tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11620712259134273632024-03-19T08:44:33.637+00:00Mid-Life BassistDoes my bottom-end sound big in this?andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.comBlogger100125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-13856996221132457222023-11-21T16:04:00.004+00:002023-11-21T17:27:59.789+00:00The Fool On the Hill<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Who are you, in the mirror, and where did I go?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;">Did I slip out the back way, so that no-one would know?</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;">Down through the garden, and over the wall,</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don't know this stranger I'm facing at all.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Hi. How are things? Been a while. <br /><br />No time for much right now. Hopefully will expand this post a bit in a while.<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">So much to do, so little time.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Ciao for now,</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium;">Andy</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com0Italy41.87194 12.5673813.561706163821157 -22.58887 70.182173836178848 47.72363tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-78631767495952384332015-05-08T13:51:00.004+01:002015-05-08T14:04:02.863+01:00I'm Sorry<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dear English left-of-centre friends.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is a hard day, and I feel your pain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And I'm sorry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Not that Scotland voted overwhelmingly against both the Conservatives & the Labour Party.</span></div>
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Not that we had a 5% higher electoral turnout as a nation - which, if you'd managed to similarly galvanise your support in England & Wales, could have seen the Labour party looking at government right now.</div>
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Not that the bigots of UKIP gained a derisory 1.6% of the vote north of the border.</div>
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I'm sorry that we don't have a fair & representative electoral system, and that far too many people (in the whole of the UK) have failed to understand that, or care enough to want to do anything about it, for too long.</div>
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So please, those who are desperately seeking someone to blame, stop pointing your fingers at us.</div>
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If too many of the English electorate swallowed Tory propaganda about "the most dangerous woman in Britain", that's not our fault.</div>
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If the opinion pollsters chose not to stress the margins of error in their statistics, allowing people to conveniently forget about "+/- 3%" and think things were a lot closer than they really were, that's not our fault.</div>
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If nearly 50% of English & Welsh voters chose right-wing parties, that's not our fault.</div>
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And if David Cameron has a majority in parliament, despite only having 37% of the votes cast...</div>
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That's everybody's fault.</div>
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Now let's do something about it, ok?</div>
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andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-10885917379842822672013-07-02T00:04:00.000+01:002013-07-02T00:04:25.697+01:00Oops!...I did it again<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvymMYcvxP39YWV_hb-t90Rb9Tds-LtUJ-tyOMfrdN845ZrgcO_tOew49m1ZdXh13QKcoExnLVCWRHdOx17nGG99ZSi_l0hdec2W95AXgtEEmpacPGVgOyEAjTJVlhy_1SaPUviKeHaEY/s400/misplaced+apostrophe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvymMYcvxP39YWV_hb-t90Rb9Tds-LtUJ-tyOMfrdN845ZrgcO_tOew49m1ZdXh13QKcoExnLVCWRHdOx17nGG99ZSi_l0hdec2W95AXgtEEmpacPGVgOyEAjTJVlhy_1SaPUviKeHaEY/s200/misplaced+apostrophe.jpg" width="200" /></a>To err is human; to forgive...extremely unlikely if the mistake in question concerns grammar and the internet. Fortunately for me, my most obvious cock-up in the last few months only involved things musical and money (my own), so swift, merciless and near-universal condemnation will possibly be avoided on this occasion.<br />
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Earlier this year I allowed myself to get swept away in a flurry of ignore-my-own-limitations excitement and "forget that I haven't played any wind instruments properly in over a decade" general stupidity, and bought a Yamaha WX5 midi wind controller on eBay. Cue many hours of trying to get the thing calibrated properly, and reprogramming my Roland XV-2020 synth module's patches so that<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6GkLjuyQl_Y7CApNOo884SEeqJRvb_Urc596ZTyFoaZ3ciHl-UcvN8xBeNqoZc3kQ9Zy0P0fAyWQ_mgTl7FVAYXNursC4WPrKCljbS2cV1oK33MxBCojwmwimm4M7Rb1KigL5t7L1r2w/s1600/WX5+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6GkLjuyQl_Y7CApNOo884SEeqJRvb_Urc596ZTyFoaZ3ciHl-UcvN8xBeNqoZc3kQ9Zy0P0fAyWQ_mgTl7FVAYXNursC4WPrKCljbS2cV1oK33MxBCojwmwimm4M7Rb1KigL5t7L1r2w/s200/WX5+3.JPG" width="200" /></a>the lip-pressure-controlled pitch bend didn't sound like someone was randomly choosing notes from a large sack while blindfolded. Heck, even "free jazz" is (usually) tuned correctly...well, at least up until the point where folk actually start playing. My poor neighbours...<br />
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Anyway, eventually I reached the point where I felt confident enough to try recording a <a href="https://soundcloud.com/andygilmour/yamaha-wx5-looping-experiment" target="_blank">wee bit of looping stuff</a> with it (this being roughly the original purpose - that I could integrate the synth-sax-whatever with my bass-looping noises at live gigs)...and <i>that</i> was when I finally realised that developing my use of the (not exactly cheap) beastie to anything close to an acceptable standard was going to require far more time (& effort) than I could possibly put in.<br />
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So it all turned out to be a bit of a waste all round, frankly. And when you're on a relatively slim budget to start with...ouch. Still, with any luck it'll be sold soon, so at least I'll recoup <i>some</i> of the cash. As for the time spent swearing copiously while fiddling with a small screwdriver, <a href="http://www.midiox.com/" target="_blank">Midi-Ox</a> and Roland's powerful-but-annoying patch-editing software (oh, how it makes you yearn for a good old-fashioned synth covered in knobs and faders), that'll just have to be put down to "experience". Yet again.<br />
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Mind you, I suppose if we don't get things wrong on at least a semi-regular basis, that's probably a sure sign we're just not trying hard enough...or something equally self-justifying of that nature.<br />
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I have, however, found a <i>much</i> cheaper, yet immensely fun alternative for the "wannabe-sax player who has no idea whether they'll have any ability whatsoever to pitch a note accurately by gripping a reed between their upper-front-teeth and lower lip with varying pressure which will initially make their mouth more knackered than they ever thought possible" - a <a href="http://www.xaphoon.com/" target="_blank">Xaphoon</a>!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4I17d-w_AN1bbjnya6mqNDBQmispPVd5YGIFDAvJC1p4yThxaZ9Wk1rBraokBHsadvaQbX7eLc74FcDexPkAkJZIxIdP5dy3IX1FYzVLN4IqCEeIOwWS9kovMTG9Y7zaRq7ffi5sLYg/s450/xaphoon01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4I17d-w_AN1bbjnya6mqNDBQmispPVd5YGIFDAvJC1p4yThxaZ9Wk1rBraokBHsadvaQbX7eLc74FcDexPkAkJZIxIdP5dy3IX1FYzVLN4IqCEeIOwWS9kovMTG9Y7zaRq7ffi5sLYg/s320/xaphoon01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The nicest-sounding ones are made of bamboo, but you can usually get one of these almost-indestructible plastic Xaphoons second-hand for about £45 (or less) - they make a surprisingly deep (and relatively pleasant) sound for something so small, use standard alto sax reeds, and could be a great starter instrument for anyone thinking about taking up the saxophone. Of course, I still haven't got the necessary time to become seriously proficient on it, but at least this little instrument won't make me feel guilty whenever I catch a glimpse of my bank balance. Do feel sorry for the neighbours, though.andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-59388879306063583372012-09-26T14:54:00.003+01:002012-09-26T14:55:01.515+01:00Every Picture Tells A Story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Along with a billion or so other folk (at the very least - there don't seem to be any exact numbers, so I'm making a conservative estimate based on the few stats I <i>could</i> find), I own an mp3 player. Unlike the majority of those people, however, it isn't an iPod - too expensive, don't subscribe to corporations trying to sell me a lifestyle, thanks - and I almost never use it. It merely sits, neglected & slightly forlorn, (in a dusty & slightly-off-white-oval casing sort of way) on a shelf in my bedroom. The battery's out of charge too, most likely. Shameful way to treat a perfectly functional device, really.<br />
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I know, we musicians are meant to listen to as much music as possible, to absorb & learn from a multitude of influences, blah blah blah. The thing is, most of the time I already have a soundtrack going on in my head - any extraneous noises can feel like an intrusion, an incredibly irritating distraction from what only I can hear. Or that might just be an excuse for acting like a grumpy sod who tends to ignore other people, given half a chance..? Hmm. It isn't, though, that my brain's only acting like a jukebox stuck on "random play", regurgitating stuff it's ingested over the last 40 years or so. Rather, it keeps on creating new music ("new" to me, anyway - the possibility of true originality is a much more dangerous issue, possibly for a blog post in 2014, or thereabouts), in response to strong visual stimuli - particularly landscapes. Abstract ones, at that.<br />
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An "interesting" picture or place - suddenly the music will start. Frustratingly, for the most part it's music I either couldn't begin to play myself (my limited piano-clomping, for instance), or simply don't have the resources (time, money, recording space, Manu Katché, etc) to realise...and those are the bits that tend to get stuck the deepest, keep coming around most often, etc. Sometimes, though, after a fair bit of nagging, and several sessions brutalising my fingers around "difficult" fretless bass chords, just sometimes...stuff comes <i>out.</i> And then promptly disappears, so if I haven't written the fundamentals of it down, that's it. 'Tis gone.<br />
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An old friend of mine, who's a writery-sort-of-fellow, has a very-similar-but-obviously-slightly-different take on visuals and the creative blobby bits of the mind <a href="http://zornhau.livejournal.com/263190.html?nojs=1" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Anyway, wondered if other folk "hear" images, too, so I'll leave you with a wee "picture quiz"...<br />
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What sounds/music (if any) do these (entirely-natural, no editing-performed-upon-them I swear) images bring to mind...and please, if you have the foggiest, "why?"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij2WfKOUGvxMvg19REBJzwtYg3JQVT_bHf_XZEJQX0PzBCoFA99pBG8VVquKfwAbcjGuhO_wwPhXDiPlGsDvFaJhUV0jGSnKu0zjzxDqwZvYxb2jKTHWCna2nKVGuN3YgLIXHCiosDgc0/s1600/ECM+green.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij2WfKOUGvxMvg19REBJzwtYg3JQVT_bHf_XZEJQX0PzBCoFA99pBG8VVquKfwAbcjGuhO_wwPhXDiPlGsDvFaJhUV0jGSnKu0zjzxDqwZvYxb2jKTHWCna2nKVGuN3YgLIXHCiosDgc0/s320/ECM+green.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTcPm2LxNTpJndTyUBNCNJ5noFUBhT-U4x-npQUNnLyTD93dlGs2JqqEvk8UVwkigmew4M2AL3m28EQR6D2gG7M-skuBdtw5y7ulv0wt5nOswrIkK7WGaQuZN0dwuw0qhaOS-Vgll0yW0/s1600/ECM+ripples.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTcPm2LxNTpJndTyUBNCNJ5noFUBhT-U4x-npQUNnLyTD93dlGs2JqqEvk8UVwkigmew4M2AL3m28EQR6D2gG7M-skuBdtw5y7ulv0wt5nOswrIkK7WGaQuZN0dwuw0qhaOS-Vgll0yW0/s320/ECM+ripples.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IIjNAuXfMsUIvdtxXDBzePOl13B9-kcKalIDhayHl6w_5rGTV9669aNvUWQdsNNsz4EIQxPAHpLmp1p5llYz6jXKSGHi5p6wAJAAUyngkxu3a3e9E6l2O9LxUzlQZH_LUq7Tqa5TIQY/s1600/ECM+tree+ripples.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IIjNAuXfMsUIvdtxXDBzePOl13B9-kcKalIDhayHl6w_5rGTV9669aNvUWQdsNNsz4EIQxPAHpLmp1p5llYz6jXKSGHi5p6wAJAAUyngkxu3a3e9E6l2O9LxUzlQZH_LUq7Tqa5TIQY/s320/ECM+tree+ripples.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_YrRxChd2rxJ2oh45e7-BcCICcp5sp9VoVHbD0dr9HMayDop9vzf7-xBi1Rnn2HOClArtrFAVjlKjpaNxh3G0WqVUD8YecIjMLvKth7SK_jYCbaUyvw1GDZaI7liCRFqXqrXFrrR6HI/s1600/Blackwaterfoot+Rocks+2+small.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_YrRxChd2rxJ2oh45e7-BcCICcp5sp9VoVHbD0dr9HMayDop9vzf7-xBi1Rnn2HOClArtrFAVjlKjpaNxh3G0WqVUD8YecIjMLvKth7SK_jYCbaUyvw1GDZaI7liCRFqXqrXFrrR6HI/s320/Blackwaterfoot+Rocks+2+small.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Well, maybe not that last one...<br />
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p.s. this was originally going to be about the incredibly fascinating topic of synaesthesia, but that would have taken a lot more research than I have time for at the moment. For anyone who's interested, however, I reckon clicking <a href="http://www.sussex.ac.uk/synaesthesia/faq#howcommon" target="_blank">here</a> could be a fine place to start.<br />
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<br />andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-32918755711235609952012-04-20T14:20:00.000+01:002012-04-20T18:14:09.117+01:00The Great PretenderI'm currently trying to cajole my tiny little mind into learning Norwegian...again. It's my severalth attempt and, yes, I am indeed pretty hopeless at any/all languages that aren't from around these parts, but then you can't have your cake and gather moss. Or count your basket(s) after all your chickens have been put into it/them (whether this happens before, after, or even during the egg may be relevant). Something of that sort, anyway.<br />
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Alongside this linguistic self-flagellation, for an upcoming noise-making project I'm doing my best to become an approximately-competent Norwegian folk musician, compressing a lifetime of immersion in a complex cultural tradition into roughly three weeks. Which, as this video clip aimed at rhythm fetishists shows, is going to be interesting:
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/GkzEitcBvc0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Thankfully I neither have to display my own (utterly abject) dancing skills, nor wear the</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">impressive skirt-come-emergency-parachute. </span></div>
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Which brings me on to a question that's been bumbling around my head for a while now - when we delve into musically-unfamiliar areas, where is the dividing line between achieving an acceptable measure of "authenticity" & mere pastiche? And what the hell does "authentic" <i>mean</i>, anyway?<br />
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Let me put it another way - "Who Can Really Be 'Jazz'..?"<br />
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As I've mentioned here <a href="http://andyhgilmour.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/whiter-shade-of-pale.html" target="_blank">previously</a>, I'm a Mr. McSkinny-Whiteass guy (in a McWorryingly-obese-whiteass country). I'm not American. I didn't grow up in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, etc. My background was originally in pre-C20th classical music, not Charlie Parker & Miles Davis. In my early teens I found prog-rock, not "Giant Steps". I've never had any inclination to try heroin. And yet, like many of my fellow whiteass (skinny or otherwise) Europeans, along the way I've been seduced by the be-bop, hard bop, post-bop, boppity-bop-doo-baaa-bop-bop, fusion, collusion - collision? Confusion!<br />
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A reasonable portion of my own noises would certainly fit into the category "<a href="http://www.ecmrecords.com/Startseite/startseite.php" target="_blank">ECM jazz</a>", (although whether much of ECM's diverse output could be categorised more honestly as "<a href="http://www.muzak.com/products/music" target="_blank">muzak</a>" is an issue I'd rather steer clear of for now).<br />
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But can I ever be "authentic" as a jazz musician? I haven't learned 400 standards in 12 different keys, or spent years "hanging" with "certified jazzers", paid my dues at midnight bandstand jams...<br />
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The same goes for "folk" music - and for the purposes of this post I mean traditional Scottish/Irish/Welsh/English/wherever, not nasal Americans with banjos, or Bob Dylan. <i>Never</i> Bob Dylan. (He should have been arrested for crimes against harmonicas decades ago.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://node2.bbcimg.co.uk/iplayer/images/clip/p00cw2bv_640_360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="http://node2.bbcimg.co.uk/iplayer/images/clip/p00cw2bv_640_360.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The White Heather Club: the sheer<br />awfulness still causes pain to millions.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I wasn't brought up with Scottish "trad" music around the house (apart from occasional "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyLXjPdBKEA" target="_blank">White Heather Club</a>"-style, Jimmy Shand & Moira Anderson TV nightmares), and wasn't even vaguely interested apart from the "folk-rock" of Jethro Tull, Steeleye Span, and the like. Then (mostly by accident) I ended-up in a <a href="http://andyhgilmour.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/what-difference-day-made.html" target="_blank">ceilidh band</a> for nearly a decade, and nowadays thoroughly enjoy BBC Radio Scotland's "<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0079g6v" target="_blank">Pipeline</a>". Oh yes. But am I "authentic"..? And what about those office managers, surveyors, lawyers, etc, who head down to their local folk club one night a week, pick up a guitar and sing (in voices which are patently not their own) about being coalminers (usually dying in pit disasters), soldiers (usually dying in battles), and/or jacobites (usually dying in disastrous battles)? Or, indeed, those who perform traditional gaelic <a href="http://www.waulk.org/" target="_blank">waulking songs</a> as emotive, breathy solo pieces, relying on PA systems & cunning sound engineers to compensate for their own vocal deficiencies..? Not that I have anyone in particular in mind..<br />
<br />
Of course, does it really matter what other people think? After all, as long as you aren't letting anyone down, musically, then where's the harm in some folk regarding you as a bit of a dilettante?<br />
<br />
It's not as if I've never tried my hand at it <a href="http://andygilmour.bandcamp.com/track/borderline-polska" target="_blank">before</a>.<br />
<br />
Maybe it's all down to personal insecurities. Maybe if I'd had more easily-quantifiable "success" in one genre, I wouldn't be so concerned when venturing into the unknown..?<br />
<br />
Maybe...ach, well. Time to get back to the bouzouki-as-hardingfele studies. <br />
<br />
As for "authenticity"? Vi skal se...<br />
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<br />andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-64873465562077168332011-12-06T22:11:00.001+00:002011-12-07T13:16:10.644+00:00A Whiter Shade Of PaleYesterday morning, while waiting for a bus home from the delights of family grocery shopping, I found myself standing beside a large poster promoting the seasonal rom-com-schmaltz-fest, "New Year's Eve". Immediately I was struck by two things - the relatively large number of 'featured' cast members, and the fact that only 2 of the 18 cheery, highly-expensive-dental-plan weel-kent faces on display were black. In New York. At the tail end of 2011...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmLQ9plc2C8q6PYRHWS7GKueZ9VI5B9y318g8tqg8RTe2GnC4fT1VN-iqGfLFeaIGiTqYQCzp4HtG7YgOBk5jzUp8vjATsQ_vsKhLC6iBZ-njUB8hCob56ezSzJzKsEbvCch4R8fwcQC8/s1600/New-Years-Eve-Theatrical-Promo-Poster-500x737.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmLQ9plc2C8q6PYRHWS7GKueZ9VI5B9y318g8tqg8RTe2GnC4fT1VN-iqGfLFeaIGiTqYQCzp4HtG7YgOBk5jzUp8vjATsQ_vsKhLC6iBZ-njUB8hCob56ezSzJzKsEbvCch4R8fwcQC8/s320/New-Years-Eve-Theatrical-Promo-Poster-500x737.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garry Marshall's New York - a touch light, perhaps?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Now, I'd like to point out that I'm a Mr. McSkinny-white-ass, living in a McWorryingly-obese-white-ass country, (until the latest census data appears in 2012, best estimate we have is that c.3-4% of the Scottish population are from "visible ethnic minorities"), but this comparative absence of non-white folk even struck me as being odd. I mean, this piece of lightweight sappy hokum is set in New York, supposedly one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world, right? Still, I thought, best check the statistics before rushing to make any judgements.<br />
<br />
So I did.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, the US Census Bureau have a very handy <a href="http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/3651000.html">website</a>, with all sorts of fascinating information available to those who thirst for demographic enlightenment.<br />
<br />
For instance, did you know that in 2010, "Black" & "Asian" people made up 38.2% of the city's 8,175,133 residents?<br /><br />That "White persons not Hispanic" were only 33.3% ?<br /><br />And that between 2005 and 2009, 47.1% of the over-5s spoke a language other than English at home?<br /><br />Ok, so the film isn't remotely representative, but they could, of course, use what might be termed the "Friends" defence - that this particular group of people occupy a small social niche where they just happen not to encounter/know/work with/etc many people from non-white ethnic groups. (I never said it was a <i>good</i> defence, but it has to be allowed as a possibility, however miniscule).<br /><br />In this case, however, the film's own production notes (available online <a href="http://newyearsevemovie.warnerbros.com/pdf/production_notes.pdf">here</a>) stress the diverse range of characters & locations within New York, which leaves us with the thorny question - is there some unspoken <i>"difficulty</i>" in the film industry with a portrayal that's a bit closer to the demographics?<br /><br />Racial/ethnic invisibility in the media is a serious issue - why aren't we seeing more non-white faces on the screen (beyond the usual litany of "Guns, Drugs & Ho's" stereotypes)? Can "the audience"<i> really</i> have a problem with the idea that in this sort of syrupy, no-mental-effort-required pabulum, 4 (or, really pushing the boat out here, maybe even 5) of the cast could be black? (With a token Asian as "comedy sidekick", of course, otherwise it'd <i>never</i> sell...).<br />
<br />
I'm the last person who'd argue that introducing box-ticking quotas ever solved anything - "Hey, Carla, for this next scene we're going to need the Native American, the Thai ladyboy and the half-Hungarian albino lesbian, ok..?" - but seriously, if this big-budget, big-star, mush-fest is anything to go by, perhaps it's time to introduce busing to Hollywood.<br />
<br />It <i>can</i> <a href="http://www.miller-mccune.com/education/the-return-of-busing-16355/">work</a>.<br />
<br />
Just a thought.<br />
<br />andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-27370112742605812552011-10-29T21:07:00.001+01:002011-10-29T21:07:42.593+01:00Little Black Heart<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
A bearded bloke wearing glasses & a cheap haircut walks into a music shop, plugs in a guitar, and plays <i>really badly</i> for about half an hour. When he's done embarrassing himself, he tidies up the cables, carefully wipes down the strings, says cheerfully,"Thanks, that was really great", to the shop assistant, and heads off, thoroughly pleased with the whole experience.<br />
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Alright, possibly not the finest joke you've heard in the last 20 seconds, but please, bear with me...I'll try to make it worth your while - not necessarily any more amusing, mind. Can't expect miracles on this budget.<br /><br />So, there I was in <a href="http://www.kennysmusic.co.uk/">Kenny's Music</a>, (it was pretty obvious who the hirsute chap with the malfunctioning fingers was going to turn out to be, wasn't it?), sitting in front of a rather cute <a href="http://www.blackhearteng.com/bh5h_bh112.html">Blackheart "Little Giant" </a>5w/3w (switchable) amp head & 1x12" cabinet, clasping a good-quality-but-not-stupidly-expensive <a href="http://www.godinguitars.com/godinlghbflamep.htm">Godin LG HB</a> guitar (ideal for doing an amp test with - twin humbuckers with a 5-position selector switch for single-coil tones, although the feel of the beast was slightly spoiled by its crappy tuning pegs), ready to inflict some terrible playing on the shop staff. <br /><br />
You see, quite apart from any technical deficiencies (many) I may possess, on the rare occasions I've played an electric guitar in the last few months, it's only been through a digital amp simulator. Now, these cunning little boxes are absolutely fantastic for indulging yourself in screaming-distortion-metal sessions at volume levels appropriate for maintaining sleeping children & convivial neighbours. What they are also very good at, however, is cheating, lying, and altogether deceiving us into believing our playing is faster - and more accurate - than is actually the case (A/D & D/A converters, my friends. Wonderful things, but oh, the fraudulences they do commit. That's my main excuse, anyway, and dammit, I'm sticking to it. Fortunately for me, being shred-tastically dexterous - or anywhere approaching it - is far from essential when checking-out an amp. I still ought to apologise to the staff, though). <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfW19tKH6h2qIAT2-vQ9FcMFlv5cOThp20gUofNcPX9sTQPwoG6xGmcRwq1Wfx_D-5QRFABiNFW3EC4CpfELdbubptidr191LFcVtICxzbQBAvTEwdHxBiDUvHoaBECK0cqkeJv8rAEc/s1600/prodPG_bh5hbh112.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfW19tKH6h2qIAT2-vQ9FcMFlv5cOThp20gUofNcPX9sTQPwoG6xGmcRwq1Wfx_D-5QRFABiNFW3EC4CpfELdbubptidr191LFcVtICxzbQBAvTEwdHxBiDUvHoaBECK0cqkeJv8rAEc/s200/prodPG_bh5hbh112.gif" width="137" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Little Giant" - big fun.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The "Little Giant" isn't like that. Not at all. Oh, no. When it comes to replicating what your fingers are doing, it's direct and honest to the point of brutality - which is, of course, precisely what you'd hope for in an all-valve amplifier. Unlike a drunk, long-unseen & deeply-embittered cousin at a wedding, though, this truthfulness results in noises you'll want to listen to long past the point of forced sociability. <br /><br />
So what can it do? Well, it took all of about 15 seconds to set-up a reasonable impression of Deep Purple-era Ritchie Blackmore (one of my first guitar heroes, 30 years ago or so), then straight on to a fat, smooth jazz tone, the classic "just breaking up" blues sound, followed by some proper, old-fashioned, no-nonsense 'eavy rock. A very pleasing tonal palette, albeit one with a distinct "Marshall" tinge to it (nothing wrong with that in my book). And loud enough, even at only the 3w setting, to hurt my ears when I dialled the treble up a fair bit (but then, I'm a bit of a delicate flower when it comes to volume. If you've spent years getting used to multiple 100w stacks & double-bass-drum kits you'd probably not feel a thing. I SAID<b>, "YOU'D PROBABLY NOT FEEL A THING", OK?</b> <b>I'LL GET BACK TO THE REVIEW NOW...YES...YOU GO & STAND BESIDE THAT RUNNING JET ENGINE FOR A WHILE, IT'LL BE NICE & RELAXING FOR YOU...GREAT.</b>)<br /><br />Add to that the previously-alluded-to excellent responsiveness to picking intensity, volume-and-tone-pot rolling-off, pickup selection, etc, plus the fact that the amp has been designed to make third-party modifications incredibly easy, and you'd be forgiven for thinking this whole piece is really just one big letter to Santa. Ah - and did I mention that if you go & talk to them, <a href="http://www.kennysmusic.co.uk/aboutus">Kenny's</a> could most likely do you an amp-and-cabinet deal for something in the region of a tiny bit over £200 or thereabouts? (I believe that separately, it was Amp head £129, 1x12" £89 when I wrote this... Don't quote me).</div>
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Only I wouldn't want one of these for Christmas - thanks, though, (in the extremely unlikely event you were considering it). For what I do, the "Little Giant" could be a brilliant recording amp, but for playing live there's too little 'clean' headroom, it lacks a post-eq/power stage input for multi-fx/rack gear users, and there's no line out socket, so it can't be used as a super-valve-distortion/pre-amp (although I'm sure, with modification, that could be done. Just not straight out of the box). Oh, and nae reverb either - a wee touch of which can be nice, now & again.<br /><br />But don't get me wrong - it's still a great piece of kit. Made in Korea, rather than China, so the valves are (much) nicer, and in ethical-consumer-terms <i>should</i> mean improved factory working conditions, environmental standards, etc, (although stuff like the Cort guitars controversy highlights just how much worse those conditions can be than what we judge to be acceptable in our own countries). Limited budgets, equipment choices, global trade...hmm. Difficult decisions all round. <br /><br />Still, if anyone is<i> desperate</i> to buy me a new guitar amp, I'd be absolutely delighted if this particular item from the Blackheart product range showed up...</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8qgVNpLshVqPm4ZR5qzmckpBPEamABW0tf5HdvuKB8ajQH1O4BPfAVXiSnMka3txZ19gFNukJxIRrcOcukbJjHWrPfU11BDW6d8dULumKjtQ1A3PV51ZsRVU7PKLL14tBCDN69zeZ_u0/s1600/handsome-combo-600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8qgVNpLshVqPm4ZR5qzmckpBPEamABW0tf5HdvuKB8ajQH1O4BPfAVXiSnMka3txZ19gFNukJxIRrcOcukbJjHWrPfU11BDW6d8dULumKjtQ1A3PV51ZsRVU7PKLL14tBCDN69zeZ_u0/s200/handsome-combo-600.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">great value, but "handsome"..?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
...it's a "Handsome Devil" 15w/7w, 1x12" combo - with separate "Master" & "Level" controls, 3-band eq plus "Presence"...and currently available to pre-order for only <a href="http://www.kennysmusic.co.uk/blackheart-15w-1x12-guitar-amp-combo.html">£199</a> (!)<br /><br />I'm convinced that given a couple of months playing through one, I'd be...a great deal better than I am now. Huge improvements. For sure. <br /><br />I'd better go now, I'm drooling too much. Still no reverb (or post-eq input) of course, but at that price, I'm complaining..? <br />
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"Sleigh bells ring, are you listening..."<br /><br />
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p.s. A wee addition - I try to find (cheesily) appropriate song titles for my posts, so I reckon that since I'm nicking their words, it's only fair I link to the original artists concerned. So here are Norwegian pop-gods "a-ha", with a live performance of "Little Black Heart":<br /><br /><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/RdasYTQaAuU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
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<br /></div>andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-74214486213509467922011-04-20T23:32:00.021+01:002011-08-12T12:37:54.158+01:00"I Am The Music Man"Or perhaps, more accurately, "I am <span style="font-style: italic;">a</span> music man. Of a sort. Domestic necessities permit<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPyUi5khZ7XfdfiEZepHUdMkuAuZewsR6iJDRZ8xF2nHekiwxcELBjQwSg9AMcKl8J_0wKffOvP35wQOQ0o3B6dpwHxmlUmj_4kTNvCSXB7Jy7fXBHuy5pF0cY6twN8swcaDpg__KnuOw/s1600/Tlev1.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 157px; height: 148px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPyUi5khZ7XfdfiEZepHUdMkuAuZewsR6iJDRZ8xF2nHekiwxcELBjQwSg9AMcKl8J_0wKffOvP35wQOQ0o3B6dpwHxmlUmj_4kTNvCSXB7Jy7fXBHuy5pF0cY6twN8swcaDpg__KnuOw/s200/Tlev1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639717526078433538" border="0" /></a>ting". But then this isn't about me at all...except it will be a bit, but only tangentially. Really it concerns that mighty sorcerer of low-end noises, <a href="http://www.papbear.com/">Mr. Tony Levin</a> (as per the pic on t'right)...well, strictly speaking, more precisely his <a href="http://www.music-man.com/instruments/basses/classic-stingray-5.html">Music Man</a> bass & the sound(s) that he makes with it. You know what? This hasn't been a good opening at all, has it? Far too much floundering around. Probably for the best if I simply start again. Sorry. This time it'll work beautifully...maybe.
<br />
<br />In the aeons since I last scribbled anything here, many vast, traumatic events have swept across the world. Since, however, there are a great many folk who are far more experienced, educated in such matters & have much more spare time than me, I'm going to do <span style="font-style: italic;">this</span> instead...
<br />
<br />(with many apologies to <a href="http://www.mcgonagall-online.org.uk/">William Topaz McGonagall</a>, and indeed anyone else who has ever engaged in poetical endeavours)
<br />
<br />"Oh, 'twas several months previously in the year of two-thousand-and-eleven,
<br />When I finally touched what, for some, might well be bass guitar heaven.
<br />For in the musical instrument establishment known by the sign of a dog that is red,
<br />There hung a fine bass with five strings, as used by Tony Levin (who can be recognised very easily by his moustache and bald head).
<br />
<br />Nor was that all, for when to plug-in this deep-toned beast did I beg,
<br />Directly underneath lay its ideal amplificatory partner, from Ampeg.
<br />In less time than to brew a decent cup o' coffee it would take,
<br />I had dialled-in "that sound", and oh! Far too many were the poor-quality Tony Levin impressions I did make.
<br />
<br />And yet there came a fractious thought, a clichéd fly in music's ointment,
<br />Could it be that with the range of other tones there grew a sense of <span style="font-style: italic;">disappointment</span>?
<br />My treacherous eye did glance awa', its goal the price-tag's brief perusal,
<br />Therein it did uncover a further reason for refusal.
<br />The sum required may well have been entirely reasonable,
<br />Quality control, transportation, the costs of weather most unseasonable.
<br />
<br />Alas! On repetitiousness's tempests blown I felt compelled, an old theme to return to,
<br />For any off-the-peg creation, such an amount I would not pay - nay, not were I you.
<br />Instead, your bawbees clutching, hie thee to a luthier o' uncommon skill,
<br />Your heart's desire to build, for a couple o' grand,in the current economic climate I'm sure they will."
<br />
<br />Sorry about that. I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again.
<br />
<br />Probably ought to make it clear at this point that I'm a huge fan of Tony Levin, both<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLAEQnoCjm-gGgP_AXLNu8HpmSpoH3NUID8xQ1_EOPwsNPFO0VuF2SbUyJ7sIpO9Yrs2fv3QFLpzchfjRH8AQrLd2lbX8AgwThj2ana-eb1umdg2coON3qGNANH6T4BR7HPgRpJse3Rw/s1600/Andy-and-Tony+small.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 166px; height: 105px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTLAEQnoCjm-gGgP_AXLNu8HpmSpoH3NUID8xQ1_EOPwsNPFO0VuF2SbUyJ7sIpO9Yrs2fv3QFLpzchfjRH8AQrLd2lbX8AgwThj2ana-eb1umdg2coON3qGNANH6T4BR7HPgRpJse3Rw/s200/Andy-and-Tony+small.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598019104819750610" border="0" /></a> for his incredible musicianship, and the fact that he was enormously polite when answering inane questions from a certain daft Scottish bassist at a King Crimson/DGM event in London back in 1997 (or thereabouts).
<br />
<br /><div style="text-align: right;">
<br /><span style="font-size:60%;">
<br />(grainy pre-digital snapshot of this momentous occasion by <a href="http://www.martinlennon.com/">Martin Lennon</a>)</span>
<br /></div>He was then, and still is, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Man</span>.
<br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size:60%;">
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<br /></div>andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-21412621417489847782011-03-28T20:02:00.028+01:002011-04-01T23:35:02.780+01:00A Woman's WorkWith the imminent arrival of "Mother's Day", and another chance to cast our ballots i<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTLtguyCEEpEpJ71cUXzLHXLT8Lp7TpkoC-ge4Pla0bgBWdN2pn9A"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 175px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTLtguyCEEpEpJ71cUXzLHXLT8Lp7TpkoC-ge4Pla0bgBWdN2pn9A" alt="" border="0" /></a>n a Scottish parliamentary election coming up in a little over a month's time, I thought I could link these events in an extremely tenuous manner with a look at the current political gender balance here in Scotland.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />(For those expecting music-related postings on what's ostensibly a music-related blog, and beginning to feel pangs of disgruntlement, don't worry - it's an interesting topic, I promise to be brief for a change, <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> there's a fun interactive graphical thing to play with further down. Honest, there really is. But don't scroll straight to it, there's some good stuff coming up...possibly)</div><br />First of all, the essential numbers - women make up 52% of the population (and almost exactly the same proportion of our 3.99m electorate), but in the last parliament only held 43 of the 129 seats (33.3% - sadly down from 39.5% in 2003). Which isn't likely to improve this time around...<br /><br />For one thing, there are simply far fewer women than men standing for election - e.g. counting all the Glasgow constituency & regional list candidates from each party, there are 77 men compared with 37 women. Folk may be astonished to learn that such a progressive, forward-thinking party as the BNP has a male-only line-up on offer. I couldn't possibly comment. (Anyone who has the time & willpower to repeat this exercise for the whole of Scotland is very welcome to - the full list of would-be power-hungry egomaniacs can be found <a href="http://www.camra.org.uk/media/attachments/100278/Scottish%20Parliament%202011%20Candidates.pdf">here</a>.)<br /><br />Why so few women candidates? Well, Labour's abandonment of "twinning" constituencies meant that local parties have been free of any gender selection criteria, and whereas back in the 1970s heyday of Winnie Ewing & Margo MacDonald the SNP may have been tagged "a woman's party" (a typically charming insult in ultra-macho Scottish politics, naturally) by Tam Dalyell & co, the current reality is that women make up less than a third of the party membership. (They do, to be fair, at least still have some prominent senior female figures - deputy First M<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTbeXPfJFI-LViLEgTFLKVKAreLVqhamDcZVwJhnDgJ0kq8JTM6_A"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 102px;" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTbeXPfJFI-LViLEgTFLKVKAreLVqhamDcZVwJhnDgJ0kq8JTM6_A" alt="" border="0" /></a>inister Nicola Sturgeon [pictured], Fiona Hyslop, and Roseanna Cunningham spring immediately to mind. Conversely the departure of Wendy Alexander from politics this year has exposed a significant dearth, arguably of women & ability both, in the Scottish Labour hierarchy).<br /><br />Of course, factors such as a candidate's rank on the regional list or the "safeness" of their constituency will also affect how many women are elected, but on those criteria it doesn't look promising for greater female representation come May 5th either.<br /><br />Casting around for the faintest glimmer of a brighter side to all this, we can still say "we're not as bad as Westminster". In 2010 the UK House of Commons hit an all-time record high of... 143 female MPs. Out of 650 seats. Which is a <span style="font-style: italic;">massive</span> 22%. And if we choose to look a little further afield, say, the world's <span style="font-style: italic;">second</span>-largest 'democracy', perhaps? Well, the "land of the free & home of a large number of people who don't believe in scientific evidence" scores a frankly pathetic 16.78%.<br /><br />In fact, since you've been exceptionally patient so far, here (all praise the mighty Google & their works) is the cool bar-chart toy I mentioned earlier:<br /><br /><iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" src="http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore/embed?ds=alp1i5f0htq8h_&ctype=c&strail=false&nselm=s&met_y=gboccg&fdim_y=occupation:GE.MBPAR&fdim_y=sex:GE.1&scale_y=lin&ind_y=false&idim=countryreg:826:752:840:578:372:250:276:417&ifdim=countryreg&pit=1262304000000&hl=en&dl=en&uniSize=0.035&iconSize=0.5" frameborder="0" height="400" scrolling="no" width="600"></iframe><br />(dragging the slider across shows changes over time, clicking on "explore data" lets you select different countries to highlight...ach, it's ridiculously clever.)<br /><br />Just watch Kyrgyzstan go, eh? Ireland doesn't come out looking so good, mind...<br /><br />It should always be the case, obviously, that we seek to be governed by the best possible representatives available - irrespective of gender, race, age, sexual preference, superstition of choice or even daft football obsession (for "Auld Firm" fans see "superstition of choice"). But the briefest of glances at the numpties who've filled some of the Holyrood seats thus far does beg the question - could a truly representative Scottish Parliament really be any worse?<br /><br />Right, that's quite enough politics for now - back to the musical nonsense next time.<br /><br />p.s. For any Scots considering not exercising their (extremely hard-won) right to vote in May for whatever reason, here's one I <a href="http://andyhgilmour.blogspot.com/2010/02/power-to-people.html">wrote earlier</a> that should put you straight. Cheers.<br /><br /><br />Sources: (NB. <span style="font-style: italic;">Wikimpedimentia was not consulted in the creation of this blog post</span>. <span style="font-style: italic;">If I wanted unreliable 'facts' & unsupportable conclusions I'd take the quick route & rely on my own memory</span>).<br /><br />http://www.ukpolitical.info/FemaleMPs.htm<br /><br />http://www.scrol.gov.uk/scrol/browser/profile.jsp<br /><br />http://www.scottishaffairs.org/backiss/pdfs/sa60/Sa60_Mackay_and_Kenny.pdf<br /><br />http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/research/briefings-07/SB07-21.pdf<br /><br />http://www.psa.ac.uk/journals/pdf/5/2009/Mitchell.pdf<br /><br />http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/Worldswomen/WSD_PR3_A4.pdf<br /><br />http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/ladies-first/map-global-gender-balance/200/andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-21651940061004324812011-01-31T14:19:00.015+00:002011-02-09T22:36:45.108+00:00Interstellar Overdrive<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-DqnjByGet7gaKltQiz-_FUzv2pwXwVndydFv4yZKf8PGtmdvpPdbiuNRs_iCTw4wLqVhTmPocr5r5EMn1OYPWPJboztPDl9xasO7mwIjABvW25sCa-Vn1K-B78MIW9wYh7QZwaSemc/s1600/Laser_composite.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 120px; height: 90px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT-DqnjByGet7gaKltQiz-_FUzv2pwXwVndydFv4yZKf8PGtmdvpPdbiuNRs_iCTw4wLqVhTmPocr5r5EMn1OYPWPJboztPDl9xasO7mwIjABvW25sCa-Vn1K-B78MIW9wYh7QZwaSemc/s200/Laser_composite.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568354977976271746" border="0" /></a>As the latest orgy of music technology pornography that is the <a href="http://www.namm.org/">NAMM</a>* show fades slowly into a distant memory of smug postings/tweets/other annoyances from people who were in attendance to ogle and fondle its diverse splendours, and the next "International Day Of Kitsch Tat And Misery" looms hard on the horizon, perhaps this is the ideal moment to consider what you might proffer the bass player in your life as a token of your everlasting affection.<br /><br />Well, given the plethora of the noisy little beasties that keep appearing on the market, what better than an overdrive/distortion pedal?<br /><br />There are, (as an hour spent trawling Google & assorted music shop websites revealed), at least <span style="font-weight: bold;">46</span> different models to choose from that are designed<span style="font-style: italic;"> specifically</span> for bass - and that's a conservative estimate, given that I didn't count the various pre-amps which have a "drive" knob, purely "fuzz" pedals, or any multi-effects units, most of which contain several distortion options (usually stuck in amongst the digital amp simulators - which, it should go without saying, are the first thing you should turn <span style="font-style: italic;">off</span> when using such units).<br /><br />And if being spoilt for choice wasn't enough, they also come at prices to suit almost every budget - pre-Government spending/welfare cuts in the UK, that is. Once those really kick-in, the only affordable equipment for many people will be whatever they can obtain by employing their skills with a brick and Parkour. You can pay less than £30 for, say, a <a href="http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/BOD400.aspx">Behringer BOD400</a>, all the way up to a wallet-jarring £240 for a Zvex "<a href="http://zvex.com/mammoth.html">Woolly Mammoth</a>". This might, however, even be topped by the Daring Audio "<a href="http://www.daringaudio.com/store/?shopp_pid=2">Laser Cannon</a>" (pictured above), whose $349 US price tag could well translate into a retail price of £250+ once shipping, import duties and the inevitable inexplicable extra mark-up (because it's "not from round here"..?) have been taken into account.<br /><br />At this point, we could (but in all probability won't) spare a grain of sympathy for guitarists, who, in their never-ending (and almost always pointless) quest for their absolute, ultimate, no-expense-spared-or-thought-applied "tone of utter perfection-ness", could easily hand over £330 for a "Tonebone Radial Plexitube" pedal. Much good that it'll do them, but still...a lot of money.<br /><br />But (and you might have sensed this was where we were all headed), I really don't think you should buy any of these - assuming anyone out there could actually love a bass player enough to want to shell out hard cash on us in the first place..but that's a different issue.<br /><br />No, the problem here, as I see it, is that all this huge array of distortion boxes demonstrates is an enormous failure of imagination. Maybe there are so damn many because the basic circuits are relatively simple to design. Or perhaps the companies look at bass players and say to themselves - "I'll bet they're all frustrated guitarists, and guitarists want <span style="font-style: italic;">distortion</span> - so we'll give it to 'em...again and again and again and again...!".<br /><br />A few more of them on the market and we may even be facing the "Distortion Pedal Event Horizon"**, where so much money is being spent on mediocre distortion pedals (as we search for the aforementioned "tone of utter perfection-ness"), they become the only type of pedal that it's economic to produce...eventually leading to the collapse of civilisation as we know it. Or something like that. Worst case scenario. The asteroid'll probably have wiped us out by then anyway, so I wouldn't worry too much about it.<br /><br />Seriously<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYKYJPp8vd3CU_yRdJUI6vR7cX0dE90FTKpAkSCjhs0OCFwAtvG8SesTA49RN0dySRXcqDXcWG6ra_f3RYp1omfCFv6UTuNP13fJPCtfkoRDtXqW0LFF5e3LZH_JSdoi0du1LcS2PXNEg/s1600/pog2.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 98px; height: 78px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYKYJPp8vd3CU_yRdJUI6vR7cX0dE90FTKpAkSCjhs0OCFwAtvG8SesTA49RN0dySRXcqDXcWG6ra_f3RYp1omfCFv6UTuNP13fJPCtfkoRDtXqW0LFF5e3LZH_JSdoi0du1LcS2PXNEg/s200/pog2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5571818110109789362" border="0" /></a> though, please <span style="font-style: italic;">don't</span> purchase one. There are so many far more interesting "boxes o' noise" out there - how about the joyous hours of neighbour-tormenting an Electro-Harmonix <a href="http://www.ehx.com/products/pog2">POG2</a> ('polyphonic octave generator' - as demonstrated with fretless bass [and a few other effects] on this track <a href="http://snd.sc/hmDGhM">here</a>) could bring? And of course, in all probability they've already got several overdrive pedals kicking around - none of which they're satisfied with.<br /><br />Best alternative? Give the bass-playing object of your desire a hug, a big smacky kiss, and possibly a small-yet-considerate gift voucher for their favourite music shop...?<br /><br />Just a thought.<br /><br /><br />* NAMM = National Association of Music Merchants, in case anyone cared.<br /><br />** Blatantly copied from the late, great Douglas Adams' idea of the "<a href="http://www.haibane.info/2008/11/01/the-shoe-event-horizon/">Shoe Event Horizo</a><a href="http://www.haibane.info/2008/11/01/the-shoe-event-horizon/">n</a>" in "The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy".andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-35563466993882637322010-12-31T17:00:00.006+00:002010-12-31T22:09:34.787+00:00LazyAs we tumble into 2011 I realise I've barely managed to update this page more than once a month over the last year - because I, like so many of my fellow human beings, am ridiculously lazy. Always have been, even when my life has seemed full-to-overflowing with diverse activities. Given the opportunity I will prevaricate, procrastinate and waste my time in a manner so profligate I might as well be a domestic cat - although without the concomitant unfa<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6t9uK29NMg_zu4eC5nz7asBp9-tmCujI-HdFICubJ3HwMeBQSIB7JzF8gd-Q2_kKZ_Gykz-btPvPk5MM_jdUt1fpqRyqmJPibXsPOxuobKKrhhv-g2hD32D_tMPN2ligyzADB_03xfy0/s1600/Her-Favourite-1905.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 171px; height: 109px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6t9uK29NMg_zu4eC5nz7asBp9-tmCujI-HdFICubJ3HwMeBQSIB7JzF8gd-Q2_kKZ_Gykz-btPvPk5MM_jdUt1fpqRyqmJPibXsPOxuobKKrhhv-g2hD32D_tMPN2ligyzADB_03xfy0/s200/Her-Favourite-1905.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556954999442275106" border="0" /></a>thomable attraction said felines apparently hold for vast swathes of the female population. In all honesty, I'm a Russian baritone of under-achievement accompanied by a chorus of poor excuses - "I'm a single parent", "the weather wasn't so great", "I'd have had to spend 10 minutes tidying stuff up & plugging cables in so I never quite got round to recording that symphony".<br /><br />This is particularly unhelpful behaviour since I'm probably already at (or past) the half-way point in life, and definitely not getting faster, cleverer or indeed, prettier (which isn't good unless you're starting out as a freakish combination of Usain Bolt, Archimedes & Brad Pitt). Which doesn't help my pathetic need to try to create music that people might find slightly interesting. As I decline, and my mini-primates grow up, time (not to mention space) in which to "achieve" anything becomes more and more precious, and prioritising is vital. For instance, I'd love to own a digital SLR camera (if I had the money for one), but couldn't justify devoting the time and attention necessary to learn to use the thing properly.<br /><br />This collision of personal idleness, increasingly-desperate desire to be taken seriously as a musician (yes, I know, that's the best gag I've done in ages), and relative time poverty means that I've developed a strict daily routine in order to get any practice done.<br /><br />Once the kids are in bed, the kitchen has regained some semblance of tidiness, and a load of washing is on the go (usually about 8.30pm, if I'm lucky), I pick up an instrument. Then I turn on the TV in search of practice material for the next hour or so. I find films are best - if the music's especially interesting (& varied), then it's play-along time, which is usually easier with a fretless bass, where you can compensate for any painfully 'odd' tuning in the studio orchestra. Otherwise I just click on the subtitles and compose an alternative soundtrack - maybe take a single phrase and try modifying it to suit different moods, play in a set key or time signature, or (if I'm fully brain-dead from child-wrangling) work through assorted scales & arpeggios, right-hand techniques, etc,etc. When the washing machine beeps, that's it, time's up...clean off the strings and back to domestic meniality.<br /><br />This year I've been doing this while watching a lot of "<a href="http://www.inspector-wallander.org/">Wallander</a>", (melancholic Swedish crime drama with plenty of snow - what's not to like? Prefer the Krister Henriksson ones, but Rolf Lassgård's infinitely better than Kenneth Branagh - the BBC-made ones are best avoided), which has the added benefit of forcing me to play without looking at what my left hand's doing - my (very) lazy and sporadic study of Norwegian means I can only understand about 1 word in every 5, so staring at the subtitles is essential.<br /><br />It may well also have influenced some of the <a href="http://andygilmour.com/album/circumstantial">music</a> I recorded & released earlier this month - although much of that probably comes from somewhere a fair bit further north-west (is<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebSx5-mAcKA923DPFiaIs5lAkyjiro5r2bdlbIr03V_lwvNmujnmI609bPAgKbm_ykzdJe5JAgBcrZAPoOSplBb8WSb4lvy2cUirIZRWNWAHWogAd8w7Aq8OOEKIkJPtqS1fPW4xQmDg/s1600/after+you+left.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 164px; height: 164px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebSx5-mAcKA923DPFiaIs5lAkyjiro5r2bdlbIr03V_lwvNmujnmI609bPAgKbm_ykzdJe5JAgBcrZAPoOSplBb8WSb4lvy2cUirIZRWNWAHWogAd8w7Aq8OOEKIkJPtqS1fPW4xQmDg/s200/after+you+left.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5556916357370166770" border="0" /></a>h) of Ystad. Certainly I must thank <a href="http://bienbar.no/danmarksplass/">Bar Bien</a> (apologies, their website's only in Norwegian) for allowing me to take photographs for some of the artwork. Perhaps I'm quite lazy musically, too, since I usually rely heavily on improvisation around a simple harmonic structure, rather than writing everything out with more care, detail and precision. Maybe that's a reaction against all the years I spent playing classical music, following assiduously some long-dead genius' dots and instructions? Or it could simply be it's a quick way of working that allows me to beg indulgence for unpolished moments by claiming they're "part of the authentic performance experience", or some such self-justifying flannel?<br /><br />I couldn't possibly comment.<br /><br />Sport's pretty good for this sort of practice, too - rugby more so than football, since there are more changes in the pace of the game, slow crescendos of intensity, and individual moments of immense physicality within wider patterns of movement that lend themselves perfectly to expressive instantaneous soundtrack creation. Of course, if it's a dull slog of a game, there's always mindless two-handed-tapping (or clichéd "whiteboy funk" thumb-slapping, whichever you prefer) available as a musical version of a "Mexican Wave".<br /><br />Anyway, although this method doesn't entail concentrating fully on the instrument to the exclusion of all else (as we all know, deep down, we really, <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> should when practising), it does mean I've been able to catch up on a few great films I'd otherwise never have got around to, such as "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499537/">Offside</a>", "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1242545/">Looking For Eric</a>", "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1019452/">A Serious Man</a>" and "<a href="http://www.thegrantorino.com/">Gran Torino</a>" (not even spoiled by Jamie Cullum's warbling). Which just about makes up for not being able to play "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdqje73KQwg">Donna Lee</a>"...<br /><br />Which pretty much wraps things up for 2010. Inevitable summary of the year? Well, internationally, many parts of the world still hate other parts of the world, professionally, although I released two collections of <a href="http://www.andygilmour.com">noises</a>, I'm flat-lining, and personally, the year went from "crap" to "wonderful" and back to "crap" again. Initial indicators suggest that 2011 is most likely to be very much more of the same - except probably without the "wonderful" part.<br /><br />Ho hum.<br /><br />Merry 2011, folks. Hope y'all have a good one, and that eventually we can start bombing each other with food and kindness for a change.<br /><br />Cheers,<br />Andyandy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-25486270509153835552010-12-30T21:47:00.004+00:002010-12-30T23:02:18.432+00:00Batteries Not IncludedSorry about this. I had intended to ignore the "festive season" entirely, and instead inflict an exciting account of my music practice routines on everyone, but my constantly-disappearing internet connection is in full-on "thwart" mode, so...<br /><br />This is just a quick note to say "Merry Thing", "Happy New Thing", and maybe I'll get the opportunity to delight you all with music-related stuff soon.<br /><br />Anyway, in the meantime, here's some early C16th seasonal music, Finnish Symphonic Metal style - Marco Hietala singing "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Iy2z47tUQY">Enkeli Taivaan</a>".<br /><br />All the best, Andyandy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-86741763092606341142010-11-20T21:08:00.009+00:002010-11-22T23:13:21.873+00:00Three Of A Perfect Pair<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYl1ma4DouH-QX9X1pyTDSz2Wm5sT6wqJ1baDD0LIL_ALkD2TbdMcOC4gaT4SEJXtQ4JSQJ9FGXLJ6a_0TudhvFPRZVdd6HcVk4it53MbyXs9AmWooPcfeLAJ9JfnjRwT1SoFusl2ZqYg/s1600/5string+basses.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYl1ma4DouH-QX9X1pyTDSz2Wm5sT6wqJ1baDD0LIL_ALkD2TbdMcOC4gaT4SEJXtQ4JSQJ9FGXLJ6a_0TudhvFPRZVdd6HcVk4it53MbyXs9AmWooPcfeLAJ9JfnjRwT1SoFusl2ZqYg/s320/5string+basses.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541754826251413234" border="0" /></a>Here we have a trio of brand-new, highly-desirable 5-string electric bass guitars with a shared heritage. One of them originally designed by Leo Fender and made in the USA by the company that still bears his name, another a Japanese-built Sadowsky copy of that instrument, and the third manufactured in Indonesia by<a href="http://www.gotoguitars.com/gandl-guitars-97/"> G & L</a> - a company founded by Mr. Fender in the late 1970s, where he created "the finest instruments I ever built".<br /><br />The most expensive of the basses in our little collection is <span style="font-style: italic;">three times</span> the price of the cheapest. Which, having given examples of all them a workout in the last year, I can't even begin to understand. Allow me to explain...<br /><br />Starting at the bottom of the scale, (yes, that was a dire attempt to make a very weak bass-playing-low-notes-reference pun. I apologise profusely. If it happens again, well, I'm sure I'm not that hard to track down, should anyone feel they've suffered sufficiently), we've got the un-snappily titled <a href="http://www.glguitars.com/instruments/TributeSeries/basses/L-2500/index.asp">G & L L2500. </a>£645 gets you an Indonesian instrument equipped with G & L's American-made hardware, and I must admit it sounds absolutely excellent. The enclosed, "saddle lock" bridge, combined with the strings-through-body design mean it'll sustain until the drummer's final 'big rock ending' crash hit is but a dim & distant memory. Plus, with all the passive/active/active with treble boost, series/parallel pick-up switching options, there's enough tonal variation on offer to satisfy almost anyone.<br /><br />I thoroughly enjoyed playing this bass - it gave off an overall feeling of solidity, was extremely responsive, the neck & fingerboard were excellent - but...on this particular example, there were some serious issues on the middle three strings at the 15th fret. Probably easily fixable with a slight bridge saddle height adjustment, certainly, maybe a little attention to the fret itself, but...it shouldn't have been like that, you know? The action definitely didn't need to be cranked down to a "how low can you go?" level for this to be a great bass. Unfortunately I didn't have time to compare it with others of its breed, but if anyone with greater experience can shed light on their overall quality control standards, then please feel free to get in touch.<br /><br />Anyway, let's move on now to the <a href="http://www.fender.com/uk/products/search.php?partno=0190760705">Fender American Standard Jazz Bass V. </a><br /><br />At this point I feel it's only fair to make a small confession. I don't really like Fender basses (as I've mentioned on this blog <a href="http://andyhgilmour.blogspot.com/2007/09/america-must-be-destroyed.html">before</a>, but then, who in the world ever reads this, huh?). Never have done, most likely never will. So I suppose all I can honestly say is that what we have here is very much a Fender. With 5 strings attached. Again, it feels solid enough, sounds exactly as you'd expect, and if you want a Fender, well, yup, fair enough, you won't go wrong with one of these. A large portion of the £1299 price tag can be accounted for simply by the presence of the word "Fender" on the headstock, of course, but that's personal choice for you...<br /><br />...speaking of which, you could forget all pretence to rationality, and spend £1999 (no, that's not a mistake - one thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine pounds, folks) on a carefully-wrought clone of the same instrument from Japan. Give it up, ladies and gentlemen, for the <a href="http://www.sadowsky.com/instruments/metro.html">Sadowsky Metroline MV5.</a><br /><br />Don't get me wrong, in many ways this is a very nice bass. Thanks to the same pick-ups, bridge, etc as their American range, a wider range of tones available than the Fender (although still significantly inferior in this department to the 'whole-price-of-the-Fender-less' G & L). The neck's great, construction is excellent, etc,etc. But for that price it should, surely, be so much more than just another good quality - yet nothing spectacular - instrument? Also worth noting, perhaps, that if you want a lefty or fretless model, then you're going to have to pay full Sadowsky NYC whack.<br /><br />The Metroline MV5 I tried was fine (I could say "if you're unimaginative and looking for an expensive Fender", but that might be marginally unfair), perfectly decent and 'professional', but...but...<br /><br />Why, oh why, oh why would anyone willingly, deliberately, "being of sound mind and body" choose to purchase such a thing?<br /><br />With that sort of budget available, how much better to be deep in conversation with a few local luthiers, to see what they could come up with instead? Something custom-built & crafted to our precise specifications, that would live & breathe under our fingers - and in our current economic situation, I'm sure they'd be extremely glad to see us.<br /><br />If I had to choose one of these three Leo Fender-related basses to gig with, then quite honestly I'd go with the G & L L2500 - compared with the other two it represents stunning value for money. But then, if I had £645 to spend in the second-hand market, well...a quick glance at Ebay produced an interesting bunch of 5-strings that sold recently for less: Shecter Stiletto, Status Shark 5, Warwick Thumb,Streamer & Corvette, Yamaha BB615 & TRB1005, Musicman Stingray, MTD Grendel, Lakland Skyline, Ibanez SR605 & SR1015, to name but quite a few...<br /><br />Caveat emptor!<br /><br />p.s. Thanks to <a href="http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/">GuitarGuitar</a> in Edinburgh for letting me plonk around on their valuable stock. All prices from their website, and correct as of 20/11/2010.andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-90209161780947359882010-11-07T15:28:00.012+00:002010-11-09T22:45:36.137+00:00Time After TimeI trimmed my beard this morning. Not the exactly the pinnacle of human achievement, I grant you. Nothing added to our collective understanding, no great secrets of the cosmos unveiled - quite possibly an activity of such extreme insignificance as to rank alongside knowing how to open a cereal packet without tearing the cardboard top, recalling how hard you laughed when Margaret Thatcher resigned, or being able to name any of the contestants on Strictly-Come-X-Factor-Idol-So You Think You Can Pick Your Nose?...<br /><br />It was, however, significant to me, because I was starting to resemble the mutant offspring of Brian Blessed & a border collie...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpX0-bO9u8XtzaiFQZUxozc_8dRVPwK9v2zx3GxgUE3eBkd_BCyXdG-k6zst-Li-eOaRmM307pY4tJBgT5z17kJYK89_FGd_DuZRxqIH5d-9tMPBGqd1kyCP8-v47v2TY7h2as-QAbn6Q/s1600/Blessed+Collie.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 315px; height: 95px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpX0-bO9u8XtzaiFQZUxozc_8dRVPwK9v2zx3GxgUE3eBkd_BCyXdG-k6zst-Li-eOaRmM307pY4tJBgT5z17kJYK89_FGd_DuZRxqIH5d-9tMPBGqd1kyCP8-v47v2TY7h2as-QAbn6Q/s200/Blessed+Collie.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536855990800493554" border="0" /></a>...and finally felt I could <span style="font-style: italic;">allow</span> myself the time to do the job (the electric-clipping bit's fast enough - it's the cleaning-up afterwards that takes so long...the tough little hairs seem to fly off everywhere, then cling determinedly to the damn basin. And then there are all those tricky bloodstains...).<br /><br />You see, this whole single parent/musician lark seems to be placing more & more pressure on my time management lately. Some days simply to consist of a litany of mundane and menial domestic chores, half-an-hour plonking around (quietly) on something stringed (but only after I've got the kids in bed & dealt with the washing), finished off by cramming in as many of the on-line social & self-promotional obligations that are concomitant with the modern music business model as possible. (But infinitely preferable to scratching a bare existence out of infertile soil, without the comforts of electricity or running water, certainly. This is not intended, I hope, to be an exercise in self-pity).<br /><br />Which is why the shaving just wasn't happening. Inessential, takes too long, so it can wait. As can, for instance, television. Not to mention the vast heap of literature, films, music, philosophy, politics, sport, blogs, twits, etc that I might have some passing curiosity in, the accumulated cultural detritus of the 'every artefact can be preserved forever' digital age.<br /><br />Heck, I probably shouldn't even be writing this blog entry - do I really <span style="font-style: italic;">need</span> to be doing this? Does anybody out there really want to be reading it? (Think I know the answer to that one already, cheers).<br /><br />Seriously, though, I originally wanted to write stuff that might prove worthwhile-yet-amusing, that sometimes involved proper research - magazine-feature style, rather than occasional drips of solipsistic snivelling.<br /><br />So here's the crux of the matter. For musicians (especially the annoyingly young ones - without families, mortgages, hearing loss, colostomy bags, etc), the temptation to waste whole screeds of time is enormous - after all, rehearsing/recording/gigging/touring often involve a great deal of waiting around, so why shouldn't we spend more of the rest of our time on stuff we <span style="font-style: italic;">want</span> to do, huh? No reason at all...except we never have as much time as we fool ourselves into thinking.<br /><br />You genuinely want to take your music seriously? (rather than simply use it as an excuse for ingesting recreational chemicals and magnifying your putative sex appeal)<br /><br />Turn off the TV, (still the world's greatest black hole of time wastage, in spite of the challenge from social networking sites and YouTube), accept that "going down the pub" instead of re-stringing your guitar won't help you achieve your goals, and concentrate your efforts on making the most of the opportunities that come your way. You'll catch up on all those books & films eventually, when that arthritic hip has crimped your gigging style a touch...<br /><br />Finally, speaking as someone who suffers sporadic bouts of insomnia (and occasionally has it forced upon him), I can't recommend trying to make the day last longer as a solution. Agreed, it's an obvious route to go down in an effort to fit everything in, but sleep deprivation only makes us (more) stupid and fat. Ok, that's maybe a slight simplification of the medical evidence (see below for details), but insufficient sleep does us no favours, even if it's only short-term. And don't get me started on trying to combat the effects with caffeine and/or cigarettes...or anything else...<br /><br />Oh, and don't become a single parent. Trust me, that doesn't work out so well with the music thing either.<br /><br />More grumpy-old-man witterings coming soon. Ish. If I have the time.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">A few brief slices of sleep research:</span><br /><br />"Less effective executive functioning after one night's sleep deprivation"<br />(Journal of Sleep Research, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2005.00442.x/full">full article</a>)<br /><br />"Sleep deprivation doubles risks of obesity in children & adults"<br />(Warwick Medical School, <a href="http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/ne100000021440/">press release</a> & podcast)<br /><br />"Can You Catch Up On Sleep?"<br />(NHS inform, <a href="http://www.nhsinform.co.uk/behind-the-headlines/2010-08-02-can-you-catch-up-on-sleep.aspx">research & article</a> on its misrepresentation in media)<br /><br /><span class="schriftd">"Neurocognitive Consequences of Sleep Deprivation</span>"<br />(Semin Neurol, <a href="https://www.thieme-connect.com/ejournals/abstract/sin/doi/10.1055/s-2005-867080">abstract</a>)<br /><br />Relative effects on performance of sleep deprivation & alcohol<br />(Occupational & Environmental Medicine, <a href="http://oem.bmj.com/content/57/10/649.abstract">abstract</a>)andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-33692683412020040242010-10-10T12:47:00.002+01:002010-10-10T14:35:09.109+01:00Have A CigarAfternoon.<br /><br />Since it's been a whole year since I launched my <a href="http://www.andygilmour.com">website</a> on an unsuspecting (and mostly indifferent) world, I thought it only proper to provide anyone who might be interested in my musical endeavours with an 'annual report', to show how the whole thing's been meandering along - oh, and prove once and for all that I am not, in any conceivable way, like <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8640003.stm">U2</a> (just in case there was any lingering confusion).<br /><br />I won't be moving my assets to Holland to avoid <a href="http://www.independent.ie/national-news/u2-move-their-rock-empire-out-of-ireland-133364.html">tax</a>.<br /><br />I will never insult my fans' intelligence by suggesting the only reason they didn't go out and buy 20 million copies of my last album was because I had "made a work that is a bit challenging for people who have grown up on a diet of pop stars".<br /><br />I am taller, and have considerably more hair than Bono.<br /><br />Right, now that's taken care of, here are some extremely exciting statistics:<br /><br />Site visits: 4,792<br /><br />Track plays: 666<br /><br />Downloads: 31<br /><br />Sales: 22<br /><br />Gross Revenue (ie pre-<a href="http://bandcamp.com/pricing">Bandcamp</a> & <a href="https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_display-receiving-fees-outside&countries=">PayPal</a> fees): £110.47<br /><br />So, not exactly setting the heather alight...or even warming a small patch of it just a little. Still, nae mind, eh? Insane fiscal benefits were never a serious consideration - although I must confess that being able to afford new strings was handy. Additionally, if I was a pop kid on a typical record company deal I might have seen about £10 of that revenue, if I was (very) lucky.<br /><br />Thanks to everyone who has listened to my noises, immense gratitude to those who downloaded them, and who knows what the next 12 months may bring...?<br /><br /><br />p.s. As a wee comparison, over the same period 1,413 people visited this blog a total of 1,890 times, generating 2,456 page views. The most 'popular' page being December 2009's <a href="http://andyhgilmour.blogspot.com/2009/12/state-of-independence.html">"State of Independence"</a> (offering some better alternatives to the 'Simon Cowell vs. RATM' nonsense that was going on). My favourite search engine enquiries that (somehow) led people here: "why the fuss over heroes of Telemark?", "strompebukse fetish" (it's a Scandinavian thing, it would seem), and "braw neeps" (that'll teach me to suggest it as a comedy band name).<br /><br />May all your turnips, indeed, be fine.andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-22989936596976404742010-09-05T22:45:00.012+01:002010-09-20T23:58:49.038+01:00I Belong To Glasgow<div style="text-align: left;">Ah, dear old Glasgow – that unique Scottish metropolitan experience, where the average life expectancy is the <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/health/Glasgow-men-live-6-years.6462429.jp">shortest in the country</a>, you can treat yourself to “authentic <a href="http://www.thaliglasgow.com/">Indian tapas</a>” (instead of that fake Indian tapas that's so prevalent everywhere else), and the road signs become increasingly-didactic the closer you get to its concrete-and-despair-clad outskirts: “Please use your seatbelt”, “Be a courteous driver”, “Dinnae pick yer nose or we’ll chib ye”.</div><div style="text-align: right;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLq9YMPpb4DGFbRVf_j7ok3WVcP9CSNroRLI87Co1tJQTnmTepJaQbtjMpMLbWL9wggYfErx25h0-Qyv1f76Jlmhq8guQzrcCM3KmzuA6kPbnKJb4H81cxAFnXTLEjKg3sF0VcM_eeN5U/s1600/Tolbooth+Steeple+SMALL.JPG"><br /></a></div>[To be fair to the "tapas" - <a href="http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Tapas_%28Sanskrit%29">which apparently means "heat" in Sanskrit</a> - folk, they might just be referring to the "essential energies" of the yogic tradition, a sense of deliberate self-discipline & austerity related to a higher purpose in life. Or not.]<br /><br />Still, today I come to praise Glasgow (for once), rather than bury it - even if that does seem like the most merciful option from time to time. For one thing, the city certainly possesses some fine architecture:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgedncMyCivlW6YUAZQgBQbypBS5M8TQI9vChTKQcz2_Pn4QPfg5Wx6foUpI6Jl3hkmfseS7_zGxF69Z2AOuYcCu_WUMdnH4yeZk92zwiwJMq0gBeL1M6ER6fW0k2RdRvdiXFxpNnF4vmQ/s1600/Italia+SMALL.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 168px; height: 221px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgedncMyCivlW6YUAZQgBQbypBS5M8TQI9vChTKQcz2_Pn4QPfg5Wx6foUpI6Jl3hkmfseS7_zGxF69Z2AOuYcCu_WUMdnH4yeZk92zwiwJMq0gBeL1M6ER6fW0k2RdRvdiXFxpNnF4vmQ/s200/Italia+SMALL.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513562376227270962" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEiJ8TUpmy-rGN7utaMy7Dqe0-_bu4BDAQlB1rvP3MshcVm1yRgWAWchOElstWn_p8I9H692hsR2v8MZbju76QHrLc__0H2kZF5NdTjIsajAYjUpvOkeBYaLXhyphenhyphenwg0LqK67pFnGs5Xi4/s1600/2+domes+SMALL.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 165px; height: 221px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrEiJ8TUpmy-rGN7utaMy7Dqe0-_bu4BDAQlB1rvP3MshcVm1yRgWAWchOElstWn_p8I9H692hsR2v8MZbju76QHrLc__0H2kZF5NdTjIsajAYjUpvOkeBYaLXhyphenhyphenwg0LqK67pFnGs5Xi4/s200/2+domes+SMALL.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513562361645696466" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />and for another, it's home to the small-but-perfectly-formed "<a href="http://www.strungoutguitars.com/">Strung Out Guitars</a>":<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX57COzktWOBKTbOF1W4xrxqxAJR4BieGuj-GAiiCERK7DfvGQ-Mmk48TMyc2osmnDQsdOAhfI5eFSDHvitBYuyMwmLDfhqfCkw6Ih5LSJMjVZwsWTo_qCMkmpdIvvxv_x_KnoRN9lo7k/s1600/Strung+Out1.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 155px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX57COzktWOBKTbOF1W4xrxqxAJR4BieGuj-GAiiCERK7DfvGQ-Mmk48TMyc2osmnDQsdOAhfI5eFSDHvitBYuyMwmLDfhqfCkw6Ih5LSJMjVZwsWTo_qCMkmpdIvvxv_x_KnoRN9lo7k/s200/Strung+Out1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513562355102685202" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWWw7qcsXjmMVgDjXVo5_aITWK2gxhOC4ejd_Lzm7NgNyKhEbCFWIZwhC5AybebJoayWaQLxxW0avL6T0RdeNQ40dO9fPt-qgmlMZPAo53G3175RO05Y1qxWJ8EtQS-1sE_PwJ_rj0qvE/s1600/Strung+Out2.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 236px; height: 115px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWWw7qcsXjmMVgDjXVo5_aITWK2gxhOC4ejd_Lzm7NgNyKhEbCFWIZwhC5AybebJoayWaQLxxW0avL6T0RdeNQ40dO9fPt-qgmlMZPAo53G3175RO05Y1qxWJ8EtQS-1sE_PwJ_rj0qvE/s200/Strung+Out2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513562359281661586" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><p></p>tucked away in the railway arches of King's Court, in the south-easternmost corner of Glasgow's central 'Merchant City' area, Strung Out is a delightful haven of independent instrument expertise & fascinating second-hand gear...some of which was pleasantly familiar from my dim & ever-more-distant past hanging around the old <a href="http://andyhgilmour.blogspot.com/2008/01/it-was-very-good-year.html">Live Music shop in Edinburgh</a> back in the mid-1980s.<br /><br />A few Sundays ago (yes, I work on a geological time-scale), I happened to be in the vicinity with a couple of hours to use up, so after I'd wandered around taking photographs (occasionally endangering residents by standing on bins & other assorted street furniture to get a better view), and enjoying the sunshine (an incredibly rare commodity in those parts), I headed over to see what they were all about...<br /><br />...and ended-up being handed a not-yet-on-display 1965 Martin D-18 acoustic to plonk around on - currently could be yours for £2399 (correct as of 20/09/10). Which was far too nice for me, but hey, I wasn't about to start complaining.<br /><br />Anyway, suffice to say, with its fine assortment of noise-making equipment, and friendly (& extremely knowledgeable) staff - oh, and did I mention they're top-notch specialist instrument repairers, too? - Strung Out is all the reason you need to make the effort and drag yourself over to Glasgow sometime soon...just remember your potential lifespan, and obey the road signs, eh?andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-2468694286991882332010-09-01T14:39:00.005+01:002010-09-01T17:42:59.718+01:00One White Duck / 0^{10} = Nothing At AllAfternoon.<br /><br />After virtually no deliberation whatsoever I have decided that, in honour of the current state of my bank account - and the level of political genius swilling around our delightful Lib-Con government - September shall henceforth be known as "Vacuity Month".<br /><br />[<span style="font-weight: bold;" class="hwd"> vacuity</span>: <span class="psa">noun</span> (<b><i>vacuities</i></b>) <b>1</b> the state or quality of being vacuous. <b>2</b> a foolish thought or idea. <b>3</b> <i>formal</i> an empty space.<br />(from the <a href="http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk/chambers/features/chref/chref.py/main?query=vacuity&title=21st">Chambers</a> on-line dictionary) ]<br /><br />So let me invite you most cordially to celebrate the next 30 days of glorious emptiness by posting superficially-meaningful-yet-utterly vacuous statements, (i.e. precisely the kind of stuff that seems to get the most attention on Twitter, advertisements for mobile phones/cars/the latest gratuitous Apple iCack, and 'motivational' posters*), wherever and whenever seems appropriate.<br /><br />Vacuity, after all, does have a long and noble history - for instance, in Wu Ch'eng-en's C16th Chinese classic "<a href="http://www.greatsage.net/">Monkey</a>", the Monkey King is given the name "Aware-of-Vacuity" when he is accepted as a pupil by the Taoist immortal Patriarch Subodhi (chapter 1, page 18 in my copy).<br /><br />Here then, without further ado, is my first 'Vacuity Of The Day':<br /><br />"Inspiration can come at any moment, yet the leaf cannot drift upstream"<br /><br />cheer up, there are only 29 more to go...<br /><br /><br />*when it comes to "motivation", I much prefer <a href="http://www.despair.com/viewall.html">these</a>.andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-45244955966902679392010-08-04T22:02:00.005+01:002010-08-05T00:25:19.878+01:00Kiss Me, Honey, Honey, Kiss Me<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.footstompin.com/artists/the_occasionals"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 96px; height: 140px;" src="http://www.footstompin.com/wso/images/library/obj68506?view=975" alt="" border="0" /></a>Evening. Time to delve into my ancient history again, thanks to a ceilidh-related request from a fiddler friend. You see, many centuries ago, when I was wandering around various bits of the country with the WildGeese Ceilidh Band, playing the bass and waffling instructions (along with bad impressions & odd 'humour') into a microphone in an attempt to prevent any major injuries on the dance floor, there was one particular dance I used to call that seemed to offer all the participants (band included) more...amusement...than any other.<br /><br />Now my good friend Jon asked if I could pass on the instructions, but I'd completely forgotten a couple of important things - firstly, which dark recess of a cupboard I'd "tidied" the book it originally came from into, and secondly, how I'd modified it (slightly) to allow for the level of both technical ability and alcoholic impairment found in your average ceilidh dancer.<br /><br />You see, the "average" ceilidh is a very special thing. It will, almost inevitably, be a wedding. In a marquee. That's on a slope. And it shall bring together a wider range of experience, age, lack of willingness to participate (especially the blokes), and quantity of booze required to sufficiently overcome that aforementioned lack (again, blokes), than at any other species of public performance. I have no statistics to prove this, of course, but seeing as how I've done hundreds of wedding ceilidhs, I'm a self-proclaimed internet expert on the matter - so if you don't agree with me, then you're just like Hitler. Or Stalin. Whichever you prefer. Possibly Robert Mugabe if you're feeling a little more creative.<br /><br />Anyway, at these events the caller has to cope with incredibly reluctant folk who've driven all the way up from East Grinstead, (had several rows over directions, arrived late, and are still angry because one of them got the drinks in damn quickly so they wouldn't have to drive back even though the other thought they'd agreed....), and have no clue what all this "Scotch dancing" nonsense is about, being thrown together with smug eejits from the Royal Scottish Country Prance (sic) Society, who find ceilidh dances so dreadfully simple and beneath them, so why, oh why can't the band just start because <span style="font-style: italic;">everyone</span> will be able to follow what they're doing <span style="font-style: italic;">easily</span>...and why has their request for the "Reel of the Auchterfistin Fish-manglers" (sets of 11 couples, arranged diagonally at the points of a decihedron, with only the spare ones in the middle dancing while the rest look on with artificial, synchronised-swimmer smiles and clap along) not been played yet?<br /><br />Fortunately another delving session produced the goods - "<a href="http://www.footstompin.com/artists/the_occasionals">Back In Step</a>" (the dances) by 'The Occasionals', which if you click on the link, can, I believe, be obtained in exchange for money (hopefully that should prevent any potential unpleasantness surrounding copyright).<br /><br />So here it is, for anyone wishing to partake - "The Russian Ballet". Better known (to the band), as "The Russian Snogging Dance" (for reasons which shall become obvious).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Music</span> - anything with a heavy 2-big-beats-in't-bar feel that can start slow & speed up. Russian, if you've got it, but there's no point being too bothered about it. They'll be too drunk to care.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sets of 3</span> - (1 man & 2 women, 2 women & 1 man, 3 men, 2 wolverines & George Osborne, whatever. A mixture, ideally)<br /><br />Each set of 3 stands in a line, "odd-one-out" in the middle of the trio, facing anti-clockwise ("widdershins", if you will), and holding hands. Which is nice.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">First 4 bars: </span>Starting on the left foot (not that it <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> matters), march forward for 3 steps, and kick the right foot out in front while shouting "Hoi!" loudly, in as guttural a cod-East European manner as possible. Then march backwards for another 3 steps and kick/"Hoi!" again. We used to start the dance at "Soviet State Funeral" pace, (the ones where the guy's secretly been dead for months, but the corpse had finally become so tatty they couldn't keep propping it up at military parades any longer), which seemed to work pretty well<span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Next 8 bars: </span>An intricate little manoeuvre officially known as "Double Arches" - aka "going under the sweaty armpits". (8 bars <span style="font-style: italic;">should</span> allow plenty of time for this, but once the dance speeds up, it can get...interesting). The middle person raises their <span style="font-style: italic;">left</span> arm, thus making an arch (with their left-hand partner's <span style="font-style: italic;">right</span> arm). The right-hand partner now heads over to & through this arch, followed by the middle person - who turns underneath their own left arm - and back to their original position. The key to this is to keep holding hands - although if the middle person uses <span style="font-style: italic;">too</span> tight a grip they can end up in what closely resembles a very painful Jiu Jitsu restraint position. Not nice at all.<br /><br />Fairly obviously, the middle person now raises their <span style="font-style: italic;">right</span> arm, allowing the left-hand partner to scoot through that arch & back to their place. Hopefully people haven't neglected their personal hygiene on the day.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Last 4 bars</span>: Middle person turns & snogs (at last - here's the gravy) the person on their left, turns and snogs the person on their right, then walks forward to join a different pair of 'outside' partners - calling something like "Kiss! Kiss! Forward, two, three, aaand..." helps to prevent over-lingerers slowing the whole thing down with too much tongue-entangling at this point. All of which means, if you've done your job properly & you've got a fair mixture of trios on the floor to start with...oh yes. The slow dawning of realisation on the part of those who may, perhaps, not be entirely secure in their sexuality is priceless. Oddly enough, this discomfiture is almost always confined to the blokes...<br /><br />....and there you have it. Not earth-shattering, not ground-breaking, but a simple wee bit o' fun. Repeat until they can't keep up with the band, or something of that order.<br /><br />Sometimes I miss it. I really do. Ach, well.andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-2243694846381364302010-07-16T22:35:00.004+01:002010-07-17T00:38:49.470+01:00Bastille DaySometimes I feel like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, I'm running so late for almost everything. Still, after more than 2 years of very sporadic recording, I've finally got something that just about passes for an album of music available on-line for the world to embrace - or, quite possibly ignore, but hey, ya gotta stay optimistic.<br /><br />Yes, that's right, competitively priced at only £3 - well, George Osborne's already started <a style="" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.andygilmour.com/"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 167px; height: 167px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/files/97/15/971561443-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>spreading the pain around all those with less than a quarter of the average income of his personal friends, and the market for 'instrumental music that doesn't fit into any easily-defined genre' isn't exactly buoyant (bouzoukis haven't quite captured the public imagination...yet) - "<a href="http://www.andygilmour.com/">the mourning tree</a>" was released into the wild this week. (On the 14th, to be exact, which happens to be my mother's birthday. Oh, and something happened in France a while back...probably involved bicycles).<br /><br />Of course, this means that I'm now into the unpleasant and self-esteem-devouring next phase - trying to persuade people that paying for music is, (in this case anyway), an excellent idea, and that my particular offerings merit both their attention & a little credit card action, too. Sadly, this can feel as if I'm primarily tapping-up my friends for cash, although at least they'd be getting 11 tracks of "landscapes and portraits of longed-for places and much-missed people" in return. (I know, I know, but how would you describe it? Alternative suggestions welcomed).<br /><br />Striking the right balance is especially tricky. I could take a 'complete honesty' approach, and let folk know that without some small financial encouragement, continuing with the pleasant fiction that I'm still a "serious" musician (rather than simply a full-time single parent who's just trying to stay sane) won't be possible, what with the price of bass strings and other such minor necessities.<br /><br />That might come across as ever-so-slightly desperate, however, which never goes down well. It's a fine line.<br /><br />Anyway. There it i<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://andygilmour.bandcamp.com/track/home-from-the-sea"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 167px; height: 167px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/files/33/50/3350589331-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>s, "<a href="http://www.andygilmour.com/">the mourning tree</a>" is done and hoping to find some friendly ears. All I can do is invite y'all to <a href="http://andygilmour.bandcamp.com/track/home-from-the-sea">come over</a>, give it a listen, and see what you think...<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />Andyandy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-66617439673541182932010-06-05T23:21:00.002+01:002010-06-06T00:21:44.738+01:00Into The Lens<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrnAy7BUWZkav8NtIYjHAf7R1VItl7IifP6lGlvv01Okz_50DBCOEBg32u_GK1WYfV42WiFawtQjFx7onGT2RkSygAq0ebeVHZM29F_o9PvrMjvljdMlJ8E6dUGczqkhdCdpn5YR5w_l4/s1600/olderweget.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrnAy7BUWZkav8NtIYjHAf7R1VItl7IifP6lGlvv01Okz_50DBCOEBg32u_GK1WYfV42WiFawtQjFx7onGT2RkSygAq0ebeVHZM29F_o9PvrMjvljdMlJ8E6dUGczqkhdCdpn5YR5w_l4/s200/olderweget.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479418603315137890" border="0" /></a><br />Afternoon. Well, I've finally got some new music out there - "<a href="http://andygilmour.bandcamp.com/track/the-older-we-get">the older we get</a>" is a fretless bass-driven, (heavily ECM-influenced..?), track that's intended to follow-on from my earlier "<a href="http://andygilmour.bandcamp.com/track/the-more-like-ourselves-we-become">the more like ourselves we become</a>". Apologies if using the first part of the aphorism as a title seems a little back-to-front - it just came out that way. Possibly this reveals something deep & meaningful about the state of my parenthood-addled mind. Or not.<br /><br />Oh, and if that wasn't enticing enough already (!), it also features some occasional tinkly noises courtesy of my fancy new Roland SRX-11 "Complete Piano" board (big thanks to Dave & Will at <a href="http://www.reddogmusic.co.uk/">Red </a><a href="http://www.reddogmusic.co.uk/">Dog</a> in Edinburgh for invaluable assistance & incredible customer service).<br /><br />Anyway, even if no-one thinks much of the music, hopefully at least folk might like what I was trying to do with the artwork, aka "mucking about with some photographs what I took" - and I'll be inflicting a description of the whole D.I.Y., no-budget process on the world right here later this week...child-free time permitting, naturally.<br /><br />Cheers.andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-86956863504269486652010-04-15T23:41:00.003+01:002010-04-15T23:58:31.756+01:00There's No Way Out Of HereThis is a small, inadequate apology for the lack of posting in these parts in a very long while.<br /><br />Sorry.<br /><br />There won't, I'm afraid, be anything appearing until well after the Easter 'holidays', when my schedule returns to something akin to normality, and I might get enough of my brain back to allow rational thought to begin again.<br /><br />Currently, my tedious single-parenthood means I only have the space after both monkeys have gone to bed in which to do...everything. Typing nonsense about subjects that aren't going to change anybody's life doesn't exactly figure too high on the list of stuff that needs to be done, either.<br /><br />There are, of course, so many things going on presently which are extremely noteworthy - Papal obfuscations & evasions, the UK general election (aka grand lying & airbrushing contest), giant clouds of Icelandic volcanic ash - but there are far more interesting & informed folk than I producing vast screeds of information on such matters already. Trying to add to it would simply be superfluous.<br /><br />Anyway, apologies again for the long unexplained silence. Some service may resume eventually.<br /><br />In the meantime, here's a photograph of myself from 1995, which looks (& feels) like a very long time ago indeed, and proves conclusively that I've never had any sense of style whatsoever...<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivnX8uW93yIorsm7LZro09tRCw3QoxxMfIaj89h0GDj6NI5Vgd2f_Fz9qqFmZeQLrCpus4sWVeWzpgEXe-Nvvg63twQs3ED1o8mmdh-sMaVOnOmTY5js7cnMvomIyZP0xv-k-Sx6sBszM/s1600/Andy+and+the+bridge.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivnX8uW93yIorsm7LZro09tRCw3QoxxMfIaj89h0GDj6NI5Vgd2f_Fz9qqFmZeQLrCpus4sWVeWzpgEXe-Nvvg63twQs3ED1o8mmdh-sMaVOnOmTY5js7cnMvomIyZP0xv-k-Sx6sBszM/s200/Andy+and+the+bridge.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460501918604115666" border="0" /></a>andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-50479523446576070192010-02-13T20:50:00.005+00:002010-07-31T10:51:27.023+01:00Don't Bring Me Down<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">Since tomorrow (at the time of writing, Sunday, the 14th of February, 2010. When you happen to be reading this, who knows? Not that it'll make much difference - like so many of us, it doesn't improve with age), happens to be the annual "</span><a style="font-family: georgia;" href="http://andyhgilmour.blogspot.com/2008/02/all-lovers-are-deranged.html">International Day Of Kitsch Tat And Misery</a><span style="font-family:georgia;">", and with my current singleton status unlikely to change any time soon, I thought I'd take a wee stab at cheering myself up by focussing on some of the simple things in life that I like, enjoy, appreciate, etc. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Following on from last week's "positive negative" campaign for non-voters, I came up with a small personal challenge, which I can thoroughly recommend if you're particularly bored, or just trying to avoid work...the latter being something I find far too easy to do (I should be bouzouki-ing my fingers to the bone right now, for instance, rather than write this ephemera).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Give yourself one minute (nae cheating) to write down/type out a list of "things you like" (and nae cheating by selective editing after you've finished to make yourself look better, like some politician appearing on </span><a style="font-family: georgia;" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qnmr">Desert Island Discs</a><span style="font-family:georgia;">, either). Then, if you're like me (oh dear) be surprised at all the stuff that didn't make it onto the list as the final seconds rushed away.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Oh, and there were a couple of other rules, too - no vague, woolly abstracts like "committing yourself to the cause of world peace" (or indeed, "world low-intensity conflict" if you're an arms dealer..unlikely, admittedly, but...). That's all great and lovely (not so much if it's the 'arms dealer' scenario), but could you be a little bit more specific, please? Name your favourite pro-peace (or war) organisation(s) instead, ok? And I consciously avoided anything to do with "lurve", since however much I may enjoy "snuggling" (a lot, since you didn't ask), there isn't any going-on around here, and this was meant to be about 'happiness'. No specific musicians, bands, or genres of music either, because thinking about that topic would have sabotaged my already-limited brain and prevented it from considering anything else.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;">Anyway, here's my 'honest & genuine' little list, in exactly the (dis)order in which it issued forth:</span><br /><br />My kids, Bergen, rowing boats, hills, trees, flowers, Edinburgh, running, lifting, bouzoukis, bass guitars, chocolate, Puddledub Pork, castles, Norse sagas, history!, David Hume, John Muir, Richard Dawkins, my friends, red wine, Port Ellen, whisky, rugby, dogs, Keswick.</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">No idea why I typed an exclamation mark after "history", and yes, starting with "my kids" might seem a little contrived, but that's just what came out. Surprising, maybe, after the way the little beggars had been behaving today...</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A few brief, but possibly necessary, explanations: "<a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.puddledub.co.uk/">Puddledub Pork</a>" are producers of delicious bacon and the fantastic "Auchtertool Originals" sausages; "<span style="font-style: italic;">running</span>" is probably a reaction to my <a href="http://andyhgilmour.blogspot.com/2009/03/careful-with-that-axe-eugene.html">knee cartilage injury/surgery</a> last year (I don't run up hills these days, just after my kids, but it's a great feeling - trying to do some "<a href="http://www.owresource.com/index.php"><span style="font-style: italic;">lifting</span></a>" again though, albeit very carefully, and with a lot lighter weights than in years past)<span style="font-style: italic;">; </span>I'd been discussing <a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/"><span style="font-style: italic;">John Muir</span></a> and what an incredible life he'd had with my older monkey earlier; "<a href="http://www.whiskymerchants.co.uk/port-ellen/4520131200"><span style="font-style: italic;">Port Ellen</span></a>" is, for me, the finest malt whisky ever produced; "<a href="http://andyhgilmour.blogspot.com/2008/12/norwegian-wood.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Bergen</span></a>" is a wonderful place, albeit expensive; finally, sorry, but I haven't a clue how "<span style="font-style: italic;">flowers</span>" got in there, but "bicycles" didn't. Or "<a href="http://www.panoramio.com/user/635388">photography</a>", for that matter, which is something I really enjoy (however mediocre the results may be).<br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal">Like I said, give it a try yourself - hopefully your results will make as little sense as mine.</p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal">Still, for what it's worth, thought I might as well finish by entering into the St. Valentine's Day spirit...<br /></p>For Sale: Scottish bloke, medium-size, 1969 version. Single parent, reasonable condition for age (although some visible deterioration). Fully domesticated, comes with 2 "boisterous & energetic" children. 7 previous owners (some more careful than others). Might suit lady of similar vintage capable of tolerating fondness for hills, prog rock, & alleged sense of humour. Offers in the region of "Will work for food".andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-44250289079063296012010-02-07T10:51:00.005+00:002010-02-07T13:21:54.206+00:00Power To The PeopleEvery time we have an election in this country, I do the same tiresome, irritating thing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFEYX_SH4WhyYOfLP9Ju5VyH4hi9ERgyu7Uxuw6xcvEQ63h1WYB8NeDFHiq6jvRkiYGMwIPuTFSMj1SCsQxT8vBH55nmh8wnVRD0pJSmldxC8-0z2fAL5f_Rv8NSCR4SUVLdhUJ7wD6xc/s1600-h/rock-the-vote-18x24rev.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 132px; height: 177px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFEYX_SH4WhyYOfLP9Ju5VyH4hi9ERgyu7Uxuw6xcvEQ63h1WYB8NeDFHiq6jvRkiYGMwIPuTFSMj1SCsQxT8vBH55nmh8wnVRD0pJSmldxC8-0z2fAL5f_Rv8NSCR4SUVLdhUJ7wD6xc/s200/rock-the-vote-18x24rev.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435487708511852882" border="0" /></a> - urge people to go out and VOTE. Participate. Stand up, shuffle off down to the nearest primary school (or wherever the voting station happens to be), and be counted - unless you're using a postal ballot, where <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-03667.pdf">past evidence</a> suggests you may already have been counted several times, or not at all (it's electoral roulette, without quite so much misplaced optimism, excitement, or slim chance of any financial gain...unless someone offers you hard cash for your ballot paper). Even if you're in the safest of safe seats for a party whose policies you despise but you have no realistic chance of removing - please, <span style="font-style: italic;">please</span>, vote. I know, the election itself is still up to three months away, but I thought I'd give myself plenty of time to get the message out this year.<br /><br />It's not that I particularly mind who you vote for (ok, honestly, I'd much rather you didn't support any flagrant bigots, or the Conservatives, or...), and it's not as if there isn't a wider choice than ever before. There are parties for almost everyone these days - from the religious "we adore our supernatural invisible friend who loves and knows what's best for everyone, but homosexuality is <span style="font-style: italic;">bad</span>", to the xenophobic "we love our country - or how it was in a mythical 1950's that never actually existed, but foreigners (and homosexuals, come to think of it) are <span style="font-style: italic;">bad</span>", via the ridiculous George Galloway-esque "We are all Hamas now! Even though they say both certain foreigners<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>and homosexuals are <span style="font-style: italic;">bad</span>, oh, and <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/feb/18/hamas-palestine-israel-human-rights">violently repress anyone who disagrees with them</a>...but..errr...they hate America, and they're being oppressed too, so..err.." crowd.<br /><br />[Perhaps one day there'll even be a post-modernist party who regard all political views as equally valid, so espouse everything (and nothing) simultaneously - yes, you're right, Tony Blair came perilously close, and Obama is sailing in the same direction - and regard elections in a reflexive manner, with the voters 'meta-reactions' towards policy decisions being interpreted through the medium of a shin-kicking contest....?]<br /><br />It's undeniable that, under the UK's shamefully unrepresentative current system, in most parliamentary seats only a couple of parties stand a genuine chance of winning, so a vote for a 'minority' party might seem to be a waste of time - although that's not necessarily the whole story, since even if voter support is not translated directly into seats, it can mean increased media coverage, membership, financial support,etc,etc which would benefit your cause of choice (lost or otherwise) in the future. Plus a vote for the "Rainbow Unity Old Folks' Legalise Guinea-Pig Eating, Ban Nude Cricket Coalition" is at least standing up for something you believe in, so you can feel good about yourself in a slightly smug way.<br /><br />Usually by this point, too many people I know will have trotted out the old (and demonstrably false)"don't vote - it only encourages them", or "it doesn't matter who you vote for, all politicians are the same" clichés, or variations on those themes. These arguments are, I'm afraid to have to say, a load of bollocks.<br /><br />Not realising that there are significant differences between the (three or four, depending on where you live) major parties in the UK, is simply an admission of personal ignorance. If, for instance, you haven't spotted yet that David Cameron and chums are, underneath the overly-smoothed exterior, really only a twinset-and-pearls away from Thatcherism (and all that that entails), then you haven't been paying any attention. There's an election campaign heading our way rapidly, and a host of easily-accessible sources of reasonably reliable information (<span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> Wikimpedimentia, please) available. Who knows, there's the remote possibility that a substantive argument might even be put forward in one of the televised debates...but don't get your hopes up, it's pretty unlikely. So not acknowledging/understanding the variations between the species is not a reasonable position. The variations might not be as great as you personally would prefer, but that's not the same thing, and as previously mentioned, there are lots of other choices on the electoral menu.<br /><br />Deciding not to vote at all isn't an especially clever choice either. All that "not <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7WQcX8ve3FZz4B_2xSKdQ1gRhw8cfOLEFhbK3vfFsOmz8pYLTF1JEnEra6sRkSZCaIp1dlIdRIvw0MtMRU2MJ-cfL_JZPPbUYxzQTTY2hiCa53wdQGJzspcgaACzvrF0CDogHRxNTXfM/s1600-h/pg-16-griffin-pa_242136s.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 201px; height: 135px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7WQcX8ve3FZz4B_2xSKdQ1gRhw8cfOLEFhbK3vfFsOmz8pYLTF1JEnEra6sRkSZCaIp1dlIdRIvw0MtMRU2MJ-cfL_JZPPbUYxzQTTY2hiCa53wdQGJzspcgaACzvrF0CDogHRxNTXfM/s200/pg-16-griffin-pa_242136s.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5435488645618266866" border="0" /></a>voting" achieves is to make it easier for politicians to ignore you, and for bigots like Nick Griffin to gain power. In the European Parliament elections, the BNP didn't increase its vote, but a large number of (predominantly) Labour voters went off in a huff, and by not bothering to vote at all, allowed the bigots to take the victory. If these disaffected-but-lazy Labourites had gone out and registered a 'protest vote' for *any* other party, the BNP wouldn't have had a sufficient share of the votes cast to be elected. Some achievement. Hope the "non voters" in the north of England are properly proud of themselves.<br /><br />After centuries of struggle for representation, where people suffered enormously for the right to vote, I find it depressing that so many people today simply don't bother, even though there are so many options to vote positively <span style="font-style: italic;">for</span>, and voting is so easy to do. We no longer have the spectacle of women chained to railings, desperately fighting against legal prejudice, suffering forcible feeding in prisons - merely for the right to have their say. Here in Dunfermline, admittedly, at certain hours of the weekend, you can<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>witness women <span style="font-style: italic;">leaning</span> on railings, struggling not to vomit while shouting incoherently into the mobile phones that they're too drunk to operate...but that's another issue - possibly they're just canvassing on behalf of the "Too stoshious tae stand fer onyhing..'cept maybe that Brad Pitt, ye ken? He's gorgeous!" party? Who knows...<br /><br />What "not voting" also fails to do at all is "send them a message", which is something else folk have used to justify their idleness/apathy. (Rain affecting turnout is, frankly, pathetic).<br /><br />So here's an idea. A little challenge to the apathetic...<br /><br />If you don't think voting does any good, if you don't like any of the myriad political views on offer - start your own campaign.<br /><br />Launch a group with a simple aim - to encourage people to make a minimal effort on election day, head over to their local polling stations, and write <span style="font-weight: bold;">NO</span> in nice, clear capital letters on the ballot paper.<br /><br />It would be extremely easy (and cost nothing) to organise this on a massive scale, thanks to the internet - set-up the Facebook Group, Bebo, MySpace, etc. Twitter away merrily. Blog your progress. Co-ordinate your efforts and send press releases via email. The media are always hungry for stories - remember what happened with the Simon Cowell/Rage Against The Machine business at Christmas? Well, that could be <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">you</span> saying <span style="font-weight: bold;">NO</span> on the BBC Breakfast sofa this time...what more incentive do you need?<br /><br />If you gathered enough support, if the number of <span style="font-weight: bold;">NO</span> papers was in, say, only in the tens of thousands, <span style="font-style: italic;">then</span> you might just get the politicians' attention. Plenty of them are sitting on small enough majorities to be nervous, and an orchestrated campaign like that could make all the difference...<br /><br />I did mention you could achieve all that for free, didn't I? Good. Just checking.<br /><br />So please, in this next election, whoever, whatever you support, exercise the right your great-great-great-great grandparents most likely were denied...and vote. It's a hard-won privilege, which too many of us forget all too easily.andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-47209985521148081432010-01-23T21:25:00.006+00:002010-01-24T23:58:28.773+00:00Left Of Centre...and in favour of Scottish independence, as it happens, but that's quite enough about my personal political persuasions. Instead let's have a wee look at the question of where exactly should you place instruments in a stereo mix...? (Non-musicians may be feeling their eyes glaze over at this point - but hang on in there, because it <span style="font-style: italic;">might</span> almost be interesting. Give it a couple of paragraphs, anyway, before you decide to go and watch yet more videos of people falling off all manner of bizarre things in simply<span style="font-style: italic;"> hilarious</span> ways on YouTube...)<br /><br />'Panning' has become something of a minor obsession of mine, recently - it all started with<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWSbYVBXOxqX1ZY9_IqSKBxacDuWY7zzlNwPj-j-ErT5nZNRBOLJf64W3gUJB7a2LmdvUGKB5iNVVHmLn4qKDUWBapmuGWncJQvuAvUn4jfoPxsEt6IenULQu0tOSacg8nibod5TYPs-M/s1600-h/magnetic+north.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 125px; height: 125px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWSbYVBXOxqX1ZY9_IqSKBxacDuWY7zzlNwPj-j-ErT5nZNRBOLJf64W3gUJB7a2LmdvUGKB5iNVVHmLn4qKDUWBapmuGWncJQvuAvUn4jfoPxsEt6IenULQu0tOSacg8nibod5TYPs-M/s200/magnetic+north.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430415454491434850" border="0" /></a> the last track I recorded, <a href="http://andygilmour.com/track/magnetic-north">"magnetic north</a>", featuring 3 separate bass parts (1 electric upright, 2 fretless bass guitars - shaken, not stirred). No matter how many subtle (and not-so-subtle) eq adjustments I applied, the E.U.B. wasn't coming through clearly. Then an article on stereo placement I'd read years before stumbled helpfully back into my brain. It suggested drawing a stage layout diagram, showing where each player should stand/sit/mooch around looking bored during other people's solos, exactly as you wanted to hear them in the mix.<br /><br />This really helped - my original plan was to have the E.U.B. in the middle, with a fretless bass off to each side. Picturing that nightmarish trio on stage, though, it made much more sense to have the E.U.B. on one side, with the main fretless part (basic melody and chordal bits) taking the centre. The version of me that was just doing little filling-in, fancy-dan stuff could stand well off to the left-hand side, and just be grateful he was on stage at all.<br /><br />Now I don't claim there's anything particularly clever or unique about all that, but after a few conversations on the topic with <a href="http://martinlennon.blogspot.com/">Mr. Martin Lennon</a> (who's currently recording an album of his fine songs, and gets mentioned on this blog far too regularly), I started paying a lot more attention to the panning on albums I personally know and would bite yer fingers off if you tried to steal from me, to see if any of them had unusual set-ups that might prove educational...<br /><br />There can be, in these days of widely-available stereo enhancers, auto-spatial-expanders, and multi-dimensional-sonic-whiffle-diffusionators, quite a temptation to stretch everything as massively wide as possible - after all, you've paid good money for that 40gigabyte piano sample, and you want your listeners to hear every bloody note as if it were a foot (30cm) wide. Or by judicious mic placements, you've created a multi-channel vastness-of-a-drumkit that encompasses so much of the stereo spectrum the drummer would require a taxi to get from one end of a tom roll to the other. And I'm sure that in its place, that's lovely, fantastic, and entirely appropriate.<br /><br />But not so helpful when you're trying to maintain some kind of clarity for the listener - if all your instruments are competing for the same space, then inevitably, some of them are going to lose. And start complaining about their level in the mix, and demanding you turn the sax player down instead, because their part's not so important to the vibe, and anyway, they were out of tune for half of it - yeah, shut up, you know you were...yeah? is that right? aye, yer maw an a'! Stick yer reed up yer...! Etc,etc.<br /><br />So, anyhoo, after sliding through plenty of examples of <span style="font-weight: bold;">HUGE</span> production (massive flying keyboards on all sides, ranks of backing vocals attacking from wide left and right simultaneously, <span style="font-style: italic;">how</span> many sodding guitar parts did you need...?) from the last few decades, I finally listened to one of my favourite albums for the first time through headphones...and was very surprised.<br /><br />(Quick "by the way" - I'm not an enormously-walleted 'audiophile', so don't possess an acoustically-perfect 'listening room', equipped with multiple speaker arrays and gleaming, platinum-knobbed hi-fi gear. There's a 10+ year old technics cd player & cambridge amp in the sitting room which enable music to come out, and that's fine, ta. That's my excuse for not noticing certain things sooner...it's not a <span style="font-style: italic;">good</span> excuse, but still...)<br /><br />On the 1967 Cream [who invented "heavy rock", <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> the Kinks] classic, "Disraeli Gears", <a style="font-weight: bold;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.boikot-underground.com/images/CreamDisraeliGears.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 125px; height: 125px;" src="http://www.boikot-underground.com/images/CreamDisraeliGears.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Ginger Baker's drums are almost <span style="font-style: italic;">entirely</span> on the right (unless my headphone wires are somehow connected back-to-front). Jack Bruce is playing bass & singing in the middle (the vocals move slightly when he and Clapton are both singing), and Clapton's main guitar (mostly rhythm) is away to the left. And that's how they sit for the whole album. Which makes a lot of sense, given the complexity of Baker's drumming (the intensity of <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Cream/Disraeli+Gears/We%27re+Going+Wrong">"We're Going Wrong",</a> for instance) and what folk were listening to the album on at the time. It does, though, see<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.freewebs.com/bedford_audio/Automix2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 126px; height: 94px;" src="http://www.freewebs.com/bedford_audio/Automix2.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>m quite odd - he certainly sat in the middle of the trio when they played live, which is where most of us would <span style="font-style: italic;">expect</span> the kit to be. Just not on that record - and it works (I reckon). If anyone wants rather more detail than they might have expected about the recording of Disraeli Gears, there's an excellent article (with photos) <a href="http://gpatt.customer.netspace.net.au/cream/gears/recordinggears.htm">here</a>.<br /><br />There are, of course, plenty of examples of classic albums where there is "a place for everything<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/4939/cover_2558623102009.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 125px; height: 125px;" src="http://www.progarchives.com/progressive_rock_discography_covers/4939/cover_2558623102009.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>, and everything in its place" - the late, great John Martyn's "<a href="http://www.last.fm/music/John+Martyn/Solid+Air">Solid Air</a>" offers wonderful clarity, even when he's "echoplex-ing" away at full blast. Placing the electric piano wide left, and keeping it in quite a narrow space over there, certainly helps. And in terms of keeping keyboards under control, even when Joe Zawinul, on Weather Report's "<a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Weather+Report/Heavy+Weather">Heavy Weather</a>", is using several different sounds simultaneously, each one seems carefully positioned in such a way that it doesn't overlap too much with anything else. Mind you, I'm guessing that Wayne Shorter wasn't taking any chances in his "Assistant Producer" role, and panned his saxophone far right to ensure it stayed well clear of the marauding synths.<br /><br />And, well, that's about it, really. No great revelations, merely a humble suggestion that just because you <span style="font-style: italic;">can</span> spread every instrument all over the stereo mix, it doesn't mean you <span style="font-style: italic;">should</span>. And why not try sticking the drums off to one side for a change? You never know, you might like it...andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1162071225913427363.post-83481493339039869492010-01-05T00:43:00.001+00:002010-01-05T00:43:56.629+00:00If I Had A Million DollarsMerry 2010. Hope you all had a great start to the new year, and that everything you could possibly desire for the next twelve months is going to turn out just peachy. Of course, statistically, that's incredibly unlikely, but hey, misplaced optimism, it's a positive lifestyle choice for the 21st century. And when the inevitable depression sets in after you realise that your life is, in fact, rapidly crumbling around you, there are the always widely-available alcohol, narcotics or spank-that-overdraft comfort-spending as alternative options to help get you through the most desperate times. Like I said, "Happy New Year".<br /><br />Anyway, when I bang on about musical equipment here it's usually the value-for-money slice of the market I'm looking at - good quality bargains on a budget. But for once, my folk-blues-acoustic-songwritery chum <a href="http://martinlennon.blogspot.com/">Mr. Martin Lennon </a>suggested I pick a "money-no-object", fantasy bass rig.<br /><br />Which has proved surprisingly tricky to decide on.<br /><br />Back in the mists of time, (some point in my mid-20's, when I was progging away with <a href="http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=61">Citizen Cain</a>), I'd likely have plumped for some mega-stack of ridiculous size & power. A mighty 1000 watts (or thereabouts) of thundering low-end disturbance, probably with at least two of the massive custom cabinets Trace Elliot built for Tony Levin (20"+ speakers, I seem to recall?). But I was young and foolish then.<br /><br />Now I'm almost 41 (dammit), and still equally foolish...but a little more aware of my limitations and frailties (mental <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> physical). Plus I don't own a car (I don't drive at all), and haven't done any proper weight training in about 4 years.<br /><br />Also, I'm not very likely to be indulging in any arena tours...ever, so that sort of set-up would be utterly pointless. To be a little controversial, I'd suggest a great many bass players have amplification that is far more powerful, space-consuming, and injuriously heavy than they really need. I know, there are plenty of drummers out there who seem to be acting-out their repressed rage on their kits, but still...<br /><br />Recently I've been aiming for a set-up that's completely modular, adaptable for a variety of gigging circumstances, but predicated on two notions -<br /><br />1) A large PA offers the best set of bass speakers this side of a hefty physiotherapy/osteopathy bill; and<br /><br />2) You shouldn't own any piece of performance gear that's too heavy to lift (from the floor) above your head, comfortably - unless you happen to own some roadies as well. Thus, if you're a huge, strongman-type, an 8x10" cabinet is fine. Otherwise, we mere average-size folk should try to take as little as possible that'll do the job.<br /><br />(a handy, simplified, visual guide follows for any guitarists who think that a full Marshall stack is appropriate for pub gigs, and that they somehow deserve assistance with carrying the bloody thing)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrdo0fLly26RrfPCtvWkIqf7tEo0hIXWySKe6M8xCzQVmu0q-t_zQYv82u5-z3jYAGAADzpFzOZw7Fgq79aI-4ZqHt6Fu-DoWWP_4yw3NHmRxbEKP3-9D238jBziIfBmaKtYCrKUfPrko/s1600-h/Ashdown+Amp.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 232px; height: 197px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrdo0fLly26RrfPCtvWkIqf7tEo0hIXWySKe6M8xCzQVmu0q-t_zQYv82u5-z3jYAGAADzpFzOZw7Fgq79aI-4ZqHt6Fu-DoWWP_4yw3NHmRxbEKP3-9D238jBziIfBmaKtYCrKUfPrko/s200/Ashdown+Amp.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422985352622532482" border="0" /></a><a style="" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzRq6tReeUbgozvdUkVdpqemA9hyOjQX3sMdvF-kT8e5b0zaY2nfuGU2Quz9Flt_3gVuK1DjU0lsypwMcmH5l1WRm7qXNZgKhJNkA3-AjHo2SpzK0oBTTeWHk3WPW4ZsVPit0V_-k-vn8/s1600-h/Bass+VT.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzRq6tReeUbgozvdUkVdpqemA9hyOjQX3sMdvF-kT8e5b0zaY2nfuGU2Quz9Flt_3gVuK1DjU0lsypwMcmH5l1WRm7qXNZgKhJNkA3-AjHo2SpzK0oBTTeWHk3WPW4ZsVPit0V_-k-vn8/s200/Bass+VT.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422985782183749810" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">In truth, the Ashdown amplifier I'm modelling in the left-hand picture only weighs 27kg - a relatively easy overhead lift - but I still wouldn't enjoy having to heft it up a few flights of stairs (e.g. Teviot Row - remember <span style="font-style: italic;">those</span> stairs, Martin?), especially if I had both basses and a rucksack full of 'gig essentials' slung over my shoulders at the same time. My Tech 21 VT-Bass pre-amp pedal in t'other photo, however, is lighter than a very small kitten, and makes much better noises than the Ashdown...so long as there's something to plug it into.<br /></div><br />Which is where my indecision starts. All I'd need, strictly, would be a decent wee power amp and a speaker...but really I'm after rackmount-gear performance, only without having to lug around the inevitable big injection-moulded rack-carry-case (this also rules-out Tech 21's rather cool <a href="http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sansamp/rbi.html">SansAmp RBI</a>, unfortunately). The amp has to be as fully-functional as possible, yet small enough to fit tidily in a rucksack, and the speaker light enough to be one-hand-portable over fairly long distances.<br /><br />A little research proves that, as in the rest of life, <span style="font-style: italic;">if</span> the budget is big enough, you'll always have a choice. There's quite a wide range of lightweight-yet-powerful amp heads available - <a href="http://www.markbass.it/">Markbass</a>, <a href="http://www.eden-electronics.com/index.asp">Eden</a>, <a href="http://www.gallien-krueger.com/">Gallien-Krueger</a>, <a href="http://www.aguilaramp.com/">Aguilar</a>, even the wee Ampeg Micro-VR I<a href="http://andyhgilmour.blogspot.com/2009/07/reet-petite.html"> wrote about</a> a while ago (and I'm sure there's many more besides). No idea which to choose - all/any of them could do a very good job, especially with the VT-Bass in front of them to provide sonic variety. Or for upright players, how about a <a href="http://www.philjonesbass.com/pjbdirect/product_info.php?cPath=43_21_24&products_id=36">Phil Jones 'Briefcase' combo</a>? So many great options - again, assuming you've got the cash.<br /><br />And when it comes to speaker cabinets, they're getting lighter all the time - I haven't tested them, so can't vouch for their quality, but if the <a href="http://barefacedbass.com/compact.htm">Barefaced compact</a>'s spec sheet is moderately accurate, it should be a cracker. Definitely seems slimline & portable...until I found the Schroeder website. Their "<a href="http://www.schroedercabinets.com/mini12+.htm">Mini 12+</a>" full-range cab looks impressive - but if even that's too large - how about a "<a href="http://www.schroedercabinets.com/mini10+.htm">Mini 10+</a>"...? 300w RMS, 45hz bottom end, and less than 8kg! Alas, I don't live anywhere near a retailer that stocks such wonders to see how their claims stand up, but since I'm picking 'fantasy' gear, and could send them back if they were rubbish...<br /><br />ummm...I don't know...er...how about...the Tech 21 VT-Bass pedal, into a Markbass Little Mark III, going through a Schroeder 'Mini 12+ light' (< 9kg). Not outrageous (whole lot could be had for £1200-ish), and eminently practical - total weight of 12kg. So, if any of my friends happen to win the lottery, I've a birthday coming up, and now you know just what to buy me - that'd be really nice of you, ta.<br /><br />Back to some sort of reality with a dull, painful thud next time. Promise.andy gilmourhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10851062438056633660noreply@blogger.com4