Ice Cavern Studios

http://www.doctoroctoroc.com/video-games/8-bit-jesus-full-album-release/

Some of the tracks…a little weird, but some of them are just amazing. Personal favorites are “Icarus! the Angels Sing”, “Kraid, Rest Ye Merry Mother Brain”, and “Carol of the Belmonds.” It’s probably good I found this now as I will file it under Christmas music and not drive my friends nuts listening to this till next year.

Music, Video Games

So I bought the book,1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, and have been reading it for a couple of weeks. So far, it’s really interesting to read, but something was clearly not fully right. I wasn’t listening to the Albums. I was ready about all of these amazing recordings, but I wasn’t fully grasping the brilliance of some of them.

So now, I’m rectifying this. I’ve already downloaded all of the ‘A’ artists that i can get with my Zunepass. While it’s not all of the recordings, it’s a place to start. This is going to be interesting, but a lot of this stuff sounds pretty tight. Plus, if I want to make good music, I need to listen to the best, right?

So here we go.

Music, Zune

So, as I had previously said, I was in need of some gear. And well, there was some gear I just wanted. Well, as of today, I have at least 2 pieces of said gear.

The first bit of gear, a gigging amp, I have picked up today. Thanks to the magic of craigslist, I was able to find a 300w Fender combo amp for 200 bucks. What’s even better, is that I like the sound and, well, it’s loud as a motherf**er. Seriously, I asked Yorke if he could hear me playing with his door closed and headphones on and it was a resounding yes. Sweet.

The other bit of gear I ordered was an M13 from Line6. I’ve been lusting after one, and decided it was my Christmas gift to me. I don’t really need effects. But they are awesome and I really like to play with them. This weekend, I’m going to see about picking up a bas wah from a guy on craigslist for 50 bucks.

While I will admit that it is kind of ghetto to be picking up all of this gear off of craigslist…I don’t really care. It’s cheap, sounds/plays incredibly well, and it’s getting me going. But yes, I think I’m a decent practice amp away from being done for a while.

Music

So after over a year of being completely in check, my Gear Acquisition Syndrome (henceforth referred o as GAS) has flared up in a large way. For those who aren’t musicians, GAS is an affliction that strikes musicians with a sudden need to acquire more and more musical gear. In the past, I’ve only had low grade symptoms; usually I want something, but don’t really actively seek it out to hard. My last bought was nothing serious, I merely wanted a fretless Bass, and I happened to find a good one that I’ve been pleased with. But I just happened to find one while going through Bass Northwest, so it was kind of a “sweet bass, I’ll get it” kind of thing.

Now, however, I have full on GAS.

And what’s worse, it’s all kind of justifiable. Well, kind of. I think it’s best to just list what I’m looking for and why I want it:

• Effects (in particular this) – So I used to have a pretty good Boss ME-30, but that was stolen back in college my senior year, and I never replaced it. Now, it should be known that effects aren’t required for playing, but for certain styles, the sound of a clean bass just isn’t…right. So I’m looking to get some effects and, after thinking about it, I realized I’d rather have a multi-effects board than try to find all of the exact individual pedals that would make me happy. Thus how I landed on the M13, which is the closest to what I want, which is essentially just a virtual pedal board that doesn’t try to do any amp modeling or stuff like that. It’s just effects, and I can easily switch between them, tweak them, and I can put them in any order. The only thing it lacks is a true auto-wah but that’s cool, I don’t mind buying specialized ones.
• Practice Amp – So the practice amp I own is a really little, rather lame, 15w bass combo practice amp. In a word, it’s shitty. That’s the best way to describe it, and I only have it because it came with the first bass I ever bought. (100 bucks from my friend Jenn for a shitty bass and the amp) For the most part, it’s been ok, but I just got a new Variax Bass off of craigslist, and after thumping through that for a little bit, I’m hearing how my amp is beginning to kick the bucket a bit. So I’m looking to pick up a decent practice amp. Right now, I’m thinking something from the LowDown line by Line 6. I’ve played through the 300 and really liked the sound.
• Gigging Amp – The last thing i’m in need of is a real gigging amp. I recently started jamming with a band, and I realized that I need an amp that will allow me to be heard when I’m playing live with a drummer, guitarist, keyboardist and singer. While a combo amp will be fine for practicing, for gigging, I’m looking for a two piece setup. It’s not going to be cheap, but it will be worth it to be heard. Not sure what I’m interested in yet, but I figure I’ll spend a lot of time at Sam Ash and Guitar Center when I’m back in Cincinnati for the holidays.

As you can see, I’ve got a bunch of stuff I want to purchase. All told, it’s probably gonna be close to two grand in gear; which is a bit of cash. But at the same time, it’s looking like I will be in need. Thankfully, I can at least get the line 6 stuff at discount. Plus, there’s Ebay and Craigslist, which may also provide me with some good deals.

Music

As much as Gin doesn’t want me to type and wants me to pay attention to him, I’m going to try to get a blog post written before I pass out.

Spent most of the evening, when I wasn’t at work, in front of my piano. I wish I had spent more time practicing when I was a kid. Then again, having it forced on me kind of made me not want to do it. Regardless, it makes me sad that, while I can manage a few tunes on the piano, I can’t really sit down and play the thing. I think I’m going to get a basic piano book and start working out of it. There’s a lot of basic stuff I never picked up and kind of would like to know.

I’ve kind of gotten into the whole Piano kick recently. Not sure what it is, but I just felt compelled. Maybe it has to do with me listening to a lot of Ben Folds and Billy Joel recently. But I kind of feel that’s more a reaction to my desire to play my piano. Regardless, maybe I’ll actually take the time to play the thing.

I’ve also had a serious jonesing to play drums. It’s odd, though, because I’m not feeling as strong a desire to play marching stuff as I am to play kit. Thankfully, a friend of mine said he’d let me use his electronic kit while he remodels his house. I’m definitely going to take him up on that, because I also would like to be able to say I can play drums, just not kit. It doesn’t help that someone left a pair of drumsticks in my cube and I’ve been drumming on my legs.

I’m not sure if it’s a sign of maturity, or just I’m getting tired of the same old, same old, but for some reason, the thought of not going out but just hanging at the house playing seems really really appealing. I think part of it is that I like being able to practice almost whenever I want since we’re in a house. Maybe it has to do with me just getting older and growing tired of the same old, same old 20-something Seattlite crap. Actually, I think that has a lot to do with it. *Shrugs* Either way, I see myself spending at least a few weekend nights at the house playing music. Yup, I definitely see that happening.

Life and Times, Music