Different Strokes For Different Folks! (not done yet)

I have learned a lot about my topic in the past few posts. A lot of what I have learned is stuff that I can use in life. I blogged about a lot of band and live preformance stuff over that past few months and it really made me reflect on  how I play live.Now that my band plays a lot more shows I make sure I put on a good show when I play. I want to be remembered as that band with the crazy guitar player! Iv learned to apperciate music a little more alore. It got my intrest in playing new types of music and what to watch new bands live because I think every band deserves a chance to be heard. This also made me realize that I need to practice playing guitar more because when I play live I tend to mess up so now I play and jam in my room so I can play better but still go crazy!

New attack attack!

Attack Attack is one of those bands you just can’t take seriously. Everything this band does is just laughable and easily able to be tossed away. Said to be “stepping up to new grounds”, Attack Attack sports a new screaming vocalist, as well as a brand new sound. The bands first album, “Someday Came Suddenly” (with vocalist Austin Carlile) was fun to listen to. Besides that, the entire album felt repetitive and most of all, just laughable. Many fans of the band claimed their synth driven sound to be “new and exciting”, but reaching new heights was still very far away for the band. After losing Carlile and getting Nick Barham, the band finally thought they had it together. Playing last year’s Warped Tour and non-stop touring, Attack Attack always managed to bring out tons of fans to their shows. Soon though, Nick was kicked out of the band and replaced by the synth player, Caleb Shomo.

After Caleb jumped forward to lead screaming vocals, the band announced a new record and a new sound that the band has heading for. The albums opening track ‘Sexual Man Chocolate’ was the first track off of the new self-titled album released on myspace. Right away, you can hear the drastic change the band made in-between albums. Instead of the fun and catchy sound the band went for with their first album, the band decided instead to rip off the hardcore genre and darken their sound a little bit. I have to give it up to Caleb for both his vocal and synth talent on this album. Though Austin Carlile is a great vocalist, Caleb sticks with deeper screams and delivers a little more of a tougher sound. His synth is great though, it’s not overdone in most songs and it actually does a really good job improving some of the songs.

Hardcore music vs. punk/ska

In time people have always looked down on hardcore music and said it was just a bunch of screaming and yelling but there’s much more to it than that. People always say hardcore music is just low tunings and breakdowns and open chugs but its not. Its a lot more harder than that, theres sweeps, scales, 6/8 breakdowns. Its a lot different than punk or ska music. Punk and ska music is based around 3 to 4 power cords, and up strokes. There is no ska or punk musician that can even come close to comparing to any musician in the hardcore music genre. I have been playing guitar for 7 years and Iv went from playing classic rock, southern rock, blues, metal, indie-pop, punk, ska  and hardcore and nothing I have ever played has given me as much of a struggle hardcore music has. Its like a jedi moving to the darkside and finding out much more powerful the sith is then the jedi. Hardcore music is very underestamted so I say give it a chance and listen to it instead of just bashing it off the back.

How to get that "hardcore" sound

When trying to get a really heavy guitar sound there are a few things you need to consider. the first is what kind of guitar are you using? Some of the biggest name guitar companies with metal is Schecter, ESP, Ibanez, BC Rich, and Gibsons. I would suggest playing a few to match your styles because theres diffenrent strokes for different folks! You also need to think of what tunning and gauge stings your using. If your going to be playing in drop D you will want to use .11 gauge stings, I prefer using D'adidario strings because you can pull off good pinch harmonics. If you are going for drop B, Bb, or A you will want a thicker gauge such as .13. Another thing to think about would be the amp you are using. If you are using a fender 15 watt amp chances are that your not going to be jammin very hard. You are going to want something more beefy like a Orange or a Mesa Boogie. Check your settings, you dont want your mids all the way up. Also make sure your neck has a good adjustment on it, if the neck has a bad trus rod adjustment then your going to be hearing alot of buzzing from your strings.

Warped tour!!

Warped Tour 2011 is right around the corner and I could never be as excited as I am! Alot of my favorite bands are going to be there this year and Im stoked to see them play. Iv seen alot of the bands already but they put on such a good show it makes me want to see them again. The Warped Tour was created in 1994 by Kevin Lynman, who got the idea while working on skateboarding shows such as the Vision Skate Escape and Holiday Havoc which included music with skateboarding contests. The Warped name comes from the short-lived Warped Magazine, published by Transworld, which covered surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and music.
As well as music, this tour brings many attractions, including a half pipe for skaters and bikers. The tour also features many booths creating a flea market-like atmosphere, having tents for each of the bands to sell merchandise, independent record labels, magazine publishers, non-profit organizations, and sponsors looking to market their products to the tour's audience. Many of the bands will retreat to their tents after their performance in order to meet up with the fans and sign autographs. 2011's Warped tour has bands like Of Mice & Men, A Day To Remember, Miss May I, and many others.

          http://vanswarpedtour.com/

How to set up my show rig.

When it comes to playing a show you need to know how to set up your equipment so I thought I'd teach you how to set up mine. My rig isnt the biggest or hardest setup. My show rig is a ESP LTD M-15, Fender Squire, Line 6 Spider 4 75 W and a Line 6 FBV2 channel pedal and a guitar cable.The first thing you want to do is find a good place to place the amp, once you place it on the ground find a a power outlet and plug it in. When your amp is plugged in and has power it is time to set up the pedal. Plug the pedals cable into the back of the amp and pull the cable out to where you are going to be standing on stage and lay down the pedal there. Now set up the guitar stand and set both guitars up on the stand, once you have done this plug in the green guitar cable and then put the ESP on and start to tune it. Make sure the ESP is in drop B tuning and the fender is in drop C. Later on during the show I tune the ESP down to drop A. When the guitars are properly tuned make sure you check the strap locks on the ESP so that it wont come off when your playing. Now that everything is good to go its time to check the sound and settings and effects. My amp has 4 channels that I can switch from. The first setting is a clean channel, second is my distortion, third is my dry distortion, and fourth is my flange effect. Check through all these, play a little bit if you have to. Once all those are good then the rig is ready to go and you are ready to tear down the house.

New music / concerts!

Orange Amps has just released a new Rockerverb amp and it has the best sound I've ever heard from an amp. Orange is my favorite brand of amps and one day I hope to get endorsed by them. I like Orange because there one of the most respected amp company's in the game right now, there tone is so thick and I love it! On another note, one of my favorite bands Emmure has a new album coming out called "Speaker Of The Dead" and I dont think I have ever been this excited to hear a new album. Emmure is a brutal hardcore band from New York and they never seem to let me down. This new album, so far sounds to be the best I've heard from them, they have released 3 songs from it and there amazing! Another one of my favorite bands The Devil Wears Prada is due to release a new album later this year and it is to be said the most heaviest thing yet from them. This album does not have a title or any leaked songs but Im really looking forward to it!

The biggest thing Im looking forward to in 2011 is Warped Tour, a lot of good bands are going to be playing this year and Im beyond stoked. Warped Tour is one of the hottest concerts I have ever been to, its an all day music festival and its about 100 degrees out. Im really looking forward to see how this year turns out for the music world. 2011 is going to be an AWSOME year!