TGF Do Something Challenge Week 2!!

[fretworn]

One more for kick ass!

 

[FAKA!]

Honey & Cheese

I'm a big fan of Tiamat's 1994 album "Wildhoney" and several similar sounding bands that emerged around that time. This week I'm submitting a small song written with the intention of capturing the style and general vibe of this era, which was an absolutely magical time for me as a rock & metal-loving teenager, discovering new and exciting music on a daily basis. Besides my usual gear I also used a 90’s keyboard (Korg Trinity), which admittedly sounds slightly cheesy by today's standards, but is an important part of the homage. Had a lot of fun putting this together for the current week of the challenge!

Dude... that was fkn awesome. I really enjoyed that. You painted quite the musical landscape there... Captivating

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

@DrewJD82 @la szum @Iron1 @fretworn @FAKA! @Alex Kenivel @SeeD

Wow! Thank you all so much for the positive and supportive comments and messages. It really means a lot to me.

This is really f*cking good, man! Guitar tones are rippin’ and I LOVE all the synth sounds. I don’t think anyone can go wrong with a Trinity! As soon as I heard them I got a Devin Townsend vibe just because the synth sound. This is just really, really good, man! Everything is so well done and it’s melodic as f*ck. Hell yeah!!!!

Well, no matter what I do, I guess I can‘t hide the fact that I am quite heavily influenced by Devin Townsend‘s early albums (especially „Ocean Machine“), at least that explains my fondness for layering and delays. ;-) However, the synth sounds in this song are more of a nod to the early-to-mid-nineties Gothic Metal bands that still had their roots in Doom/Death Metal and started to gradually incorporate more atmospheric elements. It was the naive but very lovable approach „Let‘s slap a choir pad on everything and we‘ll sound just like Pink Floyd!“.

This just might be my favorite entry so far. Wish I could write stuff like this...

I‘m not worthy! :-O But seriously, you have no reason to disesteem your own capabilities - your tracks so far are awesome!

 

[DrewJD82]

@DrewJD82 @la szum @Iron1 @fretworn @FAKA! @Alex Kenivel

Wow! Thank you all so much for the positive and supportive comments. It really means a lot to me.


Well, no matter what I do, I guess I can‘t hide the fact that I am quite heavily influenced by Devin Townsend‘s early albums (especially „Ocean Machine“), at least that explains my fondness for layering and delays. ;-) However, the synth sounds in this song are more of a nod to the early-to-mid-nineties Gothic Metal bands that still had their roots in Doom/Death Metal and started to gradually incorporate more atmospheric elements. It was the naive but very lovable approach „Let‘s slap a choir pad on everything and we‘ll sound just like Pink Floyd!“.


I‘m not worthy! :-O But seriously, you have no reason to disesteem your own capabilities - your tracks so far are awesome!

Hahahah I very much understand the love of layering and delays! And uh….I also just slap a choir pad on everything and hope to sound like Floyd.

 

[Jarick]

Don’t think I’ll get anything done this week unfortunately. Haven’t been able to pick up a guitar since Monday. Hoping things settle down at some point.

 

[DrewJD82]

Don’t think I’ll get anything done this week unfortunately. Haven’t been able to pick up a guitar since Monday. Hoping things settle down at some point.

If it weren’t for my boss making me take Monday off I‘d be in the same boat!

 

[mbenigni]

Don’t think I’ll get anything done this week unfortunately. Haven’t been able to pick up a guitar since Monday. Hoping things settle down at some point.

I meant to jump on-board for the bi-weekly, at least, but it's been one health thing after another. I've hardly touched a guitar in a couple of weeks.

 

[TheTrueZoltan!]

[…] And uh….I also just slap a choir pad on everything and hope to sound like Floyd.

Do we have a theme for one of the coming weeks?

 

[DrewJD82]

Do we have a theme for one of the coming weeks?

Not yet, I just wanted everyone to get up and running before throwing curveballs at people. Maybe we can run the theme challenges parallel to the normal challenges so those who aren’t big on the theme that week can still contribute in a regular challenge.

 

[Jarick]

If it weren’t for my boss making me take Monday off I‘d be in the same boat!

My boss put in his notice late last week and I'm the only other one in our department as we've been really understaffed. So now I'm trying to rapidly take in and take over much of his work while trying to help our director figure out a path forward.

Add to that my wife has been working 16 hour days so I've been basically working nonstop and then taking care of all the kids in the remaining hours of the day. I have zero energy or brainpower after about 7pm.

 

[DrewJD82]

My boss put in his notice late last week and I'm the only other one in our department as we've been really understaffed. So now I'm trying to rapidly take in and take over much of his work while trying to help our director figure out a path forward.

Add to that my wife has been working 16 hour days so I've been basically working nonstop and then taking care of all the kids in the remaining hours of the day. I have zero energy or brainpower after about 7pm.

Good luck, man! I know what that work aspect looks like on my end, I’ve had to do it 3x now and then when I’ve had a new boss hired, I’m the one that trains them and inevitably things that are supposed to be done by them ends up in my lap permanently because I either forget it’s their job or it’s way too much effort to pass something off.

I dunno how ya’ll with kids do it, man. I barely have enough headspace to keep myself sane and it’s just me.

 

[Jarick]

Good luck, man! I know what that work aspect looks like on my end, I’ve had to do it 3x now and then when I’ve had a new boss hired, I’m the one that trains them and inevitably things that are supposed to be done by them ends up in my lap permanently because I either forget it’s their job or it’s way too much effort to pass something off.

I dunno how ya’ll with kids do it, man. I barely have enough headspace to keep myself sane and it’s just me.

Honestly, I'm really feeling it lately. When I was younger I could keep myself going off pure momentum and caffeine. But the last year or so I've been dragging more and more. I can't burn the candle at both ends like I used to. I play hockey a couple nights a week for fun and my performance is just awful.

I turn 40 this summer and I know I have to make some kind of change for my health. I've been creeping up to about 40-50 pounds overweight and that's now catching up with me. Joints ache, always tired, etc. I have no energy to work out anymore which helped in recent years.

Been dabbling with lower carb diets and thinking of trying a strict keto for a bit to see if that may help things. Just kind of feel like I need a reset honestly.

 

[DrewJD82]

Honestly, I'm really feeling it lately. When I was younger I could keep myself going off pure momentum and caffeine. But the last year or so I've been dragging more and more. I can't burn the candle at both ends like I used to. I play hockey a couple nights a week for fun and my performance is just awful.

I turn 40 this summer and I know I have to make some kind of change for my health. I've been creeping up to about 40-50 pounds overweight and that's now catching up with me. Joints ache, always tired, etc. I have no energy to work out anymore which helped in recent years.

Been dabbling with lower carb diets and thinking of trying a strict keto for a bit to see if that may help things. Just kind of feel like I need a reset honestly.

Heard that on so many levels!!!

My friends bust my balls because I often turn down invites to go out or just to hang out because I’m just drained. After doing the plant-based/whole food only for 5 years and then stopping, it only took me about 6 months to gain all the weight back and while it’s only about 30-40lbs, my lower back is taking a hit as a result. Sometimes just standing up from my couch or studio chair it feels like everything is grinding in my lower back and I need a couple seconds to actually stand up straight, I just walk like Ozzy the first few steps. It doesn’t help that I’m carrying/climbing ladders all day long and once I’m on them I’m constantly twisting and picking up heavy sh*t.

Cutting out preservatives and red meat is what got my joints under control. I used to have wrist pain so bad I couldn’t play at all, it freaked me out because I always thought people were exaggerating when they’d say joint pain caused them to not play. It took about 3 months after i changed my diet but ALL my joint/neck/back pain went away. I used to have a stiff neck 4 days out of the week where I had to turn my whole body to look in a different direction….man is it nice not dealing with that anymore.

I’m still terrible with my diet, I try to stick to just grilled chicken, rice and a green vegetable every night but if I have a rough day at work, 9x out of 10 I’m going to order a pepperoni and ham pizza from this one awesome pizza joint and stress eat myself into oblivion.

 

[Jarick]

Heard that on so many levels!!!

My friends bust my balls because I often turn down invites to go out or just to hang out because I’m just drained. After doing the plant-based/whole food only for 5 years and then stopping, it only took me about 6 months to gain all the weight back and while it’s only about 30-40lbs, my lower back is taking a hit as a result. Sometimes just standing up from my couch or studio chair it feels like everything is grinding in my lower back and I need a couple seconds to actually stand up straight, I just walk like Ozzy the first few steps. It doesn’t help that I’m carrying/climbing ladders all day long and once I’m on them I’m constantly twisting and picking up heavy sh*t.

Cutting out preservatives and red meat is what got my joints under control. I used to have wrist pain so bad I couldn’t play at all, it freaked me out because I always thought people were exaggerating when they’d say joint pain caused them to not play. It took about 3 months after i changed my diet but ALL my joint/neck/back pain went away. I used to have a stiff neck 4 days out of the week where I had to turn my whole body to look in a different direction….man is it nice not dealing with that anymore.

I’m still terrible with my diet, I try to stick to just grilled chicken, rice and a green vegetable every night but if I have a rough day at work, 9x out of 10 I’m going to order a pepperoni and ham pizza from this one awesome pizza joint and stress eat myself into oblivion.

Summer of 2021 I did plant based whole food for a couple months and did feel quite a bit better. I think it's mostly cutting out the junk food, preservatives, and sugars. Didn't lose much weight like I hoped though. I would guess I have some kind of issue like insulin resistance as nothing seems to budge the weight and the second I eat anything carb heavy or sugary, my appetite skyrockets for the rest of the day.

 

[metropolis_4]

My submission for the week:



My nylon acoustic and Strat have been neglected lately so I wanted to do something with them.

It’s called “WIP” because I didn’t have time to finish it the way I wanted. I ran out of time.

The guitar solo you hear was off the cuff and meant to be a placeholder until I had time to actually record a real one. It’s meh, but good enough for fun.

I’m also not thrilled with some of the electric guitar tones, but they’re close enough to the idea I had in my head.

Recording and mixing on iPad GarageBand is a major PITA… this is making me miss having a full DAW on a desktop. Lots of sloppy cuts between sections and tracks, and it did a weird thing where the lead sounds doubled for some reason… some artifact I’m guessing.

Equipment:
Squier CV Jazz Bass V
MIM Strat
Godin MultiAC
GarageBand drums
HX Stomp XL

I think I used these amps:
Bass - GK
Rhythm - Teemah! > Princeton
Lead/harmony - Dhyana Drive > Princeton
Solo - Scream 808 > AC15

All feedback, advice, comments, constructive criticisms welcome!

 

[la szum]

Don’t think I’ll get anything done this week unfortunately. Haven’t been able to pick up a guitar since Monday. Hoping things settle down at some point.

Damn! I feel ya. I am struggling here, too. If I can't get my submission in by Tuesdays every week, then I may not be able to.

Life intervenes!

Hope shit settles for ya. You have a vibe I look forward to hearing again.

 

[DrewJD82]

My submission for the week:



My nylon acoustic and Strat have been neglected lately so I wanted to do something with them.

It’s called “WIP” because I didn’t have time to finish it the way I wanted. I ran out of time.

The guitar solo you hear was off the cuff and meant to be a placeholder until I had time to actually record a real one. It’s meh, but good enough for fun.

I’m also not thrilled with some of the electric guitar tones, but they’re close enough to the idea I had in my head.

Recording and mixing on iPad GarageBand is a major PITA… this is making me miss having a full DAW on a desktop. Lots of sloppy cuts between sections and tracks, and it did a weird thing where the lead sounds doubled for some reason… some artifact I’m guessing.

Equipment:
Squier CV Jazz Bass V
MIM Strat
Godin MultiAC
GarageBand drums
HX Stomp XL

I think I used these amps:
Bass - GK
Rhythm - Teemah! > Princeton
Lead/harmony - Dhyana Drive > Princeton
Solo - Scream 808 > AC15

All feedback, advice, comments, constructive criticisms welcome!

I’m working on one of my guitars and had this playing as I worked; this is *perfect* music to have on while working on guitars! It’s chill enough to be distracting while keeping a steady pace. When it was over I didn’t think “That was the end of Metrop’s song” I was thinking “Damn, I wish I had more of this to listen to while I’m working on this guitar, that’s perfect for this”

I can’t believe you’re doing all that on an iPad! Bonus points for that, man. I’ve only made some beats with farts in GB on my iPad, I’ve never tried editing or anything on here, that’s really impressive you’re doing all that on just an iPad!

 

[fretworn]

I lost my muse earlier this week… I apologize fellas… I made a commitment to this and I want to stick with it. I really dig the one week format.


I’ve ordered freaking Logic now, so come February when laptop arrives, I should be rockin’ back into the saddle. (Or stuck learning the tools lol )

 

[Gearzilla]

I lost my muse earlier this week… I apologize fellas… I made a commitment to this and I want to stick with it. I really dig the one week format.

It can be challenging cranking something out from scratch in a week sometimes. Especially if other stuff comes up. I hear you. So far I’ve considered going back to square one each week along the way a number of times.

 

[Los-D]

I have work and life happening so haven’t been able to finish any submissions. At this rate I’ll be submitting something with the week 1 backing tracks in a month. Sorry fellas (but great job by everyone. Seriously, not just giving out participation trophies over here)