Recent Work, New Toys...

Over the last two weeks, Scott and I - and then Josh and I - have gotten together to work some more on the tunes we've got going. It's been a little tough getting started, because at the outset we've got a LOT of little bits and pieces, and haven't really been able to hunker down and focus on one or two. We're still sort of finding our rhythm, so to speak. But we're starting to zero in on a couple of tunes that are moving us more than the others, and I think that shortly we'll be in full-on songwriting mode.

In the meantime, Scott has been upgrading his home studio workspace; he recently added dual-displays to his computer setup, and (as both Josh and I proclaimed when we did the same) he's loudly announced that he'll never go back! That sort of flexibility of workspace makes things work so much more smoothly. He also upgraded to Sonar 8 Producer.

I've also added some new things to my studio; new drum mics, the most recent Sonar Version (Producer 8), T-Racks Mastering Suite, and more... Of course, I'm ALWAYS adding new toys... My big project is going to be the ongoing improvements at Digital Din, our main studio. While the room is "finished," the walls need treatment and design, the windows need replacing, there's a little drywall to finish, doors to hang. It's always something. ;-)

More progress...

All three of us got together at Digital Din last night to do some more work on the music. For a bit, we concentrated on "Undertow" - first doing a little bit of musical editing and re-arrangement. We then switched to lyrics, since we only had a few initial lines and haven't fleshed out the concept. We brainstormed for a bit, then came up with a few really unique ideas for where to take the lyrics... more on that later.

We then played with some new/old song ideas; Scott has a couple of really cool acoustic guitar-oriented pieces that he's been kicking around for a while. One, in particular, seemed to really get the wheels turning - a song called "Tell Me Why" which has a great progression and a haunting melody. We'll see if that can become a Din Within tune with some more work in the future.

Also of note, Scott brought over a CD of some other musical things we had worked on quite a while ago as "Digital Loss" (with John Lewis and Dave Hutton). We may resurrect some of that material as well - several of those tunes are really quite cool! Productive pre-production... things are working well so far!

(Crosses fingers)...

Back in the saddle...

So, I see that Josh is back on the posting horse, so I figured I'd jump in as well.

First, I'm also very happy about the - working so far - new arrangement that brings longtime collaborator Scott into the Din Within environment. We'll see how things go long-term with three cooks stirring the broth, but I think that Scott is excited to be involved, and we're stoked to have him joining us. In fact, it even helps us with logistics - Josh was unable to make a session 2 weeks ago due to a prior commitment, so Scott and I got together in his stead, and we still got lots of stuff done! (And likewise, Josh and I got together this past week sans Scott, since he was unavailable.) So - we're making things happen!

Scott and I have plenty of experience working and writing together in a band - all three of my previous projects of note have involved him; we co-founded Outcry (1986-1990), Ransomed Soul (1991-1994) and Second Story (1996-2004) together. So we've got a good - and proven - dynamic. And of course, Josh and I have figured out how to work together too. So now we just need to make it all work together!

We're working on Undertow right now, one of the last things we were working on before the break, and we've also got a lot of bits and pieces that we're playing with. One might become the song "15 Minutes," using lyrics I wrote some time ago that I've been unable to find a home for... I love the words I've got, but none of my songs have really fit the bill - and in listening to some of our "homeless" song parts, we found a piece that might just work. We'll see...

The Writing Begins

Last week, Mark and Scott continued to work on the song we started. I wasn't able to make it to our writing session, but Mark and Scott were digging what they came up with, so I'm looking forward to hearing what they did.

It's funny how ideas sometimes come to fruition. I was at the local Guitar Center with Scott to buy a new mic cable. Of course, I can't just go into the store, buy the cable, and leave. I have to walk around a bit and expand on my mental G.A.S. list. So there I was, sitting down in front of the Korg Oasys synth workstation. I chose a simple pad patch and threw my right hand down into some semblance of a chord. Wouldn't you know it, but the stars aligned perfectly from just laying my hands down and I played a very interesting group of notes. Intrigued, I then began to work out a slow-moving bass line. I was really digging how it sounded. I certainly didn't want to forget this new idea, so I pulled out the ol' Blackberry and wrote the chords and bass line out in the memo pad. When I got home I wanted to record this idea into SONAR so I wouldn't lose it. That's when all of the fun began.

I should preface this by saying that music technology and I don't get along... at all. I don't understand it, I don't want to understand it, and quite frankly if I am spending a lot of money on it, I should just be able to plug it in and have it work. This is never my luck, however. My MIDI interface — the unit that interfaces my synth with my computer — decided to take a crap on me. It worked one second, it didn't the next; you get the idea. Only other musicians can relate to the frustration of having their creativity stifled due to some overpriced piece of crap that becomes obsolete a month after its released for sale.

So after a few very painful hours, got the interface to work, and then recorded the basic idea for posterity. Yea for me!

Mark came over last night to check out some of the archive material I had, and wouldn't you know it the damn interface was broken again. It took us about 30 more minutes to finally say "F*!$ It" and stop trying to fix that which cannot be fixed. On a whim I pulled out my old $50 MIDI interface (that I wasn't even sure I had) and wouldn't you know the damn thing worked as soon as I plugged it in. Ain't technology wonderful.

Anyway, the moral of the story is that I was able to play the idea from Guitar Center for Mark, and not only did he like it, but he immediately sat down in front of the synth and wrote two other parts that really work well. That, of course, prompted me to quickly write a nice lead guitar line, and we're off to the races again. I love it when ides work like that.

I was also able to play a few more ideas for Mark that he said he has other ideas for, so I'm going to bring them to his house next week and see if they work. Right now it looks like we have three songs in the works at the same time, which is quite good considering we just started writing again two weeks ago.

We're Baaaaaaaaack!

Happy New Year, everyone! I realize it’s been a VERY long time since we last updated you, and I’m sure you’ve all been waiting with bated breath for the life-altering wisdom we impart here. (Yeah, whatever.) That being said, here is what’s going on.

First and foremost, as Mark stated on the main page of our site, I got married in September ’08. It was a beautiful day and I couldn’t be happier. The wedding and subsequent immigration paperwork (my wife is Thai) took up pretty much all of my free time for a number of months after the wedding. All of the paperwork has been submitted, and now we’re just waiting to hear from the gov’t that everything is finalized. Wish us luck.

On a slightly sad note, I had not been playing much guitar lately until very recently. Life just gets in the way sometimes, ya know? I have been training very hard in my martial arts, and I have been learning how to speak, read, and write Thai to impress the in-laws when we visit Thailand. Add to that working a full-time job and several side-jobs, and it makes for a very busy person. My guitar teacher, Scott McGill, inarguably (in my opinion) the greatest guitar player alive today, moved to the UK to pursue a teaching position at the BIMM music school. I’m extremely happy for him, as he seems to be thriving there, but it’s a huge loss for me because I have no one kicking my ass to practice now. If Mark will allow some indulgence, please check out and support Scott’s music – www.scottmcgill.com.

But, 2009 is a new year, and with it comes a slew of resolutions. My music-related resolutions for the New Year? Finish my jazz quintet’s debut CD, play more guitar than I have in the latter half of ’08, and… drum roll, please… work on new Din Within material! At least one of those resolutions has begun thus far; Mark and I started getting together again to work on new material.

The biggest news for 2009, however, is one that I’m most excited about. That is the addition of a third songwriting partner! Our close friend, Scott Lewis, has been joining us for the last few writing sessions, and so far things are going very well (more on that later.) For those of you who attended Woodspock III last year, you will remember Scott as the “other” guitarist who also sang lead vocals on our cover of the Kamelot song “The Human Stain.” Scott is a ridiculously-talented guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is a never-ending font of musical ideas and always original. Having another guitar player in the mix should also create an interesting dynamic. It will absolutely kick my ass and get me to start practicing again for one thing, but it will also allow me to think about songwriting in a different way than I’m used to. I’ve never been in a writing project with another guitar player before. I wonder how many dual-guitar harmonized leads we’re going to end up writing. Sorry, Mark!

We have no idea if the music the three of us come up with will be branded as “Din Within” music or not, but the way Mark and I set up our writing relationship, it really doesn’t matter. As long as we’re writing music together, it doesn’t matter if it’s prog rock, ballads, or death metal. The music is what the music is. If it happens to get branded as a Din Within song, great! If not, we’ll put it in another bucket, give it another name, and continue to write. I have no doubt that another DW CD is forthcoming; don’t be surprised, however, if you also get some additional material from us. I know for a fact that Scott and I have a few metal riffs floating around that I would love to finish and put out.

Anyway…

It’s funny, having been away from music and writing with Mark for a while. We always start out by browsing through the hundreds of snippets of music, lyrics, riffs, etc… to find something that catches our ear to start working on. Some of the music we have “on file” has been around for 20+ years! Some of it sounds very familiar, while some of the stuff I had forgotten about and sounds like it was written yesterday. I guess the good news is that we both still have a lot of ideas filed away that we want to work on, so at least for now there will be no shortage of starting points for new material.

The first thing we started working on is tentatively titled “Undertow.” It’s a piano/vocal idea that Mark and I came up with about two years ago. At first it was going to be a more brooding, mellow type of piece, but Scott came in with a few heavy-groove guitar riffs that we started working on, and we think they just may fit together very well, so Undertow may undergo an interesting transformation.

As for jazz, I mentioned the quintet CD. My biggest goal in life now is to learn to play jazz. I have been pursuing this dream for a few years now, and I don’t mind telling you that it’s very hard. Having played rock/metal guitar for over twenty years and accumulating a plethora of habits (both good and bad) it’s incredibly frustrating sometimes. I can hear it in my head; I just can’t get it to my fingers. I know I’m not the only one with this problem, and hopefully my stubborn determination will win out. I’ll be headed back into the studio shortly to finish up the CD and it will certainly be available in some capacity to the public. Not sure if it will be a fully-pressed package or anything like that, so we’ll see what happens.

That’s it for now, folks. I’ll encourage Mark to give an update when he can. He’s very busy with his job, which gives me a perfect segue to plug his business as well. Gollihur Music is, in my not-so-humble opinion, THE only place to go for upright bass equipment. Even as a guitar player I’ve gotten lots of equipment and information from them. If you know a bass player, please send them along to the GM website. See you soon!

P.S. If anyone feels so inclined, I'd really love one of these!