Sunday, March 29, 2009

THE ICARUS DILEMMA

For a while, I will be using this blog as a little studio journal.

RIFF 1:
E-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8B
B-----------------------------5H6P5------------------------------------5H6P58H10P8---
G--9-10-7--10-5----5H7P5--------5H7P5-----9-10-7--10-5-5H7P5--------------------
D-7---------------7----------------------------7----------------------------------------------
A----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RIFF 2:
E--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G--------------------------------------5--3H5--------------------------------------------2*
D-00-0-0-7-0-5P0-0-3P0-0-3H5--5-------00-7P0-5P0-00-3H5P32H3P2-------
A-00-0-0---0-------0-------0----------------00-------------00------------------3H5
D-00-0-0---0-------0-------0----------------00-------------00------------------------
   [---PM----]         [PM]    [PM]                   [-PM-]           [-PM-]   

2 songs finished completely, lyrics included. Working on a third one right now (see above tablature) with a REALLY BRUTAL backdown. Sucks that drums are all conceptual in my head right now, but drums are my forte so I'm not too worried about them and am almost confident I could go into gadgetbox and improv them and it still will come out nice. Working title for above song: "The Last Courtesy I'll Give"

Since this project is solely me on all instruments, I figured the lyrics/song titles/album name/artwork should focus more on my life and be biographical in a way. After a lot of thought, I have decided to name the title of the EP "The Icarus Dilemma". I've always been fascinated with greek mythology (old hardcore band was called Killing Aristotle) and history. In my opinion, the main reason we study history is to learn from mistakes that have been made in the past. There is definitely a lot to learn from greek mythology, esp. the story of Icarus and Daedalus. 

Its up to your interpretation, but The Icarus Dilemma to me is everyone's personal battle between hedonism and its consequences. It has more personal connections with me, but thats not something I should be putting here.


Anyways, this whole concept and idea wasn't intended for me to strike it big or create a new genre of music or anything. In all honesty, there are so many talented bands and musicians out right now that the only instrument I would feel comfortable with in the larger scene is the drums. I always wanted to record an album, and I think it would be cool to have a copy to show my kids one day. Plus its a lot cooler than a fucking journal.

Untitled 3

Sometimes I have the most brilliant ideas ever. The hard part is transferring it down to a piece of paper. 

I rarely do this, but I have a lot of cool new music to recommend that I stumbled on over spring break. Most of these groups/musicians have been around for awhile, and I can't believe I haven't crossed paths with them before, but I highly recommend:

-July Skies (ambient post-rock from England)
-Mouth of the Architect
-Emarosa/Dance Gavin Dance (basically anything by Jonny Craig. I never knew the dude was such an amazing singer)
-Anything by Mike Kinsella, esp. American Football and Owen
-The Appleseed Cast (earlier stuff)

On another note, I'm going to see Norma Jean tomorrow in SF. I can't sleep, so I think I'm gonna go write a song in the quad. Love love.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

A prediction:

2 days ago, I was sitting on a coral station with my telecaster, writings songs as I watched minnows pass through the crevices of the reefs on this shoreline. Its a really beautiful day, so one would only imagine that I am writing an elegant melody or touching lyrics. On the real, though, I'm cooking up powerbeats, pinch harmonics, two-hand tapping, and the most brutal breakdowns that Santa Cruz will ever hear. Ever.

I decided that I am gonna start posting snippets of the songs I've written so far on my facebook, so start expecting updates during spring break. I just prepaid studio time today, so all the recording fun begins VERY soon.

Ever listen to a metal album with one person performing all the instruments, handling vocals, and writing everything?