Out of the Studio . . . more or less

Well, the drumming went as expected, though there were some definite surprises. A few technical issues sprouted up (including crashed-hard-drives and lack of Internet service) and there were of course some drumming issues (I think I may be developing arthritis in my knees and I never did find my tambourine), but all in all the recording session went very well.

In the end, a massive collection of over twenty songs were recorded in the span of five days. Some songs went smooth, some not so smooth, and some induced arguments -- albeit because I was cranky and tired! Yet, I walked away proud and excited, and I'm eager to hop back in to begin the mixing process and to record guitar/bass tracks for Silver Cypher.

As you may know (or rather, you would if you followed my blog), I also play guitar and come up with a few riffs from time to time. Over the past few months, I had kept a Vlog entitled I'm In the Band where I featured a song in the making known as 1 to 3 V.7. It was quite the journey with said song, having undergone several revisions. There was also the slight problem of it being my song as Silver Cypher hadn't the time to learn it; ergo, I hadn't the time to practice it on the drums. With that being said, I was left with but one option . . . my percussive imagination.

For days I listened to variations of 1 to 3 V.7 trying to imagine drum parts. I sat at work with my headphones and just tapped away at my cubicle -- trial and error. Finally, in the studio, I had a vague idea of what I wanted. And this is what I came up with . . . check it out:

In the Studio

So, this past weekend was my first session at Litter Box Studio recording material for Silver Cypher's upcoming fourth album. While there, I had some extra time to kill and decided to record a lil' ditty consisting of some old, old (like teenage old) material. I'm not the guitarist, but I do play, and occasionally I have the opportunity to lay down some riffs for Silver Cypher. Jon Krech, lead singer and founder of Silver Cypher suggested I recorded the riffs not only for the band, but for myself as well. The result was a short little song that I couldn't wait to jam out on the drums. And completely unrehearsed, I gave the song a go and the band was quite happy with the first take. So here it is . . . the first studio take of "Utopia."

Keep in mind, it's un-mixed and doesn't have any vocals yet.

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 . . .

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 - Chad's Arsenal

In preparing for the upcoming studio sessions on drums with Silver Cypher, I decided to clean my guitars and see what sort of action they still possessed.  I will most likely be recording guitar tracks for Silver Cypher's upcoming fourth album much like I did with their third album Existential Realisms.  In doing so (cleaning my guitar collection) a wave of nostalgia hit me and I thought it might be rather interesting to include my guitar collection as a feature for I'm In the Band

Check it out . . .



So . . . what's in your arsenal?

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 - 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!"

  

New Videos . . .

Lately, I've been attempting to make as many videos as possible to showcase the life as a musician.  My attempt is to keep a vlog about the various affaris and trivial ordeals within said life.  There's just so much that goes into musicianship that I figured it would be a great idea (for self-promotion . . .) to share it.

But first, I'd like to share an updated video featuring the song Relax (with yours truly drumming in the studio) off of the upcoming album Existential Realisms from the band Silver Cypher:

Guitar

Silver Cypher (the band I drum for) is getting ready to release their third album Existential Realisms very soon.  I hope to have a sneak-peek created very shorty, but there are a few videos (which can be found here on the page:Noise) floating around the internet.

In the meantime, the band is currently set for another studio session, recording material for the upcoming fourth-album.  That's approaching fairly quickly, and we're still creating new material everyday . . .

Though I am a drummer by trade, I do play guitar and bass from time to time (in fact, I even play a few guitar tracks on Existential Realisms); and occasionally, the guys in the band ask me to write a few riffs now and then.  Today, I took the day off (relaxing from the previous night, as Silver Cypher played a show in Chillicothe, Ohio) and I came up with this lil'-diddy . . .

Astral Conflagration

So here's a little music video for the song "Astral Conflagration" by band Silver Cypher (who I am currently drumming for).  The song is from our upcoming album (as of yet untitlted) and it's still in its pre-mix stages, but I figured it sounded good enough to post . . . by the way, as for the "music video" aspect, it's honestly just some video clips of the band recording but I spent a lot of time (up to six hours) editing the clips, splicing them together, and making it match to the music.  It was honestly a lot of fun, so much fun that I decided to call off work! 

P.S. from the first glance at the video's thumbnail, it appears to be another drum video of me, it's not!  So, enjoy!

"Living the Nightmare" (music)

Here's another video/song . . . Jon's currently driving to New York to lay down the vocals and work on the mastering, so it shouldn't be too long before this all said and done . . . yay!

"Sequence" (music only)

So here it is . . . a rather rough mix of the music and drums with video.  I'm really impressed with the way this album is turning out and can't wait for the end result.  But, in the meantime . . .