Just me: Neil Richards... but I'm open to offers...
影響
All sorts, from my friends from Men In Spex, Led Zep, The Jam, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Yes, The Specials, Elvis Costello, Primus, Beatles, Stones, The Who, Chic, All About Eve, Abba, Bach, Vivaldi, and of course the many fine bass players out there - John Paul Jones whose music with Led Zep first got me hooked on playing bass, Chris Squire, the two Bruces from The Jam and The Attractions, Larry Graham, Louis Johnson, Bernard Edwards, Flea, Tony Levin, Alexis Sklarevski, Michael Manring, Les Claypool, Mark King and to be honest anyone who can slap competently 'cos I'm a bit crappy at it although it's what I'd most like to be good at... and thanks to the many creative, talented and very amusing bass players from around the world on the Ernie Ball and Harmony Central Bass forums
風格近似
A growly Stingray and occasionally a silky Zon Sonus 5 Special fretless
Hello! Welcome, and thank you for visiting!
I've been playing bass since I was 17, which is about 300 years ago, mostly noodling on my own and doing my own thing for many years.
When I hit 40 I bought the bass I'd always wanted (a Stingray), bought the Amp I'd always wanted (the Mighty Ashdown) and went out in search of a decent drummer. I found one in the shape of Martin Gibson and we hooked up with a talented bunch of likewise spectacle-wearing musicians and the creation of "Men In Spex" in Suffolk: Martin on drums (see Friends), Robin Gordon-Stables, guitars & backing vocals and Ren Masetti on guitar and lead vocals.
We wrote and played our own stuff in whatever style moved us at the time, creating about 2 songs a month. We recorded 16 songs after 8 months and put 14 of them on a CD (called "Supermarket Trolley of Despair" after one of Ren's more esoteric lyrics). We played various gigs including Colchester Free Festival on the jam stage, had a live session on Ipswich Community Radio and had one of our tracks ("Leaving") used on an Extreme Mountain Biking video. Ren left after a couple of years and vocals were taken over by Alastair Mackie. We had another creative period working up some of Alastairs songs as well as more of our own until he left in pursuit of a solo career. We carried on as a 3-piece briefly but eventually wound up in late 2003 mainly because Robin took a job in Swindon and I left for a stint in the US! You can get a good flavour of who we were and what we did at www.men-in-spex.com.
Now back from the US, in Somerset near Bristol, I'm looking to play and write new songs again with like-minded musicians. I've put a few tracks from my Men In Spex days up and some occasional work-in-progress ditties courtesy of Garageband. Check out the blogs for information and background on each song.
I hope you like the music and if you're interested in getting together give me a shout.
Neil
aka GreyDad
My page hasn't crashed in ages, come to think of it this is the first time Iv'e seen you leave any comment. Glad you enjoyed last weekend, sorry it was a bit short but time was getting that way. Not to mention without rehearsal I didn't want to risk embarassing ourselves. Will try to catch up with you in Bristol, were down from 9th-12th see you then!
THE FUNK MEISTER of bass players you could ever wish to meet. As a drummer I have yet to meet another bass player who could ever match this guy for improvisation and technical skill. I count myself privelaged to have played alongside this man.
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