Studio Report...Day 9

Well, I took a break this weekend and did not go into the studio at all. Amsterdamn was to record his bass tracks this weekend, but he came down with that nasty flu that was going around. He did not want record when he was sick, and I can't say I blame him...So today, Adam ended up recording his leads. Jim told me over the phone that all went smooth though. And since I am not a lead player, I'll take his word for it...

We will be recording bass tracks during this week depending on availability of Amsterdamn and Kai...one evening will be dialing in tones with a bulk of the tracks to be recorded over the weekend...I'm guessing it will go as well as our parts did...

I found out today that the layout for the CD is coming along...can't wait to see the awesome work Sly (Fondle Corpse) does!!

Studio Weekend...Day 7 and 8

Well, on Thursday night, I ended up partying all night for the most part...So needless to say, I was running on empty Friday...we had decided earlier in the week to meet up on Friday to plan the layout of the new album...we pretty much agreed on everything. Just like any band, we have our disagreements here and there, but overall, since I had joined the band, we never had any super huge conflicts...So in other words, it is a pleasant working environment...We did decide to do a photo collage in the booklet...so, if you wave taken pictures with us at some point, there is a pretty good chance you will be seeing yourself in the next CD...

Which brings us to Saturday...time to record my guitar tracks...finally!! I got to the studio around noon with 12 pack in hand...set up my stuff, let my amp get nice and warm, and warmed up a little myself...then, started recording. This studio experience went much better for me this time around. I felt very comfortable and felt very good while playing the songs. Had a few punch ins here and there, and I made myself do things over here and there, but I pretty much cruised through everything...the goal was to finish the first seven songs on the list...everything after that would be a bonus...I had time to do more, however, I was pretty loaded at this point. I tried getting through "Out From The Womb..." but I could not get through the first riff...After several tries, I said fuck it...was not feeling it anymore...









Showed up Sunday around 1pm...had 7 more songs to do. Jim did not show up because he hurt his back earlier in the week and suffering from what I was told. I missed him because I had no one to fuck with. Ha ha!! At any rate, this session went as smooth as the previous. Got everything done. Just hearing the raw recording (so far drums, Adam's guitar tracks, and now mine) is making me feel very optimistic about this next release. It sounds really thick, and Adam's and my sound blend nicely together...

This Friday, we will be starting bass tracks...Amsterdamn plans on setting up and playing around with his sound. He may record a few of our shorter songs to get a feel for everything, but the bulk of the recording will be done on Saturday and Sunday...We're in the home stretch!!!

In The Studio...Day 5 and 6...And Some Other Stuff

More accomplished over this past weekend...plus, a lot of other stuff was going on as well, so if you're reading this, sit back, crack open a cold one, and enjoy!!

On Saturday, we started recording Adam's rhythm tracks...All went pretty smooth. He got a pretty killer tone to boot and so far, everything sounds great...I believe on Saturday he got through 7 songs...Not bad, not bad...










After we wrapped up on Saturday, Adam and I headed to Cafe Lura to check out a show...Malas, Ares Kingdom, and Midnight were playing. Everyone that knows me know that Malas and Severed share the same drummer...so it is obvious that I try to see every show they play. Danny was unable to make it, but they had him on CD...sounded really decent. I always think that drummers provide a lot of stage energy. A big majority of the drum machine bands bore me do death...But in the case of Malas, Erik and Alex really kept things moving along...Lots of headbanging going on, so the crowd was into it...Ares Kingdom was up next and they did not disappoint. I have always been a fan of Order From Chaos (if you don't know who they are, look them up) so it was great seeing these guys finally. I know they have played in Chicago a few times, but I always missed them because of me living so far away at the time...So, they kicked ass!! Finally, Midnight was up. Great band...kind of a mix of thrash and black metal with a Mentors attitude. Lots of fun and surprising as well, as I did not know what to expect. Sorry I am not too descriptive, but I was pretty hammered that night (what else is new?) so there is no way I can remember songs they did...But anyway, it was a great show, the turnout was very good, and the venue was cool. Thanks to everyone who bought my poor ass beers that night (The Triplets especially!!)

So on to Sunday...Adam finished his rhythm tracks of the remaining 6 songs. Jim was a tad hungover so we had fun ripping into him. We are all pleased at our progress so far...

After the studio, I decided to head up to The Pearl Room...Overkill was playing and Mark from Impetigo and Dave from Lividity were heading up there so I figured, what the hell...I got there and the second band was just starting...their name escapes me, but it probably don't matter anyway. I think they had a hot chick singing...I did not pay attention as I was talking to a lot of my friends that were there...I finally caught up with Mark, Dave and Mark's buddy Paul and was with them the remainder of the night...Just shooting the shit and all that. Always great hanging with them...The third band of the night was up...they were called After Forever...here is my take on them...Hot Chick in leather singing...one guitarist played in a death metal band at one point...other guitarist played in a poser band at one point. No opinion on the drummer or bassist. Gothy looking keyboard player. Operatic type vocals mixed in with other stuff. They were good as far as talent and had some heavy parts, but not my cup of tea...I did want to do nasty things to the hottie singing though...heh heh

Overkill was up next. I was never a big fan of theirs. Musically, I dug them, but I just could never stand the singing...just grated on my nerves...I had their early albums at one point and they would get played from time to time...I admire them for their tenacity...I mean, shit, they have been around, doing the same thing more or less since 1981 or so...Very hard working band that never gave up. Well, yesterday, they blew my ass away...color me impressed. Being a musician myself (duh) you can tell which bands have their shit together and which ones don't...Overkill obviously did...they were flawless...Plus, they played quite a few old tunes, which I appreciated. Blitz is such a great frontman. Even though I am not into his vocals, he just commanded the crowd...plus he is frantic on stage...so much energy...I mean, not to sound mean, but he is no spring chicken...But props where props are due...he'd kick my ass for sure!! Great time last night and I'm glad I went...

Finished up the night at The Exit...hung out and talked to some pals and called it an early night as I had some important shit to do today...

So, I will be recording my rhythm tracks starting this Saturday. I can't wait to get them over with. I am not a studio person...I find the whole process to be too tedious...plus I am not a precision player so it usually takes me a bit to get used to the environment. Just watching and listening to Adam by himself this weekend is making me feel pretty positive. There is some different things that we do which does not come across live or in practice...just our playing styles, nothing major...I think they will blend together nicely...So, look for another update over the weekend...

Oh yes, just got word that our pins are almost ready...hopefully we'll have them next week!!

In The Studio...Day 3 and 4

Now that I got all my Wasteland thoughts down, it is time for a Cardiac Arrest Studio Update...The guys got together on Friday to finish up the majority of the drum tracks...All went well from what I was told, and we had one more song to finish, which would happen on Monday...

On Saturday, Jim and Kai took the time to check over everything and tweak what needed to be tweaked...They saved a lot of time apparently, which is great!!

Yesterday, I got to the studio late as always (Traffic)

We decided to redo "Make Them Die Slowly" which we did without any problems. Had a few discussions about some possible changes and some other ideas, but everything is still the same as we intended...We also finished the drum tracks for our new song "Among Us"...I requested to be there since I wrote a good portion of that song...so I felt my energy was need when tracking the drums...Which everyone agreed with...And we got it done...

So, drum tracks are now completed!!!

Adam will be recording his tracks on Saturday...If he finishes, I will be doing my guitar tracks on Sunday...We are way ahead of schedule, so if it does not happen that way, I won't be heartbroken...

Next studio update will be over the weekend...Cheers!!

Cinema Wasteland Fall 2007 Show: The Final Chapter

I was awaken around 10:30am...time to get ready and check out. We still had all day to hang out though...I literally fell out of bed. I was still drunk. And I was in a surprisingly good mood and not very tired...

Everyone was surprised to see me not hungover...what they don't know is that I rarely get hangovers...so I wandered around the dealers room and it was time to start getting some things...I did have a bit of money, but I really need to conserve...Which I did...

Ultraviolent Magazine (Thanks Art!!)
The Redsin Tower DVD (Thanks Anthony and Fred!!)
Spooked DVD (Thanks Bill!!)
Two Zornow prints (Thanks Jeff!!)
Wasteland Shirt (Nikkole got that for me...thanks a bunch!!)

Not a bad haul for being dead broke!! Hopefully next time I will be in better financial shape...

Ended up taking a picture with William Forsythe too...

I finally caught up with director and all around cool guy, Andy Copp...I don't know how I kept missing him over the weekend, but weird things like that happen. We shot the shit for a little while...Cardiac Arrest had written a song from Andy's last film, The Atrocity Circle...just wanted to give his some updates and ask for some of his input. All is great with that. I gave him our last CD as well...

The convention was winding down, and everybody, including me, were basically running on empty...Wasteland is always sad on Sunday...no one really wants it to end...it will be another six months till everyone gets together again...in my case, it will be a year...as I have already told everyone, I will be forced to miss the April show due to band obligations, on which I am sure I will be talking about more in the next month or so...it is a big show we will be doing, so it does take the sting out of missing Wasteland a bit...Nikkole and I said our goodbyes to everyone and eventually split...we gased up and headed home. We were both fairly braindead, but still talked a lot and we made great time coming back. Pulled in my driveway at around 9:30 pm. It was good to be home, but Nikkole would have to wait a bit longer as her battery was dead in her car...And I had no jumper cables...needless to say, we were able to get a jump, and she headed home...

What a weekend!!! Most fun I had in a real long time, and I needed it. It was great to see all my old friends. And I made a lot of new friends as well. If I didn't mention you by name in these blogs, I apologize...it was a long, fast paced, drunken weekend, so it is difficult to remember every detail. Just know that we will be hanging out again in the future...And I hope more and more cool people come out and take part in a Cinema Wasteland!!

Pictures will be posted on my My Space page...I didn't take that many, but others did, which I will snag and put up in a new album. Feel free to do the same with mine when I post 'em...

Cinema Wasteland Fall 2007 Show Part II

So, I awaken around 11 am...I am still feeling loaded...ha ha!! Must...keep...buzz...going...so naturally, the first thing I do is reach into the cooler and crack open a beer...guess the second thing? You got it...go downstairs to smoke a cigarette...still in my jammies, I go outside...Steve Eggs is out there hanging out!! We just seen each other at CIM but we still have a million things to talk about...he shot the shit a bit, then I went upstairs to get ready...

Bryan, Nikki, and I headed down to the main room...I made the rounds to all the various dealers and friends that I know there...First stop was Mike Watt and Amy Lynn Best...I have known Mike and Amy since 2003 now and they are a lot of fun to be around. Continuing on, next stop was the Ultraviolent Magazine guys. I saw main guy Scott a bit the night before, but did not get a chance to see Art Ettinger or Allana...Great seeing everyone again...I made my way down the aisle...Damien from Unearthly Possessions/Living Dead Dolls (Ed was at Chiller), Jill from Lix, Joe Knetter, Tony from Xploited Cinema, Uncle Lloyd and the Troma Crew, Jerry from Synapse (Don was at Chiller), and many more fiends and freaks...I always love these reunions...

I walked through the Celeb section. The there of this Wasteland was a Michael Myers reunion...almost all the people who played Michael were there. Not really my cup of tea though...I was only a fan of the first three films, so the only one who really piqued my interest was Tommy Lee Wallace...Other guests included, William Forsythe, Leslie Easterbrook, Ted V. Mikels, and Kyra Schon among a few others...I moved on though...I didn't have the cash to really get anything, so I more or less wandered aimlessly talking to pals and what not...Non of the panels or screening for the day really appealed to me, so I just hung out and drank throughout the day...Bounced around through various friends rooms and hung out...See, there is a lot more to Wasteland than the convention itself...there is really a camaraderie happening there...I went upstairs to the room for a bit to refill and recharge...

When I came back down, ran into more of my pals and met Slasher Dave's girl, DeZ...instantly, another part of the extended Wasteland family!! I staggered (yes, I said staggered...I was quite drunk by now) outside, where I ran into Jim Sadist from Nunslaughter/Schnauzer...we hung out and chatted for a bit and Putrid joined us...took some pics of Jim's Nunslaughter mobile...He wad to split, so I took off back into the hotel...the con was winding down at this point, so it was time to relax, eat, and rest up for the evening party...

Details for me are hazy...I know we got downstairs around 9pm...And I had been drinking basically since I got there the night before...All I know, I was having fun...I remember a lot of Hula Hoop action, a guy breathing fire, myself and Nikki making fun of Bryan, Bryan and Bill Zebub fucking with me, going to the gas station to buy more beer, some little Asian chick kicking some jerk in the face, William Forsythe hanging out with us again, Steve Eggs kick ass Schnauzer slippers, and maybe a few other little things...I had to ask Nikkole about a lot that night because I simply was too drunk to remember anything...I'm not sure when I called it a night, but I believe it was around 5:30am...I was out like a light...

Cinema Wasteland Fall 2007 Show Part 1

Yes, I survived another Cinema Wasteland show. In my opinion, Cinema Wasteland is the best run, most funnest show out there. This was the 7th show I attended, and it is always a blast...So here is my weekend recap and some history...

I always try to go to conventions with my pals Bryan and Nikki. We always hook up and stay together to save costs. We get along great, and with all of the conventions we have attended together, we pretty much share the same brain. It just makes things that much simpler...it is always good to room with well prepared like-minded people...When we go to Wasteland, we usually arrive a day early. It is just much more relaxing just being able to hang out and chill the day before a big weekend. Not to mention, the party usually starts on Thursday night, with most of the celeb guests hanging out and not very many others...

Well, due to my current situation, I can only afford to do so much. I was not even sure I would be going this time. I missed last April due to lack of fundage as Cardiac was getting ready for some shows out east...I did not want to miss, because I have many friends at Wasteland that I have not seen since last October...Bryan and Nikki told me not to worry about money and just come. They convinced me...I mean, how could I turn that down??

So, I would be leaving on Friday...I had to take an aptitude test for the job I applied for that day and Ms. Gnome (Nikkole) had asked me earlier in the week if she could ride up with me, which was great, because 5 hours in the truck alone gets boring...So, I took my test and it was long...I was there for 3 hours...Got back home and finished packing...had to do some laundry and some band business, but was ready to go...Nikkole got to my place around 8pm due to stupid Chicago area traffic and Mapquest screwing up...No bother though...the Wasteland party goes well into the night...

We got beer and took off...the ride was not so bad. We talked pretty much the whole trip...music, movies, real life stuff, etc...It went by quick...The only thing that is a drag is losing an hour going into EST...But it makes the return trip better because we get that back...Anyway, we arrived at the hotel around 2:30am...As we pulled in, I pointed out the crowd standing at the front doors...Yup. No smoking rules hit Ohio too...the party was outside and looked to be in full swing...Bryan met me in the parking lot. It was awesome to see him again. Nikki had already retired for the night as she is 6 months pregnant, so she had an acceptable excuse...The first thing I did was open the cooler and sucked down two beers...As I was doing that, some dorks came up to us...ha ha!! Just kidding...It was Putrid, Jeff Zornow, and Slasher Dave...I just seen Putrid about a month ago, which is too long if you ask me...I mean, shit...we live in the same city...But at any rate, it is aways great to see him...This was my first meeting with Zornow and Slasher Dave...We had talked online a bit in the past, and it is always great meeting people for real...We all hugged like we knew each other for years...At this point, some other familiar faces started showing up (keep in mind, I was still at my truck in the middle of the parking lot)...Ed Fantom staggered up...it was nice to see him again. I don't talk to him much online these days since our (Bryan and mine)website ended...he looked like he was having a lot of fun...you know...fun with adult beverages...But that is the whole point. Anthony, from Toe Tag wandered over. He is another great guy...we kind of fell out of touch since the last Wasteland, which sucked...But life had been in a tailspin for me since our last meeting, which he totally understood...We started making our way towards the sea of people at the front doors to put my stuff in the room...as we got there, Brian (of Brian and Donna) was hanging out, partaking in the boozing. Another great guy and always a pleasure to be around...Bill Zebub was also hanging out, and of course, he is alway a blast to hang and party with...Made my way up to the room to drop off my stuff, and then it was back to the party downstairs...Nikkole and the gang were headed to their hotel, which was a few miles away...Meanwhile, I grabbed as many beers as I could carry and we headed across the parking lot to the Motel Six, where the Toe Tag crew invited us to hang out...

We were all hanging outside one of the room just drinking and bullshitting...Playing catch up for the last year, ya know?? As were were talking, I noticed that William Forsythe was standing right next to me...I shook his hand and told him that it was great to meet him. For the next two hours, we talked about a lot of his different film roles, and how much we respected his work. I mean, shit, the guy is a chameleon who can play any role, and he has been in a lot of great films. He was awesome to talk to, and he really seemed to enjoy hanging out with us...When he found out what time it was (I think it was like 5:30am at that point) he politely excused himself and told us the he would hang out again tomorrow, but it was time to retire for the night...We still hung out, and I finally came across Fred and Jerami of Toe Tag in one of the other rooms. Great to see them again...we always have a good time hanging out. We played a little catch up and thankfully, they gave me some beers, because I had already drank up what I brought over...We hung out a bit longer, then decided to call it a night...We got back to our room around 6:30am...Bryan and I talked for a bit as I did not want to stop drinking just yet...Nikki joined in the conversation a bit as well...She rules!!! Most people would be pissy about losing sleep, but not her!!! She's a trooper!! Finally, around 7:30 am, I crawled into bed to get a quick nap, as Saturday would be a busy day...

In The Studio...Day 2

Another recording session in the can...we were not as productive as we wanted to be and we only had a couple of hours, so we more or less took our time and had some fun...We did trace our technical problem from the day before, which is a good thing...We ended up finishing three more drum tracks today...First three on the list...




Not really much more to talk about...I'll just post some pics that we took...










Did I mention that we had fun last night??






Next day in the studio will be on Friday. I will not be there because I will be at Cinema Wasteland this weekend hanging out with all my horror friends. Jim plans on completing the drum tracks this weekend...We will start guitars next week. Expect a Cinema Wasteland report and more studio stuff next week as well...

Cardiac Arrest Studio Report...Day 1

Ok folks, the first day of recording our second full length, Cadaverous Presence, is in the books...Not a bad first day...I think the guys learned a lot from the recording process of Morgue Mutilations back in early 06...and my first recording experience with Cardiac was in late 06, when we did the 3 pre-production tracks...We are very focused on the task at hand...we will be basically using the same process we did the pre-production tracks with...it was comfortable and fairy simple...

So we got to Polymorph around 4pm...I was late as usual...Jim had brought all his stuff over the night before and was all set up, miked up, and had his drum sound dialed in...








Adam and I got our stuff hooked up and got situated...got all the proper levels through the headphones and did a few tests...When all sounded right, we were ready to go...Here are the drum tracks we wanted to get completed today...




Before we started though, we had to get a picture of Jim being a whore... :)





Most of the tracking went fairly smooth...there were a few do overs, but I think it was just a matter of getting comfortable recording again...It has been awhile...

A rather humorous moment happened toward the middle of recording...Jim was having a bit of a hard time finding his high hats in "In His Name They Spill Blood"...After several attempts and me making fun of him, this picture was the result...




We finished up around 8pm...We may redo the drum tracks for "Make Them Die Slowly" as a bit of a technical problem popped up during that track...Since it was the end of the day, we'll try to diagnose the issue tomorrow...We will be recording the drum tracks for the remaining songs as well...So look for another report tomorrow...