New Stuff

Yeah, so… I haven’t been that active on my blog lately. I know I keep promising new tracks over and over again. But this time I’m serious.

MrHoix/Hoixsoft has been working hard lately to round up a trio of composers (MrModez, Chaseoman [YouTube], and myself) to work on the soundtrack for Spyro: The Dragon Eclipse. Now that we’ve begun to regroup our efforts and work together, it seems like we’re starting to get more done (at least as far as the soundtrack is concerned). We will each be tackling around eight tracks per composer, but we are going to try to collaborate on the theme song. I’m currently on song number two, and I plan to release my first new composition as soon as MrHoix/Hoixsoft gives his approval. I’m thinking that some of the older songs will need to be altered drastically to fit this new sound, since we have actually managed to track down a good portion of the samples and sounds used in the original Spyro trilogy (which I couldn’t be more stoked about – I’ve been looking for them for years!).

If anyone would like to hear an early (and very rough – this was before EQ was attended to) draft of my first new composition, here you go:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xidwiahs4yoemp7/Gnorc%20Hub%20%28Demo%20I%29.mp3

The Stage

Last month, I was looking through the Google realms to see if I could find a good deal on a nice, big studio desk for my musical work. I wasn’t that surprised at the results – for a good desk, I was gonna be cut short around $1,000. Yeah, not gonna happen. 😛

So I thought, “hey, I work at a hardware store – surely making a desk can’t be that hard!”. That one thought led me on a one-month journey with some pretty sweet results at the end.

It started with my discovery of this post online. Seemed simple enough.

And, as it turns out, it was simple enough. All it took was some wood, stain, polyurethane, and a truly magical device known as the Kreg Jig. Oh yeah, and about $175 (still not as bad as $1,000). The end result was a beautiful desktop, perfect for holding my keyboard and Mac, which I dubbed “The Stage”.

Everything was completely custom. No conceptual drawings or design layouts were used other than my own – my dad and I built this from the ground up. Even the mousepad is custom, courtesy of Zazzle.com!

And just in case anyone’s interested, here’s the first conceptual sketch I made of the desk:

Final Note

As of last Sunday, I have finally been able to upgrade to Logic Pro X. I had to part with a very nice foosball table, but we didn’t have room for it anyway. So far, Logic Pro X has been a learning curve just in transition from Logic Express 9. It figures that they had to revamp the entire layout just as I get ready to upgrade. 😛

In Christ,

-Chris (AKA. Soundragon)

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The Back Stage

After nearly a month of hard work, we have finally finished redoing my bedroom, now dubbed The Back Stage. I’ve still got a few details to work out, along with a second half to be completed later, but I like what I see so far. Here are a few pictures showing the changes that took place.

And in case no one noticed, the Milestone II was recently cleaned and restringed. Sounds better than ever now!

Music
As far as music goes, not much can be said. I have been primarily occupied with College, and one of the few recent spontaneous projects requires that I improve my vocal pitch before I can develop it further. I have a project due for a friend that I plan to complete over spring break.

The Big Bang

Pretty sure I haven’t posted this yet. The Big Bang recently acquired some new upgrades – an LP Cowbell, a Toca Tambourine, and a 14″ Paiste PST5 Mini China.

The sky’s the limit!

New Sights and Sounds

In case you’ve forgotten this blog even exists, I thought that today would be a good day to actually post something. 

 

I’ve been busy behind the scenes. Mostly with college, but in my spare time I’ve been working hard to add to and improve my musical instrument lineup. I’ve been blessed with a few new additions to the musical family since my last post. 

“The Big Bang”

No, I’m not talking science here. I’m talking “The Big Bang”, which is the nickname of my new combined drum set. It’s a little mixed, but it sounds pretty nice. The only real addition to my Royce kit is a nice blue Yamaha YD Series drum kit, along with its corresponding ride cymbal and stand. The two form a combo featuring five toms, an improved snare, and an extra kick drum that provides a deep tone. I could technically use the new kick drum as a double bass kick, but for now I’m using each kick drum for the specific needs of the sound I’m after. Granted, my current configuration is not quite perfect inasmuch as I have to bend over just a bit to reach the Yamaha ride. Other portions of the kit may be improved later on. 

 

I’ve also added some caution signs around the garage for the heck of things.

 

 

 

Keep an eye on my YouTube channel and subscribe if you haven’t already. I’m considering uploading a regular series of practice videos from time to time.

The Milestone II and the “Westerly”

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably know about my recent acquisition of a Peavey Milestone II Bass Guitar and a “Made in Mexico” Brown Sunburst Fender Telecaster. But if you don’t follow me on Twitter… I recently acquired a Peavey Milestone II Bass Guitar and a “Made in Mexico” Brown Sunburst Fender Telecaster, which I recently nicknamed the Westerly. I haven’t used them in songs yet, since I’ve been trying to learn how to play them, but I’ve got one new song in progress that includes the Westerly. 

 

This [is] Not [a] Rock Concert (aka. “TNRC”)

Remember that band experiment I mentioned before? I’ve teamed up with the guitarist from that band for some jam sessions, and we’ve jammed off and on over the past few months. So far we’ve recorded one rough session, which I’ve not yet been given clearance to post (mostly because I haven’t asked for permission yet). Our rhythms are a little different, with the guitarist’s rhythm favoring a free-form folk sound, and we’re trying to find some common ground before we perform in concert (which is something we’re considering). 

I had a mockup of an album cover, if I could just find out where I hid that thing on my hard drive…

 

Lastly, I’ve got a new song in the works. I’m trying to feature the Westerly in the song, so it may be a few days (hopefully not longer, depends on what I’m up to) before I release it.

 

The sky’s the limit!

Another Update

I’m really beginning to wonder why I don’t use this site more…

Hmm…

Maybe it’s time for a revamp?

The sky’s the limit!

On Any Other Day…

Ever heard of Stewart Copeland? Y’know, the drummer for The Police? The creator of the original Spyro the Dragon Trilogy soundtracks? No? Well, you’re missing out. Stewart Copeland is one of the best drummers in the world, and not only by my standards – he is officially recognized as the fifth best drummer in the world! He has created many unique operas, film scores, and songs, and today he turns 60 years old!

Of course, this is technically blog spam. But c’mon. I had to wish the guy a happy birthday.

If you still have no clue who on earth I’m talking about, try checking out his book, Strange Things Happen. You can get it pretty cheap on Amazon or Ebay, and so long as you don’t mind rockstar language, it’s a great read.

The sky’s the limit!

Back Up to Speed

It’s been quite a while, eh? Let’s get caught back up to speed!

I Joined a Band!
If you have been following my activity on Twitter, you may have noticed that I joined a band not too long ago. I had been in talks with one of my friends for a while about getting together for a jam session, and one day things finally came together. We talked for a while about what the band was all about (it was an indie blues band) and set a date for the jam session, and worked out a good time. I was getting more and more excited as the night approached.

The day of our first session, I collapsed the Royce and loaded it into my car. I was feeling absolutely great — right up to the point that I went up to the door of the house where we would be jamming. The house was nice, the people were nice, the neighborhood was nice, but the moment I walked through the front door and started setting up, something hit me like a ton of bricks. A strange feeling that I had felt only once before (albeit on a much more intense level). I figured it was just the first-day nerves. So I finished setting up the Royce and we started jamming. Man, were we good! (In my opinion, anyway.) Everything fit right in like a glove, the timing was perfect, the acoustics were perfect, everything was going great. But during the two hours that we practiced, that feeling I had gotten earlier kept getting worse and worse. I was having fun, but inwardly I was feeling sick.

So we wrapped it up and set a new date. At the time I figured I would stick with the band a bit longer before calling it quits.

That night, I couldn’t sleep a wink. I was up all night, tossing and turning. I had enjoyed the experience of a band, but I knew it’s not where God wanted me to be. I’m dead serious, I tried to sleep off the feeling, hoping it was just a passing quirk of some sort. That didn’t change the fact that God had not called me to be in a band at the time, and I knew it. Only when I made a conscious decision to call it quits was I able to get to sleep — around 1:00 AM.

The next morning was difficult. I happen to be very good friends with the band leader, and I was hoping that friendship wouldn’t be decimated as a result. I only had a week to tell him, and I knew that if I waited I’d probably end up forgetting. (Which would have been bad, since the next gig was at our house.) So I texted him the news. Thankfully, my friend was fine with it and understood completely.

Looking back, I still don’t know why God didn’t want me to be in a band where I fit right in. I trust Him though, and to a large extent I think the entire problem revolved around my nearing the beginning of college. I’ve got two scholarships that will probably require quite a bit of focus to keep active, so I don’t think a band would be very wise.

That’s not to say that I’m never going to be in a band again, but the timing wasn’t right. I suppose I’ll be waiting until after college now. Either way, I’ve still got a lot of solo work to finish!

Which reminds me…

Solo Work

I’ve got quite a few different projects on my hand. Most notably I’ve still got to finish the Spyro Eclipse soundtrack, along with a song I promised a close friend of mine for his YouTube videos. I’ve got a ton of song projects that I started, which sound amazing. The only problem is that I’m not pleased with the sound quality resulting from my finishing touches, which usually results in any additions to my songs being sent down the toilet. Maybe I’m being too careful here, but hey — I want my music to be unique and top-notch. Shoving ideas into grey boxes without consideration for quality results in music much like the songs I made when I was a five-year-old.

On a completely random note, I gotta shout out to Guitar Center. Have you ever been to a Guitar Center? That place is like an amusement park for music junkies!

The sky’s the limit!

Something’s Missing

And unlike Mr. Mayer, I know exactly what it is.

Yup, while I was practicing on my guitar – y’know, plucking away at the strings to add a little snap to the song – the string just decided to give way.

Sad part is I wasn’t plucking THAT hard. Oh well, I suppose I have had the same strings for a few years now…

Anyway, keep an eye out, I’ve been trying to shoo off my inner music nazi system and get back to work on some tunes. The battle has been kinda rough lately, but I’m getting more and more ideas flowing back in as we speak. Additionally I’ve got my eye on a site called BandCamp, and I may just start selling a couple of tracks pretty soon.

But again, that’s if I can get the musical Hitler in my head to shut his trap about all the really good ideas I’m coming up with and vacate the area. (I’m way too young to be this critical of my tunes!)

Well, today’s drumming day, so I guess I better get back to work so I can be all set for tonight.

The sky’s the limit!

A New Expirement

I think it’s safe to say I’ve been just a little inactive, right?

Well, in case you are wondering what I’ve been up to, I’ve recently taken up drumming as well as the electric guitar. Granted, I haven’t been eating up every hour of my time with either new form of music, but with my new school year and job, I’m a little pressed for time.

But really, though, things are going great! So great, in fact, that I’m honestly considering the possibility of putting together my own band. Right now I’m trying to get everything figured out so that I’ll be all set should this pan out, so for the time being Soundragon is still riding solo. But that could change as time goes on.

While I’m at it, how about some pictures of my new gear? It’s not much but I’ve recently acquired two new instruments – a drum set of my own as well as a darumbalek. (No, I don’t know how to spell that, thank you for asking.)

My Drum Set. It’s an old Royce PROcussion, with two Paiste PST3 Cymbals (a 16″ crash and a 20″ ride), and a 14″ Paiste Alpha hi-hat set from EBay. Don’t worry, I’m gonna keep adding more to it!

My new Darumbalek. This thing sounds absolutely awesome! I’ve definitely got some plans for this bad boy…

The sky’s the limit!

A Little More Organized

After a little confusion here and there from the multiple projects I currently have on my hands, I recently decided to put a new iPad app to good use. It’s a nifty little thing, going by the name of “Reminders”. Ever since I began using it, my work efficiency has increased by 50% at the very least. Thank you, Apple!

In addition, I reorganized the site here and there. Have you noticed the changes yet?

My New Social Network Pages + YouTube Hub!

I have recently decided to expand my media venues to include both Facebook and Twitter! You can check out the tweet feed on the bottom of the site, or you can click the links below to Follow me and Like me on Twitter and Facebook!

 

DragonOfSound on Twitter

Soundragon on Facebook 

 

Additionally, I have also created a separate YouTube page specifically for my musical creations, as well as some tutorial videos, if all goes according to plan.

 

DragonOfSound’s YouTube Channel

 

 

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In other news, I have recently registered and have been attempting to keep an eye out for Music Composition jobs on a Freelancer website. At this time there does not appear to be any, but I am hoping that I will be able to locate one and apply, if I meet the necessary requirements. Stay tuned!