How was your gig last night?

[Bluewine]

3 minutes ago, casapete said:

Hey Daryl - yes it is. I use a 1001RB amp into a Neo 4x10 cab. Been a GK user for approx 20 years now,

and never any problems with it at all. Had a few different models including a 700RB and also a 800RB

which I still have and is one of my favourite heads ever, second only to my old Ampeg SVT rig.

 

Are you still using GK stuff?

Cool,

 

I'm a GK guy. I have several 1001RBs, 400RBs and a couple of RBX cabs.

 

Daryl

[dmccombe7]

Wee pic surfaced from the punk gig last night. Taken by Sound Engineer.

Edited January 17 by dmccombe7

[martthebass]

1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

Wee pic surfaced from the punk gig last night. Taken by SE.

Punks not dead!

[martthebass]

6 hours ago, casapete said:

It’s just the right time for me Dave. Get my pension next month and want to retire from touring 

and being away from home to spend more time with my partner and family, and going to see

more live music! 
First played with the band in 2009, then permanently since 2011 so been with them a good

while. They are a great bunch of people to work with, and will really miss them and the crew.
Before that I was in a function band for 16 years, again gigs all over the UK and some abroad,

so it’s been my professional life for around 30 years, as well as nearly 20 more before that

as a semi pro. Am blessed to have managed to make a living doing something I love for so long.

It’s obviously going to be a massive change for me, but plan on continuing with the acoustic duo which I 

really enjoy, along with any dep gigs that come along that I fancy doing. Can’t ever imagine not playing

at all! 

 

Makes perfect sense Pete. Come and see us when you get the chance think we’ve got one in Hull and backin Withernsea in August.

[neepheid]

Played with The Inevitable Teaspoons last night at Krakatoa in Aberdeen.  Man down cos Stu the sax had his shifts changed on him so was somewhere on a rig somewhere in the North Sea.  4 band bill and we were playing last.  Things were going to plan until the second last band came on - for some reason the sound gremlins came out of the woodwork and hit them hard - things not working, then feedback when they were - knocked things about half an hour off course.

 

Anyhoo, we did make it on.  We were a bit grumpy by the time we got on so we played quite angrily - fast and ragged, especially the first couple of songs.  Tried a new song and ballsed it up royally - second chorus is supposed to be half length but half of us did the repeat.  I was "right" but that doesn't matter when the result was that it sounded like a jumbled mess.  Oh well.  It got better towards the end though, and had fun machinegunning the audience at the end of the last song so we'll see.  Speaking of which, there was a decent crowd for a BOTB gig and there was some enthusiastic dancing going on - even had someone doing the worm!

 

BB1200 was Bloody Brilliant.  Pedalboard worked, in that it didn't spontaneously collapse, or wander about the place when stepped on.  All in all, got to spend an evening with my mates, play some tunes and drink some beers - with all the awful stuff that's going on in the world it can't be that bad, can it?

[Stub Mandrel]

Dep over the far side of Swansea,  hours drive each way! Most of the setlist was playing on the jukebox,  which showed that we were going to go down well. Fourth gig for this band so all went ok, broke my 'number of bvs sung' record!

 

Took my little Hohner B2 as backup, played four or five songs on it for fun. It's LOUD. First time I've gigged it since the 90s!

 

 

[Mudpup]

Second gig of the year for Yellowhouse and another packed house in a good venue in Essex - we were expecting January to be quiet but it's been great so far. We've been running with dep singers for nearly 5 months now as ours is broken and it's been a really positive experience. It's got us off autopilot and learning to keep our ears open much more and i've really enjoyed it.

 

 

Edited January 14 by Mudpup

[BillyBass]

13 minutes ago, neepheid said:

Played with The Inevitable Teaspoons last night at Krakatoa in Aberdeen.  Man down cos Stu the sax had his shifts changed on him so was somewhere on a rig somewhere in the North Sea.  4 band bill and we were playing last.  Things were going to plan until the second last band came on - for some reason the sound gremlins came out of the woodwork and hit them hard - things not working, then feedback when they were - knocked things about half an hour off course.

 

Anyhoo, we did make it on.  We were a bit grumpy by the time we got on so we played quite angrily - fast and ragged, especially the first couple of songs.  Tried a new song and ballsed it up royally - second chorus is supposed to be half length but half of us did the repeat.  I was "right" but that doesn't matter when the result was that it sounded like a jumbled mess.  Oh well.  It got better towards the end though, and had fun machinegunning the audience at the end of the last song so we'll see.  Speaking of which, there was a decent crowd for a BOTB gig and there was some enthusiastic dancing going on - even had someone doing the worm!

 

BB1200 was Bloody Brilliant.  Pedalboard worked, in that it didn't spontaneously collapse, or wander about the place when stepped on.  All in all, got to spend an evening with my mates, play some tunes and drink some beers - with all the awful stuff that's going on in the world it can't be that bad, can it?

I presume then, from this post, that you have been successful in your search for a new singer?

[neepheid]

6 minutes ago, BillyBass said:

I presume then, from this post, that you have been successful in your search for a new singer?

 

That's the covers band, the 'Spoons is the originals band which apart from an offshore sax player has no personnel issues.

 

and no, it's still not resolved

[Franticsmurf]

34 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Dep over the far side of Swansea,  hours drive each way! Most of the setlist was playing on the jukebox,  which showed that we were going to go down well. Fourth gig for this band so all went ok, broke my 'number of bvs sung' record!

 

Took my little Hohner B2 as backup, played four or five songs on it for fun. It's LOUD. First time I've gigged it since the 90s!

 

Where were you? If I'd known I'd have come along. 😀

[grapefruitmoon]

12 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Played one of my fav venues The Dreadnought in Bathgate with Emergency Exit punk covers band.

Kick off was 8:30pm and went to get changed 10 mins before. Was only a handful of punters in so we thought we were about to play to our mates and more of a paid rehearsal than a gig but we decided we would just go for it big time.

We started our first set and within 10mins the place was busy and everyone was up bopping away to our punk classics.

At the break the sound guy came into changing room and asked if we were happy with sound which is always perfect at this venue. We mentioned it being a lot busier than we expected based on how many were in when we started our first song. He then told us that all the other bands start at 9pm and do 2off 45min sets while we start at 8:30pm and play until 11:30 with a 15 min break in middle. People tend to arrive just before 9pm for the bands so they are all rushing about to the bar when they hear the band have started. They get their money's worth from us. A few other punters said the same thing 2.5 hrs of pure punk. You don't get that anywhere else. 

Few wee mistakes but nothing drastic. Not bad considering we've not played for 8 weeks. Turned out to be a great night and we made a tidy wee sum.

Booked again for later in the year too.

Manager told us that was a great turn out for a January gig as historically its dead in January after the Xmas and New Years gigs.

He was fair pleased with the turn out.

Happy Days. The punks are back in 2024. 

Dave

 

Great stuff Dave, we played the Dreadnought on Friday night. When I went for a pee I saw the Emergency Exit poster and thought, where do I know that name from?...then where do I know that bassist from? Ah, it's Dave from Basschat! I would have liked to have come along to see you, but combo of post-gig knackeredness and daughters 19th birthday shenanigans put paid to any chance of it. Glad you got a good crowd. We expected a handful of folk, but was better than expected, although not overly busy. Enjoyed the gig though, sound engineer was great. It's a cracking place to play. If I was local I'd be seeing bands there every week.

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, grapefruitmoon said:

 

Great stuff Dave, we played the Dreadnought on Friday night. When I went for a pee I saw the Emergency Exit poster and thought, where do I know that name from?...then where do I know that bassist from? Ah, it's Dave from Basschat! I would have liked to have come along to see you, but combo of post-gig knackeredness and daughters 19th birthday shenanigans put paid to any chance of it. Glad you got a good crowd. We expected a handful of folk, but was better than expected, although not overly busy. Enjoyed the gig though, sound engineer was great. It's a cracking place to play. If I was local I'd be seeing bands there every week.

Was that The Wild Hogs ? 

Was talking with Alan and Pete and they said it was a great night on Fri too. They've been surprised how many folks are turning up at the Jan gigs as its normally a very quiet month for music venues.

Dreadnought is such a well organised venue. Alan and Douglas do a fantastic job with it and they're such nice guys in there from owner, manager, sound engineers to the bar and door staff. Just a great place to play. I always enjoy it in both bands. Got the Xmas Sat gig again for later this year with the Glam band.  That's a cracking night out.

Dave

[casapete]

6 hours ago, martthebass said:

Makes perfect sense Pete. Come and see us when you get the chance think we’ve got one in Hull and backin Withernsea in August.

Nice one Mart, keep me posted and will try to be there.

[Chienmortbb]

1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

They've been surprised how many folks are turning up at the Jan gigs as its normally a very quiet month for music venues.

We played on Friday 29th, not expecting a big turnout, and the place was packed. W next gig on Friday, but |I have been to other gigs that have also been busier than expected.

[Stub Mandrel]

6 hours ago, Franticsmurf said:

Where were you? If I'd known I'd have come along. 😀

Hi, it was the Marquis Arms. Looks like I may have 2 or 3 more later in the year over your way. 👍

[SumOne]

A lesson learned: I didn't have a monitor and could only really hear the drums and my Bass (the rest of the band have in ears and PA but I use a cab), it caught me out on a few songs: not hearing vocals and guitar meant I missed the structure for things like when to go into the chorus. I  immediately blamed the equipment ('I must get in ears, or a wedge for monitoring'), but really, I should be able to play all the songs to a metronome (let alone drums) so am going to up my practice regime.

 

[dmccombe7]

20 minutes ago, SumOne said:

A lesson learned: I didn't have a monitor and could only really hear the drums and my Bass (the rest of the band have in ears and PA but I use a cab), it caught me out on a few songs: not hearing vocals and guitar meant I missed the structure for things like when to go into the chorus. I  immediately blamed the equipment ('I must get in ears, or a wedge for monitoring'), but really, I should be able to play all the songs to a metronome (let alone drums) so am going to up my practice regime.

 

I tend to learn songs by ear using bass tabs or music. I also like to write out the music in full which helps me remember it in two different ways.

I also like to know the songs inside out so that if someone else makes a slight mistake i can keep going and they are more easily able to catch up kinda thing. If someone does make a mistake and others follow i'm more able to adapt as i know the songs really well. 

To be fair i've been playing same songs for almost 5 yrs in one band and 2 yrs in the other with only minor changes over the years but i practice the full set at home at least once a week and always the afternoon of a gig time permitting.

It gives me an air of confidence when playing.

I've had situations where i couldn't hear either the vocals or the guitar very well so its paid off knowing the songs really well. I can more or less count the bars in most songs altho i don't actually do that but the notes i make are stamped in my head for instant recall 

Dave

[Franticsmurf]

14 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Hi, it was the Marquis Arms. Looks like I may have 2 or 3 more later in the year over your way. 👍

That's walking distance from me. 😀

 

I'll try and get to them - if you're at the Vivian Arms at all, that's crawling distance! 🤣

Edited January 15 by Franticsmurf

[Cat Burrito]

First one of 2024 for me and it was at my local boozer, The Blue Boar (of Dr. Who Pertwee era "The Daemons" fame). Two hours of acoustic 80s alternative / goth from my duo. I started off on the mandocello before moving onto mandolin for our first set. I actually started the second set on my partner's acoustic guitar, for a new cover of Bronski Beat's Smalltown Boy (slowed down and vocally dropped a few octaves!) before finishing up on my Squier Bass VI. The last instrument got a lot of comments and it's certainly something I want to explore more in 2024. We also found an old smoke machine so made use of that to great effect! It's only been three weeks but it's great to be back! 

 

[grapefruitmoon]

22 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Was that The Wild Hogs ? 

Was talking with Alan and Pete and they said it was a great night on Fri too. They've been surprised how many folks are turning up at the Jan gigs as its normally a very quiet month for music venues.

Dreadnought is such a well organised venue. Alan and Douglas do a fantastic job with it and they're such nice guys in there from owner, manager, sound engineers to the bar and door staff. Just a great place to play. I always enjoy it in both bands. Got the Xmas Sat gig again for later this year with the Glam band.  That's a cracking night out.

Dave

 

Yeah that was us. Just the bands 5th gig, 4th since me and the singer joined. The Dreadnought have been good for us.

 

I'm pencilling in the glam bands Xmas gig, although hoping I can catch you before then. Got tickets for Maiden Scotland at the Dreadnought too in May, always a great night.

[Muzz]

18 hours ago, SumOne said:

A lesson learned: I didn't have a monitor and could only really hear the drums and my Bass (the rest of the band have in ears and PA but I use a cab), it caught me out on a few songs: not hearing vocals and guitar meant I missed the structure for things like when to go into the chorus. I  immediately blamed the equipment ('I must get in ears, or a wedge for monitoring'), but really, I should be able to play all the songs to a metronome (let alone drums) so am going to up my practice regime.

 

In my inear mix I have me and the drums nice and loud (relatively), with a 'guide' level for the guitar and vocals/sax, and no percussion at all. I find it helps to keep everything on track when the other two, erm, wander into jazz territory... 🙂

[SumOne]

18 hours ago, Muzz said:

In my inear mix I have me and the drums nice and loud (relatively), with a 'guide' level for the guitar and vocals/sax, and no percussion at all. I find it helps to keep everything on track when the other two, erm, wander into jazz territory... 🙂

 

The mistakes I made could've been avoided if I knew all the exact timings of all the songs off by heart (e.g. play from start to finish with a metronome and finish at exactly the same time every time) I always practice at home playing along to the full track on Spotify, or band practice where I can hear everyone though - so I think I've got overly reliant on hearing the song and playing along with it rather than really knowing it/leading regardless of what I can hear from the rest of the band. 

 

I'm going to make an effort to practice just to backing drums/metronome but I do think some decent monitoring would've also helped so I'm eyeing up things like the Xvive XU4.

 

Also, it's not very rock n roll but I think I'll take a tablet with some notes for each song (notes as in 'Dm bridge for 12 bars then silent for 4' rather than sheet music), just as a quick memory jogger before the song starts or if I get lost. I gave up on that with paper as it couldn't be read on dark stages and the setlist changes a lot, and notes change, so it was often a confusing, scruffy, unreadable, out of order pile of paper.

Edited January 16 by SumOne

[dmccombe7]

2 hours ago, grapefruitmoon said:

 

Yeah that was us. Just the bands 5th gig, 4th since me and the singer joined. The Dreadnought have been good for us.

 

I'm pencilling in the glam bands Xmas gig, although hoping I can catch you before then. Got tickets for Maiden Scotland at the Dreadnought too in May, always a great night.

Think i'm at Dreadnought in July with the Glam band too as Xmas you might be busy with your own band.

Alan was telling us the band on the Fri night were good. 

Dave

Edited January 15 by dmccombe7

[BigRedX]

Only 3 months after the gig, but this photo was published as a double-page spread in a local paper/magazine headlining an article about the Beeston Oxjam Festival we played, and I thought it was worth sharing.

 

[msb]

On 15/01/2024 at 09:00, Cat Burrito said:

First one of 2024 for me and it was at my local boozer, The Blue Boar (of Dr. Who Pertwee era "The Daemons" fame). Two hours of acoustic 80s alternative / goth from my duo. I started off on the mandocello before moving onto mandolin for our first set. I actually started the second set on my partner's acoustic guitar, for a new cover of Bronski Beat's Smalltown Boy (slowed down and vocally dropped a few octaves!) before finishing up on my Squier Bass VI. The last instrument got a lot of comments and it's certainly something I want to explore more in 2024. We also found an old smoke machine so made use of that to great effect! It's only been three weeks but it's great to be back! 

 

That Bass VI is a ton of fun.