John the bass profile picture

John the bass

I am here for Friends and Networking

About Me


Now then bands - before we go any further, I play in a band, I don't market them and I'm not interested in marketing them - particularly yours. I know what I like and you're probably not it (unless I actually know you personally, in which case it's different) - if I want to be mates with a band, then I'll find 'em me bloody self
Now that's out of the way.... Hello
I am John
It says it over there look, above my picture
And if you recognise me from my picture, then you already know who I am and I am sorry for wasting your time
How are you?
I think that's just common courtesy really.
I play the guitar. But I can also be found playing the bass guitar in a band called 27brigade .
I still don't like go getters and I still don't think there are enough manners in the world.
I'm not a violent person, but some people just need a smack in the face.
I don't really like surprises.
I like music. Have a look at the bit on the left. I ought to put some pictures on here and tart it up a bit but i can't really be bothered. I do like more bands and certainly a wider variety of stuff on the left - it's all a bit modern really isn't it.
That wasn't a question. Don't go passing comment on me not using a question mark.
I hope I'm not a music bore.
I don't like extremists or extremism - and that goes for absolutely ever aspect of modern life including extreme ironing. It's not funny, get a life.
I don't like upsetting people but invariably I do. I think it has something to do with my opinions.
I don't really like sport. Including football.
I sort of got into the cricket and I'll watch Ireland lose the world cup when they actually qualify but I'm not that bothered. I wasn't sobbing when England got knocked out. Sure there's more to life.
I still hate retro and I still think retro is conjured up for people who have this nostalgic idea of how wonderful life used to be.
Remember that old stuff was mainly rubbish. It went wrong, it isn't as advanced and isn't (largely) as well made as new stuff. If you've got old stuff, fine - use it. But don't buy new stuff that's designed to look and work like old stuff. Please!
Choppers, Vox AC30s and 1980s trainers. Please!
I like trains. This doesn't mean I like standing at the end of a windy platform writing down the numbers on trains. I just think there is something exciting about a steam train and it would be nice to be able to go to work on one everyday and have somebody bring you tea in a china cup. I also like the fact you could tell them apart. Now they all just look the same.
I like Ireland. And Birmingham.
I'm extremely proud of the fact I am an Irish citizen. I also don't mind being called a Brummie, even though technically I hail from Worcestershire.
I like cakes.
And cheese
And cheese-cake.
Cars rank quite highly on the list of all things good.
I find it peculiar that I am supposed to be someone's boss. I really don't feel like it. I don't mean I don't feel like doing it, I mean I don't feel like a grown up.

My Interests

Jules
27Brigade
Guitars and lots of them
Music (good)
Cars
Cheese
Ireland

I'd like to meet:



People with money - I'm not greedy, but they must drop some sometimes.
Any record label owning philanthropists
I edited my profile with an HB pencil

Music:

I like music - a lot, but just because I might not like what you do or even think it's shite, it doesn't mean you shouldn't like it and more importantly, it doesn't mean I am a twat just because I don't like it (unless you're into talentless twats creating pointless noises on their laptops for no other reason than it gives them an opportunity to masturbate their own egos or Stock, Aitken and Waterman style manufactured arse-cakes masquerading as music, in which case your opinion doesn't count for bollocks and I couldn't give a beggar's testicle what you think. In fact, you shouldn't even be allowed to vote) and in actual fact, I'm probably not going to. In my humble opinion, music should be made with musical instruments. It doesn't matter if you're not the most able musician but if you're into it, then that's all that matters - after all, God loves a tryer as me mammy used to say! Likewise, you could be the most talented musician but if you don't enjoy it, and you're happy to stand there with a look on your face that suggests the whole place stinks of piss and the audience are all tramps, you might as well sod off and let the rest of us get on with enjoying it in peace. And finally, for those who are fortunate enough to be the most talentless shower of shit on the planet to ever be awarded a record contract, and yes 911, I am talking about you, then why the f*ck did you think any of us would ever be interested? Kids should listen to music - I think it's good for them, but don't play them meaningless mass produced pop rubbish, play them a bit of the beatles or even mcfly (i don't like them but that's not to say they aren't talented). Don't play them playground songs about fast food chains that some twat has decided they could cobble it into a commercial record in about 5 minutes and sell to the pestered parents of modern Britain, you poor bastards. And as for you Nizlopi, don't give us all that bollocks about recording it at home on a budget etc. My heart bleeds - you had one of the most professional bloody home studios i have ever seen.
Anyway, I digress. I like: Anything by 27brigade ( www.myspace.com/27brigade ) but then I am biased.
In no particular order (and probably by no means all)
AC/DC
Arctic Monkeys
Athlete
The Bees
BRMC
Blind Faith
Bloc Party
(Early) Blur
The Coral
Creedence Clearwater Revival
The Darkness
The Datsuns
Death in Vegas
Foo Fighters
Frank Turner
Franz Ferdinand
The Futureheads
Gomez
Hell Fire Club
The Hives
Jet
Kaiser Chiefs
Kasabian
Kings of Leon
Maximo Park
Ned's Atomic Dustbin
Nirvana
Oasis
Ocean Colour Scene
Queens of the Stone Age
The Raconteurs
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Reel Note Celidh Band
The Seahorses
Shed Seven
The Shirehorses
The Strokes
The Subways
Supergrass
Thin Lizzy
Turin Brakes
U2
We Are Scientists
Weezer
The Zutons
and then loads and loads and loads more.
Oh and I saw Beth Orton live once. She bored the living shite out of me which is why she's not in this list.
OK, I lied, they were in alphabetical order, which is in fact the opposite to no particular order. It's probably the most particular order. Unless you put them into ascending order of how many letters are in the name of each band. Or the combined ages of each band, starting with the youngest and ending with the Rolling Stones or even the Polyphonic Spree, but that's only because there's loads of them. Actually, in an algebraic equation, 1 rolling stone would probably equals 4 polyphonic spree. Now I don't know how many there are in the polyphonic spree but there's a lot of the buggers and they're probably still not as old as the rolling stones.

Movies:

Napoleon Dynamite,
Bullitt,
Smokey and the Bandit,
Blazing Saddles,
Ronin,
Zoolander,
Starsky and Hutch,
Meet the Parents (do you detect a Wilson/Stiller theme here?),
Sexy Beast,
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,
Snatch,
Layer Cake,
24 Seven,
Once Upon a Time In the Midlands
Trains, Planes and Automobiles
Love, Honour and Obey
Laurel and Hardy are probably my all time favourites but there just isn't room to write all their stuff down here but Them Thar Hills followed by Tit for Tat are probably my favourites.
There really ought to be a Max and Paddy film, but there isn't. Saying that - It'd only have the same old Peter Kay jokes in it.

Television:

Any surreal comedy but mainly
The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer
Father Ted
My Name is Earl
Green Wing & No Angels are very funny and better than Casualty
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Killinaskully
D'Unbelievables
The Fast Show.
Also:
Shameless
That Life On Mars thing was very good even if it was a bit cliched
Music TV that plays proper music.
Thomas the Tank Engine (& friends)
Max and Paddy
Phoenix Nights
Still Game (feckin hilarious)
Killinascully (and other Pat Shortt stuff)
Father Ted (which was the best thing ever made).
I also like proper BBC comedy - Only Fools and Horses, Dad's Army and the like.
Most recently been watching
Coronation Street
Repeats of Top Gear (sad) New Top Gear - Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat!
In fact, the only telly that can hold my almost undivided attention is Top Gear and My Name is Earl. Shame really.

Books:

Travel writing - biographies, travel biographies - that kind of thing; Contemporary Fiction (not to sound like a ponce) - I like stuff like Roddy Doyle, Jeff Torrington, DBC Pierre; Clarkson's ranting; Spike Milligan's memoirs. I just read that "A History Of Tractors in Ukrainian". It was very funny actually.

Heroes:

Noel Gallagher
Dave Grohl
Jack Bruce
Peter Hook
and John Entwistle
I have the utmost respect for as musicians but are they heroes?
I like to think me mam and dad set a reasonably good example of how to shape my life and pointed me in the right direction despite my protestations.
Stand up for what you believe in, that's what I say, as long as you don't believe in stuff like Goblins and Wizards and Murder and other acts of extreme cruelty.

My Blog

stuff and nonsense

well, i haven't got anything to write this week, sorry.me car went a bit wrong so i rang sandlicliffe and said "fix it" and they did which was alright really oh and we went recording which was good as...
Posted by John the bass on Wed, 20 Jun 2007 05:38:00 PST

i say

to the arrogant, dangerous cow in the golf R32, approximately 8 and a half inches behind my car in the pissing rain on the M1 this morning - if i find your car, i'm going to scratch the highway code s...
Posted by John the bass on Fri, 15 Jun 2007 05:50:00 PST

rant - sorry

i'm afraid i'm going to have a bit of a rant today and quite possibly might upset somebody on a sensitive ish subject. But I'm sorry if I do, I didin't mean it. So I might as well get that out of the...
Posted by John the bass on Thu, 07 Jun 2007 01:51:00 PST

bowling bowling bowling

i went bowling last night for the first time in about four years with my work colleagues. treating it as a fact finding mission, I have learnt the following.go to the hollywood bowl if you like b...
Posted by John the bass on Wed, 06 Jun 2007 05:41:00 PST

baseball bats

i was thinking earlier that i could get a baseball bat, and was trying to weigh up the merits of buying a metal one and a wooden one. now presumably, with a metal one you can get something with the sa...
Posted by John the bass on Tue, 05 Jun 2007 08:36:00 PST

things that i know (and some i don't)

Right then, i've not written one of these for a while so i suppose i ought to before i get pressured into it. again. honestly, anybody would think i've not got better things to be doing with my time. ...
Posted by John the bass on Mon, 04 Jun 2007 04:58:00 PST

oh yeah and another thing

why, when you have airports in america (JFK) and france (Charles de Gaulle) and other airports named after people who did something of note - Lech Walesa, George Bush snr, Chopin, Marco Polo or Da Vin...
Posted by John the bass on Mon, 04 Jun 2007 05:10:00 PST

pesky kids

some kids have moved into a house two doors down from us - i say kids, they're probably about 19 or something. I came home from a gig one night and one of them was so pissed/stoned, he burnt himself o...
Posted by John the bass on Tue, 08 May 2007 06:01:00 PST

words

right then, suppose i ought to fill this box in with some random rubbish cos i've not cobbled anything together for a while.so what's new kids?Last week I attended the "Free Crab Bats" evening of free...
Posted by John the bass on Sun, 06 May 2007 05:35:00 PST

franz ferdinand and the M1

No not the Archduke, the assasination of whom sparked the first world war, rather them scottish art rockers who took their name from him anyways - if you drive along the M1 in a northerly direction (i...
Posted by John the bass on Thu, 19 Apr 2007 08:20:00 PST