Pegasus3d.com

[OscarWilde]

So I get a telephone call and its some guy I met a while back who plays drums for local band. He wants to start a band as he quit his old band. He asks if i'd be interested in playing guitar for him, and I say sure, because in HK i rarely get the chance to jam with anyone.

We met up last week to talk and discuss the direction and the songs we're going to play. I also had the chance to meet this guy who was going to play the lead guitar which is no problem for me even though i'm more accustomed to playing lead. At least its a chance to get out and play. So we compile a list of songs we could work on and also talk about where we plan to go with this band.

It all seemed good at the first meeting even though we didn't play. I got the sense that the lead guitarist guy seemed a little hesitant about commitment, but i was to excited about the chance to play that I hoped in the end all would work out well.

So our first practice session is tomorrow. I get an email in the morning, 'oh i just found out the lead dude can't commit, you're going to have to take over the lead parts.'

Okay, so it turns out I have to play both rythm and lead tomorrow (well i have to arrange the song for my self) and I have to learn the stuff in a night. Ho ho ho! Usually it would not be a problem, but I don't even like the songs that was chosen for the first practice. So the motivation ain't there. Plus I was looking forward to jamming with the other guitarist during the breaks. There is no way a bass guitar can carry a backing riff like a guitar can.

Anyway, i'm always up for a challenge. I'll return with how the band session went.

The pity is that i was offered to play for various bands in LA while I was at college, but my student visa didn't allow me to get paid outside of a college job position. I often wonder where I would be if I had the chance to play the LA circuit.

Then again, my fingers went to hell a few years ago and its been tough getting my fingers back in shape to play the guitar. There used to be a point where i'd play the guitar for 5 minutes and then experience severe pain in my fingers. Bad bad bad.... but its been getting better and my fingers are not as stiff as they used to be.

Moral of the story: Warm up before you play yer guitar. I paid the price big time due my lack of discipline.
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'An urban myth. Like the dyslexic devil worshipper who sold his soul to Santa.' - Robert Rankin (Raiders of the Lost Car Park)

'Hate traps us by binding us too tightly to our adversary.' - Milan Kundera (Immortality)

[AllYorBaseRBelong2Us]

Yay!

Write a song about smam
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This and other statistics can be culled from Jeremy Reimer's Personal Computer Market Share: 1975-2002, a very impressive piece of information gathering. The numbers tell some very interesting stories.
- http://lowendmac.com/musings/03/0131.html

Man, I need to get out more. You know smam is getting to you when you go to a canadian restaurant and start wondering about moose cock. -OscarWilde

[Magus]

What type of stuff do you play, OW?
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<Paolo|Work> anything that has to do with Java is by definition stupid

1 The Network is my domain, I shall not want; 2 though it makes me wait upon collision, it leads me to the Internet; 3 it restores my connection. It leads me in paths of hypertext transfer for google's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of power failures, I fear no data corruption; for backups art with me; thy UPS and thy status light, they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a firewall before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anointest my CD-R with BurnProof, my buffer never underflows. 6 Surely good deals and pr0n shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Datacenter for ever.
-HitScan

Wilde is a 4' chinese man in a bright pink tutu, lime green pimp hat with peacock feathers, and a purple feather boa, wearing tissue stuffed snakeskin combat boots, holding a gun bigger than he is, smoking a cigarette in the parking garage, trying to look menacing while pouting and head banging to Godsmack I stand alone

[OscarWilde]

I personally prefer to play many different styles that tend to single out the guitar as the main instrument (obviously as i like to play lead guitar, ). So I end up playing stuff like Stevie Ray Vaughn to Satriani to Vai. However I have been heavily influenced by Metallica and Yingwe Malsteem when I was younger and first started on the guitar. So neo classical speed guitar and heavy metal creeps into my music very often.

For the band, as i'm not the leader of it, nor do I want to be because at the moment i'm trying to get back into the discipline of playing cover songs instead of the usual improvising I do by my self at home. So the songs chosen are more 'pop' and not something I would make the effort to learn other then for the sake of getting back into the discipline of it. So i'll be playing Creed, My Sacrafice, Wonders, That Thing you do, Cranberries, Zombie, and Rolling Stones, Jump'n Jack Flash, today. Anyway just so I don't get too bored playing the music, I'm going to make up the solo parts, mainly because the original solo's for these songs are lame, and secondly as I already said, I'm playing to enjoy also.

Eventually we'll do other stuff that I'll get into, like Jimi Hendrix, Hey Joe, and maybe Voodoo Child. Also I hope we get to do some Satriani or Vai instrumentals. I proposed that for some clubs the drummer and start of with the Van Halen's, Eruption. Thats one way to get the crowd hyped up and also let them know that we got some mean music coming their way. Then off course we'll be anti-climatic and play Creed songs after a minute or two of van halen blissful guitar music. That should piss of the people.

Nah, I think the drummer intentionaly chose these songs because they were easier to learn and get access to which works within the time frame and commitment some of us in the band can put in at the moment. Plus its the first meet so we got to get the band communication sorted out first before we start doing more difficult songs.

I leave in 20 minutes for the first band practice session. Yay! I can't wait. I love to play the guitar. I can't explain the sensation of standing there and jamming, especially when I get to improvise because suddenly every note the rest of the band plays becomes my canvas and I can jump in and add to it. I don't like fancy guitar playing that just sounds like its trying to be above the music and not a part of it. I can do it, infact i have a piece i made up called, 'guitar masturbation' which is basically me wanking technical feats on the guitar, but its lame as I tend to just play very fast (i can play around 24-28 notes per second) and band my head around trying to look all tough and mean and into the music when i'm really not into it. Music is after all showman ship too, well live anyway.


*as for the irregular rythm and various timings, well I 'learnt' from the best. I would buy guitar magazines, and read every interview and article i could find on my favorite guitarists. I once read an interview with Vai (iirc) where he said that when you practice a riff, instead of adding a few notes here and there (fills) play the same riff over and over again, but see what you can add/change by alternating the rythm. Accent certain parts of the riff by strumming harder, and then strum softer for the other parts of the riff. Just play around with the rythm but keep the riff it self constant. That way one learns how to use rythm patterns to create a feel in music versus adding notes and changing keys. I learnt from that big time, its pretty much become my 'thing', where the people i have played with in the past know very well how I can take a simple riff and then make it sound new by just alternating the timings and patterns. Very cool stuff.
_________________
'An urban myth. Like the dyslexic devil worshipper who sold his soul to Santa.' - Robert Rankin (Raiders of the Lost Car Park)

'Hate traps us by binding us too tightly to our adversary.' - Milan Kundera (Immortality)

[Magus]

Judging from my avatar, I think you can guess my favorite guitar man.
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<Paolo|Work> anything that has to do with Java is by definition stupid

1 The Network is my domain, I shall not want; 2 though it makes me wait upon collision, it leads me to the Internet; 3 it restores my connection. It leads me in paths of hypertext transfer for google's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of power failures, I fear no data corruption; for backups art with me; thy UPS and thy status light, they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a firewall before me in the presence of my enemies; thou anointest my CD-R with BurnProof, my buffer never underflows. 6 Surely good deals and pr0n shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Datacenter for ever.
-HitScan

Wilde is a 4' chinese man in a bright pink tutu, lime green pimp hat with peacock feathers, and a purple feather boa, wearing tissue stuffed snakeskin combat boots, holding a gun bigger than he is, smoking a cigarette in the parking garage, trying to look menacing while pouting and head banging to Godsmack I stand alone

[Jeremy Reimer]

That's very cool, OW. I always wanted to learn the guitar.

Rock on.
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"Those afraid of the universe as it really is, those who pretend to nonexistent knowledge and envision a Cosmos centered on human beings will prefer the fleeting comforts of superstition. They avoid rather than confront the world. But those with the courage to explore the weave and structure of the Cosmos, even where it differs profoundly from their wishes and prejudices, will penetrate its deepest mysteries."
-- Carl Sagan

"Its not a rule. Its just something I noticed. Several of us have more than one sig." - Mord

"No, you are a troll, and I should have never let you back to Ars in after the first 16,000 bannings." - Caesar, to He Who Shall Not Be Named