Daithebass

My late sister swore that she got up one night to go to the toilet, leaned over to switch on the hall light and looked down the stairs as she did. She saw our dad, who had been dead a few years, standing at the bottom of the stairs smiling up at her. A few months later, my brother-in-law was coming home late one evening, drove on to their street and saw the old man walking along with one of our old dogs. What got him was the old man was wearing his kilt at the time. Dad loved his kilt outfit and was buried in it. These both happened when my mother was down in Yorkshire visiting my sis and her family.

Here, my wife swears she saw her dad standing by our sitting room door one evening, it was not long after he passed away and only happened the once..

When we moved into this house in 2003, we kept getting a strong smell of fish being fried in the old way, in animal fat rather than cooking oil. It would sometimes linger for hours. I asked the niece of Walter, the old guy who lived here if he had liked fish, she said he loved it. He lived here for many years before us. One Hogmanay, the smell started around ten in the evening just as we were settling down with a drink. I said laughingly 'For fuck's sake Walter, it's Hogmanay man!' The smell went away in a matter of minutes. Coincidence?

Possibly because the right are moving into what is being perceived as almost Nazism. From what I read it's not only here but in the States as well.

As for the NHS, I totally agree that the Tories are champing at the bit to privatise it. I have no complaints about the NHS per se, having had a couple of major ops and the follow-up treatment in the past few years. The treatment and care from the staff is second to none in my own experience. Ok, there was one grumpy fucker of a nurse at Raigmore in Inverness......

My oldest loon bought some sort of box for £99 that legally gets free, all that he used to get and more from a £90 + per month Sky package. He raves about it.

I'll have a pint of whatever he's on.

6 hours ago, Stroopy121 said:

There are a few different ways to go about it, but being young and rural I'd say that the "easiest" way to get going is to just take your guitar/keyboard/whatever and start recording yourself. Most laptop microphones will do a good enough job for the first effort. Write some songs, play them, chuck them out online and see if anyone listens. It's a long haul trying to get good and to gain an audience, but just throw yourself in and get started, have some fun with it. As for performing in front of people, I have no idea. Growing up in Peterhead, the pubs let us play when we were 14-15 because nobody cared, but I doubt that shit will still fly. Keep an eye out for all-ages gigs and shows through, they must be out there somewhere.

There are always folks looking to start bands and jam, so on that front, just find anyone you can who plays an instrument or does anything musical and jam with them, there must be a load of folk in your school who do? At least there was when I was your age. Don't get hung up on trying to find people who are in to exactly the same music as you, at least not right away - just find some other musicians and make some music. No matter how bad it is, you'll learn a lot.

 

xx

Well said. I thought most secondary schools encouraged youngsters to play, I know Ellon Academy used to when our boys were there. It is better to jam with people so you learn how to fit in and learn to improvise. Most of all, it's about fun. Enjoy yourself.

Canon printer/scanner MP 492 up for grabs. It works fine but we had to replace it as it doesn't like Windows10. Can't find the installation disk for it I'm afraid.

Also got a couple of compost bins for anyone into gardening. Up near Peterhead.

Bessie, starring Queen Latifa as Bessie Smith, the so-called Queen of the Blues. Great film if you know about Bessie's life, Queen Latifa played her pretty well and can sing a bit too. Downside was we had to buy a multi-regional dvd player because we had to get the dvd from someone in America.

4 hours ago, James Broonbreed said:

General Americanisation of stuff. I don't mind things homogenising slightly, but please choose a less shitey-arsed culture to use as a diluent.

 

 

Well said that man! The rear fork on a motorcycle used to be called the swinging arm, which describes it nicely. It is now known as the yank version, swingarm. The front end of the bike at the top used to be known as the fork yokes, it has now been yanked as well and is now the triple tree. And, for as long as I can remember (at least five minutes) drummers always had a BASS drum, not a kick drum. Kick it and you'll burst the fuckin skin. I  hate Yankisms, we're too easily influenced by their shite.

It's a disaster for local live music to be sure. The Malt Mill has been a live venue since the 70s and to see it close kind of brings an era to a close. It used to be my local when I was a loon and the then publican, Archie Aitken, would never have music in the lounge despite me bending his ear for years. It's a damn shame that what Gav & co have built up has to go because of one whingeing incomer's complaints.

Hopefully as Frosty Jack says, somewhere else will take over the gigs and hopefully the blues jam as well. Best wishes to Gav and his crew for the future, hope they all find new roads to follow.

Sorry to rain on your social justice parade but... You post an egotistical rant on social media, you're fair game for criticism. Are we all meant to just say 'oh poor sandi' and move on? That's not how the world works I'm afraid.

If, as you suggest, nobody said anything she wouldn't be trending on Twitter or booking interviews right now/last week. We also serve a nice 'hater' narrative.

If you think everyone who hasn't achieved what she has achieved shouldn't deserve an opinion then you're not only selling yourself short, you're misunderstanding the entire feedback loop that creates successful musicians.

What about the fact young kids might look up to her as a role model? Then she's cursing and throwing a tantrum when she doesn't get what she wants. We shouldn't promote that kind of behavior.

Oh, you know the mum?... Oh well, she should automatically not be a target for criticism. I take it all back.

At least on here the criticism is fairly civilized/rational (aside from the money thing, which really has no place) - I suggest you don't take a look at other, more seedy parts of the Internet.

You do a good line in sarcasm, way beyond what I could do. I thought you said she hadn't achieved anything? When I was a kid, I had people like The Stones and Keith Moon as role models and I wasn't traumatically affected by that. I wouldn't call some of the comments made civilised by any means. As for the seedier parts of the internet, you are obviously more acquainted with them than I am, so I'll leave that stuff to you. All I am saying is show a wee bit of respect for your peers.

Meh - my last EP has sold more copies this year than Sandi Thom's last album has*, and I didn't resort to playing covers....

 

*According to sales figures in the Guardian article about her Facebook tantrum.

Well good for you! Still no reason for personal attacks though.

Were none of you guys ever taught that if you can't say anything nice about someone, say f*** all? Have any of you ever been on worldwide tours, or played huge venues? No, I thought not. Sandi may not be to everyone's taste but at least she has had a career and had her 15 minutes in the spotlight. Sour grapes maybe? Have you been further than the Moorings in your chosen career? The lassie is pregnant and if any of you have experienced a wife or partner who is carrying your child, they CAN get a bit emotional and hormonal, gie the lass a break. 

I've never met Sandi but I do know her stepmum Sandra very well and a nicer, more down-to-earth woman you couldn't wish to meet. I don't know the history of her dad's accident, so can't comment on his financial state, but they do live in a nice house that hadn't cost a massive amount when they bought it. Over the years Sandra has given me various cds that Sandi has produced and her own spin on classics such as The House of The Rising Sun and Frankie Miller's Caledonia are pretty damn good and that's from someone who has played in bands since the early 60s and I'm nae easily impressed, believe me. Definitely nae impressed by the character assassination going on here, I can't believe the Aberdeen music scene has turned into such a nasty, back-stabbing bunch of ingrates.

Black Keys is 'Old Blues?' So they must have influenced guys like Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt and Mississippi Fred McDowell then....right.

I picked up a Behringer Vintager  AC112 Ultra Tube amp earlier this week, it works, but there isn't a lot of volume. Anyone know about these amps that can advise please? Thinking maybe it needs a footswitch to select one or other of the channels to give it some oomph, but I know next to FA about guitar amps! Help???

Ta.

the doors didn't have a bassist, get that keyboardist onto an organ get some hardcore left hand action going!

Maybe not on stage, but someone played bass on their album tracks.

Anyhow, never yet in 50 years heard a guitarist who could make a decent job of playing bass. Sparko of Doctor Feelgood fame was as good as it gets and he was ok for the stuff they played.

??????

So you are looking for a one-man band then? Novel idea.

It's been the same in Aberdeen since the 60s, believe me, I've been around long enough to verify it and it's nothing new. Aberdeen punters like the same old shite they can hear on the radio. I have found the same problem with trying to put together a blues band over the years, everyone seems to think blues bands are about 10 minute guitar/and/or/harp solos or doing things the way so-and-so plays them. What's wrong with a bit of originality?

There, rant over, thank you. You've been a great audience. lol.

Balalaika has gone to a new home. Thanks for the enquiries guys.

You have a PM.

I'm a young 64. Play bass and sing plus play harp.

Anyone looking for a geriatric bass player,vocalist, harp player for a blues band?

Pair of Celestion Road Series 15" PA speakers in good nick plus a Peavey 16 channel snake.

Oh, and two 1000 watt Harrison stereo PA amps. And a Marshal valvestate 50 works great but needs a minor repair.

Open to reasonable offers.

Ta.