Bulls head Bob Feb 22. The Beat Goes On...Tom Lane. ZOOM G1X FOUR.......Cause and FX! The FIRST WATKINS COPICAT! "BE MY BABY" - The Spector Sound Gem. NFT's.....NFC!

Hello Brummies, Muso's, Hot Dog vendors, Fender Benders, Javier in Argentina, Olaf in Oslo, Yuki in Japan and a big hello to the guys in Thailand.

Welcome to the February blog, I've increased the font size to aid all of us "more mature" souls with dodgy eyesight.

February was the month that me and Mrs Bob got hitched, jumped the broomstick, tied the knot etc....48 years ago.   We both knew, from the first time we met that we would be a couple and were married within 6 months.    One of the few times I made a good decision that didn't go bad although as with all marriages, it's had its moments!  Love the one you're with and dont forget St Valentines Day.    

TOM LANE. The Beat Goes On...

My mantra has always been, "don't stop playing, dont lose the will to perform" and one of my West Midlands correspondees, drummer, Tom Lane, is also from the same school of thought.  Tom has played with many a band from the 60's onwards including Blues with Tuxedo Junction and laying down some Soul rhythms with Luddy Sams but just as he was thinking of hanging up his Hi-Hats he finds himself more in demand than before it seems. 

 Although gigs are not as freely available as pre- covid, he keeps getting phone calls to go and Jam with people and there's no better cure for the soul than a sweaty night in good company.   

He has also been approached to join a couple of bands as their permanent skinbasher.

Tom has the answer to drum transportation problems too after buying his Yamaha Hipgig "Russian Doll' drumkit where each drum fits inside the bigger ones.   It comes with its own elephant head so he doesn't forget who he is.  Good Man Tom, it warms my heart, keep the dream alive and onwards and upwards!!  There's a host of experience in those hands.

CAUSE AND FX.

Some of the blog readers will be aware that I am not a lover of guitar foot pedals at all.  I did buy a second hand Marshall Bluesbreaker pedal but, in honesty, I used it for 10 minutes and then put it away in my box of odds and sods.   

A year ago I was gifted another pedal, this time it was a SOLO DALLAS STORM, a highly rated piece of kit as championed by Angus Young retailing in the £200 bracket.  Due to covid and the associated gig cancellations I have never had the cause to use it "loud and live" so can't comment on its effectiveness in a gig situation.    I practised with it a little in my home studio but nothing more.    In this continuing lull in musical activities I decided that I should use my time positively and get some songwriting and recording going so as not to lose the drive to play music, which has happened to a few of my friends. 

I love recording and the mental challenges that come with it, and it is here that effects come into their own and, moreover, it gives me the opportunity to become more adept at pedal effects usage.   I started investigating what would be right for me and opted for a multi-effects pedal which is more compact and transportable and makes economic sense. My choice was the:

ZOOM G1X Four.

A nice looking piece of kit that comes loaded with in-built adjustable effects and also gives you plenty of opportunity to craft many of your own effects patches and parameters and store them, all this for less than £100, depending on who you buy it from.

Zoom are synonymous for their 'budget but effective' range of electronic music equipment and they have certainly got it right with this very attractive pedal.  

The 'X' stands for the attached expression pedal which is a very welcome addition, it can be used as a volume/wah pedal too and as if that wasn't enough Bang for your Buck, it features a 30 second Looper which is invaluable for recording.    The inputs/outputs are all nicely located at the rear including USB port.  A very tidy design concept.   

I imagine that you pedal freaks will think I've gone mad but I believe that common sense prevails over the need to buy more and more increasingly expensive pedals for show!!   

UPDATE.     While writing this the pedal arrived at the door, eager

to  get going I opened the box and it is certainly well built.  The only down side of this purchase is that, being a "pedal virgin", it never crossed my mind that I would also need to buy a power source!!!!  What a dope, back online to order the Zoom AD 16 power supply cable.   Although there were 4 batteries supplied, I know that they dont last much more than a heartbeat or just enough to do a very brief exploration of the pedal's possibilities which, I must say,  I am initially impressed by.  However, I shall provide an update next month after some serious testing, of whether or not I have made a good choice or a cheap folly!  Keep tuned. 

THE FIRST WATKINS COPICAT 

It's a far cry from the Watkins Copicat Echo days, the only effect available from the late 50's/early 60's... 60's.....60's.......60's.  From an interview with Charlie Watkins he stated that the first band to own a Copicat was Johnny Kidd and The Pirates, bought direct from Charlie himself for the princely sum of £38.  I spoke with Brian Gregg, The Pirates bassist, and co-writer of Shakin' All Over, who said that when he and Clem Cattini joined Johnny Kidd in 1959 fresh from doing the rounds on the Larry Parnes shows with the likes of Billy fury and the other biggest stars of the day, no-one on those big tours had a Copicat but Pirates guitarist Alan Caddy already had one when Brian joined him, so it's probably correct.   While I'm talking of Brian and to quote him regarding his age, Happy 117th Birthday for yesterday Brian, one of the best Bassists the UK produced and moreover, one of the first groundbreaking rock stars in the country.

I see that you can buy a new Copicat Gold these days for £1250.00 from Watkins as pictured below

I have left the email address and phone number on this Advert so you can make contact.   I couldn't find any videoclips of it in action.  There are several solid state WEM copicats for sale on Reverb UK for around £400.    Talking of Echo, there's someone who made it his trade mark.

BOOM, BOOM-BOOM CRACK,  BOOM, BOOM-BOOM CRACK.

"BE MY BABY"  

The 1963 Spector Sound Gem.  

In 2021, Phil Spector, died at the age of 81 reportedly through Covid complications whilst languishing in jail for murder.  He was an innovator in the 1960s world of recording with his, echo soaked, multi layered technique, the Wall of Sound.    Hits came thick and fast including "River Deep Mountain High" and "You've lost that Lovin Feeling",  both classics but the real gem for me was the 1963 hit "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes.   The backing track was like a sumptuous cloud of music wrapped around the vocal sound of The Ronettes and that vocal sound itself, was fixed right in the centre of your brain.  Lots of drums, percussion and pianos.  

Many folk have tried to copy the sound including Brummie, Roy Wood but never really succeeded, probably because technology had moved forward and sounds had changed.     The Ronettes lead singer, Veronica Watkins, later became Mrs Ronnie Spector and that is how the world knew her from then on.  She was as sexy as could be, particularly for a 14 year old like me.  She was the only one of the trio who was on the record.

At 78, Ronnie Spector sadly passed away last month from cancer and with her passing,  part of my youth went with her but what a thrill to have experienced her well deserved fame and amazing voice on that particular recording.  The Ronettes didn't do particularly well after their first couple of hits but like all classic records "Be My Baby" and Ronnie's name will endure.

Darlene Love and Sonny and Cher had been the backing singers on the Ronnettes releases and many other Spector releases too, and the musicians that were used became known as The Wrecking Crew.  The Spector Sound inspired the wonderful Brian Wilson who used the Wrecking Crew on Beach Boys recordings, like God Only Knows, Heroes and Villains and the incredible "Smile" LP.   However,  Spectors treatment of The Beatles "Long and Winding Road"  made McCartney more than angry despite it reaching the top of the charts. 

Ronnie divorced Phil Spector citing his abusive and controlling nature.   An inspirational music genius he was, he was also a

mad man and his antics with firearms which he would shoot inside the recording studio to get peoples attention brought him notoriety and eventually lead him to commit an act of murder, Spector claimed it was accidental suicide.  

Someone paid with their life so as to satisfy his idiosyncrasies.

NFT's....NFC!!

Julian Lennon has put up for sale photos of John Lennon plus the cloak he wore on the cover of "Help".   The cloak has a starting bid price of $28.000.  However, these are being sold as NFT's (non Fungible Tokens) whereby you dont physically own the cloak, you only own a certified photo!! which you can sell to someone else presumably.   Now you can call me crazy but I am hard pressed to see any value in this sort of cock-eyed transaction so would I buy this?.......

No F****** Chance.  Let the buyer beware!!

FINALLY

Well I've rattled on long enough.    Take care my friends, keep warm, keep safe and get jabbed if you haven't already.

Bob

Copyright:  Bullsheadbob

Contact:  Bobsbullocks@Gmail.com