Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Private Parties

Fun. Always different. People tend to be both calmer and crazier, depending upon the scene.

The best part? Almost always MORE MONEY.

We had one on Saturday at Texas A&M (WHOOOP!) at Delta Tau Delta (which looks a whole lot like Delta Tau Chi if you just glance at it, and it made me feel like I was in the movie "Animal House" if but for a moment).

The ride up was a lot of fun, a good chance for the three of us to chat about all kinds of stuff and get to know each other better. Rob - "you so NAASSTY!"

We arrive at the large house in the middle of nowhere (down a long dirt road), and can't find the entrance to the party. Turns out it was around back. Ned actually went into the house looking for the hosts, and Rob and I walked around the side to the back. A bunch of nervous-looking brothers walking around, putting the final touches on their great party - the scene decked out in bamboo and camouflage, but empty. As we finished setting up, it started to fill up. Eventually the place was packed. Beautiful, vapid girls, all decked out in camouflage like some sort of weird sexy cross between "Platoon" and "The Hills".

It reminded me of something very integral to my personality, though. Entitlement and narcissism make me angry. Both were in full force here, as with most college parties (and especially ones affiliated with the inherently "superior" greek system). To be honest, I don't like that scene all that much. The vast majority of people were patently unfriendly (though there were exceptions, like many of the brothers from the fraternity and a few really nice young ladies), but I'll chalk that up to most of them being young, possessing that "cooler than thou" attitude. Of course, I'm a huge dork, so they're not going to be interested in me in the least anyway.

It was funny to play to those people, though. Most were very nice when they'd come up during the set requesting songs, and most of the time, we really tried to indulge them. It was night and day the way I was treated when I was walking around compared to when I was on stage, and it illustrates something in the way people interact with one another. There's something about a stage that can turn a dork like me into someone people want to talk to. Of course, it's only because they WANT something from me - for me to play "their song" - but I'm happy to oblige if I can, because that's why I'm there: To entertain.

It did speak to my strange inferiority/superiority complex (yes, I'm even a schizo that way) that the gig made me feel that way.

Like most private parties we've played, the volume has had to go way down after a short period of time, and honestly, it makes it harder to really rock when you have to do so quietly. The saddest part is, it's not like we're even a loud band. Well, that's enough about that. Thanks to Delta Tau Delta for a fun night, all things considered, and thanks to all the nice people that were there Saturday night.

The ride home was fun as well, but I was BEAT.

On the songwriting/composing front, I've got an interesting project in the works - when the music is done, I'll post it here. I'm writing music for a multimedia project. I can't go into details (confidentiality and stuff), but it's sexy. (Calm your pits, it's not porn or anything - though I'd enjoy composing for that because it's so ripe for all the fun wocka wocka cliches).

Take care, all, and keep playing! :)

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Frats, scat...

So we (meaning Roman Holiday) played a house party this past weekend. It was uneven musically, but fun. Part of the reason we had some issues was related to having to keep the volume down ridiculously low so it wouldn't carry far enough for the neighbors to call the police. It didn't work. The cops eventually shut us down a little after 11pm.

I was going to give the Dean ML bass its debut, but it didn't pan out.

It was pretty fun, though, and showed us what we need to work on. The hosts were awesome, even if one of the meat dishes they made for the party smelled like poop to me. I have a weird sense of smell, though.

This coming weekend we're playing at a fraternity party at Texas A&M. It should be interesting, since these guys have a specific idea of what stuff they want to hear.

I'm going to try and work out a Nine Inch Nails tune ("Closer") for this weekend, but I'm a little scared about it because I need to know exactly where to come in or it'll be a fustercluck...I'm also going to have my 80s hair metal ballads at the ready for the schmaltz factor. Apparently they want the girls to have a good time, which is pretty much our raison d'etre.

Problem? I don't know exactly what 20-year-old girls think is cool, but I'm fairly certain it isn't on our song list. We'll see.

It will be interesting. I'm looking forward to the three of us piling into Ned's truck, though. That will be cool.

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Dean Blues

So I went to Centro Chitarra's Labor Day blowout sale.

And I bought some crap.

Two Dean guitars, in fact.

One, a Vendetta - a solidbody electric that is as light as a Parker Fly (no lie)
Two, an ML Bass - think Dimebag Darrell, only a bass. (think of the Chat Stew on The Soup) "So metal..."

Total damage? $138 for BOTH guitars.

How are they? They ROCK.

Take a listen to "Dean Blues" (imaginative title, eh?):
Stream it
Download it

Blues in A - how original...I had to finally do one, though; I live in Austin.

Though I do admit, I can play forever in the 12-bar format. I guess that's true of most guitarists worth their salt. Vendetta on guitar, ML on bass, Processed Drumkit 217 on the skins. My hands did it all.

Peace to all!