the freaking journal

The Gear Talk

2012-01-15T06:01:00.000-08:00

Ever since I had my own electric guitar (which was around 5 years ago), I always find myself admiring the gears of many famous guitarists. Matthew Bellamy, Tom Morello, and Jonny Greenwood are the ones I look up to (mostly) and when I was a bit younger, I imagined myself having a sea full of pedals and stomp boxes under my feet, churning out those otherworldly tones from my guitar.

My two first stomp boxes were Boss DS-1 (that famous orange one) and a DD-3. Both of them were secondhand; I got them from a clique at my university (he sold them right before he got himself a brand new Fender Strat and a multi-effects pedal) and both of them were in good condition. Unfortunately I broke the DS-1 at a shitty gig somewhere in Ipoh 3 years ago when I accidentally used a different power supply with different wattage for it. To be honest, I didn't really know how to use one (me being a newbie at its best). Little did I know back then, that the DS-1 is actually a gem, a beautiful pedal adored by many due to its consistent and biting tone. A nasty pedal that one.

Ahh... the legendary distortion.

Meanwhile, my DD-3 is still functioning well, and I still use it on a regular basis in my effects chain.

Then I got myself a good bargain, where another clique of mine decided to sell his Korg AX3000G multi-effects processor to me at a very reasonable price. I still had this in my gear collection, although I rarely use it now (I prefer to use my chain of stomp boxes - we'll get there soon). The AX3000G has amazing acoustic simulator, modulation and delay effects, and the reverb effects were nice too. The only thing short is its distortion effects and its amp modelling: they seem too digital for me. But still, I regard the AX3000G as one of the most brilliant multi-effects processors in the market, even when compared to the likes of Line 6's and Digitech's multi-effects processors.

Old yet still kicks butt!

I decided to go for stomp boxes because as I went to numerous gigs and concerts and listened to tons of videos (not forgetting reading stuff on the Internet as well) I noticed that processed (digital) sounds are flat and lifeless. Dull, you might say. The not-up-to-par distortion sounds in the AX3000G kinda helped me notice that as well. Thus, I began my search for the worthiest pedals out there (read: cheap but good enough for an intermediate, jobless student like me) and currently, I own and healthily use 6 of them in my effects chain:

6 pedals and more yet to come!

From the top (left to right):

1. Joyo Classic Flanger - Joyo is one of the newer brands I discovered, thanks to a store located not far from my place (they are currently promoting Joyo pedals, here's the link to their site) and I must say, they're freaking awesome! I got this flanger for only RM180 - that's around 57 American dollars. I love the flanger; it sounds very liquid-ish and there are four different knobs for you to tweak to get different depths and all.

2. VOX Satchurator - The distortion pedal I bought as a replacement to the DS-1. Obviously both sounds somewhat different, but the one thing I love about this pedal is the 'More' button - that's like having two pedals at the same time! I normally use this pedal when I need distortion because I don't have my own amp yet, although to be honest I kinda liked the DS-1 more. The Satchurator somehow is a bit too trebly to my taste, but for the moment, that's my source of heavy distortion.

3. Danelectro Cool Cat Fuzz - The wild boutique-ish fuzz pedal! I use this pedal as a boost for solos, and rarely use it on its own due to its rawness (except maybe when we're playing "The Groove" by Muse, or for the solo part of "Narcissus"). For most times I just use it on top of either the Satchurator set to minimum gain or the UD to get that thick, beefy tone for leads and solos.

Now from the bottom (left to right):

4. BOSS DD-3 - This is the oldest pedal I currently have! A very reliable digital delay processor. I am currently setting it to "Vicarious" palm-muting intro (apparently, the tempo suits almost every song we've jammed so far). I like this pedal so much that I am actually wanting to get one more DD-3 in the future. Unfortunately it's quite expensive (to me)... so one would do just fine. For now. (If I had one more, I'd use it for weird space sounds during interludes or filling gaps in between songs.)

5. Danelectro FAB Chorus - This chorus pedal is very subtle - and that's the way I like chorus pedals. You actually have to turn the knobs almost halfway to listen to the effect. At low settings, casual listeners won't realize anything - unless they listen closely. I use this pedal to make my cleans full and sometimes, as a volume boost (set the speed and depth knobs quite low, and then turn the mix knob all the way up).

6. Joyo Ultimate Drive - This is the most recent pedal I managed to get my hands onto. I was actually looking for an overdrive pedal - I had a Cool Cat for fuzzy noise territory and Satchurator for heavy stuff and I need a softer pedal. Turned out as I went to the store to check it out, they had this special promotion on UD - and suffice to say I was persuaded to get it. The sound of UD is Bluesbreaker-ish, and I can easily get a good tone out of this pedal. Now I use this as my main rhythm sound (when I don't play heavy stuff).

Well that's what I am currently having... I know it's not that much but it's a good starting point. I love collecting pedals and they all contribute to my understanding about sound and tone, which in the end makes me a better guitar player.

Later!

Muse - Stockholm Syndrome: my point of view

2011-12-19T08:14:00.000-08:00

Ah it's been awhile since I posted something here! Been busy moving from Tronoh to KL for my internship period, and I'm also working on new songs to write and new songs to learn as well! Everything is very fun indeed, I must add. Having a goal (or in this case, many goals) to chase is somewhat comforting.

Anyhoo, for this post I just want to talk about one of my favorite songs ever - "Stockholm Syndrome" by Muse. This is one heck of an adrenalin-rusher which I happened to play ever since I was in secondary school. It has been 5 or 6 years now, and I admit I am still curious at how Mr Bellamy plays it!

I am using my loyal Fender MIM Telecaster now, armed with a bunch of pedals and while searching for that SS tone, all I can say is the sound I produce out of my gear is somewhat different from the master himself, but basically the points are there: high-gain amps, fuzzy tones and weird phasing effects. For the past 6 years or so, my gears changed quite a bit, so let me try to remember...

In the early days, I used a BOSS DS-1 - the famous orange dirt. I relied entirely on that pedal, with gain set way up to the max, and tone set pretty high so the distortion I would get out of it was somewhat fuzzy - or something like that. I soon noticed that while the power packed into my guitar tone multiplied like gazillion times (LOL) it sounded way too screechy due to the insanely high gain. Lucky I didn't have a Mega Distortion pedal or something!

Then later, as I started doing researches on the Internet about Muse's guitar tones and stuff, I realized that SS was actually done by using the amp distortion, and on top of that another one fuzz box, both set to a so-so kind of gain. This method actually gave the beefy tone you could hear on the track - especially during the main riff. It's something I would describe as gain set to ridiculous heights, but still maintain just enough clarity to pack the punch and send the notes out.

Now, I am currently using a Danelectro Cool Cat Fuzz (a cheap yet good sounding fuzz) and also a Vox Satchurator (a distortion pedal I'd use when I can't control my fuzz and I decided to leave it alone) and when I think about the stuff I read on the Net, I said "hey this might work better". For the moment all I can say is the tone and the heaviness were all good when I combined these two pedals at normal settings. Then for the verse parts I'd switch off the Fuzz and used the distortion only to lighten the guitar sound. I rarely touch my volume knob on my guitar, due to the fact that it's not strategically placed (if you ever played a Tele you will understand) but I guess I must work on that. Sometimes by adjusting the volume knob on the guitar you'd get many interesting sounds out of it.

There goes my ramblings about SS and possibly one of my most sought after guitar tones. I shall continue my search and who knows, I might just get it one day (or just maybe, even better)?

Later!

Perseverance & Patience

2011-09-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

I had just finished another semester of my engineering studies here in UTP, and I had just picked up the guitar again after leaving it resting neatly in its case for almost two whole months. I decided to leave the guitar for a while for two good reasons: 1) I was preparing for my final exams and 2) I found my guitar playing to be a bit stale for the moment. For reason number 1, I guess it is a sacrifice I must make (I intend to pursue my degree after all!) yet I must say, I am quite disturbed with reason number 2.

Weeks after last Euphonious (which was held in June), I put down my guitar and a thought came to me: I am not improving at all. I got bored with my own playing, and to make things worse, I thought I noticed a few "guitar-ing bad habits" that I had all these times. These were my weakest times. In an attempt to revitalize my passion and interest towards guitar all over again, I decided to stop playing for a while and focus on something else. (To an extent, I stopped listening to guitar-driven songs for a while.)

Then, after the examination period, I currently find myself having more leisure time with nothing much to do. I decided to pick the guitar back up again, and start really, really slow and learn the basics all over again. I came across a very good guitar lesson site (www.justinguitar.com) and I am now focusing on building my technique from scratch again.

Frustrating? You bet it is. It sucks to feel not being able to improve at the moment, but it is a challenge I must take. During this entire journey, perseverance and patience are definitely the keys to success. Brilliant techniques and skillful playing do not happen overnight, yet they take days, weeks, months, and though I hate to say it, maybe even years for me to get to a level that I want to achieve. The first few steps are the toughest ones, where I must build everything slowly and swallow the fact that in order to achieve big, I must be constant in my doings until it becomes a habit - a very good habit which in the end will give me the reward - brilliant guitar playing.

Let this post be a reminder for the future where I get frustrated and bored and sick and tired of practicing and practicing and practicing again and again, for fear that if I stop doing all this, I can never improve.

Persevere! Be patient! This soul must be strong! Gyaaah!

Vision & Hearing

2011-05-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

One day, you were just watching a live video of (insert some band) and you thought, 'Whoa! This is the coolest band ever'. The band looked so perfect, played with great energy, showed almost 35 face expressions within only 15 minutes of performing. That was just brilliant, no?

Before you go on and idolize every inch of the lads (or ladies) behind the instruments, you should actually listen more. Try listening to a recorded live performance, omit the visuals. Sometimes the trick is very obvious. Lights, dances, colors add to the mood and enhance the performance.

Now, I mean this in a way where you want to really evaluate whether a band is good or not, only through its musical aspect. I love to do that when the band I am listening to is my own band. I wanted to evaluate ourselves. I wanted to evaluate myself, how did I sound like, how good am I, in order to improve whatever points that I am lacking.

Personally I think it helps a whole lot, because I look cool visually and it might have shadowed the fact that I am not that great technically. Haha just kidding!

A Personal Observation

2010-09-29T20:39:00.000-07:00

There are two kinds of guitarists.

One: the lead guitarists.
Two: the rhythm guitarists.

Lead guitarists love to challenge their ability to interpret chords and their relative scales. Lead guitarists often have very good left hands (or right hands for the lefties) since they always move up and down the fretboard. Speed is always considered as a point of reference to their ability as guitarists, which means the speed to play note by note fluently and without fail. A good lead guitarist will know that by speed, it means from the slowest picking to the fastest he can get.

Rhythm guitarists love to understand the chord formation, chord progressions, tempos and strumming patterns. Rhythm guitarists usually have very good right hands (or left hands for the lefties) because they practised strumming different patterns throughout. Here, speed is defined in a different way; it is understood that rhythm guitarists percieve speed as the fluency of changing chords, and picking speed from as slow as one strum for four beats and up to 32nd fast strums (usually referred to as tremolo picking, and usually applies to only one or two strings, which resembles a lead guitar technique). A good rhythm guitarist understands the tempo very well and often succeeds in playing unusual strumming patterns for odd tempos.

But there can also be another way of dividing guitarists:

One: the simple guitarists.
Two: the complex guitarists.

Here, simple can bring another two meanings:

One: using simple approaches to a song, for example only using basic settings and play with a general sound. These guitarists often believe that their own 'unique' sound will come with developing skills and techniques.

Two: approaching the song in a simple way, for example covering a song will mean play them note-by-note, with less or no improvisation at all, or using simple techniques such as simple strumming patterns or simple lead melodies. These guitarists often think that self-generated complexity will baffle their development as musicians (in other words being 'too ambitious').

Then, complex can also bring yet another two meanings:

One: using complex approach to a song, for example studying the layers and the mood of the song (or certain parts). These guitarists mostly aware and regard dynamics as one of the most important things in music (usually influenced by classical music). Some may also fiddle with effects and different settings on the guitar.

Two: approaching the song in a complex way, which means applying lots of improvisations in their guitar playing. When covering a song, these guitarists will use the basic chords as only a reference, and then they will generate their own ways of playing them, with the idea of giving the song their 'personal touches'. A same song might be played differently for each time they play.

But yeah, these are just my personal opinions based on personal observations on guitarists all around me. I still think we all are quite the same, anyway. It's just that we may have our own niche somewhere.

Whew!

2010-08-14T07:02:00.000-07:00

Hello there! It has been quite some time since I've updated this blog here. I didn't feel like updating, hence the long break. But that doesn't mean I did nothing and became some boring old lad!

About Threnody, our very first demo was successfully recorded. It contains two songs, "Narcissus" and "A Dilution, Lit! Mr Stunt". A few weeks after the release, I wrote another song called "Butterfly Park" and made available for free download and the song was put into Threnody: Demo Special Edition, only for a few special ones.

Although I decided not to go all havoc about the demo and hence, a very quiet promotion, I felt satisfied enough for the time being. I noticed that we managed to get a few people to listen and like our songs, from close friends to strangers outside (ah, this is good enough, for a band that is not actively playing gigs) and the feedbacks were okay. I wanted to write more songs after this and continue doing so, although the availability of resources are no longer abundant like we used to have a few months ago.

With busy schedules of practices with UTP Virtuoso and the upcoming Convocation Dinner performance, plus the hectic academic life, I must say Threnody will move, but in a very slow pace. I don't mind, we are not aiming to be the next Bunkface or Seven Collar T-Shirt in a few years' time. I want it to be albeit slow, memorable and productive. When our 'weapons' are good enough, we will break through whatever the boundaries and move on. Quick or slow? It is not what that matters most.

Most importantly, I have written two songs that I honestly think are too far from where we are now (the 2 Parts) and those songs can wait for a while. Meanwhile I will keep on gathering influences and ideas and keep on writing songs. Amidst all the busy schedule!

Later folks!

A Huge Plan

2010-03-02T02:33:00.000-08:00

Hello journal!

Lately it has been very tough indeed; I have to cope on so many things altogether. About the great plan, it is!

I was planning that during the mid-semester break, Threnody will be off to the studio to record some decent stuff! Plans have already been jotted down, since we only have one week (only ONE week!) to record a few songs, hopefully, for our very first demo tape.

We plan to have 3 songs in our arsenal before heading off to the studio, but currently the situation does not really been going that good. We only have two (accepted) finished songs to be recorded - currently named "A Dilution, Lit! Mr Stunt" and "Narcissus". With less than two weeks to go, I hope I could come up with one more quality song to add up to the list. In fact, I have been working on a song, and it is halfway done!

I will be updating about the progress of this very first project of ours later. Later!

A Song (Demo) Up!

2010-02-14T07:27:00.000-08:00

Hey hey!

Well, nothing much really, just that I am very delighted to announce the very first song (although a very basic, vocals+acoustics demo version) has been uploaded to Threnody's Myspace and Facebook page!

The song's called 'A Dilution, Lit! Mr Stunt'. A bit weird, eh? Haha, no worries, the song's not gonna get any weirder... I hope so. It is still in its infacy stage; I'm planning on re-recording the song with a different arrangement. Maybe it will be a bit harder and more... rocky, should I say.

Anyway, please check it out at either one of those pages. All constructive comments are most welcomed!

Cheers!

Watch out for those Echoes!

2010-02-08T04:59:00.000-08:00

Achtung! The new year's first post is here. Haha. Need not to mention, I think, that during the beginning of every new semester, me just like anybody else here in UTP were busy scheduling our daily time tables. Nevertheless, my personal musical journey must go on. And when I say must, I must do!

Lately I have been troubling myself with my super-duper-extra concern about my guitar tone. I have been reading quite a lot of other artists' interviews and journals about their opinion regarding the 'ultimate guitar tone' subject, and I am happy to say that I have been using this one very useful advice from Josh Urban (to paraphrase him) - don't feel bad about being yourself and not being (insert idol name here) - as one of my many musical principles. Check out his blog, man, he got so many useful insights!

Actually, the main reason of me writing this is not about promoting some artist's blog, but to tell you one unique experience that I had. Recently, me and my band Threnody went to the studio and jammed a few songs. While everything seemed nice and okay for a start, I noticed something that gave me many sleepless nights thinking about it.

I remembered a friend of mine once mentioned to me, saying that 'a guitar should not meddle in a bass affair', and surprisingly, that thing did happen to me a few weeks back. I felt that my guitar tone was not 'sharp' enough, and resulted in the band sounded muddy and blurry and weak and stuff. Out of sheer desperation, I tweaked the EQ into a 'wild' state, i.e turning the bass knob all the way down and boost both the midrange and treble knobs. It did overcome the muddy problem, yet my guitar sounded waaaaay too weak (of course, it was 'baseless') and resembled a mosquito flying over a person's ear.

Then, one night when I was tweaking here and there, wondering what actually had happened, something whispered into my ear, saying:

"Hey, why don't you turn down that reverb. It's like you're playing in a cave, duh."

Then I did as I was told. It solved the freaking problem! The truth was I had never considered the reverb factor into the equation. After turning the reverb knob down to a lesser state, my guitar sounded just fine. Even after I added bass (not too much though) and decreased my midrange and treble, it sounded strong enough, not too muddy, bassy yet still punchy. My guitar had finally became a proper guitar!

So, the lesson here folks, don't you ever forget that echoey reverb thing. It could take your entire perfect equilibrium state of the 'ultimate guitar tone' and throw it in a dustbin. Use it wisely!

Until next time, cheers.

Join The Resistance!

2009-09-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

Just recently I got hold of the long awaited Muse's 5th album: The Resistance! And what do I have to say after listening to it? Pure awesomeness. They certainly had gone beyond everyone's expectations; they ventured into new styles and yet still maintain the superior quality of Muse.

To be honest, I wasn't quite sure when I first listened to it. I have heard 'Uprising' and 'United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)' a few weeks beforehand, and at that time, I did not know how to react. It was like, man, is this Muse? They had changed so much ever since the glorious years of Showbiz and Origin of Symmetry.

Although the album's first impression was not quite nice (I personally think Absolution had the best first impression ever) I still felt like giving them a hard salute for their hard work and bravery. Muse could have lost one quarter of their fans with this album, hear? With singles like 'Uprising', surely Origin fans would have felt quite disappointed.

Yet, after a few listens, I dare say that this is their best album so far. The production is great, their songwriting is outstanding and sometimes very, very unexpected, and they still have their special touch in each and every song. The mood just fits very well. Strangely, my favorite tracks are the two most bizarre one (read: the most un-Muse-sounded ones) - 'Undisclosed Desires' and 'I Belong To You (Mon Cœur S'Ouvre à Ta Voix)'. Try listen to them and witness for yourself the diversity of Muse and their music.

I know, I know, this is not another Ultimate-Guitar.com or Sputnikmusic.com, but it never hurts to make a simple review of one of my favorite albums of the year. Hey, maybe of the rest of my life! Let's see how long this album can remain resonating in my head.

The Long Run

2009-08-24T12:02:00.000-07:00

Hello journal, finally I am writing again after a long break.

Well the break was actually since I was quite busy with many performances, mainly with a band under the name of Virtuoso (it is a university band). Also, I had several other shows, as a guest performer with the university's Gamelan group.

To me, it was a great experience to be playing in many different bands, especially when the bands are of different genres of music. For example, the Virtuoso band is a lot more into contemporary and pop music, while the Gamelan group is of a kind of traditional music. They do have a lot of differences with what I had longed for with Threnody, but in a way, they all are actually the same. It is all music to my ears.

In my opinion, to be a good musician you have to be open to many kinds of music. Of course, you don't have to like all genres, but you need to, at least know many types of them. You have to have at least the minimum knowledge about different genres, for instance the type of scales they often use, the modes, the different techniques and so on.

I played bass for the Gamelan group, and that was a great experience too. I have been able to position myself in the bassist's seat, and imagine how could I propel and bring the song with any required mood and motion. In my first week or so, it was like 'wow I learned a brand new instrument!' and I sounded like a groaning cow. But there are always the learning curve for all of us, and it was a good thing that I can understand more about how the bass works in songs.

With all the new influences and all the knowledge I have learned, I can say that I grew a little more matured when it comes down to music than before. Maybe those of you should try listening to some other types of music as well. Try adding one song of your least favorite genre into your playlist. Who knows, it might grow on you as time passes by...

Songwriting: The Struggle Within!

2009-06-21T13:58:00.001-07:00

It can be the hardest thing to do. It can be the easiest thing to do. It can be the reason why you lose all your sanity. It can also be the perfect energy booster.

Since last month, I've been trying to write a few songs for Threnody. It couldn't be too hard, eh? Well, after I tried it, it turned out to be one of the most mind-wrecking activities I've ever done. As I'm posting this, I've wrote two (yes, only two) full songs, but as I mention full, it doesn't mean that they are complete and perfect in any ways. I've laid their basic structures and pointed out melodies and attacks, and wrote a few lyrics which I think, suit the melodies.

What exactly do I want to achieve? Well, let's see. True, I have major influences from Muse, but still I can't deny the fact that I've been listening to a whole lot of other bands for quite some time. During the holidays, I listened to Jamiroquai, System of a Down, AFI, Tool, A Perfect Circle, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Radiohead - oh, should I mention A LOT of Radiohead. Especially their 'electronical' albums such as Kid A, Amnesiac and In Rainbows. I don't know whether that will affect my inspiration and my songwriting abilities or not, but I guess in the meantime, that's the direction that I think is cool. I'm not going to make Brit-Pop, since there are so many better Brit-Pop songs out there that people would not even bother to listen to mine if I produce them. Butterfingers' new direction is kind of cool, too. They're like, turning into a Seven Collar T-Shirt, which ends up as - a Radiohead kind of music. Haha.

Enough said - this is, as I like to call it, part one of this tale of making my own music. I don't know how far can I go, but hey, it's worth a try.

Later!

After Wu-Huu 2009

2009-04-27T07:09:00.000-07:00

Wu-Huu 2009 was a blast! Yeah not really that blast, but it came to me as a very good experience. Those were two days of perfect musical journey for me, and I couldn't really wait for more and more experiences to be gained later in my life.

The event had two days of music performances, and Threnody was scheduled to be the second day's opening band. There were only a few people while we began playing, but to me it was one of the most comfortable performances I had ever experienced.

Overall? I know Threnody definitely was not 100%. But we had improved a lot. A lot since last year. So we are surely very proud of it.

About my guitar, hey I'm loving each and every second of it! I was glad to have friends that I can rely on to monitor my progress and get advice from. Overall the sound men helped us a lot too. I was so excited to hear such great sounds coming out of those giant speakers.

As a whole, the bands that performed at Wu-Huu 2009 were simply, the best of the best of Malaysia. I was stunned when I watched certain other bands' performances, oh there were several bands that stood out of the rest. They became something I would call, benchmarks for us to move on later in life. I also see them as reminders, of what is exactly out there, and what we have to prepare first before really stepping into the industry realm.

On early thoughts, I was terrified, to say the least. It was like watching a huge storm coming towards you, trying to stop you from entering a place where heroes dwell. We were so miniscule if compared to them. Yet, in a positive way, it encouraged us to keep on struggling to get in there and try to be the best of the best.

This journey might take a very long time, but honestly I don't care. This is what I love, so I will keep pushing forward, whether anyone else likes it or not.

Let's go Threnody!

Wu-Huu 2009 arrives!

2009-04-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

The final jamming session was great. I was so happy to be in the band; I was so happy to be playing with my band mates; I was enjoying every moment of it. I could feel that the chemistry between us three are growing by each second. I felt like letting go of everything else, and I felt great.

The Groove, Jimmy Kane, Citizen Erased, Bliss and TSP became the ones that qualified into our Wu Huu 2009 set list. Honestly I still could not totally grasp TSP's vocals as I am typing this sentence, but I guess everything should be okay. As long as I did not get overexcited or overstressed by the fact that we will be playing onstage this upcoming Sunday.

I need a sugar rush. Damn I really need one this Sunday. I guess three bottles of Red Bull would be just enough. The perfect high for me. Haha.

The reason why I chose Muse as a reference, as an idol, as a significant figure and an aim for all these years are because Muse is one of those very few bands that can be anything else yet they are still themselves. They have made super hard rock songs with metal riffs to jazzy blues orgasm experiences and even to famous ballads, and still, they all sounded like Muse. The trio had proven themselves worthy to be called a supergroup. And fuck, they even got the Doctorates of Art from some British university from being one of the best bands in the world. There are other great bands that I adore as well, but I grew up a lot with Muse's songs; that makes it a little special to me personally.

So for the upcoming show at Wu Huu 2009, we would like to go onstage, have fun and pay tribute to one of the greatest influences of my musical experiences. I would rather imagine the masters themselves standing right in front of us, in the crowd: Matthew Bellamy, Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard, and I would love to make them smile as they listen to their own songs, covered by an amateur band that tried so hard to put out everything in their hearts, spilled so much sweat and tears, confronted even the greatest shame, just to make every song sounded as good as it can be.

To the idols, Matthew, Chris and Dom, we would love to follow your path later in our lives.

A week before Wu-Huu 2009

2009-04-19T13:47:00.000-07:00

I started playing guitar at the age of 12. Little did I know, I was able to play onstage in front of a national crowd about 7 years later. Turned out, it was one of the shittiest moments in my life. I played like a dumb, fucking retarded asshole; when I looked back at the video of me playing on that stage, I felt like setting the laptop on fire.

Well, as the wise would say, if you never felt like fuck, don't you dare call yourself great.

In less than a week, I am going back to the same stage, the same stage that laughed at my stupidity a year ago. Sorry, but not this time. I have the responsibility of keeping my ego at high point and promise to give the crowd a pleasant time.

Threnody's last jamming session showed signs of positivity. Hah, that can be good. Or bad. No overconfidence is needed. We needed 4 or even 5 songs for our set list. Unfortunately, with only a week left until our performance, we haven't picked up the songs yet. We just sort of jammed everything we played since 2007, and a few new ones.

This year might not be the suitable time for our own material. Hell, I wrote more than 10 stupid songs since December, and I had no idea at all on how to expand the songs to its best. So the plan for Wu Huu 2009: Threnody as a cover band. Yes, we will play Muse songs. Those who don't like Muse can fuck off and go buy a t-shirt or something.

Last Saturday we played a few songs we never played before, such as Jimmy Kane, Citizen Erased and TSP, which turned out okay, but needed a little bit of adjustments here and there. I think we need a bit of the usual ones, like Stockholm Syndrome or Bliss. Supermassive will be nice, as well. But frankly, I would love to have Stockholm Syndrome once more in the set list. Last year's Stockholm was a disaster, and we did not play Stockholm at Musicfest 6, or even during Evo Indie Fest earlier this year.

Whatever that happens, I can't wait for Wu Huu 2009. And we need another jamming session. Or two.