New Song Up From Silver Cypher

1984

Status/Update

Whew . . . it's been a few.

In just three weeks I'm headed to the studio to begin recording the most insane musical project I've ever been involved with. The as-of-yet Untitled Project (album) from the band Silver Cypher will be the band's 4th release, and it's going to be quite a beast! In all, there's some 25+ songs with playing-time ranging anywhere from 2 to 20 minutes per song; and its been hectic these past couple of months rehearsing this gargantuan conglomeration of musical visions. How can three people (Jon Krech, Mike Lawson, and myself) have so much to say musically . . . especially after all these years? And believe me, this is the big one!

Okay, enough of that sappy-self-promotion.

Over 25 songs, each with dynamic contrasts and a multitude of time and key signatures, have taken quite a toll on me committing them to memory (muscle memory). I'm exhausted, so I've been relaxing a little lately. But in all honesty, my time-off from work and practice has been self-motivated. I need to just kick-back and relax, not bombard myself with constant practice leading to sheer exhaustion. But, I'm confident with my preparations. I cannot stress how impressive it is that in just three months Silver Cypher has constructed a colossal collection of songs that's sure to reach a few ears.

Yet, despite relaxing, I'm not relaxed. There's still a lot of work to do, and as I'm adding finishing-touches, I'm already planning my next project (or rather, planning on revisiting previous projects). And though I will be finished with the drums for Silver Cypher at the end of October, I'm not finished with the album itself. There's still guitar and bass work that has to be done, which I will also be adding. As such, I took Friday to work on a click-track to establish the tempo for the song 1 to 3 v.7. It hasn't been easy rehearsing this song on drums and looks like my only practices will be with the click-track itself before I head into the studio. So, much work, but I'm confident all will go smoothly. I've already coonstructed the main drum-lines and what few practices Silver Cypher managed with the song, all will fit nicely.

And so here it is, another segment of I'm In the Band. Check it out . . .

Work Sucks

So, I called off . . . for the fourth time in two weeks. Aye-ye-ye . . . what am I thinking?

I'm thinking: my job isn't satisfying. I'm thinking: I could better spend eight-and-one-half hours pursuing more creative endeavors. I'm thinking: I need a break before I head into the studio with Silver Cypher. I'm thinking: TrollHunter is the coolest movie I've ever seen and I refuse to leave home before watching it at least once more . . . I fear I may never see it again!

That's right! TrollHunter!



The coolest movie ever, no joke! For those of you who need your fix from Netflix, don't even bother adding TrollHunter to your instant queue, just watch it! Watch it now! It's aces!

Now, it's a Norewegian film (say wha? . . .) so it;s subtitled and there is some Christian-stereotyping (say wha? . . .), but if you have any basic concept about Norway (and I'm speaking to all you black-metal posers . . . say wha? . . .), then you'll really love this movie! It adds such a unique twist to classic fables featuring trolls; it's creative, original and imaginative, not too mention fun, while at the same time very professional.

Rarely do films hit everything on the mark in terms of self-perception -- a screenwriter's or director's ability to realize "Hey, this is a movie." TrollHunter hits that mark. There's a genuine story, constructed from various elements of fairy-tales, told through POV perspectives in the vain of a horror-documentary (think, Blair Witch) while simultaneously admitting to being a movie: using special effects, interesting camera-work and camera-shots, great dialogue, evenly-paced action with quite possibly the most epic battle in fantasy! And the scenery: oh, so beautiful; and horrifying. Overall, TrollHunter tells a story, very smoothly. So flawless is this film that it will leave you sitting, thinking "This is the coolest movie I've ever seen! I must tell everyone! They must see TrollHunter for its . . . TROLL!"

I couldn't recommend any other movie more . . .

I'm In the Band - 1 to 3 (latest version)

I'm preparing for my studio sessions with Silver Cypher and there's a lot of work that still needs to be done (on my behalf). In just four weeks I begin recording drum tracks for Silver Cypher's upcoming fourth album, but some of the songs which will be featured on the album have been written by yours truly. As such, I need to make sure those songs are finalized (in terms of structure) before I can begin recording scratch-tracks and click-tracks. Yet, one song in particular 1 to 3 has been rather difficult, and I'm still struggling with the structure. Jon Krech, lead singer, rhythm guitarist and founder of Silver Cypher has been helping me with the song and as such, this is the latest version I've come up with.

Check it out . . .