The other night (more like a week ago now, but I fell asleep when I originally started writing and never finished) I got to pondering, as I often do, and on this particular night I was thinking about the concept of "the one" or "the girl/guy of someone's dreams". I opted not to go down the logic brain "that's such a futile pursuit, statistically" path, and instead pondered the human element of it. The why of it isn't hard to figure out. People are dreamers, by and large. We have these ideals, these conceptualizations of what each of us defines as perfect. No matter how unrealistic, we often cling to these as though life could not continue without them. What I was more thinking about was how those desires change over time. How would you characterize it? As my mid twenties will be turning to my late twenties sooner rather than later, it's easy to succumb to anxiety over such matters from time to time. While I am at a good place in my life right now, and I firmly believe that if nothing in my life changed that I could continue on with the status quo and still be quite content, there's still the white elephant in the room, the "don't you want a Bonnie for your Clyde?" Sure, wouldn't we all? But what I think varies from individual to individual is how strong that desire to find "the one" is, how shaken one's belief becomes that the person exists, and, ultimately, how much is a person going to temper his/her expectations and standards to satiate that desire and to fill whatever void feels like it needs to be filled?
The biggest element to this is, of course, time. We all are steadily inching closer to our deaths with each passing second. We all have aspirations and things we want to experience and achieve before that moment comes. For many folks, whether it be a true desire or simply a biological instinct, that includes having and rearing offspring. That, of course, has the greatest time element to it of all things. Taking that out of the equation, though, life really isn't so short. In fact, it's quite long, and we have a tremendous amount of time to pursue all of our desires with far fewer restrictions than we think have, as I believe many of those are self-imposed. Yes, we change as we age, but to say that "things won't be the same" or "I won't feel the same way" are really just weak excuses. Of course things would be different; we exist in an environment that is constantly evolving around us. That does not mean that different is bad or that it prohibits continued enjoyment out of one's pursuits just because some arbitrary age milestone was attained. Even as physical limitations begin to play a role, we have the flexibility to shape how our lives change and mold that change in a manner that best suits what we feel is optimal. The more you really start to assess where these time constraints come from and where the barriers are forged, the more you tend to discover they come from within.
Now, the above is probably almost universally applicable, but it doesn't mean that it solves anything for most people. That's why people ultimately do temper their expectations with what they look for in a partner. Perhaps at the beginning of this crusade "the one" looks a certain way, shares from a list of interests, has certain personality characteristics, is at a certain point in his/her academic or professional career, etc. In time, maybe the suitable age range to date widens a little bit, and that PhD in particle physics who also competes in triathlons, shares the same favorite movies, and also wants to retire to the Swiss Alps morphs into someone who merely has a job and is pleasant. It's a bit different for everyone on how much they will compromise on and how long they are willing to stare father time in the face without blinking. Is it worse to be alone or to settle? Where's the balance? What's the best shade of grey?
Well, let's go completely outside of the box and throw away "the one" and replace it with "the all". The answer to the "either or" question is not the "either" nor the "or". It's impossible to meet one person that fulfills every single aspect of perfection through one's self's eyes. Knowing that, why try? Why set yourself up for disappointment? Why project impossible expectations onto the people you come into contact with? What good reason is there for doing that? It can't be found in one person, but I believe it can be found in all people. It can be found in a lifetime. It can be found if we are willing to open our eyes, but more importantly, open our minds to the possibility. Learning to love globally, to cherish the best in folks, to not project one person's characteristics onto another, to find the good qualities, the qualities we feel are best in a person, and to store it and take it to heart, that is where the ability to do this lies. It's a state of pure appreciation, unhindered by jealousy, immune to so many of the other pitfalls associated the more conventional approach of singular passion. My feeling is it is a much more positive approach to living, not only in the manner it can help foster positive relationships with others, but also in the sense of fulfillment and appreciation within. I think it's a wonderful thing to be able to admire individual characteristics in all sorts of different individuals without looking for all of those things in one person. While I'd never name names in this, you can believe there are people's characteristics that I deeply love or admire, and I could rattle them off. I can sit here and say "Jane Doe has absolutely beautiful lips", "Sarah Doe has the most wonderful and inspiring outlook on life", "John Doe has remarkable artistic ability", "Doris Doe is a truly wonderful parent", "I love Debra Doe's hair", "Joseph Doe's work ethic and dedication is admirable", etc. I can do that and honestly feel very fortunate that I have shared pieces of my life with these people, and I can collect all of those things that I love and commit them to that lifetime collection. It's something that I don't think I would have ever imagined myself doing, but now that I look at it like that, I find it an interesting exercise.
Here's the thing that I realized, though. I was not the first person to think this in some sort of incarnation. In the car, it dawned on me that another individual did something like this in a song. When Justin Pierre of Motion City Soundtrack was asked about his song Antonia, he revealed that the song was not about a person, but a collection of people, although many of the items were inspired by then drummer Tony (appropriate given the name of the song). That Pierre takes these quirks, traits, and interests of actual people, attributes them to one individual, and then presents it in a manner such that listeners probably believe that the song is based on an actual person goes to show that the exercise that I discussed above is one that is not out of the realm of possibility. This is why Motion City Soundtrack is a band that has kept me a fan over the past 10 years, despite me not necessarily listening to them much anymore or enjoying their latest album. Justin manages to capture a lot of beauty and emotion in unconventional ways. Below is the song Antonia, which is off their third full length album, Even If It Kills Me, which I think is easily their most underappreciated album. I think you could make a pretty strong argument that it's the best album of their discography lyrically, and the music is still in line enough with their signature sound from their first two albums. Ultimately, it's my second favorite album of theirs, which it probably took me three or four years to get to that point. I'm glad I did develop a further and further appreciation for the album and for Justin Pierre on EIIKM, and perhaps you could say I may have even filed away something for my own personal Antonia in the process.
I'm back posting yet another music related entry in what's been a pretty good string of few weeks for me as it pertains to music. While I've been following along with the U.S. Open on the sports side of things and edited a few photos from Europe, music has been the topic I am most driven to write about (along with some really long, philosophical e-mails, but you don't get to see those). Sabaton Open Air, otherwise known as Rockstad: Falun, is a metal festival held in the hometown of Sabaton, a small city of less than 40,000 in Sweden. This was my third festival in Europe, smaller than Amphi festival, and about the same size, perhaps marginally larger than Mittelalterlich Phantasie Spectaculum. I actually quite enjoyed the size of the festival: it was big enough so that there was enough energy pulsing around the festival grounds later in the day and into the evening, but it was small enough that you would leave one day, then come back the next day and run into the new friends you made the day prior. This is probably the greatest aspect of the event for me, personally, as I met some absolutely wonderful people, and had I only talked to them for several minutes only to never see them again, I would have missed out on some friendships and social interaction.
The festival is a three day event primarily focused on power metal, although there were other genres represented at the event. Admittedly, this was a festival that, band-wise, probably could have been consolidated into a two day event; there are other festivals out there with a much deeper ticket in two days than this festival had in all three. The positive element to this is it was less pressure to constantly be trying to see one band or another on different stages or running around the grounds constantly; it allowed you to socialize a bit more freely, which I think was definitely positive. The festival grounds were very easy to navigate, and I can say that the event definitely sort of built up with each day. All three days had spectacular headlining performances, but the lineups just got a bit deeper later in the week. I would say there is probably a small bit of bias resulting from the particular type of metal I enjoy most, but my sentiments were generally echoed by the folks I met at the event, so I don't feel like I am stepping too far out of line.
In terms of the actual performances, I'll go over the bands that were the highlights for me by day. While it's becoming nearly impossible to rank live performances I've seen given the ever increasing list of bands I've seen and the different elements said bands bring to the table in different settings, I think if I was forced to pick a top 10, 3 of them would be from this festival, and Arkona is already cemented in my top 5, so they're a fourth that performed at this event.
Day 1: Eternal of Sweden got the event off to a good start; I was pleased with their performance as an opening band. These guys were heavy metal throwback, like they'd been playing for a couple of decades, or they wanted to recapture the glory days of yesteryear and formed a band playing that style of music. Probably not something I'd listen to all of the time, but I thought they were just fine for the beginning of the event. After what I felt was a bit of lull, I got re-engaged once Revamp came on. Unfortunately, there were some technical difficulties and a long delay that set their start time back a good 20 minutes, which maybe killed the atmosphere in the crowd a bit, but after a somewhat flat first couple of songs, they really brought the energy back in a big way as they progressed through the set. Floor Jansen sounded great, and the band was pretty nice when I saw them signing autographs, too. I actually got to chat with Henk a little bit after the festivities were done for the evening, too. He's a funny guy. Following Revamp was Arkona, whom I never have enough good things to say about. Arkona had never performed in Sweden before, and leading up to the event, I was quite surprised to hear how many people had never heard of them. I was wearing the shirt I purchased on their 2011 North American tour and talking them up the entire day. Some might say this is a bad move, because in the event others don't like them as much as I do, you make your recommendations look bad, but this is Arkona, and they never disappoint. Surely enough, the crowd went wild for them. They played a great mix of songs, starting of with some new material from Yav and throwing in many of their popular staples such as "Slavsia, Rus", "Stenka na Stenku", and "Yarilo". You haven't really lived until you've participated in a Wall of Death to Stenka na Stenku, to be quite honest. I'll cut short gushing about my favorite Russians and their amazing music, though. I was thrilled to see them make the front page of the local Swedish newspaper, though, and was quick to post it online for all to see. I'll write an artist spotlight on them some day, I'm sure. Finntroll was the last big highlight of the evening for me. I was pleasantly surprised with their performance, as I was underwhelmed when I saw them in the U.S. It seems to me that was more a reflection of some poor sound that night, though, as they sounded great at Rockstad. They definitely had the most raucous fans of the entire festival, too, which was a bit annoying in the 30 minutes leading up to the show, as I literally could not hear people next to me, but made for a fun show while they were playing. The last band of the night, Amaranthe, was not my thing, but they were decent, catchy, and I met two friends that I spent the most time with in Falun before that show, so they were a highlight due to that, if not the music.
Day 2: Admittedly, I spent a good chunk of the afternoon up at the beer tent socializing and staying out of the rain, as it rained quite a bit the first two days, but I can definitely say that as background music went, the opening few bands definitely surpassed the opening few bands from Thursday. The three highlights of the day for me, though, were definitely Amorphis, Masterplan, and Rhapsody of Fire. Amorphis I had never really listened to prior to coming to Rockstad, as I don't listen to a whole lot of progressive, but they definitely put on a good performance and made me interested in listening to them more following the festival. Masterplan is a band that I listened to sparingly in the past, admittedly. I do enjoy their music, but the vocals are just underwhelming to me. I just always felt I'd rather listen to other power metal bands where I thought the vocals added more, other things equal. That said, I do love me some Crimson Rider, and their live performance was definitely enjoyable. I left Amorphis on the mainstage early to be up front for Masterplan, which was really more just to be very proactive to ensure I'd be up front for Rhapsody of Fire. Ironically enough, after waiting through almost all of Testament's 90 minute set, which I wasn't too disappointed in not seeing since I'm not a fan of thrash, it was just too cold and wet, and I was too hungry, so I relinquished my front and center spot for food and temporary warmth. The outcome suited me just fine, as I both filled my belly and ran into my friends, so we shared a beer and still got a good spot for Rhapsody of Fire. Now, if you haven't listened to Rhapsody of Fire, prepare for an epic journey (don't worry, I didn't go too hard on this one). As symphonic power metal goes, it doesn't get much better than these Italian metal gods. Fabio Lione is on the short list of best male vocalists I have seen. He sounds great on their albums and was even better live. The atmosphere was electric during their performance. The crowd engagement was good with Fabio pulling a page out of Freddie Mercury's book to see if the crowd could hang with him on vocals. We got everything from the most fast, melodic, epic songs all the way down to a sweet ballad. Top 10 band performance + awesome friends = perfect night cap.
Day 3: The big day got off to an auspicious start by virtue of the fact that it wasn't overcast from the get-go. Similar to day 2, the first few bands were spent more socializing and less being attentive to the actual music, but I had to ensure that we saw Twilight Force. I had listened to them in advance of coming to Europe and was looking forward to seeing them live. There's no such thing as too much cheesy power metal, after all. Complete with tales of adventure, abundant chorus, melodic riffs, the good old high range metal vocals (although sometimes far too forced to the point they don't come off well at all), and nifty elf outfits, Twilight Force was definitely higher at the top of the list of my favorites of the entire festival. You could tell they were having fun up there, too. They're a local act from Borlänge, just 20 minutes away by train, so it had to be a great moment for them. Following Twilight Force was Battle Beast, another band I hadn't listened to prior to arriving. I really enjoyed their set. Noora Louhimo has a bit of a throwback, raspy heavy metal vocal style, but as a female vocalist, it served as a very nice contrast to the more prevalent operatic type vocals in the power and symphonic metal scenes. That's not to say she doesn't have the voice for the cleaner vocals, because she flaunts those as well. Her variety and uniqueness complement an excellent instrumental group to create a great band overall. Later in the evening, I had to make a decision; ultimately I decided to hold my spot on the rail for Van Canto and forego being able to watch Týr and having a less than optimal spot for Sabaton. I knew that I may never see Van Canto again, and no one out there is like Van Canto whatsoever. I'll see Týr open for Eluveitie, and Sabaton, while not having seen them at their grandest event, I have seen twice already and will again in October, so I decided to stay up front for the a capella metal band from Germany. It's almost hard to even try and comment on their set because it is so one of a kind. Anything you try to come up with words for to relate to other folks is almost futile because unless they've seen Van Canto, there's nothing else in their bank of experience you can tap into to try and relate it to. What I enjoyed about their set was that they played a lot of original material; obviously their cover songs are what people probably discover and know them for, but for them to come up with original material and go through the creative process like any other band, only without any actual instruments (drums aside), that's pretty neat. Like just think about a jam session with these guys just getting creative with their vocal chords. It's an interesting prospect to ponder on. So, truly, this was a great performance, and I managed to catch a Red Bull can that was thrown into the crowd at the conclusion of their set, which I still have presently (need to decide what to do with it).
Following Van Canto was the apex of the show, and the second of three new performances to make it into my top 10 all time performances I have seen. Of course, because it's their event, Sabaton are going to pull out all the stops and have resources that the other bands won't have access to. I wouldn't try to slight other bands simply because they didn't have fancy firework turrets, pyrotechnics, Caroleans, and the works, but I can't dismiss what Sabaton has done with this event overall. Like I mentioned in the opening, Falun is a very small town, so the fact that Sabaton is a world famous band that came from the tiny, historically mining town, and the fact that they return to their roots every single year and put on their best performance is positively wonderful. It is just one of many ways that Sabaton show what thoughtful, high character guys they really are. As a band that composes lyrics primarily in English, as do many bands because of the ability to reach out to a much wider audience, for Sabaton to be able to come home, interact with the home crowd in Swedish, and to play Carolus Rex, considered by many to be the crown jewel in their discography, entirely in Swedish was a beautiful thing to witness. The Swedes deserve that moment, and it is incredible for Sabaton to give it to them while also accommodating all of the non-Swedish speaking individuals as well. It's all done in true Joakim style, too, good humored, humble, and ever so generous to the fans. They always give back to the fans in some way: bringing folks on stage, Joakim trading his vest with another in the crowd, fan interaction, it's all so kind, and more importantly, it's genuine. I truly do believe there are no nicer guys in all of music. To me, what truly, above all, made this set were the events that transpired in this video:
To witness this was so touching. I have seen so many incredible shows, bands, and performances in the past five years, but there are far, far fewer in number the times where an event is so moving on a much deeper, more profound level. This was one of those select moments for me, something I will never forget, something that will be just as powerful each time I watch it. To me, watching an incredible music performance is second to watching an incredible human performance, which is what I saw that wonderful evening. Furthermore, I really feel that Sabaton are really a good representation and embodiment of Sweden as a whole. I have made the remark, "the only person nicer than a Swede is a drunk Swede". It's a joke, but there is certainly some truth in the statement. Sweden and the folks there were so incredibly friendly, welcoming, and provided such an absolutely incredible environment for me that is beyond words. This is an event, a band, and a country full of people that I will forever cherish.
Ending the blog post on that note seems like a logical stopping point, but the numbers folks in the group have noticed that there's still a third top ten performance I haven't mentioned. Well, Brothers of Metal had the tall order of following Sabaton. People might wonder why Sabaton isn't the last to perform. Well, if they were, they'd never be able to get off the stage. No one expects the last band to top Sabaton, of course, but the only downside is that the lion's share (use of lion in the context of Sweden was intentional) of the crowd leave after Sabaton. That didn't stop Brothers of Metal from putting on a positively killer show. I do want to save a blog post for them, as for a local band to put on the performance they did, it was positively remarkable, and they deserve additional recognition for that. It's unfathomable for me to think about walking down the street to a bar and seeing a band put on the type of performance they did, yet they did it despite having only a fraction of the number of followers as the majority of the bands performing this event. So stay tuned for a post on them in the near future.
To close, I really just have to once more emphasize what an incredible event and experience this was. The music, the atmosphere, the new friends from all over the world, there's nothing else in the world like going to a festival like this, and I am eternally grateful that I had this opportunity and hat Sabaton make an event like this happen. The world is such a vast place with so much to see, I can't say that I know I will ever return to this particular event again because there are only so many vacations one can take in a lifetime, but Sweden is absolutely a country I would love to return to again to be able to see some of the truly lovely people I have met both there and elsewhere in Europe. Jag älskar Sverige!
For this spotlight, I am going to detail a group that I alluded to in my previous post on Orlando Nerd Fest, The Returners. The Returners are a five piece group from Austin that positively blew me away; this was due in part to many factors. To organize my thoughts, I feel it will be more interesting to convey my chronological thought process rather than structure by topic.
My initial reaction right from sound check was that this band was going to bring something big to the table. I was instantly filled with anticipation sheerly by virtue of keyboards and a flute! Given my music tastes, this should come as no surprise. The next thing that caught my eye was the double bass drums. This is where I really started to get excited. Keys and flute suggest some sort of folk or orchestral type arrangements, but double bass can only mean one thing: metal. Following that, I noticed the fretless bass, so my assumption there is that the bassist is going to be quite talented. And, to cap it all off, the guitarist is wielding a seven string guitar. For those of you counting at home, that's five out of five on band members that have me amped up for the performance, and this all before even a single note has emanated from any of the speakers.
After all of this initial anticipation, the event itself didn't disappoint, in fact, it met and exceeded any and all expectations I could have had. If you were to take this band out of this convention room and drop them onto a stage with thousands of people watching, they'd fit perfectly. It was unbelievable. I thought they excelled in so many aspects of their performance, particularly for a group that just formed last year. The musical talent is evident; they can flat out shred. It's the little things, though, the attention to detail, that I felt really made them stand out and created that much more of a lasting impression. There are many bands with a great deal of talent and who can perform in front of an audience, but creating a cohesive setlist with a good flow so that it guides the crowd through a vast gamut of experience and emotion is something that is not quite as easy to do, but the The Returners did a very good job of that, in my estimation. They went loud, they went soft, they picked up the pace and brought it back down, they mixed in vocals with instrumentals, and they did it all with transitions that produced a very good ebb and flow for the entire set (and also within their songs and medleys given the arrangements they created). Staying on the subject of the setlist, too, it was a very diverse, well thought out, and well executed blend of tracks. They hit on crowd favorites, but they really went with some less widely known tracks that I definitely appreciated, Ecco being one of the games that I was really pleasantly surprised to hear. My second favorite song of the set (I'll get to the favorite in a second) was their Star Ocean 2 Medley. I think this song really summarizes all I've commented on quite well, both in terms of musical talent and the thoughtful arrangements. The video doesn't do them justice, as the sound really mutes the bass, but you get the general idea of what they bring to the table.
So, back to my favorite song. All this time I have spoken very little about the vocals of this band, which are perhaps the greatest of their many strengths. Lauren, "The Flute", in addition to being a talented flutist and knowledgable video game enthusiast is a phenomenal opera vocalist. This surprise was spoiled given she opened with a vocal intro for Random Encounter earlier in the day, which is probably a good thing because if I had discovered that along with all of the other astounding revelations about this band all at once, I'd probably have to watch the show from the floor because I wouldn't be able to pick my jaw up off of it. While much of their performance is purely instrumental, Lauren definitely has her moments where she puts the pipes on display, none more so than their cover of Phantom of the Opera. Now, here's the thing, right from the instant I heard the first organ note, my thought is "you don't do Phantom of the Opera unless you know you're going to nail it". I knew Lauren could nail it from her vocals in other songs, but here's where they left the crowd in awe: John, the drummer, absolutely killed it on male vocals. His vocals alone are incredible, but the fact that he can sing like that while playing drums is pretty remarkable. Here's a guy who could never pick up a drumstick again and focus solely on singing if he wanted to, and he'd probably be very successful doing it. If I had to guess, though, he's probably in like 10 different bands because he's a drummer, and that's what drummers do, right? Supply and demand :) Don't take my word for it, though, below is a video. While the song is also in the video of their set linked above, the vocals are barely audible in that video, and in this video you can hear them pretty clearly (albeit with video from the opposite side of the room).
Music aside, the band members were all so incredibly friendly. While I didn't spend an incredibly long time talking to everyone, it was long enough to see how humble they were and very gracious of the support they'd received. I also don't think it would be a stretch to declare Lauren as the nicest person ever. She really is so sweet. So here's a proposition for everyone (yes, all my legions of readers, haha): go to the Facebook Page of The Returners and "Like" them. Let me know in the comments, and I will do a drawing at random for one person that I will give a digital download pre-order for their upcoming album, Immune to Silence (what an awesome name, by the way). Who can argue with free music? Plus, when you factor in the lack of readers, poor distribution of posts on Facebook, and the general laziness of people, you're probably going to end up with like a 50/50 shot to win, so take advantage of the easy numbers game you'll be getting into. Worth a shot, right? The Returners, to me, are a band with limitless potential. They already have talent and performance beyond that of so many acts, and as they spend more and more time together, they will only continue to become more polished, have tighter performances, and expand their repertoire of songs. I am very excited to see what the next chapter holds in their story.
This post comes far too late after the 2014 Orlando Nerd Fest, but I have been traveling and taking care of other pressing issues. I want to take a moment to overview the event and some of the particular high points and reflections on the event and its significance.
To begin, I should probably explain what Orlando Nerd Fest is more explicitly. It is a multi-day event centering mostly around video game music (VGM), while also having some artists, indie game developers, gaming rooms, and vendors at the event. This event is new, and it differs from other conventions in that there is constant music; it is the primary focus rather than just a minor element such as in large conventions like Dragon*Con. I attended two days of the festival, so those are the ones I will be commenting on.
The performers range from rap and nerdcore to metal and many things in between. There were bands big and small, those who were local, those who traveled across the country, and a special group that traveled across the world! The band, you ask? Well, it was Nobuo Uematsu and the Earthbound Papas. For those of you unfamiliar with Uematsu, the man is a legendary composer in the video game world responsible for most of the iconic music.in the Final Fantasy series, among other games. If you want to see an RPG gamer fawn over someone, put that person in a room with Uematsu. His band performed and also did a signing session, where I had my PS2 copy of Final Fantasy X signed by the band. Seeing them really have fun and laugh about how they could have all of the adoring fans do anything they wanted was very entertaining. So yeah, that was a cool experience, and anyone with an appreciation for video game music will understand the influence Uematsu has had in the gaming world.
The following bands were my highlights of the convention, in no particular order (excluding Uematsu, since I mentioned him above):
Eight Bit Disaster: Video game music in the form of a funk rock band from North Carolina. Their music was good, the band members fun and entertaining, and they had a good mix of songs, including some less highly celebrated ones from games such as Dr. Mario. Musically, I thought they definitely deserved a better time slot, for sure. My only question: how can a funk rock band cover video game music and not do something from Toejam and Earl???
Urizen: It's hard to really say enough about this band, as they were a fantastic group to cap off the festivities. Their stage presence without all of the extra-curricular items was very good, and then when you factor in the entire story that they play out with props, machines, and crowd involvement, you've got a heck of a show. Their music is somewhere between electro-rock and electro-metal, as some songs can get a bit harder and feature some aggressive double bass, but all in all, I think they can be diverse and cater to whichever type of crowd they play for. What they also did wonderfully was incorporate other acts from the festival into the performance, having other musicians come and help battle space aliens, for example. The crowd engagement was perhaps the best of the entire event, and fun was had by all.
Critical Hit: Critical Hit is the brainchild of Andrew Gluck (Piano Squall) and Jason Hayes (of Blizzard music acclaim, most notably) and features Hayes along with a host of numerous other professional musicians performing very well done arrangements of video game music. Their sets tend to blend Eastern and Western gaming along with different genres of games and play songs that both appeal to casual gamers and more dedicated fans. With the musical talent they've amassed, it's impossible not to put on an impressive show. While their lineup features some musicians with serious chops, including an award winning concert pianist from the time she was 14, Tina Guo on cello stole this show. Her charisma while playing reigns supreme, and her talent on the cello is just absurd. Expect them to be touring in a city near you next year!
Bit Brigade: A lot of bands play video game music. Bit Brigade plays video games, music. If you want to see a speed run of old favorites such as Legend of Zelda, Megaman, or Castlevania and have it accompanied by some sweet metal music, Bit Brigade is the band for you. Now if we could all only have our own band accompanying us in our gaming sessions. The did Legend of Zelda at the event, and it was a great performance. One of the most impressive things when you actually see them perform is just how little time they get to take it easy through the whole set. It's basically a nonstop dose of gaming and metal for 55 minutes.
The Megas: The Megas are an electro rock band that are unique in that they take the Megaman series music to a new level by borrowing the musical style and adding lyrics pertaining to the game, which is pretty neat. On stage, they sounded great, have spiffy outfits and a good color scheme, and they just came across all around as very polished. If I had to nominate best looking musicians at the event, Tina Guo takes it on the female side and Eric, who does guitars and vocals (who looked like Lleyton Hewitt at the event), takes it for the males. I really enjoyed them, and they reminded me a little bit of a softer, slightly more poppy version of Attention System, one of my favorite local bands from Atlanta.
Schaffer the Darklord: Schaffer the Darklord (or STD, as he is also called) was one of the funniest and most entertaining performers at the event, in my opinion. I am not a fan of rap, or even nerdcore for that matter, but he was funny and engaging enough to win me over. He throws a few more words from the dictionary out there than most other performers I've seen doing nerdcore (which, admittedly, isn't a whole lot), and he really does a great job creating a villainous persona while still coming across as a likable person under the persona.
Killer Robots!: Really, the best thing you can do is click the link. Killer Robots! are the robot version of GWAR. In terms of which set had the most pure fun and insanity, Killer Robots! take the cake. In all honesty, the music, which is surf rock, takes such a back seat solely because the performance itself is so entertaining. The band comes on after a live action movie intro, and pool noodles cut into thirds are distributed into the crowd for the ensuing battle against all sorts of monster, aliens, lobster creatures, and I couldn't even tell you what else. Oh, and your friends...especially your friends.
Random Encounter: The local group featuring one of my favorite instruments, the accordion, put on a great, high energy show. Any group that features Chrono Trigger music in its set list is a winner in my book, and their cover of Frog's theme is one of my favorite covers of a video game song. I had been waiting to see them for a while and just happened to keep missing them when they played a local event, so I was tremendously excited to finally see them, and they didn't disappoint.
The Returners: These folks get their own blog post, so more on them later. Yes, I liked them that much.
Well, there you have it. I can emphatically say that the Orlando Nerd Fest 2014 was a great success, and I can definitely see this as one that continuously grows over the years in both attendance and prestige, because it seems to me the folks putting this on did a good job and the attendees had a real blast.
The time has come, the time for a drink... and a new Alestorm album, and with it, I wanted to write a piece on Alestorm. I have not listened to Sunset on the Golden Age in its entirety yet; it's out in Europe and comes out in two days in the United States. Needless to say, with my enthusiasm for pagan metal combined with my love for pirates and innately pirate-like looks, I am looking forward to sitting down and taking a good listen to the album. For now, though, I am more interested in speaking to both the band in general, and their latest video, a cover of the song Hangover, which I had never heard of before their rendition of it.
First off, let me say this right up front: I don't care if you say the music is all a gimmick. Perhaps it is, but if it was easy, more people would do it. To call it a gimmick is not appropriate, to me, because it diminishes the value of the actual quality of their music; it's awesome, plain and simple. No, the lyrics aren't going to be mistaken for poetry, and there are musicians that can shred better, but don't for one second suggest that these guys aren't talented. The tales Christopher Bowes delivers are fun, and not at all poorly written. In fact, I would say that some of the lyrics are actually pretty clever and make for some good pirate lore. The musicians are all very competent, you have some good guitar solos, and perhaps more importantly, some great keytar solos. Above all else, though, the band is flat out entertaining. Whether it be a concert, the lyrics, a video, or Christopher's various posts, pictures, music side projects (do yourself a favor and look up "Christopher Bowes at the Organ", you'll either think it's ridiculously funny or that I am out of my mind, and in either case, you'd be right), the band never ceases to bring anywhere from amusement to utter hilarity. Quite frankly, I'd say the majority of people who criticize Alestorm are just upset that they can't be highly successful making music that is one of the farthest things from serious possible (make no mistake about it, while the band themselves are a bunch of jokesters and don't take life too seriously, they are very good and dedicated with what they do).
As an extension of the above, I could honestly say that if Alestorm simply continued to replicate their same formula and never tried to do anything remotely different with their music, I would be totally fine with that and love them all the same. While I can appreciate musicians evolving over time, I also think it's absolutely fine to take an approach of "if it's not broken, don't fix it". They have not done that, however, as is evident with their latest album. While they are still the same at their core, Alestorm introduces some guest musicians to the studio for laying down other folk instruments such as violin and flute. From what I have heard of the album, so far too, there is some more variety in the vocals as well. What people are slow to recognize, too, is that innovation with bands is not restricted to just how the music sounds. Alestorm still find new ways to entertain. It's not always the same songs, the same schtick, the same old commentary at concerts. There's always some fun cover or new item being worked on, such as a cover of "In the Navy" by the Village People, or playing a metal cover of the Rugrats theme upon returning for their encore, something that fans will instantly find entertaining and be able to identify with.
This is a good segue into their rendition of Hangover:
When I heard this song for the first time, I couldn't help but spam various people trumpeting the song as my favorite cover ever. From my vantage point, this is a perfect cover. They take a song that the majority of their fans either would not have even heard of or would ordinarily hate, and they make it their own. Now, there has been a fair bit of criticism in the Youtube comments of the video, which, of course, is frequented by a very diverse and well versed group of experts when it comes to music (dripping with sarcasm, in case that didn't come across). To me, this is absurd, and it makes me fear for the upcoming generation of metalheads, as any time I come across a "not brutal enough" comment for music in general, it makes me roll my eyes so hard my vision is blurry for a good 30 minutes. Pertaining to this song, Alestorm shows off some versatility and makes a really catchy, somewhat commercially viable yet still true to metal roots version of a song that loosely fits in the same vein as their general subject matter. My opinion is if you like metal and don't like this song, you're basically trying too hard to be pretentious and not have fun.
Alestorm has been, and remains one of my favorite metal bands. They're one of the first metal bands I really got into; as I mentioned a while back, I am relatively new as it comes to be a metal fan. To me, they are such a great, refreshing mix of characteristics for a band to have in terms of balancing their music, performance, and overall attitude. They're also a good band to get non-metal fans to listen to because, well, who doesn't like pirates? The sad reality is that people are more open minded to something if there is some other socially acceptable or fun reason to entertain something non-mainstream.
July 31st: "Goth things? Nope, too weird for me."
October 31st: "I love this!!!"
Metal: "This is horrible."
Pirate metal: "Pirates!? This is awesome!"
So now, I propose you all raise your tankards to the sky and toast to Alestorm. Long live the heavy metal pirates!
So in my prior post, I alluded to perhaps composing a separate entry as to why photography has been a particular topic of neglect on the blog. I'll get to that here with a bit of an exposition on the past few years of my life, how it's impacted me, and where I am headed. In the process, though, there's also a music tie to this, which I'll address first.
In a post last month, I mentioned that happiness is the journey, not the destination. I wasn't born with that knowledge, nor was it a sudden epiphany; it came over many years of both personal experience and hearing it externally. Hearing it or thinking about it is one thing, but truly believing it and hammering it into your stream of consciousness is another. Along this quest, there's a band that I have listened to quite bit, though not much in the past couple of years. That band is Blue October. Blue October isn't so much a band as it is a journal set to music and a haven for so many people who have, know someone, or can relate to mental illness. The lead singer, Justin Furstenfeld, is bipolar, and his songs deal with topics related to both his own struggles with and the general subject matters of mental illness, addiction, self-destructive behaviors, loneliness, and heartbreak. It doesn't stop there, though, as the flip side to it is song about recovery, goals, and moving on with life. About four years ago I reminded myself daily of my goal which came from a song of theirs off of the Consent to Treatment album, and that song was Independently Happy. For a while I had been either independent or happy, but not both at the same time. There was a lot of self-evaluation I needed to do, time that I needed to be even more introspective than normal. I forced myself to try and put priority on the right things, to find balance in my life.
For a while, it mostly worked. I never quite had a feeling of inner peace, but I was staying active, working on bettering myself, and forcing myself to focus on activities and events, not whom I could do them with. I opened up myself to a whole plethora of new experiences. At the time I still had my lows - I'd refer to my life at times as a gilded existence, as on the surface everything looked wonderful, but it was only a facade for the emptiness beneath the surface. There was still something I hadn't come to terms with yet, and it's ultimately what both kept me going full speed, which made life worthwhile, as well as made me crash, from which I am still sort of recovering from. That something was my profession. After high school, I took one year to get my AA, then I transferred schools with a declared math major. After one semester, I switched to economics, as I wanted something that was more application and less pure theory. It wasn't until my final semester that I had my Healthcare Economics class, at which point I really started to truly think about how I enjoyed what I studied, departing from my previous state of being burned out from school more so because I thought it was stupid, and it would be much quicker for an employer to simply teach me how to do a job without wasting several more years of my life (the signalling theory - college doesn't prepare you for your job, but the piece of paper is a method of signalling to an employer that you can go through the motions and graduate). At that point, I had already committed myself to the workforce after graduation, and due to a reluctance to relocate because of my long term relationship at that time, I landed in an industry I knew nothing about and cared little for. Insurance is not a bad industry, on the contrary, I think what I do is a lot better than many things I could be doing right now. But back then, all it served as was a job in an industry I didn't want to be a part of all because I made a decision based on a relationship that ended. Regardless of if I was upset about my job being miserable, and rest assured, there were periods of time when it was miserable, or just how I got there, it weighed on me.
Now here's where I suppose I'll really turn on the candor - no reason to stop now, right? Somewhere along the way my mentality changed. It went from wanting to improve my life by bettering myself in new ways, and using this as a "I may not like what I do for a living, but it enables me to do other things when I'm not working", to "I need to use these things to escape this hell I exist in 40-60 hours a week in". At that point, the things I did took on a different purpose. Initially I worked out because I enjoyed being healthy, and I wanted to have good fitness for playing tennis (or after experiencing knee troubles, just to be fit in general). I took up photography as a means to replace the hole left where tennis was. I enjoyed doing it at concerts and escaping into nature. I started dieting to try and better shape my physique. I decided to go to Europe and took up learning French. I also participated in making a movie as a fun project and learning experience. Then it all got twisted. The working out and dieting became extreme; I didn't necessarily do it because I enjoyed it, but because I had to to keep looking better. Someone had suggested I could go into modeling. Hey! Modeling is an escape from office work! All the while I could keep up with my photography. I know full well making money doing photography is more business than it is the quality of your photos, which is where I felt I had a leg up. And I was learning a lot about film, too.
"Surely I could throw all these things against the wall and see what sticks, right? Just do it all! Oh, and keep taking those exams at work; no use in stopping halfway through your certification, but hurry up, you have to finish quickly because the sooner you finish, the sooner you can sit out 12 months so you don't have to pay back any of the test fees. You've got to learn French by the time you go to Europe, hurry up! Besides, what if you want to live in Europe? You should be multi-lingual. Europe is better than the U.S., and it could make you forget about your job here..."
And that's how it went. It all became needing to use the things I did as a way out of the life I had convinced myself I hated instead of doing them for enjoyment. I'll acknowledge here that people can go out and change things should they set their minds to it. I am no different. In order to do so, though, it requires a tremendous deal of determination, and you have to be willing to take risks. I wasn't willing to take a risk; I wasn't going to quit my full time job that provided the standard of living I was accustomed to to try and dedicate myself completely and entirely to another pursuit. Instead, I just tried to do a little of everything and hope I got lucky...or at least that's what I told myself. By that time, who knows what my mind really wanted. The constant juggling, the pressure, the stress, eventually it all blew up in my face, and I am still today recovering from it several years later. A lot has happened in that period of time. I've definitely become wiser and more self aware, but there are still lingering impacts. You see, the series of events I just mentioned are why I now have an aversion to photography. My mind still today shies away from the things I did back then. I sparingly do photography, I end up throwing out spinach salad if I buy it because I cannot bring myself to eat it after eating it so much for that period of years. I haven't worked out in over two years. I've not resumed learning French (or even decided that it still makes sense to). And for a while, it upset me that I shy away from all these things. I've come to find, though, that it shouldn't. I'm still finding my way and learning about myself each day, and I know that the self-loathing, no matter how hard it may be to escape sometimes, is not healthy, and I am not going to do it anymore. I've resolved to it. If that means not pushing myself to do things before I am ready, so be it. I am confident that I will find the path that makes sense for me. I've been slow to do it, but it's going to happen. I can feel myself approaching normal.
Approaching Normal is the name of a Blue October album - it's probably the start of the decline in their musical quality (although the last album is more mellow and is a departure from the more raw sound of previous albums. I don't want to come across as a "they changed they sound" complainer; it's prior to this album that I felt their music started declining, not just that I didn't like the new sound as much), but there are definitely some good songs off of the album, ones that I, and many others, can relate to. It's the little things that I notice improving. Part of getting a new place has helped, as it's a fresh start, and I now I have a strong incentive to make the place nice. I'm back to immediately doing dishes after eating or spending extra time to put items away. I'm determined to not let myself fall into complacency with the upkeep of the unit, and in time I think that's going to translate more and more into other aspects of my behavior. A little confidence and motivation goes a long way. I know I have to get back to the point where I push myself more than I do now, and finding the balance between not pushing enough and pushing too much is going to be a delicate process, but I have more belief in myself to accomplish that than I have for a long time. With that, I'll end with a song that is actually off their latest album.
As is the norm, work is my life right now, by and large, so I write less. I wanted to do this exercise, though. I am going to list the favorite songs of my 15 most listened to bands on Last.fm. This doesn't necessarily mean they are my 15 favorite bands, or the 15 most listened to overall bands, just my 15 most scrobbled bands. If the music played in my car got scrobbled, the list would look somewhat different.
15. Android Lust - Rub Me Raw
14. EKLIPSE - Mumbai - Theme
13. Ignis Fatuu - Spielmann
12. Sabaton - The Art of War
11. Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows - Consider This: The True Meaning of Love
10. Alestorm - Keelhauled
9. Arkona - Zakliatie
8. Violet Stigmata - Venus in Black
7. In Extremo - Liam
6. Korpiklaani - Northern Fall
5. Eluveitie - Bloodstained Ground
4. SML8 - Reflektion
3. Mono Inc. - Get Some Sleep
2. Nightcreepers - Set Sails
1. The Birthday Massacre - Kill the Lights
Some observations:
Four of these songs are the first song I ever heard by the band
Six of these songs are from the first album of the band I listened to
Eleven of the fifteen groups on here have one or more females in the group
I have seen eleven of these fifteen groups live
Of all these songs, Set Sails is my most scrobbled
If I were to guess at which was actually most listened to overall, I would say it is Kill the Lights, due in part to the fact I have listened to The Birthday Massacre the longest of all these bands.
Has anyone else had the inclination to do this before?
As I have alluded to before, I am not a pure metalhead, but I am very enthusiastic about particular genres of metal. I don't like more conventional types of music, music that you'd hear every day somewhere. Music is meant to awaken something in you, not simply be background noise. For me, that requires music to almost always be on the more unique and eclectic side. The majority of the music I listen to originates from another continent, and when I speak about some of the bands I enjoy or shows I have been to, it is actually met with a lot of intrigue. People are genuinely surprised to hear about these genres and either learn about new instruments, or hear them in a way they never imagined hearing them before. As such, I want to list five instruments many people wouldn't expect to find in a metal band.
Accordion - Yep, the polka instrument. You may remember Steve Urkel with one of these. This one probably is only mildly surprising as punk music is like to feature the accordion on occasion. Still, some people cannot place what they perceive to be a very heavy genre with an instrument like the accordion. There are quite a few folk metal bands that feature the accordion. Want to have a listen? Try Koennin Kuokkamies by Korpiklaani
Hurdy Gurdy - This is an instrument many people I talk to have not even heard of. What is a hurdy gurdy? Part violin, part bagpipe, part piano, and part jack-in-the-box. There's a box with a crank that spins a wheel that rubs against strings. Notes are played using keys on the hurdy gurdy while drone strings, strings not touched by the crank operated wheel, emanate a sound similar to that of a bagpipe. It's a very prevalent music in folk metal, so there are quite a few bands to choose from in order to listen to the sound. Eluveitie's Of Fire, Wind, and Wisdom features the hurdy gurdy prominently and is celtic metal at its finest
Harp - Quite possibly one of the most tranquil instruments, one often associated with love and poetry, can be found practiced by big hairy man with all sorts of tattoos. It's far from a fixture in metal bands, but the few who do utilize it really pull it off well. It adds a very nice subtle touch to the music. Furor Gallico is one of my favorite bands, and their song Banshee features the harp multiple times throughout the song.
Trumpet - You are about to enter the wonderful world of Swing Metal. Diablo Swing Orchestra, an avant garde metal band from Sweden, is one of the most unique bands you'll ever come across. Horns, strings, opera, and metal make for one hell of a dance party. Seriously, I can't listen to this band without wanting to learn how to become a really good swing dancer so I could dress up all fancy and do these amazing routines. Get ready to boogie when you listen to Guerilla Laments.
Bagpipes - When people think of bagpipes, they most typically think of Scotland and St. Patrick's Day parades here in America. Elsewhere, though, bagpipes absolutely don't fall into those same stereotypes. Bagpipes are often not given a fair shot by folks; the first thought that comes to mind would be the loud, slow, droning sounds that seem to drag on forever. The upbeat, more intricate melodies rarely get recognized, and when played in conjunction with other instruments, the bagpipes prove to be one of the greatest and most enjoyable instruments out there, in my humble opinion. Again, many bands to choose from on this instrument, but Liam by In Extremo shows off Dr. Pymonte's very nice custom-made pipes.
Here you'll spot a quirk that I alluded to in an introductory post; my local artist spotlight features a band from Sarajevo, Bosnia. No, I did not relocate to Bosnia, so this band isn't technically "local" to me, but I use the term as they are a band that hasn't hit it big, or that is a relative unknown compared to other bands. In any case, I just discovered The Loudest Silence and was compelled to write my initial thoughts on the band.
The Loudest Silence are an atmospheric symphonic metal band. First off, let me say that this is a spectacular combination. Symphonic metal tends to always lean more toward the power metal or gothic metal type of music, and atmospheric metal often finds its way making its way over to the doom side or out of the metal genre altogether. The way the band melds these two elements together is quite impressive. I half expected the characterization to be one of those occurrences where a band simply tags a ton of genres that have even the slightest iota of influence just to reach more people, but that is not the case here. The first song I listened to, also called The Loudest Silence, showed off the atmospheric element without having metal in it whatsoever. I progressed onto Acheron, which I have included a video below:
One thing that stuck out to me at this point was that I didn't know what to think about the vocals. Taida has a very lovely voice, but it seems to me that at times there is some indecisiveness. My thought is that it is not easy to balance atmospheric style vocals, much like the ones in the song The Loudest Silence, which are lighter and more ethereal, with vocals that have more force behind them like the operatic vocals more characteristic of symphonic metal. I also felt she cuts off her notes early in some instances where she should have held them a tad longer and faded them out. All in all, though, this was nitpicking a little. Once I got to 1:48 in the video was when I really started to appreciate both the instrumentals and the vocals, and these small criticisms subsided as I fell captivated to what I was hearing. Taida keeps going higher and higher with her vocals, and the instrumental work get better and better as the song goes on. The keyboards in particular play such a critical role; not only do they set the overarching atmosphere of the track, but you have the more symphonic parts adding intensity in some sections of the song, whereas in others, Denijal switching the Korg over to other instruments and adding very somber elements to the track.
One last thing that struck me with this band is that they capture metal very well, yet there are still parts of their songs where I could almost see the music having appeal to more mainstream type listeners, despite it not sounding generic. This is very difficult to do, as metal is such a polarizing genre of music. Overall, I think the group has a lot going for them; they seem to take their work seriously in all facets. Their music is terrific, they have a good image and already have some good band photography done of the quintet. They'll continue to grow and perfect their trade, I have no doubt. Their biggest obstacle will be getting their name out there. I really hope that a year from now I can be writing about a big success story coming out of Bosnia! Take a listen and let me know what you think.
First off, I am deeply apologetic for not writing at all this week; my living arrangement dictated my free time this week, which gave me much less opportunity to write. I plan on writing several post this weekend to make up for it.
Now, for the topic at hand. I've probably seen around 100 concerts in my lifetime with at least a couple hundred bands on my list. Some I've seen only once, some I've seen more than a dozen times. I've seen bands old and new, big and small, at local venues and at festivals. I have danced, photographed, headbanged, and moshed at many an event. I know others who have far more concert experiences than I do and others who have far less. Concerts are experiences that I know I will have many more of, so there's no sense of longing for the past by recounting these events whatsoever. One point of clarification is that this list constitutes solely the bands, not the concert experience on the whole from beginning to end. The distinction is I have seen great bands with lousy openers, or there are some experiences that were absolutely incredible with bands that I love where the band is really just a satisfactory live band. So, without further ado, here are my top 5:
5. Project Pitchfork (seen once) - I saw Project Pitchfork in July 2012 at Amphi Festival over in Germany. They were the musical highlight of the festival for me. The music was phenomenal live, and the visual display was impressive. Peter Stilles had a strong presence on stage, but the clincher here was the assault from the two drum kits on stage. There's no substitute for live drums in my opinion, and they really seemed to understand this. There's no getting around needing to sound good when you perform, and Project Pitchfork had it nailed.
4. Flogging Molly (seen twice) - I've seen Flogging Molly twice, and the biggest thing for me about seeing Flogging Molly for me is no matter how many people are there, they make it feel like a very intimate show. Every member in the band is tremendously talented on their respective instruments, which really shows at their live performances. Their super long version of Black Friday Rule complete with solos has to be among my top live songs. But talent aside, Dave King is what takes their shows from great to outstanding. His conversation between songs is invaluable to the show. I honestly get the vibe that I am going back to Ireland and he is telling me, an old friend, stories whenever he talks between songs. It's a truly wonderful experience.
3. Arkona (seen three times) - First of all, let me just say that the fact that I have seen Arkona three years in a row, all in the United States, is incredible and such a strong testament to Arkona and their dedication to their fans across the globe. That is NOT common amongst bands from Europe and Asia (and not a criticism of those bands whatsoever, the US can make it hell for bands to come perform here). Watching Arkona on stage is a thing of beauty; they perform with such a passion and intensity that few bands can match while also exhibiting the polish of a band that could perform in their sleep, if needed. Most of all, Masha's performance is just sublime. She really just exudes such emotion on stage; one moment it is as if she is sharing some of the beauty and mysticism of the old Russian motherland with you, then the next you have a woman, who must not even weight 100 pounds, possessed with a warrior's ferocity flying around the stage in a blur of blonde hair and wolf pelt. It's an incredible sight to see.
2. Kamelot (seen once) - Admittedly, I was not expecting to be blown away by Kamelot. They are a prime example of a band that I feel drastically outperforms their albums when they play live. The big thing for me on their recorded work is that it just didn't stick out to me, and the drums were too generic sounding on many tracks. That all goes out the window live. Instantly when I see the drum kit after the curtain is pulled back, I feel as though I may be off base with what to expect, and boy was I ever. To start, Tommy Karevik, their new vocalist, is lights out. Normally I am a fan of deeper male voices, but this guy's voice is phenomenal. He's incredibly easy on the eyes for the ladies (and interested men), too. Their performance was bold from beginning to end. You are treated to an incredible drum solo, keyboard solo, and bass solo at various points of the set. I can't include the inclusion of EKLIPSE as part of their merit, as this would go more to the performance on one tour and not to the band overall, but I had to mention their incorporation of those lovely ladies (Helena, if you are reading, will you marry me?) By the end of the night, I had a gleam in my eyes and a grin I could not wipe off my face.
1. Saltatio Mortis (seen once) - Saltatio Mortis might hold this spot for me as long as I live. I saw them in Germany in August 2012 at the Mittelalterlich Phantasie Spectaculum. Being in a foreign country and just looking forward to the experience, I didn't quite know what to expect and didn't even know how the bands or stages would be set up. Well, Saltatio Mortis played numerous sets throughout the day beginning in the daytime and ending with a night session with full pyrotechnics on display. I didn't even get the full experience as I don't understand German at all, so that could only vault them further away from the pack. What to be said about their performance, though? Well, for starters, they all are remarkably talented musicians. The mastery of the bagpipes and shawms is very impressive. It isn't just how they play instruments, though, it's the accompanying dance. They dance quite a bit on stage, and them dancing is not enough, they get the audience dancing with them. You have Alea, a tremendously charismatic presence on stage always getting the crowd involved. That in between his kicks and flips while he doesn't have bagpipes in hand. It's clear that they get out of bed each day and love what they do, and they will always give it their all for the fans. At the particular event I went to, it was pouring rain. Two things stick out. One is Alea returning to the stage, walking to the uncovered part, extending his arms out into the rain and looking into the sky, then saluting the crowd, a group that won't be denied their opportunity to see the band and dance no matter the weather. The second, and this is the coolest thing that I have ever seen at a concert, is when the sound equipment failed due to the water getting through the makeshift water sealants around the extension cord outlets (read duct tape), they just unplug the bagpipes, bring the bass drum with the reed, a bongo drum, and an acoustic guitar down and start playing amongst the crowd in the rain. A lesser band might shrug their shoulders. A more conventional band couldn't simply bring their instruments into the rain and continue the show. They're a rare breed, and not one to pass up should you ever get the opportunity.
So those are my top five. Thoughts? Anyone else have a top five?
Today's local artist spotlight features a band I have photographed probably more than any other band, and they are one of the few bands I have photographed in multiple states. In fact, from February 2011 through June 2012, I didn't miss a single show of theirs. Hailing from Daytona Beach, SML8 is an industrial metal group that produces what I like to call "harmonious chaos". SML8 is the product of a number of contributing members over the years, but the one constant has been musical mad scientist, Scott Van Horn. Scott is always tirelessly working away and looking for ways to improve the band. Whether it is experimenting and working new elements into his music, adding talented musicians to the live performance for the best live show possible, coming up with ways to improve the stage effects, or thinking up new ideas for merch, Scott truly keeps busy each and every day making sure he is doing everything possible to help SML8 grow as a band.
There's no shortage of good things I could say about the band in its entirety after getting to know everyone over the years. The music offers a myriad of different elements, as you can go from dancing to thrashing to quiet reflection throughout the course of their material. Despite having a few lineup changes over the years, the band always has a great rapport, which is a product of the group being comprised of down to earth people, none more so than Scott. You'd never know just how good Scott is at what he does because of his laid back, humble attitude, but get him on a conversation about gear or sound production, and you'll know you're dealing with someone who knows his stuff. The band enjoys doing what they do, and it's so much more enjoyable to watch a group who you can connect with by talking to them (and I mean talking, not just exchanging shallow pleasantries) at the merch table, a very well organized and thought out table by Skye, I might add. Their first full length CD, Surreality, features a rare production quality and attention to detail that often is lacking with other local musicians. Overall, there's a lot to admire and respect about the group.
Now, shameless pitch: SML8 actually has an Indiegogo campaign running right now to help fund their forthcoming EP, Incept. As per usual, there are a ton of great perks available of contributing, and you'll notice that there are deals to be had. Very rarely will you find full album downloads for $5, like their deal for Surreality. If you take a listen and really love what you hear, the $50 for all of their work past, present, and future will be a steal. They've got old demos, a song cover, and other unreleased material that is definitely worth hearing, and getting all the subsequent releases makes it the gift that keeps on giving. The link to the campaign is below. Let me know what you think!
As if people haven't noticed yet, I am very enthusiastic about local music and unconventional genres. Today I present you both, as it is the CD release date of 9th Evolution's No Devil liveD oN album, which can be found on Bandcamp:
Hailing from Pinellas Park, 9th Evolution isn't a band, nor a musician, it's a catharsis. With many bands, you might say that an individual is the "mastermind" behind the band. That's not the way to describe Nick; Nick is 9th Evolution, or maybe 9th Evolution is Nick, depending on how you look at it. He is responsible for all of the writing, both music and lyrics, the recording, and every other component of the project. He has a live band to perform with, but make no mistake about it, this is Nick's heart and soul.
I saw 9th Evolution for the first time back in 2011 in Orlando at the Florida Underground Industrial Music Festival. I really enjoyed the show, so I picked up an album that ended up getting stolen that night. I didn't realize it was gone until about 4 A.M., long after just about everyone was gone, so there was no hope of buying another album. Much to my surprise, when I went and found their page online, The Life Atomic was available for download for free. Why? Nick felt it was more important to share his music than to profit from it. The music caught me, but the attitude reeled me in. This was not a hollow gesture or a one-off occurrence. Over the years it is a consistent 9E theme; Nick has eschewed labels to stand for his music. He wouldn't change his music because it would be asking to change himself, and his identity is far more important than being part of any label or sacrificing any of his artistic liberties, which I respect tremendously.
One thing you may also notice on the site's Bandcamp page is that he's put out three albums in the last three years. It's a reflection both of his dedication to his craft, and how personal the music is to him. Make no mistake about it, making an album for start to finish is an incredibly difficult process, especially to do in one year, and ESPECIALLY when you are doing it yourself. To replicate that three years running (and if you are a betting man/woman, I'd put my money on a fourth) just shows how much he cares about his craft. Despite the undoubtedly high level of stress to do this, it certainly serves as a release for him, too, and getting to the finish line truly validates all of the struggle along the way.
I am not prepared to give my assessment of the new album, as I have only listened to it once so far (but I have a long car ride ahead, so I get to spend some quality time with the album!), but my initial impression is positive and that the album continues to get stronger and stronger as you make your way down the track list. There's nothing more disappointing than an album that starts out strong and cannot sustain its level past the first five or six tracks, but rest assured you'll have no problems like that here. At the end of the day, I highly encourage others to take a listen and see what unadulterated music passion sounds like.
Previously I covered five websites on how people of any music tastes could find new music that they enjoy. With this post, I wanted to introduce one of my highly regarded sites for the folk metal genre: Sword Chant.
I don't know much about the founder of the site other than her name on there is Dragonhead, and I believe she resides in France. How I would love to shake her hand! In any case, Sword Chant is one of the greatest resources for folk metal music, both popular and obscure. The site is made purely to support the music and has so many resources for everyone. There's a section dedicated to folk instruments which helps identify folk metal bands by the instrument you'd like to hear, and it also contains links that redirect to the message boards for people interested in learning to play these instruments. The forums themselves are an invaluable tool to discovering new music, and a particularly useful post details a very thorough list of 2014 CD release dates. There is also a section that links to other crowd funded projects for bands so you can find ways to support new projects and get merchandise. Additionally, it's a great place to find lyric translations, as there are people from around the world who can provide more accurate translations than throwing something into an online translator.
This is definitely a site to bookmark if you are a fan of folk metal or elements of folk music.
It's pretty evident that I have some unique and relatively obscure taste in music. People ask me how it is I find some of the bands that I do. Okay, so no one asks me that, but if people actually liked the music I listen to, it's conceivable that they could ask me that question. So in the event that ever happens, I am going to be prepared by posting something here. The two sites that got me on my way to finding a lot of cool local music are unfortunately both inactive now: Gainesvillebands.com and electronicsubsouth.blogspot.com helped me find a lot of the local groups and shows that got me going to a ton of local gigs. Aside from those sites, a lot of music was discovered in my insomniac nights where I didn't know what else to do with myself but look for new music and find local groups to listen to and support. Below are five sites that aren't genre specific and how I used them to find a lot of the bands I enjoy today.
Reverbnation - Reverbnation is a great site for finding local musicians and keeping up with some local concerts. Using their browse and search functions can yield a myriad of results by genre and location, and a lot of my lesser known discoveries are as a result of using Reverbnation. I would just look by certain cities and genres and go down the list listening to sample songs from the bands on the list. I found two of my favorite bands, Violet Stigmata and NightCreepers, by looking for folk metal and gothic genres in France. Bella Lune from Arizona is another band that comes to mind as someone I discovered in the wee hours of the morning on a weeknight. This is definitely one of the better resources to find lesser known, small bands out there.
Last.fm - Last.fm is a site that allows you to download a "scrobbler" that tracks the music you listen to and documents it. As a data junkie, this site has so many cool applications that I enjoy that the normal person wouldn't. One benefit of tracking your music plays and listening habits on Last.fm is not just the ability to find similar artists according to their recommendations, but to meet users with similar tastes. Odds are you have a better chance of finding a more obscure band you've never heard of before from another human than from a computer algorithm. You're a little less likely to find local bands on Last.fm, but the ability to connect with other people could still lead to that discovery.
Spotify - Spotify has been around for a few years now and is my go-to listening application. It no longer requires a download, and you can pick from millions and millions of songs that you can play on a whim. Unlike Pandora, Spotify allows you to pick any song you want to listen to, not just an artist station. Spotify has a pretty darn expansive base of music, and their similar artists tend to have a nice range of music to the point you can always find someone you're not terribly familiar with. It is really easy to go down a chain of similar artists on Spotify because you just click the band and then their songs are just there to play immediately. I would say the majority of the symphonic metal bands I listen to are as a result from Spotify discovery.
PledgeMusic - PledgeMusic is a crowdfunding site a la Kickstarter, but it is devoted entirely to music projects. This is a site that caters to both larger and lesser known bands. There is a genre search function that allows you to discover projects based on the type of music you prefer, which is nice. I particularly like PledgeMusic because it allows me to support local bands I may never have otherwise found and add to my local music collection. Even if you don't contribute to a campaign, it is still a good way to find music.
Youtube - Okay, so everyone already knows this one, but Youtube is indeed a decent way to discover new music. Of course the videos on the right side bar are going to be generic crap if you listen to generic crap, but if you listen to anything less mainstream, there will probably be a good song or new band there on occasion. Searching for samplers of a genre can be a good way to find music on Youtube, and if you can tolerate the stupidity of the comments for a video, sometimes you can find some good suggestions by fellow listeners. There is also the added bonus that you can listen to live performances of local groups that aren't local to you.
Sometimes I will use the expression, "I love music as much as you possibly can for someone who doesn't know how to play an instrument". Obviously that is debatable, but the point still stands that I love music and it occupies a significant portion of my life. I was a late bloomer when it comes to music; I didn't purchase my first CD until I was 15, and in high school I mostly listened to more of the generic alternative and punk music that is pretty mainstream. I had the bands I liked that I found online that didn't get radio play, but they were still big bands, just big bands that didn't get radio play. That couldn't be further from the point that I am at now. Where is that point? Well, my favorite music genres are folk/pagan, avant-garde, symphonic, and industrial subgenres of metal, and the majority of the gothic subgenres.
My music tastes really started to shift once I bought a new car after graduating college. The car came with a trial of XM satellite radio, and I found myself listening primarily to 1st Wave. I really enjoyed (and still do) new wave and a lot of the electronic music that came out of the 80s, and I started to become more and more familiar with it. The new wave sort of led me to synth pop and dark wave, and there were a couple of occasions where car rides on Sunday nights had me listening to the Dark Wave segment on the radio, which is where my affinity for gothic genres really started to cultivate. I learned that "gothic music" was not just the same dozen of Cruxshadows, Combichrist, Apoptygma Berzerk, VNV Nation, and Assemblage 23 songs my previous girlfriend played hundreds of times on repeat, so the genre I thought was stupid actually became one that I loved. The only real band from a goth subgenre I enthusiastically liked prior to that was The Birthday Massacre, as they opened for Mindless Self Indulgence back in 2008, which was my first real concert I went to.
So where does the metal come in? Well, I never liked metal previously, but that all changed when I searched Youtube for "This Corrosion", and an In Extremo Video came up. I enjoy covers, so I clicked it, not knowing it would introduce me to the genre I love most: folk metal. The common thread in 99% of the music I listen to is it is not your vanilla vocals, guitar, bass, and drums. That was what metal tended to be in my experience, primarily because the metal I heard was all garbage from the United States. Add some niche to it, like bagpipes, harp, hurdy gurdy, shawm, accordion, violin, etc, and you've got an entirely different animal. I couldn't get enough of it. Over time, my acceptance of different vocal styles grew, and I now listen to some stuff I never thought I'd listen to in a million years. But it is all so wonderful and eclectic, and that is why I enjoy it.
Finally, I am very passionate about supporting local musicians. Local music changed my life. I'll spare the long story, but I was in a rut, and going to local shows was the hobby that got me out of it. I met new friends, discovered new music, got into photography, and have some of my best experience before, during, or after local concerts. It's saddening that mainstream music gets so much attention when the breadth and depth of talent in the local scene is so immense. Everyone can do themselves huge favors by going to a few local shows and discovering some new artists. I would just encourage people to think about something they are passionate about and how good it makes them feel. Isn't that something you want to support? That is what supporting local artists and musicians is all about.
Well folks, that right there is your starting point for all of the music related posts to follow. I can't teach you how to play guitar, but I will try to open up a new world of music that isn't very widespread. I'll talk about how the music makes me feel, I'll dispel misconceptions, and I'll show you how you too can find local Chinese electronic folk metal bands at the click of a button. Yes, the universe in which I operate is to find "local bands" that are in other continents than the I one I reside in. If you find one new band you like, whether it's someone I share or simply because you're prompted to explore your local scene because I mentioned it, I've been successful here.
