A short seven days after our first show, we were asked to play in a battle of the bands at a little place known as the Modesto Virtual. A bar located in the downtown Modesto area thats main attraction is its Battletech computer games, and a decent sized stage. To start off, we knew this battle would be impossible to win, but our hopes were high, we had a large crowd, and our last practice had gone a lot better than our first show had. no Mackie PA blowouts or anything of the sort.
As you know in a battle of the bands, the bands playing are usually unknown and fairly inexperienced when it comes to live performances. we were all battling for a chance to play with the metal gods known as Cattle Decapitation. if you have never heard of these guys, well then eat your heart out, and go buy one of their CD's. Unfortunately, the show was rigged from the start, but thats something ill get into in a later post.
So our turn comes up, and as you would guess, as were getting ready, we have a bunch of onlookers with dubious looks on their faces. we had spent the majority of our time conversing with the soon to be fans, and drinking at the bar. for 5 dollars there you can get a mini pitcher, thats basically the equivalent of 4 beers in an easy to carry pouring container. screw cups, we drank right out of the pitchers! we were excited, because we had gotten a good time slot, where the crowd was hungry for the music, and everyone was feeling the vibe.
Anyways, sound check is complete, and Brian starts his usual crowd gathering introduction, (this works really well. almost none of the other bands get people psyched up for the performance) which right away had a lot of giddy kids ready to mosh their hearts out. And we're off! we start off with our usual set-list order, which we painstakingly put together in practice over a mass montage of cigarettes and Pabst Blue Ribbon, and from the first four count, things went out of control. Right off the bat we had people trying to do stage dives in a venue that due to its lack of a dance permit didn't allow moshing.
(see the guy on stage right? he shouldn't have been there. *grin*)
As you know in a battle of the bands, the bands playing are usually unknown and fairly inexperienced when it comes to live performances. we were all battling for a chance to play with the metal gods known as Cattle Decapitation. if you have never heard of these guys, well then eat your heart out, and go buy one of their CD's. Unfortunately, the show was rigged from the start, but thats something ill get into in a later post.
So our turn comes up, and as you would guess, as were getting ready, we have a bunch of onlookers with dubious looks on their faces. we had spent the majority of our time conversing with the soon to be fans, and drinking at the bar. for 5 dollars there you can get a mini pitcher, thats basically the equivalent of 4 beers in an easy to carry pouring container. screw cups, we drank right out of the pitchers! we were excited, because we had gotten a good time slot, where the crowd was hungry for the music, and everyone was feeling the vibe.
Anyways, sound check is complete, and Brian starts his usual crowd gathering introduction, (this works really well. almost none of the other bands get people psyched up for the performance) which right away had a lot of giddy kids ready to mosh their hearts out. And we're off! we start off with our usual set-list order, which we painstakingly put together in practice over a mass montage of cigarettes and Pabst Blue Ribbon, and from the first four count, things went out of control. Right off the bat we had people trying to do stage dives in a venue that due to its lack of a dance permit didn't allow moshing.
(see the guy on stage right? he shouldn't have been there. *grin*)so while we are doing our damnedest to keep straight faces while we totally destroy the other bands that played before us, there was mass confusion in the crowd. People having a blasty moshing, and head banging while security tries to break up the pit, and other people jumping out of the way to avoid getting dragged into the debacle. I have to give the security there props, they succeeded in breaking up the pit a few times, but after a certain point, it became a useless endeavor.
In my opinion the response from the crowd was more than enough to put us on the winning list of bands, but as i said before it was rigged. and the added effort security had to make in order to maintain some semblance of order apparently hurt us more than helped. Heres a few pics so you can see for yourself a bit of what it was like.
Moving right along, the performance went very well, and we got a lot of new die hard fans from it, but of course, we didn't win the battle. instead, we won the peoples admiration for letting them go all out on the floor, and taking a hit of sorts in the contest so they could have a good time! I suppose that is a better thing, especially since it set us up for our next show, which i will be bringing to you guys soon!
Shortly after i demolished the band with the unlearnable song Enter the Colosseum, we got our first show... Well it wasn't exactly a show, it was a house party for Brian's wifes sisters birthday. Despite the fact that it wasn't in front of a lot of people, i was as nervous as Brian's dog jack which is a deer leg chihuahua that shakes uncontrollably for no apparent reason other than to look like it had just almost been run over by a semi.
I had never met any of Nikki's family, or their friends for that matter so i was justified in my nervousness. My hands were clammy, the beer was cold, and everyone was having a good time while i just observed the situation. I finally decided to crack open my beer after we got all of our gear loaded in, and tho it helped calm the nerves, it didn't really do anything to help my racing mind. I gotta tell you, the last show i had played was almost 4 years previous, and at the time i didn't care if we got booed off the stage, or got a standing ovation. Fortunately we got the latter.
So here i am, standing around looking like a dumb ass, when all of a sudden a bunch of my other friends show up. Now im really nervous. No one has heard me play in any sort of live situation, and tho im glad to see them, i realise that i was coming down with a case of the stage frights. That wouldn't last long, as the guys decide its time to do the dew, we plug in, set our volume to face-blasting insanity, and who would have guessed? the powered PA that we rented from guitar center decides to blow out in a shower of white smoke and blue light!
How could this be happening? i thought. of all the things that could go wrong, now we cant be heard as we should be. thankfully it was still functional... well partially. it would shut off and on frequently, and you could hear Brian sing about 30% of the time, but that little event got my mind off of the playing of the music, and had me more worried about the effect of a lack of vox would have. take in mind, that this was all while we were sound checking.
After a few laughs and a few more swigs of my beer, it was time to start. a few inebriated yet apprehensive onlookers waiting to have their ears mutilated by the metal we worked so hard to provide for them. We started off with Bitter Demise, an original composition by Brian, that in practice sounded amazing, but as i realized that most of the band had the same jitters i had, everything was going to be a lot harder than we expected.
We didnt kill the song entirely, but i must admit i was a bit suprised at how bad it sounded. Maybe it was the faulty PA, it could also have been the 12 or so beers we had all just shotgunned, but i was mortified when i heard the actual product. No one seemed to notice, as they started to get into the music, and at that moment a wave of relief washed over me. Maybe it didn't sound that bad. Or quite possibly, the garbage i was hearing was what they wanted to hear. either way, things went pretty smoothly from there except for the occasional added effect of the smoking PA, and the loss mid song of vocals. All in all the performance went well, and the small crowd was excited, and wanted more. the bandmates on the other hand were in a rush to get it over with, and drink themselves into oblivion. And that we Did
A couple of birthday shots later, and i'm feeling quite talkative. I hadn't given myself a chance to really meet any of the people i didn't know, and in my current state, i was ready to break into party mode. So i jumbled around the house talking to the pretty ladies i saw lounging in corners cupping their drinks like they were the last cup of booze on the planet. why people do this i'm not sure, but i always thought that if you're with friends and you're drinking, the last thing you should be doing is standing in a corner twiddling your thumbs around your cup. the mixed tunes of rock, metal and hip hop as they always do made a few people start to dance, and i myself indulged in a few diddys of sort. i'm no dancer, so i probably looked like one of the Charlie Brown dancers.
It was time for a smoke, and as everyone moved to the somewhat frigid backyard, a young lady caught my eye. tho she had more to drink than pretty much everyone else, she was calm reserved, and well composed. i don't know what it was, but i was enamored by her presence. a long few conversations and a few more shots, and i don't exactly remember what happened. all i do remember was being in the bathroom with her, when i hear mike yelling
"Is my life real? someone come talk to me! I just smoked some super strong salvia, and i don't think my life is what it is! Is my kid real? is my girlfriend really with me? someone give me a phone so i can make sure i'm really here!"
Mike was tripping out, and as i realized what i was currently doing, and with a giggle from the beautiful lass i was with, my attentions went elsewhere. shortly after that, still lost in a wave of what, i cant even explain, another yell comes about. "Eric time to go! were gonna leave you if you don't come out and help load up! "
after a few shared, and slightly embarrassed looks from my muse, i regained my composure and thus returned home with my first real adventure as a death metal guitarist. I had fun, but in the back of my head i knew that i and the band had a lot we had to work on. it was time to get truly serious about the music. parties and drunken debauchery aside, the Metal was where it was at.
I had never met any of Nikki's family, or their friends for that matter so i was justified in my nervousness. My hands were clammy, the beer was cold, and everyone was having a good time while i just observed the situation. I finally decided to crack open my beer after we got all of our gear loaded in, and tho it helped calm the nerves, it didn't really do anything to help my racing mind. I gotta tell you, the last show i had played was almost 4 years previous, and at the time i didn't care if we got booed off the stage, or got a standing ovation. Fortunately we got the latter.
So here i am, standing around looking like a dumb ass, when all of a sudden a bunch of my other friends show up. Now im really nervous. No one has heard me play in any sort of live situation, and tho im glad to see them, i realise that i was coming down with a case of the stage frights. That wouldn't last long, as the guys decide its time to do the dew, we plug in, set our volume to face-blasting insanity, and who would have guessed? the powered PA that we rented from guitar center decides to blow out in a shower of white smoke and blue light!
How could this be happening? i thought. of all the things that could go wrong, now we cant be heard as we should be. thankfully it was still functional... well partially. it would shut off and on frequently, and you could hear Brian sing about 30% of the time, but that little event got my mind off of the playing of the music, and had me more worried about the effect of a lack of vox would have. take in mind, that this was all while we were sound checking.
After a few laughs and a few more swigs of my beer, it was time to start. a few inebriated yet apprehensive onlookers waiting to have their ears mutilated by the metal we worked so hard to provide for them. We started off with Bitter Demise, an original composition by Brian, that in practice sounded amazing, but as i realized that most of the band had the same jitters i had, everything was going to be a lot harder than we expected.
We didnt kill the song entirely, but i must admit i was a bit suprised at how bad it sounded. Maybe it was the faulty PA, it could also have been the 12 or so beers we had all just shotgunned, but i was mortified when i heard the actual product. No one seemed to notice, as they started to get into the music, and at that moment a wave of relief washed over me. Maybe it didn't sound that bad. Or quite possibly, the garbage i was hearing was what they wanted to hear. either way, things went pretty smoothly from there except for the occasional added effect of the smoking PA, and the loss mid song of vocals. All in all the performance went well, and the small crowd was excited, and wanted more. the bandmates on the other hand were in a rush to get it over with, and drink themselves into oblivion. And that we Did
A couple of birthday shots later, and i'm feeling quite talkative. I hadn't given myself a chance to really meet any of the people i didn't know, and in my current state, i was ready to break into party mode. So i jumbled around the house talking to the pretty ladies i saw lounging in corners cupping their drinks like they were the last cup of booze on the planet. why people do this i'm not sure, but i always thought that if you're with friends and you're drinking, the last thing you should be doing is standing in a corner twiddling your thumbs around your cup. the mixed tunes of rock, metal and hip hop as they always do made a few people start to dance, and i myself indulged in a few diddys of sort. i'm no dancer, so i probably looked like one of the Charlie Brown dancers.
It was time for a smoke, and as everyone moved to the somewhat frigid backyard, a young lady caught my eye. tho she had more to drink than pretty much everyone else, she was calm reserved, and well composed. i don't know what it was, but i was enamored by her presence. a long few conversations and a few more shots, and i don't exactly remember what happened. all i do remember was being in the bathroom with her, when i hear mike yelling
"Is my life real? someone come talk to me! I just smoked some super strong salvia, and i don't think my life is what it is! Is my kid real? is my girlfriend really with me? someone give me a phone so i can make sure i'm really here!"
Mike was tripping out, and as i realized what i was currently doing, and with a giggle from the beautiful lass i was with, my attentions went elsewhere. shortly after that, still lost in a wave of what, i cant even explain, another yell comes about. "Eric time to go! were gonna leave you if you don't come out and help load up! "
after a few shared, and slightly embarrassed looks from my muse, i regained my composure and thus returned home with my first real adventure as a death metal guitarist. I had fun, but in the back of my head i knew that i and the band had a lot we had to work on. it was time to get truly serious about the music. parties and drunken debauchery aside, the Metal was where it was at.
I implore any of you that read this to subscribe to the blog! im not looking for any kind of world renown recognition or anything, but its always nice to be able to share things with your readers. As an added incentive im gonna throw in a Exclusive Sneak preview of our upcoming music video for The End Result for anyone that subscribes to this blog! once the editing process is complete that is. ill post about it as i catch up with all of the things ive failed to let you guys know about. Hopefully you'll enjoy the video as much as we enjoyed filming it!
WOW! i cant believe its been this long since I've posted on my blog! I'm sure you nonexistent readers have been mortified at my absence! I guess i had better give you guys an update!
Since my last post, a lot has happened. many new songs, shows and amazing opportunities have come up, and while the band isn't famous yet, were busier than ever!
Im not exactly sure where to start seeing as its been ages since i've written anything for you guys, so i suppose ill pick up where i left off.
I think you should know, that everything i write for the band i do at home on my ghetto rigged studio station. I use a line 6 tone port ux2(a decent recording interface for a pretty low price), Sony Acid pro (which is an amazing program for multi-track recording if you cant throw down the 30k for a pro tools hd setup), A great drum synth called Toontrack EZDrummer, as well as its newly updated and much more intricate brother Superior drummer, and from time to time i use the amplitude mastering suite. these programs are awesome if you dont have the money to buy the actual processors and studio equipment that can cost you butt loads of money.
Moving on to.... the Super bowl! While every one including my bandmates were enjoying a day of beer, bbq and other people hurting each other for our televised enjoyment, i was stranded. I had been invited to go to the superbowl party, but due to certain mobile restrictions, i was unable to go, and while i was receiving many "OMG! you should be here, theres more going on than just the football" text messages, I felt the sudden urge to write. and not just to get something off of my chest, but also to punish the guys for rubbing in my absence. that is how Enter the Colosseum came about. talk about punishment, its a 6 minute song of epic proportions, that has yet to be learned by the others.
In the spirit of the super bowl and with the human condition and its many flaws currently on my mind, i decided to add a bit of a fictional back story that combined the days event, with a sort of far out solution to the human problem.
Imagine its February 1st 2009, and millions of people worldwide are sitting down getting ready to watch the highly anticipated Game, when from seemingly nowhere a huge spaceship appears quite visibly around the entire globe, and in the middle of the football field, a single man appears standing on a podium that resembles a coffin. In a voice that can be heard around the world and somehow understood by all the man speaks.
" I, in passage through this life have come to question why the human race so pitiful and weak in hopeless need feed off violence, lust and greed. Is this what were destined for? Parasites of earth destroying all. No change, its just our nature."
the world goes into a fit of forced visual realisation of all of the death and destruction and general debauchery we have participated in our existance and again he speaks...
" So take up arms and follow suit... the Colosseum will open soon... sweet rapture, our blood will stain no more! for those that enter, you have been warned for death awaits you, but fear no more. once dead you shall be whole, restored."
the whole concept of this was a sort of a way to expunge the whole need or urge to kill indiscriminately in a totally fictional way of course. go onto a giant space station and kill, maim, rape and exploit with no consequence other than the possibility of your own temporary death, which with nonexistent space technology could be restored to exactly how you were before you died, but with the memories, and experiences you had in the Colosseum. this of course would be completely viewable by those too weak hearted to actually go and indulge in this opportunity. Ah the re spawn factor. once the song reaches climax, the colosseum closes for the day, but the man again urges people.
"the day is done, the battles fought. it ends for now, but many more will come to die in the interstellar colosseum... come! i bid you curious Fucking Souls... Come!"
pretty crazy huh? lol if only i had gone to that super bowl party. at least thats what the rest of the band says. i hope someday i can put together a music video for this. i think it would be most awesome. don't you think?
for today i am finished. cold fingers and a full stomach don't make for good writing, but i will write again tomorrow. I have to catch you guys up on all of the shows and events that have happened in the last few months! till then!
stay Brutal
Savage Eric
Hello fellow humaniods! Im back and once again im continuing my adventures, wiht a little bit of an update. the first song i wrote for my band is called Death Ends Red. heres the story behind it. About a month after i officialy joined the band some horribly unthinkable thing happened. the band house got robbed. someone, who shall remain nameless (tho we know exactly who the culprits are) kicked in the rear garage door, as well as the inside door leading to the house and stole three guitars(one of wich was brians daughters guitar) Mikes bass, and many other things that were worth taking. of course the police didnt and havent done anything about it, but thats just modesto for you... when i heard the news i was quite fearful that it would put an end to the band as i knew it.
the song itsself only took about 2 hours to write, and for me thats an accomplishment. drums leads, rythm everything. well minus the lyrics, wich i charged brian to write seeing as it was his house they had broken into. but this is how it came out ( www.myspace.com/etchedinstone209 )
I had already been having a horrible week so far, bieng abandoned in a city a good 30 miles away from my home, having my best friend attacked at work, and then this. I must admit i was irate, and to this day, if i was to see the persons that stole the equipment, theyd find themselves in a world of pain so excruciating, thy wish they had been killed long before i exacted my revenge. anyways this anger, with no way to release it became the catlyst for the song death ends red.
everyday day your moment of truth doesn't rear it's head
i can't help how i
despise you and your mortal flesh
i will be the death of you and bring your
life to end
i dream of how i'll rip your skin and tear you limb from
limb
taking such comfort in you dying
sending me into pleasure
fits
filling my cup with tears your crying
still i just don't give a
shit
the sight of blood your losing
so fucking amusing
i long to kill you
slowly
death ends red
death ends red
death ends red
suck my mother
fucking dick!
I didn't really know what i was doing this for until i came up with the name for this blog. adventures of a death metal guitarist. My names is Eric Wolford and i am the lead guitarist in the band Etched in Stone, and i must admit, there's been a lot of things i probably wouldn't have experienced if i hadn't joined this band.
I guess I should start at the beginning, seeing as most of you have probably never heard of my band, let alone much about death metal in the states today. I'm writing this because i feel interested people should know a bit more about what its really like being in a death metal band.
I joined Etched in Stone in December of 2008, and to be completely honest (sorry guys if u read this) i wasn't too sure it would last as long as it has. Most musicians that I've jammed with and said they'd want to start a band, were complete and total flakes, or for some reason we couldn't connect on the musical level that I've connected with the band.
If you've ever tried to start up your own band you'd understand what I'm saying. either someone doesn't show up, that is if you can even find someone talented enough to play, or they come with nothing but a few small ideas and no talent. I'm not saying i wouldn't work with someone that was truly dedicated to making brutal ass music, but its hard to start from scratch when you've got material out the wazoo, and you have to teach a fellow bandmate how to play their instrument. its a difficult predicament if i do say so myself.
Anyways back to the joinage of the band. I had just moved out to Oakdale here in sunny broke ass California because i lost my job in Malibu California, and i had to leave my apartment in Los Angeles, because i couldn't find work. thank you very much you incompetent fools that screwed up our economy. if it weren't for you id never have done the things I've done.
I have a lot of friends in this area, and while a few were partying, our lead vocalist mentions to them that hes looking for a new guitarist, after just finding a new drummer he just needed the one piece to complete the once established band. My friend who shall remain nameless contacted me right away and told me about the situation. I didn't think i was good enough to play the kind of music they were gearing towards, but it was the first time i had received an offer to join a band, so i decided to say screw it, ill give it a shot.
My first practice with the band was a little strange. it was more like a reunion of friends and acquaintances than a practice. Brian Lewis a co-worker of my best friend, and husband to an old school mate, Mike Salet, aka White trash mike, aka the Gerber baby, aka the bassist, and Adam Van Holsen, aka Ogre, our drummer and a friend of friends of friends.
Brian asked me to show him some of my licks i had done in the past, and seeing as i had been working on a purely for fun project where i recorded lead rhythm and drums at home on my little ghetto pc recording setup, i just sent him to the myspace page where i posted my recordings, and let him listen to a few tracks. After the first go around all he said was "when can you start?"
At this point in time i really didnt know much about writing Death metal riffs, mostly due to the crunchy techinicality and insanley fast hand movements involved, but I loved the idea of learning something new that i could apply in my music. Death metal itself is a extreme mix of classical, jazz, and heavy rock played to any horrifying theme you can think of. just listening to it makes peoples blood boil, some in good ways others in ways that makes them uncomfortble. when i first heard it, i have to admit if there were babies around id probably throw em into a wood chipper, but it also gave me a release from my anger, my pent up rage from dissapointments in life, and at that moment i was hooked.
Back to the origional story i suppose... Etched in stone was origionally a hardcoreish band that before myself and adam joined had already performed quite a few shows with big name bands such as all shall perish (before metal blade) and plenty of others. they were looking to take a new direction most probably for the same reasons i had started trying to write metal. the challenge of it all, and the sweet excstacy of playing gut busting, chealsie grinning death metal for anyone whod listen. when i heard the three songs brian had wrote for the new direction, i was awestruk. i thought to myself, "now heres one guy that i can write with! finally!"
I hadnt played with anyone on a long while and the last band i was in had been over 6 years before this point, so i was a bit unsure of my abilities, but after getting the rythm parts to the three songs i had to learn, i became more and more comfortable with the idea of bieng in the band. for a first practice, it was pretty mellow, despite the fact that we played the songs about 8 times a piece so i could learn all of the transitions, for me anyways it was a somber, almost peaceful excitement. I was finally in a band of dedicated musicians, now it was time to get fucking brutal!
i know it was pretty dumbed down this time, but hey, i had to tell you guys how it all started... i will post more soon. I hope you enjoy the adventures of a death metal guitarist.
comment if youd like
Eric Wolford
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