Happy Monday everyone - and as much as I'd like it to be Friday again, I'm working on being patient and enjoying the process. Its similar to when I think about Celebrating The Imperfections - sure everyone wants life to be glorious, perfect, movie-star status...but really the only way to get to that "perfect life" is to push through the imperfections. The bumps along the way make you who you are today. And those bumps are the imperfections - the time you went on stage and it didn't go well, the time you failed an assignment or test, got fired from your job, dumped by your boyfriend or girlfriend...nobody LIKES those feelings, but they are character building events that help shape who you are and how you react to adversity. So I do hope you all fail a LITTLE BIT today, to help you better find your true path. And take it easy on yourself along the way, nobody's perfect - so CELEBRATE THE IMPERFECTIONS!
Band Practice with Purpose
Happy Monday to all of y'alls! Hope the weekend treated you well! We spent the first part of yesterday going over material for our next show. We're working up some brand new cover songs I think you're gonna love! Instead of the covers we used to do to try and make people HATE us 0 ha! Just kidding, but that would be an interesting challenge - to see what songs you could play that would offend the audience to such a degree that they would all leave. Are there any songs that would be THAT bad?? Depends on your audience I guess. Anyway, we picked some fun songs to play and we're working hard to bring the good rock to you all. My voice feels better too - I went thru an entire container of Satori Vocal Rescue this past month - and it definitely helped. I used it so much one practice that the 15% alcohol content was starting to get to me. I felt almost as tipsy as Ozzy Osbourne's toothbrush. Not sure if that joke works...anyway - keep an EAR out for our upcoming EP - "Celebrate The Imperfections" which will be online EVERYWHERE in the Fall of 2018. Until next time...
Sensi Night - Las Vegas - Video Recap
We had a fantastic time rocking the Sensi Night party in Las Vegas! Susan from Sensi is amazing and you can tell they're KILLING IT in the cannabis game! There were so many amazingly cool people at this event, everywhere I turned there was another old friend, or I found myself making a NEW friend! Seriously cool people doing seriously cool things - thanks again for including us in such a historic event - see y'all at the next one!
7/17/18 Sensi Night in Vegas "a HUGE success!"
A big THANK YOU to everyone who came out to Sensi Night at The Nerd downtown in the Neonopolis last night! We had a blast meeting so many new friends - Nick and John from The Nerd, the always lovely Susan from Sensi Magazine, Jacob, Harrison, DeAnthony, Emma, KC - so many good people and good vibes all around! We loved playing "Revolution" by The Beatles and felt it fit with the cannabis revolution that is currently underway in Nevada. Everywhere I turned there was another awesome person or organization. Kurt from Weed Be Better Off was there sporting the goods, he hooked me up with my favorite long-sleeve mesh shirt - I wear it everytime I go to the lake. My Imperfection bandmates played their butts off - Dominic stepped in on the drums after a handful of rehearsals and killed it! He is a welcome addition to The Imperfections and a full-fledged member of the band! Eliss was rock-solid as usual and even held his composure despite being back in a UFC ring after being banned from the sport several years back. And now that I mention it, this was our first time playing inside of a full-size regulation UFC ring [hence the fence]. Our next show will be announced SOON and will be at our favorite Las Vegas venue, The Bunkhouse. And DON'T FORGET our EP "Celebrate The Imperfections" will be out SOON! It is currently being mixed by the brilliant Vinnie Castaldo down at The Tone Factory - almost done with this beauty and I can't wait for you all to hear it!
Happy 4th of July!
SMOKE SESSION: Deadhead OG
It's interesting to me how this song started out and where it is now...in my head I wanted to write a good old-fashioned rockin' track in the style of Bob Seger or Foghat - but I am neither of those bands - and when I hear it, it kinda sounds sarcastic - so in the end I feel like a bit of a dink mocking my original inspiration, but that's okay I guess. Unlike math, in "song-making" there is no RIGHT answer. And that's really what I think I do more than "songwriting" - its song MAKING. From drums to guitars, melodies, etc... I like to make songs. I'm picturing the stereotypical "song WRITER" as an introspective breaded dude with an acoustic playing local coffee shops with clever compositions impressing the well-read folk, and I think he's smarter than me - this statement is made all the more meaningless by the fact that I am currently sporting a beard - but for the most part, I know I'm not that guy. (I'm more like the guy in the movie that says one line that they forgot to put in the credits but all the crew remembers as "that guy who was always by the food trays - yea we should probably send him a bill. Oh wait he's not in the credits?? Ah well forget it") The Deadhead OG was very relaxing and helped me channel a bit more sultry sensualness.
[SPECIAL NOTES: This song was recorded on 10/12/17 during a 12-hour session. I first laid down the guitar riff and built the verses over top. I wanted the chorus to be big and open with an ode to Seger tagline: "no one said rock and roll was easy".]
Pump up the Bass!
I used to listen to a lot of hip/hop as a kid and MCs were always asking the DJ (or whoever) to "pump up the bass" - treble is still waiting for its day...but for The Imperfections, the focus was all on bass recently as Eliss laid down some solid, pumping, groovy, melodic basslines. Check out a few photos from the sesh.
NICE BOARD.
This makes everything sound really good.
Dialing It In...
Vinnie helps Eliss get a unique sound using non-traditional amps
Rockin' It
Finger-style gives a nice round sound
Had to
use this vintage Rick on a song or two!
Say Good Knight
What an amazing season for the Las Vegas Golden Knights - I've gone from never watching a hockey game in my life to sitting on the edge of my couch and yelling at the TV like my life depended on it! So I put together a pretty sweet set-up for today's game:
1. Inflated pool - $25 at Wal-Mart
2. THC/CBD Synergy bath soak - $35 from The Dispensary Henderson
2. Fat Tire 6-pack - $8.99 from Trader Joe's
3. Hooking up my TV outside to watch the game in #frugalmillionaire style - priceless!
DRUM MODE
I'm channeling my inner drummer for next week's recording session. Due to recent lineup shifts, I am taking on the role of "SKIN SLAPPER" for the time being. I would love to be as cool as Ringo, as talented as John Bonham, as punchy as Tre Cool, as funky as Bernard Purdie, or as mean as Buddy Rich. But I'm carving my own niche somewhere in the middle of all those influences. I try to copy different drummers at different times, and all that plagiary mashed together becomes MY style. Studio countdown - 1 WEEK AWAY!
SMOKE SESSION: Trainwreck
My lovely fiance brought home this Trainwreck from AMA a few days ago and could not wait to try writing with it! It smelled amazing - piney, fruity, one of the most fragrant Trainwrecks I've ever experienced. I took a single long dose from a Buddha vaporizer (and an Arnold Palmer for caffiene). This song came out of a single day's songwriting session this past Tuesday along with 3 other tracks (with varying results). For this track I tried to work in as much scientific/chemistry lingo as possible to describe a love between two young folks. You see, the truth is - me and my lady have a good thing going - and I love it when I get the chance to express my love for her in a song. And since she brought home this wonderful Trainwreck anyway - hey its not like I need to find more excuses to write songs about her! We've had a unique chemistry ever since we were youngins fiddling with test tubes in the basement.