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Just thought I'd post an update, I haven't been hanging around here a whole lot lately...

Band I've been playing with hasn't been getting too many bookings, schedule constraints are kind of limiting. Both the other guys have day jobs, both usually up at 4AM and often not off till 5PM or later, it's not easy to play till 2AM, pack up and go home and be ready for work at 6...

So we've been getting a few bookings at local restaurants that have entertainment, and usually shut down a lot earlier than the bars do, around 10PM or so. Also, it seems a couple of guys are doing solo gigs and have a lot of the bookings already tied up, so that leaves us with few openings.

So far it's been going pretty well, we've been in the practice room for over a year and have a good set list put together, and still working on more new material. I've been usually playing the Super Reverb at really low volume with either my full pedal board or just the Marshall Bluesbreaker Overdrive and volume pedal. Last weekend I decided to try the Champ as well, and discovered that if I plug it into the 110 outlet on the back of the Super Reverb it apparently eliminates the ground loop I get plugging into an outlet, and no hum at all, Champ volume at about 8 or a little above it got a good loud tube amp at low volume, Super Reverb is fantastic for cleans at that volume, pedals work well with both, and I was happier with my sound than any of our gigs yet. The Marshall Overdrive through the Champ was getting some killer lead sounds...I played it more than the Super Reverb...one set I only used the Super once...for a rhythm part...

About our only problem is the building has a reputation for not getting good sound, the manager told us everybody sounds rough, we're still tinkering and tweaking trying to get it sorted out, last weekend we finally got decent sound by using our smaller PA mains on stands about 6 feet high, no room for monitors so they have to double as monitors, and Shane's board is a digital and he still has to figure out how to get into the EQ and pull the mids outta my vocal mic, it howls at me pretty often unless I stay right in front of the mic. No dedicated EQ controls, you have to sort through the software menu for that...

Otherwise it's been going pretty well, next booking is Jan 30, so we have till then to try and tweak the PA a little and work on a couple of new songs and hopefully get them ready to go.

Some of the new additions:

Helplessly Hoping
Our House
Just a Song - All Crosby Stills & Nash
New Kid in Town - Eagles, almost ready
Can't Get it Out Of My Head - ELO - played it first time last weekend
Son of A Son of A Sailor - Jimmy Buffett - played that one first time last weekend too
Love Will Keep Us Alive - Eagles
Magnolia - JJ Cale song I originally heard by Poco
Melissa - Allman Brothers they pulled that one on me by surprise a month ago, onstage, it's now on the song list...

Seems we have a couple more I can't remember, along with some we've spent some time putting together over the past 2 years. Eagles and Doobies tunes, America, loads of harmony vocals, and having a pretty good time with it. I'm also trying to move a few off the list that are giving my voice trouble, pushing my range to the limit, and add some that are not going to kill my voice...

Edit...

Damn...just as I clicked post, Shane sent me a text, he wants to record Melissa next week...so we might have a new recording soon.

nice set of tunes there....kinda mellow w/o being too limp. i've always dug "Son Of A Sailer". THE 121's sometimes do that one and "Pirate Looks at 40" at the truck stop when we need to play something a little more laid back.

Hey Billy, you must have some good vocals going on, with songs like New Kid in Town, Our House, solid harmonies needed.

On the amp-ground loop thing, if the hum on the Champ disappears when plugged into the SuperReverb (assuming the Super has a gorunded plug), the ground may not be connected on that rear outlet. An easy way to check is use one of those 3-2prong adapters for plugging grounded plugs into non-grounded jacks. If that removes the hum when you plug into a wall outlet, you'll know why it works plugging into the Super. If it doesn't, maybe the Super's outlet is reversed wired (+ to -) or the negative and ground are reverse wired.

Remember the old Fenders just had two-prong plugs and a reversing switch on them? BZZZZZTT!

We have the vocals. Here's a few others already on the set list

Doobies -

Black Water
Rockin Down the Highway
Another Park Another Sunday
Ukiah/Captain and Me (Done back to back same as the album)

Eagles

Witchy Woman
Lyin Eyes
Peaceful Easy Feelin
Love Will Keep Us Alive (recent addition)
Take it Easy
Tequila Sunrise
Desperado (just me)

Others...

Amie
Ventura Highway
Sandman
Crazy Love (Poco)
Heart of the Matter (Don Henley)
Rose of Cimarron

all 3 of us can handle harmonies, we look for songs with lots of vocals. When I left here around 15 years ago we had been playing about 4 years, were working on some more difficult stuff...

Renegade and Too Much Time on my Hands by Styx, Fat Bottom Girls, had Life in the Fast Lane on the set list, Runnin Down a Dream, Sultans of Swing, which is almost ready to go on the list again...so we have the voices and talent for it.

110 plug on the Super is grounded, I installed it myself when I got it. Replaced the two prong it had originally and the two prong power cord. Champ had a ground, but had to replace the plug, someone broke off the ground pin.

Also, got a call later on after posting, another booking for next weekend at a place we played last summer, hopefully it won't be too cold, I think it's outside...