Friday, May 21, 2010
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
From Tulsa...
Well we are just over 1 week into the tour, and tonight we play in Tulsa Oklahoma.
So far the crowds have been nothing short of wonderful, and we are all happy with the turn outs for each show... even the smaller towns we hit have been well attended so we have no complaints.
The usual drill seems to be get up by 9am, load the van up, and hit the road by 10am. Breakfast is optional depending on the amount of travel time required to get to the next city. Otherwise at best we get some breakfast and are able to stop for an hour before we start the drive, at worst, it's coffee (if I can find it), and take out for lunch.
The hours in the bus are spent talking about music, films, and the usual throwing about of dirty jokes, one liners (Matt excels here), watching some TV, or video editing. Short stops to stretch the legs before we are thrown back into the bus for a few more hours...
Arriving in the next city, we check into the motel, 15 minutes to freshen up, collect our stage gear and head out to the venue. Usually we are there by 6pm, meet the promoters, unload the van of gear and merchandise. Sound check shortly follows for both bands... this usually takes 30mins at most.. we have gotten it down to a fine science already.... then the long wait happens.
Sometimes its up to 5 hours before we hit the stage, which is the hard part....waiting about. We will get some food, either catered for or a buy out. Usually as well we are at venues which are pretty much in the middle of nowhere part of town, so not much to do really until the show starts... so I fill my time in with web surfing, doing my video updates, chatting to folks and maybe a vodka or two.
Once we hit the stage, (this is the best bit) my energy levels move up a couple of notches and we are all systems go.
Post show I'll hang out at the merchandise stand to chat to folks, sign CDs etc. It's always nice to meet people who enjoy my music.
Once Assemblage 23 finish up we are in the club for up to another 1-2 hours as Tom likes to hang out at the merchandise table after, and do some signing and photos for fans.
At the end of the night we load everything back into the bus, and head back to the motel. By now its somewhere between 2 and 3 am. If it's earlier we might have a quick get together and a night cap before we head to bed for the night. Sleep is most welcome.
Then the alarm goes off at 9am, and we start the process again.
Ooohh and it's alot of fun despite feeling sleep deprived.
So far the crowds have been nothing short of wonderful, and we are all happy with the turn outs for each show... even the smaller towns we hit have been well attended so we have no complaints.
The usual drill seems to be get up by 9am, load the van up, and hit the road by 10am. Breakfast is optional depending on the amount of travel time required to get to the next city. Otherwise at best we get some breakfast and are able to stop for an hour before we start the drive, at worst, it's coffee (if I can find it), and take out for lunch.
The hours in the bus are spent talking about music, films, and the usual throwing about of dirty jokes, one liners (Matt excels here), watching some TV, or video editing. Short stops to stretch the legs before we are thrown back into the bus for a few more hours...
Arriving in the next city, we check into the motel, 15 minutes to freshen up, collect our stage gear and head out to the venue. Usually we are there by 6pm, meet the promoters, unload the van of gear and merchandise. Sound check shortly follows for both bands... this usually takes 30mins at most.. we have gotten it down to a fine science already.... then the long wait happens.
Sometimes its up to 5 hours before we hit the stage, which is the hard part....waiting about. We will get some food, either catered for or a buy out. Usually as well we are at venues which are pretty much in the middle of nowhere part of town, so not much to do really until the show starts... so I fill my time in with web surfing, doing my video updates, chatting to folks and maybe a vodka or two.
Once we hit the stage, (this is the best bit) my energy levels move up a couple of notches and we are all systems go.
Post show I'll hang out at the merchandise stand to chat to folks, sign CDs etc. It's always nice to meet people who enjoy my music.
Once Assemblage 23 finish up we are in the club for up to another 1-2 hours as Tom likes to hang out at the merchandise table after, and do some signing and photos for fans.
At the end of the night we load everything back into the bus, and head back to the motel. By now its somewhere between 2 and 3 am. If it's earlier we might have a quick get together and a night cap before we head to bed for the night. Sleep is most welcome.
Then the alarm goes off at 9am, and we start the process again.
Ooohh and it's alot of fun despite feeling sleep deprived.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
The Day Before It All Starts
Well, finally it's here..
Currently I'm in Seattle, and have had a very chilled day of not doing much except for last minute preparations for the first show tomorrow.
After arriving yesterday, Tom and Megan put on an awesome pre-tour get together. Got to meet up with some folks again after many years, and some for the first time.. all in all a great night was had, and I was ready to hit the hay by the end of it all...but before bed Tom put on a DVD he compiled from his 2005 European tour, which was hysterical in places.... lots of very cool behind the scenes stuff......I'm looking forward to much oddity I have to say.......
oohh yeah before i forget, my baggage was left off the flight from SF, but eventually it did turn up....despite the "customer service" officer being an absolute *&^% at the airport.
This afternoon, Matt and myself went through the set for the shows, working with the order of tracks, to see how things would flow, hopefully we have put together something that will get people warmed up and ready for A23.
Been a couple of years since I played a live show, so im kinda a bit nervous of course, but give me a track or two, and ill be back into the swing of it.
See ya soon.
Currently I'm in Seattle, and have had a very chilled day of not doing much except for last minute preparations for the first show tomorrow.
After arriving yesterday, Tom and Megan put on an awesome pre-tour get together. Got to meet up with some folks again after many years, and some for the first time.. all in all a great night was had, and I was ready to hit the hay by the end of it all...but before bed Tom put on a DVD he compiled from his 2005 European tour, which was hysterical in places.... lots of very cool behind the scenes stuff......I'm looking forward to much oddity I have to say.......
oohh yeah before i forget, my baggage was left off the flight from SF, but eventually it did turn up....despite the "customer service" officer being an absolute *&^% at the airport.
This afternoon, Matt and myself went through the set for the shows, working with the order of tracks, to see how things would flow, hopefully we have put together something that will get people warmed up and ready for A23.
Been a couple of years since I played a live show, so im kinda a bit nervous of course, but give me a track or two, and ill be back into the swing of it.
See ya soon.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
I looked up at my computer screen and noticed it was February.
Things are coming together, and we are almost there.
Second version of album master is on it's way to me, hopefully I'll get it for the weekend.
I'm pretty confidant it will be the last version. The first was pretty spot on already, except for a couple of minor changes I wanted to make from a mixing point of view.
Having someone who is patient with you during the mastering process is invaluable. .. thankyou Dave !
Artwork has come along nicely... a slight hick up on my original idea for the outlay, it got reduced to 4 panels instead of 6. Maybe I will look at doing a booklet in it's place. I want it to look as slick as possible.
The inside panels are done, and Grant has done a great job of delivering a wonderful outlay.
We are stuck on the back panel... but we are working on a new idea.
So today, I was at work, at my desk, and I looked up at my computer screen and noticed it was February. A slight wave of panic, (or was it excitement) came over me. @uck next month is March. My desk was going to be far from my mind by then.
I started to think about the fun I was about to have... the people I was going to meet, and of course the music.
I remember coming home from my first mini European tour in 2004 (feels live forever ago now), sitting in my living room the night before going back to work the following morning... a grim sight. And I know this WILL happen again after this tour.
Still I always focus on today, and now. That way I don't miss anything.
Second version of album master is on it's way to me, hopefully I'll get it for the weekend.
I'm pretty confidant it will be the last version. The first was pretty spot on already, except for a couple of minor changes I wanted to make from a mixing point of view.
Having someone who is patient with you during the mastering process is invaluable. .. thankyou Dave !
Artwork has come along nicely... a slight hick up on my original idea for the outlay, it got reduced to 4 panels instead of 6. Maybe I will look at doing a booklet in it's place. I want it to look as slick as possible.
The inside panels are done, and Grant has done a great job of delivering a wonderful outlay.
We are stuck on the back panel... but we are working on a new idea.
So today, I was at work, at my desk, and I looked up at my computer screen and noticed it was February. A slight wave of panic, (or was it excitement) came over me. @uck next month is March. My desk was going to be far from my mind by then.
I started to think about the fun I was about to have... the people I was going to meet, and of course the music.
I remember coming home from my first mini European tour in 2004 (feels live forever ago now), sitting in my living room the night before going back to work the following morning... a grim sight. And I know this WILL happen again after this tour.
Still I always focus on today, and now. That way I don't miss anything.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The Death Of Angels - Album Update.
The past week or so has been about getting the finished album together.
The mastering is just about done, just a few minor adjustments here and there. For the most part, I'm 100% happy with the overall sound, and some tracks just came out perfect. My favorite so far is "The Death Of Angels".. sounds perfect.
The opening track "Living Nightmare" sounds great too, and makes a wonderful entry for the album.
But there's always some tracks which kinda need a little more work with.. differing sonics, be that drums, bass etc.. all need to sound cohesive. So that's a challenge.
That's going to be looked at over the next few days.
The album cover is done, as with 5o% of the rest of it... looks great and references the albums lyrics and overall theme well. With some push we will have it done by the end of the month.
A huge thanks to my mate Grant for his work on the album cover... you deserve a medal for your patience. Thankyou !
Aside from this worked continued on backing tracks too.. my list of tracks to use has expanded to 18 overall... so lots to choose from.
Two months before I leave.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Preperations
A couple of months out from leaving Australia to tour the US with Assemblage 23.
There is much to do between now and then, backing tracks, album artwork, Tshirts, backing video etc etc. Seems like my head is full of ideas and the urge to get it all done as quickly as possible. I panic easily. And as much as I have had alot of time to get it together, it's always my way to be running to the finish line in the time leading up to.
The backing tracks are fun to put together. Ive collected about 16 tracks in total to shuffle around night to night..... keeping things interesting for me....each set will have 9 tracks, so i have a few extra I can put in here and there....Preparing the tracks themselves is alot of work. But I'm enjoying freshening up sounds and having things sound as good as possible. Putting together new intros too is a bit of fun. I'm giving things a "clubbier" flavor, especially intros and outros. I think my recent hand at DJing progressive house has played a big influence on this.
I do like how genres of music influence each other. My marriage of Industrial sounds with house basses and beats has been a fun ride. I started more on the harder house sound then moved down a few notches to find more groove. I do like groove. :-) And I find percussion a great way to make a rhythm section really groove. That whole push/pull feeling can be wonderful in club music.
Today the promotional pics are finished, so ill be sending them out to clubs etc shortly...
A big thanks to my good friend Bert Murphy for the photography. You ROCK !
There is much to do between now and then, backing tracks, album artwork, Tshirts, backing video etc etc. Seems like my head is full of ideas and the urge to get it all done as quickly as possible. I panic easily. And as much as I have had alot of time to get it together, it's always my way to be running to the finish line in the time leading up to.
The backing tracks are fun to put together. Ive collected about 16 tracks in total to shuffle around night to night..... keeping things interesting for me....each set will have 9 tracks, so i have a few extra I can put in here and there....Preparing the tracks themselves is alot of work. But I'm enjoying freshening up sounds and having things sound as good as possible. Putting together new intros too is a bit of fun. I'm giving things a "clubbier" flavor, especially intros and outros. I think my recent hand at DJing progressive house has played a big influence on this.
I do like how genres of music influence each other. My marriage of Industrial sounds with house basses and beats has been a fun ride. I started more on the harder house sound then moved down a few notches to find more groove. I do like groove. :-) And I find percussion a great way to make a rhythm section really groove. That whole push/pull feeling can be wonderful in club music.
Today the promotional pics are finished, so ill be sending them out to clubs etc shortly...
A big thanks to my good friend Bert Murphy for the photography. You ROCK !
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