Wednesday, June 3, 2009

In the name of progress!

Vocals: Done.

All that's left is some tambourine, a few overdubs and the gang chants; then "We Had A Danceoff In a Thunderstorm" will be done. Oh yeah, the future is looking some kind of bright.

By the way, does anybody want to buy a PS3? I need a new gas pump for Oliver, and I already quit my job. Fuck me, right? I don't think that delivery job was even legal: 10 dollars per an entire shift? Come on, I wont be that desperate till I'm down in Vancouver next year. ;)

Speaking of uplifting thoughts, please please please check out this guy's comics! They're usually quazi-relivant-semi-fictional comments on society today with shots at pop icons, and notible figures from history. Oh, and regular (read: indie/alt) people too. Very left wing. And delicious. Pro choice, pro love pro not being a douche and in touch with your inner feelings. Not in that creepy emo way though. Here's one that I am going to randomly link to as a starting point. Warning: Lots of words. Always.

Anyways, that's it. And not very iiiiinteresting. But yes, I'll cap it off with this and then I'm off to bed:

My to do list for the next while:
Finish album art
Make portfolio website
Repaint Oliver with a Tremclad painjob (Seriously, you can get sweet results - DIY!)
Sleep

Ready Steady GO!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

No Longer a Bum

There comes a day in every young musician/college student's life when they realize "Hey, maybe I'm just a little too broke. I should get a job". Turns out instruments, books, tuition and gas are all things that cost money! And so thanks to Quizno's, I've become a delivery driver.

It'll be like Initial D but with sandwiches and a Volkswagen van. Alright. Oliver's gunna start paying for himself, I dare say.

With that said, I'll still have plenty of free time. Work on Sharks! On Fire continues. A few more vocal tracks and she's done! The album art is coming along too. Shots to come eventually. I can't wait till we can officially announce the name change from Tickets To Tokyo.

Stay tuned! And order sandwhiches to your house so I can come say hi.

PS; Download this shit:



Progressive Alternative Ghetto Rock. Trust me, you'll like it. It always amazes me how much good music comes out of the California music scene! Bands like Lemuria and Shinobu and people like Mike Park! I have so much admiration for them. Maybe one day I'll end up down there, and we can all go get some pancakes and pussy.

One last thing before I forget; fans of Shinobu should check out Bears. It's Bob's new band and they have the same kind of low-fi, catchy awesomeness that you've come to love from Shinobu - but plus some upbeat love.

Later,
Sheldon

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Amp

I've been meaning to fix up my amp for awhile now. While I love the fuzzy effect it gives my synth at live shows, the three wheeled lo-fi junker I bought for a hundred bucks used just wasn't quite... asthetically pleasing.


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I originally painted it 'robins egg green' awhile back, the original black of the box didn't suit my style. But after a few re-coats (I actually did a basecoat! What!?) I decided to take it a little further with a cardboard stencil - something super easy to do.

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I wasted like five sharpies on this bad boy.

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After taking off the three shitty metal wheels originally on the amp, I bought some upgraded casters for pretty cheap at Home Hardwear and just screwed them right in. Voilla. It rolls like a champ.

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Monday, March 16, 2009

Jamspace

We've been playing in my bedroom for the last few weeks, and I love having the instruments around me. In my eyes, nothing beats waking up on a futon next to a drum kit and a green mic stand.

Anyways, I thought it'd be cool if I took some shots. I made two panoramas. The pics are huge, so make sure you click the thumbnails to open up the photobucket page. And then make sure you view them at 100%, it makes a difference. =]

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And this is my kit, Prudence, in her current set up. Two floor toms, a Sabian HHX power crash, AA med crash, ride and high-hat. Actually the high-hat is a B8, but we'll just pretend. Gibralter hardware, Westbury shells:

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And there we go.

Oh! And as long as I'm blogging...

I hope everyone knows of my infatuation with Quote Unquote Records... Well, one of my all-time favorite indie-bands, Shinobu, just released their newest/oldest full length for free to download on there. You should go check it out if you're into sloppy-lo-fi rock. Some of us are. <3

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

School Work

Fictitious magazine ads made by yours truely. Well, not really ads, but PSA for taking the bus?

Anyways, angst makes me work harder - thanks drama in my life. Sleep is for the weak! This was probably all 8-10 hours straight of work. School is in just under two hours. =]

It kind of has been a weird adventure into Typography. It's a subject I'm not great at, so I wanted to try my hand at it because I really like it. I'm not totally happy with some things still though, so I have some cleanup to do before these are actually 'finished'.

Full color:
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Two color:
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Black and white:
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Monday, March 9, 2009

These are the songs on my band's upcoming CD, version two point oh.
..In order. I think. I wrote most of the lyrics, but dan did 90% of Hot Topic. Just so we're cleeaar. Please forgive typos and other poor elements of typography:


Sharks On Fire


A Scholarship named after your grave
Everything you do is a mistake
You just make more work
You just make more work

Fallen angels make mistakes
Picking on you and all that you make
Did you Ever want to cry

Sharks on Fire
As if to prove you're still alive


The Taste Of Water

So say what you will say
And write it down in books
As if to say
You said it first
Well who cares?

Women are forgiven and forgotten all the time.
So don't write about that shit
In your books of rhyme and verse.

I can't see
I keep my eyes closed late at night
So turn off your city lights

And I can't see
Who we are or what it means to be
Anything at all.

And that's why there will always be songs that go
a little bit like this.

Forget your dreams and sleep!
Don't turn on the radio!
Cuz they don't know what we know.

And if you forget one song, if it makes you feel any better at all...
Let it be this one.
Won't you let it be this one?

I guess my biggest problem with this earth is we can go anywhere at all
And eat the same shitty food
From the same shitty places

So I can't see
But it's a matter of choice
I close my eyes at night
So turn off your city lights!
Cuz they don't know what we know.

It's the same goddamn food
From the same goddamn places
It's the same shitty meals
With the same shitty..

Faces share a name
These people share a name
These places have the same name

Don't you see?
We forgot it too.


Radio Friendly


All my friends are pedophiles
So let it be known, I'm done with high school
I'll say It, don't make me say it
We make jokes at your expense

It's too late
Your running way too fast
Your going nowhere
Just sitting here

At night I scale along the tree line
As far as the leaves will take me
I look deep into the skyline
And see the leaves trying to get back home to the earth

Mike Battlestar
I wont remember the name of your mix tape
By next year
My favorite band turned out to be
Just like me

Across the street drinking beer
Shooting stars at hopes and dreams

We're all liars here
We're all friends here


Dance Off

Drunk and making out with a stranger you just met
While we play
Which is better?

First impressions only matter
To those who don't do anything with themselves.
[But we'd rather have a dance off]

Who are we?
We're liars
We're trying
To prove ourselves

We had a dance off in a thunder storm
[Who are we?]

Who are we?
I'm just a kid, just a kid
We can only try so hard
I'm just a kid, just a kid
What more do you want?


Hot Topic
Quit your job and dance

I met you on a rainy day in august
I've never been quite the same since
It could have been the scent of those lilacs
Or the sound of that train
To come and take me away

Hot topic's in
My band has pins
So come hang out
We'll party right after the show

This van is useless
It's parked in the wrong place
So if you need a ride
You'll have to find another band

I dreamt about a sunny day in London
I guess I've never traveled there before
The last time I won a trip to somewhere else but here
Was the saw your pretty face
And you looked away

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

BOMB!

Bonjour! I'm going to start blogging more regularly again, as I now have myself a handy dandy laptop that I can lug around with me. My old EEE Netbook just wasn't cutting it.

Firstly, I recently stumbled across Quote Unquote Records! They do that whole "Download music and then donate if you feel like supporting the musicians" thing that seems to be hip with the kids. They've got a pretty good lineup of indie bands that don't suck, so if your a little short on new (good) music you should drop by. I'd suggest checking out the new Bomb The Music Industry album, Scrambles. And if you haven't heard of BTMI before, you need to check them out. Now. It's some of the best not-really-for-profit music I've ever heard, and it's really motivational to me as a musician.

Pretty much, let me lay this out for you. BTMI isn't a regular band. It's a dude. And his friends who often change. They make music, play shows, whatever. Here's the thing: Want some merch? Cool, bring a T-shirt and one of the guys will spray paint it at a show for you. Want to hear a song live? Cool, bring an instrument to the show and jam it out. How sweet is that? They are all about DIY, and so am I. Become their fan.

Anyways, that's that.