Tuesday, April 21, 2015

I Grow Weary

I love Super Heroes. I love comic books. With passion, I love these things. I have been an avid reader and fan since I could read. The mythology and their place as teachers of moral codes is unparallelled and deserves respect. I am who I am because of these characters...I would never give up one iota of what they have given me in my life.

But....

I think I am completely burnt out on film and TV adaptations. I feel like I'm drowning in superheroes.

Every once in a while I get excited because something looks different or unexpected, but, in the main...It's like an obligation, not a joy. I'll see Avengers, I'll see Ant-Man, I'll see Fantastic Four (and the last one actually has been surprising me with the imagery that's been released), but I can't say I feel excited about any of them. I am also just simply bored to tears with Robert Downey Jr's shtick.

I watched Daredevil, and was left pretty cold. Darkness and noir style I can enjoy (and, in fact, I love it), but brutality and gore simply doesn't work for me. I can't get through a single episode of SHIELD, let alone a full season. Arrow is working for me, to a point...I AM excited to start watching The Flash, as a life-long fan of the character.

I admit, I didn't hate the Batman v Superman teaser, mainly because they've taken my main problem with Man of Steel and addressed it head-on. That was unexpected, and intriguing. It also, like Fantastic Four, doesn't look like any of these other films.

Mad Max makes me excited. The Star Wars stuff makes me excited. Tomorrowland makes me excited. Things that are new, or have been away for a good, long while.

But, here I am a lifelong fan...and I'm sorta bored with the whole superhero thing. I shocks me. I can't imagine what a "civilian" might be starting to feel.

Now, I know exactly the reaction that I'm going to get there...that I am wrong, that it's a golden age. That Marvel Studios is perfect in every way. If you feel that way, fantastic, but I am also pretty fed up with a fandom that resembles cheering for a sports team.

I often wonder if that isn't my problem. I feel inundated with stuff I am supposed to be excited about because everyone else is, and if I don't agree, or offer mild criticisms, I'm "the guy who hates everything." Well, maybe I am, but so be it.

Monday, April 13, 2015

Hayoth: Vol. 2 - Uptown

It's as done as it's gonna be. Free to stream and download on Soundcloud.

Have at it.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Stuck in My Head 4.9.2015 - All My Life

Meditating on what it all means lately. Why do I throw myself after creative endeavors, again and again, when my goals seem to move farther and farther away?


All My Life
By The Foo Fighters

All my life I've been searching for something
Something never comes never leads to nothing
Nothing satisfies but I'm getting close
Closer to the prize at the end of the rope
All night long I dream of the day
When it comes around then it's taken away
Leaves me with the feeling that I feel the most
Feel it come to life when I see your ghost

Come down don't you resist
You have such a delicate wrist
And if I give it a twist
Something to hold when I lose my grip
Will I find something in there
To give me just what I need?
Another reason to bleed
One by one hidden up my sleeve
One by one hidden up my sleeve

Hey don't let it go to waste
I love it but I hate the taste
Weight keeping me down

Weight keeping me down

Will I find a believer
Another one who believes
Another one to deceive
Over and over down on my knees
If I get any closer
And if you open up wide
And if you let me inside
On and on I've got nothing to hide
On and on I've got nothing to hide
 

Hey don't let it go to waste
I love it but I hate the taste
Weight keeping me down

Weight keeping me down

All my life I've been searching for something
Something never comes never leads to nothing
Nothing satisfies but I'm getting close
Closer to the prize at the end of the rope
All night long I dream of the day
When it comes around, when it's taken away
Leaves me with the feeling that I feel the most
Feel it come to life when I see your ghost
 

And I'm done, done and I'm on to the next one
And I'm done, done and I'm on to the next one
And I'm done, done and I'm on to the next one
And I'm done, done and I'm on to the next one
And I'm done, done and I'm on to the next one
And I'm done, done and I'm on to the next one
And I'm done, done and I'm on to the next one
And I'm done, done and I'm on to the next one 

Done, done, on to the next one
Done I'm done and I'm on to the next one

Done I'm done and I'm on to the next one

Hey don't let it go to waste
I love it but I hate the taste
Weight keeping me down

Weight keeping me down

Done, done and on to the next one
Done, I'm done, and I'm
On to the next.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

RIP Stan Freberg

One of the true greats of American comedy, but I will always remember him for this...where Stan, instead of Mel Blanc, did all the vocals.


Rest in Peace, Pete Puma. I will always take three lumps because of you.


Stan Freberg
August 7, 1926 - April 7, 2015

Hayoth Vol 2 - Uptown

Recording on Uptown, the second album from my musical project, Hayoth, is complete.

It will be a 12 -track album, and I hope to have it out for public consumption by a week from today.

As always, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about my work. I certainly think that among the 12 tracks is some of the best playing, writing, and singing I've done. I think the tracks represent a pretty good cross-section of what I can do as a musician, but...as always...the certainly show the limitations of working alone.

Once again, I played every instrument on this release, and sang every note.

Once again, I'm not 100% overjoyed about my singing. Yer, this is my voice, and I use it the best I can. There may come a day when I find a vocalist who I am comfortable working and collaborating with, and I can turn these tunes over for them to interpret. Until that day, I am the vocalist I have to work with, and I will do my best with what I have to work with. I also feel my playing has jumped forward. Not every track is as perfect as maybe I would like them to be, but I feel like I did some good work.

So, what does the track list look like?

1 - "Burn": A pretty straight ahead rock track. I am pretty fond of my guitar playing all-around on this one. I also think the recording is really in the sweet spot, the instruments are balanced without being too loud or too quiet.

2 - "Uptown (Moody's Blues)": A ballad inspired, in part, by the character I played in Golden Boy. It was a long time coming, putting this one together. The lyrics went from specific to extremely general, and landed in the middle.

3 - "Warp": This may be the most accomplished track on the disk. Keyboards appear for the first time, ever, with a Hayoth song. I think the guitar solo is solid, and I really dig how the intensity ramps up after the solo break.

4 - "Keeps Rollin'": Another rocker, this one tied in to my own frustrations with my creative development, and fears about where the life I've chosen will lead me.

5 - "Against the Wall": Frankly, a bit of a nonsense song. Just playing with words over the riff I had, but a little bit of commentary about the know-it-all world of the internet.

6 - "Waitress": A weird one. It was a pretty naked attempt at a Springsteen-esque story song, and ended up feeling like a Tom Waits-like boozy bawler. I'm not 100% sure if it really works, but art is risk, right?

7 - "Running Out of Time": I wrote this song in about 6 minutes. If Little Steven Van Zant is to be believed, it's probably pretty good. I tried to get pretty loose in my guitar playing, bearing in mind Eddie Van Halen's quote, "I play guitar like I'm falling down a flight of stairs, and I hope to land on my feet." I'm certainly no EVH, but I liked the image. I think the main progression, and the evolving riff, is pretty sweet.

8- "Uptown (Acoustic Blues)": A slightly shorter, acoustic version of track #2. I think I like this version better.

9 - "Predator": A bit of twang on this one. Used my telecaster.

10 - "Whiskey": Another rocker, with a liquor-derived lyrical bent. Again, I am quite fond of the riff.

11 - "Pyre": The last rocker for this batch. Regrets, guilt and loud guitars.

12 - "Nightbird": The mandolin and the telecaster, along with acoustic bed tracks. I was trying for a country-influenced ballad. Short and sweet.

My fervent hope is that my next project like this will involve more collaboration, but Uptown will be released upon an unsuspecting world before you know it. As always, my home recording is a work in progress. I welcome comments, constructive criticism, and offers of money.

While you wait, please download Hayoth Vol 1 ...And Getting Dollars Back for free at soundcloud.com.