well, folks I have an unfortunate truth to share on this site. The band is unofficially no longer together. I have a new gig going, with some friends, nothing major, but possibly going to be a real good deal in the future. I'm not sure if I will even continue this blog, but if I do the focus will shift from band to more general things, like you know, life.

9/11 I havn't forgotten

September 11, 2001, a day that went down in infamy. It is one of only a handful of days that’s gone on to change the world. America’s sense of invincibility was destroyed, her people terrified. Forever after, the sound of a jet flying too low would strike fear in our hearts. Yet as time has passed American’s seem to have forgotten those who were lost. Local papers write about the high school sports teams, what celebrity got a dui, and the ever important political bull, but not even a small chunk is devoted to 9/11. As an American I feel that there is something wrong with that. I was just a child at the time, and have no family bonds to what happened there, yet I still remember the fear I felt. I still remember the images from that day as if I were watching them on TV today. I can understand if our nation feels that we need to move on, I even agree with that, but I feel it is in humane to forget what happened that September day. Many people lost their lives because of a terrorist organization named Al-Qaida. Millions were terrified by their actions, between the attacks on the Twin Towers, and the Pentagon, and the attempted attack with United Airlines flight 93. Many more lives were lost when we went to war with Al-Qaida. Unfortunately people no longer realize why we are there. In the last nine years we have grown numb to the fact that we were attacked. The heightened security has become a norm for us, and we forget why it is there.

As an American I feel that we should remember what happened that day. It keeps us from getting to secure in our nation again, for once that happens we will be open to attack. It will also keep those who lost their lives, fresh in our memory. In all honesty 9/11 should be made a day of remembrance, similar to Veterans Day, or Memorial Day. It is one of the greatest tragedies to befall our nation, and the only way it could be worse would be if we were to forget it completely.

Random thought

For those of you who don't know, I am not just the drummer for Relent, but I am also active in the high school's marching band. Over the course of this season I have found some interesting things. The first of these makes sense. If people don't enjoy what they are doing, they won't do it well. The start of this season was rough. This was my first season being a Co-Section leader (last year I was the only one). So the start of this season consisted of me trying to not over power the other section leader, yet still hold my ground when necessary. On top of that, we have a new director this season, therefore we have new expectations. And, if that weren't enough, we are playing the hardest show I've ever participated in. With all of these difficulties, keeping the section happy became hard. As the section grew less happy, their work ethic, and quality, dropped. In order to be an effective leader, of any form (teacher, parent, etc.) keeping a good balance between firmness and fun is essential.

Another thing I found is that, leaders rarely mesh with each other. Amazingly, the few leaders I do mesh with are actual leaders in the band. I even get along fairly decently with the other section leader in the drum line, most of the time at least. But in the instances that you don't get along with the other, they still know what they are doing, hence them being in a leadership position (hopefully anyway). Take what they say, and see if there is any validity. If so, then apply it, if no, then just smile and nod.

A third interesting thing I've found is one that all little league coaches, and most teachers discover quickly. Kid's can do no wrong, just ask their parents. In order to prevent tardiness the section leaders came up with a punishment. For every minute they are late, they owe two minutes after practice. Shouldn't be a problem. Well, we had one kid who was five minutes late, and another who was fifteen, which added up to ten and thirty minutes extra respectively. Well, three minutes into their stay one of the parents comes in, and gives myself and the other section leader a good chewing out. He freaked out over the fact that his son had to stay after when he was late. Despite the fact that the kid had not informed his father of the drum lines early start time (we start a half hour earlier than the band), the parent tried to take the blame to himself. While that is noble act, it shows the kid that he can do wrong, and not be punished. The other young man stayed his time, then left with his mother. The next day his dad comes in and sits in the office with our director and chews our director out for about five minutes. The only thing this shows is that parents have not out grown the child like aspect of passing the buck.

A final interesting thing I've found thus far is one that caught me off guard. Now, I'm not sure if this is just for my drum line, or if this is a more universal thing, but when all we focused on was marching band, our quality wasn't that great. Once we added in school, and all that goes with it, the band clicked like I had not seen this year. It was really amazing how much better they got just by adding school. What this teaches me is that if you focus solely on one thing, you will get burned out. But, if you change up the routine, add some other things to focus on, your quality of enthusiasm and therefor work, will sky rocket.

Hopefully, as this season continues, I will be able to keep sharing nifty tips that I learn from being a section leader, as well as being in all the music based courses (instrumental, not choral).

long time, no blog

Sorry it has been so long since I've updated this blog. These last couple weeks have been hectic beyond imagining. Between band camp, preparing for school, keeping up with Relent, and spending as much time with family as possible, this blog has been last on my agenda. Thankfully, I had enough time today to update you all on Relent's progress. Two members of Relent (Zach and myself) have been kept as busy as our new director, Mr. Saint Peter, could keep us. Marching band has been a ton different this year than years past, in the fact that it is much more intense, and far stricter. With this higher level of expectation comes a higher level of success, or so we hope.

Alex has spent the vast majority of his summer in Florida, with his father. Brad has been kept fairly busy as well this summer, but has kept his guitar playing pretty well at par.

Brad and I were able to get together and jam the other day, and we sounded fairly decent, but can't recall what we played (a problem we usually have with our jam sessions). Over all I have high hopes for the band this year, mostly because I know we have a large amount of potential. When more exciting news comes in, or I come across more music tips, I'll fill you in.

Would just like to inform those of you who read this blog that it will be a while before I'll have the time and/or energy to add to this blog. It's not for lack of want, but marching band is soon to kick into high gear, and quite frankly it's hard work. As always feel free to share any comments you have on past entries, or any ideas for future ones, or heck, any experiences you've had.

Presence

One thing I've noticed when watching concerts is that the musicians all have stage presence. Whether it is the constant sexual energy that Kiss delivers, or the dark energy that one recieves from Alice Cooper, or even the psychadelic feeling one could have attained at a Phish concert, stage presence is a must.

So long as you are not going to be a recording studio only type band, you need the stage presence for several reasons. First off, it keeps your act interesting. You can have some of the best music ever, but if you just kinda stand there looking moderatly pleased, no one is going to pay the big bucks to see you live. Stage presence is the thing that makes a concert worth attending. They usually are not cheap to attend, so if you have no stage presence they will just buy your cd instead. I'm sorry for rambling there, but that is the main reason, the one that needed driven home the most.

Another reason for stage presence is that it allows your audience to feel a connection to you. Any one can sing a song, or beat a drum, but if you are up there making sure that they see you do it, they will take notice. It makes you look like you know what you are doing. If it looks like you know what you are doing, the crowd will assume you do. If you look like you are uncertain of what you are doing, the crowd will become automatically far more critical of what you do. Stage presence sells your skill level, and if used properly can even cover up your mistakes, to an extent.

A third reason for stage presence relates to the second. It allows your audience to feel a connection to your music. If you are singing a song thats just dripping with anger, but you look dazed, they won't feel that anger. If your song is extremely sad, but you look pleased, it will kill the effect of the song. You have to sell your song to the audience. If your stage presence doesn't match your song, then not only do you look retarded, your song sounds a little less good.

The fourth, and possibly most important reason for stage presence is it allows you to have fun. The point of being a musician performing in front of crowds is to have fun. If you sit there terrified of making a mistake, your not having fun. On the other hand, if you are dancing around the stage, or showing off behind the kit, your having fun. If your having fun, that energy will flow out to the crowd, and they will have fun, and it will filter back. That is the reason bands tour for so long. That energy fuels performances and gives you an experience you will never be able to match.

Picking a Band

One difficulty I find, is picking the right band to be in. Sometimes you can all be great buds, but the band flounders. Other times you can hate eachother's guts, and it works. How does one find the right combination to succeed? Well, so far I've found that you need to have the same goal. For example, if three out of four just wanna chill and play for fun, but the other dude wants to go big and try to be the next big thing, it makes uncomfortable tension.* Getting along is obviously a great start. If you hate the rest of your band, it will make any kind of forward movement very difficult. But if you guys don't have the same goal, it will be even harder.

Sometimes, you may have to settle on your desires for a specific band. If your a musician with a wide variety of tastes, you may need to find a couple bands. One for each style, because very rarely will you get a group of people who not only enjoy all of your tastes, but you'll rarely get a group of people who can play all of your tastes. An example of this is myself. I am a member of my highschool's marching band, concert band, and jazz band, I occasionally play with the community band, and my church music group, and hope to spread to another band with some of my other highschool friends. Alot of music yes, but it covers the majority of my musical tastes and passions, and for the time being, is more than enough for me. Thankfully, I am able to mesh well with a large variety of people. I'm just one of those likeable guys. But I also approach it professionally. I treat each band as its own band. I do not bring my other bands' business into this one, even if I play with some of the people in another band as well. This allows me to completely give myself over to the music, and overall I am able to be the best at each style I can possibly be.

What does this mean for you. Well, that last bit not much, but it is an example of how you can get your musical needs out. For example, part of you just loves playing Slipknot music, but another part enjoys jamming to Green Day, and yet another part loves the Santana vibe. If you find a group of people who not only want to, but are willing to play that music, then I am extremely jealous. Fact of the matter is, you probably won't. So, if your schedule allows, go out into the world, and try to find more people that play music, to your taste. Chances are, you'll find someone, unless you live in small town America. If you live in small town America, well, I feel your pain. Been there, done that lol. Basically what the point of this whole rambeling speal (I do apologize for the rambling, tis late), is that you should not have to settle, and if you do chances are your not going to be content. On top of that, settling for one style, when you crave diversity, lowers your over all playing ability.