Friends and Fame

Every once in a while I'll have a friend do something big and make a name for themselves. Because of the nature of music and it being in the entertainment industry, most of these "15 minutes of fame" cases are music-related. I've had a few instances where I've played gigs with bigger names, have hung out with world-renowned artists, and have gotten my name out there other fun ways.

With my friends, the earliest case of this that I can think of is when my friend, Danny, was taken up on stage with Robert Randolph and the Family Band when they came to our school. He got to jam on stage for maybe like 5 minutes and it was pretty sweet. I had actually been the one to push him (literally) to go up, so to see him having a blast up on stage was a little extra rewarding.

Matt Stevens

After that, I'd say Matt Stevens' recent success has gone above and beyond the 15 minutes. I've been following his work and keeping in contact with him since right before the release of his first album, Echo, in 2008, where his solo career started to take off. After tons of positive press from over in England, a second solo album, Ghost, and a prog-rock release with The Fierce and the Dead, he's made quite the name for himself. Now working on album 3, Stevens has established a fan base and tightly knit community that has come together as a global network. This ability to engage his fans coupled with the positive press he has received has not only helped with the numbers side of things, but has also helped to land him the supporting act to bands like The Adrian Belew Power Trio.

Caleb Hawley

However, this post isn't about Matt Stevens, and it's definitely not about Danny, either. Instead, this is about my friend and stunt double, Caleb Hawley. I first met Caleb at a B-Sides at Messiah College. He had played and I had listened while playing pool. Impressed by his awesomeness, I bought his newly released, Greatest Hits (his first release). Eventually, I guess my roommate, Ryan, who books B-Sides, was corresponding with Caleb and had given him a link to my music. We got talking, I looked up his picture and the resemblance was ...super creepy.

Height, hair, Strats, Taylors ...creepy

So anyway, I've seen Caleb a few times since then, played a show with him, and have been able to follow his progress. In recent news, he's not only released his third album, but has made it onto American Idol?! Now I'm not the biggest fan of American Idol - actually I rather dislike the show - but check out his audition:

Pretty much one of the best auditions I've seen (though I don't usually watch the show and haven't seen many auditions). It's great getting to see a friend up there and to see the sort of press that he's gotten from this. I was going to post this right after it was aired, but then thought it'd be better to post right before the Hollywood episodes. Which, I guess are now sometime in the next week or two, so that works. So, regardless of what you think of American Idol, be sure to check it out to see how he does. He's already got Steven Tyler clapping along and J-Lo telling him he's cute, so in some regards, he's won already - just not the whole competition yet.






So yeah, it's great to see friends make it and to see them do big things. Opportunities like those that Caleb and Matt have gotten come along once in a lifetime and change the course of your career. We all wish, at some point, that those things could happen to us, but to step back and think about it, that would make my life way too crazy. I like being able to do small gigs and still do this mechanical engineering stuff, while watching friends step into the limelight.

Listen To What You Listen To

I was recently at a recital of a friend of mine, Mark Hunsburger. Though the kid has made tons of little tiny changes in his major, I think it's in Music Composition with a Percussion Concentration. During his recital he played a number of different pieces, including very straight-forward classical pieces, a variety of jazz pieces and a very interesting atonal piece that seemed to contain both classical and jazz elements.

Hearing these pieces got me thinking about what goes in to "good" music. I'm not talking about how to write music that will top the charts. What I'm talking about is music that is engaging, intriguing, and, in a sense, musically intellectual. For the most part, this excludes what is on the radio. As many of you know, I have little-to-no interest in pop hits and rock ballads (Obviously, this is an over-generalization of the radio, but a necessary one, as this typifies the radio as it is known today.).

What, then, has Mark's recital caused so much thought on? As with almost anything in life, you get out something similar to what you've put in. The fact that most people feel giddy when the fourth chord of a pop progression resolves and is followed by the first chord says a lot about what they've subjected themselves to - the safe, pleasing sounds of the over-generalized radio hits.

As I listened to Mark's recital, I was overcome with this seemingly elementary realization. Though I've known this seemingly forever, Mark's selections brought this to light. What I feel my writing is missing is the influence from these largely defining periods in musical history. By no means do I plan to learn classical guitar (though it'd be useful ...just not my thing), nor do I plan on becoming any world-renowned jazz guitarist.

What is there to gain, then?

• Classical music is centered around rules and, occasionally, rule breaking. While I may find such rules to be restraining and annoying, some semblance of a rule set is important to hold with you. These may not be as musically defined as avoiding parallel fifths or tritones, but to have your own guidelines to keep you from straying from your goal is important. When you're just playing in your room, it's easy to get distracted from your goals, but if you fall into a writing style so disjunct and unintuitive as to be following every distraction, you will run into serious problems. An unconscious set of rules will help you to be able to write with purpose and direction.
• Additionally, classical music has a strong emphasis on fluid motion. This is not to say that everything ought to flow into the most obvious and direct manner. Instead, this is to say that a composition should not be limited by a verse/chorus format. Classically based music is where you see the idea of a "movement" as a larger entity that flows without the monotony of much repetition. I believe that musically, this is much more interesting than even most things that I find myself writing.
• A lot of what we get from jazz is the connection between the performer and the music. The idea of improvisation is so heavily jazz influenced in this way. Basically, improv is the musicians response to what he is hearing - helping to bring unparalleled unity between music and musician. By this point I am not saying that all music ought to be improvisational. Rather, it is so much better to play and become one with the music than merely playing pitch-for-pitch a piece with no emotion. Music is art and art is, very much, emotion.
• From jazz we also see a lot of deviations from the original key of the piece. This adds so much depth and character to music if done right. Sure, the masses want to hear pure resolution and tonal monotony, but that's not really what music should be about. As an art form, it should be about the art.

Beyond just classical and jazz there are tons of other genres that have a lot to offer - moreso than radio stereotypes. For my personal music endeavors, I'm thinking stuff like gypsy jazz, traditional world-folk music, flamenco, and a host of others. These may not necessarily benefit whatever you're writing, but studying these less culturally-corrupt genres will inspire less watered down, musically droning music. And really, if you're any kind of musician, you don't want to be writing music that sucks...

With that, I give you all a homework assignment. Look up Charles Ives' music, specifically Varied Air. I've been listening to that album while writing it and it is genius.

-Alex 

First Wedding Reception

Since starting to play solo gigs, I've played a total of somewhere between 80-100 gigs. In that time, I've played coffee shops, house concerts, art galleries, and festivals. All of these I have played multiple times and am at least somewhat familiar with. Today, however, I was taken out of my comfort zone.

Today I played my first wedding, Julie and Jay Frey. I only played the reception, so that was a relief (a ceremony would be a bit unnerving). However, this was only the 3rd wedding that I've ever been to. Consequently, I had no idea what to expect or what would be appropriate. I opted for improv and loops. Much of this was loosely based on progressions that I've used in my own songs, but with more flare and added percussion. Not only was it a lot of fun, but I got tons of compliments, as well as a DJ contact for possibly more weddings. Oh and one of the comments was that I reminded a guy of Phil Keaggy.

With that positive experience, I'd love to once again remind everyone that I am up for all kinds of gigs. If you're getting married, hosting a house concert, organizing a festival, or need someone to open for - it's great to get to play new places and for new people. I look forward to many more experiences like this.

-Alex

Technology and Innovation in Music

An aspiration of mine for the past 5 or 6 years has been to someday make it out to Anaheim, California, for the Winter NAMM show (or the Summer one in Nashville, TN). This is a huge music industry expo, where companies showcase the latest inventions and innovations in music technology. Everything from aspiring new guitar manufacturers (with a few hands on luthiers thrown in the mix) to the latest DJ equipment can be seen here, as well as performances from rock n' roll legends and up-and-comings.

Unfortunately, once again, I didn't make it out to NAMM this year. That's not a surprise and I didn't expect to, but it's still unfortunate. However, after the expo, I always enjoy pictures and blogs from those who were fortunate enough to be there. Yesterday I read one such blog, Discmakers' Echoes. Their 3 part post on NAMM was rather interesting, yet also somewhat concerning.

In todays digital world, there is little innovation seen on traditional instruments. The guitar has essentially been the same for decades, pianos don't change much, nor do orchestral instruments. Sure, the electronic side of guitars has slowly progressed, pianos have turned into keyboards, and electronic drum sets are being improved every day, but the instruments are all played like the versions before them and still make comparable sounds.

Consequently, traditional instruments are not a part of the displays that turn the most heads. As I read through the Echoes posts, the items turning heads were things like the KITARA, reactable, and loads of iPad apps. I understand that digital music modulation through these means is the next big thing, but, to me, this also presents some problems.

Essentially what these things are doing is making it easier to make music. Making something that sounds "good" is taking increasingly less effort and skill. In this way, being a "musician" takes less and less effort. It used to be that being a musician was a full time career, often chosen for you by your family line. By no means do I think that music should be this exclusive, but I think a more clear line between musicians and non-musicians should be drawn. I've worked hard to get to where I am, am know a ton of other musicians who have done the same.

I don't mean to be stuck up about this, but I feel like this is a fairly valid point. The number of guitar knock offs, samplers that line everything up for you, and automatic music maker mechanisms are sorta like get-rich-quick schemes for people who don't want to take the time to learn anything about music. For a hobbyist, these make great toys. The problem is when non-musical people release sub-par computer-generated music that clutters the web, making it harder for real musicians to be discovered.

What does this mean for real musicians?
This means that real musicians have to work extra hard in order to have any new fans. Between blogging, facebook, twitter, and a real website, artists need to focus more and more on getting their name out in order to combat those non-musical music makers. Ultimately, though this does force artists closer to their fans, it also takes away from the time that artists have to spend on their music.

The main issue here is the artist's start-up. You do want to end up being close to your fans, but trying to get close to people while trying to put out enough music to keep people interested is a daunting task. All the while, most musicians have day jobs, further keeping them from being able to excel at what they're doing.


I'd love to hear some other peoples' thoughts on this. Don't get me wrong - I love that non-musical people are able to make music. I'm just opposed to sub-par music being written off as musical talent and, in the process, making it harder for musical musicians to make it.

-Alex

I Guess This Was Inevitable

As many of you know, I often grow my nails out to play guitar. I find that it's easier to fingerpick with nails and it brings out better tone as well. Unfortunately, I also do lots of things that endanger ...pretty much everything, but largely my nails. Things like snowboarding, longboarding, rock climbing, and, most recently, volleyball.

All of January the only class I've got is Beginner Volleyball. It's taken a couple weeks, but that has finally come to screw me over... Observe:

This is the worst break I've had. As you can see, it's broken maybe about 3/16" back into my nailbed or whatever the heck that part of your nail is. Looks like some cutting, some super glue and idk what else... This sucks and I've got a wedding to play on Saturday...

-Alex

Old Show Review: August Burns Red w/Bless the Fall, Enter Shikari, and iwrestledabearonce

Right now, I'm sitting in my living room watching August Burns Red's newest album/DVD release, Home. The live album/DVD was shot at Warehouse 54 (Manheim BIC church), only like 20 minutes from my house. Naturally, I was there and can even be seen in the pit, crowdsurfing, and being interviewed at the end. It was truly one of the best hardcore shows I've ever been to. However, at least at the moment, I don't have time to review that show. Instead I'm going to post a review of another show of theirs I had seen. It's from July of 2009, right before the official release of their album, Constellations.






August Burns Red w/Bless The Fall, Enter Shikari, and iwrestledabearonce

If you’re ever having a bad day, week, month, or entire summer, then you’re clearly in need of a good hardcore show. To say this show was good, however, is like saying that the sun is warm - it’s a gross understatement. This was one of the best hardcore shows I’ve ever seen, and I was once one of those kids who went to a show each week, so I’ve seen quite a few.

The show started off with this band, iwrestledabearonce. Having never heard them before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. When a girl stepped on stage, I figured it’d either be something absolutely terrible, or something along the liens of Flee the Seen, being not nearly as heavy as ABR. So yeah, I was pretty wrong about that one. Frontwoman Krysta Cameron is brutal. She did all of the vocals, ranging from a death metal growl that would make small children cry to singing both very powerful melodies to extremely timid ones. She would switch back and forth on the slightest whim as well. Now being a guitarist, you’ve gotta do a good job at wowing me instrumentally as well. Not only did iwrestledabearonce have some crazy vocals, but they kept things extremely interesting with lots of genre changes, similar to what you’d see with some Between the Buried and Me songs, but slightly more frequent. Basically if I could be in a band, it would be something extremely reminiscent of these guys. I was impressed enough to actually go and buy their CD after the show (perhaps I’ll have a later segment in this blog on my view of piracy, coming from an artist). For the opening act, I don’t know that you can do much better.

With such an incredible first band, I expected to be slightly disappointed by the other two leading up to ABR. However, hailing from the UK, Enter Shikari was yet another wow experience. I really enjoy when people experiment with their music and come up with sounds that you haven’t heard before or, at the very least, don’t hear often. These guys did that with some strange mixture of techno-esque beats and synth sounds with a healthy mix of screaming and singing. It was unique, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was kinda strange at times, when within a single song you couldn’t decide whether you were supposed to be dancing or moshing. Jumping around in a more jovial manner would turn into a pit with the little scene kids and their windmill kicks and whatnot almost instantaneously. It’d also be interesting to note that they have an extremely different sound live than they do on their recorded material. In listening to them online just now, they are much more reserved in their recording. Live they seem to have a lot more raw vocal power than the processed sound of the studio. If I was going to buy a second CD at this show, it would have probably been theirs.

Still waiting for the almost inevitable flop that far too many shows seem to have, the third band, Bless the Fall, took the stage and I took a pessimistic stand. Perhaps I’ve just seen too many really exceptional bands with really unexceptional bands. Though I wasn’t quite as wowed with these guys, they still had a great sound and put on a great show. Their sound was a little bit more commonplace, and not as experimental, but still really solid and thoroughly enjoyable. They were really good, honestly, but at this point in writing this review, I’m just more anxious to get to ABR’s set, so this is getting cut short. Seriously, look all of these guys up online if you’ve never heard of them before.

So then comes the set change for ABR… With such anticipation for what everyone knew would be pure insanity, the set change took forever. I guess a few people couldn’t wait for things to go crazy, so they started a bit early. There were two girls who went into an all-out brawl prior to ABR taking the stage. I saw very little of it, but the few seconds I caught when I turned around to see what the commotion was were pretty intense. ABR finally took the stage shortly thereafter and everyone else got to go crazy. They started out with a few of their new songs, then played a few older ones and continued with a very healthy mix of old and new. Having not listened to the new songs too much, I was less familiar with them, but thoroughly impressed. Usually when a band first goes on tour with a new set list, it takes a while until the new songs are played as well as the old ones, but, as I gave an extremely critical ear to the new material, everything seemed to be dead on. A while back I had read some of the comments on their myspace saying that the new material wasn’t as brutal and whatnot, but it still is very much so, at least live.

Despite it being an amazing show and ABR’s performance being pretty insane, there were a few things that I wasn’t too pleased about. In the midst of playing their new material they announced that they had the new album for sale at the show, even though the release date is the 14th. Sure that’s great and all, but being one of the people who preordered it, I was a little upset to find out that I would have to continue to wait while other people did not. Also, they didn’t play The Seventh Trumpet. If anyone has seen them live, The Seventh Trumpet pretty much redefines epic. It’s probably one of the best songs ever written by a person. To see them and not have that show in their set was troubling. However, I still got my mosh on, got to crowd surf, and saw one of the best lineups ever.

Not from this show, but when they played purple door 2 years ago

B-Sides Review: Oberhofer and Cloud Nothings.

First off, an introduction to B-Sides for those who don't know. B-Sides is a weekly free concert series at Messiah College. Every Wednesday night the Students Activity Board (SAB) brings in a different band, free of cost to students. Pretty much, it's the best thing ever. I've discovered some of my favorite bands at these (Margot and the Nuclear So and So's, This Will Destroy You, Anathallo, and a host of others). My friend, Ryan, is in charge of booking B-Sides, so occasionally I can talk him into something like The Andreas Kapsalis Trio who played in the fall and were absolutely amazing...

So this semester I'd like to try to write up a brief review of each B-Sides that I get to. With my schedule, this shouldn't be all that hard to write at least something small.

Tonight's B-Sides was the Cloud Nothings opening up for Oberhofer. Usually there's only one band, so I assumed a second would make it twice as good as normal.

Cloud Nothings:
Unfortunately, the Cloud Nothings did not quite live up to the B-Sides reputation. They're a power-pop band out of Ohio. I'm not a huge power-pop band to begin with, so the first impression was a bit rocky to begin with. My first impression was that they were loud. Loud to me means either that they were painfully loud like A Place to Bury Strangers, inappropriately loud for the venue, or just distorted and muddy sounding. I can look past being painfully loud or being inappropriately loud, but these guys just sounded muddy. The guitar work seemed fast but sloppy, the drums just incredibly too loud, and the vocals were muddy and indiscernible. To an extent this is part of the genre, I realize, but it just seemed like all of these aspects were taken too far. That was the first impression. As time wore on, the vocals began to wear on me as well. The wailing and oo's and ah's wore on as a never-ending mess of noise. Rather than hooks that would be waited for with anticipation, these were to cringe over. Overall, this half of B-Sides was just not very enjoyable.

Oberhofer:
Thankfully I trusted Ryan and stayed for the second act, Oberhofer. Though still filled with pop-like hooks, Oberhofer was smooth and soulful, meshing their oo's and ah's into their song structure quite tastefully. Though having a lo-fi appeal to many of their songs, they retained a clean, suave presentation.

Combined with their great stage presence, the music would make you want to just get up and haphazardly dance around. It was fun and entertaining and you could tell that they were having just as much fun. They were jumping around, dancing the whole time. It's always good to see a band that's enjoying their performance.

Another thing that stood out in their set was how they played a brand new song. As a performing musician I can appreciate what it takes to get up and play a something new. To add to the nerve already involved, the new song was so new that the lyrics ended up being improvised. Not being a singer or lyricist, this sounds like performance suicide. However, like the rest of their set, the new song was solid and sounded great.

-Alex

First Post

So you've stumbled upon my blog. This is the first post, so I'll just give a bit of background of what all you'll eventually be able to find on here:

This will be primarily a music based blog. That includes my music endeavors (gigs, recordings, etc.), reviews of artists I see, reviews of albums, and any other musings I have on the subject.

In addition to the music side of things, there will be a handful of non-music related posts. These may include everything from the job hunt for when I graduate to snowboarding and rock climbing adventures.


Tonight I'm meeting with my friend, Julie, and her fiancée, Jay, for playing their wedding reception in a few weeks. I'm really looking forward to this opportunity. Stay tuned for more on the wedding gig, some show reviews, and more.

-Alex