How was your gig last night?

[dmccombe7]

8 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

 

Dave,

I didn't know you were thinking of leaving the Glam band?

 

I'm 71 and I don't know how much longer I'll be doing it. I like the performance part of it. It's all the other stuff that gets tiresome  

 

Daryl

There were some decisions made within the band i didn't agree with and thought best to step aside. Have agreed to cover all gigs to end of the year or until a replacement is found whichever comes first. It was starting to feel more like a job and i've always maintained that's my cut off point. If its not fun and enjoyable anymore its time to call it a day Daryl. 

Its always been just a hobby for me and altho i'll miss the extra income its just an added extra to me.

Things have moved on tho and the band have now decided they got it wrong and if and when i leave will be the end of the band so no pressure on me. 

Its all amicable and i would never leave the band without a bassist while they have gigs but i did draw a line at the end of this year.

Dave

Edited February 15 by dmccombe7

[Norris]

It's over a year since we last played at the White Hart in Ashby de la Zouch. It's usally a really buzzing town, having at least 6 pubs within a couple of hundred yards of each other on the main road, and a constant stream of itinerant drinkers. The cold February drizzle reduced the number of young ladies wandering around in next to nothing, but didn't stop them completely 😄

 

So the pub was a bit quiter than normal, but a more challenging load in due to the number of cars stacked up outside the surrounding takeaway outlets, making it nigh impossible to park up outside.

 

It's always a place where we debate if we want to carry on playing there... until we do. We had a great night, managed to retain a crowd, got so many compliments and only had one instance of a drunken dancer trying to knock the guitarist's teeth out with his mic stand. We're back there in June - the night before we play another pub in Ashby! We wouldn't normally book gigs that close, but the other pub is off the main drag and we'll be doing it acoustically, for a completely different audience, so no conflict there.

 

 

Usual kit: Sire & Rumble + DMs and elderly drummer

 

On another note, in a recent post I mentioned that I have 6 weeks off. No I don't. We have a smattering of gigs over the next month or so, but then 5 weeks off. Still, it's a bit more relaxed gigwise and I might be able to get some spannering done on my old VW camper

[Bluewine]

2 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

There were some decisions made within the band i didn't agree with and thought best to step aside. Have agreed to cover all gigs to end of the year or until a replacement is found whichever comes first. It was starting to feel more like a job and i've always maintained that's my cut off point. If its not fun and enjoyable anymore its time to call it a day Daryl. 

Its always been just a hobby for me and altho i'll miss the extra income its just an added extra to me.

Things have moved on tho and the band have now decided they got it wrong and if and when i leave will be the end of the band so no pressure on me. 

Its all amicable and i would never leave the band without a bassist while they have gigs but i did draw a line at the end of this year.

Dave

 

Got it, I understand completely. When the fun is gone it's time to move on . I thought you guys were really good, so it is sad to hear the band might dissolve. 

 

It sounds like the band was no longer a good fit for you . 

 

To be honest it would not surprise me if Maple Road went a different direction that wouldn't include me. I'm 30 years older than the other members and I pretty much sit on the side lines. They process band issues a lot different than I would. However,  they're honest smart, generous and know how to hustle good gigs. 

 

I think something new that's convenient and fun will come your way to fill the gap.

 

Daryl

[Boodang]

Just got sent a pic from last night's punk gig. 

[TimR]

Last Saturday, big local pub. 

 

Loading the new car took a bit longer as it appears my cabs don't fit side by side, they're about 0.00001mm too wide. So had a bit of jiggery pokery taking stuff in and out to rearrange.

 

Arrived at the venue about 15minutes later than intended (leaving 45 minutes to set up before start time). Parking was a bit of a struggle, but I managed to get lights set up and all my bass gear in with plenty of time to spare.

 

There was no sign of singer, who arrived at 8:30 for an 8:30 start. 🙄

 

Played really well, we are well rehearsed but quite gig rusty, so some tunes and particularly endings weren't as rehearsed. 

 

Audience loved it, some singing along, a bit of dancing.

 

Booked back to do 2 more gigs. Will see if we can move tables to create a proper dance area next time. 

Edited Saturday at 16:46 by TimR

[Bluewine]

On 13/02/2025 at 12:09, Bluewine said:

"THIS Saturday 2/15 folks! 5-8pm. 
Looking forward to our debut performance at Inventors Brewpub!  We’ll be doing the 4 piece acoustic thing on the big stage in Edison Hall so come enjoy some tasty eats, delicious brews and a whole lot of live tunes!"

 

I hope it doesn't get canceled. 

 

Daryl

 

 

When I first entered the room tonight my first thought was this room is too big for us.

 

I was wrong we had a nice size crowd.  I counted at least 100 people, mostly our fans The manager said it was the busiest night they've had in a,while. She sent the till numbers to her boss and she was impressed. 

 

I had a fun night. However load in an tear downs are becoming a real challenge for me.

 

Back to The Harley Motor next Saturday. 

 

Daryl

[dmccombe7]

4 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

 

When I first entered the room tonight my first thought was this room is too big for us.

 

I was wrong we had a nice size crowd.  I counted at least 100 people, mostly our fans The manager said it was the busiest night they've had in a,while. She sent the till numbers to her boss and she was impressed. 

 

I had a fun night. However load in an tear downs are becoming a real challenge for me.

 

Back to The Harley Motor next Saturday. 

 

Daryl

Looks like a nice venue Daryl, decent stage and large room with a view albeit the car park 

Dave

[Norris]

It was a bit of a strange one last night. The pub is quite small and gets quite busy, so they take a lot of the chairs and tables out when they have entertainment on. We've played there quite a lot over the years and have recently started doing the "acoustic" thing to better fit the room. We don't do a lot of Saturdays though, we normally do Sundays, and it turned out it was quite a different crowd. Instead of half the room being musicians, it was a load of younger people getting hammered.

 

When we arrived the place was already fairly busy. By the time we'd set up I was starting to get getting fatigued from the volume of chatter - it was so loud! There were a larger proportion of ladies than our usual audience (old men!) so the chatter was also quite shrill. When we started playing, rather than shutting up and listening, they just talked all the louder! By the end of the first set we were starting to wonder why we were even there. We normally have a bit of banter going between numbers, but couldn't last night.

 

It did get slightly better as the night went on. The crowd thinned slightly so that it was a bit more comfortable. They got a bit more involved with the songs and were singing along loudly. We also had the inevitable drunken dancers, one of whom got a firm shove in the back from the guitarist's right foot after persistently getting too close to his mike stand (to be manhandled out of the pub by the landlady a little while later).

 

Anyway enough negatives. We really like playing "acoustically". It makes for some interesting arrangements. Playing my EUB makes me want to mess around a lot more, with silly slides and fills. We actually had a great laugh performing.

 

 

"Rocket by Stagg" EUG in sparkle black, straight into my Fender Rumble v3 500 combo. Treble rolled off on the amp because it was feeding back through the piezo because the amp was up on the seat. Solovair boots

 

[Stub Mandrel]

9 hours ago, Bluewine said:

However load in an tear downs are becoming a real challenge for me.

 

Can you invest in a lightweight cab?

[dmccombe7]

22 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Can you invest in a lightweight cab?

Or go IEM if its possible then no amp / cab to carry to gigs.

On saying that i do prefer having my rig behind me. Mine is all lightweight with cabs only 20Kg each (44 pounds to you Daryl) 

Dave

[Bluewine]

3 hours ago, Norris said:

It was a bit of a strange one last night. The pub is quite small and gets quite busy, so they take a lot of the chairs and tables out when they have entertainment on. We've played there quite a lot over the years and have recently started doing the "acoustic" thing to better fit the room. We don't do a lot of Saturdays though, we normally do Sundays, and it turned out it was quite a different crowd. Instead of half the room being musicians, it was a load of younger people getting hammered.

 

When we arrived the place was already fairly busy. By the time we'd set up I was starting to get getting fatigued from the volume of chatter - it was so loud! There were a larger proportion of ladies than our usual audience (old men!) so the chatter was also quite shrill. When we started playing, rather than shutting up and listening, they just talked all the louder! By the end of the first set we were starting to wonder why we were even there. We normally have a bit of banter going between numbers, but couldn't last night.

 

It did get slightly better as the night went on. The crowd thinned slightly so that it was a bit more comfortable. They got a bit more involved with the songs and were singing along loudly. We also had the inevitable drunken dancers, one of whom got a firm shove in the back from the guitarist's right foot after persistently getting too close to his mike stand (to be manhandled out of the pub by the landlady a little while later).

 

Anyway enough negatives. We really like playing "acoustically". It makes for some interesting arrangements. Playing my EUB makes me want to mess around a lot more, with silly slides and fills. We actually had a great laugh performing.

 

 

"Rocket by Stagg" EUG in sparkle black, straight into my Fender Rumble v3 500 combo. Treble rolled off on the amp because it was feeding back through the piezo because the amp was up on the seat. Solovair boots

 

 

When I was young I would get

" hammered" too .

Lol

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Can you invest in a lightweight cab?

 

Stub,

 

Last night I didn't use an amp. I went DI into our sound. Thing is I have to help unload and load the van with sound and lights. I also tear down mic stands and load those. I also help set up the RCF mains and subs.

 

I would invest in one of those higher end bass DIs, however, the basic DI I used last night sounded good to me.

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

Or go IEM if its possible then no amp / cab to carry to gigs.

On saying that i do prefer having my rig behind me. Mine is all lightweight with cabs only 20Kg each (44 pounds to you Daryl) 

Dave

 

Dave,

 

I think going with no amp and DI straight to the PA will help. Last night my monitor sounded like an amp. Good clean volume for me on stage . I'm not sure if it's worth it to invest in one of those high end dedicated bass DI pre amps.

 

I'm lucky I don't have to drive. However riding in the van means I have to help unload and load. Last night loading and unloading when it's 20° was rough.

 

Daryl

[Bluewine]

7 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Looks like a nice venue Daryl, decent stage and large room with a view albeit the car park 

Dave

 

Dave,

 

It was a very nice room.

It was a huge and nicely appointed. It's right on the marina overlooking lake Michigan. Even little things like stairs to access the stage are important to me now.

 

We had a lot of fans turn out and the venue made money. They sold a $h!t ton of food and booze last night.

 

I hope we can get re-booked. 

 

Daryl

[ezbass]

7 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

decent stage

With stairs no less! One of the venues we play has a decent stage, but no stairs and it’s the kind of height that requires a fair bit of effort to get up on (without rolling onto it and standing from there ).
 

However, could the drummer have made this any more awkward to get on the stage? 
 

11 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

 

 

[Bluewine]

7 minutes ago, ezbass said:

With stairs no less! One of the venues we play has a decent stage, but no stairs and it’s the kind of height that requires a fair bit of effort to get up on (without rolling onto it and standing from there ).
 

However, could the drummer have made this any more awkward to get on the stage? 
 

 

Stairs are a luxury for us. I know what you mean about the position of the drums. However, there was a small opening and I could get to the other side of the stage.

 

Daryl

[Norris]

10 minutes ago, ezbass said:

However, could the drummer have made this any more awkward to get on the stage? 

It's the drummer way. Get your kit in from the car and arrange it as a barrier in front of the stage so that everyone else trips over it carrying their amps, guitars and cases

[Bluewine]

7 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Looks like a nice venue Daryl, decent stage and large room with a view albeit the car park 

Dave

 

Dave,

 

As you know I'm an attention seeker. 

 

The high point of the evening was when I was taking a break and  a guy approached me a started telling me about his wife who played bass and his guitar collection. My response,  " I get it. You just wanted to talk to me and that's completely understandable. " LOL

 

The other thing that concerned me. I had dyed my hair earlier that day, which I've been doing for years. However as I was walking around I didn't hear one person say " Hey look, a young person ".

 

A sad state of affairs .lol

 

Daryl

Edited Sunday at 16:22 by Bluewine

[WalMan]

First gig back last night and down a guitarist who was away on a delayed holiday following a family bereavement. We can cover one or other guitarist and drummer either as a four piece for guitars or with one of a couple of drummers. Not for vocals and whilst I have been covered for a couple of times it was not possible for next weekend after I got diaries mixed up and booked a weekend with family too far away to sneak back and do the gig. Thought we’d found cover but he decided it was too much work to prepare, which is fair enough.
 

The week after I have a gig with my band, and a dep the following night, with a dep with a different band the week after that, so other than the mess up for next week it’s a busy month.

 

Last night went ok for the first play in anger for the year. Vox says to me just before we start “how many songs am I going to forget?” Not too many as it turned out. 🙂

 

First set with the Status 5. Second with the FrankenJazz 4 with a Status neck that I am currently loving. 
 

I do need to sort out a new slightly larger pedalboard and have a rejig to fit everything. Currently I have to rearrange bits to fit the OCX Boost and last night added the C4 synth (though I couldn’t work out why the midi switcher wasn’t working until after the gig when I remembered I had forgotten to fit the midi link 🤦‍♂️).

 

I also need to get a different IEM setup as the xvive seems to wipe out my connection to the mixer wherever I put the transmitter. Switch that off and go back to hard-wired with the Behringer P2 and everything is fine 🤬

 

Gig went well with plenty of crowd participation and no major gaffes on my part, and we ended up slightly overrunning with “just one more”. 

[WalMan]

25 minutes ago, Norris said:

It's the drummer way. Get your kit in from the car and arrange it as a barrier in front of the stage so that everyone else trips over it carrying their amps, guitars and cases

I normally get blamed for that and delaying exit, usually because my gear goes in the stuff gets put around it and I can’t get near to pack down 

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Bluewine said:

 

Dave,

 

I think going with no amp and DI straight to the PA will help. Last night my monitor sounded like an amp. Good clean volume for me on stage . I'm not sure if it's worth it to invest in one of those high end dedicated bass DI pre amps.

 

I'm lucky I don't have to drive. However riding in the van means I have to help unload and load. Last night loading and unloading when it's 20° was rough.

 

Daryl

Funny how us bass players end up with the PA cabs to set up and take down. I even store the larger QSC 3-way 15" PA cabs we use. I even transport them to and from gigs in my car. Its a large estate (station wagon to to Daryl ) Volvo V90. 

I also strip down all cables while drummer does his kit. I load my own bass gear into my car first and then come back for the PA and lights. My wife goes to all my gigs where acceptable with venue and she usually gives me a hand with heavier gear plus she's great at coiling leads. She goes to the gym with me and can almost lift same as me so that's a bonus 

Dave

[dmccombe7]

50 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

 

Dave,

 

As you know I'm an attention seeker. 

 

The high point of the evening was when I was taking a break and  a guy approached me a started telling me about his wife who played bass and his guitar collection. My response,  " I get it. You just wanted to talk to me and that's completely understandable. " LOL

 

The other thing that concerned me. I had dyed my hair earlier that day, which I've been doing for years. However as I was walking around I didn't hear one person say " Hey look, a young person ".

 

A sad state of affairs .lol

 

Daryl

Look at it this way Daryl, he chose to talk with you. He went for the main man in the band.

Maybe they all just assumed you were younger than you are.

Personally i would never have guessed your age mate. Only as young as the partner you feel (trying to avoid the PC police attacking me if i used "woman" terminology) 

Dave

 

Edited Sunday at 17:07 by dmccombe7

[mikebass456]

Great crowd for last night's 60th birthday party gig. A slightly shortened set to allow for the buffet at half time, but had plenty of singing along and dancing to the 70's and 80's punk classics. All done and dusted by 11pm due to noise curfew at the pub, home by midnight as we had hired a PA so just had to stuff the backline gear into the van and away! 

[Bluewine]

3 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Look at it this way Daryl, he chose to talk with you. He went for the main man in the band.

Maybe they all just assumed you were younger than you are.

Personally i would never have guessed your age mate. Only as young as the partner you feel (trying to avoid the PC police attacking me if i used "woman" terminology) 

Dave

 

 

It really is a cool thing if anybody wants to talk to me about anything. 😃 

 

Daryl

[Norris]

9 minutes ago, Bluewine said:

 

It really is a cool thing if anybody wants to talk to me about anything. 😃 

 

Daryl

Last gig I got a load of...

 

What's that?

It's an EUB

...

An electric upright bass

...

A bit like a double bass but electric

... Oh, right