Thunderbird Club

[Engle]

There are a few cringers in my band's set list, and some of them are phasing out. I am grateful for small favors!
The way I see it though, is that if I'm at a gig under the auspices of someone else, and am getting paid for my service of rhythm section support, I'm playing 1) to the band, and 2) to the crowd. That means everything is fair game. Even Mustang Sadly. Fine.

In a band I have more influence with, I'll voice my opinion/preference/sage advice, maybe even stand my ground. But that's negotiating, and a process of keeping it as happy/worthwhile as possible for everyone.

Art, different deal. That's a more originally oriented effort, wherein I get to choose, or at least strongly influence, direction, goal, end result.

Choose your battles.

Yes that's exactly how I look at it.

 

[Count Bassie]

Our 80s pop thang went and did our cable access tv show last night, it'll be edited and put onto DVD in a couple weeks. There will be clams and awkward moments a-plenty, but there we are.
The Bird made the scene, and I'm certain it was the best part of my offering to our weekend-warrior level effort! I played the Japanese P-bass also, down-tuned to D standard for the low-tuned tunes. Although the Bird got significantly more attention, it was nice to have two such different feeling instruments to play back-to-back.
It'll eventually get to YouTube, the dude who runs the show is working on that. Apparently that's an expensive thing to get into for such an operation. But I'll post a culled clip or two when I get a copy of the performance.
We're not allowed to edit and post video (show ownership copyright issue), but we can chop and post audio and stills.

It was interesting to be under a little pressure to see what we're made of. Soon you'll know what we're made of too. Fine. Not afraid.


...

Oh yeah, if you happen to be entertaining thoughts of a set of Ken Smith Burners for your Epi Classic Pro Bird, I have a set installed on mine in this little clam-fest we did, which I'll be posting a clip or two of when it becomes available. Shout-out and a thank-you to @BklynKen for the Burners!

 

[TBird1958]

I get that "Mustang Sally", "Old Time R&R"(2 songs I sing in our group),etc, may be boring-or whatever-but if that's what the people paying the band wanna hear, that's what we do.
We always say that we accept requests and if we know 'em we'll play 'em. I've not kept track but I think the most often requested song is "Old Time R&R"*. Friday night we played a Country Club. We got a request for "Over The Rainbow"-we played it. Kept the people there(spending $)for another set. Made the club manager happy.
We did have some wise@$$ ask for "Edmund Fitzgerald". Sorry.

*NOT because they've heard me sing it

I can't at the moment think of a song I wouldn't play-assuming we could with our instrumentation. It would prolly be nice to only play what I wanted to play, but we aren't in the position to tell prospective jobs "this is what we do, take it or leave it". They'd leave it and we'd be home watching The Weather Channel. I'm happy for anyone out there who gets to play what they want to. That's not the situation around here.

We're a cover band too, yet we don't do requests. I write a set list (3 one hour sets) and we go from one song to the next in pretty business like fashion, occasionally on set breaks folks will ask if we do a certain song, if we know it, and it's on the set, great, if not, too bad. We're never going to be a "jukebox" and don't aspire to that, no one has ever requested Mustang Sally or Old time RnR from us in more than 15years of us being a band.
Is it a regional thing?

 

[Dadagoboi]

Yeah, it's Fun Time again!

 

[PillO]

Happy Easter!
View attachment 3393229

Rabbit stew for dinner tonight!

 

[PillO]

We're a cover band too, yet we don't do requests. I write a set list (3 one hour sets) and we go from one song to the next in pretty business like fashion, occasionally on set breaks folks will ask if we do a certain song, if we know it, and it's on the set, great, if not, too bad. We're never going to be a "jukebox" and don't aspire to that, no one has ever requested Mustang Sally or Old time RnR from us in more than 15years of us being a band.
Is it a regional thing?

I think it depends on the band. Some bands present as the "live juke box" and so get requests. Others present as a band putting on a rehearsed show and so get few requests.

And then there is a story of Frank Zappa and Whipping Post

 

[Engle]

We're a cover band too, yet we don't do requests. I write a set list (3 one hour sets) and we go from one song to the next in pretty business like fashion, occasionally on set breaks folks will ask if we do a certain song, if we know it, and it's on the set, great, if not, too bad. We're never going to be a "jukebox" and don't aspire to that, no one has ever requested Mustang Sally or Old time RnR from us in more than 15years of us being a band.
Is it a regional thing?

Depends more on the type of gigs and places you play. Mustang Sally and Old time RnR get played in pubs around here. My cover band gets requests and there have only been a few times we have actually played them.

 

[GonePlaid]

We're a cover band too, yet we don't do requests. I write a set list (3 one hour sets) and we go from one song to the next in pretty business like fashion, occasionally on set breaks folks will ask if we do a certain song, if we know it, and it's on the set, great, if not, too bad. We're never going to be a "jukebox" and don't aspire to that, no one has ever requested Mustang Sally or Old time RnR from us in more than 15years of us being a band.
Is it a regional thing?

I would say it's more an age thing. From seeing your video posts, your crowd appears to average about 15-20 years younger than our audience. Also, because our gigs are usually 6:30-9:30(+/-), we're asked to 'keep it down' during the dinner hour-not a problem. All of us have backgrounds in a variety of genres. We never know exactly what our crowd make-up will be, so unless we're in a 'concert' situation, we have to gauge the crowd and attempt to guess what they'd like. We usually start off with a coupla instrumentals, such as "How High the Moon", or "Girl From Ipanema" to allow the patrons to get used to the fact we're live. Our crowd's musical tastes are generally 60s-70s rock, some country and some 'belly rubbers'.
FWIW, every place we've played, the patrons want us back. We ask them to let management know. For example, we played a gig at a new(for us)place in November. They had already booked someone else for NYE(2018-19). They booked us for NYE 2019-20). What we do may very well not be 'right' for a lot of y'all(good Southern term meaning....y'all), but it keeps us working in a gig-thin market.
I played this past NYE with a 15 piece big band, the other 3 guys got a 'last minute' Country Club gig.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

never know....may sound good left in....

I tried that years ago; I was underwhelmed. But as an effect it could work.

 

[Count Bassie]

We're a cover band too, yet we don't do requests. I write a set list (3 one hour sets) and we go from one song to the next in pretty business like fashion, occasionally on set breaks folks will ask if we do a certain song, if we know it, and it's on the set, great, if not, too bad. We're never going to be a "jukebox" and don't aspire to that, no one has ever requested Mustang Sally or Old time RnR from us in more than 15years of us being a band.
Is it a regional thing?

Your band has a very defined personality, it's really, very much a show. You all are very forward and "brave" in your posturing, and you're good players. It seems like a good band, the entertainment factor is high, and you're accepted for what you've got to offer. You don't need to do requests.
I'd love to catch one of your gigs.

 

[fasterpussycat]

The Headstones just released a cover of that. Now my brother and I are learning it (it is REALLY easy). I still hate it.

How could anyone not like a song in Dorian mode?

Oh and that video is cinematic.

 

[PillO]

How could anyone not like a song in Dorian mode?

Oh and that video is cinematic.

Not difficult and I have been aided by CanCon (the cute little nickname for Canadian Content regulations on radio and television). I also don't like Buffy St. Marie; I don't care that she wants her heart buried at wounded knee.

[RANT]Canadian content regulations, by forcing radio to play Canadian artists, have caused the promotion of crappy Canadian artists and the over-playing of Canadian artists of any merit. It has not built a Canadian recording industry as intended. Instead, it has made Canadian artists lazy and therefore unable to compete in larger markets effectively handicapping the industry it is intended to promote. It has left many with the (correct) impression that the vast majority of Canadian music is crap. Because the diamonds are buried in giant piles of sh!t, most won't bother looking for them.

Why do Canadians not consume Canadian content? Because regulations have made it horrible. Any time regulations are promulgated to protect some form of incumbent/disadvantaged/preferred producer the result is a decrease in quality and service.[/RANT]

I rarely consume Canadian content because it just isn't worth the filtering effort. Content of any merit, I will find by other means.

 

[fasterpussycat]

I read about that all the time in the Darkglass thread. No judging there; just lots of discussions on stacking. So not my bag.

Truth here ... I reckon I have fairly good ears. Most of the time I can't really discern much difference between distortion and stacked distortion. Add in drums and a loud and distorted guitar, and you can hear what? You have a valve amp, already breaking up, you throw in a dirt pedal, pushing it further and adding more compression and some (odd or even order) harmonic content. But everything is still going through the the same output valves and transformer (and possibly the same valve rectifier). Add another dirt pedal and you are in the land of diminishing bass fx returns (ha).

 

[Inky13]

I get that "Mustang Sally", "Old Time R&R"(2 songs I sing in our group),etc, may be boring-or whatever-but if that's what the people paying the band wanna hear, that's what we do.
We always say that we accept requests and if we know 'em we'll play 'em. I've not kept track but I think the most often requested song is "Old Time R&R"*. Friday night we played a Country Club. We got a request for "Over The Rainbow"-we played it. Kept the people there(spending $)for another set. Made the club manager happy.
We did have some wise@$$ ask for "Edmund Fitzgerald". Sorry.

*NOT because they've heard me sing it

G.P.-Are you telling us that you can turn a song about a shipwreck into a train wreck?

 

[fasterpussycat]

G.P.-Are you telling us that you can turn a song about a shipwreck into a train wreck?

I see what you did there....

 

[dukeorock]

Wankers unconcerned with making actual music.

It does seem that some get so caught up in a certain process that the music suffers. I just know that I’ve heard a bunch of bass players with huge pedalboards discussing stacking and whatnot. Then when they play in a band context, if I even hear any difference (usually none) it’s not for the better

 

[fasterpussycat]

It does seem that some get so caught up in a certain process that the music suffers. I just know that I’ve heard a bunch of bass players with huge pedalboards discussing stacking and whatnot. Then when they play in a band context, if I even hear any difference (usually none) it’s not for the better

After I changed the neck on the JAEbird, I plugged it into the YBA200 to check everything was alright. It was really weedy, oh no, is the amp sick? last thing I need, etc, etc.

Then I looked down and the DGVU was still engaged from the other day when I did the Cat Tail demo*. Click! Ahhhhhhhhhh.....

* why the DGVU sounds good direct into the computer and terrible in front of the YBA200 is a mystery I'm uninterested in solving.

 

[amimbari]

in 2014 I sold this Jackson tbird never thinking I would find another collector selling one because they just never made enough of them....
( the blue one is an Epi body parts bass )

and THEN out of the blue a guy I know who I have bought from before asks me to buy this even rarer Charvel version.
so it looks like I will be back in the Tbird club for a little while longer

 

[BklynKen]

After I changed the neck on the JAEbird, I plugged it into the YBA200 to check everything was alright. It was really weedy, oh no, is the amp sick? last thing I need, etc, etc.

Then I looked down and the DGVU was still engaged from the other day when I did the Cat Tail demo*. Click! Ahhhhhhhhhh.....

* why the DGVU sounds good direct into the computer and terrible in front of the YBA200 is a mystery I'm uninterested in solving.

I'll vote for double negative. Or double positive in this case?

 

[Count Bassie]

Wankers unconcerned with making actual music.

Mhm. I hate bs.