Are you sure it's worth it?
The Affinity series is the cheap version of the Squier, which is the cheap version of Fenders, which in turn have several quality levels (ie MIA, MIM, etc).
A really good deal on a Thursday night at Valve: three bands, an early start (9:30pm) and all that... for a measly five dollars.
Brother, how can you lose? :D
Hadn't ever thought about it.
Perhaps it'd be fun to be one of the people lying down on that Radiohead video, the one where the secret is that "Down Is The New Up" or whatever it is.
Yeah, that's got to be it.
Cocteau, huh? Cool, thanks for finding that! :o)
Yeah, or maybe someone more modern, like Celine or Camus. I've never read Celine, I just remember it as a quote.
I read somewhere (some French guy) that said, more or less, that everybody in the world is either a judge or the accused.
I think the Toto stuff sounds better when you read it than when you try to sing it out loud.
And I agree with everyone that has said that for pure bathos in lyrics, you can't go past Heavy Metal. But I think the most crap metal lyricist would have to be Yngwie Malmsteen. Perhaps he gets extra points because English is not his first language but stuff like...
"Lost out in action, long gone forever
Just a boy that died in vain
His mother is crying, his father not proud
Twisted gray faces in the rain
Gotta get out of here, don't want to be around
Trying to find my way home "
That "don't want to be around" just kills me.
Personally, I think a set should be about 40-45 minutes long, and if a band can't entertain you for 45 minutes, then they shouldn't be onstage anyway. A band that can't be entertaining for 45 minutes should go home and write more songs.
I don't know what you mean by the "between songs banter thing", precisely, but I really like a band to tell me a) who they are (ferchrissakes) and b) what their songs are called, and maybe something about one or two of the songs. Simply because if I like the band, I'll want to see them again, and in that case, it's really handy to know their name. But it's amazing how many bands neglect this elementary bit of info.
I also think frontpeople who do meaningless/irrelevant introductions (ie "This is for everyone who's ever been to Porirua"!"), come across like total cretins. But you're right, for more involved banter, there's a fine line between communication and self indulgence. Bands who stand around onstage chatting among themselves bore the crap out of me.
"Unless you're from Gore "gutted" and "guttered" are pronounced the same in NZ English,"
Well, yes. If you mumble. :) D'you really reckon that making the two words sound identical (homophonous?) is correct? Not that I'm from Gore or anything. :D
The term is most definitely "gutted" and NOT "guttered", but "guttered" could be an interesting alternative, with its connotations of being destitute and relegated to the gutter. Mind you, "guttered" is more of a mouthful. It requires a clearer pronounciation and better diction. I don't think "guttered"'ll ever take off.
Well, I've recently given up smoking, but yeah. A cigar or (even better) a pipe can really hit the spot. Especially when you make time to actually smoke the thing. They're not like cigarettes where you smoke them "en passant" so to speak, without even realizing it. You've got to make a time to smoke a cigar.
Personally, I prefer those bitter Tuscan cigars that look like they were rolled by cavemen but the Cuban ones are nice too.
//Amps do break down, and will do so if you don't run 'em proper like.
What... including good ones? ;o)
//but the amount of Bass Amps I have seen being run just plain wrong is staggering... simple knowledge and the gear will run a thousand times better. Some of these schmucks don't know active vs passive or there reletavie inputs. It's frightening.
Well... I don't know if anyone is a "shmuck" simply because they are just starting out :o)
When you refer to "being run just plain wrong" are you referring to plugging your active bass into a passive socket or does it go deeper than that? I'm not being facetious, I'm just curious because the most that's ever happened to me onstage was blowing a fuse on a Fender bassman combo. What horror stories have you experienced? :o)
But I'm sure there's lots of 2nd hand keyboard amps out there? Old Roland cubes? Yamahas? They're probably cheaper than buying new and you get more bang for your buck. Keyboard amps are normally solid state so they're not particularly fragile and will last a very long time. See if you can get something with a largeish (12" or 15") speaker and a tweeter. But a bass amp or even a small PA will do in a pinch, Stay away from guitar amps because they are meant to distort past a certain volume and that will screw up your tinkly piano sounds. But if you're going to do a lot of industrial stuff, a guitar amp MIGHT be ok.
And if you're going to be playing with others, you'll need as much amp as you can get (60W minimum, but have a listen to the amp before you buy it. Wattage doesn't always equal loudness).
A lot of sounds that are great at home (your flutsey, ambiensey patches) usually get drowned out by the rest of the band, esp. the drummer, so you may as well have the most powerful amp you can. But Foal is right. Go to gigs, ask guys about their amps (musos usually enjoy discussing gear) go check out stuff in shops, look for keyboard forums online. Don't be afraid to try stuff out or ask questions.
Oh, sorry... you mentioned looking for an amp as well. :o)
Anyway, there's lots of stuff out there, and the good news is that it's very rare for a keyboard amp (or any sort of music amp) to break down every five minutes. What sort of budget are you looking at? That's a major factor in choosing something.
Well... where are you planning on playing these keyboards? Obviously, if you're thinking of gigging, you need something a bit larger than if you would be just playing in your bedroom. I'm also curious about why you are just interested in the speakers. Do you have an amp already?
I'm a bass player and would really like to start a band with a trumpet player.
I really like Miles Davis' electric albums (In A Silent Way, ATTJJ, Bitches' Brew, Dark Magus, etc) and would like to put together something like that, but perhaps more groove oriented, with a more upfront rhythm.
Ideally, there'd be room for a keyboardist and a percussionist as well, so if anyone else is reading this and might be interested...
Oh, and I'm not into bebop at all. Find it a bit soulless, really.
So if you play trumpet and are interested in doing something outside the usual boxes, send us a text or write to vince_the_c@yahoo.com
Well, seeing as they've added little kids singing the "say hey" bits, I assume it's some anonymous jingle writer?
I spent Christmas with my wife's family and received got a lot of toiletries, which I first took rather badly. I thought it was some veiled comment about my personal hygiene. But then I realized they ALL give themselves toiletries. They are very clean people, but completely devoid of imagination.
On the positive side, I got a copy of "The Dandy Warhols Come Down" with the DIG dvd thrown in for good measure. :)
... It happens! :)
Seeing as we're on language here though... what I find objectionable about this ad is the use of the term "gay-assed". I mean, we have a perfectly good equivalent in "gay-arsed", so why lower one's self to using these prudish American circomlocutions? (did I spell that right?)
And why "gay-assed" (or even "gay-arsed")?
If the people posting this ad were male, I could almost understand that, But even though these people could have said "gay-vaginaed drummer", they still prefer to associate the rectum with their homosexuality. Sounds very immature, sexually speaking.
But is their arse any more gay than their left eyebrow? Or their right femur? Why can't they ask for a "gay-left-femured drummer"? It'd make just as much sense and it would sound a lot less like pointless trolling.
I know what you mean! I myself have put all my self-belief into becoming a unicorn.
Admittedly, all I have to show for it is a pain in my forehead, but who knows where it will all lead, one day?
I have no idea what you are talking about. What ad is it? Do you mean fencing with foils or fencing with fence posts?