THE Mediocres at Poggey's Tavern

[NWBasser]

Sooo, finally had a full gig last night with the band. We played a pretty small tavern in West Seattle to a happy crowd of about 50 drunken souls.

The lead guy brought his oh-so-sweet Carvin Semi-hollow. Only one serious train wreck that wasn't part of.

What really set things off was this guy came in and asked to sit-in on harmonica. I thought "oh no", but the drummer let him in and it turned out awesome. He wailed on the harp. But then, he pulls out a trombone!

Oh criminy, that was freakin' incredible! Really set off some of out funk tunes. We did some really great jams too. I'll post sound clips after I figure out how to cut up the recording.

And pics.

OK, who farted?

The crappy part was that the venue didn't comp us drinks or food.:mad

And the pay stunk. Not even enough to cover gas.

We had quite a few friends show up, but most of the crowd were older, um, hard-worn folks.

But they really got into the music and we were asked back.

 

[omegadot]

Ahhh I love playing trombone. Actually decent at that one.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[NWBasser]

Ahhh I love playing trombone. Actually decent at that one.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

As soon as I can get the sound files broken up into individual songs, I'll post some clips. The trombone sounded absolutely fantastic with our band. They guy could really play. I wish I had his contact info. Maybe invite him to join the band.

 

[omegadot]

I really like horns in a band. And not just for bias!

 

[FrankenFretter]

I can't believe you still have that Rail shirt. That shirt is older than a lot of my friends, I believe. How is it that you can make a shirt last 30 years???

 

[NWBasser]

I can't believe you still have that Rail shirt. That shirt is older than a lot of my friends, I believe. How is it that you can make a shirt last 30 years???

You wouldn't believe how many people came up to me and said, "Rail?, wow I remember those guys!".

I think I got it when my high school band opened for them at the Elks Lodge. It's been hermetically sealed since then.

 

[deeaa]

My son is wearing an old T-shirt that says 'Club' something I got for free when I was six or so, and it appears in nigh every photo of me taken in the summer ever since. My cousins even had a special name for that shirt because I always wore it and it was my favorite one.

That's me wearing the T in I believe what HAS to be around '76 or '77:

In 2001 I gave it to my sister as a memento when her daughter was born, and she used it later...she wore it around 2009 when they visited our cottage and my sister gave it back to me because my boy was getting big enough to wear it.

Well since then, as of 2012, my older boy is quite often wearing the same shirt, still looking the same, faded but sound...don't have a picture here though. And I suppose in a few years it'll fit my younger boy too and still be used.

I would not be surprised to see that shirt see 40 years of hard use...if it takes that with grace, I'll frame the rag!

 

[R_of_G]

Sounds like a fun gig. You know I always enjoy a good horn player in a funk jam.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Cool!

 

[NWBasser]

OK, finally got some sound stuffs.
Free MP3 download: The Difficult Kind.mp3

Excuse my lousy slap technique. This was an unrehearsed jam.
Free MP3 download: Jazz Jam.mp3

And funkiness.

Free MP3 download: Rock Steady II.mp3

Hopefully the sound links work.

 

[aeolian]

The Mediocres rises above the mediocre. Really nice tunes. Everything's tight and 2 really good female vocalists. Do you ever play in Portland, if you do let me know?

By the way, I love your band name. I play in a hobby band and we call ourselves "From The Top" because we say that all the time in practice.

 

[Eric]

I'll have to check out the sound files when I get home. I don't have a very good way to listen to music until I reclaim my headphones, but I think I'll get at least an idea.

 

[NWBasser]

The Mediocres rises above the mediocre. Really nice tunes. Everything's tight and 2 really good female vocalists. Do you ever play in Portland, if you do let me know?

By the way, I love your band name. I play in a hobby band and we call ourselves "From The Top" because we say that all the time in practice.

Well, so far no plans for Portland. Although the drummer and I both have brothers down that way so you never know.

Unfortunately, when I added the compression to the songs it brought the bass way up. I wasn't really that loud.

I swear...

From the Top is a very cool name!

 

[Monkus]

the horn sounds really groovy on rock steady .... sounds like y'all had a lotta fun ...!

 

[NWBasser]

Some gear notes:

Being something of a dive bar, I brought the Squier Classic Vibe jazz bass. It sounded great!

I would like to have brought the fretless too, but there was no room for it.

I used a Boss Bass Limiter/Enhancer for compression on the couple of tunes I was slapping.

I used my Ampeg PF500 head into Bergantino HT112 and Hartke Hydrive 112 cabinets. The Berg is up for sale to get another Hartke. Those Hydrives really bring the tone!

I used the pair of 12's because the stage was so small. My 4x10-sized Avatar TB153 would've been too big.

At one point my signal went out. I finally figured out that I had pulled my cord out of the compressor pedal.:thwap

 

[Eric]

How are you liking that ampheg, nwb? Is it working well for you?

 

[NWBasser]

How are you liking that ampheg, nwb? Is it working well for you?

Oh heck yeah, I'm still digging it. Darn thing sounds quite meaty and full.

Some cutting out problems have been reported for these units, however Ampheg has been very good about warranty service.

It doesn't hurt that Loud Tech/Ampheg is only about ten minutes from my house so if I have a problem I can take it straight to them.

 

[Eric]

Nice. I ask because I've been playing bass at my church recently, and I kind of like it. I'm doing my best not to play the bass like a guitar, but my behaviors are pretty deep-seated. I was contemplating someday procuring a pieced-together bass rig and was wondering if one of those PF350/500s would be worth investigating.

 

[Eric]

You guys sound really good. You do indeed have some nice-sounding singers. Looking forward to some more clips in the future!

 

[Eric]

One question though: what's with the other guitarist in your first picture? Did he disappear after that song? I don't see him in any of the following pics.

 

[NWBasser]

One question though: what's with the other guitarist in your first picture? Did he disappear after that song? I don't see him in any of the following pics.

Ah yes, that's Luke. He's our former lead guitar player who quit the band because he's moving to Ohio with his new bride.

We invited him to come out and play a couple of songs.

You can't really see our regular rhythm guy (Brent) who was generally behind me. I'm a stage hog.

The lead guy Ron showed up with that SH Carvin which I had never seen yet. It's a stunning instrument!

 

[NWBasser]

Unfortunately, when I added the compression to the songs it brought the bass way up.

I had a better listen on my truck stereo and the added compression really messed with my tone. Made it rather boomy and loose. The uncompressed songs sound much better for the bass guitar.