Different tuning gives fresh ideas / 8 strings

I just got some more ideas last night. I recorded the beginning of a song I could call "Seven Bowls of Wrath." This is in reference to when God pours his wrath out on this world in the very last days. This is spoke of in Revelation chapter 16 (in the Bible, God's Word). By the way, these "bowls" are figurative. I was thinking it would be neat if I actually got together an album called "Prophecies of Revelation," each track having to do with the book of Revelation.

I have had my guitar tuned to Drop A for a long time now. I have run out of ideas and not making sense of my musical creations. So what I did was change my tuning to Standard Bb. To give you an idea where this is, if you dropped the 6th string down to match the 4th string (only an octave lower) it would be Drop Ab. So, I have actually gone lower in tuning, but a half step above in the key I normally played. I'm forming chords better.  It's working so far. I will want to be posting this on my SoundCloud before too long. I ran out of ideas last night, but I got my recording very tight and decided to call it a night. I did a great job getting my ideas out and recorded.

This video gave me some inspiration. Pete has an 8 string here, and I have a 6 string, but I got some ideas from this rhythm arrangement.

Since "Seven Bowls of Wrath" is wrathful and all, I want it to sound mean and heavy for most parts. After all, when you face God's wrath...er...you don't want to. Thankfully, I am not going to face God's wrath because I'm his child. I can face his judgement, but not his wrath. That's in the Bible, 1 Thessalonians 5:9.

I don't know if I want an 8 string or a 7 string. I keep going back and forth in my mind. The only thing keeping from getting an 8 is the massive neck. But, dude!!, if you wanna go LOW then you can on an 8 string. Just check out these guys. They are tuned to Drop F. They hit that open low string around 30 seconds. Pete is in the video again. He's the rhythm guitarist for Red Seas Fire.

What have I been up to?

It's been a battle with my allergy attack, or whatever hit me. hehe. I was still able to go to Pumpkin Hollow (to be scared by the goblins) with my friends and church group last Saturday. I thought at first I wouldn't be able to go because I felt really bad - and it was an hour before we were to leave. But I was determined. With the help of a nasal decongestant, willpower, and adrenaline, I picked myself off the couch. My back had been hurting too from the day at work. But that heating pad and 3 Ibruprofen had helped. After moving around, I did fine and felt a lot better. I proved that a little determination will get you places. I used to think the "willpower" thing was just a superstition, but not anymore. I had a great time with everyone. It's not exactly a haunted house we went to. The attractions were the Mine and the Haunted Forest, and then also a few friends went to the Corn Maze. We did not care to go to Bubba's Butcher Barn to see gory stuff. The Mine is basically a closed in tunnel you walk through. You go through rooms to get scared, but sometimes they get you in the walls too. The Forest is an actual forest you walk through - along a path you follow lighted by small lamps hanging from trees. Along the way you will get scared; sometimes I can predict when, but it's always fun. This year I wasn't as scared as I have been before because I'm getting older. I got startled a few times and that was cool. My friend Fred was acting like he was terrified of the scares. It was so funny - he was half the entertainment! Crouching low and covering his head he ran through the scares like a little kid. He was pretty convincing as he wailed in supposed fear.

I learned a way I can prevent my back from hurting so much as a cashier. I'm so tall that when I reach down to get change from the drawer, I would bend my back a little; but now I bend my legs more and it is much easier on my back. I also learned Walmart does not accept Kroger coupons! haha There's so much to remember.

I found another band called Red Seas Fire. They are in the UK. Pretty stinkin' awesome if you like Progressive Metal. They have 7 strings and at least one 8 string. The guitarist sometimes hits the 8th string and it sounds awesomely low. I hope to find lyrics to their songs, because I want to find out if what they are saying is okay and not offensive. Until I find the lyrics, I guess I'm listening in happy ignorance if they are singing bad stuff. I just hope they aren't. They produce awesome music and I fear the possibility of having to delete them.

I slowly working some projects for the future. This Christmas, I plan on releasing a Christmas Rock Carol on YouTube. I have 5 songs so far in this arrangement. I'm trying to figure out how I can transition from the 5th to the 6th song, whatever song it will be. I am also going to be doing some tutorials once I get rid of this congestion.

-Brandon