This is my outlet, an opportunity for me to just rant and rave about things that interest me or things that upset me. Everything that is life, my daily grind, food, music, movies, stuff, food, ideas, etc...
Life is full of changes. Since my last blog, there have been many, many changes in my life. So 2 days after my last blog (09/07/2013) I got hired at a company that is an "Authorized AT&T Re-seller" that has over 45 stores spread across 7 states. I work in the corporate office here in Boise. It is very laid back, and I have enough screen space that it sometimes feels like Tank (from the MATRIX). It is a full time gig so it's nice to have a steady income again. I'm still licensed to sell insurance so if you need a quote, by all means, give me a call!
17 strings, lots of fun
Musically, I have actually been very, very busy. It is true that I am no longer a part of "the ROXTAR Project", and I'm totally OK with that because I got something better and closer to 'home'. So the worship team at my church has been going through some transitions, so being available, I have pretty much played something different from one Sunday to the next depending on what's needed. In this I have started playing bass and realized, I like it! (Through trading and selling I managed to acquire this nice 5 String Ibanez (pictured left)
Of course as you know, I'm a drummer. I drum. Drumming is what I do, and it's what I still do. So a friendof mine asked if I wanted to sit in with her to showcase her album at a small local venue. Any chance to play, I jump at it. We played last month, had a blast, and will be playing again this month!
The big deal is a band that I auditioned for.
So I answered a CraigsList ad for a Christian band that was looking for a drummer. Most of the time these ads are high school kids with a great heart, but not what I'm looking for. Anyways, I go audition, first sign is a good thing sing the vocal/guitar guy is a worship pastor at the church we practice at, and he has a beard that can go head-to-head with Duck Dynasty any day. The second thing was the songs I auditioned with were contemporary worship songs that I played at church that morning, or hear on the radio all the time. It is great to play with like minded Christians that still know how to rock!
I just realized I never posted this, so I'm sorry for the delay, it's only about 8 months late...more to come soon!
An update on "Jack's Roommate"....Jack's Roommate had become deceased. Due to personality conflicts and the fact that awesomeness was too much to bear, the band formerly known as Jack's Roommate has been dispatched. During the grieving process (which lasted about 30 seconds), all former active members of the band formerly known as Jack's Roommate felt a surge of even greater awesomeness and took the name of "The Roxtar Project".
Why would anyone make such a drastic change? Why does anyone do anything? In this case we had our reasons...for one, no member of the band has a roommate by the name of Jack. We feel strongly about being truthful and honest, no sense in false advertising. Roc Treese has had 'ROXTAR' on his license plate for years and they always said that would make a cool band name. After extensive market research and random testing accross several Western States it was determined that the name ROXTAR on it's own resembled to closely a webdesign company, and an Alternative hair band of the same name in Wisconsin.
Then, without any warning, Roc said, how about "The Roxtar Project?"...and a band was born.
We got off to a really good start as a three piece doing mostly classic rock stuff like Cream, CCR, Kravitz, ZZTop. We wanted a 4th member to play keys, and possibly vocals....instead we got a choir teacher from Nampa, who ROCKS! Here's the final line up of 'The Roxtar Project'
Lisa Marie - She comes to us with 30+ years exp. She actually made a full time living fronting a cover band. Rumor has it, she's very popular in Germany. Her 'skills' include vocals, guitar, bass, keys, and drums. in R.T.P. she is our primary bassist and sings lead on most of our songs.
ROC - Our founder and guitarist. He keeps us in check, mostly tempo wise. He brings amazing guitar talent, vocals, and the license place that our band was named after. I don't think he's very popular in Germany, but rumor has it he still takes baths with his little rubber ducky. We still love him!
Cynthia - Not a lot to say about Cynthia at this point as I really haven't gotten to know her yet. I know she loves music, teaches a choir at an Arts school, and plays lots of instruments, including keys, guitar, bass, flute, and a lute. For us, she plays keys primarily, rhythm guitar, bass, and vocals. Seriously, how many people do you know that play a lute? Or know what a lute is for that matter...
Brian - I'm the rookie in the group, and the youngest of the bunch. I'm enthusiastic to say the least. Once I got the band name, I've created accounts in Facebook, Myspace, ReverbNation, and you can follow us on twitter @ProjectRoxtar. I guess I'm gonna be a Social Networking / Marketing guy. Besides that I play the drums and sing. I'll probably play the guitar and bass too, but that's not for today. I know, I'm singing, weird.
So for fair warning to you, this project is my new hobby and I'm sure I'll be writing more. If you want information on booking us for a party, that's what we do best, send an email to theroxtarproject@gmail.com
"...and I believe with all of my heart that it is a contributing factor to our Juvenile delinquency of today. I ah hundred percent believe it. Why I believe that is because I know how it feels when you sing it. I know what it does to you. And I-I know the evil feeling that you feel when you sing it. I know the-the lost position you get into, and the beat... well ah, if you talk to the average teenager of today and you ask them what it is about Rock and Roll music that they like and the first thing they'll say is the beat, the beat, the beat." -- Elvis Presley
The first time I heard this quote was part of an into to an old album/record/tape/CD I used to listen to. I believe the artist was Dime Store Prophets, but I don't remember the song it was attached to. It was 'the beat, the beat, the beat' that caught my attention and ran through my head constantly. It got me thinking a lot about society and what songs say to people. I love a song that has a good beat, a great hook and something that is memorable. (ie, you find yourself humming the melody without even knowing it) At the same time, it's a bit scary when you actually see the words you are trying to sing but fumble through what we can.
A good example of this is when I auditioned for the Retreads last year, we played the song Semi-Charmed by 'Third Eye Blind'. I knew how the song went, but I only knew half the lyrics (if that) from listening to it on the radio. It's a very catchy song, has an upbeat melody and a great hook, what's not to like? Of course the words go by very fast, when you slow them down, or actually read them, it's a very dark song dealing with Meth Addiction.
I won't go into much detail, but here's one line from the song...what do you think it means?
The sky was gold, it was rose I was taking sips of it through my nose And I wish I could get back there, someplace back there Smiling in the pictures you would take Doing crystal meth, will lift you up until you break It won't stop, I won't come down I keep stock with the tick-tock rhythm, I bump for the drop And then I bumped up, I took the hit that I was given Then I bumped again, then I bumped again
Perhaps drug hallucinations from cocaine mixed with Meth, a drug high that eventually crashes, so keep taking more and more resulting in heart palpitations or arrhythmia, but take another 'hit' and keep your high anyways...of course that's just one opinion. It could mean something completely different.
I would advise you to keep your overhead down; avoid a major drug habit; play everyday, and take it in front of other people. They need to hear it, and you need them to hear it.
--James Taylor
I figure the counter to Semi-Charmed Life would have to be James Taylor's "You've Got a Friend". Since James Taylor is classfied as a folk singer, this song lacks the upbeat rhythm and hooks that Semi has. The Lyrics in this song are inspiring, and encouraging, especially considering how cruel or unfair the world can be sometimes. In most cases, no one is ever completely alone. If you are reading this, then I hope you know that I am your friend, and may not come knocking on your door, but will do what I can to help. I know I have a few friends who will do the same.
If the sky above you should turn dark and full of clouds and that old north wind should begin to blow Keep your head together and call my name out loud now and soon I'll be knocking upon your door. You just call out my name and you know where ever I am I'll come running to see you again. Winter, spring, summer or fall all you got to do is call and I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Please don't get me wrong, I would have loved to have Semi-Charmed in my old band's line up, but it just didn't sound right so we dropped it. With my new band, Jack's Roommate, this song isn't even on our radar, but neither is James Taylor. It's the audience that the songs are geared towards. I find it a bit disturbing when I see girls under 10 singing Kate Perry, don't you?
I'ma get your heart racing in my skin-tight jeans
Be your teenage dream tonight
Let me put your hands on my in my skin-tight jeans
Be your teenage dream tonight
***Shudder***
Lyrics and meaning aside, the true heart of any song is the rhythm, which makes me understand why Elvis said what he did. It is the pulse, that makes a song move. That uncontrollable drive that makes you unconsciously tap your toe, or get up and dance. It provides an emotional effect. And rhythm does not just mean drums...
Back in my High School days our drum line entered several Winter Percussion Ensembles and did really good. For me the most memorable section was when we used no instruments and just our hands. Clapping in various ways to create different pitches and rhythms. It definitely turned a few heads....kind of like these guys below
I guess all I'm trying to say is...."I HATE SAUERKRAUT"!
speaking of which...here is a true musical genius...
-Brian
"People are flowers. Music is water. Musicians are the hose."
-- Carlos Santana
As previously mentioned, I am back in the music business, or at least the business of making music. Ok, so not really making music per say, but at least duplicating music that has already been made. I'm doing this with two other local musicians in the Boise area. Together, the three of us are a group called "Jack's Roommate".
When I joined the band and I heard the name, I was a bit puzzled as to the title and tried to figure it out. There are so many Jacks out there. Initially I thought Jack in the Box, maybe someone was his college roommate? (I could go for a couple tacos right now) Jack Frost? Jack Black? Jack Nicholson? Jackie Chan? The Jack that no one knows....from "You don't know Jack"? As it turns out, our guitar player Roc does know Jack. Last December the band had a "Naming Party". Basically, it was a house party, where everyone put a potential band name in a hat, and then the band later went through the list and picked one. Since this part was at Jack's house, and Roc is Jack's roommate, well, I think you can figure out the rest.
Because Jack's Roommate was an existing band, the initial playlist was already in order, so of course I have some catching up to do. The list contains mostly Classic Rock, including artists such as Jimi, Tom, Lenny, Eric, the other Jimmy, Bob, Stevie, Joel, and others. We will be adding more songs, and more artists, as well as some of our own takes on fan favorites. (Everybody loves a re-make)
Unlike the last band I was in, I'm getting in with this group on the ground floor. Lisa has been in this industry so long that she is pretty much the musical director of the group. She likes the fact that we all play different instruments and we will be using that. I'll get our from behind the drums, starting next week, I'll have a mic (scary, I know) btw, only 9 Months and 28 days till The Hobbit.
The pictures I've put up are taken in our rehearsal space is known as "Studio 10". This is Lisa's private studio. Only a handful of people are aware it even exists. I'm blessed to be one of them as it has everything a band needs, lots of space and a fridge.
Be sure to like us on facebook , so you'll get the latest and the greatest news and events...
So it's been about 6 months since I last "ROCKED" as the drummer of Retreads. For various reasons, including tendinitis, that journey came to an end. I started playing at my church about a month ago, and the hands feel good, so I decided to check out Craig's List again to see what was out there.
After a few e-mails back and forth, an audition was arranged. The following songs were requested to be played
So I wasn't familiar with all these songs, but thanks to YouTube, I became familiar enough to duplicate the songs. A few things to note at this point, I haven't done "serious" practicing in a while so I was a bit nervous going in, but I convinced myself to just do the best I could and be myself. Long story short, I'm in the band!
I believe the group will be called "Jack's Roommate", however I'm not %100 sure about that. It is currently a 3 piece cover band, with guitar, bass, drums, and possibly adding keyboards in the future. Our front-man is actually a woman who has played with various bands over the last 25+ years, plays multiple instruments...toured Europe, etc, etc. The kicker is that they (she) have their own studio. Since she is a "professional" musician, meaning she makes her living from playing music, she has her own place. All the gear is setup and ready to go...I won't have to lug my drums around
Since they have only been together about 2 months, I'm getting in close to the ground floor. I'm excited and looking forward to what the future holds. When I know more, you'll now more.
-Brian
(btw, only 10 months, 7 days till "The HOBBIT". (one has to keep track of these things))
So it's the new year..and January is already over. Only 10 months and 12 days left before Part 1 of "The Hobbit" comes out on the big screen. 10 months and 12 days....that's about 317 days, or 27,388,800 seconds...give or take a few hours. What are we supposed to do with ourselves? I suppose we can watch the trailer, over, and over, and over again. If you haven't seen it yet...behold your eyes, and be sure to turn up the bass on your speakers....those Dwarves can carry a tune...
So while we wait for that, I guess I'll go audition for another band. My hands feel good and I've been playing drums at church the past few weeks with no problems, so let's see what happens, shall we? And yes, I'll be writing more...must write more...after all, I have 10 months and 12 days before....we'll you get the idea...
About a year ago I started blogging, and I blogged about my thumb, this year it's my pointer finger. I figure at this rate in 5 years I'll finish with my right hand. Of course on the other hand, you have different fingers. (please tell me someone got this...yes, it's a bad joke.)
So anyways, what happened to my finger this time? Was it building a fence? Perhaps it got shut in a car door? A freak pruning accident? Nay Nay. The blame lays with the Zildjan company. Zildjan is one of the top producers of cymbals, drums sticks, and other percussion equipement. And since your going there, no, I did not drop a cymbal on my finger, but I did use their brand of "Dip Sticks." These are drum sticks that are dipped with a special adhesive that helps you hold on to your sticks. The theory is, you don't have to hold them so tight that your hands get tired as quick. As that might be true, which the music gets really fast and intense, the combination of sweat and the adhesive tend to rip your hands up. I learned this the hard way.
As you know, I'm now a member of The Retreads, a local cover band. As anyone in my position knows, when something like this happens, you suffer from G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). So while shopping for a cowbell/tamborine I thought I should try a new kind of drumstick before getting then in bulk. Musician's friend was more than happy to help me choose some sticks at a low cost, I just didn't realize the effects it would have....
So at our last rehearsal we go through three songs and I'm thinking I like these things, so I ask JD, who is also a drummer, if he ever used these. His reply, "Yeah, they tore my hands all up". I suddenly start to worry. So the next song is a little ditty called "Whip It". Those of you alive in the 80's know this song, and probably don't realize how fast it is...with a 16beat rhythm constantly through the whole song. During those 2 minutes 40 seconds, these sticks decided to form a blister on my pointer finger, then pop the blister, and then remove any skin that decided to not hang around, as well as create a raw feeling on my thumb. No, I won't post a picture.
Needless to say, I won't be using those sticks for any "fast" songs and my search for my stick of choice will continue...as my poor finger heals. No one ever said that Rock & Roll was easy.
So far it's been a busy day. 8 AM this morning we had a Men's Breakfast meeting at "The Egg Factory". It was mostly a chance to hang out with the guys, but also an opportunity to say goodbye to a good friend who's heading off to serve in his families ministry out in the Philippines. The name of their ministry is "Mercy In Action", and they have been providing free birth centers for poor families in the Philippines since 1992. It's a very specific, but very cool ministry. (Here's a very cool story about them, at 37,000 ft)
Anyways, I had the Corned Beef hash Spudsation. It was basically country style potatoes topped with corned beef hash (which has no corn in it), covered in melted Monterey jack cheese, then two eggs over medium. It was very delicious.
So after breakfast, it's off to church for rehearsal. At church we finally got a church drum set. Since I'm playing all the time now, I needed to get my drums home. So after a lot of research, we got a really good deal on this kit. It still needs some tweaking to get it sounding good, but it's not too bad. It'll take a few weeks to get it right. At least I don't have to haul my drums back and forth anymore, though I think I'll probably be bringing my drum throne with me as the seat is really lacking in comfort.
Now that everyone is asleep, I have some time to myself, and I've been spending some free time as a beta tester for this cool (at least I think it is) game called "World of Tanks". It's a relatively mindless game that involves three goals. 1. Don't get shot. 2. Shoot the other tanks 3. Capture the enemy flag. Depending on what kind of tank you have there are different strategies to use, but teamwork is definitely involved. This is not a game you want to go rogue in.
My other free time, usually late at night, is what I call a truly love-hate type of thing. I'm doing a marathon of LOST. If for some reason you haven't seen lost and are planning on doing what I'm doing now, skip this paragraph. All six seasons on Netflix. I'm currently on episode 3 Season 4. It's a great show, but each episode is like a cliff hanger, so I gotta watch the next one. Before I know it it's 11:30pm and I'm tired. I'll be happy when this is done. I remember how stressful it was watching it the first time, when we had to wait to see what happens next. Every commercial you get up off the couch and say, "WHAT?!?!? ______?!?!?!? As I'm watching all these episodes back, they tell you everything that is going to happen, you just don't believe them. Clear as day, "No one survived Oceanic Flight 815"...don't believe the hype. It's cheap entertainment so what else am I gonna do? Oh yeah, did I mention, "I'm in a band!"
"The Retreads" has got to be one of the funnest things I've done to date, and we've only had two rehearsals. Look at it like this. Yes, I've been playing drums a long time, and I've played lots of different styles with lots of different people. Just never this loud, and apparently I'm still not loud enough. I have till May 6th to 'get my rock on' as that's our first show. I have my drums at home now so I'm hoping to get out there as much as possible. (There are a few riffs I'm having trouble with.) Oh and speaking of practice, I think I got roped in to sing the chorus of "Living on a Prayer". Should be interesting.
with that...good night and good luck. Maybe it'll snow tomorrow?
Life is full of changes. Since my last blog, there have been many, many changes in my life. So 2 days after my last blog (09/07/2013) I got hired at a company that is an "Authorized AT&T Re-seller" that has over 45 stores spread across 7 states. I work in the corporate office here in Boise. It is very laid back, and I have enough screen space that it sometimes feels like Tank (from the MATRIX). It is a full time gig so it's nice to have a steady income again. I'm still licensed to sell insurance so if you need a quote, by all means, give me a call!
