Weblog

Thursday, 12 November 2009

  • Currently
    Crime Slunk Scene
    By Buckethead
    see related

    new format and others

    I've changed the background and header (shows only on xanga)! I recently got a ticket to go see Melt-Banana at the Troubadour on December 16, so excited! If you don't know who they are and "japanese experimental noiserock" sounds like good music to you, check them out!
    Also I'm going to NYC in about a month to see friends, yay! Can't wait for that as well.
    Gotten into a bunch of new music lately, got bored of the 1000 or so songs on my ipod nano and decided to listen to last.fm radio more, which was a great decision, got into a few bands and may go see more new shows in the future.

    My amp recently broke (the Vox Valvetronix ad60 head) and it's got a massive drop in volume, but I'm gonna get a quote from Johnny Thompson today and hopefully it won't be too much ><
    Also my car engine has problems so I might end up switching to another car.

    Other than that I leave this entry with this, uploaded it yesterday myself:

Thursday, 05 November 2009

  • Currently
    Best of Van Halen, Vol. 1
    By Van Halen
    see related
    I've been wanting to write a new post. eh
    Halloween was dull this year, didn't dress up or go out, but I was planning on being Chie Satonaka from Persona 4. It's a female character but she has really short hair and I wasn't gonna try to change my appearance other than having brownish hair and wear black shorts instead of... yeah.

    Anyway I've been pretty good, the band had a great gig a couple weeks ago for a church event. It has the biggest turnout we've had so far (more than 100) and we played fairly well. Also our music is on iTunes and last.fm if you wanna check them out!
    http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=334611286&s=143441&uo=1&v0=9988
    http://www.last.fm/music/This+Blank+World

    So most Roth-era Van Halen fans ignore the Hagar-era and vice-versa. I was a Roth-era fan for a longest time until I listened through this (I had before, but it didn't have the same effect on me)

    VAN HALEN "Human Beings"
    It's not really one of their more well known songs but it's easily one of my favorites.

Monday, 05 October 2009

  • Currently
    Where the Wild Things Are
    By Steve Vai
    see related

    I'm alive and other music review news

    Yes I'm alive and well and things have been great.
    The Knitting Factory gig was pretty good, we had a bigger turn out than the other bands after us and we were definitely one of the most polished even though the other bands have been around for a while (we've only been around for a few months, with me as a member for only a month at that time and our new vocalist Jon being a member for only a week and a half). Jon learned all the songs within a week and a half and had the courage to do it in front of a live group so awesome respect to him.

    As for music review news, there's three albums by musicians I listen to that I feel like writing about if just for the record and get some practice in.

    Megadeth - Endgame


    Dave Mustaine is back with the fastest most aggressive Megadeth album to date, but did it all come together? At 48, Dave Mustaine is still pushing his band to the limit. After Glen Drover left and was replaced by Chris Broderick as the lead guitarist, Megadeth fans are pleased to hear a replacement that can do Marty's solos justice. The tracks range from blazingly shredtastic to a slow ballad, and yet while they aren't as accessible as Countdown to Extinction or as notable as Rust In Peace, Mustaine proves he can still thrash hard as ever. I did have a few problems with the album. Broderick's solos are a bit too random to be memorable and Mustaine doesn't seem to have the ability to go another album without mentioning the phrase 'new world order' a few times.

    Rating: I haven't come up with a system (recommend something!) but it's worth a listen for anyone who likes the metal. While it's not the end-all of Megadeth albums ever it's certainly one of the best ones.


    Steve Vai - Where The Wild Things Are


    Steve Vai proves he's just as fast and talented as he ever was with Where the Wild Things Are. With some new material after 4 years, on a live album no-less, Vai stays relevant as ever as one of "the" guitar virtuosos of this era. Combining his exceedingly unique and insane playing with his flair for showmanship, he pulls off a great performance that the CD version only captures half of (the CD has 15 tracks out of the 27 on the DVD). Vai's composition is increasingly catchy yet progressive enough to capture the attention of anyone from an appreciator of music to the most defiantly elitist guitar player. He is joined by Alex DePue (violin), Ann Marie Calhoun (violin), Bryan Beller (bass), Jeremy Colson (drums), Dave Weiner (guitar and sitar) and Zack Wiesinger (lap steel).

    Rating: While Vai has appealed to people outside of guitarists and musicians, his music is too unconventional to appeal to most people. I'd recommend it only to those who think "music died and it isn't original anymore" and of course other guitar players. If you're a Vai fan pick up the DVD version as it's much more complete and well worth the price.


    Dethklok - Dethalbum II


    Brendon Small is back with another album by his cartoon band, Dethklok, the main characters on the show Metalocalypse. After a grueling season 2 with a lot of criticism after the solid first season, Small does do the music justice but it still suffers the same problems that the show did in the second season. The music is faster, heavier, and more 'brutal' than the music from the first album, but it suffers some major problems. It lacks a lot of humor, catchiness, and memorable moments that the first album/first season had. I know it's unfair for the fans and community to expect the music and show to be as great in the second season since Small had a lot of time to work on making the first so great while the second was rushed to appeal to the impatient fans who were itching for more. Never the less if you're a fan of the show or the music give it a go, though you might be disappointed, or glad that the music has taken a more serious approach. The Deluxe version has bonus music videos of the songs used on the 2008 tour.

    Rating: Definitely nowhere as good as the first but still worth a few listens for fans of the music and/or show.



    I'm fairly repetitive in my word choice because I don't write at all. Still, feel free to say otherwise about my writing or the music. Thanks!

Sunday, 06 September 2009

Sunday, 23 August 2009

  • Currently
    Loudness
    By Loudness
    see related

    A long week

    This is possibly one of the most tiring weeks I've had in a while. I woke up at 5:30 am for 4 days in a row for school registration, had  a couple long rehearsals, and then a gig on Saturday. I've been busy, currently a guitarist in a band called "This Blank World" and we had our first show yesterday. I need to get on top of learning the songs and playing them comfortably, I haven't gotten my hands on lead sheets and there are gigs coming up >< visit www.thisblankworld.com for the songs streaming and pics and whatnot (lots of stuff). I didn't work on the album but I plan to for the next one

    On top of that, I've been working a good 30 hours a week, blah, though for the next semester I'm taking 4 online classes so I don't blow $50 a week on gas. I'm gonna be bummed once school starts and my friends go back to their respective schools. I also got a haircut with Louisa at the Vidal Sassoon in Santa Monica, hence the picture on the left. Really like it, kept the length and thinned it out a lot =D

    I'm too lazy to write directions on how to make a Potter Puppet Pal or reupload all the pictures, but you'll find the pictures on my facebook. And of course the directions are all unclear/instinctive by measuring ratios for the parts and getting lucky that the puppet came out okay. I actually never had sewing experience before this, the only thing being fixing a tiny hole in my Loudness shirt.