Yeah…that was a play on Transformers. Heh. Shockblast is Shockwave’s name in the Alternator continuity over here in the U.S.! Soooo here we roll:

My sexy overhead shot! Finally! I got a “decent” one.

We threw down the scratch tracks for the guitar and then I went to work. After setting up and tuning and working around with the mics, I must say…

Each and every one of you guys that gave me support, tips, and head suggestions…I owe you so much. The sound, just stock, straight out of the drums themselves provides such sounds that I never thought I would be able to hear without any EQing or any extra.

My tuning was complimented by Jordan, our studio guru (Since he’s the lord and master, and he’s also helping us with virgin ears on everything and calling us out when and if we need it!). My kick only needed a tweak on two rods!

The coated heads made a major difference. It was so long since I played on coated heads, I could tell right away what everyone was talking about. The snare (batter) is the Evans reversed Power Center, which is the Evans version of my Remo standard, and it sounds virtually the same. The Evans just has an overall THICKER feel. It plays different too, even at the same tuning. It seems to have more of a bounce to it. It’s beautiful either way.

Moving on down the list. We recorded our first track, Echo Plasm. Which, up until just now, the tracks we were recording were a secret, so there’s a freebie from me.

We usually play it rather fast. We played around with the tempo at our “normal” speed ranges and kept slowing it down. We hit 190 and that was the groove spot. It felt good. It felt right. I think it was the idea of the first time recording with a click track, an hour and a half of sleep, and dropping it down to “that slow” compared to how we’ve been playing it since it’s inception.

I ate up 3 and a half hours. Dialing everything in and making sure everything was spot on. There were a lot of takes where I was either in front of the click or behind it. When I found the sweet spot I made it work for a bit until I would slowly end up creeping back up to normal speed.

After it was all said and done, I came in, and I was beyond aggravated, but Jordan and the guys were just smiling. They kept encouraging me throughout all of it, and they told me good job. Jordan cleaned it all up, and we went through it. I was amazed. We picked apart some of the double bass blasts that I got sloppy on, and at the end I was so into it, I completely left out the double bass and grooved on with the single.

We fixed that too. Cut and paste, and then a little tweaking to add and create the normal beat I usually use on the outro. I know a lot of people are against that and consider it cheating, but me? Pft. I know I can do it. I do it all the time. Just not at that pace, and why waste time when it can be manipulated to have it right and perfect.

We played around with some kick filters and we even put a flag up and a couple of measures of layered kick to mix it down for him to remember later as he’s kicking us out so he can do HIS end.

All in all…I’m in awe.

I love it. Pissed off? Certainly. Just at myself. But playing around at that pace, it is to be expected, plus tiredness, and everything else.

BUT DAY ONE IS DOWN!!!! Echo Plasm’s drum tracks are complete! Now, onto the next two!!!

~M

Here is the official press release I wrote up for our announcement of us hitting the studio:

That’s right! Warehouse 86 is hitting the studio the week of the 12th to record
our E.P.!!! You can preorder it for $3.00!!! You can do this by
getting a hold of any of us or leaving a comment/message on here and
we’ll get in touch with you! You can also email us at “preorder at
warehouse-86 dot com”!

We can take cash in person, money order or checks via USPS, or Online,
where we can take credit cards as well…. Get this in your hot little
hands! The preorder price is $2.00 below sticker price! Now, you may
ask yourself, why should I give you money now, when I can just give
you five bucks when it drops?

The answer is simple!

Bonus content!

Preordering will net you quite a few goodies:

The Digital Advanced Copy. On the day we have it; the day you have it.
It contains the complete E.P. in 320kbps format, all album artwork,
and bonus content such as pictures, and video clips during the making
of the album! This special edition advanced will also include the
instrumental tracks as well!

When we get the packaged copy in hand, we will ship/hand deliver it to
you as well. For $3.00, you can’t beat it, granted there will be a
shipping charge, but it’ll be negligible. Plus there is talk of
including one more special bonus as well. What is it? Who knows. It
should be interesting though.

We hope you guys will sit in with us on this ride and enjoy the
outcome as much as we’re going to. We’ve worked hard to make it this
far, this quick. It’s going to be one hell of a ride! We’ve got a lot
of ground to cover, and our friend at the studio is doing everything
in his power to help us take our drive and level of commitment and
push it even further! We know we’ve made the right moves when people
are getting in touch with us saying that a song we played has been
stuck in their head all week. That’s an honor. We think you’ll enjoy
the album as much as we enjoyed creating it!

~M

My dad was just a plain old mechanic that finally had his own shop. He handled a lot of dealership referrals because of his electrical work.

He was an asshole. A dick bag, and a fucking douche at times, but he did have a good heart somewhere in there. Sometimes his family got to glimpse it….but not often.

When our neighbor fell off his roof and landed on a concrete cistern, my dad was there using shit he learned ages ago in the boy scouts, keeping the man alive and ordering everyone else what to do. The man didn’t make it, but he fucking tried.

My dad threw down in the middle of my second grade class because my teacher’s husband was having a heart attack.

He taught me how to swim by throwing me into the 12 foot side of the pool and saying sink or swim during a hot summer day. :rofl:

I got into computers during 6th grade. Ultimately it became an obsession I guess. My dad was always into electronics. I would lug this huge ass fucking server case with my bad ass Cyrix 686 down to his apartment every weekend. I would show him how it works, we would work on it together. One of the few things we clicked on. Father and Son.

He jumped back into college after he couldn’t repair cars anymore and went for computers. That was a proud moment.

I’m pissed off that for a man who we all swore was too fucking mean to ever die got taken out by fucking accidentally ODing on his medicines. Sometimes I wonder, when I stopped in that morning to talk to him, did he realize that he missed being a dad when I was a kid and doing it on purpose? Or was it an accident? Like they said?

Each good memory I protect in a fucking iron box to keep out all the bad memories that can taint it by his drug abuse when I was growing up. I take them out every once in a while to show myself what he was like on the inside, and how he really was.

I miss that old bastard.

Dad was a drummer. I’m a drummer. My brother’s a drummer. My daughter has a kit picked out for her 7th birthday next month.

I got my dead ass into college finally, I’m doing well with my band, and I’m a Daddy to my daughter. He’d be proud.

Once again, we got stuck with opening. Not that I mind. It gives us a chance to set the pace and makes us hard as fuck to follow.

The day started off kinda shitty though. Sexton didn’t show up on time…we’re waiting on him…and he finally get’s here.

We go to hook up and jam really quick.

The moron leaves the fucking power cable plugged in and someone pushed CJ’s cage all the way back…

CHEW CHEW

I about bit it right there….I was so fucking pissed I almost straight just passed out.

I spent our rehearsal time cutting, and splicing and ordering people around. I got the power cable working and we were packing up and sending shit out the door.

So much for practice.

Sexton didn’t bring the fucking P.A. either. He took it to a gig with him, under the idea that he was going to come the next day (Thursday so we could get a little practice in….but he just. couldn’t. wake. up….)

Josh and I have decided that he’s banned from taking our p.a. because of it…

We walk into this gig not knowing what to expect.

Only two bands “officially signed up”. We were the first. This other band is trying to sell us on using their fucking gear. They go so far as to fucking take me out to their gear and show me their kit.

Not interested.

Nice…but no. Not my kit…I don’t play on it.

Guess what? Josh forgot the rod to my hihat stand at the house…grrrrrrr

I borrow a hihat stand. After a year of adjusting it fits fairly well. Good thing it’s a two leg.

I’m trying to set up and this fat old fuck comes up and tries to bully us…..bully me.

Telling me I’m going to have to let his band use the kit because they don’t have time to tear my kit down and all that. Or else I can just start clearing off now…

I look at him and tell him “Look you wrinkly old fuck. I don’t know who the fuck you think you’re messing with but I’ll prop your old ass up on my fucking ankle as I shimmy your asshole past my knee and deep within your colon. Get the FUCK out of my face and get the fuck off of our stage or I will FUCK. You. Up. You disrespectful cheese dick, smegma eating cuntblock.” Fucking unprofessional piece of shit. Seriously? Christ…

Then I went back to setting up.

We played our set, and added a couple of covers. 1979 by the Smashing Pumpkins was just Sexton and I. Accoustic. Then He threw down a Staind cover. Then we played OUR acoustic.

We took it out with Infernal Goodbye (Played perfectly because the height on my throne was fixxed!!!) and Negative Zero was too, my shoulder behaved!

We got a lot of ovations.

I stood up in the middle of them and asked if they were cheering because the song was over or because it kicked ass….

We kicked ass….

Tomorrow we have a nice meal planned and we’re going to discuss our Multi-Benefit Show; LiveStock, and our Recording Goals.

I’m fucking beyond excited.

We hit our A-Game. We’re riding it. And no matter how much shit was thrown at us today we slammed it back down the throat and jammed music down with it!!!!

We were told that we not only kicked ass, but we were nothing but professional.

That’s worth it’s weight in gold with us. I love it!