Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Vocals no. 1

Video uploaded from the other day. First vocal session with my cousin. Follow me on Facebook.




My cousin and I are going over the single "Living in the Last Days." It is the title track of my upcoming EP. The guitars are recorded raw with no additional mixing or mastering at the moment. That job is for the studio.

We had literally just learned these lines I wrote. Just experimenting, so don't be harsh. We had a blast, in case you couldn't tell. ;) I am the one with the glasses.

If you are wondering what we are doing with our phones, we are reading the lyrics.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

First vocal session

I had a really cool vocal session with my cousin yesterday before work. Initially, I was surprised his scream was not very loud. I thought there was more volume. But actually, you really don't need more volume with a microphone. :) Just turn it up like you would a guitar. I think his tonality is right. We just have a few things to work out. We only just started. This was just under two hours. This is a screenshot of a video that will be uploaded soon.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Granny with a hot rod

The other day at work I carried out a lady's groceries. She was old enough to be my grandmother. I was surprised and thrilled to find out she was driving a red Corvette! "Yeah, it's my sweetie," she said. That was so cool. Maybe one day I will be able to afford one.

Guitar Rhythms Tracked

Last night, I spent three hours tracking the main guitar rhythm for my upcoming single, "Living in the Last Days." I had to take a trip to the store to pick up a new 9V battery for my active pickups, however. My Jackson SLSMG, set up and down-tuned to Drop A, has EMG 81/85s. I installed a fresh set of strings. I use the six middle strings in the Ernie Ball 8-string set, numbering gauges 13-64. I am not going to talk about tone yet.

I got a cool idea, using a jazzy clean sound with some delay. That is the red track you see in the picture. I'm satisified with the result. The studio I will give my work to for mixing and mastering will amp the MIDI for the bass through Trillian, and MIDI for drums through either Superior Drummer or Steven Slate. I was offered reamping for my guitar, but I want complete control over my tone, even though EQing will take place. I hope the end result is nice.

And I am excited to meet with my cousin today for writing lyrics. I plan to bring my camera. I want to record a few snippets of our progress for YouTube. I do have several lines written already, but since I hope he will be doing my vocals, it needs to flow and work well with how he wants to sing and scream.

I must have changed the verse riffs five times, but I think I have something that will work well.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

21 today plus latest adventures

I turned 21 today. And that DOESN'T mean I can drink. That's for stupid people.

I did have a good day today. I worked most of the day, but that's okay. The world does not revolve around Brandon Burch. I also didn't have the foresight to ask off on my birthday. My store manager gave me a card and shook my hand. It was cool. They didn't make a big fuss about my birthday, so that was cool. Believe it or not, I was even glad they didn't get me a balloon. LOL. I'm the kind of guy who doesn't like a lot of attention. I got a lot of wishes on my personal facebook. That was really cool. :) It's weird because I am more often an introvert than not. It used to be the other way around.

Dad told me, "You're a man now." That is surreal to me. It's hard to grasp that I have been on this earth 21 years. The LORD has blessed me. I hope God comes back in my lifetime. It's kind of cool, because at least 1/5 of my life is probably over, if not more. HAHA. NO, I AM NOT TURNING SUICIDAL! LOL. It means I am that much closer to seeing my Jesus in heaven above.

Anyway, I don't feel like an adult. But I guess I can just be a kid at heart if I want. :) I still read Teen Fiction.
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I had an interesting "adventure" yesterday. I dropped by the revenue office to renew my driver's license before it expired. I got off work at 3:00, and I knew I didn't have time to renew the following day (today) because I got off at 5:30. The revenue office would be closed by then. It took me a while to find it, even after a customer from my work had given me directions. I was looking for railroad tracks. I had been told if I crossed the tracks I had gone too far. I never did see them. Pizza had been ordered at home so I didn't mess around. I swallowed my manly pride and asked for directions at a gas station. I was told to cross the railroad tracks and it would be in a little strip-mall. I STILL never saw the railroad tracks, but I found the mall and went inside the revenue office. (I later found out the railroad tracks were under the huge bridge I went over.)

I politely waited "in line." A minute went by and I noticed a dispenser across the room that said, "PICK A NUMBER FOR REVENUE ONLY." Ah..that's not me. I am not revenue. This is my driver's license. Then I saw a dude walk in and pick a number and sit down. I didn't think much of it until an old guy came in asked where he could get a number. I thought to myself, Well there's not really a line. There's just one customer at a time. And there's a whole lot of people sitting down. Crap, I bet I was supposed to pick a number. I bet I look stupid. I shall nonchalantly walk across the room and pick a number. I was right. I was supposed to pick a number. I even asked a man who later sat next to me. "Yeah, everything's revenue," he said after I explained my reasoning.

Sixty-four, my number, finally came. After a few minutes of starting to go through the process of renewal, the lady at the desk said, "Wait, we're not renewing are we? Because this doesn't expire 'til 2013." I could hardly believe it, I had to look at the license myself. I felt so dumb! I tried to forget about any people that might have overheard. I just laughed about it and said, "Okay, I'll see y'all in a year," and walked out.

Needless to say, the pizza wasn't cold.
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I am supposed to meet up with my cousin this weekend and work out some lyrics for my single "Living in the Last Days." I have already written a lot the lines for the song, but they are definitely open for change. I am excited to hear the tonality in his voice.

I have recently made a very close friend who has a lot in common with me. We have already talked and hung out a lot. My life has been a blessed one lately, even in the midst of trials. I thank God for His grace. I LOVE YOU, LORD.