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 . . .

I'm In the Band - Flamenco?

I attended band practice Saturday afternoon with Silver Cypher, and after an exhaustive session learning Jon Krech's monumental masterpiece -- a fast, thrashy/black-metal-esque song clocking in at around twenty-five minutes -- I decided to give my limbs a rest and began messing around on the bass -- Mike Lawson (the bassist) was unable to attend, but his bass was at least present. Whenever Mike doesn't make it to band practice, I always relish with much delight playing his bass. Ah, who am I kidding, I play his bass even when he is there. It's so choice . . .

Anyway, doing what I do best on the bass, Jon Krech offered up the idea of utilizing my bass lines to write a song for Silver Cypher's upcoming fourth album. I don't know if any such song will truly happen; nevertheless, I was merely happy playing Mike's sweet bass!

I'm In the Band - Messing Around On Bass Guitar

I love the bass guitar . . . I really do; although, it's not an instrument I usually pick-up.
I first learned the bass (for what it truly is) when I was in high school, performing for the jazz ensemble.  Yet, for the most part, the bass was merely a passing interest of mine when it came to "rock bands" and what not.  It was based on my assumption, that on average the bass is merely an accompaniment instrument, adding a sense of rhythm alongside with the drums.  Perhaps, that's why my fascination with it didn't flourish until my focus on drums became more rigid in my mid-twenties. 

Indeed, only within the past few years has my skill on the bass really begun to take shape.  I discovered that the bass was definitely one of the more interesting instruments associated with rock-esque music . . . or rather, has the potential to be.  Most bassists I encounter don't go beyond the typical root-note basics, and that's a shame.  There's just so much this instrument is capable of.  And if I wasn't so focused on drumming, I would definitely invest a lot more time and energy (and money) into the bass.

Check it out . . . 

I'm In the Band - Drum Maintenance

Here's a little video I made pertaining to maintaining my drums.

I'm In the Band - Chad Guitar #3

Yesterday, I was messing around with my song/riff after having showed it to the other members of Silver Cypher. I was rather pleased that they liked it, but it's still in its early stages of creation, and therefore incomplete (especially in my eyes).

Writing a song on guitar can be quite challenging. Most people aren't really aware (assuming, of course, most people don't play guitar . . . or music in general) of just how much thought and re-thought goes into writing a song. It's not as if number-one-hits result from the very first try; rather, most musicians are like writers, in that they undergo drafting/editing stages with their work. Sometimes, you get lucky, and things just sound so perfect together that there's really no need to fine-tune any of it; other times, however, you'll give yourself a massive headache just trying to figure which note actually sounds better - C or C-sharp. And sometimes, such intense focus on musical details lead to nothing more than a messy conglomeration. I think a number of the riffs I write are rather good (some exceptionally so), but the task of structuring certain riffs together, and in the process creating new riffs when-and-where need be, has definitely proved to be a struggle.

Jon Krech, guitarist, bassist and singer for Silver Cypher, is definitely a master at structuring riffs and writing songs. He does it so effortlessly that it's truly a thing of envy. Nevertheless, I do have my moments in musical creation and am more than eager (as well as excited) to share them.

For the past week, I've been creating a song with the combination of a few riffs I've had in my musical catalogue for years as well as a few new riffs I've been exploring. I'm pleased with the result thus far . . . and I hope Silver Cypher is too.

Without further adieu, here is my latest creation:

I'm In the Band - Introduction (plus the musical creation)

So, here it is . . . the first, of what will soon be many, videos featuring yours truly living the life as a musican.  I'm aiming to cover every aspect (both great and mundane) of musicianship.  There's so much involved in the world of music (and how we as musicians navigate through it) that I figured documenting it would be a great way to share with you the ins-and-outs of being in a band.  (Plus, this is an awesome chance for shameless self-promotion, right?!)  So, let's jump start it with a little feature concerning the musical creation, shall we?

As some of you may know, I'm currently the drummer for the band Silver Cypher and our upcoming album Existential Realisms will be out very soon; in the meantime, however, we're getting ready to head back into the studio September/October to begin recording material for the upcoming fourth album (as yet, untitled) and though that's relatively soon, we're still on that journey through musical exploration.  As such, the fact that I also play guitar and bass (though my true focus is on percussion [that's drumming, in layman's terms]) is a great addition for the band's musical exploration.  With our last album, Existential Realisms, I actually wrote a few songs/riffs for the guitar as well as played a number of guitar-tracks on the album.  In fact, the song titled The Greater Evil features me on drums, guitar and bass!  So, with an upcoming fourth album on the horizon, I've been tossing out a number of ideas. Recently I've been sharing a new idea with them, which they seem to like.

So, without rambling any further, I'd like to showcase the process I go through with musical creation.  This is a song, as of yet untitled, which will be making an appearance on the upcoming fourth album.  All I have to say is "Yay!"