music review: southern hospitality

Disciple's latest effort, Southern Hospitality, is . . . um . . . awesome. I've always been impressed with the way Disciple has managed to be unashamedly declare their faith without sounding like the numerous other

Overall, the album's title does reflect a bit of a stylistic difference from their previous albums. The album, as a whole, leans a bit farther towards the bluesy-southern hard rock than they have before. That being said, don't expect a country album by any means; SH rocks harder than most other of Disciple's contemporaries newest offerings.

Kevin Young's vocals are among my favorites, and Brad Noah's guitar solos really stand out. It's awesome to see a band with talent, faith, a distinct lack of cheesiness, and some of the best guitar solos to come out of 2008.
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Track by track:
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The album opener, "Southern Hospitality" is an awesome start to the album, setting the tone with a slow, bluesy riff reminiscent of Mark Tremonti's newer work. From start to finish, this song makes you want to bang the head and pump the fist, resulting in some awkward stares from the people currently watching me; its hard not to get excited about lyrics encouraging you to get excited and live life to its fullest.

"Romance Me" follows and is much more in line with what I've come to expect from Disciple. It's a fast rocker with a passionate cry out to the only cure to the problems and hardships of life.

"321" comes back to the slow, hard southern rock theme and could very well be the next sports arena anthem in line with Saliva's "Click Click Boom" or "Ladies and Gentlemen". The lyrics depict the excitement of Christ coming again and the desire to work for helping and loving others until that time. Brad Noah also shreds his first of many awesome guitar solos of the album.

"Whisper So Loud" is another fast one that will make you speed on the highway, so be careful. My favorite guitar solo of the album is featured here. Good song, but I have tended to skip it to get to . . .

"Whatever Reason" is the first ballad of the album. Disciple has proved over and over again that they have mastered the rock ballad, and this song is no exception. Heartfelt lyrics show God's love and desperation for us to return to him: "Whatever reason you've been running, I just don't care anymore...".

Bringing in another slow rocker, Disciple throws down in "Phoenix Rising" to rival any other band out there in terms of heaviness.

"Liar" paints an honest picture of the struggle we have with forgiveness as Christians. Definitely the angriest song on the album. Another amazing Noah guitar solo, really showing off some passionate arrangement and speed.

"Falling Star" is one of my favorites in terms of lyrics, encouraging a recovery from bad decisions and hopelessness. Disciple has a way of putting spirituality into a real situation through a song that I have yet to find in another hard rock band. Noah's most expressive solo drives the emotions of this song right to the sky.

"Right There" is faster ballad, another example of Disciple's ability to show the character of God and the passion he has for his children.

The last of the fast songs, "On My Way Down", has some really nice aggressive riffs and hooks that usually don't find their way into a later track on a hard rock album, but keeps the momentum going. The lyrics are among my favorites due to the personal voicing that cries out for protection and guidance "if I'm on my way down." My favorite scream of the album, Young really knows how to wail 'em; also another great solo.

"Lay My Burdens" has an equal chance finding its way into a gospel choir as it does a rock arena or country hoedown. One of my favorite songs on the album, simply because of the catchy hook and blatant southern rock roots. Nice little southern/Hendrix-y intro, Slash-like leads and a simple chorus make for a really awesome end to the album. The ending guitar solo makes me want to start yelling "Lay My Burdens!" at the end of concerts, instead of "Free Bird!"

"Savior" closes out the album oh-so-passionately with a friend, perhaps husband or boyfriend that is praying desperately to help a woman in need of healing that brought tears to my eyes.

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Overall: Two thumbs up, five stars, two fists in the air, and anything else. This album is going to have a special place right with the rest of Disciple's work, a testament to a willingness to rock and a steadfastness in faith.

the rig

I've observed a number of guitar players blogs that outline their music rig, so I figure I should post my stuff.

I use what I guess could be considered a pretty simple setup. I plug my guitar into a Morley Classic Wah pedal. The pedal then runs into a BOSS GT-3 multi-effects processor. Sometimes I'll run a stompbox tuner in between the guitar and the wah pedal. I like the Classic wah, even though its a little indiscernible when things are really dirty; I like the subtleness of it. I use it occasionally on solos and more recently I've been using it as a supplemental EQ to get some nice low-end sounds.

On the GT-3, I generally use a Mesa Boogie preamp model with a nice, manly amount of gain. That's the first thing on the chain within the processor. After the preamp, I run a little bit of compression and sustain. I then run the external overdrive/distortion loop, then delay. I use delay, um, a lot. Most of the music at WEC requires a nice bit of The Edge-flavored delay. When I'm not using delay rhythmically, I use it in lieu of reverb, because I think it gives a bit more organic feel to the sound, and reverb seems to sound make things sound processed. I use the CTL pedal to active various effects that I don't use as much, like

I plug an Ernie Ball 500K Stereo/Pan Volume into the external overdrive/distortion loop. I use that as a master volume for everything. I put it before the delay in the loop so that the delay will fade a bit after everything is muted; again, this placement seems to make it a bit more organic and less processed. I use this for fades, and false sustains, and also just for a bit more control over volume.

If I'm playing at WEC, the output of the volume pedal goes straight to a DI box and then straight into the PA. If I get to use an amp, I play through a 120 watt Randall RX120RH amp head and then throught a Randall Rx412 4 x 12 cab. I alternate a bit between two different ways of using the amp. Sometimes, plugging straight into the amp from the GT-3 and using the clean channel is more than enough; I generally do this to practice for WEC, since I don't use an amp there. However, I also enjoy turning the preamp off on the GT-3 and running the whole rig through the effects loop on the RX120RH, taking advantage the nice metal overdrive channel.

I've been using this for a while now, and there's not a whole lot I'd do to change things. I would add a permanent tuner stompbox, rather than borrowing one from people, and maybe a more versatile delay unit, but other than that I am quite satisfied.

who watches the innocence and instinct?

This week I had my first experience with a graphic novel.

One of my roommates has Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen. I was really excited about the movie just because it looks really cool, and now I'm ecstatic! I started in early this week, did a lot of work during the week, and then finished it staying up a bit too late last night.

To be honest, I haven't really read a novel in about a year. I haven't really had any desire to, to be honest. I've read a lot of reference material and nonfiction, and, as a good college student, many (sections of) textbooks. This week I decided, since I had a bit more free time on my hands, to read Watchmen and finish it. I absolutely enjoyed the experience. As a disclaimer, there is a bit of adult content (violence, language), so if you're a young-un, pass until later, please.

By the way, I think it's beyond awesome that Muse's "Take a Bow" is in the previews for Watchmen. It makes me super excited. I guess I'm a bit of a fan boy.

Also, I picked up the new album by Red, Innocence and Instinct, and I'm a bit disappointed. Their first album, while a bit derivative, was absolutely enjoyable, catchy, and rocked like no one's business. However, the new one is a bit of a let down, especially compared to the first. It has some nice moments of rocking, but the lyrics are a bit less mature and forced at times. A bit of a let down.

Sorry for the large transition in topics, but I'm feeling a bit "stream-of-conscious"-y tonight.

knowing songs

My ultimate goal when it comes to practicing and getting ready for a performance, be it for WEC or any other place I've played, is to know a song so well that I don't have to think at all.

When I don't think about what I'm playing, it means I know the song: its chord changes, its melody, its harmony. I know them from an instinctual feeling, rather than procedural memorization. I know the sound of the next chord and the shapes of the frets I need to play, rather than thinking of A - F#m - D - D/A.

How do I get to this state? It doesn't always go the same way. The easiest is, of course, when I can immediately tell what I want to play over a song after I've listened to it, or when I've written something I actually like. In these situations, I can improvise leads, rhythms and fills in the most natural way (at least to my own ears, I won't speak for everyone listening). I feel the most comfortable with my instrument and the song, and this is where I want to aim to be.

Sometimes this desire to know songs is complicated by the fact that I don't always know what I want to play at the first listen. Generally this results in a feeling that I don't like the song. Really, this isn't the case, but when I'm frustrated about having nothing that sticks out to my ear, the song is tainted in my mind.

This past Sunday and TNL and WEC had all the songs that I am comfortable with. I know them, I love them, and I don't think about them. What comes out of the fingers is just me worshiping over six strings; I love being able to concentrate on the Most High God without worrying about messing up or making bad playing choices. I'm just lost in the song and in the prescence of the one who gave me the song and the ability to sign and shout and play.

in all seriousness

I apologize for the breach in blog etiquette, but I must apologize for the lack of posts this week.

I've been going through a rather difficult situation involving a very dear friend of mine, Laura. She and I have been close for, about four years now. We spend a great deal of time together during the week, and she's been one of the only constants in my life over the fast four years.

On Thursday, while I was getting her ready for TNL at WEC, I noticed that there was something quite wrong with her. It took me a long while to realize what was going on, and by then it was too late to do anything about it. I was terrified of what this could mean; all the time we've spent together, to be ended so soon by such a small, yet profoundly influential problem. My emotions overwhelmed me, rushed over me like a cold wind, freezing me in place as I contemplated the changes that were about to come.

The threads on her locknut on her neck were stripped, which meant that no whammy bar action would happen, and she was useless to me.

In case you're wondering, Laura is my 2005 Ibanez S470 electric guitar, the . . . um . . . let's say . . . second-place love of my life. I bought her in 2005 (I know it's hard to comprehend) and she has been my the best guitar I have ever laid hands on. Other guitars have come, and I've even tried to convince myself a couple others were the ones for me; Laura and her perfect tremolo system and beautiful, lightweight black body have always remained number one in my heart.

The good news is, I went to Wintersound and picked up some parts (I love them there, well worth the trip across the Coleman Bridge) and she's as good as new, ready to rock for Sunday. All is well, and a friend has been restored to me.

the rebellion against the empire

I wouldn't say I am a rebel with any cause at all. I wouldn't say I'm particularly non-conformist or even particularly anti-establishment.

Something inside me, however, has an allergy to things that are popular, most easily visible in music. If a lot of people like it, I tend to avoid it. It isn't always the case, but my natural tendency is to flock towards obscure groups.

"Now, Mike," you may be thinking, "someone who is anti-music-establishment would not like such bands as U2, Van Halen, and The Beatles. You are obviously not a rebel and I hereby rebel against you."

I realize that this is not always the case, I'm just saying my natural tendency is to flock away from popular music. Due to the amount of trash in popular music, the gold tends to get covered up pretty quickly. There's lots of bands I missed out on for a while because I was a stuck up, I'm-so-much-better-than-pop musician.

It is most definitely a fault. Don't be a stuck up musician, check things out.