How was your gig last night?

[Leonard Smalls]

1 hour ago, moley6knipe said:

AND dusty end

My end is not dusty!

[neepheid]

4 minutes ago, Leonard Smalls said:

My end is not dusty!

 

You're a bass player, of course it is

 

[Bluewine]

On 31/01/2025 at 07:20, dmccombe7 said:

Jings not having a good start to 2025.

Our gig next week cancelled due to only half the tickets sold. Was sold out the same venue last summer. Time of year maybe ? who knows.

Then we get told our March gig in Arbroath is possibly cancelled. Again we sold out there last time. Committee in the club think the fee is too high. They asked us to half our fee. We said no. Arbroath for me is a 2.5hr drive and 110 miles each way. The club committee have gone thru several changes end last year and apparently there's a lot of bitterness. Several shows in the club have been cancelled at short notice recently. We decided the Xmas gig we had booked there this year was now at risk and decided to take another booking. We decided to clear the year at this venue and if they decided to have us back they can get in touch.    

Next gig is in March, that's 2.5 mths since last gig. Not so good. Band are looking at other avenues for getting gigs.

Dave

 

I know the feeling. We're traditionally not busy in February and March. 2 months of no gigs brings me down. At this point in life it shouldn't bother me, but it does.

 

Dave, I'm assuming in the summer you guys have a festival and fair season.Does the Glam band play those kind of events in the summer?

 

Daryl

Edited Saturday at 13:37 by Bluewine

[Bluewine]

20 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I thought I had none in January, but had missed one, then two more pop up at short notice, one quiet (well it was 8pm on a Thursday...), two decent but not as busy as normal. Always hit and miss this time of year, although I didn't gig last Saturday, numbers at two local gigs were good.

 

We've got a very good local Steely Dan tribute at the club tonight - fingers crossed, it is free admission. Tomorrow's band cancelled due to illness, but we got a stnad in (miffied I didn't act quick enough to get it!)

 

I've got 14 or 15 gigs booked in over the rest of 2025, a bit clumped. Not particularly impressive given I played seven in six weeks from the start of november. Would like about 2 a month in an ideal world.

 

In the summer we might see a few 2 a week bookings. I can do it, however it's not easy and it usually takes me a few days to recover.

 

Daryl

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Bluewine said:

 

I know the feeling. We're traditionally not busy in February and March. 2 months of no gigs brings me down. At this point in life it shouldn't bother me, but it does.

 

Dave, I'm assuming in the summer you guys have a festival and fair season.Does the Glam band play those kind of events in the summer?

 

Daryl

Not normally Daryl but we do the occasional one. We have a regular spot at the Hot-Rods in the Borders annual weekend event at a holiday park. We were originally asked by the holiday park to play a Sat gig and these guys just happened to be there that weekend. They enjoyed it so much they asked us to play it again the following year but we were booked that weekend so they moved their event to coincide with our diary and we're booked at their event again this year. The first year it was busy but not full but the 2nd time the venue was full. Hopefully a busy one this year again.

Done a few biker Rallies oddly enough one is in Feb just 1.5 miles from my house. Very handy for me. 

Nov and Dec is the Glam band busiest period with Fri and Sat night gigs most weekends now including Hogmanay party night.

Typically we get an average 1-2 gigs a month with the Glam band. I decided to leave the punk band and i think its now folded completely. That's why i went with the classic rock covers band too which is at rehearsals stage. Hopefully ready mid summer.

You don't get many outdoor festival gigs in Scotland because of the unpredictable weather.  I have literally had snow, wind rain and glorious sunshine all in the same day during May a few yrs back while on a short holiday at Loch Ness. 

Dave

[ezbass]

2 hours ago, Leonard Smalls said:

My end is not dusty!

Typo perhaps? Replace that d with an m  

[Stub Mandrel]

Well last night we had Nearly Steely play at the club and it was totally rammed. It was a decent attendance 45 minutes befor the start, normally it starts filling with 5-10 minutes to go.

 

We expected to lose people to the Six Nations but that didn't happen. Indeed by half time the lounge where the match was on was virtually empty. I wonder why...

 

Our usual band night is Saturday so this was a big bonus for the club, things are so tight these days but we are doing our best - seven live band nights in February, one with fourboriginals bands) plus four open mics and a jam night.

 

It's interesting and a bit demoralising to be on both sides of the local live music challenge. And frustrating to know things the club could do better...

[Bluewine]

3 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Not normally Daryl but we do the occasional one. We have a regular spot at the Hot-Rods in the Borders annual weekend event at a holiday park. We were originally asked by the holiday park to play a Sat gig and these guys just happened to be there that weekend. They enjoyed it so much they asked us to play it again the following year but we were booked that weekend so they moved their event to coincide with our diary and we're booked at their event again this year. The first year it was busy but not full but the 2nd time the venue was full. Hopefully a busy one this year again.

Done a few biker Rallies oddly enough one is in Feb just 1.5 miles from my house. Very handy for me. 

Nov and Dec is the Glam band busiest period with Fri and Sat night gigs most weekends now including Hogmanay party night.

Typically we get an average 1-2 gigs a month with the Glam band. I decided to leave the punk band and i think its now folded completely. That's why i went with the classic rock covers band too which is at rehearsals stage. Hopefully ready mid summer.

You don't get many outdoor festival gigs in Scotland because of the unpredictable weather.  I have literally had snow, wind rain and glorious sunshine all in the same day during May a few yrs back while on a short holiday at Loch Ness. 

Dave

 

From what I've read here seems like a lot of bands are struggling with getting gigs.

 

You mentioned the biker rally gig next month. We live in the heart of Harley land and surprisingly we "bomb out" at most biker gigs. The classic rock bands do better at those events.

 

I'll be looking to hear about any good gigs that come up for the Glam band.

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

10 hours ago, casapete said:

That’s Albert Lee with Peter Asher Daryl.

 

Great gig and nice pictures! 

Thanks, for some unknown reason I can't edit the name.

 

Daryl

[Norris]

We're a trio and we've managed to squeeze into some pretty tight places, but this...

 

 

... was a challenge...

 

 

A new venue that has just started up and is still finding its feet. Funnily it's right next door to the Donkey, the great music venue that had an existential crisis back in November (if you remember). Our first time there, and we had been warned earlier in the day apparently, that they ran at a loss last weekend, and might try to reduce the fee or pay us off if it didn't pick up 😮. Well no need to fear - we pretty much filled the place and walked away with the full fee!

 

It always adds a little bit of something when you have another band in the crowd. Well we had two! I'd like to think they came to see us perform and were not just reccying the place because they had bookings too. Well they stayed until the end anyway.

 

The usual Sire etc. I did have to get a bit creative with the lighting though. I don't normally like my amp anywhere but on the floor, but it really wouldn't have fitted!

 

 

Solovair boots again

 

It actually turned out to be a good gig despite standing on a postage stamp to play. Apparently the curries they were serving were very nice too but I didn't indulge - I'd had my dinner and am trying to shed a few pounds 🤪

Edited yesterday at 01:55 by Norris

[Ed_S]

Last night was our first round heat in the M2TM competition to play at Bloodstock this year, which always tends to be a fun evening of small gear stores, tight stage turnaround times, punchy set lengths and unceremonious disco load-outs. We're serial semi-finalists so we know the format, but this heat was in a slightly more spacious venue than usual which made everything a bit easier logistically. The only problem was that for a 'heat' it was like a walk-in fridge and my fingers didn't warm up all night, so I made a good few minor mistakes.. but also made a conscious decision to just think sod it and move on, which I'm getting much better at doing. I have one of those Zippo power bank / hand warmer thingies but a] I left it in my other gigging bag, and b] it's not that great at the best of times, so I need to have a look round and see what else is available that isn't gloves.

 

Quite a mixed show within the genre anyway (we're operatic power metal, and the other bands were metalcore, alt-rock and technical death metal) so the voting was probably all over the place, but maybe we were everyone's second choice vote after the band they'd gone to see, because we got through to the semis again and kept the dream alive that maybe this year will be our time.

 

Decided to go back to where it all started and play the same bass I used on our very first gig back in 2009 (sadly not the actual bass, but the same model I re-bought a year or so ago for reasons of nostalgia) along with my newly put-together pedalboard, and it all behaved very well together which is always welcome.

 

So, for the gear-afflicted:

Warwick RB Vampyre 5 -> [G30 wireless -> TU3 tuner -> Thumpinator -> Boss BC-1X compressor -> Tech 21 VT Bass v2 -> SansAmp BDDI v2] -> Markbass Nano 2 -> Blackstar Unity Elite house cab (115C?)

Tuner once again operated using a pair of Skechers Industrial Workshire boots, and jeans held up (just..) by a Skopes belt that really needs taking in a notch now we're post-xmas.

Edited yesterday at 10:06 by Ed_S
Spelling. Fingers still cold.

[JPJ]

We played our first gig of 2025 at a regular haunt of ours, the Old Fox in Felling, Gateshead. This pub has a reputation for live music and it has a knowledgable music loving crowd so it’s always a pleasure to play. We were a fiddle player down which required revisiting a few old tunes and I made more mistakes last night than I have in all last years gigs - at times it felt like I was playing using someone else’s left hand. I also managed to bust the zip on my jeans, but fortunately my trusty Overwater spared my blushes 😅

Rig-wise, I used my Ashdown Neo 400w 1x15 combo which blows me away every time I use it, and my normal pedal board signal chain of Shute GLXD16 wireless, EBS Stanley Clarke pre, SushiboxFX Finally DI, and MicroThumpinator. 

 

[MacDaddy]

1 hour ago, Ed_S said:

Last night was our first round heat in the M2TM competition to play at Bloodstock this year, which always tends to be a fun evening of small gear stores, tight stage turnaround times, punchy set lengths and unceremonious disco load-outs. We're serial semi-finalists so we know the format, but this heat was in a slightly more spacious venue than usual which made everything a bit easier logistically. The only problem was that for a 'heat' it was like a walk-in fridge and my fingers didn't warm up all night, so I made a good few minor mistakes.. but also made a conscious decision to just think sod it and move on, which I'm getting much better at doing. I have one of those Zippo power bank / hand warmer thingies but a] I left it in my other gigging bag, and b] it's not that great at the best of times, so I need to have a look round and see what else is available that isn't gloves.

 

Quite a mixed show within the genre anyway (we're operatic power metal, and the other bands were metalcore, alt-rock and technical death metal) so the voting was probably all over the place, but maybe we were everyone's second choice vote after the band they'd gone to see, because we got through to the semis again and kept the dream alive that maybe this year will be our time.

 

Decided to go back to where it all started and play the same bass I used on our very first gig back in 2009 (sadly not the actual bass, but the same model I re-bought a year or so ago for reasons of nostalgia) along with my newly put-together pedalboard, and it all behaved very well together which is always welcome.

 

So, for the gear-afflicted:

Warwick RB Vampyre 5 -> [G30 wireless -> TU3 tuner -> Thumpinator -> Boss BC-1X compressor -> Tech 21 VT Bass v2 -> SansAmp BDDI v2] -> Markbass Nano 2 -> Blackstar Unity Elite house cab (115C?)

Tuner once again operated using a pair of Skechers Industrial Workshire boots, and jeans held up (just..) by a Skopes belt that really needs taking in a notch now we're post-xmas.

 

Have you got a link to your band?

[Ed_S]

23 minutes ago, MacDaddy said:

 

Have you got a link to your band?

 

Yeah, sure - we're nowt massive, but feel free to have a listen.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1v8GrV7HeGZn8UgQFrmnbj

 

[cetera]

Another dep gig with the Lee Aaron Band last night, this time in Bracknell.

First time out with the LFSys demo Monaco cab which performed admirably with my Spector/GK combination. Tight, focused tone and sounded great!

Great audience, up and dancing & singing from the off.... great fun 😎👍

[Thor]

Sarum’s Lot played Qudos in Salisbury last night, it’s one of our favourite venues to play, easy load in and parking, nicely run pub, well organised and most importantly very busy. Last night didn’t disappoint.

 

We’re a local band and I’d advertised it lots so was really pleased to see the place busy when we arrived and many more friendly faces turning up whilst we set up. 
 

We played a few, new to us, classic rock covers and some slightly middle of the road pop rock covers that all seemed to go down well, despite one or two moments, there was  plenty of singing and dancing and lots of positive comments at the end.

 

Unusually for us we decided not to take a break as we wanted to get through as many of the songs as possible, so we ended up playing from 20:45 - 23:00.

 

I used my Geddy Jazz, TT800 & Big Twin II, sounded great in the mix (to my ears at least).

 

 We’re back there in April and we’re really looking forward to it😁

 

 

[mikebass456]

17 minutes ago, Thor said:

Sarum’s Lot played Qudos in Salisbury last night, it’s one of our favourite venues to play, easy load in and parking, nicely run pub, well organised and most importantly very busy. Last night didn’t disappoint.

 

We’re a local band and I’d advertised it lots so was really pleased to see the place busy when we arrived and many more friendly faces turning up whilst we set up. 
 

We played a few, new to us, classic rock covers and some slightly middle of the road pop rock covers that all seemed to go down well, despite one or two moments, there was  plenty of singing and dancing and lots of positive comments at the end.

 

Unusually for us we decided not to take a break as we wanted to get through as many of the songs as possible, so we ended up playing from 20:45 - 23:00.

 

I used my Geddy Jazz, TT800 & Big Twin II, sounded great in the mix (to my ears at least).

 

 We’re back there in April and we’re really looking forward to it😁

 

 

Not so much my gig as one I went to see instead - Moving Pictures were just brilliant as always! 🤘

[Bluewine]

On 31/01/2025 at 08:44, peteb said:

 

We've cancelled a gig tomorrow due to low ticket sales. We played there last year and got a pretty good crowd, but its a difficult time of the year. The guy promoting there wants to try again later in the year, so we will see... 

 

 

We've had tto cancel due to low ticket sales In our case I saw it coming. I think it happens to a lot of bands 

 

I hope you guys have better luck next time.

 

Daryl

[peteb]

48 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

 

We've had tto cancel due to low ticket sales In our case I saw it coming. I think it happens to a lot of bands 

 

I hope you guys have better luck next time.

 

Daryl

 

It's partly certain areas and partly the time of the year. No one seems to want to commit to buying advance tickets until they've had the first payday after the Christmas break!

 

We have a couple of gigs on the weekend after next and they have done pretty well for ticket sales. But they are in a different part of the country (Scotland and the North East) and everyone has been paid again now! 

 

[casapete]

Played our monthly residency yesterday afternoon at Beverley’s The Sun Inn (with the duo).

 

Fairly quiet when we arrived, but just before we started our first set loads of people

appeared so it was pretty full by the time we got going. Usual request format produced

some good stuff - ‘Rehab’, ‘Listen to the music’ & ‘Fire and rain’ , some ok stuff - ‘Summer

of 69’, ‘Dakota’ & ‘Hotel California’, and some downright silly stuff - ‘Bring me Sunshine’

& ‘Happiness’. The last two sparked more requests for vintage TV related tunes which 

we drew the line with after playing ‘Avenues and Alleyways’ ( from the cult early 70’s

series ‘The Protectors’ ). 
Hardest one of the night for me was the Dave Edmund’s tune ‘Girl’s Talk’. A great song

written by Elvis Costello that has some strangely timed bits before each chorus, but we

managed to get through it okay. Finished late due to the amount of requests but didn’t 

really notice as it’s one of those gigs where you easily lose track.

 

Used a Sire U5 short scale into my Rumble 100 combo > the PA and was very pleased

with the result. May have to start calling the duo ‘partly acoustic’ now though. 😄

[dmccombe7]

13 hours ago, mikebass456 said:

Not so much my gig as one I went to see instead - Moving Pictures were just brilliant as always! 🤘

Saw them quite a few yrs back and they were superb then.

Dave

[Bluewine]

On 06/11/2007 at 07:43, tauzero said:

Ours on Saturday night was a charidee gig - we regularly gig at the Kingstanding Warriors British Legion and one of their members has had cancer and been unable to work, so they ran a fundraiser to get him and his family some money for Christmas. No, we're not the economy version of Disneyland, he's getting better - sufficiently better to get up on stage and sing "Sweet Caroline" anyway. Good atmosphere, though it took the standard crap like UB40 to get them on their feet.

Which meant I didn't do the barn dance I was originally supposed to be doing (and which the other half was calling at). It's all good for the soul though, innit?

 

 

Barn dance? That sounds like my episode with the invisible bear.

 

Daryl

[SICbass]

4 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

 

 

Barn dance? That sounds like my episode with the invisible bear.

 

Daryl

You know the drill Daryl, what happens in the barn, stays in the barn.