Some of my music

[Kinetic]

Music is okay on here, right?

Well, I have a few amateurish home recordings on Soundclick. Production quality isn't great, since I have minimal equipment, and everything but the guitars is computer generated because I've been bandless most of the time.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page...?bandID=380836

The drums might sound silly because I'm a guitarist, not a drummer.

The solos are mostly improvised, especially on my fusion track.

[Kamelion]

Kinetic, those are some cool songs. I started with the death-metal track - that took me back a few years, heh heh (I used to be in a death/doom-metal band called Creepmime back in the 90s - we recorded a couple of albums, toured a bit and then disappeared in a blaze of musical obscurity, lol). There are some nice, catchy hooks in the number that lifts it above the usual death metal grind. Nice one.

Nexus is really sweet. I like the counterpoints between guitar, bass and drum and I really liked the whole melody that builds up to the solo and then the more offbeat jazzy sequence at the end of the solo - those work really well together. Keeps it interesting.

Quasispace is really, really cool. A simple structure that allows you to build some great flowing guitar pieces over the top. And the bassline is interesting as well (bonus! lol) I thought that the drumline on this one was pretty much spot-on and the main melody line is very catchy.

I couldn't get the fusion song to load!

I liked the songs that I heard, though - you have a cool, clean style. A kinda know what you mean about the drumming - maybe a bit overwrought in places (except for Quasispace, where it worked really well) but I've never been able to get a drum program/machine to work to my satisfaction. The main advantage of a drum machine over a drummer is that you only have to punch the instructions into a drum machine once...

[Theocrat]

Pretty cool.. The Death Metal song sounded alot like the late Sculdiners group Death.

[Theocrat]

The main advantage of a drum machine over a drummer is that you only have to punch the instructions into a drum machine once...

Yes.. But it's the imperfections of a real drummer that boost a song..

[Kamelion]

Pretty cool.. The Death Metal song sounded alot like the late Sculdiners group Death.

Yeah, a bit. Not as technical as Death, but with a similarly cool groove. We played with Death back in '93. Chuck was a very nice guy, contrary to various rumours going around at the time. A great talent, and sorely missed.

Yes.. But it's the imperfections of a real drummer that boost a song..

Heh, of course. I'm not being serious. As a bassist, I am contractually obliged to rag on drummers wherever possible...

[Kinetic]

Yeah, a bit. Not as technical as Death, but with a similarly cool groove. We played with Death back in '93. Chuck was a very nice guy, contrary to various rumours going around at the time. A great talent, and sorely missed.

Not as technical? If I was still into that, I'd be very disappointed!

Death is about the only death metal band I still listen to. I'm still puzzled as to why it's seen as so "technical" though. Of course, I'm not saying that my crap is more difficult or anything. It's quite crude.

Now, Cynic was truly "technical".

I would have given anything to have been around that scene though. Cynic, Death, Atheist. . .the best age of death metal, I think.

[Kamelion]

Not as technical? If I was still into that, I'd be very disappointed!

Yeah, it had its day but never held much satisfaction for me. Groove and a rocking soul were always more important to me,

Death is about the only death metal band I still listen to. I'm still puzzled as to why it's seen as so "technical" though. Of course, I'm not saying that my crap is more difficult or anything. It's quite crude.

I agree that it's not a very helpful label.

Now, Cynic was truly "technical".

I would have given anything to have been around that scene though. Cynic, Death, Atheist. . .the best age of death metal, I think.

Cynic! Now you are really conjuring names from the past! We had a brief, highly enjotable tour with Cynic when Pestilence split up mid-tour and Cynic went from being their support act to headliners. We were drafted in to support. A great band, and wickedly funny guys to boot. I still listen to Focus from time to time. "Textures" remains one of my favourite tracks from the era.

Heh. Apologies while I wax nostalgic . It was a great time, with many bands all throwing their creativity into the mix. To be honest, I recall that camaraderie with as much fondness as the music itself.

Ah, but I hijack your thread, Kinetic. Apologies again!

[Kinetic]

Ah man, I'd have given anything to have been able to hang out with Paul Masvidal and Sean Malone. I LOVE Textures, it's one of my favourite tracks, by anyone.

Speaking of Sean Malone, have you checked out Gordian Knot? It's pretty tits. Paul's current band Aeonspoke is pretty neat as well, but I admit it took me a long time to accept the kind of music he's playing now. Now, if only they'd actually put a full album out. . .

Then there's that whole Portal thing they had going on with that chick singer...I've only ever found one track from that disc, and am trying to find the rest, or a way to buy it, but there don't seem to be any of them around.

[Kamelion]

Ah man, I'd have given anything to have been able to hang out with Paul Masvidal and Sean Malone. I LOVE Textures, it's one of my favourite tracks, by anyone.

Incredibly talented musicians, and so inventive. Shawn in particular struck me as a very relaxed bloke. They were all very down to earth. Streets ahead of us in ability - inspiring and humbling at the same time.

Speaking of Sean Malone, have you checked out Gordian Knot? It's pretty tits. Paul's current band Aeonspoke is pretty neat as well, but I admit it took me a long time to accept the kind of music he's playing now. Now, if only they'd actually put a full album out. . .

No, I haven't heard anything more of their stuff. I'll have to track some down and give it a listen.

Are you playing in a band at the moment? I go through phases of being incredibly choosy and then not caring what I play and just wanting to get out and gig.

[Kinetic]

No, I'm not in a band. I live in a small town and don't really want to move, so I'm pretty much stuck with an emo/punk scene, or a few hack metal bands, which, even if I wanted to stoop that low, wouldn't work because they all have guitarists. I tried starting a death metal band, but it fizzled, then tried to put together a prog outfit, but it none of it worked out.

Guitarists are a dime a dozen. If I were a drummer or a bassist, I'm sure I'd find something. But everyone and their dog plays guitar, and some of them quite well.

[Kamelion]

Heh heh, I know what you mean. I will probably be moving from the UK over to Holland in the New Year, so have held off getting into a new band. I live in such a small town that there is no local scene. I was in a great gigging band until I quit earlier this year. Continual arguments over money killed the joy for me, and if it isn't fun any more, why bother? Still, it was great while it lasted.

Yeah, we bassists are always in demand - although I think that drummers rank even higher on the supply/demand scale. Years ago, when starting out, I had wanted to play guitar (because guitarists get all the chicks, right?) but like you say, everyone already played guitar. I thought about singing (because lead singers get all the chicks, right?) but soon discovered that I couldn't hit a note if someone tied it down and handed me a sledgehammer. There was no way that my parent would have allowed me to get a drumkit, so that left one choice. Turned out to have been a good move, as it has kept me pretty busy.