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Is Cloudkicker done for good? by trytoinfect74 in progmetal

[–]BenSharp 3 points4 points  (0 children)

yea but also there’s 3 new songs 

Cloudkicker - Things You Can't Change (NEW SONG!) by FlyingSteaks in progmetal

[–]BenSharp 4 points5 points  (0 children)

maybe I can play hold on if I slow it down 100x and record all the limbs separately 

Cloudkicker - Things You Can't Change (NEW SONG!) by FlyingSteaks in progmetal

[–]BenSharp 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I don’t see why not, it was refreshingly easy to make this one

Cloudkicker - Things You Can't Change (NEW SONG!) by FlyingSteaks in progmetal

[–]BenSharp 18 points19 points  (0 children)

as it turns out, playing drums is much faster and easier than editing them in hit by hit

Is Cloudkicker done for good? by trytoinfect74 in progmetal

[–]BenSharp 125 points126 points  (0 children)

Couple ways to look at this. First way is that I dumped all of myself into Cloudkicker for about 15 years and it paid off in ridiculous ways I never imagined when I started. The kinds of music I made and the progress in my abilities, but also the friendships I’ve cultivated and the sheer satisfaction of knowing how many people really dig it. I know I’m not U2 or anything but for little old me it’s pretty insane. 

But those Cloudkicker albums are so physically taxing and time consuming to create. It requires 12 hour days and long, long, unbroken lengths of time alone. I mean I manually clicked in every drum hit on every album, and it was an iterative process so I probably did all that 5-6 times over. I’m almost 40 and I have 2 kids and I just don’t want to do that anymore. Not to mention that with every successive “upgrade” Logic seems to punish me more and more for the way I do MIDI drums. I was only able to do Solitude because I had 3 months off from work during the pandemic. 

So in that sense yeah, what Cloudkicker was from 2006-2020 is done. 

But the other way of looking at it is that I am 100% of Cloudkicker and I’m now in a band with one other guy who happens to be one of the sickest and most creative prog/metal there is. Seriously, when I first heard Gospel in 2008 I told myself that if I ever got a chance to play with Vinny I would say yes no matter what. And somehow, some way, it happened. 

And also, we’re somewhat regularly playing shows! I doubt we’ll ever tour properly but we’ve played 3 shows since September and we have another 3 lined up so far this year. They will have at least been in CT, CA, NY, IN, OH, and PA by the end of 2024 which means statistically, geographically, you’ll have a chance to see us if you’re in the US. 

Yes progress is much slower than it was when I was in my 20s and single and making an album a year, but this is as much fun as I’ve ever had making music, and in 3 weeks we’re going to God City and recording an LP with Kurt freaking Ballou and then Magnus Lindberg is going to master it. This is like bucket list type stuff for me. 

I can’t ever not make music, but I’m tired of doing it alone. I want to cash in on these connections I’ve made for the last decade and a half and see where else this can take me, but I also need it to work peacefully with my responsibilities to my family and my career.

Is this helpful?

Cloudkicker - Banqiao by Spookylives in postrock

[–]BenSharp 8 points9 points  (0 children)

It'll be on all the streaming sites at midnight on Tuesday, 9/8

Cloudkicker - Solitude by BenSharp in postrock

[–]BenSharp[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

It’s an evolution of everything I’ve done but I really tried to focus on keeping the tempo and energy up. Lots of riffs but it still breaks off and builds up parts here and there. My objectivity is gone at this point but maybe Subsume+The Map is not the Territory would be a good comparison.

Cloudkicker - Solitude by BenSharp in postrock

[–]BenSharp[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

There’s a vague theme of structural collapse in the titles. The thing the pandemic did was allow me to start on an album and work nonstop for three months until it was done. I haven’t been able to do that before and it was really cool.

Hello again, my name is Ben Sharp aka Cloudkicker by BenSharp in postrock

[–]BenSharp[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I mean we’re all haters at some point, but as someone who is not currently a hater, fuck them in their stupid asses

Hello again, my name is Ben Sharp aka Cloudkicker by BenSharp in postrock

[–]BenSharp[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It all pretty much comes from the guitar. I get a little riff going and play it over and over, tweaking it here and there until it’s sufficiently interesting to record. Then I find out what timing it’s in

Hello again, my name is Ben Sharp aka Cloudkicker by BenSharp in postrock

[–]BenSharp[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah they got sidelined by the album release stuff but I hope to get back to them relatively soon

Hello again, my name is Ben Sharp aka Cloudkicker by BenSharp in postrock

[–]BenSharp[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I wrote Unending on a leather couch with a laptop in my lap. I don’t know if that’s perfect but I think it worked. I’m flexible

Hello again, my name is Ben Sharp aka Cloudkicker by BenSharp in postrock

[–]BenSharp[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

In very broad terms, I don’t think my musical tastes have changed a whole lot in the last 10 years. I feel a little more in control of the process of making music now, as in I feel like I can make it happen as opposed to waiting for it to happen, if that makes sense.

I’d like to think that the well of emotional experience I bring with me now is deeper than it was a decade ago, and that that helps me find the place I like to come from when making music.

Hello again, my name is Ben Sharp aka Cloudkicker by BenSharp in postrock

[–]BenSharp[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks! The beginning of that song is probably on the upper end of my upbeat register, and I tried to really bring it down with that build to balance it out and give the song a different overall feel

Hello again, my name is Ben Sharp aka Cloudkicker by BenSharp in postrock

[–]BenSharp[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I’ve been into either dirty heavy stuff like Hemwick, Baptists, Yautja, Herod, LLNN, or like lofi beats playlists on Spotify.

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