Live Music and Bass Playing

Well my previous post Playing the Blues, opened the way with the beginnings of the new blues three piece outfit that ran nicely through the summer. Things change all the time here on the Costa del Sol and bar owners are often changing the plan.

This has happened here at JC's where Tinshack Blues Band were resident on Sunday evenings. Well, week before last the bar got itself onto national news because a rival bar owner decided to go in there vasy late on night - I'm talking 5am - with a can of what was probably CS gas and started spraying it at people. Well a fight broke out and the guy was killed.

That got the bar closed down for 10 days while all concerned were questioned by police.

Well that meant no gig on the Sunday following those events, but we played again last Sunday and everything seemed back to normal. In fact we had a better than average turnout.

Then in the week we got the news that the owner wants to change the rules and put the band on a Saturday night but make it a jam session - one where musicians can come up and play on stage.

Well, screw that! I hate jam sessions because it means bloody amateurs coming up and wanting to play crap that I've usually never heard of... "Yeah, you know it goes like this..." with my instruments and my gear. In that area, the majority of the "musicians" are going to be pissed up karaoke singers who will break my mic and mic stand and sound terrible.

Like I said, screw that!

So it's goodbye JC's.

What about the band? Well, we're having a meeting next week to see where we can go next, so we're not calling it a day, the bar owner just made us look for another venue.

On a lighter note, there is a lot to be said for budding musicians and singers to get some exposure as well as the chance to perform in front of a live audience. Just don't involve me or my gear. I also heard you can now get some pretty good online guitar and singing lessons these days. Check out http://webmusicstar.com as one particularly good source of great music tutorials, courses and educational material in general online. That's all for now!

Playing the Blues

Well, after my last post here at Same Bass New Band, where I was contemplating the possibilities of a new band that I'd been invited to join, I think its time to fill in the gaps and let on what's actually been happening.

Well, it turned out that I got together with a drummer named Tony Bryant and a guitarist that I've known for a while here on the coast, Simon Barraclough. We chatted about all the possibilities and options that were open to us and all agreed that small is beautiful. No other musicians needed as I could handle the vocals, which meant we could keep it as a three piece (my favourite line-up) and earn maximum euros each for our gigs.

So the three piece blues band was formed and we put a few rehearsals in. By few I really a few - like 3 then we played our first Sunday evening gig at a bar called JC's in Montemar (Torremolinos). I was impressed as were the small crowd that turned up to see us. The music had a raw edge to it, which is understandable as we were so new to each other but it all held together very well despite a few scrappy starts and endings which were later tightened up!

So after a few weeks of regular Sunday evening gigs, we are now quite comfortable with each other and play extremely well. The sound is really awesome, to coin and Americanism that best describes the whole atmosphere and quality to a tee. We even came up with a name for which I have put up a website then took it down again!

To add to the bass playing, I also got conscripted into another band that has a regular Tuesday night gig in my old stomping ground at Biddy Mulligans in La Cala de Mijas, but that is a story for another post!

Terry Didcott
Bass Guitar

Same Bass New Band

After I resurrected this old blog with the last post Back From the Brink!, one or two things have happened here in Spain on the live music front.

The main one is of course all about me (yeah, me, me, me...) as I get set to join a new band. And its back to basics with a blues and no less! Don't have all the details for you right now, as the format and personnel details haven't been finalised (when are they ever) but I've been in contact with a drummer who is keen to get a blues band together.

Well, the hard part is done - once you have a drummer and bass player, the rest is usually pretty easy. Lets face it, decent guitarists are ten a penny and there are planty of soulful singers around who could fit the bill of vocalist. We have a possible sax player in the wings as well.

I don't know how big this band is going to be, but as always I will have reservations on that because I'm a firm believer in small is beautiful when it comes to live bands and having lots of band members not only leads to more chances for personality clashes, but also reduces the money split at the end of a gig (most important!)

So we shall see - if it gets too big they'll be doing it with another bass player.

My motto is this:-

I play the guitar for enjoyment, I play the bass for money, period!

I'm too long in the tooth to be sucked into that crap about playing for the enjoyment of it. It ticks me off to play in a bar for peanuts and a few free watered down beers while the bar owner just paid for his next holiday on the night's proceeds. If kids who don't know any better want to do that to "gain experience" then that's up to them.

Me? Bollocks to all that, I play, you pay. No compromise!

Terry Didcott
Bass Guitar

Update:

Just to keep you up to date on what’s happening here on the Costa Del Sol, there are plenty of music bars with a good mix of bands and musicians playing lots of different styles of music. There is a weekly publication here called “

I’ve been booked to play in the Yaramar Hotel on New Years Eve with a jazz/blues quintet comprising Singer, guitar, bass, keyboard and drums. I’ve never played with any of these people before, but it will be good fun nevertheless, I’m sure. We’ll be playing mostly standards (I can’t tell you what songs yet as I haven’t been given a set list – with only a couple of weeks to go!!) so it should be interesting.

The Music Factory band is coming along nicely. We’ve had a few rehearsals together and I’m gradually getting to know the songs in the two sets. We should be ready to gig in the New Year – available for private parties, weddings, functions etc.

I’m currently researching my next posting about the blues – the music, the bassists and a bit about the playing itself in an up-to-date setting. So stay tuned, the next update is coming soon…

Terry Roberts