The Musical Schizo

As I mentioned in my last post, my “little brother” Caleb came down for South By Southwest and I got to spend some time with him on Saturday.

It just reminded me how sad I am that I don’t live closer to him, because I think that more than just about anyone I’ve actually written songs with, Caleb and I could really come up with some amazing music together. He hears the same things I hear, he notices the little things/chord progressions that I use that no one else pays attention to. He has that same level of care about the little things that make simple sound great.

I guess if it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen. Anyway, Caleb – thanks for making time for hanging out with me. Next time we’ll take more time…

Also, much love to my cousin Ryan who came up to visit from Houston. You’ve grown up into a pretty kick-ass guy, and I enjoyed wandering aimlessly around downtown Austin with you on Friday night.

And this (the Roman Holiday demo video – it’s all we’ve got for now):

So my throat performed reasonably well at the gig on March 1st. I’ve even got video proof of it that I’ll be cutting together pretty soon for a brand-spankin’ new Roman Holiday video promo reel!

I already made a live DVD (warts and all) for family and friends of the band. As much as we appreciated David’s work with the camera, there were starts and stops in weird places (endings and beginnings cut off, etc.) and it was just super-sloppy, partially because the way we have to set the lighting up in that particular club just doesn’t lend itself well to videotaping.

The bizarre part about it for me was that it was the first time I’ve ever really seen myself perform. I’ve been doing this for the better part of 10 years, and I never had the occasion, save a couple of brief shots on Channel 4 in Jacksonville in the background of a news report, to see myself singing and playing on stage.

Shockingly, it wasn’t horrifying. I think I do need to learn how to sing without closing my eyes, and I think that I could stand to lose a few pounds, but overall, I was relatively pleased.

It was funny to me that I screwed up Super Freak, and funny to see me take bass solos and groove with Rob – I actually look like I know how to play the damn thing. It kind of weirded me out, to be honest.

The best part? It made me want to do it again, and to do a whole show this time with a good board recording as well instead of the on-board camcorder mic.

Anyway, hopefully I’ll be able to cut that thing together in the next couple of days and post it here.

South by Southwest is this coming week, and I’m thrilled that I’ll have a chance to spend some time with my “little brother” (from another mother) Caleb. He’s coming down for the festival from his current home in Arkansas. He’s become quite the songwriter and guitarist, and I’m so happy to have been able to know him since he was just a little kid, trying to convince me that his GTX guitar was actually something a lot nicer, and listening to the progression of his music and songwriting from its Pollen Dance beginnings through all the great stuff he writes today. Not to mention the leaps and bounds he’s taken as a guitarist. He impresses me endlessly, and I figured I’d give him a little tribute here on the blog. I really wish he lived closer so we could make some seriously funky-ass music together. Or whatever. I just love the guy, and I’m happy to have him coming to my town, even if only for a few days.

Look out for the video, and enjoy yourselves. Life is short even when it’s long.

In closing, much love to my dear departed Grandma V. – we loved you and we will miss you. I hope I’m wrong about the afterlife, so you can have a wonderful time in Heaven with Grandpa and Uncle Peter and all your friends.

I just can’t control my voice, because there’s so much phlegm and crap down deep in my throat – it’s like I can’t clear it. The break in my voice used to be easy to manage, and now I have no idea what it’s going to do. It’s like my voice is changing all over again.

I don’t know if it’s allergies or what, but it’s annoying. I need to see the doctor.

Grit never hurt before, now it does.

Anyway, I’m sure there’s a scientific explanation for my vocal maladies…and if I have time, I’ll be sure to have it checked out. It is getting a little better, so hopefully I’ll be back to normal soon. I just hate sounding like this – it makes me feel like I’ve taken a 10-year step backward in my vocal abilities.

Sorry, had to vent. 🙂

Next show is in Killeen, Texas – The Duckhorn with Roman Holiday (not that anyone actually reads my blog…)

I’m starting a new thing with a guy from work who plays with a fun (though ragtag) local band called “The Empire” (at first I thought they were a Queensrÿche tribute band).

It’s interesting, because I think he’s a talented cat, and I think we’re going to have fun, but putting it together will be a process, because I don’t think he’s ever worked with anyone quite like me. It might scare him off completely, or it might be inspiring.

Either way, look for our little duo out playing guitars and singing sometime before the summer. It might end up as another trio, too, but I hope not, because I want to play guitar.

If we go by the songs he picked from my “I already played this crap” list, it’s going to be mostly modern rock stuff. Of course I’ll be doing my acoustic show standards, Lionel Richie’s “Hello” and Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time” (Fountains of Wayne style). We’re probably going to incorporate our original stuff, too, so it might be a really fun project.

I’m sure that it will just inspire the work I’m doing with Roman Holiday, and just make me better as a singer…plus it scratches my guitar itch.

Sometimes it can be really fun to switch it up some.

Wednesday night, Ned and I rehearsed some of the band’s tunes, but Rob (percussionmeister) couldn’t make it, so I grabbed the mic and brought it over to the drumkit and rapped/sang the songs (two rap tunes, one funk) while I played the drums. It was borderline scary, performance-wise, but it was a whole lot of fun.

It reminded me that if I ever really wanted to be a decent drummer, I probably could if I just invested the time. Plus it sort of freaked me out that I was able to keep a beat at all while I was singing (rapping).

It really made me want to buy a drum set, actually, but I don’t have any room for one. Perhaps when I finally get my garage cleaned out I can do that.

I really want to come up with a tune where we can switch it up during the song, since Rob plays guitar pretty well and I’m sure Ned can figure out the bass. Almost like a chinese fire drill, but with instruments!

Tonight is Killeen – it should be a blast! We love the duck!
(and no, that “u” is not supposed to be an “i”)

Commentary on the the year that was:
I started 2007 playing bass and singing a little bit in Roman Holiday. That was my only job at the time (other than taking care of the kiddos).

In May, two major things happened:
1. I began working at Clear Channel radio, and it’s been great, but it’s really sapped my energy. I don’t play nearly as much as I used to, and rarely have a whole lot of time to concentrate on music stuff, resulting in a lot of “half-assedness” in my performing (forget about my writing and recording…that’s been nearly nonexistent).
2. I was all of a sudden thrust into the position of “frontman” for the band (as well as still having to fulfill my bass duties).

The first part is difficult for me to take, not wanting to suck on a regular basis, but I feel that my idea of “suck” tends to be most people’s idea of “not so bad”, so I’m fine.

The second part has been nothing but enjoyable, stretching me to the limits of my multi-tasking ability. Who knew that I’d be able to play such “pat head-rub belly” tunes as “Brick House” and “This Love”? Certainly not me.

I’m a very conflicted musician at my core, though, since I want to play guitar as much as I want to play bass, and I can’t do both at the same time.

As an “artist” (not a title I generally apply to myself, since I consider my compositional ability at more of a pop garage band level), 2007 was incredibly unstimulating. Just hashing out covers I’ve been playing for years. But you know what? I had a whole lot of fun.

Thanks go to everyone in the extended Roman Holiday family: Ned, Rob, Mike, Patrick, and Casey, and to Luis for giving it a shot (though we ultimately didn’t seem to be on the same page), and to Lee Thompson from The Extractors (my former band) for filling in on one gig and then being able to tolerate me when I finally gave you a call months later (and profusely apologized for not calling after the fill-in show in the first place). As tumultuous as this year has been, it was a fun one, with the exception of the period from July to August when we were auditioning invisible drummers and bassists.

Looking ahead, I’m sure 2008 will be more fun with Roman Holiday – hopefully we can keep this lineup together and keep enjoying ourselves (which seems likely, since we all get along really well). I really want it also to be a year when I’m finally able to get those songs I’ve got posted on the website re-recorded because there are so many that I can play and sing so much better now than five or six years ago when I recorded them. (I can even record them better now than then…)

So I think it’d be wise, if you give a crap, to keep an eye on this page. I’ll be tracking all the progress with songs – re-recording, writing, etc. – and hopefully I’ll have a really productive year. It shouldn’t be too hard if I can manage a little self-discipline and not watch so much TV. The writers’ strike is helping that quite a bit, I must admit.

Have a great ’08!

Well, life has been pret-ty damn good for ol’ Schizo. We’ve had a few successful gigs with the band – private parties, both great clients and really fun shows. We’ve also added three new songs, which I always enjoy, because I’m very tired of the vast majority of songs we play, though you’d never know it from the way I perform them – gotta SELL IT, BABY!

I wrote a very personal song to my wife on her birthday. I can’t really listen to it without crying, because it’s so emotional.

I really want to write songs that touch me that deeply, that really move me like that, but it’s just not been something I can really handle, because as much as I love being emotional, I usually try not to drive myself to tears like that.

You can hear the song over at my site. I doubt you’ll have a similar reaction, because it’s too “inside”, but I don’t mind coming off cheesy. It’s who I am, to some extent.

Well, another private party tomorrow night, and hopefully a lot of relaxing guitar playing over the holidays (I’m definitely going to do it at work as well). Maybe I’ll be able to put together a few more demos and update some of the old songs (perhaps re-sing them). We shall see…

Until next time…

I’ve been sort of taking an unintentional vacation from playing – the band hasn’t been ridiculously busy, and I haven’t been feeling my best, so I noodle here and there, but I haven’t been playing as much as I usually do. I actually have enjoyed it – picking up the guitar after a relatively long pause makes you realize even more why you do it.

I bought a new toy for my live playing, and have yet to figure it out – it’s a POD X3 Live – basically similar to my old PODs in tone, but WAY different in terms of how the brains of it function. It’s actually kind of frustrating, because I was used to the old system – it seemed a lot more intuitive – more “plug and play” than this one. The little beast can do so much more than my old PODs, though, so I’m actually excited about Line 6 releasing some updates (which are supposedly coming within the next couple of weeks) so that I have better functionality for my Variaxes (especially the Bass), and hopefully clean up the confusing aspects of the interface (I’m not holding my breath).

We’ve got a private party this coming Friday and then a long break, so hopefully we’ll really get some good stuff together for the Christmas parties we’re going to be playing. We’re really trying to get out to public shows more (and trying some new venues), so hopefully in the new year you’ll see us at a lot more places where our friends and family can come see the show. I personally think this is the best lineup of Roman Holiday, which says nothing to the other lineups (especially the trio version with Mike – that was excellent as well – Rob’s singing takes us over the top of that one).

Unrelated to the band, I did have a funny thing happen at work on Halloween – I actually played the guitar and sang a little for my co-workers, and it was pretty horrible by my standards (bad cold), but now everyone who saw it was like, “watch out for that guy – he’s a rock star” which I haven’t decided is good or bad (since it’s mostly women saying it, I’d say it’s good…) Goofing around like that reminded me that I really should do something in the style of the acoustic show – either with someone or solo.

I’m going to keep saying that until it happens. Until then, check me out in Roman Holiday, and rock on!

It’s been a week since I really even gave anything for the band much thought – after the last weekend with Carlos & Charlie’s and then a private party in the boonies, it was time for a mental break.

I also had a lot on my mind trying to compose some music for a new multimedia project, too. Here’s a sample of what I came up with: www.musicalschizo.com/inthegloryfunkrough.mp3

I think I’m finally accepting that this is the music I create. Instead of forcing things in the future, I’m going to make this funky crap work for me.

I recorded it using some ACID loops and my brand-spankin’ new, cheapo Line 6 TonePort GX. I dig it. If I ever hooked up with a few more guys like me, we could put some white boy STANK on some funky shit. 🙂

More to come on the stank front. I am also going to work out a few of my folkier numbers, too and record them. It’s just time.

A few cool new places with the band in the next few weeks – Duckhorn Tavern in Killeen on the 19th, and Cedar Street Courtyard on 4th on the 23rd (a Tuesday).

It should be interesting…

Fun. Always different. People tend to be both calmer and crazier, depending upon the scene.

The best part? Almost always MORE MONEY.

We had one on Saturday at Texas A&M (WHOOOP!) at Delta Tau Delta (which looks a whole lot like Delta Tau Chi if you just glance at it, and it made me feel like I was in the movie “Animal House” if but for a moment).

The ride up was a lot of fun, a good chance for the three of us to chat about all kinds of stuff and get to know each other better. Rob – “you so NAASSTY!”

We arrive at the large house in the middle of nowhere (down a long dirt road), and can’t find the entrance to the party. Turns out it was around back. Ned actually went into the house looking for the hosts, and Rob and I walked around the side to the back. A bunch of nervous-looking brothers walking around, putting the final touches on their great party – the scene decked out in bamboo and camouflage, but empty. As we finished setting up, it started to fill up. Eventually the place was packed. Beautiful, vapid girls, all decked out in camouflage like some sort of weird sexy cross between “Platoon” and “The Hills”.

It reminded me of something very integral to my personality, though. Entitlement and narcissism make me angry. Both were in full force here, as with most college parties (and especially ones affiliated with the inherently “superior” greek system). To be honest, I don’t like that scene all that much. The vast majority of people were patently unfriendly (though there were exceptions, like many of the brothers from the fraternity and a few really nice young ladies), but I’ll chalk that up to most of them being young, possessing that “cooler than thou” attitude. Of course, I’m a huge dork, so they’re not going to be interested in me in the least anyway.

It was funny to play to those people, though. Most were very nice when they’d come up during the set requesting songs, and most of the time, we really tried to indulge them. It was night and day the way I was treated when I was walking around compared to when I was on stage, and it illustrates something in the way people interact with one another. There’s something about a stage that can turn a dork like me into someone people want to talk to. Of course, it’s only because they WANT something from me – for me to play “their song” – but I’m happy to oblige if I can, because that’s why I’m there: To entertain.

It did speak to my strange inferiority/superiority complex (yes, I’m even a schizo that way) that the gig made me feel that way.

Like most private parties we’ve played, the volume has had to go way down after a short period of time, and honestly, it makes it harder to really rock when you have to do so quietly. The saddest part is, it’s not like we’re even a loud band. Well, that’s enough about that. Thanks to Delta Tau Delta for a fun night, all things considered, and thanks to all the nice people that were there Saturday night.

The ride home was fun as well, but I was BEAT.

On the songwriting/composing front, I’ve got an interesting project in the works – when the music is done, I’ll post it here. I’m writing music for a multimedia project. I can’t go into details (confidentiality and stuff), but it’s sexy. (Calm your pits, it’s not porn or anything – though I’d enjoy composing for that because it’s so ripe for all the fun wocka wocka cliches).

Take care, all, and keep playing! 🙂