Well now. Where to begin? I guess I should start with last week. Last Friday the band and I headed to San Jose to record our 2nd set of tracks and our first with Kendra. We spent three days recording drums, guitars, bass, and vocals and just hanging out in the studio and shooting the shit when we weren't working. Sunday we wrapped up with the promise of finished tracks within the week.
On Monday I had to leave musicland and go back to the real world. Work was looming over my head and I wasn't looking forward to it. Ultimately though, things were alright. I finished the last of my computer training (so I thought anyway) and when I went down to the floor I felt a little better about it. So that was cool.
Wednesday I had work, then band rehearsal, and then I hung out with folks for a Cinco De Mayo party. There were margaritas involved. I got really drunk.
Thursday I woke up with a hangover and I still had class and then plans to jam with Matt and Max (RUN AMOK). I pulled myself out of bed and was able to do all of it, but may have over exerted myself at the jam.
Friday (yesterday) was the final round of the Gorilla Productions Battle of the Bands at DNA Lounge. I woke up achy and with a sore throat. Still, I got to the studio, we loaded up, and we got to DNA. We got all set up, I took a nap in Jim's truck, and we went on at around 9:15. The audience seemed to like us, and we rocked pretty hard, but when I got off the stage, I crashed big time. I had used up pretty much everything I had on stage. Now I was all achy again and we still had a few hours to go before the judging. Ultimately, we came in 4th place.
After the judging I got a ride back to the studio where my car was waiting. Sarah came with me on the drive home, and I tried to sleep as soon as I got in. See, I had work today at 6am. I was feeling really sick, so I knew I wasn't going to make it, but I still had to call in to let my boss know. This happened at 5am. Until then I tried to sleep. I thought I'd just fall in bed and lose consciousness, but I actually couldn't fall asleep from 12:45 when I got home all the way to 5 when I had to call. I finally slept for a bit after that, but I was kind of a mess.
Now I'm getting a bit stir-crazy from just sitting in my apartment all day.
Showing posts with label bands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bands. Show all posts
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Where's the bassist?
A few weeks ago I arrive at the studio and hear Chris and Kendra working on a new piece. It has a kind of slow acoustic building to a heavy distortion chorus kinda thing going on. It's pretty cool, and we work on it a little here and there while getting ready for Slims, Sub-mission, etc.
A few days ago Jim sends the rest of the band a link to The Letter Black's video for "Hanging On By A Thread" and asks us to think about a song in the same vein. I listen to the song and I kinda like it. It's got a catchy chorus and the chick singing is pretty hot and it's got that "modern hard rock" feel to it. The only think is that it seems like a two person show. What I mean is, the video shows the singer, the lead guitarist, and that's pretty much it. You can tell that there's a drummer, another guitarist, and a bassist in the video, but there are barely any shots of them. It's honestly a little baffling to me.
When you're in a band, you are expected to not only play your instrument, but contribute your knowledge to the band collective. What I mean is, I play the bass in my band and I sing in my band, but not only that, I'm expected to take what I know of playing bass and singing and anything else to help shape our songs into cohesive wholes. And in return, I want to be in the friggin' music video! It's really upsetting when I see "bands" that only feature the lead singer or the lead guitarist, and everyone else in the band looks like an extra they hired that day for the shoot. If a band is shooting a music video and the band has five members, I want to see five members in the video, and not just off to the side or just one or two shots. Everyone in the band should get to look awesome in the music video.
What's the point of being in a band if you don't get to be all, "Look at me! I'M IN A MUSIC VIDEO SUCK IT BITCHES!"?
BTW, our new song actually does kind of have the vibe Jim was asking about. It's called StandStill.
A few days ago Jim sends the rest of the band a link to The Letter Black's video for "Hanging On By A Thread" and asks us to think about a song in the same vein. I listen to the song and I kinda like it. It's got a catchy chorus and the chick singing is pretty hot and it's got that "modern hard rock" feel to it. The only think is that it seems like a two person show. What I mean is, the video shows the singer, the lead guitarist, and that's pretty much it. You can tell that there's a drummer, another guitarist, and a bassist in the video, but there are barely any shots of them. It's honestly a little baffling to me.
When you're in a band, you are expected to not only play your instrument, but contribute your knowledge to the band collective. What I mean is, I play the bass in my band and I sing in my band, but not only that, I'm expected to take what I know of playing bass and singing and anything else to help shape our songs into cohesive wholes. And in return, I want to be in the friggin' music video! It's really upsetting when I see "bands" that only feature the lead singer or the lead guitarist, and everyone else in the band looks like an extra they hired that day for the shoot. If a band is shooting a music video and the band has five members, I want to see five members in the video, and not just off to the side or just one or two shots. Everyone in the band should get to look awesome in the music video.
What's the point of being in a band if you don't get to be all, "Look at me! I'M IN A MUSIC VIDEO SUCK IT BITCHES!"?
BTW, our new song actually does kind of have the vibe Jim was asking about. It's called StandStill.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
