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Posts Tagged ‘Hung Dynasty’

Eight Months with an ESP Mirage

Sunday, December 19th, 2010
ESP Mirage Hung Dynasty Justin IceHouse Tavern Phoenix

Sigmund the Sea Monster rockin' a local venue. (Photo by Black Susan of Dorks in Space)

You see how I am? I neglect this blog for months, then I give you two posts in one day. I’ll try to find a happy medium.

Anyway, I got myself a fourth guitar. Liberace will shift over to Luminatus duty, and the new guitar will be a co-main guitar for Hung Dynasty.

The new guitar, by the way, is an absolutely awesome mid-90s ESP Mirage with a green swamp-ash body, a Duncan JB bridge pickup and an Original Floyd Rose. It deviates from my preference slightly by having a 12-inch fretboard radius rather than my usual 14-inch radius.

It produces a lot more bass frequencies than my beloved Carvin, but Todd and I still sound quite different from each other. I occasionally move to volume knob with my picking hand, unlike with the Carvin. And I’ll still have tense moments on big changes of real estate on the fretboard because of the very dark fretboard inlays.

But it’s very playable. Terrific neck and fretboard. And the pinch harmonics absolutely scream. Wonderful guitar! It gives the Carvin a very good run for its money. And the ESP is, to me, a beautiful instrument. Very metal, but still pretty classy. We call it Sigmund the Sea Monster, by the way.

The guitar is also a freakin’ tank. One local venue has guitar holders built into the wall of the stage. I had Sigmund hanging on the wall, and something went wrong with the guitar holder. Sigmund fell straight onto the top of my Fryette Deliverance head and then fretboard first on the stage floor. I was pretty panicked over this – but I picked it up, strummed a few notes and discovered that it wasn’t even out of tune and didn’t have a mark on it. The head was fine, too. Talk about passing a torture test!

What Do You Want from a Cover Band?

Sunday, December 19th, 2010

A conversation with Nick, a longtime Hung Dynasty friend, got me thinking: What’s the best strategy for a cover band that wants to get the crowd really into the music?

Some bands will sound pretty much like you’re scanning the FM radio dial. You’ll hear whatever tunes fit their interest that get frequent regular airplay.

Me? I like it a bit different. I’ve got a good example: There’s this local Joan Jett tribute band called Bad Reputation. They did all the usual stuff, but also whipped out “Light of Day.” I’d completely forgotten about that song, and it was really cool to hear it again. I could see the movie poster with Joan and Michael J. Fox (looking quite uncomfortable as a male rocker skank) clearly in my mind.

Then Bad Reputation really surprised me: They played a Rage Against the Machine tune! And did a nice job of it.

That’s the way I like cover bands to operate: Dig up something I’ve forgotten. Surprise me with your spin on a well-known tune. And maybe even play something totally outside your genre.

Hung Dynasty isn’t a cover band. We love making original music in the vein of the bands we listened to growing up. But we also like to cover a few things here and there. We try to surprise, like our heavy metal mashup of “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers and Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” Or playing “Down Under” by Men at Work likes it’s a Dio tune. Or digging really deep in the Iron Maiden catalog for “Wrathchild.”

So what about the rest of you? What do you like best from a cover or tribute band?

First Gig with Another New Band

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

Well, we’re just hours from our 10 p.m. debut of Betamaxx, our mashup of 80s pop and modern metal. Donna Jean’s Libations, 67th Avenue and Bell Road on Glendale! $3

Hung Dynasty follows.

Now, THAT’S an Endorsement!

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

The Hammerfall show at U.B.’s was a blast, and the gift of Hammerfall keeps on giving: My bandmate, Todd, looked up the band’s Engl amps. He wound up perusing the list of high-profile bands using Engl amps, and he found an absolutely delightful gem of a testimonial from a member of the black metal band Immortal, which he gleefully forwarded to me:

“Engl Powerball miraculously fits my outrage, and shakes my great balls of frost!” – ABBATH / IMMORTAL

That has to be the greatest user testimonial I’ve ever seen, bar none. Still, I’m not sure if Abbath meant that the Powerball shakes the frost from his balls, or if his goolies are actually composed of frost.

I’ll bet Todd guffawed like a madman when he saw that. And I think “My Great Balls of Frost” will be my new catchphrase.

To be friends at Fryette Amplification: I will try very hard to come up with a testimonial for my Deliverance 60 that trumps Abbath’s praise for the Powerball.

Oh, and Abbath? Maybe you should put some shorts on if you want to keep praising Nordic deities today …

I honestly don’t have enough guitars

Thursday, January 21st, 2010
My Carvin Bolt Plus is a go-to guitar. I love playing it.

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.

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.

Liberace is likely to see far more action when Betamaxx is rolling. I'll need its trashy 80s glam flash.

Getting Prepared for Avatar

Saturday, January 16th, 2010

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!”

My Review of the Fryette Deliverance 60

Friday, January 8th, 2010
Close-up of the Deliverance 60 head.

Close-up of the Deliverance 60 head.

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.

And the bottom line? Well, it’s an awesome freakin’ head that will provide you with some serious tone! Here’s my full review at AssociatedContent.com!

New Project for the Minor League Rocker!

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

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!

Tribute to the Gods Recap

Monday, December 14th, 2009

We had kind of an unusual show Friday night – it was a night of all cover tunes as part of the Tribute to the Gods II show. Well, we snuck two originals into the mix.

It was also our first time playing that venue (Goathead Saloon in Mesa). It was a really good sound system, which is always a plus. Pretty nicely kept up, and a very friendly staff. We really liked playing there – Lara, the promoter, also did a nice job. Good bands, good venue and the trains ran on time. That’s always good!

As for the covers … well, we kind of had to rush to get enough covers ready for a full set that would all fit together. That made for some less-than-precise execution on our part. Sometimes, that’s kind of unavoidable when you’re low on rehearsal time and you need to fill space. On the other hand, we barged our way through the early hiccups and finished very solid. And I think we were pretty entertaining. One thing Hung Dynasty has in spades is a very solid chemistry and a shared enjoyment for the music we play. I am convinced that shows onstage.

And here’s a special salute to the guys from AZ/DZ, Arizona’s AC/DC tribute band: They were all sorts of fun. See ‘em when you get a chance!

We’re Paying Tribute to the Gods!

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

Next weekend, Hung Dynasty is going to be up to something unusual – we’re pitching in to hail the hairy heros we grew up with at the Tribute to the Gods II show. We’ve put together a full set of covers from our musical influences – Judas Prist, Metallica, Black Sabbath and the like.

I’m really looking forward to hearing the other bands, too – especially Anthem,the Rush tribute band. I’m pretty certain they have a practice space in our building, because I often hear a really solid bunch of Rush covers in the hallways. AZ/DZ, the AC/DC tribute, should also be a lot of fun. It’ll also be cool to hear what Axe Attack sounds like.

We’ve never done an all-cover set before, so this will be pretty unusual for us. But fun. I will miss our usual tunes, though. We wrote that stuff for a reason – ’cause we love it!

Anyway, the show’s at Goathead Saloon, 1423 S. Country Club in Mesa, on Dec. 11. $10! We’re on third. The doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10!

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