EP track listing

Okay, this is the official track listing for my band's upcoming EP, Living in the Last Days. Officially, it's only me and my cousin, Josh, in the band Analyzed Within. I will be working on placing bonus material in a digital package for all those who download the entire album from Bandcamp.

Remember, the EP is going to be free. Just name your price - type in $0 if you want it for free; however, any contribution helps. Okay, enough talking! Here's your list. Coming soon! Nearly all of the songs are tracked! Josh is working his lyrical magic just down the road from me.



ANALYZED WITHIN
Living in the Last Days EP


1. Beginning of Sorrows
2. Living in the Last Days
3. The Testing of Christians
4. The Lion Has Come to Defeat the Dragon
5. The Mount of Olives
6. Our Hope is Here

First time playing with drummer

My friend is wanting to play a show on March 30. The event being organized has 10 bands playing, including us. What was originally going to be me and my friend Dakota playing an acoustic set, turned into a metal project with his friend Brandon (like my name  ) as the drummer. So then I invited my cousin Josh (part of Analyzed Within - my forming band). So now it's two guitarists, me and Dakota; and a drummer, Brandon; and Josh the main vocalist. We have no bassist! I hope we find one, but if we don't we will have to turn up the bass on our amps.  

We had a practice session last night. It was my first time playing with a real drummer. So much better than playing with a machine like EZdrummer! Man, Brandon keeps time very well (as you would hope from a drummer.) He picked up on everything we played quickly. His fills and beats rocked! My little 70 W amp was running wide open and was still having a hard time competing with the drums in that small garage.  We might just mic the amps for the show. And yes, I kept the gain low so it would cut through.  Or I might find a new amp (if I can find the $$$), as Dakota is getting himself a new guitar and amp.

We are concerned about getting a few songs ready for the show. Last night was more of talking and jamming. We need material to practice. We have a 20 minute window to play our part. We are expecting 200 or more people in this park that the show is taking place. The drummer has played shows before, as has my vocalist Josh, but this would be the first time for me and Dakota. After coming up with a few things last night, we agreed I would make some playthroughs for us. Dakota said he needed to practice. Brandon would need a playthrough without drums so he could do his own thing. I might even share them here if people wanna see. We gotta stick with simple stuff right now since we are so pressed for time.

I don't know where this will take us, but I hope we could all become Analyzed Within one day, and it would no longer be just me and Josh. Right now we are just having fun in preparing for this show. If we did become Analyzed Within, we would only need a bassist. I really hope we find one for the show. haha

I just wanted to share this joy! I had a blast last night!

As far as Analyzed Within releasing music, I am working on some songs, and I nearly have the whole EP composed. Josh is writing nearly all of the lyrics now. It's easier that way. The single, the title track "Living in the Last Days," has not been released because our studio guy is so dang busy that he cannot get to it as much as he would like.

And if you know me and my low-tuned guitars OCD, you might be surprised to hear we are playing Drop C for our show. I'm pulling one of the songs from the EP - at least that's the plan. Transposing is no big deal, but will be fun!


Brandon

New Guitar!!

I got a new guitar!! And I did something I said I would never do. I traded in my first guitar, my cheap Ibanez IJX 121. I didn't use it anymore anyway. My buddy, Dakota, talked me into it. Actually, I was originally wanting to buy a used Ibanez 7321 7-string. But there was too much work that needed to be performed, plus it was scratched up and stuff. I randomly picked up this guitar because of the color and exotic body design. I was really impressed with the way it played and it felt good in my hands. The price tag was 259.99. For the price, it is an awesome guitar and sounds amazing. When you split the coils with the pickup selector, you can get a tasty blues tone, and of course the neck pickup just juices it up some more. The bridge pickup is nice and reminds me of the EMG 81. Here's the specs, yo:

ESP LTD F-50

Bolt-On Construction
25.5" Scale
Basswood Body
Maple Neck
Rosewood Fingerboard
42mm Standard Nut
Thin U Neck Contour
24 XJ Frets
Chrome Hardware
LTD Tuners
TOM Bridge
ESP Designed LH-150 (B & N) p.u.
Finish: BCH (Black Cherry), BLK
3-Way Toggle

I will find some time to do a playthrough of this guitar soon. :) For more pics, check out my public picture album. Dakota took a video of me talking about giving up my first guitar. Check back later and I will try to remember to place it here, or it might be in a new blog post.