Monday, August 09, 2010 - 9:23 PM from 36,000 feet above the Pacific
Flying east is the worst. I love flying west (West is the best) because you usually end up landing around the same time you left. Makes for a longer day but seems much easier to deal with than landing when you're ready for bed and it's morning all over again. The combo of that and the effects of the pressure from air travel on your guts makes for a great example of how a zombie feels. We're just getting back from our week trip to Japan. Played the Summersonic festival in Tokyo and Osaka. I love Japan, they've got so many things right. Playing two shows outdoor in high temperature, high humidity situations after two months off is just a bit of a shock to the system! We have another month off or so and then we hit the road again in the states for one final run on the Dark Horse tour. Outside of the band I've been quite busy at home with my new studio. My practice room has evolved into a full on recording facility that sounds fantastic. I'm very happy with the results and having been recording for some artists from a distance. Amazing how an album can be done with all of the artists in separate locations. I've affectionately named my studio "Vault 101" after my favourite game Fallout 3. I'll post some pics so you can check out the gear. It's a small space but the saving grace is a 20 foot long hallway and two a joining rooms at the end that can be mic'd up to provide a huge room sound. The first recording in the studio was for guitar virtuoso Joel Hoekstra. I've been a fan of Joel's for a long time and now he's the lead dude in the Broadway show Rock of Ages. Also tracking an album for a super talented artist named Kaveh Yaghmaei, and when I get a second I'd love to track some drums for another great guitarist named Kyle McKnight. In the middle of all of this I got a call from an old friend who manages Canadian Country Star Aaron Pritchett, and he wanted me to perform on his new album. Into the Armourey studios we went and did it all in two days. Worked with a great bunch of talented players and had a hell of a fun time! I'll be posting some videos of me tracking in in my studio on my YouTube channel so stay tuned!
Saturday, January 23, 2010 - :10 AM from Vancouver
Just got 8 1/2 hours of work done from my old friend Clint Danroth at Craftsman tattoo in Vancouver. He did a great job of working in Traditional Japanese with my existing tribal work. Check it out in my "Random Things" photo album!
