let's make sum noyez

One of my favorite things to do when I'm jamming on my own is making noise; I mean, really just making random, a-melodic noises. Not really notes, mostly just scratching and flicking and scraping about to see what kind of textures and moods I can create.

Adding some echo-delay or modulation effects like phasers, flangers, or wah is usually a necessity to get really cool effects. My personal favorite is to tap on muted strings, creating small clicks that, when delay is added, sound like clockwork. Secondary favorite: doing long, slow pick scratches on the lower strings with wah and delay at the end. Sounds like a rocket going off.

It's nice if I can put some kind of chord set to repeat endlessly on a computer or keyboard, and put the noises on top of that to add some interesting color to extended length chords that may have been a bit boring on their own.

What's been really fun is playing with other people who'll do the same thing. Then you can switch doing the noise and playing the "music".

top five: concerts

Whew. The past week has been crazy, and finals are coming up, so things aren't going to slow up for a few more days. Finals start next week, so a week after that, the pressure will be off.

In the meantime, I thought I'd continue blogging. As you have probably noticed, I'm going to see U2 and Muse in October in Charlottesville with my girlfriend, driving with a couple from WEC, Jake and his wife, and meeting a slew of others when we get there.

YAY. <-- (imagine that multiplied by about a billion)

This show is going to be amazing, and with that in mind, I'll share with you my top five favorite concerts that I've attended.
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(5) The Devin Townsend Band, Dark Tranquillity, Opeth @ the Norva in Norfolk, VA
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One of the first bigger shows I went to on my own. Hadn't heard of DTB or Dark Tranquillity, I went to see Opeth. I was pleasantly surprised by both of the openers. Devin Townsend is one of the more interesting personalities in progressive rock to be certain, and his music speaks for itself. Dark Tranquillity started getting me more into the melodic death metal arena, and is still my favorite in that genre. Of course, Opeth was phenomenal. Their stage presence is not impressive, but if you're going to see Opeth, you're going for the music, not the stage antics. Very memorable show. Tim was there.
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(4) Dream Theater, and the other bands that don't matter @ Pier 6 Pavilion in Baltimore, MD
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Seeing my all time favorite band for the first time ever in Baltimore was so awesome! Tim can attest that I was probably giggling with glee when they came out on stage. They could have played anything and I would have been more than satisfied with their setlist. I absolutely love it when they do their "play-a-cover-in-the-middle-of-one-of-our-songs" thing, hearing something from The Wall during "Surrounded" was my personal favorite. It was worth the drive, well worth the money, and well worth the wait.
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(3) Tool, with some other crappy band @ the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, VA
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My brother and I (notice a trend here?) hiked up to Richmond to see Tool. We're both big fans of their music, and their performance certainly didn't disappoint there, but both of us were utterly blown away by the visual elements of their show. They had 4 screens behind them and 3 screens above and towards the wings of the stage, all playing synchronized video to their music. Then, for the one of the last epic-length tracks from their latest albums, two of their circular light rigs above the stage began to move around, shining their lights: they were like UFOs! It was freaking amazing, and then when things couldn't get any better, lasers came out from the stage. One interesting note is that while we had nosebleed-section-ish seats, they allowed us to see images that were projected onto the white stage floor that we wouldn't have seen had we been in "better" seats.
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(2) Blue Man Group @ Broadway in New York, NY
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For band spring trip in high school one year, we went to New York City, and the best part of the trip was seeing Blue Man Group. Their show is beyond words; you have to see it for yourself. Their house band has one of the more interesting instrumentations: a drummer, a Chapman-stick player, and a pedal steel guitar player, all playing the craziest tribal rock that you'll ever hear. Plus, their show is hilarious.
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(1) Van Halen @ the RBC Center in Raleigh, NC
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What can I say, my girlfriend loves me. She bought me tickets to see Van Halen for my birthday last year, and what an adventure! Taking a hot chick to see a rock legend, complete with Eddie Van Halen's still explosive and innovative guitar playing and the original frontman, David Lee Roth, made for the most fun I've ever had at a concert.
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(0) U2/Muse @ Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, VA
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I'm putting this on the list preemptively, as I still get close to wetting my pants just thinking about this. It's much too far away. I'm anticipating that it take the top spot.

There you have it. With this subject in mind, I am quite disappointed that I am missing Gov't Mule twice this summer: they are going to be in Denver the week before Keren and I go on vacation to Colorado, and they are going to be in Richmond the day we arrive back from vacation. It is just not meant to be, I guess. Even more of a disappointment since I missed them at the Norva last fall.

easter and guitar at wec

Things went awesome for the Easter services at Waters Edge Church.

Needless to say, things were a complete success, judging by the number of people standing up during the services signifying they had made a decision to follow Christ. That, of course, makes all the practice and waiting and practice and practice SO worth it.

To try to keep with the music theme of things, I'm gonna review things from a music point of view.

Awesome.

The Waters Edge band, I may say, has never sounded better. After seeing a couple vids of performances during practice, everyone looked awsome, and sounded better. The drummers for the beginning were one of the coolest openers for a Waters Edge service.

I was quite satisfied with my playing today. Of course, playing the U2 song, I was in my element completely. Even with the percussion additions, things still kept quite in the neighborhood of where I like to hang out in terms of technique and content. The two worship songs we did, "Happy Day," and "From the Inside Out," are two of my favorites that we do. Thusly, I know exactly what I want to play throughout the song, and feel confident enough to grab little ideas for improv everywhere.

I got exactly what I wanted out of my Tele for each and every moment of every song. Especially, the dual pickup control allowed me to do some awesome volume and tone control that I don't necessarily do normally. I had my bridge pickup turned up all the way, and my neck pickup turned up to about 3. What this allowed me to do is to have a nice full lead tone during times that I was being loud, playing on the bridge pickup. If I wanted to drop the gain down a bit, I'd switch to the neck pickup, and the juice going to the preamp model goes down and the sound gets cleaner. In-between for both pickups. She sang beautifully for me.

I also used the wah pedal to get a further add some tone control since I don't like to mess with my tone knobs. During the last part of the sermon where I'm in the background over the hymn and Stu's speaking, I threw the wah down all the way to spread the tone along the EQ spectrum and make things muddy. I varied it a bit to get add a touch on dynamics here and there, but I rode the low end for the majority.

I had a video camera with me most of the day Saturday during practice and today. Got lots of candid moments with people, and I'll try to get that edited and posted for your viewing pleasure within the next couple of days.

music review: They Make Beer Commercials Like This EP

Weird name for an album, but it is an EP: "They Make Beer Commercials Like This", even weirder band name: Minus the Bear. Totally dig it.

A little indie band out of Seattle, this band has a sound that is familiar at first, but after a few listens, surprises you with little details.

Something about them makes you think they're not quite taking what they're doing seriously, almost like the way they play is a joke.

This band comes courtesy of a Scott757 recommendation.

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Song by song drive by:
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1. "Fine + 2 Pts"
Excellent, fun little riff that drives this song. I love the little synth line that runs throughout the song. I love the way the song transitions to the bridge, really a nice touch to change the feel of the song, then bring back the chorus riff at the end. Definitely a sing-along chorus. This song is as great an opener as could be asked for. Favorite song on this EP.

2. "Lets Play Clowns"
I really love the way the two guitars complement each other. I haven't heard a band such similar guitar tones so distinctly in a long time. Great driving chorus, right up my alley. Great little time change riff. Definitely a favorite.

3. "Dog Park"
Good change of pace for this EP. Another piece of great guitar work, especially with the arrangements between the two guitars. Chorus work especially. Over way too fast for me.

4. "I'm Totally Not Down With Rob's Alien"
Great little drum machine intro. Nice jazz influences coming in on the guitar work during the verses. I really liked the heaviness of the chorus. The song doesn't quite keep my attention for the whole time.

5. "Hey! Is That A Ninja Up There?"
Yes, that's the name of a song. Great little confusing time changes at the beginning to keep you on your feet.

6. "Pony Up!"
I really like the weird breakdown part in the middle with the fast playing. Acoustic guitar was a really cool touch, organ too.
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Musically, there's a lot to be interested in. Definitely not for the casual listener. I think you'll like it more if you play guitar.

Not my favorite album I've listened to recently, but the band has perked my interest, to say the least. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt as this is an EP and not a full-length release, but a little more variety would have been appreciated.

Lyrics are nice and cryptic, but a dark sarcasm is at work here for sure. These guys have an interesting sense of humor.

Every one of you should check out Lala.

but i digress

Let's go somewhere unmusical for a second.

Anyway. Pet peeve.

Vanity plates. I think they're cool. I think they're very cool, indeed. However, if it is not obvious with a few moments of contemplation what your vanity plate means, then ex-nay on the oke-jay. It's not funny or amusing or even fun if no one else on the road can understand your coded message.

Inside jokes are included in this rant. If only a small group of people are going to get your license plate, that group had better be tailgating you every time you leave your house. I don't see the point in this case.

Rant over. Music next time.

my mu2e(s)

So, now that I've got my tickets to see U2 and Muse in Charlottesville, VA, I can safely say that I have never been as excited about seeing a concert, ever. Even when I got to see the DT for the first time, or even when I went to see Van Halen with David Lee Roth last year, the anticipation for this coming show in October is just about too much.

Part of this may be that I've never bought tickets for a concert this far out before. It's six months away! A whole half a year. Wow.

I've already started preparing myself. U2's discography is playing at a nearly constant rate .

Also, if it weren't enough that I was going to see the single greatest influence on me as a musician, they're touring with one of my other top 5 (or so): Muse. If you haven't checked them out, you need too. Recently, they've gotten some fame as their song, "Supermassive Black Hole", was featured in the recent film adaptation of the novel Twilight. However, as any fanboy would say, I must say that that is far from their best work. If I had an album to recommend, I would say you should start with their 2004 album Absolution. Brilliant. And rockin'. And British.

Those moments where U2 has not been playing have been filled with Muse. The number of bands from the U.K./Ireland area that occupy my top bands list has been steadily growing over the past couple of years. Sorry for the lack of patriotism, I should listen to some country this week.