Friday night, Hung Dynasty hit the studio again. Once again, we were at the Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences in Gilbert, Ariz. This time, Mike Gray was the man at the controls. He did a really nice job of getting some sweet sounds out of our rigs.
As for what we recorded - well, we’ve had a power ballad kicking around for awhile, so we did that. We also did a cover. Can’t tell you which one yet. We really want to get some licensing for this one and get it on the air, actually. Should be fun!
Alright, you guys know how I am by now. I love my metal, but I just can’t stand cookie monster vocals. While I don’t like LISTENING to them, I take great pleasure in laughing on them (as Borat would say). Obviously, so does the creator of the Death Metal Rooster video. Watch. Enjoy. Laugh. Share. Repeat!
My Carvin Bolt Plus is a go-to guitar. I love playing it.
I currently have four guitars. And it boggles my mind that this is honestly, genuinely not enough to meet my needs. That’s ludicrous. Here’s why they’re just not enough:
Hung Dynasty/Betamaxx - My primary band and its soon-to-be-sprung-on-the-world offshoot tunes to Eb. Playing live without a backup is the acme of foolishness, especially for a hard-hitting, Floyd Rose-using brute like me. So I’ve got my wonderful Carvin Bolt Plus and pretty solid Charvel 375 DLX (known as Liberace because … well, just look at it!) pulling duty for these projects. The Carvin is Number One - the action is beautiful, and the swamp ash body and HAS Sound bridge pickup just destroy all my other guitars from a tone perspective. It’s not even close.
Luminatus - Though our first gig only had four tunes, I expect that to expand. That means my battered Charvel Model 4 (known as Big Red), which is tuned to D, is going to need help. I’ve gotta be honest: I’m cheap, or I would simply have Carvin build me another Floyd-equipped Bolt Plus. At about $1,000, they’re a killer value for a high-quality USA-made guitar. But I’m cheap, so I’m likely to lurk for an old Charvel or Kramer. Some of the Kramers have real Floyd Rose bridges, not the
Big Red (seen here in an early Hung gig) is making a comeback in Luminatus.
knock-off “licensed” models. That makes a huge difference, and don’t let any sales drone tell you any different. I would also commit some serious transgressions to get a hold a Michael Wilton-signature LTD, or a 90s-vintage ESP Horizon or Mirage. Yum.
General Use - A koa-topped Ovation acoustic/electric. This is handy for figuring out tunes from bands that are tuned to A440, which is pretty much most of them. It’s also very handy for just getting a different vibe from practice and songwriting. To be honest, practice on the acoustic negatively affects my electric playing: The higher string tension forces me to fret chords and notes harder - that same amount of pressure can actually make chords (especially inverted triads) sound out-of-tune on the electric. I have to be mindful to reduce my fretting pressure.
The truly funny thing? I hate buying guitars. It’s because I always have sneaking suspicion I could’ve gotten something better for less. But that’s just because I’m a jerk. Oh, well.
Liberace is likely to see far more action when Betamaxx is rolling. I'll need its trashy 80s glam flash.
Hung Dynasty had a good practice last night. We got through some stuff that we’ve neglected, plus worked on some new material.
Of course, the best moments are often between songs - you know, the fun brand of Hung Dynasty banter. Todd mentioned he was thinking of “biting the bullet and going to see Avatar.”
“Pack a lunch,” I told him. “It’s a long movie.”
“Lunch?” he said, incredulously. “I’m gonna bring a catheter and a leg bag!”
I’ve just been thinking a lot about what playing the guitar does for me. Oddly enough, it was firing up the TV that did this. A friend at work is upgrading his DVD collection to Blu-Ray. He gets pennies on the dollars for selling or trading, so he often gives DVDs to his buddies. I wound up with Superbad.
It took me two days to watch it. By my calculation, that was also the first time I turned our TV on in nearly three weeks.
That’s an average of about six-and-a-half minutes of TV per day. According to a story in the LA Times, Americans watch an average of nearly 5 hours a day on TV.
With that in mind, let me offer a modest proposal: For every 10 hours you spend watching TV, go see one live local concert. Having spent the last five years in a band, I can tell you that everyone loves to say they like local music. If a quarter of the people who say that actually went to see some shows, the venues would be packed.
And seriously, seeing just about any live band is more enriching than sitting in front of a TV.
By my best guess, I spend about 12 hours a week on my guitar. That includes composing, practicing, maintenance and the like. That’s about what I spend on exercise, generally. And that’s probably why I log 45 minutes of TV a week.
I’ve gotta say, I think my life is way better for it. I’d bet others would say the same if they gave it a try.
If you hate loud music, fine. Don’t see a show. Paint something. Read something. Dust off your camera. Get some knitting needles. But just tap into your creative side. There might be a true passion waiting for you to find it.
I’ve been promising you guys a review of my Fryette Deliverance 60 for months. Sorry for the delay, but that’s just made my review that much better. I have tons of gigs on the Deliverance. The newness and excitement have worn off. I’m settled with it. I know how to work it.
Holly and me at the first-eve Luminatus gig. Photo by Teri!
So I got through my first gig with Luminatus unscathed - mentally and physically. We played some Nightwish covers, along with one from The Gathering. I had a few spots where I just got caught in the groove and wound up being a touch slow in the chord changes. Everyone stayed together, even when there were the inevitable little rough spots.
Plow through - that’s always the main thing. Keep the train on the tracks and just get through the rough patch. When it doubt, lock onto the drummer. That’s really who’s in charge of every rock band.
It was actually the first-ever live show for Nicolas, the bassist. There’s nothing quite like that. I think that deserves a post of its own.
But I’m lazy from Hung Dynasty practice, and from putting together the outlines for a lesson in soloing using the pentatonic scale. More on what it’s like to play your first gig later!
So, Hung Dynasty is still going strong. But I met some great people, and we decided to take on a side project. The singer, Holly, shares my enthusiasm for female-fronted, symphonic Euro-metal. She’s also in another band. The drummer, Robert, plays for Psychedelic Mooj. Bassist Nicolas is in a band called Midlife Crisis.
Anyway, this project is called Luminatus. It’s a cover band honoring bands like Nightwish and The Gathering - you know, those that don’t get much attention here in the States. Anyway, here’s a video clip of a rehearsal.
We’re playing our first gig together at UB’s in Mesa Jan. 2 at 7:30. That’s at Dobson and Broadway. Should be a really good time!
I was just having a think about some great movies about rock music. I mean stuff that’s fun to watch repeatedly. I came up with a few and thought some of you should see them, if you have’t already.
They are, in no particular order:
Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey - This is my favorite metal movie ever. Even though it’s mostly about black metal, it’s a fascinating genre study. And some of the self-importance and posturing is hysterical. It’s also pretty odd to see Ronnie James Dio (NOT a black metal musician) with a collection of ceramic frogs.
Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years - This is a must. These 80s bands … were they confident or just merely delusional? And what makes someone wear leather pants with the buttocks cut out? And is there anything stranger than seeing Ozzy Osbourne carry on an intelligible conversation while cooking scrambled eggs?
This is Spinal Tap - I could write volumes about this story of a 70s megaband in its death throes (or would that be more metal as “deth throws” with an umlaut or two?). It makes people laugh at the ludicrous situations. It makes musicians cry because it’s too true to life. It also has an all-star cast. It only gets better with repeat viewing.
Anvil! The Movie - This is a thoroughly entertaining and even moving story about two guys and a rotating cast of band members. They had their moment in the early 80s, and watched their peers go on to bigger and better. And they want to get to those plateaus, too. And being in their 50s isn’t gonna stop them. I’ve heard rumors this was edited out-of-sequence for dramatic effect. That tarnishes it, if true, but it’s still fun.
Am I missing any good ones? Rock Star does so NOT count!
A photo of Iceland's Dimmuborgir by Mike Schiraldi.
My wife and I are researching a trip to Iceland. I’ve been pouring over Web sites and books, and I ran across this fun tidbit …
There’s an area of spectacular lava flows there. The Iceland name for it translates into “Dark Castle.” That phrase, my friends, is dimmuborgir, from which the black metal band Dimmu Borgir takes its name.
That moves them a notch up in my esteem for creative band names. But I still can’t stand their vocals. Nuh, uh.
Speaking of black metal, if you haven’t seen the Ruthless Review Top 10 Most Ridiculous Black Metal Pics, do yourself a favor. Click the link. Have someone with you to either share the laughs or revive you after you faint from laughing too hard.
