Yo,

It’s been a while (no, I’m not about to quote Staind) since my last update… but I’ve been in the process of working on a new song!  The newest song is centered around a Japanese game called Atelier Iris Eternal Mana.  I recently came across an AWESOME streaming radio station called http://rainwave.cc that plays nothing but video game music!  So anyway, I was listening to it the other day and a song from this game came on.  It absolutely kicked me grundle so I thought… “this is IN.”  The song is still a work in progress, but a few of the other inspirations include The Power Rangers Movie Theme, Sonic & Knuckles – Final Boss, Parasite Eve – Aya’s Theme, and Castle Crashers – The Black Knight.

As you can probably tell from the music choices (aside from the Power Rangers Theme), this song is a little heavier… and a lot faster. 

::Deuces::

I did some more work to our F-Zero song last night.  I am in need of another video game song for inspiration… GIVE ME IDEAS!

As it stands, the song starts off with a typical power metal intro similar to our other song Angels of Magesty. Instead of having a quicker feel as that song does, this song has more of a “heavy” power metal feel to it.  This is similar to the band Nocturnal Rites if any of you have ever heard them (if not and are into choruses that you can’t get out of your head… get the CD New World Messiah).  Mixed in with the metal, there is also a techno version of Big Blue from F-Zero for the Super Nintendo.  I’m doing a bit of experimenting with metal guitar parts layered under techno synth and drum parts.  So far, the song seems to be shaping up well.  I’m going to be out of town at a WGI Indoor Drumline competition this weekend and won’t have any time to work on it, but expect another update next week!

::Deuces::

It’s been a while since I’ve done an update…I’ve been in the midst of moving and it has been a serious fluster cuck.  Anyway, I thought I would give a bit of info on the two song demos Jordan posted a few days back.  The first one,  Angels of Majesty, is based on the Corneria background music from the original Star Fox for the SNES.  The chorus / prechorus, is based on the game Zero Wing for the Sega Mega Drive.  I’m not going to go into detail on this one, but it is most definitely a CLASSIC once you realize what it is. 

The second song is codenamed “Mystic” because, as Jordan said, the majority of it is based on the soundtrack from Final Fantasy Mystic Quest.  The intro is a variation of the main theme from the game, and the verses are taken from the battle music.  We also have an original breakdown section with a cute lead-in that all of you Final Fantasy nerds will recognize immediately.  The other prevailing theme throughout the song is… you guessed it… a trancy upbeat section.

I’m hoping to begin writing again this weekend, so hopefully we will have some new material very soon.

::Deuces::

I know, I know… it has been a while since my last post but I PROMISE I’m still here!  Things have been pretty hectic for me recently as I have been working two jobs not including the musical side of my life.  That will only be going on for another two weeks not including this one..I can’t wait.  On another note… after our last practice, I came to the realization I need to practice a lot more.  I’ve been playing drums for about 8 years now, but the majority of that experience has been in marching percussion.  That being said, using my feet for anything other than keeping tempo was something I had not picked up until about 4 years ago.  My hands are at an extremely good level, but my feet are still lacking.  :-/  I picked up the “heel-toe” method about a year ago and it has aided greatly in my speed… I just need to work out the transitions into different “stickings” with my feet.  Next on my list of drumming things to do is build my endurance.  As I mentioned in podcast 4, I need to get my chops up so my feet can play 16th notes at 160-180 for longer than 15 minutes.  Blah…

In other drumming news, I’ve been working through the book The New Breed II by Gary Chester and Chris Adams.  This is a poly-rhythm book that I would highly recommend if you are interested in more complex drumming patterns.

One day closer to being a beast…

-Deuces-

I thought I would give a little update before I turned in for the night.

I just finished about the first minute or so of a new song centered around two F-Zero games.  The first portion of the song is based on the intro from a song called Silence that can be found in the game F-Zero Climax. This game was released in 2004 and was a Japan exclusive for the Game Boy Advance.  You can hear the original song here.  The second song is none other than Big Blue from the original F-Zero for the Super Nintendo.  Yes, I am aware that every band in the history of music dating back to the 13th century has covered this song, but our approach is a little different.  Instead of playing it with the same rock feel as the original, our version has a techno feel to it.  I have also modified a bit of the melody so it is still recognizable BUT it is not the same.

…and of course it wouldn’t be Order of Týr without multiple counter melodies and arpeggios. 

-Deuces-