I hate 28 days later....

So this week the highlight for me has to be band work where we have began to put together yet another cracker of a medley. This time we were asked to pick a genre of film and pick 3 songs from 3 different films and create the medley. My band picked horror films much to my disgust because I am terrified of anything remotely related to horror films. However I will admit they have picked some really good songs. This time instead of doing the obvious which is pick chart songs, the band are doing themes such as The Exorcist and 28 Days later theme which is very unusual in terms of band work so I reckon it will go down a treat at the fat sams gig. We are currently researching the songs and discussing how everything is going to work.
In terms of This Is An Outrage we have just written a brand new song which we are currently putting together and hope to have it ready for our debut gig.

Its Februaury..

So the pressure is on for everyone in terms of exams and the dreaded graded unit. Im excited to be beginning my website as I love designing and personalising things! However I am aware its all about the content which is why I have begun filming band practices and recording pretty much anything I have been up to.
New This Is An Outrage news, We will be supporting Waterday as our debut gig in March at The Twa Tams which is fantastic!! We cant wait it should be a fantastic laugh.
At Rhythm Wave this week I received a DVD of our performance at Glastonbury 2011, I was really excited to see it as I hadn't really seen myself play before, also, its a perfect addition to my graded unit portfolio.
Over the next week or so I need to decide what my next piece for first study will be, and also began my revision for both History and Theory exams.

Say Cheese!

So this week has been really exciting for my band This Is An Outrage, we organised our first official photo shoot with Kierans friend Dave who is a brilliant photographer. Just by chance it was a beautiful day so we headed to south inch in Perth to begin the photo shoot and ended up under the Tay bridge, I cant wait for the results as I will be using them in my graded unit portfolio!
In terms of coursework we have now been given dates for our first history and theory exams so a lot of studying needs to be done... cheerio social life!
I have also managed to begin making decisions on what first study pieces I will be playing for my assessments in the end of May, the first one Ive picked is a grade 8 piece called 'Overture' and I love it! Its very difficult but very fun to play which has motivated me greatly to learn it as quickly as I can, I hope the other pieces I pick are just as fun to play.

Happy New Year

Back to college...no more alcohol or chocolate... how depressing

Im horrifically depressed due to the lack of sledging and snowman creating opportunities, however Im really enjoying band work class recently.
We were asked to create a medley for a Tarantino film, and my band picked Kill Bill. I detest the film, but the soundtrack is fantastic! The band have put together a cracking medley that I cant get out of my head... and cant wait to play at the gig...
The medley kicks of with Bang Bang by Nancy Sinatra, Its a really nice slow intro which really suits our vocalists voice. We only play this song for the first few lines and then kick straight into Battle Without Honour or Glory by Tomoyasu Hotei which is a classic theme that is very well known. I love the drum part because its simple, but extremely effective. The medley then progresses onto goodnight moon by Shivaree which also suits our vocalist really well and I love the guitar riff in this one. After goodnight moon the medley kicks into WooHoo by the 5 6 7 8's which is a belter because I get a cheeky drum solo! The song then goes back into Bang Bang playing the last few lines to end the medley nicely..
The medley isnt tight yet, we still need to practice it a good few more times but if we get it right itl be a great performance :)

Back To Basics

This week, as a contribution towards my graded unit, I have been working on new warm ups in order to improve my technique. My lecturer suggest I go back to the most basic warm-ups that focus's on improving my precision of single and double strokes. If I keep up with this warm up then hopefully over time my drum technique in general should improve drastically. I thought this was a cracking idea because I want to be able to play to the best of my ability whatever that takes.
Since its the run up to Christmas its been a mad rush to try and get as much done so that I can enjoy the holidays back home. In session skills we managed to get our first recording done just in time, and I also manages to get my first DAW project out of the way. 
Over the holidays I have the added luxury of taking full advantage of battering my acoustic kit in my shed in my back garden for a whole 2 weeks, lets hope it isnt too cold :(
Happy Christmas!

This is an Outrage!

When I worked with the HNC students at the start of the year, I managed to make a few acquaintances. Two of these acquaintances were a couple of bouncing bambinos known to most as Andrew Mcgowan and Kieran McGuire. Andrew and Kieran approached me and asked me if I would start a three piece band with them. They commented that they loved my energy and enthusiasm when I performed and thought I'd be suited for the type of band they wanted to form.
The three of us got together this week to share ideas on what kind of songs we wanted to write. I showed the boys some material I had written a few months back and within an hour we had four songs written and ready to be rehearsed. Working with Andy and Kieran is a breath of fresh air mainly because we get so much work done in so little time and have such a laugh doing it. I also really loved the fact that all our songs are composed equally, we all share a third of each song and we all put our own idea into each song. Also, working with them made me realise that when you work with other musicians who compliment your personality and music taste, composition flows a lot easier. However this may not be the case when working in the session world as I may be asked to work with people who may not compliment my personality or music taste and will have to learn to work well in both circumstances. Until then, I have 'This is an Outrage' to keep me sane for now.

The Weather outside is Frightful.....

For just over a year now, I have been playing as part of a Brazilian samba band called Rhythm Wave as one of the Repinque players. This year Rhythm Wave were asked to play a set as part of Perths Christmas lights switch on parade. When playing gigs with Rhythm Wave I'm used to having two other much  more experienced Repinque players playing alongside me. However at this particular gig I was the only Repinque player that could make the gig so I was forced to play the part on my own for the first time. This made me incredibly nervous as I usually don't cope very well when put on the spot especially when it comes to my drumming. If it were up to me i wouldn't of played the gig because I'm not fully confident playing the part on my own and I'm terrified of playing something wrong. However, I play one of the lead parts within the band and there were twenty other members of the band relying on me playing, whether I wanted to play or not. When aspiring to become a session musician, its important to be able to adapt to any situation and play under pressure. In this situation I had to play a solo part to a large audience even though I felt very uncomfortable doing so. However I actually pulled it off and in the end up the gig went very well and I actually enjoyed myself. I messed up a lot of the part but in the end I realised that the main thing was that I didn't stop playing and kept going and always looked to the band leader for help, to which I always got help when required. But I think the best part of being brave and going solo for once was getting the positive feedback from everyone afterwards, it made the experience all worth while.
Heres a clip from the gig...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13OOg3OFIdI&list=FLL3xWrPzuxZ1irXEmN43IWg&index=1&feature=plpp_video