On Wednesday, 26 July 2017 07:50:08 UTC+3, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:
tiistai 25. heinäkuuta 2017 6.56.31 UTC+3 ~misfit~ kirjoitti:

Yes. Alas 20 years of chronic back pain, reduced mobility and the
massive drop in income has limited my experience to what I can see
in my home. :-/

Sorry to hear that. Is this the result of your hard physical work
with the band?

Thanks. No I don;t think so. It was a freak occurance in 1995. I was going
to the neighbours over the back (1.8m) fence and the far side was smooth so
I 'vaulted' over and the ground on the far side was uneven and I landed
wrong. The resulting jar to my back ruptured L5 / S1 completely and also
damaged the next three discs up.

(snip)

Sorry, sad story I don't usually share. I try to keep my mind occupied as
best I can with low-cost 'projects' etc.

That's a tragic chain of events. Very sad:-(

These are very different times to the late 70s / early 80s. ;-)
--
Indeed. Trucks have hydraulic tail lifts, forklifts, and freight
cases have large wheels. But the amount of equipment a band now
carries is far greater.

Very true. I'd love to have got my hands on the sort of equiment available
these days back in the day. Not just on the audio side but stage lighting as
well. The intense colours that you can get quite cheaply with LEDs these
days (and being able to use pre-programmed sequences) would be awesome to
use.

Yes indeed. LED technology has changed lighting enormously, just as digital and wireless technology have changed audio. It is also fun to use the best from both worlds. Nirvana for me is a collection of large condenser mics from the 50's and 60's, and an analogue console feeding an 24track Studer A80 (2" tape) with Dolby SR. Then transfer to digital DAW for edit, post and mix.

Iain

On Wednesday, 26 July 2017 15:38:06 UTC+3, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:
maanantai 24. heinäkuuta 2017 15.49.33 UTC+3 ~misfit~ kirjoitti:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:

Were you involved with the admin of the band you were with?
Musicians are notoriously bad in business matters, and anyone who can
add up the gig fees on a table napkin and deduct the agent and
taxman, and divide the result by the number of band and crew, is
usually welcome in any band:-)

Actually the keyboard player / synths / trumpet / 2nd rythm guitarist /
sometime lead-vocalist (all one person) was also the electronics whizz *and*
admin. He was a very clever bloke, not your typical 'muso' at all. Even
after I joined and took over the mixing duties he was the guy who ran all
the wiring and set up the amps - it's something he just didn't want to let
go of.

He was also chief solderer and was always fixing the guitarists effects
pedals etc.

Every band needs at least one "dynamo" to keep things going. Being in a band is not just about turning up on time (and sober) for the gig:-))

The big band in which I play, although not a pro band, is run like
one. It is registered as a company. We have a chairman and a
committee. We handle sales and PR ourselves, but have an agent
through whom invoices are generated and tax and social costs are
paid. No one in the band, with the exception of the conductor/leader
who is a professional musician, gets paid. Most players are
sufficiently well-healed, to regard the opportunity to play in a
well-run band to capacity audiences as reward enough.

It sounds like a lot of fun.

When a band exceeds say seven players, things get more complicated. You can't just shout out "Georgia" or "a blues in F", and esxpect a coherent performance. Once you get sections in a band, such a trumpets, trombones and saxophones they play in four or five part harmony and need written parts from which to play. So arrangements need to be written or bought. It is a full-time job for one player to copy, number and insert parts for new titles into 20 folders. Our band has about 1 000 titles, with more being added all the time.

We produce projects with a theme, and so our concerts are very different to the usual hotchpotch of Ellington/Basie/Kenton/Glenn Miller that most big bands offer.

Our concerts are usually sold out, so that we have no shortage of professional soloists wanting to perform with us.

The autumn project for this year is a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald. 2017 is the centenary of her birth). We shall also be recording some titles for our next CD. We have been able to obtain copies of many of her original arrangements used in the 40s, 50s and 60s. Members of the band have also been busy writing. We shall have a string section with us too, The Soul Strings, (16 students in their final year at music college, who are looking for stage and recording experience. It's going to be a lot of fun.

Iain

Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:
On Wednesday, 26 July 2017 15:38:06 UTC+3, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:
maanantai 24. heinäkuuta 2017 15.49.33 UTC+3 ~misfit~ kirjoitti:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:

Were you involved with the admin of the band you were with?
Musicians are notoriously bad in business matters, and anyone who
can add up the gig fees on a table napkin and deduct the agent and
taxman, and divide the result by the number of band and crew, is
usually welcome in any band:-)

Actually the keyboard player / synths / trumpet / 2nd rythm
guitarist / sometime lead-vocalist (all one person) was also the
electronics whizz *and* admin. He was a very clever bloke, not your
typical 'muso' at all. Even after I joined and took over the mixing
duties he was the guy who ran all the wiring and set up the amps -
it's something he just didn't want to let go of.

He was also chief solderer and was always fixing the guitarists
effects pedals etc.

Every band needs at least one "dynamo" to keep things going. Being in
a band is not just about turning up on time (and sober) for the
gig:-))


He's the one guy who never gave in to any of the temptations that were
abundant in that environment.

The big band in which I play, although not a pro band, is run like
one. It is registered as a company. We have a chairman and a
committee. We handle sales and PR ourselves, but have an agent
through whom invoices are generated and tax and social costs are
paid. No one in the band, with the exception of the
conductor/leader who is a professional musician, gets paid. Most
players are sufficiently well-healed, to regard the opportunity to
play in a well-run band to capacity audiences as reward enough.

It sounds like a lot of fun.

When a band exceeds say seven players, things get more complicated.
You can't just shout out "Georgia" or "a blues in F", and esxpect a
coherent performance. Once you get sections in a band, such a
trumpets, trombones and saxophones they play in four or five part
harmony and need written parts from which to play. So arrangements
need to be written or bought. It is a full-time job for one player
to copy, number and insert parts for new titles into 20 folders. Our
band has about 1 000 titles, with more being added all the time.

We produce projects with a theme, and so our concerts are very
different to the usual hotchpotch of Ellington/Basie/Kenton/Glenn
Miller that most big bands offer.

Our concerts are usually sold out, so that we have no shortage of
professional soloists wanting to perform with us.

The autumn project for this year is a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald.
2017 is the centenary of her birth). We shall also be recording some
titles for our next CD. We have been able to obtain copies of many of
her original arrangements used in the 40s, 50s and 60s. Members of
the band have also been busy writing. We shall have a string section
with us too, The Soul Strings, (16 students in their final year at
music college, who are looking for stage and recording experience.
It's going to be a lot of fun.

That sounds great! I'm happy for you.
--
Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy
little classification in the DSM*."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)

On Sunday, 23 July 2017 08:36:56 UTC+1, Phil Allison wrote:
In a word "harsh".

But in a magazine review, where the speaker manufacturer is an advertiser, "detailed and analytical"

Owain

On Friday, 28 July 2017 17:43:48 UTC+3, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:
On Wednesday, 26 July 2017 15:38:06 UTC+3, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:
maanantai 24. heinäkuuta 2017 15.49.33 UTC+3 ~misfit~ kirjoitti:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:

Were you involved with the admin of the band you were with?
Musicians are notoriously bad in business matters, and anyone who
can add up the gig fees on a table napkin and deduct the agent and
taxman, and divide the result by the number of band and crew, is
usually welcome in any ba

Actually the keyboard player / synths / trumpet / 2nd rythm
guitarist / sometime lead-vocalist (all one person) was also the
electronics whizz *and* admin. He was a very clever bloke, not your
typical 'muso' at all. Even after I joined and took over the mixing
duties he was the guy who ran all the wiring and set up the amps -
it's something he just didn't want to let go of.

He was also chief solderer and was always fixing the guitarists
effects pedals etc.

Every band needs at least one "dynamo" to keep things going. Being in
a band is not just about turning up on time (and sober) for the
gig:-))


He's the one guy who never gave in to any of the temptations that were
abundant in that environment.


Ah yes. "The destructive recreational substances" (as described by Duke Ellington). They have been abundant, and a part of the music scene since the 1920's. Long before it was a dance, the word "jive" referred to hashish. Andy Kirk had a song entitled "All the Jive Is Gone". Lyric: "Come on in and have some gin, 'cos all the jive is gone".

Illinois Jacquet (One of my favourite saxophone players) who had the most amazing band, had a title called: Three Buckets of Jive" We play it often. The meaning is lost to most.

We don't have a "substance" problem in our band: the back row are all policemen:-) We once had a stand-in guitar player, who sometimes turned up wide-eyed. He was totally unaware of the backgrounds of the other players. He used to slip out for a "drag" during the break, but played really well. The role of guitar player in a big band is a demanding one, he has to play rhythm guitar like Freddy Green, (and read the chords - not just simple, three-chord changes but all the dominant chords, ,9,11,13 dims and + chords and much more) and play written single line tutti with saxes or muted brass, and then solo like Wes Mongtgomery !!

The worst thing that can happen to any band is that a festival timetable starts to run late. The organiser, with the best if intentions, sets up a bar tab for the band. In two hours,a twenty-piece big band can down a lot of vodka!

Iain

On Tue, 8 Aug 2017 12:34:33 -0700 (PDT), Iain
wrote:

On Friday, 28 July 2017 17:43:48 UTC+3, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:
On Wednesday, 26 July 2017 15:38:06 UTC+3, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:
maanantai 24. heinäkuuta 2017 15.49.33 UTC+3 ~misfit~ kirjoitti:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:

Were you involved with the admin of the band you were with?
Musicians are notoriously bad in business matters, and anyone who
can add up the gig fees on a table napkin and deduct the agent and
taxman, and divide the result by the number of band and crew, is
usually welcome in any ba

Actually the keyboard player / synths / trumpet / 2nd rythm
guitarist / sometime lead-vocalist (all one person) was also the
electronics whizz *and* admin. He was a very clever bloke, not your
typical 'muso' at all. Even after I joined and took over the mixing
duties he was the guy who ran all the wiring and set up the amps -
it's something he just didn't want to let go of.

He was also chief solderer and was always fixing the guitarists
effects pedals etc.

Every band needs at least one "dynamo" to keep things going. Being in
a band is not just about turning up on time (and sober) for the
gig:-))


He's the one guy who never gave in to any of the temptations that were
abundant in that environment.


Ah yes. "The destructive recreational substances" (as described by Duke Ellington). They have been abundant, and a part of the music scene since the 1920's. Long before it was a dance, the word "jive" referred to hashish. Andy Kirk had a song entitled "All the Jive Is Gone". Lyric: "Come on in and have some gin, 'cos all the jive is gone".

Illinois Jacquet (One of my favourite saxophone players) who had the most amazing band, had a title called: Three Buckets of Jive" We play it often. The meaning is lost to most.

We don't have a "substance" problem in our band: the back row are all policemen:-) We once had a stand-in guitar player, who sometimes turned up wide-eyed. He was totally unaware of the backgrounds of the other players. He used to slip out for a "drag" during the break, but played really well. The role of guitar player in a big band is a demanding one, he has to play rhythm guitar like Freddy Green, (and read the chords - not just simple, three-chord changes but all the dominant chords, ,9,11,13 dims and + chords and much more) and play written single line tutti with saxes or muted brass, and then solo like Wes Mongtgomery !!

The worst thing that can happen to any band is that a festival timetable starts to run late. The organiser, with the best if intentions, sets up a bar tab for the band. In two hours,a twenty-piece big band can down a lot of vodka!

Iain

Things don't have to run late. I went to see the Moscow Philharmonic
at the Barbican years ago. The two double bass players came on stage
and each carefully placed a bottle of vodka by his stand. By the end
of the evening both bottles were empty.

d

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On Wednesday, 9 August 2017 07:43:15 UTC+3, Don Pearce wrote:
On Tue, 8 Aug 2017 12:34:33 -0700 (PDT), Iain
wrote:

On Friday, 28 July 2017 17:43:48 UTC+3, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:
On Wednesday, 26 July 2017 15:38:06 UTC+3, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:
maanantai 24. heinäkuuta 2017 15.49.33 UTC+3 ~misfit~ kirjoitti:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:

Were you involved with the admin of the band you were with?
Musicians are notoriously bad in business matters, and anyone who
can add up the gig fees on a table napkin and deduct the agent and
taxman, and divide the result by the number of band and crew, is
usually welcome in any ba

Actually the keyboard player / synths / trumpet / 2nd rythm
guitarist / sometime lead-vocalist (all one person) was also the
electronics whizz *and* admin. He was a very clever bloke, not your
typical 'muso' at all. Even after I joined and took over the mixing
duties he was the guy who ran all the wiring and set up the amps -
it's something he just didn't want to let go of.

He was also chief solderer and was always fixing the guitarists
effects pedals etc.

Every band needs at least one "dynamo" to keep things going. Being in
a band is not just about turning up on time (and sober) for the
gig:-))


He's the one guy who never gave in to any of the temptations that were
abundant in that environment.


Ah yes. "The destructive recreational substances" (as described by Duke Ellington). They have been abundant, and a part of the music scene since the 1920's. Long before it was a dance, the word "jive" referred to hashish. Andy Kirk had a song entitled "All the Jive Is Gone". Lyric: "Come on in and have some gin, 'cos all the jive is gone".

Illinois Jacquet (One of my favourite saxophone players) who had the most amazing band, had a title called: Three Buckets of Jive" We play it often. The meaning is lost to most.

We don't have a "substance" problem in our band: the back row are all policemen:-) We once had a stand-in guitar player, who sometimes turned up wide-eyed. He was totally unaware of the backgrounds of the other players. He used to slip out for a "drag" during the break, but played really well. The role of guitar player in a big band is a demanding one, he has to play rhythm guitar like Freddy Green, (and read the chords - not just simple, three-chord changes but all the dominant chords, ,9,11,13 dims and + chords and much more) and play written single line tutti with saxes or muted brass, and then solo like Wes Mongtgomery !!

The worst thing that can happen to any band is that a festival timetable starts to run late. The organiser, with the best if intentions, sets up a bar tab for the band. In two hours,a twenty-piece big band can down a lot of vodka!

Iain

Things don't have to run late. I went to see the Moscow Philharmonic
at the Barbican years ago. The two double bass players came on stage
and each carefully placed a bottle of vodka by his stand. By the end
of the evening both bottles were empty.


I have been to Moscow Philharmonic concerts on their home ground. There were six orchestral basses, so two bottles among by six players in not so bad:-))

Iain

On Wed, 9 Aug 2017 10:11:28 -0700 (PDT), Iain
wrote:

On Wednesday, 9 August 2017 07:43:15 UTC+3, Don Pearce wrote:
On Tue, 8 Aug 2017 12:34:33 -0700 (PDT), Iain
wrote:

On Friday, 28 July 2017 17:43:48 UTC+3, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:
On Wednesday, 26 July 2017 15:38:06 UTC+3, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:
maanantai 24. heinäkuuta 2017 15.49.33 UTC+3 ~misfit~ kirjoitti:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:

Were you involved with the admin of the band you were with?
Musicians are notoriously bad in business matters, and anyone who
can add up the gig fees on a table napkin and deduct the agent and
taxman, and divide the result by the number of band and crew, is
usually welcome in any ba

Actually the keyboard player / synths / trumpet / 2nd rythm
guitarist / sometime lead-vocalist (all one person) was also the
electronics whizz *and* admin. He was a very clever bloke, not your
typical 'muso' at all. Even after I joined and took over the mixing
duties he was the guy who ran all the wiring and set up the amps -
it's something he just didn't want to let go of.

He was also chief solderer and was always fixing the guitarists
effects pedals etc.

Every band needs at least one "dynamo" to keep things going. Being in
a band is not just about turning up on time (and sober) for the
gig:-))


He's the one guy who never gave in to any of the temptations that were
abundant in that environment.


Ah yes. "The destructive recreational substances" (as described by Duke Ellington). They have been abundant, and a part of the music scene since the 1920's. Long before it was a dance, the word "jive" referred to hashish. Andy Kirk had a song entitled "All the Jive Is Gone". Lyric: "Come on in and have some gin, 'cos all the jive is gone".

Illinois Jacquet (One of my favourite saxophone players) who had the most amazing band, had a title called: Three Buckets of Jive" We play it often. The meaning is lost to most.

We don't have a "substance" problem in our band: the back row are all policemen:-) We once had a stand-in guitar player, who sometimes turned up wide-eyed. He was totally unaware of the backgrounds of the other players. He used to slip out for a "drag" during the break, but played really well. The role of guitar player in a big band is a demanding one, he has to play rhythm guitar like Freddy Green, (and read the chords - not just simple, three-chord changes but all the dominant chords, ,9,11,13 dims and + chords and much more) and play written single line tutti with saxes or muted brass, and then solo like Wes Mongtgomery !!

The worst thing that can happen to any band is that a festival timetable starts to run late. The organiser, with the best if intentions, sets up a bar tab for the band. In two hours,a twenty-piece big band can down a lot of vodka!

Iain

Things don't have to run late. I went to see the Moscow Philharmonic
at the Barbican years ago. The two double bass players came on stage
and each carefully placed a bottle of vodka by his stand. By the end
of the evening both bottles were empty.


I have been to Moscow Philharmonic concerts on their home ground. There were six orchestral basses, so two bottles among by six players in not so bad:-))

Iain

No, these two weren't in the mood for sharing.

d

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On Wednesday, 9 August 2017 20:49:40 UTC+3, Don Pearce wrote:
On Wed, 9 Aug 2017 10:11:28 -0700 (PDT), Iain
wrote:

On Wednesday, 9 August 2017 07:43:15 UTC+3, Don Pearce wrote:
On Tue, 8 Aug 2017 12:34:33 -0700 (PDT), Iain
wrote:

On Friday, 28 July 2017 17:43:48 UTC+3, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:
On Wednesday, 26 July 2017 15:38:06 UTC+3, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:
maanantai 24. heinäkuuta 2017 15.49.33 UTC+3 ~misfit~ kirjoitti:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:

Were you involved with the admin of the band you were with?
Musicians are notoriously bad in business matters, and anyone who
can add up the gig fees on a table napkin and deduct the agent and
taxman, and divide the result by the number of band and crew, is
usually welcome in any ba

Actually the keyboard player / synths / trumpet / 2nd rythm
guitarist / sometime lead-vocalist (all one person) was also the
electronics whizz *and* admin. He was a very clever bloke, not your
typical 'muso' at all. Even after I joined and took over the mixing
duties he was the guy who ran all the wiring and set up the amps -
it's something he just didn't want to let go of.

He was also chief solderer and was always fixing the guitarists
effects pedals etc.

Every band needs at least one "dynamo" to keep things going. Being in
a band is not just about turning up on time (and sober) for the
gig:-))


He's the one guy who never gave in to any of the temptations that were
abundant in that environment.


Ah yes. "The destructive recreational substances" (as described by Duke Ellington). They have been abundant, and a part of the music scene since the 1920's. Long before it was a dance, the word "jive" referred to hashish. Andy Kirk had a song entitled "All the Jive Is Gone". Lyric: "Come on in and have some gin, 'cos all the jive is gone".

Illinois Jacquet (One of my favourite saxophone players) who had the most amazing band, had a title called: Three Buckets of Jive" We play it often. The meaning is lost to most.

We don't have a "substance" problem in our band: the back row are all policemen:-) We once had a stand-in guitar player, who sometimes turned up wide-eyed. He was totally unaware of the backgrounds of the other players.. He used to slip out for a "drag" during the break, but played really well. The role of guitar player in a big band is a demanding one, he has to play rhythm guitar like Freddy Green, (and read the chords - not just simple, three-chord changes but all the dominant chords, ,9,11,13 dims and + chords and much more) and play written single line tutti with saxes or muted brass, and then solo like Wes Mongtgomery !!

The worst thing that can happen to any band is that a festival timetable starts to run late. The organiser, with the best if intentions, sets up a bar tab for the band. In two hours,a twenty-piece big band can down a lot of vodka!

Iain

Things don't have to run late. I went to see the Moscow Philharmonic
at the Barbican years ago. The two double bass players came on stage
and each carefully placed a bottle of vodka by his stand. By the end
of the evening both bottles were empty.


I have been to Moscow Philharmonic concerts on their home ground. There were six orchestral basses, so two bottles among by six players in not so bad:-))

Iain

No, these two weren't in the mood for sharing.

"Vodka. Connecting People"

Once upon a time on usenet Iain wrote:
On Friday, 28 July 2017 17:43:48 UTC+3, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:
On Wednesday, 26 July 2017 15:38:06 UTC+3, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:
maanantai 24. heinäkuuta 2017 15.49.33 UTC+3 ~misfit~ kirjoitti:
Once upon a time on usenet Iain Churches wrote:

Were you involved with the admin of the band you were with?
Musicians are notoriously bad in business matters, and anyone who
can add up the gig fees on a table napkin and deduct the agent and
taxman, and divide the result by the number of band and crew, is
usually welcome in any ba

Actually the keyboard player / synths / trumpet / 2nd rythm
guitarist / sometime lead-vocalist (all one person) was also the
electronics whizz *and* admin. He was a very clever bloke, not your
typical 'muso' at all. Even after I joined and took over the mixing
duties he was the guy who ran all the wiring and set up the amps -
it's something he just didn't want to let go of.

He was also chief solderer and was always fixing the guitarists
effects pedals etc.

Every band needs at least one "dynamo" to keep things going. Being
in a band is not just about turning up on time (and sober) for the
gig:-))


He's the one guy who never gave in to any of the temptations that
were abundant in that environment.


Ah yes. "The destructive recreational substances" (as described by
Duke Ellington). They have been abundant, and a part of the music
scene since the 1920's. Long before it was a dance, the word "jive"
referred to hashish. Andy Kirk had a song entitled "All the Jive Is
Gone". Lyric: "Come on in and have some gin, 'cos all the jive is
gone".

Illinois Jacquet (One of my favourite saxophone players) who had the
most amazing band, had a title called: Three Buckets of Jive" We
play it often. The meaning is lost to most.

We don't have a "substance" problem in our band: the back row are all
policemen:-) We once had a stand-in guitar player, who sometimes
turned up wide-eyed. He was totally unaware of the backgrounds of the
other players. He used to slip out for a "drag" during the break,
but played really well. The role of guitar player in a big band is a
demanding one, he has to play rhythm guitar like Freddy Green, (and
read the chords - not just simple, three-chord changes but all the
dominant chords, ,9,11,13 dims and + chords and much more) and play
written single line tutti with saxes or muted brass, and then solo
like Wes Mongtgomery !!

The worst thing that can happen to any band is that a festival
timetable starts to run late. The organiser, with the best if
intentions, sets up a bar tab for the band. In two hours,a
twenty-piece big band can down a lot of vodka!

There was another 'temptation that was abundant in that environment' that
was only destructive to relationships. As I previously mentioned four of the
five 'playing' band members were married and we were on the road (without
the wives) 75% of the time...

It was a great thing to experience though for a single man. ;-)
--
Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy
little classification in the DSM*."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)