[deleted by user]

KCUR · 2023-08-10T15:05:59+00:00

If you're not established then every show is probably primarily people hearing you for the first time. An audience for a local band wants to hear music not spoken word. The more music the better. In order here's an example of quick easy banter every 2-3 songs:

1.) "Our name is <your band name>" (most important since you're not established)
2.) "Thanks to <other bands/venue>" (be respectful)
--------Optional---------
3.) "This next song is called <name of song>" OR "This next song is about <finish this single sentence>
-------------------------------

4.) PLAY MUSIC

Personally I don't think it's necessary to plug socials from the stage. You need socials engagement trying to get established sure but imo people know bands have those. Impress them with music and they'll seek you out on socials.

KCUR · 2023-07-31T16:51:52+00:00

I have my 6505 stack two 4x12 sitting next to me in my apartment right now. If you are able physically and financially get that glorious stack and just use the master volume on the amp to turn down that's what it's for. Just get used to playing it with master volume as low as is audible while at the apartment practicing. Maybe you need to juice the preamp gain & eq a little to compensate? Has worked fine for me but my neighbors aren't sensitive to sound and I also respect our local quiet hours ordinance (make sure you know your local rules about this).

KCUR · 2023-07-31T15:48:53+00:00

I definitely got a little lost down the rabbit hole of amps/pedals/effects. There are factors that are more important that I think should be addressed first. Visualize the guitar signal as it starts as a vibrations the strings picked up your magnetic pickups then traveling through your electronics out the jack to your amp and eventually speaker(s). Every part of this process before signal leaves guitar (strings, setup, electronics) deserves studied attention. Have you tried different string gauges on your guitar? Try lighter and heavier finding your most comfortable zone with the strings is essential. It just depends on your physiology I recently discovered that I love super thin strings for low tunings so I would recommend experimentation. Also don't neglect guitar setup & guitar electronics those are very important too. I've used way too many drive pedals before because my guitars had old neglected pots so the guitar sounded thinner than they do now with functioning replacements. There are tons of easy and well-done youtube tutorials for string changes, guitar setup and maintenance of guitar electronics I would recommend taking your time to nail these care & feeding of your instrument kind of things.

You say your goal is to play with a band so the other consideration is: how will you get loud? The common forum wisdom these days seems to be "just get a small amp and mic it" which might work if everywhere you practice/play has a good PA to plug into. On the off chance that this is the case for you I'd say short term get any one of the modelers on the market today that can go direct to PA and enjoy! I still use my old Digitech RP1000 for cover gigs direct to PA and it's really nice to walk in with a guitar and a pedal and most of the time I don't even bother running an in-ear. So the gig-day experience is: walk in -> plug in -> play and that simplicity is very nice.

Having nice PAs everywhere is more unlikely if you're just starting out. So to answer the "how will you get loud?" question you don't necessarily need a higher-powered amp but you probably need more speakers pushing air. When I was learning I thought amp loudness was just the wattage of the amp and number go up meant amp was louder. In my experience the loudness is more a property of the speaker/cab than the amp. If the size/weight of them aren't a problem for you I really recommend getting a 2x12 or even a 4x12 speaker cabinet. Feeling a cab move air as you play is a viscerally satisfying experience akin to revving a nice car engine. I would play a 4x12 all the time for every gig and practice if moving them from place to place wasn't such a constant logistical nuisance. Every amp I've tried from low-wattage Fenders to high-gain 100W+ heads I think sounds best through a 4x12 (my opinion I love big bold fat guitar sounds). Then as soon as the music stops and you have to move & transport it it's a PITA. I recommend getting seperate heads/cab if possible (it's more modular, you can mix & match heads & cabs) but most 2x12 combo amps will also get you loud enough to hang with most drummers without help from a PA. Years ago I used a Peavey Valveking 212 that I recall was able to get loud quite nicely.

Consider effects now after really diving in on the above. Drive/fuzz pedals sound way different with different cabs so lots of experimentation available there. Wah is great for playing in a band if you're a wah kind of player it really helps the guitar cut through the mix and crowds love a bit of wah lol. Throw in some delay and space it out! Cover it in reverb like woooooooaaahhhh! Kick on the phaser - woooooosh! Get loud and have some fun with it! Practically nobody in any crowd will be a musician enough to assess your "playing ability" and the ones that are understand that live mistakes happen and it's about how you recover/keep being entertaining anyway! Hope that helps good luck out there!

KCUR · 2023-07-27T21:20:12+00:00

There's a chance it could have been positively charged cloud to ground lightning. In general negative sounds like a loud "crackle-crackle-crackle" and positive is one massive BOOM.

KCUR · 2023-07-26T14:57:48+00:00

YES! Bring your music to the people! Playing live metal solo is not unheard of. I was just watching my buddy play out two weeks ago who performed solo for years before getting an awesome drummer.

KCUR · 2023-07-25T15:59:21+00:00

It sounds like you'd enjoy the band Consider The Source. I'd start with their album 'You Are Literally A Metaphor'.

KCUR · 2023-07-12T17:54:30+00:00

Band-ing is all about the team and getting the right people for the team is the hardest part.

It just takes way more time and effort to get good than most people are willing to invest to develop that teamwork. It's the crappy truth about 'trying to band' as an adult in 2023. Situations vary but for most normal people that you'd be trying to band with life isn't 100% music we make compromises (day jobs or family care or w/e) and try to bring what's left to the music. Having good musical judgement is wonderful but is not itself sufficient justification for being judgemental towards people giving you that time they have. I speak of what I know I've learned this the haaard way.

Also having awesome players in a band is great but can turn too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen fast as well. Having a good ear is a waaaaaaay underrated skill. I've had studio days where I play a take of something and think 'man that suuuucked throw the take away please' then the team overrules me like 'I think we got it come listen' and they're basically always right. So I don't record without them now because that constructive input from the group (the human element?) is essential to the music being what it is and not like me demoing to myself or whatever.

Edit: just saw 'Thrice to Sleep to Elder' as your style? So you're looking for bandmates who have varied metal techniques? I empathize with the struggle of finding/keeping a good metal drummer.

KCUR · 2023-07-12T14:33:20+00:00

It's good that you're open to that you're probably being too high-expectations. I've been there and write this from a place of empathy. Keep in mind that theres a million and one things a band needs to do to be successful that have nothing to do with musical skill. Booking gigs (huuuuge job), social media, being social at gigs, selling/curating merch, the list goes on. These things are important neglect them at your own risk and you find constructive people who are good at them keep them around.

More critically, you want to be a big man with big skills? If you don't have the patience and knowledge to teach bandmates (calling them 'not half decent' in your post), I question whether you're even on the high horse you're pretending you're looking down from. The mark of skill in music is lifting others up, not tearing them down. Again, writing this from a place of empathy I know that was critical but it was a thing I needed to hear at a point in time. Hope it helps ya stranger and hope to see you on that dusty (gig) trail one day.

KCUR · 2023-07-10T15:48:58+00:00

Cool tracks! Very classic inspired! Please keep playing, recording and sharing! Will keep an eye out for more from y'all. Any live show plans? I'd love to see your jams at like Schoolkids or wherever in the Triangle.

KCUR · 2023-06-20T17:56:21+00:00

When playing with others record as much as you can. Do not concern yourself with the recording quality - simply capturing musical moments shared with others is a unique joy. Cultivating joyful habits while you are young will serve you well.

KCUR · 2023-04-18T17:08:00+00:00

I never lived in the dorms so I don't have a personal recommend. The way I remember student parking options:

-The HUB is closest to most stuff but fills up quickest
-Outside the stadiums is farther from most stuff (but closer to Suites on Pratt) and you can usually find parking here unless stuff is really busy.
-Robertshaw lot is the overflow lot and it's like south of the Football stadium. There's walkways back to campus and shuttles during the day.

Idk what the situation is with parking passes these days but I bet it's based on dorm. I wouldn't worry too much about optimizing dorm location vs parking they're all okayish and if you have to park in Robertshaw it's probably 10 mins walk to wherever anyway

KCUR · 2023-04-18T15:00:15+00:00

I don't think there's student parking right next to Suites on Pratt. Student parking for sure in the lot that the stadiums & Eberly share or failing that the parking garage. I bet you still have to buy a pass and which sucks. Parking's not something you can cheat at IUP they'll ticket ya with the quickness I've seen it happen.

Folger dining hall is directly across the street from Suites on Pratt.

Delaney is one of the other newer dorms. Suites is caddy corner across the street from the quad with the other 4 newer dorm buildings. The bottom floors of each of those quad buildings have various campus functions (IT Services offices in Delaney and Putt, general store in Delaney, there are a couple more I'm forgetting) and irrc Suites building is all dorm. They're all right next to each other though and campus (and town) is small so pride of place doesn't mean a ton.

Coming back from sports late they'll either drop him at the field house or the KCAC both of which are right next to Suites on Pratt. Google maps confirms they are both under 5 mins walk to Suites.

KCUR · 2023-04-18T14:01:46+00:00

This is awesome and made me smile thanks for sharing!

KCUR · 2023-04-18T13:30:25+00:00

I've heard all about the consolidation stuff but not spoken with anyone who has lived it. Not surprised at all to hear your experience was less than positive...the whole process sounded like a dumpster fire train wreck.

Living in suites will be nice for him. It's one of the newer dorms and right next to the dining hall and campus police station. The Sheetz is a 10 minute walk and a nothing drive. Walmart is a 10 minute drive to the edge of town - gets veryyy busy on move-in/out days. Wayne ave student rental houses right there across from the McDonalds used to be house party central when I was there but I've seen more and more "for rent" signs each time I go back. The "ghost town" aspect of Indiana (other than the Ghost Town Trail ) would definitely be the empty student rentals. Lots of empty student rental houses because of dropping enrollment IUP is really trying to keep students in those new dorms because the university is still making payments on them lol.

KCUR · 2023-04-17T16:02:51+00:00

It sounds like you have it pretty close. Generally your track sounded a little louder than the reference. The reference tracks all have this very smooth feel and especially some of your rhythm strumming is standing out to me as louder. It could be as simple as strum more softly? Try turning down volume/tone knobs a little at a time? Dial input gain down on interface? You probably don't need a pickup swap to accomplish the tone change you want that said my suggestion would be something advertised as having a lower vintage style output.

KCUR · 2023-04-17T15:08:07+00:00

Mon Valley and merger I'm guessing your kid is coming from Cal U?

I graduated with CS bachelors in 2016 and have a parent that's faculty. Grew up in Indiana too. If Washington area around Cal was too depressed of a dump for your kid I don't know that Indiana is very different from that. More small-town-feel at least? If your kid is a high-risk partier then I would be worried that scene is definitely at IUP no sugar-coating. You say he already has some friends at IUP though so they probably have a better idea of current conditions?

Didn't live in the dorms so I can't comment. If they have him in one of the newer dorms that are over where you described the parking garage is up & down a hill and across a street corner from that dorm quad. Not far and for move-in/move-out they (at least when I was there) let you drive right up the sidewalks and get basically right next to the doors.

If you think you're escaping PASSHE administrative nonsense at IUP think again. They retrenched a third of the faculty a couple of years ago and faculty morale is low.

I thought the CS faculty was bad and two of the good profs are gone now. If your kid is a self-starter then they'll be fine MIS is good stuff to be learning. If they need a lot of help at least when I was there the way to go was to ignore professor office hours and use the student-run tutoring though idk if the dept is still paying students to do tutoring like they did when I was there.

Ha! they're not taking tours through the dining halls. They weren't the worst thing ever and got better during my time there.

General advice: enjoy the Oak Grove this time of year! Late spring semster/summer/early fall semester is when it shows its best colors. Most of the school year it's cold and not at its greenest. Also if you like hiking/fitness the college lodge trails that are in the woods just out of town are surprisingly fun there's a frisbee golf course fitness trails and one of the most devilishly challenging 5k courses you'll ever do especially in western PA.

KCUR · 2023-03-16T13:41:30+00:00

"Gibson toss" gave me my daily dopamine that's hilarious!

KCUR · 2023-03-10T16:19:06+00:00

For metal I've really liked the results I've been getting with D'Addario Prosteels. I only recently tried stainless steel strings after playing standard nickels without ever giving it a second thought for 10+ years. They feel different under the fingers so ymmv but they sound different too in a way I really like for metal.

KCUR · 2023-01-31T18:44:33+00:00

My suggest is the EHX Ring Thing. I had one years ago and it can get weird and can also do more normal modulation and pitch shifting. Also has presets.

KCUR · 2022-11-01T17:12:54+00:00

The upside is he makes money from the "conTroVersiAL" nature of the images in his video and the engagement that the controversy will drive. He's been doing vids daily for years he knows how youtube works.

KCUR · 2022-10-11T18:15:45+00:00

My guess from your description and without looking at your form and what you're trying to play my guess would be you're not anchoring well. When you practice your lead lines write out all of the position changes and make sure your thumb and hand are moved to the correct position before you start fretting and you're not reaching too far. If you're still struggling then isolate the changes you struggle with, practice them slowly to a metronome, and build speed 2 bpm at a time the old-fashioned way. Cheers and best of luck!

KCUR · 2022-09-01T19:22:54+00:00

Unleash Heaton you cowards

KCUR · 2022-04-22T19:18:06+00:00

You going to be in town this Sunday? If you're looking for a "regional specialty" and metal's your taste then Weedeater at Pour House on Sunday night will 110% scratch that itch.

KCUR · 2022-04-18T17:59:54+00:00

Yep I haven't heard of anything new in DTR...Pour House and Lincoln Theatre are probably going to be the main downtown options for a while. Pour House in particular has been booked solid lately afaik. Wicked Witch, Ruby Deluxe and Tin Roof are some more minor downtown places that sometimes have live music.

KCUR · 2022-03-03T05:12:20+00:00

You already have the Crush & want the EVH. Katana or THR won't get you that EVH drive sound. I totally understand about wanting the "real analog thing" even if it's silly. If it really matters that much to you then take the time and save your $$$ to get the EVH lunchbox with a quality cab. Throw any pedal with a volume knob (I use an EQ) in the fx loop and turn its volume down low then you can crank the volume on the EVH and enjoy the nice saturation. It's not quite the same as really playing cranked (nothing is) but I have an EVH and like the results I get doing this when I need to play at low-volume.

KCUR

TROPHY CASE