Mark's Diaries: The journey of becoming a pro player

[Raymondo]

How on earth have you managed to become so active whilst suffering from Fibro' Mark?

I am getting steadily worse and it takes me days to get over the pain and tiredness after a gig;in fact I have virtually stopped gigging.

It doesn't help that I have degenerative disc disease with some stenosis, it stops me from exercising but I am interested in hearing how Yoga has helped you?

I am a typical cynical 59 year old British male....unsure of all this foreign stuff


Loving the diaries mate ...I manage to find the updates before you post on here by checking on a daily basis

[markmcclelland]

Raymondo, thankyou very much for your support and kind words there and just for reading. Really cool that you check in on here for the stuff. Thanks for letting me know that.

I definitely feel what you're saying there and that really sucks. I've only just checked in here myself after a few days and seen this. It's late now and I've just finished an epic diary post which isn't up yet. It's 2:30am and I started at 11:45pm with the intention of getting 20 minutes down but just kept going and finished the entry. So it's definitely time to call it a night. I'll PM you tomorrow with a few thoughts and will answer any questions you have. Who knows? Maybe over time I might just be able to help.

Edited July 22, 2016 by markmcclelland

[Raymondo]

Thank you for the reply Mark. As you can see by the time of this post, pain woke me early.

I am travelling to Prague later for a few days and do not have basschat on my phone so will probably not see your pm until Tuesday.
I will not be ignoring you ...just trying to enjoy a short break.

I look forward to your thoughts.

Cheers
Ray.

[markmcclelland]

No worries mate. And when you come back to it, you'll see it's all there.

Now for this.
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[font=inherit]A casual project gets the shock treatment and a Punching Preachers gig is such a non event it's an event. Lots more too. [/font][/font][/font][/color][color=#4B4F56][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]
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[markmcclelland]

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[font=inherit]Where to start? Playing the bass gets me over the line for rent this month and it's a memorable gig. All followed by a very memorable rehearsal before a vintage Blues Kitchen with a bit of a twist.[/font][/font][/font][/color][color=#4B4F56][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]
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[markmcclelland]

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The first one's a bit short so two entries today. The Omater thing might finally be seeing the light of day.[/font][/color]
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https://marksdiaries.wordpress.com/2015/12/19/day-206/[/font][/color]
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Then this one in which I have a double bass lesson with quite a bit of wisdom thrown in, play my first gig outside of London, and recount a few tales from gigs out in the wild west of Ireland[/font][/color]
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[TorturedSaints]

I am enjoying your story greatly, Mark. (I was going to call it a 'journey' but that's been made into a trite phrase by overuse on 'Britain's got X Factor Voice Talent'). I just hope you are getting enough time 'in the shed'!

All the best and keep up the good work. Here's hoping for a happy ending like Harry Potter - I haven't read Moby Dick but I'm sure your blog is a lot more enjoyable.

Ralph

[markmcclelland]

Hey Ralph

Thankyou so much for letting me know mate. Funny enough I was flipping through Moby Dick in a shop a few days ago. It looked OK but there was absolutely nothing in there about basses.

As for the ending, I kind of feel like everything I've written so far is only prologue. But it really is a journey so use away.

And just great to have you along. I'll do my very best for you.

[blue]

[quote name='Raymondo' timestamp='1468927433' post='3094346']
How on earth have you managed to become so active whilst suffering from Fibro' Mark?

I am getting steadily worse and it takes me days to get over the pain and tiredness after a gig;in fact I have virtually stopped gigging.

It doesn't help that I have degenerative disc disease with some stenosis, it stops me from exercising but I am interested in hearing how Yoga has helped you?

I am a typical cynical 59 year old British male....unsure of all this foreign stuff


Loving the diaries mate ...I manage to find the updates before you post on here by checking on a daily basis
[/quote]

I'm 63 and with chronic right hip pain with sciatica. Just finished a triple header weekend. A festival gig, a bar gig and a private event. And, as you know we don't have any of that 2 forty five minute set stuff over here. Strictly a 4 hour world over here, at the bar band level.

I'm a foolish die hard and playing bass and singing in rock bands is all I know.

My point, I don't know how much longer I can do this. Without gigging in a rock band, I have nothing.I started gigging in 1966.

Blue

Edited August 1, 2016 by blue

[Raymondo]

Hi Blue.

I know what you mean about having nothing without gigging.

The only time I really feel happy is when I do a gig....for the couple of hours I play the pain fades into the background and I just lose myself in the music.

The recovery is the problem ,increased pain levels and tiredness.


My band has just broken up so gigs seem a long way off at the moment.

keep going for it Blue, I hope you have many more years to come.

[markmcclelland]

Yep guys just keep going. Seems like we're on similar kinds of pages although I'm coming up quite a few years behind. And yeah Blue, we do have it easy from time to time witih the 2x45s but really I like to just keep going. The 2x45s don't really let you get into the zone. But it's also great that you know what you are and you're doing it. That might seem natural for you, but for many it's a distant and impossible dream. That's why they like to hear from guys like you to see what it's like and also to feel connected to that world. It's all an inspiration and can wake others up to what can really be possible. Keep going, but I know you don't need my invitation to do that.

And Raymondo, isn't it great that you have that? But yeah, fallout is definitely a bitch. And hope you get yourself sorted bandwise sooner rather than later.

[markmcclelland]

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I'm now looking at the prospect of four gigs in eight days with three acts. Bang. [/font][/color]
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[markmcclelland]

[color=#1D2129][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][font=inherit][font=inherit]Mark's tinnitus story and things get rolling with [/font][font=inherit][font=inherit][font=inherit]Francesca [/font][/font][/font][font=inherit]as we hit the open mic scene[/font][/font][/font][/color]

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Edited August 5, 2016 by markmcclelland

[yorks5stringer]

Having read these diaries avidly since the beginning, just thought I'd pop on and register my appreciation. It's fascinating seeing your journey unfold.

As an attendee at a number of 'rural' Open Mics in this neck of the woods, I think ours are a little more 'laid back' but none the worse(nor better)!

Without wishing to sound patronising, keep up the good work Mark...!

[markmcclelland]

Mate, absolutely nothing patronising in any of that. Just very appreciative of your support and the fact that you regard yourself as an 'avid' reader of the diary right from the beginning. That's made my day.

[blue]

[quote name='Raymondo' timestamp='1470038603' post='3102767']
Hi Blue.

I know what you mean about having nothing without gigging.

The only time I really feel happy is when I do a gig....for the couple of hours I play the pain fades into the background and I just lose myself in the music.

The recovery is the problem ,increased pain levels and tiredness.


My band has just broken up so gigs seem a long way off at the moment.

keep going for it Blue, I hope you have many more years to come.
[/quote]

Thanks Raymond

You'll find a new band soon.

Sooner than you think.

Blue

[Wonky2]

Blue, raymondo,mark...

Playing bass and even more so, performing, with chronic pain or/and chronic fatigue is so very hard.
I'm a little further down the road I gather and for a time things seemed impossible. The concept of this was literally soul destroying.
Poor health has taken so very much from me, I cling to my music as the last bastion of all that is ME.

Things slowed down for me (band/session) work wise and I welcomed that as the late nights, standing or sitting in one spot just wasn't possible anymore.
I'm lucky that I have found a band which suits my needs perfectly. They are out there. Drummer and guitarist play full time in a function band for day job, but the rest of us now just play for the love of it. We don't have a heavy scedule and work around the other guys gigs.
They love moonlighting with us playing original material as it breaks the constraints of their usual covers.
I'm fortunate that they understand, I just turn up plug in and play.... But I'm not bad so they allow me the good grace... Haha even help me with my gear.

Point is.... When you think you are ready to hang up your gloves , don't panic, there will be plenty of truly fantastic musicians out there who just do it for the music and no other reason.

Ok, blue, you might have issues as technically you'd be unemployed , but the late nights and 4 hour sets 3 nights running.... You may find an easier way to make a few quid. No, that's not a pleasant thought, but you may find before long it's a choice which is made for you by your failing body bits as It was for me .

Enough with the gloom ! Turn it up load and get your bass face on !

[Raymondo]

Thanks Wonky.

I certainly intend to try to keep playing if possible.

In fact last night I accepted a dep gig in Leicester with the fifties Rock and Roll band I spoke about in the" How was your gig last night?" thread recently.

Keep on keeping on is my motto!

[markmcclelland]

Hey Mr Wonky

A great line of encouragement there and all very appreciated and really cool you found something that works for you.

And Raymondo, didn't Blue say it? Keep on keeping on and I'm going to have to check that thread out.

In the meantime, here's the latest doings and toings. It's quite a substantial one.


[color=#1D2129][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][font=inherit][font=inherit]Kevin drops into an Omater rehearsal and sees a disastrous Blues Kitchen jam, The Punching Preachers play my area of Kentish Town and a minor little bombshell gets dropped.[/font][/font][/font][/color]
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Edited August 9, 2016 by markmcclelland

[Wonky2]

Cheers mark.... Thump till you slump... That's the way

[Stylon Pilson]

Well, day 230 certainly came as a surprise! Cliffhanger-errific!

S.P.

[Raymondo]

Crikey Mark I hope you get day 231 posted up pretty damn quickly

[FuNkShUi]

Just caught up.
Hell of a way to leave us hanging

[Stylon Pilson]

I'm wondering whether it's something that's actually been on the cards for a while, but Mark hadn't written about it for reasons of diplomacy, or if it really was as much of a surprise for Mark as it seems. It's the downside of making your diary public - you have to self-censor, because you know that the people involved in it might be reading it. After all, writing something like "had fantastic bonking with the lead singer's wife last night, damn fool still none the wiser", while honest, is probably going to cause a bit of trouble.

S.P.

[markmcclelland]

Mr Stylon sir, that made me laugh a lot.

And guys, really great to see the responses. Thanks for all the support. This last entry in particular has had quite a bit of reaction in other places too.

Mr Stylon is actually right there - not in the bonking the singer's wife - but there are times I've had to see how a situation has played out before writing about it, positive or negative. For various reasons. And you're also absolutely right that making all this public can be a bit tricky at times - sometimes things happen and I'm like, 'how the hell am I going to present that in the Diaries?' But that's all part of the ride and things going wrong is definitely part of the story - sometimes the most interesting part. A side note on this. When glancing through tons of film or album reviews of stuff I don't know, I tend to focus on the five and one star reviews - what's really good cos I might want to see/hear it, what's really bad as those are the more entertaining reviews. My favourite one star review I ever wrote was, 'This film doesn't deserve a review.' And after all, I did arrive in London all excited with a new job and accomodation and lost them both within two weeks. That and the fallout was all covered in real time. Not to mention the fact that I covered, again in real time, what was essentially total failure right at the beginning with The Costa Blanca Diary which started it all.

I've really barely self censored anything and The Diary's been going two years now. Mostly I often don't talk about silly things which would invite derision above all else, like the time I went to the wrong venue. Or times I've done the same silly thing one or two too many times. Those stories can be funny sometimes but sometimes it could have been, 'Oh please, not again,' so some stuff like that hasn't been written about. I did still make it to the gig on time though but it was a real nailbiter and I actually would have been a really good read. But that just had too many ticks in the silly file so yes, it did get self censored. Self censoring mostly goes on with parallel stories that I don't think are relevant to this despite being very relevant to me and which are often interesting stories, and sometimes even mini sagas in themselves - tons of bar intrigue and gossip for instance. Then there was one major incident that I brushed over without talking about it as it wasn't relevant to this. It was quite recent actually when I said something like, 'Worked 14 hours without a break today snatching what food I could on the go' That incident was part of why but it could also have been libel city, especially given the person involved so I didn't go there.

Mostly censoring goes on to protect people's privacies particularly as so many conversations happen with people who have no idea I'm doing this. But where appropriate or sometimes necessary, I do tell them, and there's a bit of name changing going on from time to time. But I can assure you my name is Mark. And I also have to be careful when covering disputes or bad situations with people. Sometimes from a libel point of view - it is public afterall - and sometimes from the point of view that there are three sides to every story - yours, mine and the truth. But sometimes I just write it as I see it cos hey, I have a diary to put my side forward and they don't. There's a lot more I could write about on that but I think that covers quite a bit of it.