Dasein

Just seeing this -- I guess I missed it this year. Sorry guys.

Every day I play a vinyl album with my morning coffee - so I started an Instagram account about it. I do a little write up about each album too as I listen.... our collection is mostly inherited vinyl so it can be pretty strange but also wonderful to listen to. https://www.instagram.com/morningcoffeevinylside/

Just a heads up: I actually had a rendering error that rendered my drums out of sync on the file I submitted to Kiz - I have since corrected that (and replaced the drums and tweaked the mix further). Anyone who wants a copy of this is free to download here: https://dogsoverlava.bandcamp.com/track/so-the-story-goes I'll keep it free till February. I did give Kiz the tracks as well but I'm not sure if he's doing updates or not. I also released it last week. Anyway - thanks again for listening - I think you'll see this mix is what it should have been in the first place.

Thank you so much for the kind words. Cali-brothers we are! I'm just very pleased to have been able to contribute and participate with you guys who have all been instrumental as an audience encouraging me to make music again. Very grateful.

I wrote and recorded my song (So the Story Goes) specifically for the project. As such I made sure that I used only my Hamer Cali with the J.O'C graphic. Recorded using NI's Guitar Rig Pro 5 through my M-Audio Profire 610 interface into Reaper. I've recently re-floated my Floyd Rose after having it blocked with the Tremol-No for years so I knew there would be some whammy bar action. I wanted a deep groove with some sex appeal and played a lot of diads and triads instead of full chords trying to capture a really early 80's rock sound and vibe. The main guitar part (left side) is a single continuous take as is the bass. Solo was improvised and a comp of two takes - I kept the lines strongly melodic but put a little speedy run in there to let you know I could, and used the whammy in a very traditional early 80's way as a nod to EVH. Bass was my Fender P - also through GR5 Pro Drums were going to be real but ended up being Superior Drummer 3.... but I'll talk about them later Vocals all triple and quadruple tracked and slightly thickened with an Eventide plugin via micro-pitch detuning - only one vocal harmony part in the pre-chorus section to allow the guitars to dominate that section (3 guitar parts in that section where you first hear the wha and it gets super full... Wha was my Dunlop Crybaby -- slightly modded with extra shielding to help with noise Keyboards were all done on my Arturia mini-lab using various keyboards from the Arturia V collection and other soft synths. Used them more as sound effects and as pads to add some depth to the mix again keeping with an early 80's rock style. Since I mixed this and released it here I've continued to tweak a few things -- removed one keyboard part on the instrumental verse sections before the second verse and after the solo before the 3rd verse., It stopped sounding good to me... basically at lower volumes that part (which is slightly detuned as a patch) doesn't sound right - it sounds better cranked, but the ear hears it differently at lower volume so I 86'd it on later revisions. Drums: I really wanted to work with a real drummer for this as I am starting to feel more confident in my playing and production to allow myself to surface a bit in my music community after being AWOL for almost 30 years. In my past I was fortunate to work with world class drummers so my first call was to my friend Zoltan - probably the best technical drummer I ever played with (Jazz and Rock) - a total straight edge dude who turned his back on the rock star calling in the 90's despite being heavily recruited by Canadian Rock royalty for years..... I was too late -- found out Zoltan had passed away suddenly 2 years ago from a heart attack at the age of 49/50. Huge shock. He was an amazing guy and a totally healthy straight living guy.... that was a gut punch. My second choice (If Zoltan wasn't to be available) was going to be is another drummer friend I used to play with who did play and tour for years with some A list Canadian recording acts.... I knew he had a studio and did regular session work -- but COVID had forced him to give up his studio this summer so he just wasn't available to take the gig and there was no time to book sessions anywhere...... So I went with plan C in the end -- Superior Drummer. Song Theme: Boy meets girl - open question about life and timing and will they last - love perseveres.... a Universal theme slightly based on real life. Hopefully Universal enough - innocent in keeping with the early 80's rock theme of my adolescence. I really wanted the guitar to shine here in keeping with the Hamer theme - so I hope I accomplished that. I still struggle with the Musician I used to be vs the one I am today --- but I love music and I am tickled to death to be able to record like this in my bedroom. It was you guys here at the HFC that inspired me to try to play again - and it was sharing stuff here that helped me overcome my fears of being judged as less than I used to be -- you guys were such a great audience and your encouragement really drove me forward to finding a creative outlet where I could call myself a musician again. I am eternally grateful for that kindness and was happy to contribute to the project - it was an honour and privilege to do so.

Strong tracks all round - good flow on the running order too. Thanks to Kiz and everyone who organized and contributed to this. I love hearing you guys play but I'm as equally tickled to hear those Hamers in all their sonic diversity. Well done - inspired and inspiring.

I walked out of my house today and was almost immediately approached by a guy on the street... my first though was "Wow - the HFC has a long reach - this guy must want my autograph." but it tuns out he was just looking for his missing cat. But in that brief moment before he asked about his cat I knew what it was to be a Hamer Rock God.

If I wasn't tied to my mom (who is in care here in Canada) I'd be long gone with my wife, my guitars and my books/music collection... Hawaii maybe.

Oh Gawd --- that blue one....

For Christ's sake - I want a full body shot of that Tobacco Burst -- It's been DAYYYYYYYYYSSSSSSSS!

You guys are piecing these out like a methadone dealer....

I always liked the look of Jeff Beck's Orange Jackson Soloist, though my recollection was that it just didn't agree with him.... It looked very unique

NIce - loved the entrance of the second guitar at 1:40 - there was something almost sublime there.

socks... 8 pair. bumper year right there!

Holy shit - you guys are old!

I was listening to this and my first thought was - this is a song that The Sweet should have recorded - it's got a Sweet vibe (having never heard it before). Then I did some google and found out that The Sweet just covered it ..... on their 2012 album titled New York Connection.

Because it's fitting for warriors to go out this way.

Mad respect and sentiments of loss ---- onward and upward to all -- your skills will find a home as will you all. Really sad but optimistic for you to find a better more stable place to be. Regards Rob

No head shaking man -- the neck of the guitar is a wonderful puzzle and you'll spend your whole life learning how to coax out its secrets and mysteries. Your next challenge is modes. Figure out where the Pentatonic scale and positions super-impose over the modes --- wait till you figure that one out.... My dad exposed me to modal, be bop jazz from when I was a kid. I liked it, but wasn't familiar with modes until I watched the Charlie Parker movie. I have looked it up, but I still can't grasp exactly what it is in it's simplest nature. Any help appreciated. This video sorted my modal questions out straight away, it's all about drone notes. Drone the first note of the major scale then play the major scale and you have Ionian, now put your drone note on the second note of the major scale and play the same major scale as before, you have dorian etc etc, great video. Just search "rob chapman modes" into Google, it's the first hit Geoff Will do. Just reading this thread has me steered in the right direction. I also play a deviation of the pentatonic (blues scale), located at the same starting points but with an addition couple of notes. What is this? I use it back and forth with the pentatonic. Sometimes it sounds great playing to a key that is not the root in a simple chord progression, like using A when the root is D but A is secondary or something. If that makes sense. I am sorting things out, hopefully after after the video and reading Fretboard Logic SE I just ordered I will be able to see things with a larger scope and explain things clearly. Example for A, playing the scale down starting with the little E string. I repeat these notes at the same 5 pentatonic points. 6th = 8,7,5 5th = 8.6.5 4th= 7,5,4 3rd= 7,5 2nd= 8.7.5 1st = 8.7.5 As Luc pointed out -- this A Aeolian scale in this position (which corresponds to the classic pentatonic box) is the same notes you'll find in the c Maj scale.... So you just learned something --- that the classic pentatonic blues box overlays on the natural minor key position named from the 6th note of the major scale..... you can play C Ionian, D dorian, ... ect... this will help you open up the neck -- using this same knowledge -- what modes do the other 4 pentatonic positions overlay on? Can you figure that out?

This is right -- though the trick is to not think about it as a G major scale --- you want to unlock the unique tonality of the modes in reference to its root and relationship to the chord or key you are playing in/over --- not it's ionian cousin.... this can be tricky but it's what's happening when you hear guys like Vai say "I hear a little e Lydian there... changing to a B bla bla bla bla..." Usually that means he really has established an ear for the unique tonality and use of a particular mode (or in the case of some guys -- is full of shit).