lowdown Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 Going through some old Mini Discs, I found a session i did for Orville the Duck about 5 years ago. Not the highlight of my Musical life... But F*****g strange. The duck did a cover of ............. 'Anarchy in the UK' When i get the disc on to The PC i will post it. So whats your strangest Bass Experiance? Garry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderthumbs Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 Had to back a guy called "Mr Methane". Our band backed him on TV whilst he lay on his back, farting into a microphone to "Bye Bye Blackbird". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Horse Murphy Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 Not really a gig, but a gig experience. Played at a wedding a while back and a guy came over and said if he bought us a round of drinks, could he sing with us. We said yes, depending on what song it was (and if we knew it). He looked down our set list and (much to my shame) saw "You're Beautiful" and said "that one." Sure enough, a round of drinks was bought. We announced him up on stage and his Missus stood at the front and off we went. What we didn't realise was he didn't mean You're beautiful by James Blunt, but You are so Beautiful... by Joe Cocker. There's us playing one song, there's him singing a different one but TRYING to sing it to the tune we're playing.....simply awful. We finished, the audience went wild, his wife dried her eyes (still not convinced she wasn't laughing) and he shook us all warmly by the hands and thanked us for making his night. Unbelievable and confirmed our decision never to let anyone on stage ever again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted August 15, 2008 Author Share Posted August 15, 2008 (edited) Yer Man he is Great.... "Mr Methane". I did a tour with him... Loved his warm up! Garry Edited August 15, 2008 by lowdown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_the_bass Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 My indie-rock originals band were asked to play in an RAF Officers' Mess for a posh do. It was weird playing [url="http://www.myspace.com/27brigade"]this sort of stuff[/url] to a room full of rather posh RAF officers, who were all dressed up like the co-pilot from Airplane and wondering what they were listening to. Fun though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike257 Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 I once played a 45 minute set of [i]completely improvised[/i] metal, with a guitarist, 2 singers and 2 drummers, none of whom I had ever heard play a note. I didn't even get to soundcheck with them. Knowing how bad it was for me, I can only begin to imagine what the audience were suffering. I think my old drummer put a clip of it on YouTube for the comedy value, if I find it I'll share it for a giggle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebasshead Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 We've played two Christenings (who books an indie-rock band for Christenings?) both of which went down a storm. We got the 2nd one as a result of the 1st and it looks like we'll get at least a wedding booking as a result of the 2nd one. There was also a gig which I should probably explain! We set up in a larg-ish, smart-ish pub and thought nothing of the crowd off to the left who were well dressed. Played the first set and ended with one of our own songs in which we encourage the audience to sing along to the chorus line "Burn them and spit upon the ashes".... You've probably guessed that the well dressed crowd were a funeral party just back from a cremation! We honestly didn't know and they took it remarkably well and were up dancing for the entire 2nd set. They asked us to dedicate a song to the recently departed lady too, so we did Time of Your Life and changed the words to Time of HER Life which had all the girls bubbling (in a good way) as you might expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakenewmanbass Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 I've played at 2 funerals. And I didn't do it with them, but my regular gig band played on an Italian TV show, were dragged all the way over there to play three 10 second links to the advert breaks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Protium Posted August 15, 2008 Share Posted August 15, 2008 We've played a few where we've been kicked off after 1 or 2 songs, normally due to being banned from the venue from previous incidents... The best one was playing in a local Conservative club. Some punk band asked us to play the "headline" slot. The house PA was some tiny 100W carslboro system, so we turned up with our own 500W PA. Accompanied by 300W of bass, 150W of guitar and a loud drummer, this did not go down well with the regular punters in the other bar and the neighbour who called the police because pictures were falling off the walls We did not get asked back to play again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 [quote name='Thunderthumbs' post='263165' date='Aug 15 2008, 03:39 PM']Had to back a guy called "Mr Methane". Our band backed him on TV whilst he lay on his back, farting into a microphone to "Bye Bye Blackbird".[/quote] I remember him from "Eurotrash"! Wonder if he's still doing the same act? For me - playing in a band backing a troupe of lap dancers. Best practice for not looking at my fretting hand I ever had............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 I bet you looked at your 'fretting hand' for a bit after though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderthumbs Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 [quote name='Shaggy' post='263527' date='Aug 16 2008, 11:20 AM']I remember him from "Eurotrash"! Wonder if he's still doing the same act?[/quote] I'm pretty certain he is, I shouldn't think there's much scope for that kind of act By strange coincidence, a guy called Andy Till (who is a member on here) depped for me when I was in hospital, and Andy just happens to be Mr Methane's nephew! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassninja Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 A gig for an annual 'dinner & dance' of the Natural Childbirth Trust, at a Wildfowl Conservation Centre in rural West Sussex, sometime in the mid 80s. We'd been booked for our whimsical folkiness, as a result of one of the band knowing one of the people on t'committee, you know the score... But they booked a comic/compere through an [i]'agency'[/i] unseen. What could possibly go wrong? I mean, they were charging a fortune, so it must be OK, eh? After we'd set up and gone away for a glass of wheat grass juice and placenta or something, we met the comic trembling in the dressing toilet. His agent had given him; a blue comedian from the northern club circuit, a gig for a bunch of cheesecloth wearing, muesli-eating composting fanatics. His schtick involved a Les Dawson/Bernard Manning type gag-based routine with some parts dependent on a pre-cued backing track, which he operated. He asked our guitarist to hit 'play' on his backing tape on a given signal, at which he then appeared with much pizazz from behind a curtain playing something or other on a trombone, as I remember. He 'worked the room' to this tape (does anyone remember George Chisholm?), and sauntered over to the deck so he could stop it, ready to be cued up for the next part of the routine. Only he hit 'fast forward' instead... The next forty minutes was agony to watch as this blue comic frantically tried to find his place on the cassette while trying to do his routine, largely over his shoulder, in such a way as to be as inoffensive as possible, becoming more and more flustered with every silence that greeted the latest gag about his mother in law, and 'Don't cook fish for tea Mother, because Dad's coming home with the crabs...' We felt his pain. But Schadenfreude is a guilty pleasure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderthumbs Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 [quote name='bassninja' post='263595' date='Aug 16 2008, 02:16 PM']A gig for an annual 'dinner & dance' of the Natural Childbirth Trust, at a Wildfowl Conservation Centre in rural West Sussex, sometime in the mid 80s. We'd been booked for our whimsical folkiness, as a result of one of the band knowing one of the people on t'committee, you know the score... But they booked a comic/compere through an [i]'agency'[/i] unseen. What could possibly go wrong? I mean, they were charging a fortune, so it must be OK, eh? After we'd set up and gone away for a glass of wheat grass juice and placenta or something, we met the comic trembling in the dressing toilet. His agent had given him; a blue comedian from the northern club circuit, a gig for a bunch of cheesecloth wearing, muesli-eating composting fanatics. His schtick involved a Les Dawson/Bernard Manning type gag-based routine with some parts dependent on a pre-cued backing track, which he operated. He asked our guitarist to hit 'play' on his backing tape on a given signal, at which he then appeared with much pizazz from behind a curtain playing something or other on a trombone, as I remember. He 'worked the room' to this tape (does anyone remember George Chisholm?), and sauntered over to the deck so he could stop it, ready to be cued up for the next part of the routine. Only he hit 'fast forward' instead... The next forty minutes was agony to watch as this blue comic frantically tried to find his place on the cassette while trying to do his routine, largely over his shoulder, in such a way as to be as inoffensive as possible, becoming more and more flustered with every silence that greeted the latest gag about his mother in law, and 'Don't cook fish for tea Mother, because Dad's coming home with the crabs...' We felt his pain. But Schadenfreude is a guilty pleasure [/quote] That is pure comic genius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martthebass Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 Mid Nineties - height of Britpop. Our agent packed our 5 piece Britpop 'tribute' act (mainly Oasis, OCS, Kula Shaker covers) to a club on a caravan park on the Yorkshire 'east coast'. Arrived at the place, seemed ok, set up the gear in a pretty nifty 'theatre'. A few minutes into the sound check a sort of Red Coat turns up and says we've set up in the wrong place and we need to set up in the large bar down the other end of the building. Iritated we stagger off and set up the gear in the new place. During the [second] sound check a guy turns up with a big box full of balloons and what not and asks if it's ok to go thru our PA for his act. We consequently found out that we were backing him up for his magicians act and balloon festival of fun (sic). Not easy to play Britpop to 6-10 year olds. Our improvs of Agadoo and Wig Wam Bam saved us.........................the shame. The worst thing was it wasn't even a pick up gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambo63 Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 For me - playing in a band backing a troupe of lap dancers. Best practice for not looking at my fretting hand I ever had............. [/quote] sounds like the dream gig to me (lucky so and so springs to mind ) Have played a pub gig that had a funeral party wander in and enjoy themslves. Played at a Jazz/Blues weekend recently in Glasgow. We were asked to end the weekend at short notice (the manager had previously refused us a spot during the weekend as we were from Edinburgh, despite his asst manageress having seen us and saying we would fit into the bill well). Anyway, long story short, we went on very late on the Sunday played really well to a virtually empty venue, and the manager asking why we hadn't been chosen to play earlier in the weekend............ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wizbat Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 Back in the days of 'live tv' and such great televisual milestones such as 'topless darts', there was a show called 'the spanish archer' and a friend of mine got a chance to appear as a friend of hers had backed out at the last minute( I wonder why!!!). Anyway , she was a violinist and she asked me if I would accompany her on guitar with a fellow bass playing friend of mine doing a rocked out version of the south bank show/ paganini concerto no24 tune. The show turned out to be a very corny talent show where the acts were either 'elbowed' of the stage or won an orange each and a chance to be outright winner for the day, we went on and did indeed win an orange each and were in the running to be the winners but we were beaten at the end by a juggling Frank spencer!!!!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigAlonBass Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 I had been recruited into NWOBHM Band "FIST" in 2004. As part of the 'comeback tour' we drove from Newcastle to Butlins in Bognor Regis to appear at a "Rock Night." The Staff were lined up to help us unload the truck, we did the soundcheck (to some worried looks) and retired to the Chalets for a couple of beers until Gig Time. Imagine EVERYONES surprise when we stood on stage, broke into 'Name, Rank and Serial Number', the massive curtains opened, and we were greeted by the sight of 5,000 people dressed in sparkly wigs and jumpsuits. It was a "Glam-Rock" night! You just HAVE to love promoters, don't you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyf Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 [quote name='finnbass' post='263716' date='Aug 16 2008, 08:05 PM']Topless darts...my all-time favourite programme....ever [/quote] "WEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLCCCCCOOOMMEEEE to Topless Darts with me, Jimmy Frinton!" Happy days! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkmaster Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 (edited) I was asked to record a replacement bassline for a track in a studio in Leeds by a mate of mine. A mate of his had been commissioned to write some tracks for the pre-production stage for a film, The film was based round the Northern Soul scene and the idea was that it would be a 'Quadrophenia' like look at the scene. Anyway, it was a typical little converted bedroom project studio and while I was setting up and tuning up they played me the track to get aquainted with it... And the singer was Skin from Skunk Anansie! The film never made it into production but I've got a CD somewhere of me playing with Skin! What a stunning voice! And, not really a gig, but a little while ago I got the opportunity to contribute to a few compositions for TV background 'library' music - and it's just odd to hear them turning up on telly. Fairly regularly too! Edited August 16, 2008 by Funkmaster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Fudge Posted August 16, 2008 Share Posted August 16, 2008 Played a funeral and opened up with "Don't fear the reaper" Walked into the wrong rehearsal studio and ended up jamming on guitar for 45 minutes with Pato Bantons band and Paul h from here. A few years ago we decided to become the new grumbleweeds. we have had a few on stage games of football. Ive played bass and pool with the end of my guitar a few times. Another 100 things that I will have to put into a book one day. Hopefully another 100 things to come Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 I'm afraid that there was 'more entertaining' program than topless darts - It was of course 'painted ladies'. We did a gig once in a used car salesroom. It was the owner's 40th birthday and his wife decided to surprise him. They cleared out some of the cars and we set up. It was really weird playing and being able to look outside as all the shoppers stopped and looked as they were passing. We played our first wake a few months ago. We were booked to play at a pub that we'd done a few times before but the week before we were due to play, the guy who booked the bands threw a seven / bought the farm / popped his cloggs / etc. They were originally going to cancel the band but it turns out that we were his favourite so they decided to keep us booked for the night. Only need to do a bar mitzvah now to have a full house of gig types Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alun Posted August 17, 2008 Share Posted August 17, 2008 Either playing in a clothes shop or playing my live debut at a tinnitus fund raiser (yes, both are sadly true!) Cheers Alun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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