#1922138 - 04/05/08 01:43 AM
Horrid gig
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Tater Nuts
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I just got home from the worst gig that I've played in at least 5 years. The bar we played was a total gamble as we know they have been suffering lately. It's a huge place, one that really takes at least 100 people to even start to look like there is a crowd. I counted 30 people at the height of the evening. Ugh. I didn’t feel all that great either which made staying happy and looking like I was having a good time still really hard. We played well. The people that were there had a good time so at least that is good. However… man. That just sucked. Nothing like playing to a huge empty room for less than half of what you normally make to do it as a favor to the place.
OK. I'm done venting now. Time to watch some bad late night TV and go to bed.
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#1922143 - 04/05/08 02:01 AM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: Tater Nuts]
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Phil W
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Loc: London, England
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Sorry to hear, mate. Hope it's a long time before that happens again!
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#1922151 - 04/05/08 03:20 AM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: Phil W]
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EddiePlaysBass
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Consider it a (paid?) rehearsal and an experience in itself.
My most recent gig was in the smallest venue we'll -hopefully- ever play. We had a crowd of 20 + 5 staff and sold out the place  Free entrance helps ...
_________________________
http://www.myspace.com/thedapperdans(Will) "Jazz man, together we're invincible!" (Jazz) "Yo Fresh, we good! But people can still see us." The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air
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#1922169 - 04/05/08 04:09 AM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: EddiePlaysBass]
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Paul K
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I'm not saying that playing to an almost empty house is good, but if that's the worst gig you've had in five years, then that's pretty good. They can get MUCH worse than that. At least they liked you.....
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#1922175 - 04/05/08 04:38 AM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: Paul K]
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Joe Bloe
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Loc: Illinois, USA
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A gig that sux is when the house sound system is buzzing, band members are fighting, your bass falls and breaks, the audience is all big biker dudes that want to hear freebird, a drunk chick falls into your mike stand and it hits you in the mouth...
A small crowd in a big hall makes you concentrate on your showmanship in projecting energy and enthusiasm when you don't have a rowdy crowd to fire you up.
Buck up cowboy, it could be worse!
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#1922180 - 04/05/08 05:25 AM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: Joe Bloe]
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Frank M
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Loc: Benton City, WA
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Big bar, small crowd, and playing for percent of bar. Been there! Were you percent of gate, percent of bar or paid?
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Respectfully, Frank M They have to keep me. I own the domain name. The Columbia Jazz Trio
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#1922185 - 04/05/08 05:34 AM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: Frank M]
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fingertalkin
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Registered: 11/14/05
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Loc: Dumfries VA
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Didn't you get to use that new Alembic? What could be wrong with that!
I played to 4 people once. That sucked.
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#1922189 - 04/05/08 05:48 AM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: Frank M]
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Brocko777
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Yeah, it feels like sometimes you just have to bite your tongue, be a pro and bring the rawk!
It always could have been worse... the 30 people might have been there for an Irish Dance competition and just practicing there routines. Have you seen Irish Dance?? Very noisey, no expression but great outfits!
Brocko
_________________________
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#1922191 - 04/05/08 05:51 AM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: Brocko777]
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_Sweet Willie_
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You're a no expression.
Sorry about the gig, mang. 30 is better than 0, and maybe it is a paid rehearsal.
Did you use the new fishy? Was that, at least, delightful?
Peace.
--Dub $$
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#1922206 - 04/05/08 06:13 AM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: Tater Nuts]
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kenfxj
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Were you playing behind chicken wire?
Rollin' rollin' rollin'...
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#1922212 - 04/05/08 06:27 AM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: kenfxj]
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mattulator
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EEGAD man! I hate those kinda gigs. Every set seems to last as long as the whole show should. Sorry Bump.
We played a gig once where the whole place went outside when we started to play and came back in when we took breaks.
_________________________
Standing in a river, waving a stick.
"Screw it. We're all gonna die in 2012 anyways." Cartman
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#1922234 - 04/05/08 07:36 AM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: mattulator]
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thabottomend
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Registered: 12/29/05
Posts: 317
Loc: Murfreesboro TN
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My worst gig.......... we had booked a community center in our home town. Took about 300 folks to make it look full. Unfortunately, an ice storm hit about two hours before the show. We were there anyway and played our first set to the two brave souls who showed up before the police shut us down so we could get home. That was also the worst load-out we ever had.
I feel and understand your pain. Your next gig should be rawkin. You guys will have lots of pent-up energy to release. And didn't Jon Bon Jovi discover Cinderella in a similar situation?
_________________________
Do not be deceived by, nor take lightly, this particular bit of musicianship one simply describes as "bass". - Lowell George
"The music moves me, it just moves me ugly." William H. Macy in "Wild Hogs"
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#1922274 - 04/05/08 08:28 AM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: thabottomend]
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Chad
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Registered: 05/15/01
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Used to play with a blues band where the guitar player played REALLY LOUD and would not turn down. As long as that band lasted,we routinely drove everybody out of the bar, never to return, within one set. Several times the bar owner closed early because there were no people in the joint. That's a sucky gig.
_________________________
"The fat boy in the back was the bass player, and who wanted to be him?" - Paul McCartney
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#1922291 - 04/05/08 08:54 AM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: Chad]
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Joe Bloe
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Loc: Illinois, USA
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Worst gig:
Bar in Southern Wisconsin.
Sunny 95 degree day mid-afternoon 2:00 p.m.
The new owner decided to have us play on a stage in the back yard, in the sun, 40 yards from the bar. The crowd stayed in the bar because it was so hot. A few people would wander out for a song or two and then go back in the bar. By the end of the gig I had cramps in my hands and arms from dehydration, but I did get to work on my tan...
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#1922293 - 04/05/08 08:57 AM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: thabottomend]
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Joe Bloe
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Loc: Illinois, USA
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... And didn't Jon Bon Jovi discover Cinderella in a similar situation?
?
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#1922298 - 04/05/08 09:15 AM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: Joe Bloe]
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forceman
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I played keys once at an uncovered outside gig and the sun was so bright I couldn't even read the LCD display on my Motif ES6!
And, the "sound" guy was sofa king bad I didn't even have a monitor to hear much of what I was even playing (of course, they "provided" the backline so all I had to do was DI in.. right..)
Well, I did learn something: I found out that a harpsichord patch rather than a piano patch on the REO Speedwagon "Roll with the changes" tune sounds...er...interesting..
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#1922302 - 04/05/08 09:29 AM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: kenfxj]
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jeremy c
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Registered: 02/01/01
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Did the drummer get arrested on the way to the gig?
Did the singer say the f word on stage in the first set and there was no second set or pay for the gig?
Did you get to the club and some other band's gear was on stage and the club owner said, gee, we didn't think you were coming, sorry?
Did you have a new singer who didn't know any of the songs?
Did the guitar player solo straight through everything all night long?
Did the band leader spend the whole gig yelling at everyone in the band?
Did anyone in the band walk offstage in the middle of a song because they were so p'd off? (once it was even me)
Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.
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#1922310 - 04/05/08 09:48 AM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: jeremy c]
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Mike Chini
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Registered: 02/16/07
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Loc: NYC
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I once played a gig in Albany with my first original band. A small indie 'label' liked our music and set us up with a showcase gig. To make a long story short, we wound up playing for no one. Zip. Nada. The big nuthin'. The only audience we eventually had was the 1st band who sat in the bar after a while and watched us play our set for them. Pathetic!
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#1922321 - 04/05/08 10:20 AM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: Mike Chini]
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SeamyD
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I can think of so many ways in which that gig could have been worse but it depresses me to even go there in my mind. It does illustrate how all things are relative.
Did you have the new bass out?
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#1922324 - 04/05/08 10:22 AM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: jeremy c]
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5 string Mike
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Loc: Southwestern Michigan USA
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If I were Bump, I'd be really disappointed, too. He's got that new fish and a) no one was there to hear it and b) it's hard to make it pay for itself when there isn't much in the kitty at the end of the night.
Did you get to the club and some other band's gear was on stage and the club owner said, gee, we didn't think you were coming, sorry?
Did you have a new singer who didn't know any of the songs?
Did the guitar player solo straight through everything all night long?
Did the band leader spend the whole gig yelling at everyone in the band?
Did anyone in the band walk offstage in the middle of a song because they were so p'd off? (once it was even me)
Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.
Showed up for a practice once, fifteen mile drive thru nasty weather that took 45 minutes longer than normal to find out that I wasn't needed that week. Can you say 'telephone'?
Yes.
Guitar player thought he could solo. Problem was, songs we were playing, his soloing was like having an elevator in an outhouse. You could see people cringe and get mad.
Yes.
Yes. It was myself once, and the piano player right after. Same gig that the leader was screaming at everyone. This was church for crying out loud. a volunteer group.
Yes. T-shirt didn't fit, I couldn't return it, so it sits in the closet next to the 'Weird Al Bad Hair Day' shirt.
_________________________
The real art of conversation is to not only say the right thing at the right time, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.
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#1922376 - 04/05/08 12:17 PM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: 5 string Mike]
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Joe Bloe
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Loc: Illinois, USA
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In my experience, I have found that opinions are a lot like noses. Most people have one, they stick it in where it doesn't belong, and they usually pick their own.
LOL!
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#1922385 - 04/05/08 12:34 PM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: Joe Bloe]
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Phil W
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Loc: London, England
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I used to play free jazz.
One time 5 people turned up.
It was a great gig though.
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#1922389 - 04/05/08 12:44 PM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: Phil W]
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Phil W
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Other horrid gigs:
1) booked as part of an African group to play at an event in the countryside - turned out to be an all-white political event and we were supposed to be the exotic entertainment in their colonially themes fundraiser - really!
2) a covers gig at a social club in Slough (rhymes with cow) (as in Philip Larkin's 'Come Friendly Bombs and Fall on Slough'. The dep drummer couldn't keep beat for one bar. I was singing (I use the term loosely) back-up.
3) a student band with a local drug-dealer on drums. He used to speed up in every fill. He would stop playing at random moments to roll a joint on the toms! Really!
I've also had ones where the bandleader continually insults the audience and where drunken audience members have been foolishly invited to sing on stage.
I also remember a jazz jam session starting some rhythm changes type tune at an insanely fast tempo. None of the horn players would solo so I ended up playing the world's most appalling bass solo. Ah, happy times!
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#1922416 - 04/05/08 01:34 PM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: Phil W]
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Frank M
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Registered: 11/21/03
Posts: 1888
Loc: Benton City, WA
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Other horrid gigs:
1) booked as part of an African group to play at an event in the countryside - turned out to be an all-white political event and we were supposed to be the exotic entertainment in their colonially themes fundraiser - really!
That would almost be funny if it weren't so ... so ... 1860's?
_________________________
Respectfully, Frank M They have to keep me. I own the domain name. The Columbia Jazz Trio
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#1922419 - 04/05/08 01:37 PM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: Frank M]
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Phil W
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It was bizarre!
We retired to the house to the room we were allocated for our break to eat and were informed that the lady of the house required us to remain in the main venue (presumably as some kind of exotic decoration) - I was one of the only two white musicians in the band and they sure thought I was something unusual.
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#1922468 - 04/05/08 03:36 PM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: mattulator]
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cassius
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Registered: 08/17/07
Posts: 700
Loc: Springfield, MO
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We played a gig once where the whole place went outside when we started to play and came back in when we took breaks.
Some people go to bars just to talk, even if they know there will be center stage music playing. Don't ask me what their logic is. Either way, the two or three times we've gone to bars like that, we've had to learn either to cool down or just play for ourselves--cuz eventually we'd be the only ones listening!
We've got a weekly gig at a restaurant now. That's definitely a "cool down" show.
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#1922471 - 04/05/08 03:48 PM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: Phil W]
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cassius
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Loc: Springfield, MO
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3) a student band with a local drug-dealer on drums. He used to speed up in every fill. He would stop playing at random moments to roll a joint on the toms! Really!!
Once had a random guy come up to us at a microbrewery gig and say, "Man I'm a fusion drummer, I been in some SESSIONS, y'naw?", and he ousts Josh, our drummer, from his throne and takes over. We were just starting Eric Clapton's "Old Love". This guy did NOT know how to play below 180 bpm and I swear to God he was on coke. Why we suffered through that experience is beyond me.
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#1922499 - 04/05/08 05:21 PM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: cassius]
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jlrush
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Registered: 09/19/05
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Loc: Columbia, Missouri
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In one band we used to have a gig that was an hour's drive one way, we only got paid $50 each, and the crowd treated us like we were a jukebox. They would clap for their own dancing at the end of a song, but completely ignored us.
Very wierd.
_________________________
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Spoiling your grandchildren is payback for what your kids put you through.
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#1922527 - 04/05/08 07:25 PM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: jlrush]
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mattulator
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Registered: 07/27/04
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Loc: Fishbum, USA
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I once played on the back of a flatbed truck for a 4th of july parade and my scalp got sunburned. It was horrible.
Another time on a flatbed in the Nevada Day Parade in Carson City - it was 20 degrees.
_________________________
Standing in a river, waving a stick.
"Screw it. We're all gonna die in 2012 anyways." Cartman
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#1922540 - 04/05/08 08:10 PM
Re: Horrid gig
[Re: mattulator]
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Paul K
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Registered: 05/16/06
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How's it go....How many bass players does it take to change a light bulb?
1...5...1... (1...4...5...5...1)
No. That isn't it. How many bass players does it take to play a bad gig? Damn.... I forgot the punch line....
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