weve been so busy lately and luckily weve still been able to throw some practice time in there. we made some great progress with a couple songs the other nite and will try to continue doing so. kind of at the point where we want to expand into a full band so that we can start playing gigs as much as possible, but:
A. its so difficult to find a decent drummer or bassist. we dont even need someone who is extremely skilled as much as we need someone we feel connects with us and the music. Everyone who is available seems to be either a middle aged suburbanite looking to kill time or a metalhead just out of high school still too young to get into bars. No one weve noticed yet seems to fit even the genre of the music let alone shows promise as someone who shares a vision about music or art. The drummer is becoming extremely necessary at this point.
B. Our material is still too much of a folk-rock hybrid, and isn't yet exactly what we want it to become. We've started working on this, and seem to be doing some cool things- it actually sounds the way it was intended.
so what to do? we have had an intuitive feeling that the drummer we need will just be around and we should be observant and look for signs / keep the feelers out / the awareness up, rather than picking one out of a craigslist ad or rushing to find someone who isn't right. of coarse we've been needing one for a while now and it is becoming difficult to progress! so, what to do?!
Friday, July 04, 2008
last nite
went to see brainbow, lions, and russian circles last nite.. doing a write up of that. brainbow and russian circles were awesome. lions... well they worked hard but i just dont think anybody was feeling it. they even tried crowd pleasing tricks like saying 'columbus, ohio' and 'ohio state university', and they kept trying to compensate for the lack of energy by having the sound guy turn shit up, but that just kinda made everyone plug their ears a little.
anyways, brainbow was fantastic! they were like 5 meditating spirits up there! russian circles (also all instrumental, but with only 3 members to brainbow's 5) were crazy- one change after another.. so much so that it was hard to tell where anything was ending or beginning. also it was good to see such a crowd for a late show here in columbus (and in the summer, no less!)- as the condos and valet barricaded bourgeous restaurants push all the real art and music out into the streets to be impounded every first and third thursday for street cleaning, thank the universe that there are still music-related gatherings in town involving more than just the bands and a handful of regulars.
going to see pirate tonite at skullys.
anyways, brainbow was fantastic! they were like 5 meditating spirits up there! russian circles (also all instrumental, but with only 3 members to brainbow's 5) were crazy- one change after another.. so much so that it was hard to tell where anything was ending or beginning. also it was good to see such a crowd for a late show here in columbus (and in the summer, no less!)- as the condos and valet barricaded bourgeous restaurants push all the real art and music out into the streets to be impounded every first and third thursday for street cleaning, thank the universe that there are still music-related gatherings in town involving more than just the bands and a handful of regulars.
going to see pirate tonite at skullys.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
fri nite comfest
brainow was awesome, we sat in the grass and just chilled on the vibe.
mas bagua blew our minds! andrew was crazy awesome and the whole band was wild. crazy pete and another guitarist (rob?) went mad up there. i thinmk pete was tripping !! then there was a time when andrews table leg gave way and all of his mixers, synthesizers, samplers, mics, bell and whisteles, etc went sliding, sliding, sliding off the way that spaghetti slides off a plate and there everytrhing was just spilling onto the stage, but just as it happened the band was quick and the drummer took off and took pete and rob and the bassist along. rob and pete almost immediately launched into some crazy backwards virtuoso psychedelia solos and everyone was jumping twice as high. it was like they floored it and they never missed a beat! andrew got the table back up all his gear back on it and smoothed back into the groove. amazing!
mas bagua blew our minds! andrew was crazy awesome and the whole band was wild. crazy pete and another guitarist (rob?) went mad up there. i thinmk pete was tripping !! then there was a time when andrews table leg gave way and all of his mixers, synthesizers, samplers, mics, bell and whisteles, etc went sliding, sliding, sliding off the way that spaghetti slides off a plate and there everytrhing was just spilling onto the stage, but just as it happened the band was quick and the drummer took off and took pete and rob and the bassist along. rob and pete almost immediately launched into some crazy backwards virtuoso psychedelia solos and everyone was jumping twice as high. it was like they floored it and they never missed a beat! andrew got the table back up all his gear back on it and smoothed back into the groove. amazing!
Thursday, June 05, 2008
hookah
we went friday nite to hookah and after standing and waiting in line for like 6 hours and missing the entire night's worth of music we left and drove back home for the night. there was certainly something else, though. we both strongly felt as if we shouldn't be there, and it definitely seemed a lot more shady than any other fest. we had been to. everyone seemed pretty damned intent on either getting fucked up, or selling stuff to people to make money. The next day we still had a lingering feeling of distrust for the whole thing (particularly me), but after squabbling over it all day and purchasing our brand new fender amp for our show the next friday. we decided we had enough money left over and the tickets were cheaper now, so we went. saturday night was pretty wild, but we were both pretty exhausted and i had some anxiety so we watched some of the music and headed back to the tent where we viewed the rest.
sunday was wonderful. we bummed around the camp sites and shops in the morning, and i accidentally haggled my way into getting 3 glass pieces for $15 when they were supposed to be like 10 or 15 a piece. thats including a bubbler that would sell for like 50+ at the import house. i felt a little bad because i was just trying to avoid spending too much so we had some money for food, so i talked them down to 2 for $18, was digging in my wallet for ones, to make $18 but at that point didn't want to use a $20 since i had already talked them down. all i else i could find was a ten and some straggling folded up ones stuck in between random papers and receipts in there so they felt for us as if that was all i had and gave me the 2 pieces we picked plus another for $15. after we walked away i even had amber fooled (accidentally) into thinking that we had spent everything on those. 'so we don't have anything for food tonite?' she asked sticking her bottom lip out and jokingly pouting. 'i still have over $40!" i whispered. that was the only time i'd ever really successfully haggled and felt guilty afterwards.
we saw the ragbirds who amber just loved, as well as ekoostik hookah who were freakin great. hookah has a very underworld glowy party type of atmosphere. there were also candles and campfires glowing everywhere (open fires allowed!) it was quite beautiful / magical at night.
sunday was wonderful. we bummed around the camp sites and shops in the morning, and i accidentally haggled my way into getting 3 glass pieces for $15 when they were supposed to be like 10 or 15 a piece. thats including a bubbler that would sell for like 50+ at the import house. i felt a little bad because i was just trying to avoid spending too much so we had some money for food, so i talked them down to 2 for $18, was digging in my wallet for ones, to make $18 but at that point didn't want to use a $20 since i had already talked them down. all i else i could find was a ten and some straggling folded up ones stuck in between random papers and receipts in there so they felt for us as if that was all i had and gave me the 2 pieces we picked plus another for $15. after we walked away i even had amber fooled (accidentally) into thinking that we had spent everything on those. 'so we don't have anything for food tonite?' she asked sticking her bottom lip out and jokingly pouting. 'i still have over $40!" i whispered. that was the only time i'd ever really successfully haggled and felt guilty afterwards.
we saw the ragbirds who amber just loved, as well as ekoostik hookah who were freakin great. hookah has a very underworld glowy party type of atmosphere. there were also candles and campfires glowing everywhere (open fires allowed!) it was quite beautiful / magical at night.
Monday, June 02, 2008
first electric show!
finally! it'd been a long time coming, but we did it! opened for two bands from new york and l.a.; gangi and electric tickle machine, as well as local mas bagua. the guys just left from d.c. the night before and this was their first stop on tour.
our set went well, and we were relatively calm / not too nervous / not freaking out. with the loss of our recent crate amp (blew tubes?) we had to hook both guitars into the fender amp, which was ok for some of the cleaner material, but when we both had a little drive or i was using an edgier effect, it seemed to blend the signals kinda funny. it was fun, though and sorta like jumpin in a pool or ripping off a bandaid, or something, now it feels like a giant weight has been lifted. its like we can actually focus on doing this stuff instead of having all of this blockage. we are considering trying to bring more bands in and open for them / put them up for the night. There seemed to be a good response from everyone and greg kept the bar open like an hour or two later than ive ever seen him do.
the guys took a while to get setup after us, probably because vics house sound isnt very good, and crazy pete wasn't helping too much. i think they had so much stuff plugged in that vic's mixer overheated and they had to put a fan on it to cool it down before they could play! meanwhile the house kept getting more and more packed... all turned out pretty well though. we collected donations (instead of cover) for the touring acts for gas $$ and they sold some cds. we were all up till like 5 in the morning chilling and whatnot in the backyard. they all crashed in various rooms- greg made us all free breakfast in the morning. ;)
well anyways i guess nows the time to start doing and being, and stop being so afraid of people / our own dreams / everything
feeling wonderful
our set went well, and we were relatively calm / not too nervous / not freaking out. with the loss of our recent crate amp (blew tubes?) we had to hook both guitars into the fender amp, which was ok for some of the cleaner material, but when we both had a little drive or i was using an edgier effect, it seemed to blend the signals kinda funny. it was fun, though and sorta like jumpin in a pool or ripping off a bandaid, or something, now it feels like a giant weight has been lifted. its like we can actually focus on doing this stuff instead of having all of this blockage. we are considering trying to bring more bands in and open for them / put them up for the night. There seemed to be a good response from everyone and greg kept the bar open like an hour or two later than ive ever seen him do.
the guys took a while to get setup after us, probably because vics house sound isnt very good, and crazy pete wasn't helping too much. i think they had so much stuff plugged in that vic's mixer overheated and they had to put a fan on it to cool it down before they could play! meanwhile the house kept getting more and more packed... all turned out pretty well though. we collected donations (instead of cover) for the touring acts for gas $$ and they sold some cds. we were all up till like 5 in the morning chilling and whatnot in the backyard. they all crashed in various rooms- greg made us all free breakfast in the morning. ;)
well anyways i guess nows the time to start doing and being, and stop being so afraid of people / our own dreams / everything
feeling wonderful
Friday, May 16, 2008
hot energy balloon
wow! had a great practice tonight. was starting to get worried there for a minute. we have a show coming up in like 2 weeks and things were coming along but not coming together... we had a couple discouraging practices where it seemed hard to make it through any of our material- even stuff we werent having problems with before...
but tonite we threw so much positive energy into it that we ran all the way through the set a few times and it sounded fantastic like never before! awesome.
but tonite we threw so much positive energy into it that we ran all the way through the set a few times and it sounded fantastic like never before! awesome.
Friday, May 09, 2008
oh man
oh man did we ever do some good practicing today. we are all mad here is starting to sound great. it went from getting bumped from the setlist to probably the opening spot. funny how things work like that. we are making so much progress! amber is getting super smart and attentive musically!
try to remember baby try try try try try try try try
try to remember baby try try try try try try try try
Friday, May 02, 2008
riding the good vibe
been on a real good vibe lately. recently got the old hair cut, and amber made me a new necklace. i feel renewed, bolder, more open. it feels easier to be myself and likewise, im no longer afraid to do so. this seems to be going double for amber. actually i think the change in her inspired the change in me. im really proud of both of us, but especially her. it feels good to let go of all of that extra weight. its really exhaustive being self protective, self conscious, overly sensitive, socially anxious, defensive, secretive, and closed off (that all even sounds like an awful lot of work!!)
also our studies of modern music have been contributing much to our music. listening is good.
weve finally gotten a song recorded and uploaded to our myspace. we have recordings of some of our other material, but we are still reworking a lot of our stuff. we have a gig at vics on the 31st. we need a few pieces of new equipment before then, our current equipment not being very reliable / existent. weve been considering enlisting the contribution of a drummer as an addition to the band. we both agree that well find someone when were meant to, so were on the lookout for any signs for that to be happening.
anyway its all very exciting and feels like a new time
*light is faster than sound*
also our studies of modern music have been contributing much to our music. listening is good.
weve finally gotten a song recorded and uploaded to our myspace. we have recordings of some of our other material, but we are still reworking a lot of our stuff. we have a gig at vics on the 31st. we need a few pieces of new equipment before then, our current equipment not being very reliable / existent. weve been considering enlisting the contribution of a drummer as an addition to the band. we both agree that well find someone when were meant to, so were on the lookout for any signs for that to be happening.
anyway its all very exciting and feels like a new time
*light is faster than sound*
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
sunny
wow its been so sunny and beautiful out lately. all the trees have flowers / blossoms on them. the city appears a happy place! our own garden is coming along slowly. we probably need to go buy some top soil and get some more done, but its already looking great.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
spring quarter
as we emerge from winter, amber and i find ourselves in the midst of a bunch of mass lecture classes. it's definitely nice to give ourselves a break from studio classes, especially since we always load ourselves up with too many at once. this gives us more time to work on our portfolios for the review in late may, but more importantly it gives us time to work on our own personal stuff, and most importantly our much neglected music.
also very exciting, we are taking a modern rock art/music history class much of which involves music theory, styles, etc of rock and its roots in blues and jazz.
amber is serving tables now over at the restaurant with me and we are doing a lot better financially. sure working at vics was cool for her in some ways but it just wasnt paying. literally. anyways its pretty cool actually having enough money to do things again. we've been hardly able to pay the rent&bills for nearly a year, so to actually have a little left over after paying stuff is pretty cool.
been doing a lot of summer planning. we have some cool stuff mapped out for ourselves- all pretty ambitious, but if it all works, it will be great as can be. also been missing wv and our friends there, especially after our recent visit to yellow springs...
all for now
also very exciting, we are taking a modern rock art/music history class much of which involves music theory, styles, etc of rock and its roots in blues and jazz.
amber is serving tables now over at the restaurant with me and we are doing a lot better financially. sure working at vics was cool for her in some ways but it just wasnt paying. literally. anyways its pretty cool actually having enough money to do things again. we've been hardly able to pay the rent&bills for nearly a year, so to actually have a little left over after paying stuff is pretty cool.
been doing a lot of summer planning. we have some cool stuff mapped out for ourselves- all pretty ambitious, but if it all works, it will be great as can be. also been missing wv and our friends there, especially after our recent visit to yellow springs...
all for now
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Hurray!
Up at the lab now workin on one of my final projects. It's gonna be sweet. Spent today & last night helping amber dread her hair. She started it once but we didn't get the dread wax in time, so she took 'em out and started over. That's okay though, because we ordered some good products online rather than getting some stuff at walmart, so they'll turn out nicely. We are gonna finish the back-combing when we get home ;)
The quarters almost over! This quarter was pretty fun. We got to dig into all kindsa stuff. Pretty excited about where we can go from here...
Monday, February 18, 2008
Artist Statement
Had to write an artist statement for a project I'm working on at OSU. After I wrote it, I realized that I kind of like it. Anyway, here it is:
As an artist, I want to communicate to people all of the freedoms which they already posses. I wish to use my art to help other people discover things about themselves, and to help them initiate self growth and self creation. The material world is full of distractions and self-manifested restrictions. I want to convince people that they do not need to live in fear, letting imaginary rules and imaginary boundaries rule their lives.
I want to share the joy that I have experienced in my own self-liberation, because all of this is what creating both art and music does for me. It is a channel of expression, a communication between others and myself, and between myself and myself. It is also one of the most important elements of my relationship with my wife, and this is why we work together as a single, powerful entity on all of our personal projects. It is a way of life for us, and concerns about our future are only that we will always be continuing to better ourselves, our communication with ourselves, with each other, with other people, our connection to everything; the entire universe.
Lastly, I completely believe in the revolution (call it underground, indie, whatever) that is happening all around us in which the people are rejecting the commercial crap that we are being force-fed, and starting to create our own world to live in. No institution, no corporation, no industry, no structure should be stealing away the waking lives of living, breathing people. Artists do not need to be a special group of 'gifted' or 'talented' people who have been filtered by some established and trusted system. We are all the artists, and I'm going to TELL EVERYONE.
As an artist, I want to communicate to people all of the freedoms which they already posses. I wish to use my art to help other people discover things about themselves, and to help them initiate self growth and self creation. The material world is full of distractions and self-manifested restrictions. I want to convince people that they do not need to live in fear, letting imaginary rules and imaginary boundaries rule their lives.
I want to share the joy that I have experienced in my own self-liberation, because all of this is what creating both art and music does for me. It is a channel of expression, a communication between others and myself, and between myself and myself. It is also one of the most important elements of my relationship with my wife, and this is why we work together as a single, powerful entity on all of our personal projects. It is a way of life for us, and concerns about our future are only that we will always be continuing to better ourselves, our communication with ourselves, with each other, with other people, our connection to everything; the entire universe.
Lastly, I completely believe in the revolution (call it underground, indie, whatever) that is happening all around us in which the people are rejecting the commercial crap that we are being force-fed, and starting to create our own world to live in. No institution, no corporation, no industry, no structure should be stealing away the waking lives of living, breathing people. Artists do not need to be a special group of 'gifted' or 'talented' people who have been filtered by some established and trusted system. We are all the artists, and I'm going to TELL EVERYONE.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
School, Music, etc
We're learning quite a bit from our classes this quarter, and being pretty productive with all of it already. It's so nice to have some art/tech courses instead of just fine arts. I think we got ALOT out of all the fine art stuff last quarter, but we definitely have more of a connection with all the possibilities technology has to offer.
We've been fine tuning some new music, wanting to play some shows around. A few local bands have been offering to let us open for them at some of their shows, so we are trying to prepare for that. Still haven't done any recording but we are both okay with that, as we are making so much progress with the songwriting and practices.
Anyhow, I have more work to do, so back to it.
We've been fine tuning some new music, wanting to play some shows around. A few local bands have been offering to let us open for them at some of their shows, so we are trying to prepare for that. Still haven't done any recording but we are both okay with that, as we are making so much progress with the songwriting and practices.
Anyhow, I have more work to do, so back to it.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
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