I'm in a band again! 2023 UPDATE: We're doing the BOTB again... Ongoing bloggy updates in progress…

stickyfiddle · August 2022

As mentioned in the nano pedalboard thread, I've signed up to play in a work band for a charity battle of the bands. High potential to be cheesy and a bit amateurish, but I thought thought I'd go along and see.

First rehearsal was today and very much not cheesy. The singer (who instigated the thing) is genuinely fantastic, and we have a decent drummer and pianist who are a bit green but just need to gain a bit of confidence. That alone is a massive relief as all of us was (understandably) nervous that everyone else would be rubbish.

I'm on bass for now, as there is another guitarist joining us next week, though we may negotiate a couple of songs each and switching it up - it is a talent show after all

As the first time playing with other decent musicians in a very long time it feels goooooooood.

axisus · August 2022

Hey super cool!

Reminds me of back when I was .... never in a band ... [sad face]

VimFuego · August 2022

result! Hope it'll be great fun for you.

stickyfiddle · August 2022

axisus said:

Hey super cool!

Reminds me of back when I was .... never in a band ... [sad face]

Go do it!! There is no time better than right now.

VimFuego said:

result! Hope it'll be great fun for you.

Yeah, it's ace. It's only an hour this morning so far but we had a couple of songs already functional in half that time, which is just great.

Now I need to come up with a decent longlist of songs, and hope to god the other guitarist isn't shite!

roberty · August 2022

Sounds promising, good luck to you

richardhomer · August 2022

Have a great time. Funnily enough, I’ve been asked to join a band this week. I last played in front of an audience in 1994. I think nerves may be an issue!

thecolourbox · August 2022

Sounds great, good on you.

I like how you and the others were nervous that everybody would be rubbish, perhaps this is why I don't get on playing music with others because in the same situation, I'd be more nervous about everybody else being too good haha

AsterixTG · August 2022

Good stuff - best of luck, hope it's fun.

bertie · August 2022

well done that man....................... doesnt half help having a k/b-er in a band

break a whatsit

stickyfiddle · August 2022

thecolourbox said:

Sounds great, good on you.

I like how you and the others were nervous that everybody would be rubbish, perhaps this is why I don't get on playing music with others because in the same situation, I'd be more nervous about everybody else being too good haha

Dude.. this is my first time playing bass outside my own living room - I was bricking it!!

Adey · August 2022

Not a Construction Industry Battle of the Bands is it? ......

fretmeister · August 2022

stickyfiddle said:

thecolourbox said:

Sounds great, good on you.

I like how you and the others were nervous that everybody would be rubbish, perhaps this is why I don't get on playing music with others because in the same situation, I'd be more nervous about everybody else being too good haha

Dude.. this is my first time playing bass outside my own living room - I was bricking it!!

Stand on the high hat side of the kit. Then if the mix is muddy you can see the high hat move as a visual guide.

Land on the “one” always. Everything else is secondary. A fuck up on the one can throw the whole band. A fuck up on the other beats is just improv.

Dont be afraid to cut the bass on the amp. Far too many players just keep boosting the bass making any boom worse. If you have the technology, cut everything under 30hz anyway.

stickyfiddle · August 2022

Adey said:

Not a Construction Industry Battle of the Bands is it? ......

No, it's Law Rocks Dubai (I actually work in "professional services" but we have a legal dept now..!)

Are you in one too?

stickyfiddle · August 2022

fretmeister said:

stickyfiddle said:

thecolourbox said:

Sounds great, good on you.

I like how you and the others were nervous that everybody would be rubbish, perhaps this is why I don't get on playing music with others because in the same situation, I'd be more nervous about everybody else being too good haha

Dude.. this is my first time playing bass outside my own living room - I was bricking it!!

Stand on the high hat side of the kit. Then if the mix is muddy you can see the high hat move as a visual guide.

Land on the “one” always. Everything else is secondary. A fuck up on the one can throw the whole band. A fuck up on the other beats is just improv.

Dont be afraid to cut the bass on the amp. Far too many players just keep boosting the bass making any boom worse. If you have the technology, cut everything under 30hz anyway.

Ta - that's all good guidance. I'm used to stage right for basically everything I've ever done, but we'll see. Otherwise 100% onboard with that. I may well hit you up for more tips as time goes on.

So far we've done I Got You (I Feel Good) and Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and I'm pretty ok with those so far. Blame it on the Boogie next week, then we need some more ideas for a solid setlist. We need 22 mins, so I'm keen to get at least 30 and then choose the best setlist

The good news is the studio we've found is awesome - decent AC, decent PA and good kit all round, non-dented mics(!!), high and low chairs, decent soundproofing and they'll even give us a stereo mix of every session if we want so we can play it back and work on any issues afterwards.

AND it's a work thing so it's on expenses!

Adey · August 2022

I'm doing Construction Rocks in London again this year. I think it's affiliated with Law Rocks.

I've done it a few times and got to play at Scala at King's Cross, which was brill.

It's at Chelsea's ground this year because Scala doesn't have disabled access.

I've moved onto bass too because

a) we seem to get through a lot if bassists, and

b) our stand in bassist was a better guitarist than me ! :-(

fretmeister · August 2022

stickyfiddle said:

fretmeister said:

stickyfiddle said:

thecolourbox said:

Sounds great, good on you.

I like how you and the others were nervous that everybody would be rubbish, perhaps this is why I don't get on playing music with others because in the same situation, I'd be more nervous about everybody else being too good haha

Dude.. this is my first time playing bass outside my own living room - I was bricking it!!

Stand on the high hat side of the kit. Then if the mix is muddy you can see the high hat move as a visual guide.

Land on the “one” always. Everything else is secondary. A fuck up on the one can throw the whole band. A fuck up on the other beats is just improv.

Dont be afraid to cut the bass on the amp. Far too many players just keep boosting the bass making any boom worse. If you have the technology, cut everything under 30hz anyway.

Ta - that's all good guidance. I'm used to stage right for basically everything I've ever done, but we'll see. Otherwise 100% onboard with that. I may well hit you up for more tips as time goes on.

So far we've done I Got You (I Feel Good) and Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and I'm pretty ok with those so far. Blame it on the Boogie next week, then we need some more ideas for a solid setlist. We need 22 mins, so I'm keen to get at least 30 and then choose the best setlist

The good news is the studio we've found is awesome - decent AC, decent PA and good kit all round, non-dented mics(!!), high and low chairs, decent soundproofing and they'll even give us a stereo mix of every session if we want so we can play it back and work on any issues afterwards.

AND it's a work thing so it's on expenses!

For those tunes the new Mark Bass AG1000 amp would be perfect.... expenses you say!

rocktron · August 2022

Playing with mates in a band beats practising at home alone.

Battle Of The Bands competition is good fun, but winning it can get serious!!!

Good times to be had by all.

stickyfiddle · August 2022

@fretmeister i don’t think I can wangle that, but petrol money is cover, apparently, which is great because the rest of the band are in Dubai! I was actually v happy with my HX setup. Dead simple but sounded suitably classic. P bass with flats, natch.

@Adey sounds like the same org. Seems like a good event, thought this years has been pencilled in for the Grand Prix weekend so far - apparently they’re changing it…

chillidoggy · August 2022

I think congrats are in order!

DesVegas · August 2022

Nothing like being in a new band (as long as everyone gets along)

Do you know how the voting / winner is chosen?

I've been in battle of the bands where the winner is basically which ever band brings the most crowd to support them as there was a crowd vote at the end of the day.. not much fun if you live in Cambridge and the battle was in london

stickyfiddle · August 2022

Yeah, it’s good fun so far and no problem egos apparent just yet.

No idea on scoring but we think it’s essentially who is the most crowd-pleasing. Our company is about 10x the size of the others, so we’re hopeful of a good turnout

TheMadMick · August 2022

Enjoy. Win or loose, it's a bummer if you don't enjoy it.

stickyfiddle · August 2022

Everyone still getting along well so far and we're all in the same company so well used to a culture of clear communication and openness to suggestions.

BUT my god now we have to agree a target setlist and I'd forgotten how that always plays out! So far I seem to be taking the musical director role and hoping noone argues, but there's been some generic pub band rubbish suggested so far..!

Adey · August 2022

stickyfiddle said:

Everyone still getting along well so far and we're all in the same company so well used to a culture of clear communication and openness to suggestions.

BUT my god now we have to agree a target setlist and I'd forgotten how that always plays out! So far I seem to be taking the musical director role and hoping noone argues, but there's been some generic pub band rubbish suggested so far..!

Don't knock it. That's what we're doing. The audience will know it and sing along.

If you go for something more obscure, you'll be pleased, but the audience will be going off to the bar until a song they know turns up.

We did Beastie Boys Fight for your Right a while ago. It went down really well!

hywelg · August 2022

stickyfiddle said:

Everyone still getting along well so far and we're all in the same company so well used to a culture of clear communication and openness to suggestions.

BUT my god now we have to agree a target setlist and I'd forgotten how that always plays out! So far I seem to be taking the musical director role and hoping noone argues, but there's been some generic pub band rubbish suggested so far..!

Keep the list to simple effective songs it takes the pressure off everyone. You can do more complicated stuff in the future. Songs like

Simple Man Lynyrd Skynyrd
Rocking in the Free World Neil Young

But whatever you choose, there has to be at least one, preferably two members of the band who know the song well.

LastMantra · August 2022

Sounds like great fun!

Just enjoy it, that's the main thing.

stickyfiddle · August 2022

Cheers chaps. The singer has more a pop/soul background but wants to lean a little more towards rock if we can. Most importantly she's awesome so I really want to play to her strengths, so I'm thinking a mix around classic crowd-pleasers from Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding etc which is nothing like I've played in bands before but should be great with a lively crowd. It's gotta be cohesive and have a good flow to it as well.

Conversely the guitarist has so far suggested and stock pub-band staples like 4 non-blondes and guns n roses - the latter of which there is no way we'll pull off with the lineup we have.

We'll see...!

Adey · August 2022

And when you feck up on stage, you have to keep going until it comes back together.

The audience prob won't know you went wrong. But if you stop, it'll be obvious to them.

stickyfiddle · August 2022

Adey said:

And when you feck up on stage, you have to keep going until it comes back together.

The audience prob won't know you went wrong. But if you stop, it'll be obvious to them.

Haha 100%. I usually grin at the drummer whenever I fuck up in previous bands. TBH I've done hundreds of gigs so I'm not worried about me at all - it's the others that scare me because I don't know any of them at all yet.

Good news is the singer & I have clearly realised that we're both capable and reliable so I think we'll be able to drive it between us. He even suggested it might be a sustainable thing for occasional gigs afterwards, which would be great if it works out.

hywelg · August 2022

stickyfiddle said:

Adey said:

And when you feck up on stage, you have to keep going until it comes back together.

The audience prob won't know you went wrong. But if you stop, it'll be obvious to them.

Haha 100%. I usually grin at the drummer whenever I fuck up in previous bands. TBH I've done hundreds of gigs so I'm not worried about me at all - it's the others that scare me because I don't know any of them at all yet.

Good news is the singer & I have clearly realised that we're both capable and reliable so I think we'll be able to drive it between us. He even suggested it might be a sustainable thing for occasional gigs afterwards, which would be great if it works out.

So is it a he or a she? It was a she two posts further up. I'd suggest a Commitments number or two if she has the voice.

Or All or Nothing by the Small Faces, great song and a good song for a really good vocalist. If the keyboardist is decent give Tin Soldier (S.Faces) a listen..

stickyfiddle · August 2022

hywelg said:

stickyfiddle said:

Adey said:

And when you feck up on stage, you have to keep going until it comes back together.

The audience prob won't know you went wrong. But if you stop, it'll be obvious to them.

Haha 100%. I usually grin at the drummer whenever I fuck up in previous bands. TBH I've done hundreds of gigs so I'm not worried about me at all - it's the others that scare me because I don't know any of them at all yet.

Good news is the singer & I have clearly realised that we're both capable and reliable so I think we'll be able to drive it between us. He even suggested it might be a sustainable thing for occasional gigs afterwards, which would be great if it works out.

So is it a he or a she? It was a she two posts further up. I'd suggest a Commitments number or two if she has the voice.

Typo - It’s a girl!

We have a few other potential vocalists interested so might end up with more than one lead, but no news on that yet. The main core is a 5-piece - me on bass/maybe guitar, a drummer, another guitarist who I’m hoping to trade for bass duties on a song or two, a girl on keys and the singer who had the idea in the first place.

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I'm in a band again! 2023 UPDATE: We're doing the BOTB again... Ongoing bloggy updates in progress…

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