Cat scratches and flea bites

oh crap!

2010-04-09T10:45:00.000-04:00

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Show is tonight!!!!!

Graveyard Snake

2010-03-26T16:04:00.002-04:00

newer version of one of my bands songs. It's a quick one take recording during practice, and the first recording with me on bass.
Check it out, lemme know what you think. :)

http://home.comcast.net/~caffeine_zombie/Music/Quietis/02%20Graveyard%20Snake-2010.mp3

ahhhhhhhh

2010-03-05T13:51:00.002-05:00

So much to post about, because I don't post often enough. This will probably still be fairly brief, and give a quick run down on some news on the music front.

New show lined up!
Quietis is playing the Haverhill Elks club April 9th! $8 a ticket through me, $10 at the door. If anyone wants tickets, let me know. :) I'll put up another post about the show later. I plan on working up a flier at some point.

New Equipment!
Right now, I'm borrowing a nice power amp and 4x10 bass cabinet from my cousin. It's a nice 1,500 watt Peavey power amp, and a Peavey 4x10" cabinet. Sounds killer compared to the 10 watt practice amp I've been playing through at home. To go with that rig, I picked up a Behringer V-Amp pro modeling bass preamp. It's a fun little toy, with some minor effects, and models a bunch of different amp/cabinet combinations.

I also picked up a cheap Washburn 4-string bass. It's definitely going to be the first bass I mess around with as far as new parts go. I plan on giving it a new bridge, pick-ups, etc.

Just because that really isn't enough stuff to put into my apartment, I got a great deal on a Hartke 4x10 bass cab, so that's on its way. :)

So much stuff going on with Quietis, it's awesome. I'm practicing more now than I ever have before. I'm learning new styles of playing, and getting faster. I really do owe a lot of that to learning how to play off the cuff from my Friday night jams over the parents house. At least as far as learning the gist of the bands songs fairly quick. I still have a long ways to go before I can play these songs the way I want to, or hear i in my head, but I'm getting there. The best part of it, is how much the other band mates believe in my playing and that I'll be ready for this show in April. :)

It's an awesome feeling. Knowing that I have some friends in another band playing that show is killer too. It's nice knowing my friends want to play shows with me, knowing that I've never done it before, it's my first band(besides the Mother Pluckers Friday night jam band). I'm having an absolute blast with all this music. :)

yes! but nooo

2010-02-05T12:23:00.002-05:00

Less than two weeks into joining the band, we had a show booked! WTF?! I've had one practice! I decided to say sure, what the hell, let's do this, I'll practice like hell, and learn the songs, in only 23 days. YIKES!!! Unfortunately/luckily the show fell through and we're not playing it. So I've got a little more time to learn the songs and play with the guys. We're still looking to book some shows soon, but hopefully a little bit further away than a month, with only one practice a week.
Whew.. I love this whole being in a band thing, it's making me play a whole lot more often, it's really jump started my love for music again. Also... I've got a hankering for a new bass. Which I'm making plans to get... hopefully fairly soon. I am under NO circumstances allowed to buy it until I have AT LEAST 1/2 to 2/3 in cash to pay for it. Then, it's on to the PA with recordable mixer. :) I love making plans, especially when I'm smart enough to follow them.
As usual, donations are accepted. lol ;)

I actually did it!

2010-01-25T15:50:00.002-05:00

I joined a band. My second practice with them is tonight. I'm still brand new to this, so I'm still real nervous, but the first practice went really well. At least it seemed to. The other members of Quietis seemed to be pleased with my bass playing. Granted it wasn't too hard to win over my cousin, who I'm replacing on bass, so he can focus on singing. ;) They started me out with about five songs that are fairly easy. Easy changes, and play pretty much what I want, in time and in key. It's still really early on, but so far, it's a lot of fun, and it's got me practicing and playing more at home. A trend I really would like to keep up. It's actually got me wanting to play and write more of my own stuff too. Which means I'm going to need a way to record soon.

Even better, is practice doesn't interfere with my usual Friday night jams with Dad and co. One of my 2010 goals is already checked off and we're not even out of January. I'm going to carry this positivity over into the next 11 months and make this the best year ever:)

Hopefully with all the new musical excitement I'll have more to post about and update MUCH more often. not once every five months or so.
So stay tuned all, Fatty is on a roll.. :)

long time no see

2009-08-18T14:29:00.003-04:00

I haven't been over here in a while. I guess I'm due. I haven't been doing much of anything on the art or music front. Just my usual Friday night jamming, which is still a lot of fun. It amazes me how some nights, we actually sounds pretty good, and other nights, everyone is playing in a different time, almost sounds like different songs. It gets kind of frustrating, especially from a bass players point of view. I'm just as much to blame as anyone, I haven't done anything for practice besides showing up on Friday night. My skills seem at a stand still to me. I'm pretty quick, my ear is getting better, but pulling everything together just isn't my strong suit. As I said though, I haven't been practicing. My bedroom in the new apartment is still a mess, it's one of those too much stuff, not enough storage for it type deals, so I've just been ignoring it. When I can easily just grab my guitar or bass and play, it makes it much less likely that I will do so, same with drawing. I don't have a desk, or table I can draw on, so it's my bed, or lap or nothing. Even if I did, I could sit down and stare at a piece of paper for HOURS without putting the pencil to it. I get the most intense artists block. It's as if my brain literally shuts down, and I just see the blank paper in my head. I have so many ideas, and no way to translate them out of my head when I don't have paper, or my guitar in front of me, yet when I do, I don't have the skill, knowledge, or I just plain go blank. Also, I need to learn how to relax when I play, not slow down, but relax.

Man I love iced coffee...

It's begun!

2009-06-09T10:54:00.002-04:00

I've started packing. Of course in true lazy fashion, I packed all the easy stuff first. All my cds, and dvds are boxed up. I started cleaning up and packing some of my music stuff, the microphone, music stand, a bunch of my books, I think I'll leave the guitars out of the cases, so I can still play around when I have a few minutes. and the amps and stuff don't go in boxes anyway. ;) I did a bit of messing around with the tablet in Inkscape last night. Inkscape is a good FREE vector art program. Similar to Illustrator, but quite a bit different. You can't beat it for free though. I'm still having a little bit of an issue with using the tablet as opposed to the mouse, but it is getting easier. I really hope I have enough room in the new apartment for a desk, that should probably help quite a bit too.

There's so much stuff I want to do, I really have to learn how to motivate myself and just do it. I was really hoping there'd be some outlets up in the attic at the new place, but no such luck, unless I just didn't see it. I might be able to just run an extension chord up there, so I can at least have a radio for working out, etc. Once I'm all settled in, I want to look into getting one of those brew at home beer kits, and make a batch or two... See, so many hobbies... :/ haha

I sure do wish I was actually real good at one of my hobbies...

Anyone?

2009-06-05T11:36:00.001-04:00

Anybody want to buy me a new fast computer with CS4?? anybody?? :) Ehh, just one more thing on my list of wants. I'm getting into Illustrator. I suck, but it's fun!

yowza!!

2009-06-04T16:56:00.002-04:00

Lots going on right now!
I'm in the process of finally moving! So I've got packing, and weeding through my copious amounts of stuff to see what I can junk and what I want to keep. I'm moving back to my home town, which has me VERY excited. I'm going to be closer to pretty much everything except my friends that I've made in the Haverhill area. Which to be perfectly honest, the only people I really talk to from that area are in the bars. I'm sure I'll miss walking down to the Chit Chat or the Tap etc. all the time, but I'm sure my wallet will thank me for it. I'm still thumping around on the bass, when I have time at home, and every Friday. I'm still working on drawing and coloring again. I've been finding new inspiration all over the place. I went to a comic convention in NH last weekend, had a lot of fun, and got an awesome picture of Deadpool by Pop Mhan. Really nice guy and awesome art, I'm still in shock at how fast he does this stuff and how great it comes out. You can see the con sketch here. I've also got plans in the works to get my motorcycle license and get a bike. If anyone has suggestions as to a good bike for cheap, I'm more than willing to listen. :) My workouts have been scarce lately, but I'm really hoping that will change when I move. I should have a bit more free time, and not feel so disgusting by the time I get home. I'm really looking forward to using this move as a spring board for organizing and fixing the rest of my life. I've been really miserable lately, and a good part of it is my house. I hate where I currently live, but that's changing in about 3 weeks. :) YAHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Well, I'm sure I've got a bit more going on, but that's a taste of the major stuff going on. Things are actually starting to look up a little bit. I hope it stays. :)

On a related note, THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! to my sister, who's helped me out a whole ton in this situation, I honestly couldn't have done it without you.

Man I suck at life...

2009-05-14T13:54:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the lack of any updates... I've got a few more pictures up on my deviantart page, but I've been lazy with that lately too. Music stuff is going along the same path as before, the occasional 10 minutes here and there I pick up my guitar/bass and play around a bit, plus my Friday nights. Lately for those, I've been swapping a lot between guitar and bass. Life's a bit of a mess all around right now, so I haven't been motivated to do anything besides sleep, and that's the last thing I'm actually doing. Hopefully things will settle down fairly soon and I can get back on track with everything.

Here's hoping...

another hobby

2009-03-31T15:41:00.004-04:00

So, I mentioned that I have hobbies other than music, and I'd try featuring some of that stuff here as well. One such hobby I'm trying to get into and learn more is digital coloring/painting. I'm not very good yet, but here's my second attempt at coloring in someone else's pencils.

Click on the image for a larger version, which looks a little better.

Feel free to drop some suggestions and/or critiques in the comments section.
Thanks.

I just can't take it any more!

2009-03-30T16:45:00.003-04:00

There's a few musicians that I love, but they have a song that I wouldn't mind going the rest of my life without hearing. It's not because it's a bad song, I've just heard it way too many times, or it just doesn't agree with me for some reason.

Here's a few examples:
Warren Zevon - Werewolves of London
Peter Gabriel - Solsbury Hill
Queen - We Are the Champions

See? Great songs, I just have no interest in hearing them again. They've been played to death, and I think another part that really gets me are the people who ONLY know those songs by the artist, and it's not even their best work. I'm sure there's more songs that fit in this category, but that's all I've got right now, maybe I'll add to it later.

Slight change in plans

2009-03-29T16:55:00.002-04:00

I've been way too lax in my music endeavors and to be honest, I've got a ton of hobbies and ideas. So I've decided upon a little restructure over here. Starting now, it's aimed at all of my projects, and the occasional random thought, like the last post. Hope you all enjoy. :)

Is it just me?

2009-03-27T11:42:00.002-04:00

You ever stand in the shower, hands on your hips watching the water bounce off your chest and think... Is this what it's like when people shoot Superman? Cuz.... I wanna be like Superman.

NES up your ass!

2009-03-17T10:42:00.003-04:00

I found a new site that makes me happy. Good music(sometimes) and nostalgia.

http://8bitcollective.com/

There's some pretty cool stuff. As with any music site, there's a lot of crap on there too. There's also lots of really good stuff from some talented musicians.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Knowledge, HUH! what is it good for?

2009-03-13T12:15:00.002-04:00

Absolutely.... EVERYTHING.
okay, yelling caps are out of the way, onto what I mean. If you can't read music, you can't learn a bass line by reading it. If you don't know your scales, you're going to play bad notes. This cycles continues on through pretty much everything. Both of which are problems I have. I think I figured out another part of not being able to play what I hear in my head though. Tone. I hear notes played a certain way, or with distortion, reverb, whatever. The point is, I get frustrated when I can't play what I hear. I hear a mellow deep, slightly fuzzy guitar part, and I have to try and figure it out on a bright strat pushed through a clean guitar amp. That doesn't always work so nice. As far as basslines go, for me that's even harder. I do understand the basics of how to play, but I can never get the tone I want. Time too add to my wishlist....

Almost!

2009-03-11T12:18:00.002-04:00

I almost had some motivation! Well not really, but I did pick up the guitar, tuned it up and messed around with it a little bit. I decided while I was playing around that I'd drive down and see if my Dad wanted to play some songs while I waited to hear from my sister. She called on my way down so I didn't have enough time to jam for a bit with Dad. So I didn't really get around to playing much. All of my bass guitars are at my Dad's, so the only guitar I've got at home is the strat, which is the guitar I know the LEAST how to play. I have a tendency to pick up the guitar play a few things that I know, I get frustrated that I can't play what I hear in my head, so I put it down and distract myself with Pogo games....

Like with everything, I need a fire lit under my ass to do anything lately...

Hiatus

2009-02-27T09:39:00.002-05:00

As cool of a band name as that may be, it's not one I'm using(currently). I've just been severely lacking in my practice and playing. :/ I've been pretty regular with my Friday night jam sessions. Although I did miss last week for show, and tonight my cousins band is playing, so I'm skipping out on jam night to go support him. :) It's always good reasons when I skip jam night, and I still love doing it every week. I haven't been doing much of any practicing at home. I've shifted a bit of my focus to working out as of late, and to be perfectly honest when I get home, I really don't want to do anything. I usually end up playing some pogo games or something on the computer until I fall asleep. It's not that I'm not interested in music, or anything, I just don't like being home. I can be in a good mood leaving work, or my sisters house, and I'm irritated and mopey by the time I get home. I feel like all I do is complain, but I really hate that apartment building, and it's getting worse. It really just puts me in a miserable mood, and then I don't want to do anything.

I suppose it might help if I brought my bass amp back home, so at least if I do want to play I can hear it. When I pick up the guitar I play the same chords over again, because it's what I know. I'm horrible at self motivation and teaching myself, but I'm too broke to afford lessons.

Bahhh.. I'm done complaining for today.

I've been listening to Tom Waits a whole lot lately. He's got some really pretty songs. Every time I listen to his stuff and I try and sing along, it makes me wish I had some real talent with writing, playing, and singing...

Another Friday

2009-01-23T09:47:00.003-05:00

I don't mean that in a bad way by any means. I LOVE my Friday nights. I combine a few of my passions under one roof. Music, family, and friends. There also some crazy puppies and copious amounts of soda(for me lately) and beer(not for me lately). I usually get to my parents house a bit before everyone else, besides Dad. Tonight the plan is to talk to him about picking a few songs to learn for October. Anyone have any suggestions?
When we pick a few songs, I'll see if Dad wants to get together another day or two during the week to practice. Not just practice, but practice WITH A METRONOME! haha
One song I would like to have on the list, is Ol' 55 by Tom Waits. Not a ton of lyrics, not a ton of chords, but it's a great great song. Hopefully I'll have a list of songs we're working on, or at the very least I'm working on. :)

On a side note, if you went to an open mic night, and the person playing/singing was facing away from the crowd, would that take away from the music in your mind? Or distract you from what's being played? I know for a fact I'd be nervous as all hell and was thinking about just facing the opposite way to see if it would help... :/

Long time no see

2009-01-21T15:21:00.003-05:00

I have a new goal, and a new apartment. Okay, make that two new goals.
1.) Arrange my new room in a manner that's conducive to practicing and easy to get to my instruments and amps.

2.) Pick 3-4 songs to learn CORRECTLY. Real bass lines, words, etc. My best friend is organizing this great event for cancer awareness and research. It involves a few bands playing and people making donations to the cause. The even is in Haverhill, MA at the Chit Chat bar, right in Historic downtown. If anyone wants to come or make a donation, let me know and I'll hook you up with directions, or whatever you need. Anyway, besides it being a great cause and my one good dead I force myself to do every year, it's a musical cause. :) There's a few different bands, starting at 9pm and goes till the bar closes. On to my goal part of this plug, she plans on doing a second show/benefit around October. I want to practice and get good enough to play it, as an opening act. That means I need to work on playing some songs correctly, and somehow learning how to sing, or finding someone who can, to play with.

That's my current goals, wish me luck.

OhGr

2008-12-09T12:18:00.002-05:00

In short, good show. :)
As usual with every time drive into the Boston area, I got my ass lost. Eventually I got to the club, with enough time to drink a beer before the opening act. American Memory Project, was really good. Much more mellow than I was expecting going into the show. They're just as much about the visuals as they are the musical portion of the show. The band themselves who are made up of Skinny Puppy live musicians, hide behind a projection screen, where some old movie clips are played, to the live sound track. Their set was fairly short, right around 30 minutes. Definitely glad I made it in time to catch them though.

Next up after a short time for break down and such, was OhGr. In typical fashion Ogre came out in costume, with multiple masks and face paint underneath. All of which were removed as the set progressed, minus the face paint, that stayed on. They proceeded to play D.I.M.D. from beginning to end, with no breaks. Unfortunately I only knew two songs from that album as I didn't have a copy of it until after the show. After, as Ogre called it, the conceptual part of the show, they played a bunch of songs from the first two OhGr albums. With a couple song encore of course. :) Ogre made good use of the stage, and air, blowing feathers into the crowd till most people up real close were covered. The bands sound was very tight, and impressive. His vocals rarely sound exactly like the record(or cd whichever you happen to have) but he actually gets pretty close. If he comes around again, I'll definitely be buying tickets, and I'd suggest you do the same.

standing up, and laying it down...not so much

2008-12-05T10:39:00.002-05:00

Went to jam with the big boys again on Wednesday. I played horribly. :) But at least I played. I was tripping over myself from being nervous, and playing while standing up. I keep talking about it, but I really should practice that. Playing while standing is a whole new ball game for fretting, your hand meets the neck at a completely different angle. Still had fun, I just really didn't get to play some good bass.

I'm going to see OhGr tomorrow night and I'm really excited. Last time I saw him it was a great show, so I'm expecting another good one. I'll try and get a review up of the show afterwards. This blog isn't just for my playing you know. ;)

Realization

2008-12-02T10:25:00.002-05:00

I'm starting to realize just how much I love playing music. When I'm in a bad mood, like last night, I sat down with my bass and just started playing, within 15 minutes, I was in a much better mood. I was even playing my old Peavey which clicks and clacks because the action is so bad. Even with dealing with that, I was put into a good mood. Also on the plus side I'm starting to realize I'm getting much better. I was looking at some tabs and as long as I knew the song, I was able to play most of them. Some of the phrasing was a little off, depending upon how well I knew the song, but overall I was pretty pleased with how I played. I'm still pretty sloppy, but I'm getting better.

10 a day

2008-11-14T11:09:00.002-05:00

Still didn't make it over to Tim's this Wed. They end up doing some recording instead of doing some jamming. So I stayed around the parents place and jammed out to a few songs with dad. Been doing quite well with the minimum of 10 mins a day practice. I have noticed my ear getting better. I'm finding it easier to not get quite as lost as I used to. Still having lots of fun with it. :)

pop it like it's hot...

2008-11-07T11:57:00.002-05:00

...and slap it like a red-headed step child, or whatever you feel like slapping. I was sitting at home last night, broke out my Ibanez and starting messing around for a bit. Did a few finger exercises, a couple bass runs I like to play, and started in on some pop/slap technique drills. Straight octaves, on the A and G strings, and trying the much harder E and D strings after a while. I'm starting to get the hang of it, but I often to to leave my thumb out there too long so it ends up muting the slap. It's getting much easier though, my fretting hand seems to be getting a bit faster too, which is nice. I want to be able to play super fast, when I want to. Not all the time, I'm not trying to go guitar solos on a bass. Although, that has it's time and place. :)
I'm hitting up a movie in Boston tonight, then it's off to jam night.

bailed

2008-11-06T10:18:00.003-05:00

I ended up not jamming last night. Dad wasn't feeling too good, and I was starving, so I skipped out and went home for food. I played a little pogo, and tried to sleep. All in all a very UNproductive night. I need to get strings for all my guitars, the strat is sounding pretty dull right now. The Ibanez has the newest strings, and still sounds pretty good, but some new strings would definitely help. I'm a big fan of the DR Lowriders I've got on there. Sucks that they're $25 a set. That's the biggest drawback to playing bass over guitar. Strings are so much more expensive.

I'm still working out a plan on making a bass. It'll be a long time before it gets made, since it requires money, but I can still work on the shape I want, and figure out what pick-ups/bridge, etc. Got any advice, please drop me a comment. :) I've got a few different ideas for materials and shapes. So stay tuned.

Fright-night

2008-10-31T11:59:00.001-04:00

Jam night tonight.. woooooooooooooooo
and Happy Halloween. :)

Last lesson-for now

2008-10-30T15:33:00.002-04:00

I had my last lesson last night, worked on a little bit of technique stuff, Roger worked on the setup on my bass a little bit, and went over a little bit of scales. I did come to a realization though. It's really hard for me to play even simple stuff for him, without messing up, and playing VERY stiff. I don't know if I'm just nervous, or what. But trying to practice some stuff after the lesson on my 5-string was actually easier than trying to play it on my Ibanez during the lesson. I'm going to have to work on relaxing.

update... sorta

2008-10-29T15:57:00.003-04:00

Quick update.
Haven't been practicing much this past week. I did play some pretty good stuff, and got a few compliments about my bass and rhythm guitar playing on Friday night. Ed said I'm an excellent rhythm guitar player. Which is great to hear. :) I've got my last lesson tonight, and probably heading up Tim's with Dad and Ed next Wednesday night. Jam with the big boys again for a bit. I'll have to practice playing standing up for a bit, so I embarrass myself less. I'll probably end up playing guitar for a bit too, since Ed is a much better bass player than I am.

Running out of time

2008-10-24T09:43:00.002-04:00

Lesson 3 of 4 is down. I took the cd to the lesson, and Roger helped (okay he did all the work) me learn the bass line for most of Running Into Walls by Into Another. Fun little bassline, and sounds a lot more complicated to me, than it really is. That being said, I was VERY impressed with Rogers' ear. He listened to the song, plucked a couple strings, and then bam, started writing down the notes on the staff for me. I was more impressed with how he was able to pick out the bassline, then I was with his playing of it. Regardless, it was a lot of fun. I'm actually starting to like taking lessons. I wish I wasn't so broke, so I could keep them up. Unfortunately next week if my last lesson. :( On the plus side, I've got tons of stuff to work on, so the plan is to work on saving up some money, practice a whole bunch, then go visit Roger again, and say look what I can do now, what's next? But till then, I need to practice more, and keep working on playing a few songs really well. Oh, and of course writing my own stuff. :)

two down, two to go

2008-10-22T16:33:00.002-04:00

Lesson number three is tonight, I'm planning on bringing a cd to see if Roger can help me work on picking out basslines. I'm bringing a HARD song to learn, so maybe he can explain more of it, than a simple Root-third-root-fifth type line. Also I told him I want to work more on technique, since I'm still working on the scales and stuff, and once I memorize them, it'll be easier to learn the rest of what he might be able to teach me. Welp, that's the updates for now. Take it easy and wish me luck "true believers".

Drummers really do help.

2008-10-20T14:41:00.002-04:00

I skipped on having a bass lesson last Wednesday, but I'm going back this week. The original reason for skipping a week was to have more time to practice, but things didn't really happen that way. I did however have a great time playing Wednesday night. I joined my dad and a few of his friends for a jam night. I brought my 5-string, played standing up, and with a drummer for my first time ever. I'm not used to playing the 5-string, and I've very rarely played standing up, so it was a pretty awkward experience, and I wish I could have played better. I did okay though, my song structure knowledge and guessing where the progression goes is getting better. I enjoyed playing with a drummer though. It did help me realize my timing is pretty good. I do want to start learning songs, not just scales. It's a lot of fun to just jam and play stuff off the cuff, but think I need to work on some more structured stuff, to help with consistent playing. I'm thinking a few Pink Floyd songs, like Money, and Comfortably Numb. I have a rough idea how both of them go. Money I've got in one of my books too, so I'll have the music and tabs in front of me, plus I've got them both on cd, so I can practice playing it "live". So much to work on, so little free time. I want to try working on my ear too, like trying to sit down and listen to a song and figure out how to play the bass line. That one is going to be tough.

My Best Friends Are Poured From Bottles

2008-10-10T11:43:00.002-04:00

Just a working title for lyrics in the works. Here's another set of lyrics that aren't finished. Ditto on the music. I've got a strum pattern and chord progression, no bass, no leads(probably won't be much in the way of those), no clue on drums/percussion, etc.

I wake up and I crack one open
I sit down and drink it back.
Drunk all day and into night time
Just can't seem to put it down.

A lot of nights, that I can't remember.
Plenty of mornings where I wake up drunk.
My best friends are poured from bottles.
I know you'd like to disagree.
Vodka's always been a friend of mine
Tequila's helped to keep me sane.
Always there when I need Southern Comfort
Always here when I need some peace of mind.
Pull a bottle from the freezer
Pour a shot, and drink it down.

Snake Bass?

2008-10-10T11:11:00.002-04:00

Naw, just still working on scales... a snake bass could be kind of cool though. I'm still pretty confused about different modes of scales. My bass teacher and book kind of contradict each other. Maybe I'll do some research. I love the fact that I'm taking lessons, but I don't feel like I'm getting a ton of use from them. I don't have a lesson this coming Wednesday, but I am going back the week after. I haven't had much time to practice lately, but when I do, it's all about scales and finger exercises. It's odd, it's almost like I'm just now starting to learn how to play. I'm trying to relearn how to read music. Mostly the bass clef for now, I'll work on treble after I get good at bass. I guess the way I see it now is, I'm actually learning how to play music. I know HOW to play the bass, I don't know how to play music. If that makes sense. I'm relearning the fundamentals, like how you build scales, how you use them, and the theory behind playing. I have a basic understanding or chord structure and song structure, but I'm pretty clueless on how to effectively apply it to playing. I am realizing how important fretboard knowledge is. If I was better at that, it would make figuring out new chords(on the guitar) much easier.

Key things I'm working on...
1.) Learning scales, starting with major and minor for all 7 keys(yes I know there's more including flat keys, those are next. Which includes memorizing what's sharp or flat in each key.

2.) Learn the neck! When someone says Bb, I need instinct to kick in and I hit the Bb, not look down, find a note I know and count up or down to find it.

3.) Reading music, specifically the bass clef. Honestly right now, this isn't super important for me, tabs can get the job done as far as notes. Yes the timing is hard to figure out, but how often am I going to be trying to learn a song I don't know? Not very. I'm not in a cover band, and a lot of the stuff I want to do, is write my own songs.

4.) Practicing more consistently. I need to give myself a set time to play, and what I'm going to play. I also need to try and remove any distractions. Ideally, I want to practice everyday.

Insert pretentious song name here

2008-10-03T10:33:00.002-04:00

I don't have a name for this, but I do have a rhythm pattern. Played it for a bit with Dad. He laid down a little bit of some blues licks over my rhythm. It sounded pretty good. Dad seemed to like it too. No bass tracks or anything yet, but it'll come along. There's definitely some more lyrics needed, but not a whole lot.

The clouds have opened up my eyes
Wrapping 'round the glowing sun
Holding on for dear life,
like a child to his mom.
The sun is shining too bright
The rays are hurting my eyes
I think I'm going blind
All my senses seem so dulled
Perhaps it's my time to go

There you have it, my first "published" lyrics.

Forgot to mention

2008-10-02T09:54:00.003-04:00

I started working on a new song... I know, I know, I haven't even finished the last two! But sometimes, it just kind of hits me, different timing to the lyrics, and they don't quite go with the others I've written. I've learned I can't force my brain to push out the lyrics as I want them. I have to wait until it's ready to spill them onto the page for me. I'm usually VERY insecure about my writings/lyrics, but that's how I am with most things. Which is one of the reasons I have this blog. I've got the stuff written down at home, so maybe later tonight, I'll post them up in here, and maybe get some feedback from you? All one of you who reads my blog(thanks Chai ;)). I'm hoping as I get more comfortable with posting stuff here and in general with my writings/music/self I'll be tossing more and more up here.

I do realize a bit of my writings have my own rhythm that I hear in my head infused with the wording. The problem with that is, you can't hear my rhythm(until I can play it well enough and sing it, with music for you). So I'm hoping the stuff doesn't read as poorly as I think it may.

Ding! round one is over

2008-10-02T09:44:00.002-04:00

So, I had my first of four(minimum) bass lessons last night. The teacher is a really nice guy. A little frantic and spacey, but overall a nice guy. We went over a bit of the basics or theory. How chords are built, how scales are built and how the modes are built off of the scales. Some of which I understand and know already, so we just glanced over the stuff I know. It was a nice refresher course, and made me realize I understand more than I thought I did, but I apply it less than I thought I did. If that makes any sense. The lesson did confirm my knowledge of the fretboard is abysmal! especially once I get above the A-string. I'm working on remembering to call the E-string low, as in it's the fourth string on the bass, not the first. That's something that's a matter of perspective, but I'm finding more people who refer to the G-string as the first string. I also noticed that I've already gotten too used to having the B-string on my new bass. I brought my Ibanez to the class, and kept starting scales and such on the A-string, when I should have been starting on the E. I have a feeling I'm really going to want to keep up my lessons for a bit after my four "free" ones, but I really don't think I can afford it. :/ We'll see how the next 3 lessons go though. I head back next Wed. at 8:00pm.

Friday Night Lights

2008-09-26T12:37:00.002-04:00

It's Friday!!!! That means jam night over Dad's. I left my 5-string at home this week, so I'll be playing the Ibanez. I'm going to try and pick a couple songs we play tonight, and try and find a copy of the song, to play along with and practice for next week. I feel as though I'm really the weakest link on Jam Nights, and I want to change that. I'm going to try and work out a nightly schedule/routine for practice. A certain number of minutes spent on scales, some one songs, some on guitar, and some reading to learn more about how/why I'm playing what I do.

Slow learner

2008-09-23T22:15:00.002-04:00

Sometimes, there's things that make me feel not very smart. Surprisingly, one of those things is music. I practiced for a little over an hour tonight. I worked on scales, like I said I was going to. I'm happy I did, but man, it made me realize just how bad my fretboard knowledge is. I'm going through my scales book page by page now, learning ALL of the different positions for scales on the neck. The firs two pages happen to be C Major, and C Minor. C major is easy as far as notes goes, no sharps, no flats. My problem with C Major lies in my lack of knowing the fretboard. When I go to the next string, I know the pattern, but I don't know the note. Easy as hell to read the tabs, hard for me to try and figure it out on my own. On the plus side, Since I'm working on C Minor as well, I now know, that the C Minor scale has three flats, E, A, and B.

The other thing I discovered, while doing this, is I should really start practicing standing up. Playing on the higher frets(basically 12 and up) it's tough to get my hand in position, without running it into my body. That makes it really hard to fret the notes correctly.

I'm going to end this on a positive note. I LOVE playing, I love making music, my new cow bell is awesome, and I'm VERY VERY happy with my music stand purchase. Also, my cousin just moved into a new place, and wants to drink some beers and play some music. You're damned right for thinking I'm going to take him up on that offer. Any time someone wants to play music, and teach me stuff, I'm there!! That goes for any of you as well(all one of my readers) You wanna jam sometime, and teach me how to play better, I'll see what I can do about making it, or have you stop by here. I've got a pull out couch, and a few liquor store local. ;)

Things that make you go COWBELL!!!!

2008-09-23T14:43:00.002-04:00

Got my cowbell and music stand today. woooooooo
Plans for tonight, get home, eat dinner, setup music stand, put bass scales book on music stand, plug in bass amp, play from bass scales book. Learn my scales, not just the pattern, but actually learn the scales. It's surprisingly harder than I thought it would be to do it this way. I have to think a lot more than I thought I would. My fretboard knowledge is pretty bad, so working on my scales this way is really beneficial.

Time Management

2008-09-22T15:12:00.002-04:00

I'm horrible with it. I'm going to try working on it, and making sure I sit down to play EVERY DAY! I've been good about it lately, but that doesn't usually last long. As long as I make myself sit down and practice, even just finger drills, etc. for a minimum of 15mins a day. I'm planning on longer practice sessions, but I know it's not always possible. I'm also going to try and keep this updated more often, and keep you all informed with my practices, and what I'm learning, or trying to do. Also, any suggestions you may have for songs to try and learn, or advice, I want to hear it. As I get better and learn some full songs and stuff, I might start a list over on the right of songs I've got down perfect. Eventually, I'll have some sound clips up of my playing etc.

On a side note, I've got four bass lessons coming to me, and I've been in contact with the teacher to try and set those up soon. It's only four lessons, so I'm going to have to see how much I can learn in a short amount of time.

On a side note, one of the coolest things happened to me last night. I was sitting at my computer, listening to my iTunes, and playing some Pogo.com games(working on one of this weeks badges, I'm addicted, once again, I love collecting things, and badges are things. :)) and this music started, and I thought this is catchy, then I realized, it was the song I wrote, and had recorded! I was super happy that the first thing I thought was, I like how this sounds, and it's catchy, then I thought, that's awesome! I just heard my music coming out the stereo. I mean I know it's MY computer, and MY iTunes, but still, I was amazed with how much pride I got just from hearing my music sing out of the speakers.

Don't call 9-1-1!!

2008-09-22T09:10:00.002-04:00

I know, I cleaned my room, but that's no cause for alarm. Well not really anyway. :) I made room to spread out my guitars and amps, and such, so I can have some room to play. Nothing is plugged back in yet, since unfortunately I only have one outlet in my bedroom, so I'm going to have to rearrange some plugs, and run an extension cord to the other side of the room, for the amps. It's a never ending cycle of madness. I really just don't have enough room to set myself up and be organized. Just more stuff to look forward to when looking at a new apartment. So in case you haven't figured it out, I didn't get to play at all yesterday, but at least the room is clean. There's one project out of the way.

Can I really be serious???

2008-09-17T12:45:00.003-04:00

So I want to get more serious about learning how to play and getting better. But I have a hard time sticking to things, no matter how much I want to do it. I rarely see things through to the finish. With something like music, it's always been a huge passion of mine, and there really is no finish. No matter how good you get, there's always new styles and more to learn and improve upon. I like to buy new toys, and I've realized there are a few reason why.
1.) I'm a pack rat, and I love collecting things.
2.) It renews my interest and I dig in to play with my new toy.
3.) I buy things to cheer myself up. By buying guitars and such, it makes me feel better about not being able to buy a house, or new car, big stuff like that.

I know it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but that's part of what goes through my head. I think of any way possible to convince myself I need to get it. For example, I just bought a 5-string bass, and I'm always looking on ebay and craigslist for other guitars/basses. I'd love to have one of each kind. I justified the 5-string to myself by saying I want to learn how to play a 5-string, can't learn without having one right? Don't get me wrong, I love it, and I'm glad I bought it. But I really didn't NEED it. To be perfectly honest, I'm not good enough with 4 strings to justify buying a new bass, let alone one with an extra string.

The plus side, is number two. It has resparked my interest in playing and practicing at home. I've been playing at least a little bit every night. Trying to work on learning my scales again, and actually start getting good at playing.

I very much want to be a serious musician, one who can actually go play gigs, and be good enough to get paid for it. I want to go to an open mic night and play, instead of just listening. I want to see what it's like to stand on a stage and hear a bunch of people actually clap and bob their head to my playing. But I really lack personal motivation, I lack follow through, and I lack confidence. I know I'm getting better, but I'm FAR from being good.

I've got that odd instrument with 6-strings to work on too. Chances are, that's what I'd end up playing for an open mic night type deal. Unless I can get insanely good at bass real quick, and start composing some crazy stuff. :)

I need a day stretcher

2008-08-12T10:47:00.004-04:00

Seriously... days need to be longer. When I do the gym thing, by the time I get home and eat dinner, relax a bit, it's bed time. That doesn't leave much time for practicing, or a second job. Ideally, I'd love to have music be my second job, but right now I'm not good enough for that, and finding time to practice is tough. I'm also noticing myself practicing the same stuff over and over again, which is good if that's all I want to do, but my practice should involve NEW elements, so I actually do get better. Like working on my scales, more finger exercises, learning the fretboard in and out, but I keep falling back to changing major and minor chords, because I know them. It doesn't involve me pulling out a book and teaching myself new stuff. Finding some more people to play with who I can learn from would help too, but that also requires having free time, and money for gas to get places. Bah, I guess today is just a bitching mood kind of day. On the plus side, I did have a great vacation, kinda sucked to have to come back to being busy all the time again.

Almost got something...

2008-07-31T15:53:00.002-04:00

I finally did some remedial recording, unfortunately I didn't have time to figure out how to save the cakewalk files as a wave or mp3. I did try to save it as a midi file, but for some reason the files were only 1k each and didn't play anything. hrmmm. Anyway, I played for a little bit and recorded some strumming patterns. No vocals yet, still working on those. When I can figure out how to save it as a .wav or mp3, maybe I'll toss it up here if anyone wants to check it out. It's pretty much vacation time for me, which means I'm leaving the state, and will be away from my guitars for a week!!! No practicing for me for a week, and no updates. I'll still keep trying to think up some lyrics.. who knows, maybe I'll find some crazy inspiration out in Vegas. :)

sweeeet! No, not the band that did Ballroom Blitz

2008-07-25T16:28:00.005-04:00

I found out why I couldn't record on my computer... User error. Y'know what happens when you try and use a program you don't know how to use? That's right, it doesn't work correctly. Stupid. Anyway, I've got it working. I didn't get to play enough at home last night to actually record anything, but now I can, and that makes me a bit happier. huzzah! Now I can become famous. Don't worry, I won't forget all the little people. haha the whole two people that have checked this thing.

Sounding off

2008-07-24T14:04:00.003-04:00

I'm watching my parents house for the weekend, and Dad's computer is set up to record. :) I'm going to try and give it a whirl. At least try and get enough of the basics down to work on other parts of the song. Should be fun. I'm hoping when I hear it played back, I like it as much as hearing myself play it.

On a side note, I've found a couple bands recently via myspace that I've been getting into quite a bit.

First up is Born To Lose from Texas. They come across as high energy, balls to the walls rock. Pretty good harmonies, nothing fancy with the guitar work, but what they do fits. Occasionally the lead vocals sound a little fake, an accent that's just a little too forced. Overall pretty good though. They get me moving in my chair, and helps the work day go by a little faster. They have one song up on their page for download, unfortunately it's by far my least favorite of the tracks they've got up for your listening pleasure. They list Face to Face as an influence, and I can definitely hear it. It looks like they've been around for a while, forming in 2000. They've got three albums for sale, and a new one coming out in September. When I've got a few bucks kicking around, I'd like to pick up their releases.

Good timings

2008-07-23T09:53:00.003-04:00

Much of the same, the bass is still yelling at me from the corner of the room, while I'm playing the strat. Didn't have a ton of time to work on the computer issues to get it so I can record, but I did practice for a few hours. I worked on finger picking a little bit too. For some reason my fingers don't like that so much. I think part of it was my hands were shaking. They usually do, but last night was pretty bad. So I grabbed the pick and tried working on individual strings, alternate picking, stuff like that. Then went back to chord changes and a little left hand drilling. I did get a compliment last Friday about becoming a pretty good rhythm guitar player. That really made my night. I guess my practicing is actually paying off. :) It also means that my timing is pretty good. Considering the comment came from Ed who's a good bassist, with great timing, I was excited.

practice, practice, practice...

2008-07-22T16:56:00.004-04:00

Still working on that new song. Also, trying to keep on working with my strumming. I'm getting better, but it'll still be a long time till I'm really fluent. I'm still mostly just working on strumming and barre chords, and the usual major/minor type chords. I want to get those down good before I start trying to work on the diminished, 7ths, suspended, etc.

I haven't touched the bass since Friday night. Even then I played a bit of guitar, while Ed played bass. It was a pretty even night over all though. I really want to get to the point where I can record some stuff. I want to work on a bass line for this tune. I suppose I should work on a name for it too. It needs a lot of work, but I like the basics of what I've got.

I was messing around some and came up with another progression that I'd like to keep working with. Let's hope I can remember it.

60 seconds of fuzzy wuzzy

2008-07-18T11:21:00.004-04:00

I started working on a couple new songs yesterday, which means I actually practiced and played guitar for close to four hours off and on. One of the songs I'm actually liking quite a bit.
I fixed a lot of the hissing when trying to record on the computer, but it's still not quiet like it should be. And I still don't have a real recording program installed. I need a new sound card, and video card. I might just need to pick up a cheap gateway or something and then get a good sound card. This computer is fast enough, but something just doesn't seem right with it. Anyway, I can only record up to 60 seconds of "what you hear" right now using the Windows Sound Recorder. Not a very effective way to record. When I can play it nice and smooth, I'll try and record a bit and put it up here. See if anyone else likes it. The other song I started, has an intro, and that's about it so far. Both songs are very different from one another, and I like that. Variety is the spice of life. It also makes me realize I'm not thinking of the same song all the time. My strumming is pretty good, but get's really sloppy when I have to read the lyrics and sing at the same time. Since I'm still learning how to play, I think I overload my brain and can't spend enough synapses on the strumming. I think another part of it, is I get excited because I like the way it sounds, so I end up speeding it up. It's definitely a work in progress.

Help or advice?

2008-07-17T11:37:00.003-04:00

I'm in desperate need for new music I like. I've been away from checking out new bands and buying music for wayyyyyy too long. I've taken a step or two in the right direction by going to a few more local punk shows. They seem to be fairly few and far between though. Following link after link from myspace bands provides a couple decent prospects, but takes quite some time to find the good stuff.

I got home fairly late last night, so I didn't have time to plug the bass in and practice. I did play the guitar pretty quiet through the computer, less low-end vibrations to piss off the neighbors at 10-11pm. I need to get better with the six stringed beast too, so it's all good, at least I got some playing in.

I'm trying to practice more of playing with a pick on the bass. I'm horrible with it so far. Also, I'm trying to work on playing while standing up, it's almost like having to learn how to play all over again. I've got a lot of work ahead of me.

I'm going to try harder to get some friends to jam with. Friday nights are great, and I learn a lot. I really want to learn different styles too, like punk, rock, metal, hardcore, funk, etc. Friday nights are good for some old country, doo wop, and more of the mellower genres. We do the occasional Rolling Stones, or classic rock song. Usually those end up with me peddling on the root a lot, since I don't know the real bass line off the top of my head.

I know the drummer for Yesterday's Heroes I figure I'll ask him for some advice and tips when he gets back from tour. My cousin is also a pretty good guitarist/musician, we've been trying to get together for some jamming, but it's tough to find time during the week, and we've both been busy for the weekends lately. Hopefully soon we can get together, I'm sure I can learn a lot from him.
Guitarist/Singer Roach of The Murder has been around the scene for a long time too. I've asked him for some advice a couple times, but he's insanely busy between his stuff with The Murder, and Terrace St., a movie he's working on.

Greedy, greedy, greedy

2008-07-16T16:18:00.002-04:00

I'm always wanting more stuff, more guitars, more basses, more amps, different instruments to try and learn. I want to be able to pick up anything with strings, and play it. I really should work on the basses and guitar I've got, but I'm greedy. I'm trying to work out a time line in my head as to when I can get new instruments, or accessories. So far I've got a deal going with myself, I lose 15 more pounds and I'm letting myself buy a bass cab. Keep it off for six months, I'm in the market for a drum kit. I'm still on the fence about going electronic, or acoustic. I'm thinking electronic is the way to go for me, due to the apartment building living. But I can get a cheap drum kit for $300 which is probably more than my playing ability for years. Any thoughts or suggestions on that debate?

Other than that, I know there's more stuff I need/want, like some more microphones, sound card for my computer to do some real recording, an acoustic guitar, probably need to get a new bass head too. The one I'm using now is my Dad's. Same with my guitar amp. Once I'm up to playing level, I'd love to get a pedal steel, or even a resonator guitar, learn the mandolin, banjo, all that stuff. But that's probably years down the road. Oh... Effects pedals, definitely want one of those. See? I'm greedy, I want everything.

For now, it's bass cab, then drums, unless I find a great deal on an acoustic 6-string.

Tuesday night Chats

2008-07-16T09:54:00.003-04:00

Tuesday nights open mic night at the Chit Chat, good times. Usually it's the same crew of guys that get up and play. Some are actually pretty good. All can play better than me, but that's not saying much. Each set is about three songs, I think about 15 minutes per band.

The majority of the people that get up there are singer/songwriter acoustic performers. Not really my favorite genre, but some of them are pretty good at what they do. In general, that stuff tends to bore me. It's pretty tough to impress me in a genre that's over populated. A lot of it tends to run together and sound like one another with a different singer. It's sad, but I'm pretty jaded on that whole thing.

What makes it worse is I try and play the same stuff. I'm horrible at it, but it's the easiest stuff to try and write. Pick three or four of your favorite chords, string them together and come up with trite lyrics about love or something else sentimental. Tug on the heart strings type crap. Meh... There's a lot of people who love listening to it, and if it's done real well, I do to. Your local acoustic player tends to lack the spark to make it really stand out. I guess that's why they're doing open mic night and not large venue shows huh?

There's the occasional rock band, some reggae, all sorts of music, but mostly it's the one guy with his guitar. I always have a good time going down there, and it's always free to get in. Hopefully someday you'll come down, join me for a drink, and be able to watch me get up there. If I ever get good enough and can stop myself from shitting my pants before stepping onto a stage. :) Until then, at least join me in the drinking.

New and ... okay just different

2008-07-15T16:29:00.003-04:00

Overhaul time! It seems as though this little space on the internet has gotten covered in cobwebs and dust bunnies. Rather than see those two battle it out in the fight of the century, I'm breaking out the Swiffer, and pledging the crap out of this little cork board. I'm swapping directions and dedicating this area as a music domain. Music of all kinds, and all mine. Whether it be stuff I create, watch, or listen to.

I'll be trying to keep this going with all sorts of fun musical interludes. Show reviews, music/lyrics I've written, bands I listen to, or even stuff you'd like to send in for me to review. I'm always looking for new stuff to check out. If you do, drop me a line and I'll let you know where to send the cd, or drop me a line with a link to your myspace, etc.

Hopefully this will keep me motivated and moving forward with my practicing and playing, as the Relatively Low-carb blog has kept me eating better and getting healthier.