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TL,DR: Love my band, but no longer really enjoying it and thinking of moving on. Been playing with the same guys for 15 years. My first band and it was very important to all of us. All of us 60-somethings. We are better than average and get a lot of compliments on our playing and song...

We've been playing together for 15 years, we're all in our 60s now and the high parts on the vocals are getting a little tougher to reach. Our BL wants us to down tune a half step for the entire gig. Thoughts on this? I assume my fingering will stay the same (except for open strings). Any...

I've been enjoying a podcast I recently discovered called "Strong Songs." Produced by a musician on the West Coast named Kirk Hamilton. He breaks down songs and discusses their arrangements, recording, melody, harmony, instrumentation, tempo, etc. and really gets into why and how the songs work...

One of the cathedrals of soul, R&B, and rock n roll. Invalid Link Removed

My band had a gig last Friday. Thursday evening I started developing a sore throat and by Friday morning it was in full force, along with sinus congestion, fatigue, and my voice dropped about an octave. I know what you're thinking, but I took multiple COVID tests throughout the day (I had COVID...

Invalid Link Removed Discuss...

When I perform, I find I keep time by raising and lowering my heel, while keeping my toes on the ground. I think this method is in the minority, based on what I often see others do, but who knows? What say you?

My daughter is getting married to a great guy and my wife and I couldn't be happier. This past weekend we held my daughter's wedding shower, and we had kind of an afterparty back at our house Saturday evening. The fiancé's sister was there. She had a banjo with her (all the kids play something...

I read the NYTimes Book Review section every week, and it has a feature where they ask a series of questions to an author, one of which is: you're having a dinner party. Which three authors, past or present, do you invite? So that's my question: which three bass players, living or dead, would...

Anyone else listening to this podcast? I stumbled across it on Spotify. By a British guy named Andrew Hickey. Out of 500 songs, he's up to 120-something. I listened to a few random episodes (on "She Loves You," "You Really Got Me," and "A Change is Gonna Come") and then went back and started at...

Finally gave in to my GAS, though this was very reasonably priced as a Squier and further discounted as a floor model Reverb sale. Not a scratch on it, as far as I can tell. I immediately threw on a set of flats and am having a lot of fun getting a feel for it. Nice mwah, but I can see playing...

Please, no politics. My wife and I watched the Biden inauguration celebration last night. Many very good musical performances, in my opinion. I'd never heard Black Pumas and thought they were terrific. At one point the camera focused on their bassist. My wife asked what kind of bass it was--a...

Listened to this last night and was just blown away (again) by how great Peter Cetera was. The bass line on this song is just fantastic, and he sings co-lead. Such great tone, inventiveness, attack, and the whole line just drives the song. Cetera is under appreciated. The guy was a giant.

Discuss

Did a two-set show on Friday evening. I'd been rehearsing with my Jazz (with tapewounds) leading up to the gig, but on a whim decided to bring my Precision (with flats) to the gig also. I decided to play the first set with the P and the second with the J, just to see what the difference was...

Flea has written a Invalid Link Removed that covers his life just up to the debut of RHCP.

Anyone else follow this guy? I think his stuff is terrific. An interesting take. Discuss.

Anyone watch the Black Mirror series on Netflix? Latest season features an episode called "Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too" that focuses on music and includes one of the characters slogging away on her bass learning lines from Sonic Youth, the Pixies, etc. Miley Cyrus is the featured star, playing...

During a run this morning, this tune came up on my shuffle and, once again, I was just slack-jawed listening to James Jamerson. I know the guy was a master, but every now and then it hits you in the face. What an incredible line.

A community near me has concerts at a gazebo in a local park. I inquired to the organizer about playing there and his response is below (lightly edited to remove irrelevant info and protect the innocent). I'm curious about reactions to this. ...you provide sound system, we provide lights, you...

Lots of interesting nuggets in this interview from the Wall Street Journal. US sales of electric guitars--including basses--was 1.09 million last year, down from 1.45 million in 2008. The Down-to-Earth Dreams of Today’s Guitar Buyer

From today's New York Times web site. This is pretty funny. Invalid Link Removed

Toying with the idea of purchasing a fog machine for gigs. Anyone have any experience or recommendations, preferred brands, necessary features, etc? Any horror stories with fog-gone-wrong I should be aware of?

Picked up a Fender Rumble 200 combo this week and am loving it. First of all, it weighs just 34 lbs (as opposed to the almost 80 lbs for my SWR 2X10C). I can carry it with one hand, which will be a huge improvement in my gig experience. I am having a lot of fun playing with its different tones...

My band is working on The Beatles Abbey Road side two Medley (You Never Give Me Your Money to The End). We play a lot of Beatles music generally and are excited about the prospect of doing this series of songs justice. My observation from the bass perspective is that McCartney's line is not...

I've been using an SWR Workingman 210 Combo for years, which I like, but have been thinking about entering 2019 with a new amp and so would appreciate any recommendations. I'm looking for something lighter (the SWR runs about 70 lbs) that would offer good tone. I'm not a pedal guy. Should I...

An incredible output and legacy with The Wrecking Crew. Joe Osborn, Wrecking Crew Bassist, Dies at 81

2019 inductees just announced: Radiohead Janet Jackson Def Leppard The Cure Roxie Music The Zombies Stevie Nicks Personally happy to see The Zombies recognized. Don't understand the Janet Jackson decision. Never a huge Radiohead, Cure, or Roxie Music fan, but OK. Could go either way on Nicks...

My band has a gig coming up on 12/20 and we'll do a couple of Christmas tunes, probably Run Run Rudolph and Jingle Bell Rock. I was just curious what other Christmas or holiday-related rock songs folks like or have performed.

Here's the cover art for her new live album. Never realized she played the bass. What's she playing, because it looks cool.

I have no idea about this guy's bona fides, but I'm in favor of anything that brings greater attention to Carol Kaye.

The band has a gig tonight at a new venue for us. Last night I had a long, involved dream about showing up at the venue and realizing I wasn't wearing any pants, buck naked from the waist down. Trying desperately to pull down my shirt to cover myself, no one seemed to notice. Then finding a pair...

Background: my college alumni magazine posted a photo gallery of bands and musicians who had played in a venue at school that is about to be torn down. They posted this photo as "The Band" and it is obviously not The Band. I'm pretty sure the guy playing the mandolin is Chris Hillman, formerly...

My band is trying something a little different for our next gig, in terms of song selection. We are a classic rock cover band and over the years have played a lot of songs especially by the Beatles, Springsteen, and the Eagles (among many others). For some time, we've talked about doing an "all...

I have an old bass--the first one I bought as part of a Hartke starter kit. It's an entry level instrument for sure. I haven't played it in in more than 10 years, having moved on to higher quality basses. Never gigged with it. It's not particularly beautiful. The last time I touched it, the...

So I purchased a Jazz in '08 (my first "real" bass) and used it almost exclusively for practice, rehearsals, and gigs. Then last summer I had a chance to play a Precision and thought it was amazing. Ended up getting my own P back in January of this year and have used it exclusively since then. I...

Have a gig this weekend--playing at my 40th high school class reunion--and we're closing with Dancing With Myself by Billy Idol (on which I'm also singing lead). The bass line is easy, but relentlessly fast (for me). In rehearsal, I've been having a hard time keeping the pace picking with my...

I found a set of unused round wounds that I had purchased online back in 2011. For some reason, I never used them; they are still in the original padded envelope they were mailed in (though the envelop had been opened). Any reason I couldn't install them now? Would they have gone stale? Bigger...

that John Lennon met Paul McCartney (July 6, 1957). Discuss.