finally some bass TLC

we dunno if it was the change in weather or “whether” it was finally just the wear and tear on our 2 main basses BUT mid month they both went out of whack and need some TLC. actually the SG needed a setup in March but we’ve been “making due” with her when she was needed. but once we gigged with our Epi EB-3 mid May and it went out of whack too we knew then and there a trip to the bass doctor was in order.

now we thought about trying it ourselves but we aren’t just quite that confident yet in our own abilities and its been the first time these 2 basses have needed any work in over 2 years (first time for both as far as we know). then next question was where to take them…. we had been to steve’s music before to get our first ever bass done (music man ray 34) but that was just because we had bought it there. after some research, we decided to go with whom we know and let them do the deed.

much to our shock, they were due to be in the shop for a week. we thought it might be an overnight thing. still no biggie, we had no gigs for 10 days anywho. they called us back within 6 days to say they were ready and when we showed up, both techs that worked on them were there and answered all our questions and then some.

we got flat wounds put on both so both start to feel the same to us. we’ve used the SG at a gig already and it has settled quite nicely. we couldn’t be happier with the sound and feel it has now. with the EB-3, we’ve only practiced with it once. it feels like a new bass (which being the older of the 2 is great!) and its great to have her back in the fold.

all in all, a great experience with Steve’s and the new setups on the basses. well worth the 45 bux on each and the results only makes us want to play them more!

now onto finding a deal on a bass cab… we have needs!

waiting for the bus with new again basses & much needed java!

 

may we wrap the month of may for the Hooligans?

Been a busy month for Those Handsome Hooligans but a sign of more busier times ahead as well! adding new songs, playing gigs and keeping our gear in fine form=whew!

first our first ever show at British Arms in Barrie went swimmingly. the night ended with very loud chants of ONE MORE SONG! a sure sign that the crowd enjoyed us. one of the many mind blowing things of that night were the 2 tables of ppl that stayed from start to finish. never b4 had we seen such hardcore devotion in Hooligan fans! whoa, mind blown!

our second gig of the month was a season ender party for the dart league in Innisfil. now these fine folk know how to party! once we did our soundcheck song, they never sat down the entire evening. another first for the Hooligans! our 2nd set of tunes was over 90 minutes strait. our finger tips could feel the burn and we barely made it thru the 3rd and last set. can’t wait to play there again as rumours are running rampant that we will return to the Innisfil area for NYE.

this past month we got our gear finally set up for the season. more on that in a post to come. for now, here’s some hooligan pics!

stage at lions club innisfil. yes the floor is slanted like that!

our eb3 takes a break at british arms. it was due for a setup after this show.

the creatures came out at british arms!

so did James from the Decibel Kings! sweet!

for starters

rather been a reflective few wks. bdays and some free time can cause that we guess.

of the many thoughts we had, there was one about us and bands. one previously unknown similarity has come up.

that we tend to stay with the bands we had a part in starting.

we look back to all the bands we’ve had the great opportunity to play and perform with and see that point come up way too often. its great to see how a band evolves from nothing and the road it goes on is well worth all the time spent. perhaps that is the fire that keeps us involved thru thick & thin. the great thing about the 3 bands we are in right now is that we’ve been there in all of them in the formation stages. that bodes well moving forward. the forecast is solid and is going to be busy!

the reasons why we haven’t stayed in the bands we weren’t there in the formation stages all vary. trying to come up with a catch all, all encompassing phrase for the reasons but so far it has eluded us. perhaps its a lack of feeling that we are not a contributing part of something but rather a bit player or a gun for hire or some other elusive feeling. or since we weren’t there from day1 we are not that emotionally and time invested and that makes saying au revoir easier.

speaking of feelings, it feels like this post will likely get edited once we come up with more answers and think this thought thru more fully! at least we’ve started the thought process by finally writing it down!

that’s a wrap April!

another month has flown by!

struggling with a flu bug for the later half of the month has made things more challenging but nonetheless, forward ho!

today we were sadden by the news that Molly’s Chamber, the cover act we left 7 weeks ago has now officially gone on hiatus. we thought it would be easy for them to find a replacement bassist as the material and the other players were quite solid. still unknown what exactly has transpired but its still sad news nonetheless. here’s to hoping they all land on their feet!

the dj nights at the Schomberg pub every Saturday have been a treat. the regulars and the casual atmosphere make for a great time out each and every time! its also been great to pick up on what’s new and happening in the music scene and to gauge what ppl want to hear. been havin’ a ball no matter who shows up!

also this past month, we’ve been jamming with a few guys we’ve known almost since day 1 on the bass. we have been lucky enuff to finally find a singer/guitarist that fits. so far its been a helluva lot of fun playing what we all like to play and hear in a no pressure/casual/just4kicks atmosphere. finally a group that wants to do a few Clash songs!

after Skipapalooza (pic=new sticks&bag this month!), the members of Rosalita asked us to become the permanent percussionist for the band. an offer in which we quickly/gladly accepted! its been a great way to keep our feet wet on the kit and also to learn/develop musically. the forecast calls for good times ahead & 2nite is our first official jam since the party. there’s lots of new material & a new bassist on the horizon as well!

Those Handsome Hooligans have been picking up speed for a rather hectic summer. expect more posts on that in the days ahead. expecting a tee shirt run in the near future. crazy! check out our posters while u sanitize!

lastly, we’ve been pickin’ at the ol’ geetar of late. been thinkin’ aboot an open mic nite in the near future. we’ll see. ah, so many songs, so little time… the fire that fuels us. new shoes this past month too! feels so good!

time 2 hooliganize!

things have been pumpin’ along swimmingly for Those Handsome Hooligans. 2 weeks ago, we rocked the house at Skipapalooza and this past week, we wrapped up a sweet set in Barrie for a 911 charity fundraiser. also, we’ve managed to score 13 gigs between April 14th and Sept. 8th which is quite the feat for a band made up of day jobbers with fams. we are nearing 50 songs on the setlist and a run of tees are on the horizon. we were already pretty tight with the weekly practices but now that we have so many shows, the tip of the rock iceberg remains to be seen. goin’ to be a lot of rockin’ out these next few months. lets hope the body can handle it and we’ll see how high it can soar!

here’s a few posters for our upcoming shows in Barrie this Spring/Summer. hope to see you there!

the only band that matters

“The Clash were a major influence on my own music. They were the best rock ‘n’ roll band. Thanks, Joe.”
- Bruce Springsteen

this pic of a painting was recently sent to us from our “paul” that plays in our bi-monthly all clash jam sessions. its a great take on one of our fave music images of all time.
sooooo looking fwd to strummer nites on Easter weekend in the Hammer! hoping to be there for at least one of the 3 nights & if we can swing 2 nights, we will!
here’s a quick & dirty list of items we played during our last all clash jam session:
bankrobber/gunsofbrixton/
onemoretime/garageland/
completecontrol/traininvain/
straight2hell/stayfree/whiteriot/
whitemaninhammersmith/
shouldistay/rudiecantfail/
lostinthesupermarket/tommygun/
clashcityrockers/clampdown/
brandnewcaddilac/charliedon’tsurf!

bits of/or discussed : i fought the law, death or glory, i’m so bored with the USA, spanish bombs, i’m not down

note 2 self: lets effort to get the all clash jams bumped up to monthly ones! its far to long to wait between sessions!

the Chamber door closes

just an quick update. things are moving fast here at the Hills (as u likely guessed) due to the lack of posts.

we had a killer show with Rosalita and Mollys Chamber on March 2nd at Duffys. Playing the drum kit for the Rosas has been wikked fun & we are enjoying the vibe immensely. Mollys Chamber’s new singer was on display for the first time with the band & hit a homer out of the park. great times all around!

here’s a megamix of some slightly distorted viz from the nite:

Mollys Chamber Megamix

Sadly though this was 2 be our last official show with the Chamber as we had to give our notice just this past week. it was a great 7 month ride with the band & we learned a helluva lot of new songs & we also learnt a lot about bass along the way. can’t wait to see the band at their next gig as we are 100% sure they will have no probs finding an eager replacement! if u know some1 interested apply at their website. more posts soon!

skipapalooza 2!

its gonna be BIG!

so excited & honoured once to be able to do skipapalooza a 2nd time!

more deats to follow!

a woofin’ great bass addition!

new addition to the bass fam!

we happened across a 5 yr old epiphone eb0 going for cheap online this past week.  we’ve been in the market for something to replace our eb3 that is short scale to compliment our gibson sg for live and jam situations.

the deal was too good to pass up.  she was going cheaper than some our pedals!  so even if it turned out a bust we weren’t shelling out a lot. she had original strings on her, had never seen a stage & was only used for studio work. cosmectically she had a wee paint chip on the body & the fretboard has some wear.  nothing major at all.

old strings comin off

she was in dire need of a setup & strings so we used our new found skills (we just did our very first ever setup on the SG last week!).  first a cleaning with a damp soft rag to get some dirt off was in order.  then we put on some D’addario EXL 170′s on her that were a gift from last year.

did the setup & found the action was still too high(it was crazy high when we got her).  took that down, redid the setup.  played some riffs & tweeked the setup ever so slightly & viola!  a new used bass that is a looker with that smokin’ white pickguard.  almost reminds us of a Rik!  she is quite solid & built well.  we can see her being a great addition to the bass fam!  so a great BIG welcome aboard!

woofin' great bass!

even the dogs can’t help checkin’ her out!  all we need is a name…. stay tuned!

ready 2 rawk!

sorry we missed yer jam

our gibson sg takes a break at polson

its a comment u hear often in this digital age.  not only have we said a few times but we’ve also fallen victim to it many more.

“sorry we missed yer jam“

yer band needs a member so u post online & get a few emails.  u write back &  forth for a bit(vetting the emails along the way) & firm up a jam & then that person doesn’t show.  most times there is no reason given & u never hear from that person again.  if u are lucky the noshow writes u to either resked or say not interested.  its a painful & sometimes frustrating process.

one group of guys we love to jam with fell victim to this very thing this past week.  its not our first time having this happen to this particular group so we were prepared to jam either way & had a helluva great time regardless.  that speaks volumes to how many times this has happened to us that we are ready to rock out a good time even if the singer is a noshow.  its just that this incident in particular was soooo disappointing to us personally.  usually the cloak of the internet can give the noshow a bit of a cover & we have no recourse.  this time though, the noshow is best buddies of a longtime jam buddy of ours.  on this count alone we won’t be letting this one in particular “noshow with no contact” just slip away.  we will be letting this dood know(using various methods hehe) that his good life long buddy is a major doofus & then some.  getting the hopes up (even though we do not keep them not that high) of bandmates/fellow musicians is just plain wrong.  to do that to fellow musicians is just not fair to every1 out there trying to make good things happen.

that is why on the times we’ve had to miss meetup jams, we write back or get in contact the day of.  there are indeed so many great ideas & great bands out there but only so much time.  if only we didn’t have to work for a living & could concentrate on just music, life would a grand.  we get that & we are sure we are not the only ones out there with that same feeling.  just be respectful & get in touch the day of.  trust us, the feeling of not knowing a “noshow” is happening is better than wondering if noshow will show at any point during a jam & just leaves a bitter taste afterwards.

having said all that, we’ll put out there that our mates that love to casually jam are still looking for a singer/2nd guitarist.  here’s what we write to prospects.  if u read this & it speaks to you or someone u know in the gta, apply within.

BAND COULD USE A SINGER/GUITARIST

we get together with a few guys every so often for a jam.  we effort once a month. sometimes its less, sometimes its more depending on our skeds.  anywho, we just play and have fun while doing it.  we don’t have a singer/2nd guitarist nor do we have any great plans for world domination.  its just a fun thing that might lead to something one day.

here’s the setlist. if you wanna come out, you can suggest some songs as well. we are easy going that way too.

Weezer – Say it ain’t so, El Scorcho, Hash Pipe
Pixies: Wave of Mutilation, Monkey Gone to Heaven, Gauge Away, Subbacultcha, UMass, Where is my Mind, Here Comes Your Man, Cactus
David Bowie: Suffragate City
Joy Division: Transmission, Love will tear us apart, She’s Lost Control
Rolling Stones: Brown Sugar
The Cure: Boys Dont Cry, Just like Heaven
Neil Young: Like a Hurricane
Sublime: Badfish, Santeria, Smoke 2 Joints
Police: Message in a bottle
CCR: Fortunate Son
Kings of Leon: Red Morning Light

Clash: Brand New Cadillac

Various Nirvana songs

Various medleys of classic rock songs