During my time with Noise-A-Noise I bought a New Bass Guitar. One that I had tried out several times before Fin got fed up & said, 'Just Buy It.' To see a Painting of my Bass click Here.

It was a Fender Precision Pro Lyte, the Lyte label is due to the Bass being about quite a bit lighter than a normal Bass. This allowed me more freedom of movement with less effort & strain. Always a seductive combination to a Bass Player who doesn't like to stay on the same note for too long, i.e. me! As if you hadn't worked that out already ;-)

It is also a Permanently Active Bass (don't let the Battery Run Out). This basically means that it has 'live' powered circuits inside, rather like a Pre - Amplifier, that Boost the Signals from the Pickup Magnets to the Main Amplifier. It's Range covers Deep & Booming (Reggae style for example) to Sharp & Twangy (as in Jazz - Funk).

This allows me to control what Sounds come out from where I am rather than from the Amp or 'Foot Pedals', or even swapping Guitars as some do. As in all things there are compromises and unfortunately it hasn't an 'on - off' switch as some other models do. Whether this would be of benefit I don't know as I'm unlikely to change it anyway. I have tried some other 'Active' Bass Guitars, I didn't like the 'Feel' of them or notice any improvement over my own Bass. Yes, I am biased so the battle may already be lost.

The Local Gig Scene was really drying up & the cost of Tickets at the Local University's Gigs had gone up quite significantly. There was very little hope on the Horizon. So We made do with the odd Gig here & there.

It was an Endless Struggle trying get Gigs. Money up Front, No Refunds, NO EARNINGS - most of the time we ran at a loss. On only 2 occasions did we get to Earn something, by Organizing Transportation (a Necessity as the Place was not easy to get to & from) & paying everything Upfront.

On the Second Occasion we (I) had the pleasure of supporting Snatch & the Dead (see the First Gig) & COMPLETELY 'Blowing then off the Stage' - Revenge is Dish best served Loud & Sweaty!

They also lost money on their part of the Venture only managing to get a few People turning up to see them. Noise-A-Noise managed in excess of 60 & Earned over £100 - of course this still doesn't make up for all the other times we didn't make a thing, which would probably add up to Thousands.

It certainly wasn't through lack of Persistence that we didn't get many Gigs. Although what there was Locally & the Odd Place we were kind of 'Regulars'

Noise-A-Noise survived for quite some time until the inevitable 'where do we go from here?' issues arose. This is always a particularly difficult time and usually ends up in conflict. Quite often the Band splits up completely or into pieces. Noise-A-Noise did the former. I will say, in All our Defence, that there were other 'outside' forces at work which had some influence on how the end came about.

Primary was probably Steve H & Angie's Relationship Ending. We Survived for about a Year after they had ceased to be a Couple. Yet I think, deep down, we all knew it wasn't going to work - these things seldom do.

It would not have worked trying to replace any individual member of Noise-A-Noise, so much was based on our own particular personalities and how our playing interacted with each other. Anyone new would have had a very hard time 'fitting in'.

So we all went our separate ways although we did manage to remain friends (this reads like one of those awful 'break - up' scenarios that people use from time to time to 'dump' a partner) although in this case it was true and we still keep in contact, albeit infrequently at times.

Still, even now, I miss jamming with them, although I have hooked up with Steve, Dave & Angie, together & seperately on occasion since then as you will find if you read on. It was never quite the same as when all four of us were together and full of energy that comes with something fresh & new.

I spent some time in 'Musical Limbo Land' before playing some 'Cover Versions' (Copies of other People's Songs, etc.) with Angie (ex - Noise-A-Noise) and Pete (her new partner). This was the first time I had really tried to play other People's Music, Plagiarism excluded. I discovered, without too much surprise, that I wasn't particularly good at it. I've always preferred doing things 'My Way' - I'm pretty sure that there is already a song in this one; Sid Vicious, I think.

Whilst Playing at a friend's party I met Carl, a Drummer (also known as Trevor or vice - versa). For me I'll always remember him as the man who managed to insult Gary Bushell on a live TV Phone - in Show. Offence to any Bushell fans is entirely intended. Let's not forget that he, Bushell, that is, has gained a reasonable amount of 'fame' based on people's dislike of him. Does this mean that Carl / Trevor contributed to this 'fame' thing ? Whatever, it was worth seeing, and, sometimes, it just has to be done. It was a pity that they cut his phone call short, the language was a bit strong for TV, even at that hour.

This was quite an significant move for me. This Band, called Bleeding Hearts, allowed me to move away from the Punk - based stuff I was used to playing to a more Rock - based setup. The Name comes from a Song that Hendrix had Played (see Here for more). The 2 others were Dave - Rhythm Guitar & Vocals and Les - Lead Guitar.

We played a mixture of Dave & Les' material and cover versions. We managed a couple Gigs here and there, plus a Demo Tape. This is when I truly discovered that my 'Singing' voice was as bad as I'd always suspected it to be. The other three would even allow me to do the 'Backing Vocals', no matter how far 'back' they were.

We faced the Same Difficulties in getting Gigs as I had encountered before. We did get some Pub Gigs (some on, how can I put this, False Pretences - the Biggest being that We were an Elvis / Rock n' Rock Tribute Band) which can Pay quite well - as long as you can avoid being Lynched ;-()

So we Struggled on. Bleeding Hearts was primarily Dave & Les' Band with Trevor & myself adding bits here & there. This worked well up to a point, although We did have some Ideas of our own. Les seemed a little more Receptive than Dave (Singer / Songwriter's Privilege I suppose). So it may not have been long before some had to give anyway.

At it turned out, it was Les who finally Cut the Cord. He lived at least miles & miles away, which made getting to Rehearsal very difficult for him & was having a pretty crappy time generally. I think I would have done the Same if I was in his position.  

It was still a Shame though as Les is probably one of the Best Guitarist I have Played with.

I hope everything turned out OK.

Les, if you ever happen to Read this, Email me!