April was a big month with three major events that will all lead to a better album.  First of all, the rock grotto is done.  I know I mentioned this last month, but those little “finishing touches” that I talked about were finally completed.  Here’s a short video on the process of the project:



Secondly, the majority of the lyrical work is done.  The only things I’m waiting to finish are a couple of songs that I want to do as a collaboration, but the meat of the project is very close to the final draft.  It’s angsty at times, but I’m okay with that.  These are things I think and feel, and I’d rather sing about something real than cough up bullshit.

Lastly, after years of hesitation, I finally pulled the trigger on a new hollow-body electric guitar, an Ibanez AGR70.  It’s a good mid-range guitar (price-wise), and it’s capabilities are in sync with my intentions.  It has a good clean sound that’s easy to add some “twang” to for a bright, acoustic guitar timbre.  It also has a solid distorted tone to it, though the feedback can be a little tricky with high volume.  On top of all of that, it’s pretty sexy to look at too!



So that’s April’s update.  For the next month, I’ll be trying to finalize the drum tracks and possibly start recording some bass lines.  I’ve already been playing along with the rough recordings I have, trying to add some complexity to the bass lines in an effort to expand over my last album.  I’ve even been trying to learn “Hysteria” by Muse just to get some bass practice.  I’ll let you know how it goes next month, maybe even post some audio progress if I make any.  Until then, rock on!

I know I’m about a week late on giving an update for March, but it’s been a busy week!  First off, my basement / man cave / rock grotto finally got carpeted.  It’s just about as complete as could be without doing some final touch-ups here and there (video forthcoming).  I’m really proud of it since I designed and built most of it myself, and it’s a relief to finally have a room that feels new and finished where I can play music.

As for the album, it remains nameless.  However, I’ve finalized the track listing and most of the musical writing work.  I have 13 songs that I feel good about putting on the album.  They all feel different and it makes me hopeful that someone listening to the album front to back won’t find too many similarities between songs.  I was up to 14 songs at one point, but I sacrified a song that was coming off as too angry.  Since last month, new songs have emerged to take the places of previous, weaker songs.  There are a couple songs in particular that I feel are really strong.  I’m trying to make an impression here!

My goal for the next month is to finish all of the lyrical work.  There are a couple songs that still need to be refined, and some that are missing whole verses completely.  I also thought about doing videos of just random parts of the process, but I don’t want to seem like I’m stroking my own ego.  I want to connect with more people, but I’m not sure how to do it without coming off as self-centered.  All I want is to make music and spread it around, but good intentions can easily get lost on the internet.

Let me know if you have any suggestions.  How can I reach more people?  Youtube is a big untapped resource, but my aforementioned concerns make me doubtful.  I’ve also thought about a website, but I don’t even have enough fans on facebook (facebook.com/theryangilkay) to justify spending money to host a site.  Any thoughts tumblr people?  Peace!

The shortest month of the year is behind us, and as expected with so few days, there was minimal progress on the album.  I finalized drums and a couple more tracks, recorded some keyboard parts and worked out a few more lyrics.  I finished conceptualizing and fleshing out a couple more songs, both which I think will make it to the final cut.  Overall, the vibe of the next album is getting a bit dark with a few rays of light in there.  I really don’t want the whole album to come out angry and confrontational, but that seems to be what’s been pouring out of me lately.

I am working hard to make the more positive tracks on the album the most catchy and memorable.  Since they’re going to be outnumbered by some heavy feelings, I’m hoping that by reinforcing the upbeat songs it will help offset the general moodiness of the overall project.  Regardless of mood, I’m still pleased and optimistic that it’ll turn out as I intended.  I am trying to have some fun with a few of the tracks, which translates to using some interesting effects and even a couple sound bytes.  I’ve also been toying with the compilations of a friend of mine who made some “techno” years and years ago.  It’s nothing serious, but I’m writing lyrics and putting vocals to these songs for fun.  They won’t be on the album, but whenever they’re ready they’ll be free.

I think I still have a couple of spaces left to fill to reach my goal of 13 songs.  I expect to do some more writing this month and start firming up those last few songs.  It’s sad to say that there were a bunch of songs with potential that will just fall by the wayside.  Unfortunately, I don’t have the resources like a professional band to record everything and see where it goes, and then withhold songs as “B-sides”.  I’m one guy, playing all of the parts, in a “studio” in my basement, when I find time between my job and social life.  In any case, I like where it’s going, and I hope to have more to share after March!

Also, I’m taking suggestions for an album name/concept.  Still working on that part…

I spent a lot of time in the beginning of October working on my album.  Admittedly, I’ve spent the middle part of October ignoring it.  I started mixing and mastering some of the tracks again tonight after a bandmate and I were having a texcussion (text-discussion if you don’t follow my gibberish) about writing music.  I told him I’d been working on a solo album for a while now.  I’ve kept this secret pretty close until now, so I sent him a couple songs after doing some minor tweaks.  I nervously await his feedback, but for better or worse I welcome it.

We usually have band practice on Tuesdays, but my singer is out of town so it’s canceled.  I hope to use a good portion of tomorrow evening to work even further on my album.  We’re about 6 weeks away from our next big gig on December 17th, which is when I plan to “release” my album.  I’ll probably start putting some tracks up on Tumblr around Thanksgiving time, so any encouragement is appreciated, and criticism for that matter.  Just be respectful of a rocker’s dreams. ;)

With Blink-182’s new single just moments away, and the recent Alkaline Trio concert I attended at Summerfest, I’ve been inspired recently to resume work on an album I’ve been working on for what seems like forever.  Earlier this week, I laid down vocals for a couple tracks.  I’m generally satisfied, but I found a few parts worthy of a do-over.  I’m also working on multiple different mixing schemes to get it sounding right.

When I’m mixing my tracks, I listen to them through two different sets of headphones (nice ones, and really crappy ones) to see if I pick up any differences.  Then I’ll listen through my PA system, and then lastly I listen in my car.  I still have yet to find a mix that leaves me 100% satisfied, but I’m determined to keep looking.  The problems are all over the place.  Sometimes the drums are too loud, or the guitars too soft, or the vocals don’t stand out enough, or the background vocals are barely noticeable.  Once I get everything mixed to a point where I think it sounds good on my nicer set of headphones, I try the other media and see how it goes, but I usually find something off about it all.  Another issue is that the track is either much louder or softer than other songs in my mp3 collection.  I know that this can be addressed in the final mastering stages, so I’m not too worried about it now.  The important part is that there’s some progress after a long hiatus.

I’ve also been rewriting the lyrics to most of the songs.  I pride myself on my ability to write.  My style is far from perfect, and I’ll happily admit that, but I’ve been trying to “beef up” the lyrics a bit.  Originally, my songs were much simpler, very straightforward yet vague at the same time.  Now, I’m trying to write with (some) more specificity in mind while still being obscure enough that the listener could interpret the song the way they’d like.  Granted, there are still a couple tracks that are vague and simple in my eyes, but perhaps sometimes keeping it simple isn’t the worst thing.  In the end, I’m just trying to tell stories with music, and simple or complex, if the listener can’t relate to it, then I’ve failed.

The album itself consists of 8 songs, all from personal experience.  They’re not all love songs or break up songs either.  The topics range from the elation of being a musician and performer to losing a friend to cancer, from talking a friend out of depression to telling a lover how you want to rock their socks off in bed, alcoholism, corporations, longing, leaving, loving and living life.  It’s an emotional process for me, riddled with the fear of failure or harsh criticism of the things I’ve been so connected to in my life.  But what can I do about the criticism?  Someone is bound to hate, and you know what they say:

So, I’m going to give it my best.  I can’t promise when it’ll be done.  It’ll be ready when I think I can no longer improve upon it, or when I say “good enough”.  One thing is certain: THIS IS NOT HELPING MY PROGRESS-

PS: I’ve already got about 5 song ideas for the NEXT album, as long as this first one isn’t a huge failure. ;)

The universe is full of unbreakable constants, like gravity, matter and energy.  These things (in theory) should remain the same, unwavering and without recognition of time or nature.  A universal constant is dependable and will always lead to the same results.  In rock music, the Foo Fighters are a universal constant.

Since those Foo boys dropped a new album this week, they are the focus of my latest installment highlighting musicians.  I’m actually listening to the new album, Wasting Light, as I’m writing this piece.  I have this to say about it: If you are not tapping your foot by the 45^th second of the first track of this album, then you are dumb, deaf or dead.  I spoke of universal constants earlier, and rightfully so because Wasting Light (which is FF’s first new album in almost 4 years) delivers the same in your face rock style present on every Foo album since they formed in 1995.

The album is what you would expect of the Foo Fighters: power vocals, melodic choruses, tricky guitar work and interesting percussion.  Foo fans will immediately pick up on a style that is both unmistakable and timelessly deliberate.  They have found what works for engaging their audience and they will constantly reinvent and deliver.  It should be noted that fans may find this album a bit more brutal than prior releases.  The album features a few power-packed songs that absolutely feel like a musical kick to the face, which for those that don’t know, that’s a good thing.

Off topic of the new album, the Foo Fighters can be recognized as having something for everyone.  With over 15 years on the music scene, it’s impossible to think of a time when they weren’t relevant to modern music.  Even between their last album (Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace in 2007) and their newest, they released a greatest hits album with a new single, “Wheels”.  Otherwise, they consistently release albums every 2-3 years, standard in the rock industry.  Sure, the albums all feel similar, but within each microcosm is a great deal of variation.  No matter which album you pick up, you’re not getting 10-13 of the same songs over and over.  You’re getting a rich menu of diverse rock.

There is something for everyone in the history of the Foo Fighters.  Dave Grohl is a modern day Jesus of rock as well as Satan in a Tenacious D movie…