Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Friday, April 13, 2012
The Concert that Changed Me
Well as it usually happens, it’s 2 in the morning and thanks to YouTube I’m no where near going to bed like I planned to 3 hours ago. What has me enraptured is discovering most of the concert Guns n’ Roses did at The Ritz for Mtv back in 1988. As a kid in the very beginning stages of learning guitar and dreaming about rock stardom I saw this concert and it was THE experience that made me want to play rock and roll in whatever capacity. I was a huge Guns n’ Roses fan, as my folks can attest to, I had the albums, the posters, and I think I personally wore out two copies of Appetite for Destruction from constant playing. I know that album almost as good as I know my own recordings.
Watching this concert as a kid, I remember being mesmerized by what I saw. My concept of how a band performed was based on careful study of this show. A few years and a few shows changed my perception a bit on this fact but I still remember the dazzling awe I felt watching it. Every moment rang true with me. The manic delivery of Axl Rose, the full arm swinging drum style of Steven Adler, the punk flavor lent by Duff McKagan, the solid but quiet rhythem guitar of Izzy Stradlin, and of course the half man, half beast reason I took an interest in Les Paul guitars Slash.
Now, a couple of decades and a few hundred shows of my own later I watch this concert with a different set of eyes. I a guitar play who is clearly very drunk, a singer near losing his voice, additional vocals added only in the vicinity of being harmonious, the madness at the end of “Paradise City” and the foreshadowing of Axl’s well know “Temper Tantrums” as he throws the Mic at the end of “Rocket Queen”. Still, though, I can remember that kid sitting inches from the TV set in the living room late at night soaking in this experience. The last song (out of synch with the flow of the concert) is the live cover of Dylan’s “Knocking on Heavens Door” heard on the radio which inspired many of my friends to add this song to the various sets we’ve played over the years.
I’m not sure how this show will be perceived by some of you but for me and a few friends, the course of our lives might have taken very different paths were it not for these five guys playing this gig that night.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Brimstone Serenade
I am in the beginning stages of, yet another, new music project. The project will be called “Brimstone Serenade” and will consist of the re-imagining of several songs I have written and performed in the past. I don’t have a lot of details at the moment because I am focused more on current projects but I will post updates as they occur. I look forward to seeing how this turns out.
Monday, September 27, 2010
That one night in ???
It is a small bar, kind of dingy and disheveled with neon in the windows that matched the tired sag of the building.
A gravel mud-pit parking lot plays host a myriad of vehicles in various states of disrepair and modification.
It is the type of bar that you wouldn’t really notice as you drove by unless it was raining.
Stepping in the front door offers a buffet of sensory input.
Your nose is offered up a potpourri of fragrances including sawdust, beer, whiskey, cigarette smoke, pool cue chalk, field mud, cut grass, sweat, and bar food with an underlying hint of debt collection, divorce and despair.
Your ears are treated to a softly undulating din consisting of the idle murmur of farmers and hunters taking a break from the fields, the banter of blue collar workers as they drink away their paychecks, the plaintiff moaning of country music intermixed with the sexual innuendo of hair metal, the clink of glasses and the cracking of pool balls.
Your eyes witness the spectacle of the Middle American low common denominator as they co-mingle in a stew of jeans, Harley patches, boots, tattoos, mullets, crew cuts, and T-shirts covered in bumper sticker philosophy.
Elbowing up to the bar you flag down the barmaid who is now in her early twenties but will likely live herself into her forties before the decade is over, tattooed and pierced to give the illusion of having three left nipples, and order a beer.
As she walks away to get your beer, you pull your eyes off the shorts she’s barely wearing to survey the room and you see three guys setting up band equipment over in the corner.
A question to the barmaid as she brings you your beer with a sidecar of flirty facial expressions confirms that the band is of the local variety, common to this establishment and will begin around 9 pm.
The clock hands meander their way through the evening as you continue renting your barstool and glances at the barmaid.
The music is cut off in mid-boot scoot and the band in the corner swings into the first song of what will become a four hour show, complete with Chuck Berry guitar tricks, groovegasmic bass solos, and a drum solo that lands the entire bar back in 1986.
The undulating din has been replaced by the frantic noise of invading troops and the bar hemorrhages beverages at a near fatal rate. The band is raining sweat as it moves with the music and the bar crowd sways along like a Cobra in the trance of a blues rock snake charmer. The bar, once tired and sagging, is now alive and breathing, drunk and lusting, seconds from combusting and on the verge of collapse. You are completely swept up in the experience, drunk on music and beer, not concerned at all with how you’re getting home or where you’re going to sleep because at some point in the night, a woman has seen fit to graft herself to your right arm, and though you have a suspicion you may be considering coyotes in the morning, most of your decisions are being made by other organs.
The words “Thanks G’nite” cause you to cast a bleary eye up at the clock and say hello to one thirty.
Between bouts of what seems to be recreational CPR with the woman who appears hell bent on sharing the cloths you’re wearing you survey the scene.
The band is packing up their equipment, carrying pitchers, bottles and shot glasses up to the bar by the armload, and trying not to step on the casualties of the night’s festivities who litter the barroom.
You are led outside by your newest, soon to be, regret and poured into the front seat of a rusted and noisy mid-80’s Camero decaled with cartoon characters urinating on various items, but not before slurring admiration to the bands bass player for his awesome performance of “Pink Cadillac” while laying on the pool table and smoking a cigarette, to which he says “Thanks!”
As you ride away into the night, that little bar on the corner of “Nowhere” and “Special” seems to sag back into its accustomed position then to fade into the inky country night all together.
It was a brief moment in the years you will spend alive but you will remember it fondly for a long, long time, or most of it anyway, and when, by chance, you happen to drive past that intersection, a small but evident pang will slip across your heart as you find an abandoned lonely patch of overgrown grass where that little bar used to sag and a gravel mud-pit parking lot played host a myriad of vehicles in various states of disrepair and modification.
A gravel mud-pit parking lot plays host a myriad of vehicles in various states of disrepair and modification.
It is the type of bar that you wouldn’t really notice as you drove by unless it was raining.
Stepping in the front door offers a buffet of sensory input.
Your nose is offered up a potpourri of fragrances including sawdust, beer, whiskey, cigarette smoke, pool cue chalk, field mud, cut grass, sweat, and bar food with an underlying hint of debt collection, divorce and despair.
Your ears are treated to a softly undulating din consisting of the idle murmur of farmers and hunters taking a break from the fields, the banter of blue collar workers as they drink away their paychecks, the plaintiff moaning of country music intermixed with the sexual innuendo of hair metal, the clink of glasses and the cracking of pool balls.
Your eyes witness the spectacle of the Middle American low common denominator as they co-mingle in a stew of jeans, Harley patches, boots, tattoos, mullets, crew cuts, and T-shirts covered in bumper sticker philosophy.
Elbowing up to the bar you flag down the barmaid who is now in her early twenties but will likely live herself into her forties before the decade is over, tattooed and pierced to give the illusion of having three left nipples, and order a beer.
As she walks away to get your beer, you pull your eyes off the shorts she’s barely wearing to survey the room and you see three guys setting up band equipment over in the corner.
A question to the barmaid as she brings you your beer with a sidecar of flirty facial expressions confirms that the band is of the local variety, common to this establishment and will begin around 9 pm.
The clock hands meander their way through the evening as you continue renting your barstool and glances at the barmaid.
The music is cut off in mid-boot scoot and the band in the corner swings into the first song of what will become a four hour show, complete with Chuck Berry guitar tricks, groovegasmic bass solos, and a drum solo that lands the entire bar back in 1986.
The undulating din has been replaced by the frantic noise of invading troops and the bar hemorrhages beverages at a near fatal rate. The band is raining sweat as it moves with the music and the bar crowd sways along like a Cobra in the trance of a blues rock snake charmer. The bar, once tired and sagging, is now alive and breathing, drunk and lusting, seconds from combusting and on the verge of collapse. You are completely swept up in the experience, drunk on music and beer, not concerned at all with how you’re getting home or where you’re going to sleep because at some point in the night, a woman has seen fit to graft herself to your right arm, and though you have a suspicion you may be considering coyotes in the morning, most of your decisions are being made by other organs.
The words “Thanks G’nite” cause you to cast a bleary eye up at the clock and say hello to one thirty.
Between bouts of what seems to be recreational CPR with the woman who appears hell bent on sharing the cloths you’re wearing you survey the scene.
The band is packing up their equipment, carrying pitchers, bottles and shot glasses up to the bar by the armload, and trying not to step on the casualties of the night’s festivities who litter the barroom.
You are led outside by your newest, soon to be, regret and poured into the front seat of a rusted and noisy mid-80’s Camero decaled with cartoon characters urinating on various items, but not before slurring admiration to the bands bass player for his awesome performance of “Pink Cadillac” while laying on the pool table and smoking a cigarette, to which he says “Thanks!”
As you ride away into the night, that little bar on the corner of “Nowhere” and “Special” seems to sag back into its accustomed position then to fade into the inky country night all together.
It was a brief moment in the years you will spend alive but you will remember it fondly for a long, long time, or most of it anyway, and when, by chance, you happen to drive past that intersection, a small but evident pang will slip across your heart as you find an abandoned lonely patch of overgrown grass where that little bar used to sag and a gravel mud-pit parking lot played host a myriad of vehicles in various states of disrepair and modification.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
10 Special Concerts
I am a music fan. I have been surrounded by music my whole life. I remember my Mom singing harmonies to Aerosmith tunes and Dad playing his accordion at various family events. I love listening to music, playing music, discussing music and sharing music. I also like going to concerts to see performers I really like. I must admit that my concert going days have declined recently but it is primarily a financial issue and not a lack of interest. Today I will be telling you about 10 really great shows I’ve been to. These concerts were remarkable to me for one reason or another. I don’t rank things as “best show ever” or “my favorite concert” so these shows are ones that have moved me. I have been to a lot of shows and most were very good but these 10 came to mind right away. I have listed them as close to chronologically as I can.
Boxcar Willie – Mid 1980’s
Boxcar Willie is a country music singer famous for train songs and the ability to mimic the sound of a train whistle vocally. He performed at the Shiawassee County Fair when we still lived in Michigan. I was very young but I remember there was a comedian/Ventriloquist who had a Crow Puppet that opened the show. I also remember getting Willies autograph along with the Comedian autograph. I still have that photo.
Megadeth- 1990
I wrote about this show in a previous entry “My First Time”. It was my first time going to a concert on my own and experiencing a Heavy Metal concert. It was galvanizing. Such a display of power and energy would influence and teenager but it was exactly what I didn’t know I needed!
Rush Limbaugh – Early 90’s
I can envision some of you with a head cocked curiously to one side pondering the inclusion of political spoken word show by one of the most famous and controversial talk show hosts listed among some of the other bands here. I had the opportunity to see Rush Limbaugh perform in Milwaukee in 1990 or 91. My Dad had listened to him on the radio for years and when he heard about the show asked if I wanted to go. I did and so we went. I remember seeing people there with leather jacket and confused faces wondering why the trio from Canada was attracting such an odd audience! Mr. Limbaugh made some very compelling statement regarding several popular hot topics at the time. He is a commanding presence and to this day I use him as a reference when it comes to public speaking ability.
B.B. King – Mid 1990’s
I remember when I first started playing guitar and realized that I really like blues music, my Dad came home from a business trip and gave me a B.B. King tape. He said” If you like blues, this is the real deal.” I took Guns ‘n Roses out of my tape deck and put in the cassette and pushed play. I have never regretted it. From the first notes of “Sweet Sixteen” I knew I would learn a lot from this man.
So you can imagine what an enormous surprise it was for me when my dear friend Denise surprised me with ticket to see him at the Riverside Theater. Our seats were near the very top row if I remember correctly but the show was spectacular. I remember feeling my eyes water while listening to some of the songs and realizing I’m in the same room with a legend. I had a grin from ear to ear after that show. There is no way I could ever repay her for allowing me the opportunity to witness one of the masters at work. For that and numerous other reasons I will be eternally grateful for her friendship.
Ozzfest – 1999
I have been to Ozzfest several times and have seen many famous bands and witnessed some of the early shows of bands that went on to become huge. . There were several bands playing this show that I checked out. Drain STH is an extremely underrated band that I got the chance to check out. It is an all female band out of Sweden, a country known for its eclectic metal scene. They put on a very solid show and put to rest the myth that metal is a men’s only club. Next I checked out Fear Factory and Slipknot. Fear Factory is an example of great heavy metal with a dash (he! he!) of speed. Slipknot, on the other hand, is a band difficult to label. With 9 members all in red jumpsuits and custom made horror masks playing ferocious metal music interspersed with elements of hip hop and rap, this band is an experience to be had, not to be described. Static X is one of my favorite bands. Their sound is a solid groove based metal with electronic overtones. Their performance at this Ozzfest has been my only chance to see them. I will, however, see them again. Switching gears sharply, Primus was on this bill to provide a sharp contrast to the metal scene at this show. I have been a fan of Primus since my buddy Scott introduced me to them back in high school. Les Claypool, the band’s lead… everything, is a bass player that defies description. Much like, yet completely opposite from, Slipknot, Primus should be experienced in order to form an opinion.
Anytime you get the opportunity to watch a performance from one of “The Big Four of Heavy Metal” you should take it. “The Big Four of Heavy Metal” consists of Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, and Megadeth. I took the opportunity to watch Slayer show the rest of the bands a thing or two about thrash. I got chills. Rob Zombie took the stage right before the headliner and got the audience, which had been moshing all day, charged up with a stage show full of fire, robots, monsters and go-go dancers.
All of these bands were great, but, with the headlining band I scored another massive achievement on the “Concert Bucket List”. I saw Black Sabbath with the original four members; Ozzy Osbourne, Bill Ward, Tony Iommi, and Geezer Butler. These pioneers of Heavy Metal had recently reunited and toured. I am thrilled to have experienced the band that influenced some of my favorite music. I remember feeling dizzy with excitement as the first chords of their song “Black Sabbath” literally shook the cloths you were wearing. I got to see the guys who wrote the songs I’ve been listening to and jamming with for years, perform them. It was spiritual.
Alice Cooper – 2003
The master of shock rock exploded onto the stage at the Waukesha County Fair and I was there right in front. I found out Alice Cooper was playing the day of the show so I grabbed a couple of friends and we headed over there. As we were wandering around the fair, killing time, we ran into a good friend who told us his brother had been staking out a spot up front since early afternoon and that we should go let him know we were there. So we did. As a musician and a person who likes watching the performance as well as hearing the music, I don’t sing along at concerts. However… the pure theatricality of Alice’s show swept me up and I sang along with every song I know as well did most of the audience. It was magic, dark magic ;) but magic none the less.
Ozzfest – 2005
Ozzfest makes another appearance on this list due primarily to the sheer abundance of memorable bands I saw. I went to this concert courtesy of my good friend Scott Pagac. He gave the guys who stood up in his wedding ticket to this show. WOW. One of the first bands I saw that day was a group called Wicked Wisdom fronted by a young lady named Jada Pinkett Smith. Yup, this petite little actress tore on stage and proceeded to tear that place apart. It was like seeing a pissed off little female Iggy Pop tear-assing across the stage. Awesome! A couple of bands later a group of guys comes on stage dressed to the nines in “metal gear” and starts grinding on a decent speed metal groove when all of a sudden the lead singer/guitarist guy runs out. My first thought was, “who does this pretty boy think he is?’. It was followed buy my second thought, “Holy shit! That looks just like my friend Joe!” The “pretty boy” proceeds to unleash lyrics in a metal yell the likes of which I had never heard before. The band was called Trivium, and I bought their CD the next day. Surprise number three was seeing a band called Arch Enemy which mixed the yelling, speeding fury of Trivium with the Wicked Wisdom surprise of yet another female lead singer and adds a dash of intimidation in the fact this lead singer might very well be of Viking ancestry and the burning blue eyes and flying blond hair made even the machoest of men in the mosh pit pause and reconsider their position of dominance. All of these bands were, by the way, on the second stage which featured Rob Zombie as the headliner for this stage. Rob’s show was as full of energy as it usually is and the audience was well entertained.
This alone would have been a great show, however, over on the main stage, Ozzfest concert goers were treated to an enormous treat as the two bands that finished up the evening were none other than Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath. The gods of Metal were smiling upon the earth when this line up was put together. I don’t have the word to express the immensity of seeing these two bands on the same night. Iron Maiden, with front man/pilot Bruce Dickinson, fulfilled every expectation I have of the monumental bands performance. Of course no Maiden show would be complete without a visit from the bands mascot “Eddie” a 12 foot puppet operated by a man inside the costume. It was great. Black Sabbath finished the day off and played a great show considering each member was over 65 years of age at this show. All in all, it was a show to remember.
Rush – 2005
My good friend and band mate, Scott had been pestering me since we met to see Rush (the three chaps from Canada, not the talk show host mentioned earlier) perform live. Rush is one of Scott's primary influences on bass and in his song writing. I agreed to see their show at The Marcus Amphitheater because it was billed as “An Evening of Rush.” They were to play a two set show. Cool. Scott, his wife Kristi, and I got some great tickets somewhere in the 3rd or 4th row off to the right. The show happened to be the same night “Festa Italiana” was happening at The Summerfest grounds so we walked around that for a while. We decided it was time we head toward our seats and as we were making our way there, Kristi’s cell phone rang. She answered it and soon began jumping and shrieking with delight. While we were roaming the grounds, Kristi stopped to enter a contest to win tickets front row center. Yup..She won. Being the awesome people Scott and Kristi are they found a couple of people sitting in the grass seats and gave them their tickets up front. We all headed down to our seats and we worked out that Scott and Kristi would watch the first half of the show front row and the second half I would go up front row with Scott. The show was great. The band played a bunch of the hits and a bunch of the newer stuff. The drum solo cemented Neil Peart in the top three drumming slots in my mind. And, again, seeing a band with a career spanning 36 years (With The Same Line Up) that influenced many of today’s artist is something I am proud to talk about.
Les Paul – June 21 2008
I told the story of this concert in a previous entry “A Moment of Sound.” It was an extremely important show. There isn’t much I can say about this show that I didn’t mention in the previous entry. Watching the man play is spell binding. A person can see a pattern though. Women have played an essential part in allowing me to experience some landmark concerts and I don’t know what I did to deserve these opportunities but I can never repay the favor.
Henry Rollins – April 8 2010
I have seen Henry Rollins several times over the last decade. For those of you who are unaware, Henry Rollins is a multi-faceted Entertainer/artist. He got his start as the lead singer for a punk band called Black Flag. He has since, formed and toured with his own group (Rollins Band), written several books, started a publishing company, acted in a variety of movies and TV shows (Sons of Anarchy season 2, Heat, Wrong Turn 2), and tours as a spoken word artist among other things. His spoken word shows are more of a monologue than performance art where he speaks about current events as well as sharing stories of recording with William Shatner and trying to out perform Iggy Pop. I always leave his shows with a head full of things to think about and this latest show was a particularly good one. His material spanned many topic of conversation that had the audience cheering wildly in agreement and a few minutes later roaring with laughter. It was a great show. It was also a testimony to this mans drive, focus, and ability because he spoke nonstop for three hours without a single sip of water or pause for breath.
In conclusion I would invite all of you to look into the artists I have listed. In each entry I have included links to help you search them out and give you examples that help illustrate my points. There is foul language, controversial subject matter, and a wide swatch of performance. Please feel free to share your stories in the comment section below.
Boxcar Willie – Mid 1980’s
Boxcar Willie is a country music singer famous for train songs and the ability to mimic the sound of a train whistle vocally. He performed at the Shiawassee County Fair when we still lived in Michigan. I was very young but I remember there was a comedian/Ventriloquist who had a Crow Puppet that opened the show. I also remember getting Willies autograph along with the Comedian autograph. I still have that photo.
Megadeth- 1990
I wrote about this show in a previous entry “My First Time”. It was my first time going to a concert on my own and experiencing a Heavy Metal concert. It was galvanizing. Such a display of power and energy would influence and teenager but it was exactly what I didn’t know I needed!
Rush Limbaugh – Early 90’s
I can envision some of you with a head cocked curiously to one side pondering the inclusion of political spoken word show by one of the most famous and controversial talk show hosts listed among some of the other bands here. I had the opportunity to see Rush Limbaugh perform in Milwaukee in 1990 or 91. My Dad had listened to him on the radio for years and when he heard about the show asked if I wanted to go. I did and so we went. I remember seeing people there with leather jacket and confused faces wondering why the trio from Canada was attracting such an odd audience! Mr. Limbaugh made some very compelling statement regarding several popular hot topics at the time. He is a commanding presence and to this day I use him as a reference when it comes to public speaking ability.
B.B. King – Mid 1990’s
I remember when I first started playing guitar and realized that I really like blues music, my Dad came home from a business trip and gave me a B.B. King tape. He said” If you like blues, this is the real deal.” I took Guns ‘n Roses out of my tape deck and put in the cassette and pushed play. I have never regretted it. From the first notes of “Sweet Sixteen” I knew I would learn a lot from this man.
So you can imagine what an enormous surprise it was for me when my dear friend Denise surprised me with ticket to see him at the Riverside Theater. Our seats were near the very top row if I remember correctly but the show was spectacular. I remember feeling my eyes water while listening to some of the songs and realizing I’m in the same room with a legend. I had a grin from ear to ear after that show. There is no way I could ever repay her for allowing me the opportunity to witness one of the masters at work. For that and numerous other reasons I will be eternally grateful for her friendship.
Ozzfest – 1999
I have been to Ozzfest several times and have seen many famous bands and witnessed some of the early shows of bands that went on to become huge. . There were several bands playing this show that I checked out. Drain STH is an extremely underrated band that I got the chance to check out. It is an all female band out of Sweden, a country known for its eclectic metal scene. They put on a very solid show and put to rest the myth that metal is a men’s only club. Next I checked out Fear Factory and Slipknot. Fear Factory is an example of great heavy metal with a dash (he! he!) of speed. Slipknot, on the other hand, is a band difficult to label. With 9 members all in red jumpsuits and custom made horror masks playing ferocious metal music interspersed with elements of hip hop and rap, this band is an experience to be had, not to be described. Static X is one of my favorite bands. Their sound is a solid groove based metal with electronic overtones. Their performance at this Ozzfest has been my only chance to see them. I will, however, see them again. Switching gears sharply, Primus was on this bill to provide a sharp contrast to the metal scene at this show. I have been a fan of Primus since my buddy Scott introduced me to them back in high school. Les Claypool, the band’s lead… everything, is a bass player that defies description. Much like, yet completely opposite from, Slipknot, Primus should be experienced in order to form an opinion.
Anytime you get the opportunity to watch a performance from one of “The Big Four of Heavy Metal” you should take it. “The Big Four of Heavy Metal” consists of Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, and Megadeth. I took the opportunity to watch Slayer show the rest of the bands a thing or two about thrash. I got chills. Rob Zombie took the stage right before the headliner and got the audience, which had been moshing all day, charged up with a stage show full of fire, robots, monsters and go-go dancers.
All of these bands were great, but, with the headlining band I scored another massive achievement on the “Concert Bucket List”. I saw Black Sabbath with the original four members; Ozzy Osbourne, Bill Ward, Tony Iommi, and Geezer Butler. These pioneers of Heavy Metal had recently reunited and toured. I am thrilled to have experienced the band that influenced some of my favorite music. I remember feeling dizzy with excitement as the first chords of their song “Black Sabbath” literally shook the cloths you were wearing. I got to see the guys who wrote the songs I’ve been listening to and jamming with for years, perform them. It was spiritual.
Alice Cooper – 2003
The master of shock rock exploded onto the stage at the Waukesha County Fair and I was there right in front. I found out Alice Cooper was playing the day of the show so I grabbed a couple of friends and we headed over there. As we were wandering around the fair, killing time, we ran into a good friend who told us his brother had been staking out a spot up front since early afternoon and that we should go let him know we were there. So we did. As a musician and a person who likes watching the performance as well as hearing the music, I don’t sing along at concerts. However… the pure theatricality of Alice’s show swept me up and I sang along with every song I know as well did most of the audience. It was magic, dark magic ;) but magic none the less.
Ozzfest – 2005
Ozzfest makes another appearance on this list due primarily to the sheer abundance of memorable bands I saw. I went to this concert courtesy of my good friend Scott Pagac. He gave the guys who stood up in his wedding ticket to this show. WOW. One of the first bands I saw that day was a group called Wicked Wisdom fronted by a young lady named Jada Pinkett Smith. Yup, this petite little actress tore on stage and proceeded to tear that place apart. It was like seeing a pissed off little female Iggy Pop tear-assing across the stage. Awesome! A couple of bands later a group of guys comes on stage dressed to the nines in “metal gear” and starts grinding on a decent speed metal groove when all of a sudden the lead singer/guitarist guy runs out. My first thought was, “who does this pretty boy think he is?’. It was followed buy my second thought, “Holy shit! That looks just like my friend Joe!” The “pretty boy” proceeds to unleash lyrics in a metal yell the likes of which I had never heard before. The band was called Trivium, and I bought their CD the next day. Surprise number three was seeing a band called Arch Enemy which mixed the yelling, speeding fury of Trivium with the Wicked Wisdom surprise of yet another female lead singer and adds a dash of intimidation in the fact this lead singer might very well be of Viking ancestry and the burning blue eyes and flying blond hair made even the machoest of men in the mosh pit pause and reconsider their position of dominance. All of these bands were, by the way, on the second stage which featured Rob Zombie as the headliner for this stage. Rob’s show was as full of energy as it usually is and the audience was well entertained.
This alone would have been a great show, however, over on the main stage, Ozzfest concert goers were treated to an enormous treat as the two bands that finished up the evening were none other than Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath. The gods of Metal were smiling upon the earth when this line up was put together. I don’t have the word to express the immensity of seeing these two bands on the same night. Iron Maiden, with front man/pilot Bruce Dickinson, fulfilled every expectation I have of the monumental bands performance. Of course no Maiden show would be complete without a visit from the bands mascot “Eddie” a 12 foot puppet operated by a man inside the costume. It was great. Black Sabbath finished the day off and played a great show considering each member was over 65 years of age at this show. All in all, it was a show to remember.
Rush – 2005
My good friend and band mate, Scott had been pestering me since we met to see Rush (the three chaps from Canada, not the talk show host mentioned earlier) perform live. Rush is one of Scott's primary influences on bass and in his song writing. I agreed to see their show at The Marcus Amphitheater because it was billed as “An Evening of Rush.” They were to play a two set show. Cool. Scott, his wife Kristi, and I got some great tickets somewhere in the 3rd or 4th row off to the right. The show happened to be the same night “Festa Italiana” was happening at The Summerfest grounds so we walked around that for a while. We decided it was time we head toward our seats and as we were making our way there, Kristi’s cell phone rang. She answered it and soon began jumping and shrieking with delight. While we were roaming the grounds, Kristi stopped to enter a contest to win tickets front row center. Yup..She won. Being the awesome people Scott and Kristi are they found a couple of people sitting in the grass seats and gave them their tickets up front. We all headed down to our seats and we worked out that Scott and Kristi would watch the first half of the show front row and the second half I would go up front row with Scott. The show was great. The band played a bunch of the hits and a bunch of the newer stuff. The drum solo cemented Neil Peart in the top three drumming slots in my mind. And, again, seeing a band with a career spanning 36 years (With The Same Line Up) that influenced many of today’s artist is something I am proud to talk about.
Les Paul – June 21 2008
I told the story of this concert in a previous entry “A Moment of Sound.” It was an extremely important show. There isn’t much I can say about this show that I didn’t mention in the previous entry. Watching the man play is spell binding. A person can see a pattern though. Women have played an essential part in allowing me to experience some landmark concerts and I don’t know what I did to deserve these opportunities but I can never repay the favor.
Henry Rollins – April 8 2010
I have seen Henry Rollins several times over the last decade. For those of you who are unaware, Henry Rollins is a multi-faceted Entertainer/artist. He got his start as the lead singer for a punk band called Black Flag. He has since, formed and toured with his own group (Rollins Band), written several books, started a publishing company, acted in a variety of movies and TV shows (Sons of Anarchy season 2, Heat, Wrong Turn 2), and tours as a spoken word artist among other things. His spoken word shows are more of a monologue than performance art where he speaks about current events as well as sharing stories of recording with William Shatner and trying to out perform Iggy Pop. I always leave his shows with a head full of things to think about and this latest show was a particularly good one. His material spanned many topic of conversation that had the audience cheering wildly in agreement and a few minutes later roaring with laughter. It was a great show. It was also a testimony to this mans drive, focus, and ability because he spoke nonstop for three hours without a single sip of water or pause for breath.
In conclusion I would invite all of you to look into the artists I have listed. In each entry I have included links to help you search them out and give you examples that help illustrate my points. There is foul language, controversial subject matter, and a wide swatch of performance. Please feel free to share your stories in the comment section below.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Introducing Abretok Industries
I am pleased to announce the assembly of several small entities under one heading, Abretok Industries. Rainbird Studios, Rainbird Photograbers Inc, and Abretok Arts are joining together under the heading Abretok Industries.
This idea actually started in the garage with my Dad many years ago. When we would build something or finish working on something together Dad would say, “Another fine job by Abretok Industries”, Abretok being out last name spelled backwards. I have used this idea to identify many aspects of my life so it seemed logical that I use it as a heading for my various small enterprises. In the sidebar to your right you will find various links. I will post links to the other sited related to Abretok Industries.
Rainbird Studios is the name of the recording studio where I record Demo’s and albums for musicians on an extremely tight budget. It started as my parents’ basement and still geographically is. My parents, Pete and Georgia Koterba, have been wonderfully supportive in all of my endeavors throughout my life. They have also been extremely tolerant of the racket produced by those endeavors. They are great people! I have a MySpace page set up for the studio to show some of the work done there.
Rainbird Photograbers is an extension of Rainbird Studio’s and is where you can view my attempts at capturing imagery with a camera. It will also be the place to view Items I have for sale. I have recently started hand making bracelets, key fobs and zipper pulls out of parachute cord. In addition to these items, there will be various examples of art on display for purchase. I was recently hired to sculpt scrap metal bonsai trees for a friends wedding. I will post pictures of these after the special day. I enjoyed welding at work when I had the opportunity and the prospects of using metal as a medium for art is interesting and exciting to me. Anyone interested in purchasing items from me can email me at koterba13@gmail.com
Fo those of you that are new to this site, Abretokia will be the place for news and updates regarding all of my outlets which includes a book I’ve started writing. I will also, from time to time, post stories meant purely for entertainment. I already have a few of them up. Some of these stories are fiction, some are real life experiences. I generally try to avoid anything strongly political but occasionally current events so strongly occupy my brain that it will come out in a post. Mostly, I want to inform you of things in my not so important life and hopefully make you smile if not laugh out loud.
I look forward to hearing from you all. Please feel free to comment at will but, be sure to check out my post entitled “To warn or not to warn”.
Sincerely,
Chris koterba
This idea actually started in the garage with my Dad many years ago. When we would build something or finish working on something together Dad would say, “Another fine job by Abretok Industries”, Abretok being out last name spelled backwards. I have used this idea to identify many aspects of my life so it seemed logical that I use it as a heading for my various small enterprises. In the sidebar to your right you will find various links. I will post links to the other sited related to Abretok Industries.
Rainbird Studios is the name of the recording studio where I record Demo’s and albums for musicians on an extremely tight budget. It started as my parents’ basement and still geographically is. My parents, Pete and Georgia Koterba, have been wonderfully supportive in all of my endeavors throughout my life. They have also been extremely tolerant of the racket produced by those endeavors. They are great people! I have a MySpace page set up for the studio to show some of the work done there.
Rainbird Photograbers is an extension of Rainbird Studio’s and is where you can view my attempts at capturing imagery with a camera. It will also be the place to view Items I have for sale. I have recently started hand making bracelets, key fobs and zipper pulls out of parachute cord. In addition to these items, there will be various examples of art on display for purchase. I was recently hired to sculpt scrap metal bonsai trees for a friends wedding. I will post pictures of these after the special day. I enjoyed welding at work when I had the opportunity and the prospects of using metal as a medium for art is interesting and exciting to me. Anyone interested in purchasing items from me can email me at koterba13@gmail.com
Fo those of you that are new to this site, Abretokia will be the place for news and updates regarding all of my outlets which includes a book I’ve started writing. I will also, from time to time, post stories meant purely for entertainment. I already have a few of them up. Some of these stories are fiction, some are real life experiences. I generally try to avoid anything strongly political but occasionally current events so strongly occupy my brain that it will come out in a post. Mostly, I want to inform you of things in my not so important life and hopefully make you smile if not laugh out loud.
I look forward to hearing from you all. Please feel free to comment at will but, be sure to check out my post entitled “To warn or not to warn”.
Sincerely,
Chris koterba
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
One of my newest obsessions!!
I found this on line. It is posted on the link at the end of this article. I strongly encourage you to check out this group. The download is free and the site is a great place to find new music.
The Diablo Swing Orchestra dates back to 1501 in Sweden, where history tells the tale of an orchestra that played like no other. With music so seductive and divine that the ensemble overwhelmed audiences all over the country, and people from all social classes took them to their hearts. Their performances rapidly earned a reputation of being feral and vigorous and gained the orchestra a devoted crowd that followed them around.
During the later half of the 16'th century the criticism against the royal crown dictatorial ruling had intensified. Gifts and tenancies had made the chruch extremely wealthy, and since the money merely was used to strengthen their power the discontent among the people was growing. To many people the orchestra presented them to a new view upon things and a way to cope with everyday life.
The church witnessed how their influence over the people decreased and began to depict the orchestra as treacherous, saying their intentions were anything but righteous. The orchestras extensive use of the prohibited tritonus interval in their music as well as their excessive lifestyles was facts that were not looked mildly upon. During church services priests slandered the music saying it was an insult to Christ himself. However, when this attempt to reduce the orchestras popularity failed, the church began to use more desperate measures in order to regain its former power. The Devils orchestra became the slogan they used and the members were accused of being everything from devil worshippers to the spawn of Satan. This catchphrase eventually caught on and became the popular name of the orchestra. When even these efforts shown futile the church ultimately framed the orchestra members for a murder and a ruthless manhunt began. The following two years the orchestra lead the lives of outlaws and were forced to perform in barns and outhouses, where only a strictly limited number of people were allowed to attend. Luckily generous people provided them with food and somewhere to sleep.
In order to capture the orchestra the church issued a reward to the person that could provide such information that lead to the capture of the orchestra. The sum was so large that the orchestra, tired and weary of living as fugitives, realised that it all had come to and end. They knew that sooner or later someone would reveal their whereabouts and the decided to go down in style.
But before doing so they all signed a pact saying that their descendants were given the task of reuniting the orchestra in 500 years and continue their work of spreading thought-provoking music. Six envelopes were therefore sealed and given to trustees of the orchestra to pass on to family members.
They announced their final concert publicly as a grandeur finale. Thousands of people showed up and even though it was almost no one who could actually hear the music, the massive sing-along of the crowd granted the performance to be the most talked about in history. Thanks to the huge amount of people the orchestra was allowed to play until their last song when armed guards finally managed to storm the stage and arrest the musicians. They were sent prison and later sentenced to death by hanging.
Stockholm 2003, by mere accident two of the original orchestra descendants meet in a music shop and began to discuss music. It later shows that they both have received a strange letter from some ancient relative containing instructions on how to reunite The Devils Orchestra. They both become very excited and though some genealogy they managed to find all of the remaining successors in a period of three months.
Unfortunate all of the original scores were confiscated and burned by the church back in 1503. So music-wise the new orchestra were left with no directions on what to play. After some meticulous discussions it was agreed upon that the music should be like a modern version of the old orchestra. Annlouice was chosen to front the band, her angelic yet powerful operatic voice was perfect to bring a bombastic feeling to the music. Pontus dance-influences and programming skills came in handy since the orchestra wanted the arrangements to sound a bit more futuristic. He shares guitar duties with Daniel who also is the main composer in the band. Andy brought some groove to the mix adding powerful slapping and funk-oriented bass licks, while Andreas's energetic drumming made sure the songs are driven and pulsating. Together with Anders, he lays the solid swinging foundation of the band. Johannes's theoretical knowledge and stunning technique combined with an emotive cello-playing style made him essential to the bands sound.
Together they answer to the name of Diablo Swing Orchestra and are determined to honour the legacy of their ancestors.
You can download their first full release if you follow the link in my sidebar. It takes you right to the bands page. The album is FREE. This website is a good place to find new and upcoming bands. I hope you check it out.
The Diablo Swing Orchestra dates back to 1501 in Sweden, where history tells the tale of an orchestra that played like no other. With music so seductive and divine that the ensemble overwhelmed audiences all over the country, and people from all social classes took them to their hearts. Their performances rapidly earned a reputation of being feral and vigorous and gained the orchestra a devoted crowd that followed them around.
During the later half of the 16'th century the criticism against the royal crown dictatorial ruling had intensified. Gifts and tenancies had made the chruch extremely wealthy, and since the money merely was used to strengthen their power the discontent among the people was growing. To many people the orchestra presented them to a new view upon things and a way to cope with everyday life.
The church witnessed how their influence over the people decreased and began to depict the orchestra as treacherous, saying their intentions were anything but righteous. The orchestras extensive use of the prohibited tritonus interval in their music as well as their excessive lifestyles was facts that were not looked mildly upon. During church services priests slandered the music saying it was an insult to Christ himself. However, when this attempt to reduce the orchestras popularity failed, the church began to use more desperate measures in order to regain its former power. The Devils orchestra became the slogan they used and the members were accused of being everything from devil worshippers to the spawn of Satan. This catchphrase eventually caught on and became the popular name of the orchestra. When even these efforts shown futile the church ultimately framed the orchestra members for a murder and a ruthless manhunt began. The following two years the orchestra lead the lives of outlaws and were forced to perform in barns and outhouses, where only a strictly limited number of people were allowed to attend. Luckily generous people provided them with food and somewhere to sleep.
In order to capture the orchestra the church issued a reward to the person that could provide such information that lead to the capture of the orchestra. The sum was so large that the orchestra, tired and weary of living as fugitives, realised that it all had come to and end. They knew that sooner or later someone would reveal their whereabouts and the decided to go down in style.
But before doing so they all signed a pact saying that their descendants were given the task of reuniting the orchestra in 500 years and continue their work of spreading thought-provoking music. Six envelopes were therefore sealed and given to trustees of the orchestra to pass on to family members.
They announced their final concert publicly as a grandeur finale. Thousands of people showed up and even though it was almost no one who could actually hear the music, the massive sing-along of the crowd granted the performance to be the most talked about in history. Thanks to the huge amount of people the orchestra was allowed to play until their last song when armed guards finally managed to storm the stage and arrest the musicians. They were sent prison and later sentenced to death by hanging.
Stockholm 2003, by mere accident two of the original orchestra descendants meet in a music shop and began to discuss music. It later shows that they both have received a strange letter from some ancient relative containing instructions on how to reunite The Devils Orchestra. They both become very excited and though some genealogy they managed to find all of the remaining successors in a period of three months.
Unfortunate all of the original scores were confiscated and burned by the church back in 1503. So music-wise the new orchestra were left with no directions on what to play. After some meticulous discussions it was agreed upon that the music should be like a modern version of the old orchestra. Annlouice was chosen to front the band, her angelic yet powerful operatic voice was perfect to bring a bombastic feeling to the music. Pontus dance-influences and programming skills came in handy since the orchestra wanted the arrangements to sound a bit more futuristic. He shares guitar duties with Daniel who also is the main composer in the band. Andy brought some groove to the mix adding powerful slapping and funk-oriented bass licks, while Andreas's energetic drumming made sure the songs are driven and pulsating. Together with Anders, he lays the solid swinging foundation of the band. Johannes's theoretical knowledge and stunning technique combined with an emotive cello-playing style made him essential to the bands sound.
Together they answer to the name of Diablo Swing Orchestra and are determined to honour the legacy of their ancestors.
You can download their first full release if you follow the link in my sidebar. It takes you right to the bands page. The album is FREE. This website is a good place to find new and upcoming bands. I hope you check it out.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Sit in with "Francesca and Friends"!!
I recently captured some footage of us rehearsing a Dave Carter tune called "Crocodile Man". I was curious about the quality of my cameras movie capturing so I tested it out on this song and it's not that bad so I thought I would share it. I hope you enjoy.
PS. Evidently the footage can be a little cranky to get to play, However, if you reload the page, it should work. Let me know if it doesn't work for you and I will look into it.
Thanks
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Run Away!!
I remember playing a gig with Bluefire at a friend’s house in Janesville. It was for their 4th of July party and we were set up in a tent in the orchard in their backyard. They had a kiddie pool full of bottles of beer and a fridge full of Jell-O shots. They had also gone to Illinois and bought fireworks in the amount of several hundred dollars and had quite a show prepared. We would start playing about 7:30 PMish and were going to play until sundown. Then the fireworks display and then finish playing until we got tired or the cops were called.
It was an outside gig so there are all sorts of things you have to deal with. The main issue was of course the weather. The sky had some clouds but nothing that looked sinister. The forecast called for scattered showers, which I think they say when they are even less sure of what’s going to happen then usual. Of course three songs into the set it starts to sprinkle. Nothing you could call a shower or even drizzle, just a light, brief, smatter of water from a cloud that was walking to fast with a cup that was too full. We didn’t even stop playing. It lasted maybe 10 minutes. I had been struggling with hay fever all day and was glad for the moisture hoping it would knock down some of the pollen so I wouldn’t have to keep slamming down antihistamines just to make it through the show.
Their property stretched for several acres and they often employed an old golf cart to travel around the grounds. As I mentioned before there was a considerable buffet of alcohol to be had and it was flowing with much ease so when I saw the golf cart hurtling toward the tent we were playing in I became concerned and looked for an escape exit. I have some strange gig stories but being run over while playing “Pink Cadillac” by a drunken golf cart driver in an orchard would be one of the top ones. The driver managed to slide to a “Blues Brothers” style stop and inform us that they would be starting the fireworks in about 15 minutes and that I should make an announcement to that fact and also that I wasn’t nearly drunk enough yet. I told him I would make the announcement, watch the fireworks and proceed to drink myself into a pickled corpse like state. He gave me the thumbs up and careened off into the orchard. In fact, I had not intentions of having anymore alcohol that night because I wanted to drive home to my own bed and sleep away the allergies that had been the bane of my day, but there is no arguing with a drunk, just smile and send them on their way. We made the announcement and grabbed a seat to watch the display. From where we were, we could just make out the site where things were set up; four little figures moving around quite a large banquet of explosives. It’s at this point when I thought about the potential interaction of inebriation and explosives, but there was not a lot I could do except hope for the best.
The first few shots were wonderful, giant, brilliant flowers blooming in the sky. I think it was the fifth or sixth shot we saw the flare of the torch and the fizzle of the fuse and then a little “foop” followed by distant cries of “run away!” “Run away!” It appears as thought our little rain shower disagreed with firework that were already set in place when it happened.
So here is the situation; there are several drunk people standing near a pile of fireworks that have been dampened to where it is unknown if they will light right away, not light at all or stall out and then explode. In the end everything turned out fine. Most of the fireworks went off with out a hitch and if one did “foop” out the guys would scatter and wait to see what would happen and if they remained dormant the guys would proceed with the next show. After the show, they came roaring back on the golf cart to a huge round of applause and the rest of the evening was spattered with cries of “Run Awaaaaayyy!!”
We finished out gig around 1 AM when I no longer could even sing. We packed up the gear and headed on home. Almost everyone there stayed and camped out or slept where they landed but I wanted my shower and bed. And that’s what I got, in addition to a pretty good story.
It was an outside gig so there are all sorts of things you have to deal with. The main issue was of course the weather. The sky had some clouds but nothing that looked sinister. The forecast called for scattered showers, which I think they say when they are even less sure of what’s going to happen then usual. Of course three songs into the set it starts to sprinkle. Nothing you could call a shower or even drizzle, just a light, brief, smatter of water from a cloud that was walking to fast with a cup that was too full. We didn’t even stop playing. It lasted maybe 10 minutes. I had been struggling with hay fever all day and was glad for the moisture hoping it would knock down some of the pollen so I wouldn’t have to keep slamming down antihistamines just to make it through the show.
Their property stretched for several acres and they often employed an old golf cart to travel around the grounds. As I mentioned before there was a considerable buffet of alcohol to be had and it was flowing with much ease so when I saw the golf cart hurtling toward the tent we were playing in I became concerned and looked for an escape exit. I have some strange gig stories but being run over while playing “Pink Cadillac” by a drunken golf cart driver in an orchard would be one of the top ones. The driver managed to slide to a “Blues Brothers” style stop and inform us that they would be starting the fireworks in about 15 minutes and that I should make an announcement to that fact and also that I wasn’t nearly drunk enough yet. I told him I would make the announcement, watch the fireworks and proceed to drink myself into a pickled corpse like state. He gave me the thumbs up and careened off into the orchard. In fact, I had not intentions of having anymore alcohol that night because I wanted to drive home to my own bed and sleep away the allergies that had been the bane of my day, but there is no arguing with a drunk, just smile and send them on their way. We made the announcement and grabbed a seat to watch the display. From where we were, we could just make out the site where things were set up; four little figures moving around quite a large banquet of explosives. It’s at this point when I thought about the potential interaction of inebriation and explosives, but there was not a lot I could do except hope for the best.
The first few shots were wonderful, giant, brilliant flowers blooming in the sky. I think it was the fifth or sixth shot we saw the flare of the torch and the fizzle of the fuse and then a little “foop” followed by distant cries of “run away!” “Run away!” It appears as thought our little rain shower disagreed with firework that were already set in place when it happened.
So here is the situation; there are several drunk people standing near a pile of fireworks that have been dampened to where it is unknown if they will light right away, not light at all or stall out and then explode. In the end everything turned out fine. Most of the fireworks went off with out a hitch and if one did “foop” out the guys would scatter and wait to see what would happen and if they remained dormant the guys would proceed with the next show. After the show, they came roaring back on the golf cart to a huge round of applause and the rest of the evening was spattered with cries of “Run Awaaaaayyy!!”
We finished out gig around 1 AM when I no longer could even sing. We packed up the gear and headed on home. Almost everyone there stayed and camped out or slept where they landed but I wanted my shower and bed. And that’s what I got, in addition to a pretty good story.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
At the show
I recently played a gig at The Rave. I’ve played there two times previously, once with Bluefire as pre-show entertainment for Collective Soul and once with Tankapillars in a Battle of the Bands (which we took 2nd place). This time I played a solo show, just me and my guitar. The set list was as follows;
1. Broken Glass Slippers – Chris Koterba/Spendthrift Sai
2. Long Black Veil – Lefty Frizzel
3. In The Air Tonight – Phil Collins
4. Tattoo of a Killer – Chris Koterba/Spendthrift Sai
5. Old – Chris Koterba/Bluefire
6. Living Life – Daniel Johnston
The show went well aside from some difficulties with the sound. I was having a good time. And I got some good response from the audience.
When I perform, I can only concentrate on the song a certain amount or I will screw up the song. My mind is of the sort that often during the song I will daydream or plan the next bit of improve between tunes or something in the room will catch my attention. As it happened I was distracted by the sound from the P.A. and monitors during most of the set but it occurred to me that I actually performed the song “Old” with Bluefire when we played there. “Old” is a heavy song in its original form. There are lots of pounding drums and overdriven guitars and anger emanating from this song about a man who finds his wife cheating on him and flies into a murderous rampage. It is one of the better tunes I have written and, performed in its original form, can be quite a memorable song.
I look back at the Bluefire gig at The Rave and smile. It seemed every song we played lasted for about 167 years and yet the performance was over in about 3.5 seconds flat. It was such an intense gig because everyone in the band had always come to The Rave to see bands we loved and now here we were, playing in the same building that many of our hero’s had played. I briefly attempted to share this with the audience but quickly realized that it would take considerable more time than I had left on stage and that, moreover, most of the people there wouldn’t care.
I finished the gig and was happy I got through it with out too much hassle. I like playing shows. I like getting a set together. I like playing the gig and seeing people react to something I’m doing and I like it when it ends. I walk off stage or set my guitar down one last time and I have a new set of memories and some potential new stories to share. It is something I look forward to doing as long as I can.
Photo by Mel Vyvyan
Monday, May 18, 2009
My First Time
The first rock concert I ever went to was a Megadeth concert. It was for the “Rust in Peace” album released in 1990. I was 15 years old. I had been introduced to Megadeth by my good friend Jesse who was the first person I was ever in a band with. We got our tickets and got dropped off at The Central Park Ballroom, now The Eagles Ballroom, in Milwaukee and we went inside. We were directed follow some other people up stairs in a somewhat harsh tone by a guy who looked almost exactly like the type of person my parents swore would kill me the second they could. With relief we headed away from that guy toward a staircase which would lead us to this life altering event. At the top of the stairs we rounded a corner and came into a room like I had never seen before.
A Gigantic oval room with a blue sky painted on the ceiling. There were pillars like you’d expect in an Opera house, a balcony with fancy moldings and railings and in front of me a virtual sea of people, all of whom looked like the guy that growled at us to go up stairs. Everywhere I looked I saw black clothes, leather, ripped jeans tee shirts, chains, long hair, tattoos, girls wearing (sort of) scraps of fabric in what seemed like an futile attempt at decency. I heard words and phrases, I smelled alcohol and tobacco and some other scent that was kind of like a burning pine tree. Infused with all this sensory input and constant noise of stage setting and sound checking, was the sound of a living body of people all talking, laughing, swearing, coughing, and commingling at once. All of this blended together to fill the air with a buzz I felt deep in my core. It was then that I discovered the grin on my face and I looked at Jesse and he nodded his head toward the crowd and we walked in allowing ourselves to be swallowed whole in an ocean of human.
Human contact is an interesting thing. Polite society demands we give each other space, try not to touch people without permission and apologize for accidental breeches in this conduct. I realized within seconds that if I hoped to get anywhere in this event, the manners that were programmed into me needed serious reconsideration. Luckily I had been gifted with a sense of observation and some common sense and I soon developed what appeared to be a tolerable presence in this new society in which I found myself. We made our way to a spot on the floor where we sort of just stopped and stood while we waited for something to happen.
Something happened.
The lights went down and everyone as a whole, started to yell and whistle and turn toward the stage. Green lights illuminated the stage and the opening band started to play. The band name is Testament and it is not a catholic High School Garage Band. I feel a rumbling in my chest and the world is crashing in on my brain. I have utterly no idea what to do with the sound my ears are trying to process. It doesn’t hurt really but it is unintelligible. The people around me, however, do know what to do. They jump up and down, they shake their heads and fists, they appear to fighting with one another, and some seem to be skipping in a circle at a lunatic pace. I stood and looked around me at the reaction to the music and knew at that moment. I was among friends. I was with people who felt the way I did when I heard this music. I was with people who didn’t care if I was overweight or didn’t wear the cloths the kids at school thought were cool, or acted in a certain way. I was just another guy who liked heavy metal.
After a while I realized I actually new what I was hearing. It was a song off the only album I’d heard from them. My ears had apparently given up and gotten used to the sound. A big guy come barreling out of the crowd and said “what are you waiting for man, MOSH! .He proceeded to grab about 3 of us standing there and pull us into this human mixing bowl I had been watching out of the corner of my eye while taking everything in. I was thrust into a gyratory group of people and pushing each other. I was push sideways and then shoved in the back into someone who pushed me backward onto someone who grabbed my arm and spun me around into a wall of people surrounding this little psychotic square dance who in turn shoved me back in. I saw a guy coming toward me and this time I grabbed his arm a pulled him around sending him spiraling off into the crowd and turned in time to catch a guy wheeling back at me. I pushed him at a guy to my left. After what seemed like half an hour of hand to hand combat the circle just sort of dissolved and I was left standing there wild eyed with fists clenched and at shoulder height. Jesse appeared to my left and said something like “Didn’t take you long to get in a pit did it?” I had evidently been initiated with my first Mosh Pit.
Testament played a couple of more tunes and finished their set. The lights came up and people headed for the bar. I stood there, soaked through with sweat and what I hope was beer that had been thrown on the audience from the balcony. My ears were ringing and my head pounded but I felt amazing. I felt powerful to the point of jittery at what I had just experienced. Jesse and I talked about the band that just played and moshing and what some of the girls were wearing, again, sort of.
And the lights went down a second time. This time the audience roared with the ferocity of a rabid grizzly bear. An air raid siren began to wail and the sound of a mans voice over a bull horn demanded; “Go in side!”,” The neighborhood curfew is in effect!”, “Any person discovered in unauthorized areas will be shot!”, “Complete compliance is mandatory”, “Any person violating the stated conduct code will be shot!”. The whistle of a bomb falling grows louder and Megadeth explodes on stage. A similar effect occurred with the crowd. Almost at the same moment the audience erupts into one giant supernova moshpit. Lights were flashing like a lightning storm had formed in the blue sky painted on the ceiling of the Ballroom; the band was blasting away at around 220 BPM on a stage set with ominous looking government crates, a drum set whose double bass drum heads were nuclear warning signs and a giant backdrop of Vic Rattlehead, the bands tormented skeletal mascot festooned with caps welded over his ears, a steel mask riveted over his eyes and his jaws clamped shut. People were not only moshing but actually riding on top of the crowd like they’re white water rafting without a boat. It was chaos incarnate.
The band finished the third song and the bands leader, Dave Mustaine, talked to the audience for a couple of minutes, thanked us for being there, complimented us on the intensity of our introductory moshpit display, and challenged us to be rowdier than the last time Megadeth had been there. The crowd bellowed acceptance of this challenge with the gusto of Vikings preparing to set sail. Forty five minutes later Megadeth left the stage. The crowd chants Megadeth!, Megadeth!, Megadeth!, until Dave walks out to thunderous cheers and asks the crowd, “Can you put a price on peace?” The band encores with the title track from their second studio album; Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying. They finish up, take a bow and go off stage. The lights went up and the show was over. The grin I had felt on my face earlier took at least two full days to fade from my face, but the effect that concert had on my life has never left me.
A Gigantic oval room with a blue sky painted on the ceiling. There were pillars like you’d expect in an Opera house, a balcony with fancy moldings and railings and in front of me a virtual sea of people, all of whom looked like the guy that growled at us to go up stairs. Everywhere I looked I saw black clothes, leather, ripped jeans tee shirts, chains, long hair, tattoos, girls wearing (sort of) scraps of fabric in what seemed like an futile attempt at decency. I heard words and phrases, I smelled alcohol and tobacco and some other scent that was kind of like a burning pine tree. Infused with all this sensory input and constant noise of stage setting and sound checking, was the sound of a living body of people all talking, laughing, swearing, coughing, and commingling at once. All of this blended together to fill the air with a buzz I felt deep in my core. It was then that I discovered the grin on my face and I looked at Jesse and he nodded his head toward the crowd and we walked in allowing ourselves to be swallowed whole in an ocean of human.
Human contact is an interesting thing. Polite society demands we give each other space, try not to touch people without permission and apologize for accidental breeches in this conduct. I realized within seconds that if I hoped to get anywhere in this event, the manners that were programmed into me needed serious reconsideration. Luckily I had been gifted with a sense of observation and some common sense and I soon developed what appeared to be a tolerable presence in this new society in which I found myself. We made our way to a spot on the floor where we sort of just stopped and stood while we waited for something to happen.
Something happened.
The lights went down and everyone as a whole, started to yell and whistle and turn toward the stage. Green lights illuminated the stage and the opening band started to play. The band name is Testament and it is not a catholic High School Garage Band. I feel a rumbling in my chest and the world is crashing in on my brain. I have utterly no idea what to do with the sound my ears are trying to process. It doesn’t hurt really but it is unintelligible. The people around me, however, do know what to do. They jump up and down, they shake their heads and fists, they appear to fighting with one another, and some seem to be skipping in a circle at a lunatic pace. I stood and looked around me at the reaction to the music and knew at that moment. I was among friends. I was with people who felt the way I did when I heard this music. I was with people who didn’t care if I was overweight or didn’t wear the cloths the kids at school thought were cool, or acted in a certain way. I was just another guy who liked heavy metal.
After a while I realized I actually new what I was hearing. It was a song off the only album I’d heard from them. My ears had apparently given up and gotten used to the sound. A big guy come barreling out of the crowd and said “what are you waiting for man, MOSH! .He proceeded to grab about 3 of us standing there and pull us into this human mixing bowl I had been watching out of the corner of my eye while taking everything in. I was thrust into a gyratory group of people and pushing each other. I was push sideways and then shoved in the back into someone who pushed me backward onto someone who grabbed my arm and spun me around into a wall of people surrounding this little psychotic square dance who in turn shoved me back in. I saw a guy coming toward me and this time I grabbed his arm a pulled him around sending him spiraling off into the crowd and turned in time to catch a guy wheeling back at me. I pushed him at a guy to my left. After what seemed like half an hour of hand to hand combat the circle just sort of dissolved and I was left standing there wild eyed with fists clenched and at shoulder height. Jesse appeared to my left and said something like “Didn’t take you long to get in a pit did it?” I had evidently been initiated with my first Mosh Pit.
Testament played a couple of more tunes and finished their set. The lights came up and people headed for the bar. I stood there, soaked through with sweat and what I hope was beer that had been thrown on the audience from the balcony. My ears were ringing and my head pounded but I felt amazing. I felt powerful to the point of jittery at what I had just experienced. Jesse and I talked about the band that just played and moshing and what some of the girls were wearing, again, sort of.
And the lights went down a second time. This time the audience roared with the ferocity of a rabid grizzly bear. An air raid siren began to wail and the sound of a mans voice over a bull horn demanded; “Go in side!”,” The neighborhood curfew is in effect!”, “Any person discovered in unauthorized areas will be shot!”, “Complete compliance is mandatory”, “Any person violating the stated conduct code will be shot!”. The whistle of a bomb falling grows louder and Megadeth explodes on stage. A similar effect occurred with the crowd. Almost at the same moment the audience erupts into one giant supernova moshpit. Lights were flashing like a lightning storm had formed in the blue sky painted on the ceiling of the Ballroom; the band was blasting away at around 220 BPM on a stage set with ominous looking government crates, a drum set whose double bass drum heads were nuclear warning signs and a giant backdrop of Vic Rattlehead, the bands tormented skeletal mascot festooned with caps welded over his ears, a steel mask riveted over his eyes and his jaws clamped shut. People were not only moshing but actually riding on top of the crowd like they’re white water rafting without a boat. It was chaos incarnate.
The band finished the third song and the bands leader, Dave Mustaine, talked to the audience for a couple of minutes, thanked us for being there, complimented us on the intensity of our introductory moshpit display, and challenged us to be rowdier than the last time Megadeth had been there. The crowd bellowed acceptance of this challenge with the gusto of Vikings preparing to set sail. Forty five minutes later Megadeth left the stage. The crowd chants Megadeth!, Megadeth!, Megadeth!, until Dave walks out to thunderous cheers and asks the crowd, “Can you put a price on peace?” The band encores with the title track from their second studio album; Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying. They finish up, take a bow and go off stage. The lights went up and the show was over. The grin I had felt on my face earlier took at least two full days to fade from my face, but the effect that concert had on my life has never left me.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Discovery
When I first stared playing guitar I was frustrated with the fact that the sound coming out of the amplifier was not like the sound I heard on the song. I twisted knobs, I switched cords, I even tried to figure out if I was using the pick wrong. Nothing I did created that crunchy, heavy metal sound I so desperately was trying to reproduce. I wasn’t taking any lessons and this was 1988 or so and the internet didn’t exist in a way that was useful to me.
I was then asked by a friend if I was going to see a buddy of mine and when I said I was he asked be to take a distortion pedal to him that he was borrowing. I said sure but what is a “Distortion Pedal”? My friend asked if I was an idiot and then said it’s what you plug your guitar into to play with distortion. He said you run a cord from the guitar to the pedal and from the pedal to the amp and when you step on the pedal it turn the sound on and off.
I couldn’t wait to get this thing home and try it out before I handed it off to my buddy. When I finally got home from school, I dumped my book bag, raced downstairs, plugged everything in and turned on my amp. I turned up the volume on my guitar and played the chords to “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath.
The goose bumps I got all over me and the grin that formed on my face were so strong that I’m sure my folks would have thought I was on drugs at the time. Just remembering that moment to capture it here is enough to have me grinning like an idiot. I suppose the adrenaline rush I got at finally playing a Sabbath tune that sounded (somewhat) like a Sabbath tune was healthy fix. Needless to say, the very next thing I was earning money for was my own distortion pedal which was a D.O.D. Thrashmaster and turned out to be a piece of junk. But while it worked I enjoyed many hours of grinding away trying to play like Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax , Metallica and Black Sabbath.
My parents, however, did not.
I was then asked by a friend if I was going to see a buddy of mine and when I said I was he asked be to take a distortion pedal to him that he was borrowing. I said sure but what is a “Distortion Pedal”? My friend asked if I was an idiot and then said it’s what you plug your guitar into to play with distortion. He said you run a cord from the guitar to the pedal and from the pedal to the amp and when you step on the pedal it turn the sound on and off.
I couldn’t wait to get this thing home and try it out before I handed it off to my buddy. When I finally got home from school, I dumped my book bag, raced downstairs, plugged everything in and turned on my amp. I turned up the volume on my guitar and played the chords to “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath.
The goose bumps I got all over me and the grin that formed on my face were so strong that I’m sure my folks would have thought I was on drugs at the time. Just remembering that moment to capture it here is enough to have me grinning like an idiot. I suppose the adrenaline rush I got at finally playing a Sabbath tune that sounded (somewhat) like a Sabbath tune was healthy fix. Needless to say, the very next thing I was earning money for was my own distortion pedal which was a D.O.D. Thrashmaster and turned out to be a piece of junk. But while it worked I enjoyed many hours of grinding away trying to play like Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax , Metallica and Black Sabbath.
My parents, however, did not.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Ten Great Heavy Metal Songs
I love music of all kinds but I have a soft spot for Heavy Metal. In this post I thought I would share some of my favorite songs. This is not a top Ten and I do not have a Favorite song. I dig music based on the mood I’m in. The following songs are songs that are great and I have never gotten sick of them. I would recommend anyone not versed in Metal check out the studio versions of these songs to get the original feel, and if you are a Head Banger, I hope this brings a smile to your face and a crick to your neck.
• Anthrax – “Indians” – This song has one of the greatest “Mosh Buildups” written into a song. There is held metal vocal note, a unison of rhythm guitar and bass chugging and a build on the drums and the band hollers “War Dance” and no matter where I am I bang into that beat.
• Megadeth – “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due” – The first taste people get of what is considered the pinnacle of Megadeth’s recording career is this cold, crisp, and complex example of what can be done within the realm of speed metal. The bands founder, lead singer and Commander in Chief, Dave Mustaine, creates a massive epic that spans past five minutes but feels like just a moment. This song has sent many young guitar player back to their basements dragging their guitars behind them in frustrations and embarrassment.
• Metallica – “Damage Inc” – I look back to a time before short hair, lawsuits, and documentaries about therapy to a time when the slogan was “Fuck it all with Fucking no regrets” and smile. Any Metallica fan prior to 1991 will tell you that you must own all four of the bands major albums, listen to them and love them to understand the backlash that they have endured since the release of The Black Album titles Metallica. I am one of those fans, and this song is one of the many reasons why.
• Trivium – “Pull harder on the strings of your Martyr” – This is an example of what new metal should be; Fast and angry.
• Rammstein – “Feuer Frei” – I knew I would have a Rammstein song on this list, but coming up with just one was a real dilemma. Rammstein is in my top 10 favorite metal bands list and jockeys for position but will never leave that list. This song appeared in the first “Triple X” movie and people thought all the fire was for the movies sake. Wrong! That’s their gig! As far as I’m concerned the movie could have been written around their set.
• Slayer – “Dead Skin Mask” – Written for Wisconsin’s own Ed Gein, Slayer mixes vivid imagery with grinding music to take you out to Plainfield, Wisconsin where the back story to movies like “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho were born.
• Static X – “Start a War” – Wayne Static’s choppy, rhythmic delivery of the lyrics mixed with the dependable Static X aggression allows for a song destined to stand up for metal heads generations from now.
• Ozzy Osbourne – “Perry Mason” – It’s easy to over look the odd lyrical content of this song when the uncharacteristic weight of the music lands on you like a Buick full of mid-westerners. The guitar tone and brutality of this song more that makes up for eyebrow raising words.
• Iron Maiden – “The Trooper” – A textbook example of British Heavy Metal from the galloping bass lines to the twin lead guitar lines, overshot with the operatic metal voice of their signature vocalist Bruce Dickinson, this song is a metal anthem!
• Motorhead – “March or Die” – This song is my favorite Motorhead tune. To me, it musically captures World War II. It is a rolling juggernaut of music with Lemmy’s growl and the ever present but well used synth sound and the musical peak at the end under the chant Die,Die,Die…Whew, what up mood generator.
• Anthrax – “Indians” – This song has one of the greatest “Mosh Buildups” written into a song. There is held metal vocal note, a unison of rhythm guitar and bass chugging and a build on the drums and the band hollers “War Dance” and no matter where I am I bang into that beat.
• Megadeth – “Holy Wars…The Punishment Due” – The first taste people get of what is considered the pinnacle of Megadeth’s recording career is this cold, crisp, and complex example of what can be done within the realm of speed metal. The bands founder, lead singer and Commander in Chief, Dave Mustaine, creates a massive epic that spans past five minutes but feels like just a moment. This song has sent many young guitar player back to their basements dragging their guitars behind them in frustrations and embarrassment.
• Metallica – “Damage Inc” – I look back to a time before short hair, lawsuits, and documentaries about therapy to a time when the slogan was “Fuck it all with Fucking no regrets” and smile. Any Metallica fan prior to 1991 will tell you that you must own all four of the bands major albums, listen to them and love them to understand the backlash that they have endured since the release of The Black Album titles Metallica. I am one of those fans, and this song is one of the many reasons why.
• Trivium – “Pull harder on the strings of your Martyr” – This is an example of what new metal should be; Fast and angry.
• Rammstein – “Feuer Frei” – I knew I would have a Rammstein song on this list, but coming up with just one was a real dilemma. Rammstein is in my top 10 favorite metal bands list and jockeys for position but will never leave that list. This song appeared in the first “Triple X” movie and people thought all the fire was for the movies sake. Wrong! That’s their gig! As far as I’m concerned the movie could have been written around their set.
• Slayer – “Dead Skin Mask” – Written for Wisconsin’s own Ed Gein, Slayer mixes vivid imagery with grinding music to take you out to Plainfield, Wisconsin where the back story to movies like “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho were born.
• Static X – “Start a War” – Wayne Static’s choppy, rhythmic delivery of the lyrics mixed with the dependable Static X aggression allows for a song destined to stand up for metal heads generations from now.
• Ozzy Osbourne – “Perry Mason” – It’s easy to over look the odd lyrical content of this song when the uncharacteristic weight of the music lands on you like a Buick full of mid-westerners. The guitar tone and brutality of this song more that makes up for eyebrow raising words.
• Iron Maiden – “The Trooper” – A textbook example of British Heavy Metal from the galloping bass lines to the twin lead guitar lines, overshot with the operatic metal voice of their signature vocalist Bruce Dickinson, this song is a metal anthem!
• Motorhead – “March or Die” – This song is my favorite Motorhead tune. To me, it musically captures World War II. It is a rolling juggernaut of music with Lemmy’s growl and the ever present but well used synth sound and the musical peak at the end under the chant Die,Die,Die…Whew, what up mood generator.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Top 10 Most irritating things in radio commercials.
1. I don’t need to hear the phone number 3 times. I don’t need to hear the phone number 3 times. I don’t need to hear the phone number 3 times.
2. Kids can barely talk much less sell you product and if you feel the need to have a kid as your spokes person it better be diapers or Chuck E. Cheese.
3. I don’t care if your trying to convey a non-audible sense, eating noises and talking with stuff in your mouth is disgusting. It breaks down to two age old choices; Spit or Swallow. Either way I don’t want to hear it.
4. You may think your clever by modifying the melody but We all know when you’re trying to influence us by playing background music that sound like hit songs(Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, KC and The Sunshine Band). All you’re doing is pissing off fans of that song.
5. Not every white male is a blithering idiot with tit’s and sports consuming his entire conscious. Some of us don’t give half a shit about football or Hooter’s and use books for reading and pleasure and not for leveling out the sofa.
6. You might think you’re a sassy, witty, little, sarcastic minx, but actually you just a condescending bitch who needs a lesson in perspective.
7. Stop using blues tunes in your commercial. Stop writing blues tunes for your commercial. And stop stop stop using the “I got the Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, blues”. Even John Lee Hooker is tired of that style of blues verse!
8. Why the Fuck did you name it The Hog?! Oh and by the way Milwaukee, “I’m a Hoghead=I’m a Douchebag who never ever should be allow to breed.
9. It might have been edgy for 20 seconds in the early nineties but unless Trent Reznor is personally mixing you Station tags, knock it off with the scritchity scratch B.B.B Bob, an Bob, and Bri,Br, Br, Brian..(radio static) Bob and Brian, Mornings on 102.9 (snork,snork) The Hog
10. America already has a weight problem, We don’t need a fourth meal, we Don’t need talking food, Melty is not even a word much less a taste and considering George Webb’s is primarily a Wisconsin based restaurant, they should hire a mid-western rooster for their commercial instead of paying for one who was apparently raised in the Bronx .
2. Kids can barely talk much less sell you product and if you feel the need to have a kid as your spokes person it better be diapers or Chuck E. Cheese.
3. I don’t care if your trying to convey a non-audible sense, eating noises and talking with stuff in your mouth is disgusting. It breaks down to two age old choices; Spit or Swallow. Either way I don’t want to hear it.
4. You may think your clever by modifying the melody but We all know when you’re trying to influence us by playing background music that sound like hit songs(Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, KC and The Sunshine Band). All you’re doing is pissing off fans of that song.
5. Not every white male is a blithering idiot with tit’s and sports consuming his entire conscious. Some of us don’t give half a shit about football or Hooter’s and use books for reading and pleasure and not for leveling out the sofa.
6. You might think you’re a sassy, witty, little, sarcastic minx, but actually you just a condescending bitch who needs a lesson in perspective.
7. Stop using blues tunes in your commercial. Stop writing blues tunes for your commercial. And stop stop stop using the “I got the Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, blues”. Even John Lee Hooker is tired of that style of blues verse!
8. Why the Fuck did you name it The Hog?! Oh and by the way Milwaukee, “I’m a Hoghead=I’m a Douchebag who never ever should be allow to breed.
9. It might have been edgy for 20 seconds in the early nineties but unless Trent Reznor is personally mixing you Station tags, knock it off with the scritchity scratch B.B.B Bob, an Bob, and Bri,Br, Br, Brian..(radio static) Bob and Brian, Mornings on 102.9 (snork,snork) The Hog
10. America already has a weight problem, We don’t need a fourth meal, we Don’t need talking food, Melty is not even a word much less a taste and considering George Webb’s is primarily a Wisconsin based restaurant, they should hire a mid-western rooster for their commercial instead of paying for one who was apparently raised in the Bronx .
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