Enjoying playing gigs again after our major level 4 Covid 19 lockdown here in New Zealand. Here’s the first hour of the gig at Keystone Bar and Restaurant here in Hamilton on 31 July. Still trying to find a decent camera angle.
It’s still very early days gigging together as a unit as this is about the 8th time we’ve played together and probably the 10th time we’ve been in the same place at the same time as people but the gel is beginning to form. I’m still trying to get used to camera placement to get a decent view of the stage and what we are doing. This angle seems to work OK although it highlight the backs of our heads and misses our faces, however it gives an idea of our view. The main issue this time is that although I plugged the GoPro into mains power I actually forgot to flick the power switch on.
Reece recently acquired this Ernie Ball guitar and it is dreamy. Nice thin neck, lightweight and the tonal options are beyond anything I have seen before. There is the ability to make it sound like an acoustic guitar which is amazing. You can hear it i some of the pick up selection changes that he makes throughout the performance.
Emilio painted this drum kit this week. Although he didn’t seem entirely happy with the outcome it looks really great from the side of the stage. Like all of those crafty DIY that we do I’d say he has learned a lot and will approach the next round in a different way. It’s so good though and people generally wouldn’t know that he did it himself – it’s passable as a pro job with the lights on it being played live.
The Fender Jazz was a dream to play as per usual – I absolutely love my bass which I acquired 10 years ago now – it’s an American build Fender Jazz Deluxe 5. I altered the bass height by just a few inches (literally 2 inches) about a month ago and it’s all but eliminated some stress I was experiencing in my left arm. Our gigs are 4 hours long with no break so being set up for comfort is important. This particular night was 4.5 hours and we just keep jamming for the love of it – it’s somewhat a musical workout and we are a little addicted, potentially to our detriment however it’s hard to stop when you are so keen.
That aside my Fender is going straight into a Tech21 Flyrig – I generally just use the Sansamp section for tone. I use the boost section for slap technique to bring the volume up to match my finger style level. I also use the chorus section to bring out the tonal ambience of a song and fill out the scope. This is really handy in a 3 piece setting where we are covering music that has many parts. The Tech21 has a DI output which goes straight into the PA and from there I use a set of Shure in-ear headphones for foldback. I’m still trying to get the in-ears to stay in throughout the night, this is something I need to get sorted as it’s a distraction.