General Music Chat

sorry mike, no sympathy from me...i did four hours in a smoky bar last night. ...and have another go round there tonight.

we did Sweet Jane too. i bet a lot bands ended up playing that or "Walk on the Wild Side" this weekend!

My throat is still hurting today. There has been ' no smoking in public (work) places here for many years. Obviously, not in Missouri.

Columbia went "smoke free" about 5 or so yrs ago. but the truckstop that we're houseband at is just outside the city limits. and now i'll have my bass amp out on the porch for a cpl of days to air it out.

BTW mike...lat night we were playing Delbert McClinton's "Giving It Up For Your Love" in "C" ( C G F chord pattern)...and towards the end i started playing the bassline from "Take A Walk On The Wild Side". our singer immediately caught it and sang a verse.....a nice spontaneous tip of the hat to Mr. Reid.

Lou wasn't real inventive in the chord department, you probably could have gone into 'Rock n' Roll', too!
My throat has almost got back to normal today.
Discussing this (smoking) on a local FB forum, in New Hampshire private clubs can allow smoking in them as long as they are 'member-only'. The second they open the doors to non-members, they can't have smoking. Not sure what Massachusetts laws actually dictate - at anoteh rprivate club I've played at, they have a 'smoking room' right off the bar - when the door opens it's like when the door opens on a 'smoknig lounge' at the airport, but at least the main room is smoke-free except for those instances.
As an ex-smoker (12-1/2 years tomorrow), I understand about 'people's rights to kill themselves', but I don't miss the days of smoke-filled bars now.

I enjoyed smoking. Then one day I found I didn't enjoy it anymore so I quit cold turkey don't want that ball and chain around my neck anymore. We play bars and clubs. The ones that don't have smoking are really hurting. Most folks that drink smoke too! One place we play has a HUGE smoking patio. Most of the crowd goes out there to smoke as a result the band plays to empty chairs for the most part! We charge a lot for playing. That place keeps hiring us back I don't understand it but they like us. Most places we play are outside and smoking is not an issue there. Aside from the fact that my stuff smells like smoke I don't have a problem playing smokey bars because the crowd is always better in bars that allow smoking!

I agree with Haley, in my area if its 21 and up they still allow smoking in the clubs, the ones that tryed going smoke free seem to lose the audience.

I quit smoking about 90 days ago, I had to give up smoking, one of my cars, some money and some really nice boobs all at the same time, but i guess I will live longer. Man I miss that car, it got 29 miles per gallon!

Around here, initially when the 'no smoking' rules went into effect, the bars/clubs were hurting a little. The ones that hurt the most figured out how to add an outside smoking area. As everyone's the same, its not so much an issue.

As everyone's the same, its not so much an issue.

that.

Smoking in bars is virtually extinct in Cali. Still many have smoking patios which seem to fill the void.

Gig this weekend!
This is an acoustic gig I have been doing approx. 1/month most of this year with a talented group of musicians. 3 sets with lead sheets. Come prepared, rehearse 1hr just to set beginnings and endings and play. Minimal gear with house sound system, minimal drama, good grooves and a good crowd.

i really dig playing acoustic. and by "acoustic" i mean w as little being amplified as possible.

last night MERE MORTALS played a small restaurant w the vocalists being amplified thru my little ROLAND Cube 60. acoustic gtr, fiddle, banjo, me on mando/dobro all straight up acoustic, and the traditional bluegrass (yeah, right!) 5 string solid body electric bass thru one of those old GK little bass combos.



i've got a great pickup sustem on my vibes, and it sounds very good, but i cherish those gigs where we're playing low enough that i can just lay into acoustically.

Yep the longer I play the less interesting gear is to me. Let's find a groove, get lost in the music and forget about all the "stuff".

A Cube 60 will always be a workhorse for working musicians who travel light. I have played through them many times but never owned one. Guitar, vocals, keys, vibes, electronic drums. If you can get a 1/4" cable into it you've got decent sound that will fill a small winery or coffeehouse gig. I sometimes bring a small mixer and 1 JBL Eon to cover 2 Acoustic guitars, Nord keys, and 2 vocals. Just enough tools to get it done.

Mission Imposter has a gig tonight in Richmond at the Lone Star Saloon. It is a pretty big club so we will be using the full p.a. including tonight's gig we have 3 total until the end of the year After that the slow down begins. I have an audition with the other band Wednesday. I have decided I will play with them (if the audition goes well) and MI I don't think either one is going to play out much. Between the 2 hopefully I'll be satisfied.

Ruffle some feathers, Jeff....get em. lol

i'm dicking around on here between loading my upright, my 6 string Washburn XB600 bass, new mando, my tele thinline, and an old Kustom bass amp into the mini van.

i've got a 90 min ride to hanibal, mo for a 1:00 - 4:00 VAL & MAL gig. beautiful travelling weather and they're calling for 65 degrees....could be we'll be playing outside!

ok, enough wasting time here w you boneheads. have a great weekend, all.

Break a Leg, Mark.

Wow what a great gig! There must have been at least 600 people in there last night! They were very responsive and we made some seriously good bank! $265. A man!

Wow what a great gig! There must have been at least 600 people in there last night! They were very responsive and we made some seriously good bank! $265. A man!

That sounds like a win Jeff, bravo!

Mine went just ok. It wasn't a train derailment and the crowd was good but this is the first time we have played with this drummer and he was pretty unprepared. As a result we had to dumb everything down to the lowest common denominator. That takes away a lot of the spontaneous magic that happens when everyone is relaxed and in the groove. Seen better, seen worse and on to the next one.