Guitar Idol Finals - Vote!

Hey all,
quick note: please vote for my old friend Chris Geden, who's made it into the final heat of the GI2009.

http://www.guitaridol.tv/online_final/entry/total_guitar_backing_demo

Thanks.

DFZ

And so it begins again

I hope you all had a good spring break... Mine was exactly what i needed: some peace and quiet, solitude, afew good movies, lots of beer and lime, and music.....

I've been noodling with the zentar... i dunno.. something is not right... there's very little sustain.. which i am guessing is due to the shoddy neck... And as much as i want to delve into fretless land... i cannot justify buying a fretless axe at this point. More then most likely i am going to get an Oud next month or so and mess around with that & the maqams till i can get my hands on a fretless axe... Also i have the fretless bass which i can noodle around on till i get the Oud... so it's all good.

Actually, i'm pretty psyched: Tommorow i should have my Duduk! I bought one from a respectable place in the UK that sells really well made ones, so i'm looking forward to learning a new instrument and having something new to work on. My New CME keyboard controller will be here too... thank god.. no more programming music with a mouse..... can finally play the parts and work on them like a real musician......

Now, i said i'd elaborate more on my new project. Now i think i jumped the gun abit... after 5 days of working on the music i realised afew important things:

• i don't have a good singing voice for lead vocals. Background vocals sure, choiral ooo and ahh stuff fine.... but the lead voice in a song.... nope.
• i have to accept the fact that this album is going to get mixed receptions, and there's nothing i can do about that
• that i really need to write the melody first and the harmony second, not vice versa....

the last one has given me allot of grief since i'm trying to come up with decent melodies, and allot of the pieces have some weird harmonic movements which means allot of weird melodies, which i like... but ultimately it means the music is more somber and soft, as opposed to rock guitar stuff... like my previous album.

The album is mostly written, it's just a case of tracking the guitars & mixing... which i plan to have done within the next 2 months. It's all mostly laid back stuff, no rocking or up tempo pieces, very dark & atmospheric... which i think is a fitting follow up to S.E..... I'm working on finishing the "singles" of the album first, so i can post a few previews & eventually put the singles up on my myspace to help promote the album.

it'll be about 12-14 songs long, and be much better produced then the last album, thanks to having better equipment on hand, and having learned more about the limitations of what can be done in the digital domain.

Oh, and it's called Failure To Adjust....

There we go....

There's the Karmic Balance...

It's the spring break... so i haven't been to work since last thursday... 8 1/2 days of just Rest & Relaxation and noodling around with some backlogged stuff.....

Alas, to my good fortune... my cousin is in Sharm, and my aunt and uncle left for Ain Sohkna today, and won't be back till wednesday....

Good! because they were driving me insane.... My family are some of the most irritating people i've come across... they blah blah about the same old shite over and over and over... till you almost want to tell them to shut the hell up! Anyways... No headaches for the next 5 days...

This is actually excellent timing, since i've been wanting to work on my album full-time with the free time.. but haven't been able to (what with all the stupid needy bullshit of theirs...), add to the fact that they're noisy, and have no sense of an individuals privacy....

The main issue i have is that some of the tracks on the album have vocals... and as tempting as it is to treck around and book studio time... it's a waste of money... I don't have a particularly jaw dropping voice to require a decent sounding (or dead sounding) space to record it. I doubt i could even produce enough volume to cause the mic to pick up much room sound in the first place.....

My voice is mostly upper level, in that it mostly resonates in the nasal & throat area... which is okay for a soft spoken quiet guy... but for singing it sounds dreadful.... thin & lifeless.....

I can work in some of the chest and lower cavity... but i'm not that great at that (although i've improved from all the teaching and voice projection i've had to do). Only problem when i do use the lower part... my range drops immensely (since i have no real control over the air flow like a real trained vocalist would) and i end up sounding like a very bad George Michael Clone..... not the kind of voice i'm going for.....

Also some of the pieces are not in the most vocal friendly of keys... so i need to decide wether i want to push my falsetto abilities, or just settle for lower register. I'm going for the Jeff Buckley sweet sound voice... which is not an easy task... and blending lower register and higher falsetto stuff seamless really is a task for a REAL vocalist.... But i'm enjoying trying to sing again, after 10 years of not doing so. I'd hire a vocalist, but i really don't want to go through the hassle... finding someone who has good pitch... is easy to work with... won't drive me insane.. won't get pissy about credits... won't insist on being included in the songwriting...etc etc....

Fortunately there aren't that many vocal pieces (i'm glad i decided to do a mix of vocals and instrumentals... i'd originally planned an all vocal album.... that would have been a huge flop...), and for the most part i think with more practice and persistence, in the next 5 days i'll get the results i want. Luckily i have good equipment (using a Rodes NT-1) and was super lucky to sort out the noise issue with my Mackie Onyx (the sattelite unit creates a horrible high pitch hum when the phantom power is engaged), so i can track cleanly and get a good sound... well... from the equipment side of things.... Just need to work on the voice.....

I'll post more about the album after these next five days and fill you guys in more about it. I'm gunning to release it in June (Initial Release will be on Itunes & Mp3 distributors, and later a CD to follow). This time i'm definately releasing it on a physical format.. since i'd like to be able to physically hold my work, and hand people a copy to them, instead of giving them a link on a piece of paper or whatnot...

Call me nostalgic......

Karmicly Speaking....

Just what the fuck is going on?

I really don't get it. Generally speaking i've always had it where if good luck or fortune comes my way... Equally bad luck or fortune soon follows.

The swing this time has been waaaaaaay out of proportion though.... and quite frankly... it sucks.

I hate it when nothing goes right... Ultimately i'm not and have never been a quitter... but damn... This time it's too much. Blow by blow.... one thing after the other.... can't seem to catch a break.

Anyways, not going into the b.s, I've been focusing working on the new album, and looking around at production jobs... something which i have slacked at and consequently, have more or less zero work in that department now as a result of that. Is it me? or the industry has gone belly up? It never used to be THIS hard to land a decent paying job scoring or doing production work.... i guess it doesn't help that every other bus boy around is a friggen composer with a digital home studio setup.....

Admittedly it is my fault too: i simply don't network or sell myself much (ie.whoring), and as such my name has fallen from the face of the earth because of that. Problem is that here in Cairo it's impossible to get my name out and about state side since you really do have to be there to get around and get the proverbial foot through the door. Someone suggested that i try my hand at work here..... ultimately that's not going to happen......... i don't see anyone paying me $30,000 to do a film score here.... so that's a waste of time.... And the last scoring job here i did, i ended up not getting any money, or anything from it... aside from a soundtrack of music which is completely all over the shop.

I've had a few ideas zip in and out of my head, which i'm going to give allot of thought over in the next few weeks. One was to start a Label, Another was a real bonafide production company... things which will ultimately grow as businesses which eventually won't need much from me but will make good money. The label is an interesting one because as i see it, there aren't any labels here in Cairo for young & up coming talent, whom are able to get the music produced to a high standard, and then get it selling internationally, like on Itunes and whatnot... and i could do that.

Ultimately it'd be allot of work, and i don't know what the success rate of something like that would be. It's definately something worth mulling over though. I'd have to start attending more gigs around Cairo and see what the talent is like these days.....

I've been noodling on the zentar abit more... i've had to tweak around more with the tuning... since the G string tuned to G was way too high timbre wise (and playing wise was way too tense). I dropped it down a fourth (or if you look at it the other way a 5th!) to D... sounds better and i can play abit more microtonal on it now. I just ripped the Maqams made easy CD (with the new external cd burner i bought for my netbook!) & will start working on getting those under my fingers and in my ears. I'm toying allot with the idea of an Oud to be honest. As much as i love the idea of the zentar... the steel strings and general design just don't work in the sense of getting the right timbre and tonality... it might be just me not being used to playing out of tune on a guitar (after years and years of working on being in tune!) or maybe it's just the feel of the instrument.

My minds all over the place at the moment... I'm going to finish my coffee and go back to work on my album.

For now.... well.... Bugger off!

Why?

Why does the last day of the week have to end on such a shite note?

The highlights of the day included

• Finding out that there was no details about payment for the gig. So i'll have to wait after the spring break.. and that's assuming i actually get payed.....
• Two students not showing up for their lessons
• Going to see a play, walking to the bus area.. to be told there are no R2 buses after 9pm, arguing with the supervisor, then calling the main manager of the fucking bus company and telling using my "british charm" to get the sons of bitches to get me back home... back home at 11:pm... and was at work at 9am..........loooooooooooooong assed day to say the least.

I'm beat... and not the good kind either...... The quiz results from the MUSC-180 class were abysmal at best... at the moment atleast 50% of the class is looking at an F to D grade. Only a handful of students are doing well. At this point i can't say i care anymore... Just want to get through this semester without taking a swing at someone.......

It's 1 in the morning, i'm listening to armenian duduk music, trying to figure out what to do with myself in the next few days. More then most likely, i'll do nothing.....

On a brighter note my Duduk arrived yesterday back home... so at some point within this month hopefully i'll have it here and work on learning to play it. I just hope i can... Aside from the guitar, i've never been all that with learning or playing instruments...... Kinda ironic really..... I even bought a clarinet a few years back..... i can play guitar to a high level, but couldn't really grasp clarinet.. although in my defence the instrument struck me as incredibly boring and dull.....

Just have to wait and see i guess... like with most things in life.....

Done and Dusted

Well, it's finally out of the way...

Tonight i stepped onto the elusive Ewart Hall stage & did my thing. Granted it was over backing tracks.... and there was a handful of people at best in a room which holds around 1000 or more, but atleast it's out of the way, and i didn't majorly fuck up in anyway.

I wish i could say i was excited about it, but i wasn't... even as i sit here now.. i feel somewhat numb... which is weird. I'm used to having that wired feeling when on stage and walking off it... tonight i didn't feel that..... at all.

Ultimately it wasn't a real gig.. and more importantly it was not the kind of gig i would do.... people sitting down.. classical hall.... ridiculously low volume (i could barely hear myself in the beginning!). That said i appreciated the fact that although only a handful, atleast people came. For the most part i didn't recognise most of the people in the beginning, apart from my friends and technically neighbours Bill & Nell Evenhouse, but afew more people came in bringing the total not higher then 20 i'd say.. actually it was probably closer to around the 15 mark... The later additions being students from my MUSC-180 class and the MUSC-280 guitar sessions.

There was one fellow whom seemed genuinely moved by the music, mostly "Echoes Of Rain", and was very enthusiastic. Generally when i see that and hear the response, i realise that i am close to achieving what it is that i've been building towards as a musician, and as a composer. Sure i could run up and down the neck all day long.. but not only does it bore the crap out of me.. i imagine it bores the listener too... I'm looking to move people.. and i think i'm getting better at being able to do so....

Ultimately though the same questions always arise about my career and the future of it.. which i have to humbly admit to not really pursuing or pushing and whatnot.... I don't know whether it's complaicency, stupidity, laziness, or just the fact that i've accepted that in this day and age, a career of fame, fortune, the spotlight and whatnot.........just isn't me.

Ironically i think all that time i spent "roughing" it has made an honest to god humble man out of me.. which for the most part is good... but at the same time... i'm entirely sure it's practical... let alone makes any sense for a guy my age.... And more importantly, if i have no goals or aims in terms of achieving things, then why bother in the first place?

well i know the answer to the last part... like it or not, it's who i am and it's not something i could stop without doing serious psychological damage. And making money out of it really isn't who i am either in the sense of becoming a commercial whore.

I think i need to rethink things abit... make one of those 5 year plans everyone always raves on about....

yeah......that's really going to happen.... more then most likely i'm going to watch a movie, doze off, and then go to work tommorow....well... today.... in about 5 or so hours......

Slowly Losing My Patience....

Today was a shit day to say the least... mostly thanks to AUC.

I had a "rehearsal" today, at Ewart Hall, to go and soundcheck and try my rig out there...

Now... Generally speaking, when an electric guitar player is going to rehearse, he usually needs one main thing: Personal Amplification. A P.A & usually the front of house of the venue to try it out.

So i turn up at 4pm, right on time (which is a miracle considering the monsterous amount of traffic today....), and there is no one there, and finally when someone does come, he asks me how many chairs & music stands i want.... Erm... well........you see, i play electric guitar.. so i don't need a chair... that's why i have a strap.... and well... guitar players are lousy note readers.. so i don't really need a music stand... what i do need are a pair of monitors, some line ins, DI boxes, and a beer....

Needless to say i didn't ask for the beer... but when i was informed that the sound engineer had left and wouldn't be back till 8pm... i wish i had one, so i could smash the bottle over someones head......

A phone call to the Music Co-Ordinator.... Well... put it this way.... someone fucked up.... according to her, it was the audio guys fault, since he didn't read his email because his internet connection was screwy.... When the sound guy turned up (about an hour later), he told me that he had no internet problems and that there was no email and was not informed about me (the event says Dave Tawfik and friends... fails to mention that i am a fucking electric guitar player...).

Quite frankly i am inclined to believe the sound guy, considering all the other hiccups that have occured this semester.... But i have to say.... I am furious.... AUC seems incapable of dealing with non classical musicians in a dignified manner.... and quite frankly i'm getting sick and tired of it.

I was literally getting up to leave when the sound guy showed up, and had i left, i would have been on the phone cancelling this stupid masterclass right off the cuff. I'm still not happy with the whole thing... i have work till 5pm, will get the bus which will probably get me there around 7pm, and have this damn thing to do at 8pm.... and have to deal with the sound on the day, since he didn't have the F.O.H up loud enough, and the monitors sounded like crap and where phasing all over the shop....

I shouldn't complain and just get it over and done with, but i just can't believe how poorly organised & run things are.... I really don't like working with amateurs, and will bear in mind that if asked to do anything performance based at AUC, to Decline it without hesitation..... Period.

Masterclass on Wednesday

Greetings to the 3 of you that read this fecking thing.

I have a masterclass on wednesday, at Ewart Hall, 8pm. It's an oppertunity for those whom are interested to ask me questions about what i do, and to see me play semi-live (i say semi because i'll be playing over backing tracks of my material... so the only thing live is me... no band...).

Length of the masterclass will vary, depending on how many (read if any) people show up, and the questions asked and whatnot. I'll be performing some of my popular tunes, and afew which i have thus far not done live yet....

For those of you who have nothing better to do, i suggest you stop by.

In other news, i ordered a Duduk last night, so i look forward to getting it & learning how to play such a wonderfully expressive instrument.... Assuming i can that is... I've tried woodwind and failed (tried clarinet once... didn't take), so i'm hoping that i can get on with it. It falls into the double reed catagory so it's not easy in that regard, but the embouchure needed to play it seems significantly easier then the clarinet one (which is a pain in the ass...). I mostly didn't follow through with clarinet because it just wasn't expressive enough for me... i want to be able to slide and bend around and add varying widths of vibrato and pitch to a note ((much like i do on guitar), and as far as i know, that doesn't work on Clarinet.

I'm also toying with the idea of buying an Oud. I'm learning the Maqams, and although i'm looking to play them on fretless guitar... I have to confess that it does sound really different and that the sound of the Oud really is where those scales lie in terms of authenticity...

Finally.. after this masterclass is out of the way, i'll be resuming work on my album.
Now if you'll excuse me, i've pulled my right arm bicep from working out too much yesterday and need to strech it....

adios.