Hayoth Vol III - A Brief Update

Vol III progress....the first track, a blues-based song I'm calling Light & Shade (Apologies to Jimmy Page) is pretty much done. The music is finished, and I have a sense of the vocals and melody line. I took a pass at it, but I think I can do better.

The second track, a more metallic song I'm referring to as Riff, (so, so inventive, right?) is done music-wise, but I have no idea on lyrical content. I've put it on the back-burner until I can get "L&S" in shape.

A riff that will likely form the backbone of track 3 has appeared, as well. Extremely early days on that one, at this point.

 My mindset, right now, is to try to take my time with Volume III, whatever it may ultimately be called. I'm feeling a rut, in terms of how I approach chord progressions and rhythm. I mean, I am not a drummer, really, and while I really love the way "live" drumming has opened up new options for my creativity, I also can feel my limitations. I can really feel them.

One thing that I'm really excited about when it comes to Light & Shade is that I specifically approached the drum and bass as a rhythm section. The bass isn't playing what the guitar is playing, and I'm not aiming for a lock-step wall of sound. I endeavored to have the bass just play a hook with the drums, and the guitar lays in over that. I know this is basic stuff, but everything I do is expanding out from being a guitarist, and I grow from that place.

On that note, the new guitar is...SWEEEEET. I love it, and after all the stomach-churning about if I should get it, I couldn't be happier. By backing off my "I only want Gibsons" mindset, I now have a ESP/LTD that has features of a much more expensive Gibson for about half the price. On top of that, it stays in tune a hell of a lot better than my Les Paul. The DeMarzio pickups are smooth and powerful, and the tone is just much more appealing to my ear than the Burstbucker updates on my Les Paul. Yeah, I should've waited until I had my Spider IV amp paid off, but....it's an inspiring instrument. Although, going from the 2-Tone, 2-Volume knob setup on the Les to the 1-Tone/2-Volume of the LTD has been a challenge.


So, new guitar, more time on songwriting and specifically trying to change up some of my usual choices in riff creation. More time with lyrics and vocal work. In all, not pushing myself to just get stuff done to have it done, but to try to craft things.


And, as always, the first two disks are available for free download at soundcloud:

Hayoth: Vol. 2 - Uptown

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

Have at it.

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.

Yes, Hayoth is Still a Going Concern

The first Hayoth album, ...And Getting Dollars Back, was sprung on the world Christmas day, 2013. It's still available for FREE download via that link, and the good folks at Soundcloud.

Looking back at that project, it was what I needed to do. I'm still very proud of a lot of the songs, and that I did it all myself. Every sound in those recordings is me. I can also look back and see mistakes, technical problems, lack of skill (I am a utter novice as a drummer, it's obvious), and a lot of stuff I'd like to fix. I've never been a "natural" singer, and the results are pretty clear.

I regard Dollars as a mission statement, in a sense. It does lay out my "sound," for good or ill. It's a baseline from which to grow. I got the damn thing done. I walked away from the easy out of using a drum machine, and I kept at myself to figure out how to use my voice effectively. It was a project about figuring things out.

Right now I am working on the ninth track for the followup, Uptown. I know I have at least 3 more tracks to go before my release deadline, which is April 14th (the day I leave for the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim). I may even beat this date, as I'm working faster than ever. I don't know if that's confidence, or stupidity, but I seem to be able to, if I have the time to devote, produce a finished track in a week. Dollars is a 9-track album, and I knew I wanted to beat that.

The current tracks...and this will not be the final order....

Burn (This track has been remixed, and elements re-recorded since this sample)
Warp
Predator
Uptown (Moody's Blues)
Keeps Rollin'
Against the Wall
Pyre
Uptown (Acoustic Blues)
Waitress (in progress)

I think I am singing better (not perfect, but it's rock and roll), and I have definitely learned how to record my voice better.  I am a bit more confident with the drums, if still in Meg White territory. I do harbor a fear that the songwriting is not quite as strong as last time, but I think I'm doing respectable work. I've even toyed with the idea of NOT giving this one away.

We'll see how I feel when it's all done.

New Year - Same Old Me

2014 was not a good year for this blog. I was unable to keep it a consistent presence, but I am hoping to do so in the future.

The fact is, I need this release. As I have often told people, I may be vague with details here, but I will never lie. As with any form of expression (I hesitate to call anything "art" - as I have pointed out in this journal many times over - especially something as scattershot as how I put this blog together), the whole point is to expose yourself. To allow others to see you, your subject, whatever, in a new light. That is the only reason to keep what amounts to a public journal, to, hopefully, reach out and find others who can understand what you are going through.

Uptown, the second Hayoth album, continues to progress. Seven tracks done (including an electric and acoustic version of the title song), and another in process.

Thoughts so far....

My drumming is still rudimentary, but I think I am getting better. I was working on track number 8 this weekend, which is quite fast, 140 BPM. I was surprised how easily I fell into it. It might be that I wasn't trying to be too fancy.

I am also edging toward more confidence in my singing, or at least in how to record my own singing. I still wish I had an actual vocalist, as I always wonder if I could actually play and sing this stuff at the same time, if I were to play live (yeah, right).

I do think I've managed to expand my palate of sounds. Getting a new amp helped, and I've been using the Telecaster more than I ever expected I would. It's just fantastic for clean tone, and even has added a different vibe when I have put some distortion on it. All that said, the Les Paul has remained my #1.

I am looking toward April for a "release." I am simply swamped and overwhelmed with the current show I am working on, and dealing with that is sucking my energy for anything else.

Long Time No See

Hello faithful readers...

Hello? Hello? anybody left?

It's been a very, very long time since I've consistently written for this blog. I'm going to try to be better, but I sincerely doubt I will ever get back to the "every weekday" schedule I was trying to maintain for a good long while, there. I will, however, try to maintain some consistency.

In the last month or so, I've been a little down. I missed an even-year San Diego Comic-Con for the first time since 2006, and it made me more sad than I expected. Now, on the flipside, I am attending the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim next April. Disneyland and Jedi nerdishness with Mr. Sean H. and Ms. Leigh B. I'm expecting a good time, and hopefully I will finally score that Luke Skywalker green-blade FX series lightsaber I've been coveting.

So, there's that to look forward to.

Acting wise, I start rehearsals for Fail/Safe at Strawdog theatre on Sunday. I'm fairly excited about the show, and I think I have a very good part. That will run on off-nights (Sunday-Tuesday) from Sep 14 - Oct 14.






After that, I'm on my way back to City Lit for Father Ruffian: Shakespeare's Falstaff Story. Shakespeare...I'm doing Shakespeare again, playing a King again. Henry IV. That will run Jan 9th - to Feb 15th, 2015.

Y'know, it's funny, I spent so much time in undergrad working on style work, and Shakespeare, I really didn't overly care if I eve did it again. I've done a few shows here and there (All's Well That Ends Well, The Winter's Tale), but I've never really sought it out. I have to admit, it hold not the overriding excitement for me that I see in other theatre folk.

Just another play, just another playwright.

Musically, things are actually going really well. I was somewhat disappointed in the drum sound for the last Hayoth release, ...Getting Dollars Back. I mixed it too loud, with a lot of double-tracking, hoping to get a deep, booming drum track. What I ended up with was tinny, weak sounding drums that were really loud. They kind of overwhelmed the whole track. Which compounded the fact that I, bluntly, am not a drummer. As with most of my musical explorations, I am learning by doing.

I think that I've, at least, figured out how to mix the drums effectively. I think my playing is getting stronger, too, but that likely a matter of opinion. I have two tracks "finished," Burn and Warp. I have shared a preview of the earlier recording/mix of Burn. 



I have since junked this entire version, and started from scratch. I think it's better. I think the recording and mix is better.I'm hoping to get samples of both the new version of Burn and Warp up. Warp, in particular, has some interesting things...my first real stab at using keyboards.

A third track, Predator Game, is in progress. Which is a acoustic bed track with drums and electric lead. I managed to get a decent acoustic bed scratch track down over the weekend, and take a first few stabs at the drum track. I'm feeling good about it, and it seems like Uptown, as an album, is well on it's way. My goal is to have enough material to put it out by the end of the year.

It's Been a Couple Months...Let's Talk Hayoth Again

The very early stages of work on the next set of Hayoth songs has begun.

Nothing terribly developed, at this point. I've got a whole bunch of lyrics on paper, a couple of song titles, and about 6-7 riffs I'm working on. Everything is in flux, of course, but I've been feeling a lot of creative energy in the realm of music. Listening to a lot of The Sword, King's X and (as always) Springsteen.

My goal is to try to find a nice place for Hayoth to sit, sound wise. I tend to have a wide range of influences, and rather than trying to capture some other band's sound, I'm hoping to forge something that's my own. The first Hayoth disk was very much me trying to sound like a 70's blues-based hard rock band - a less talented Led Zeppelin, if you will - and I still like that element. The first disk, if nothing else, proved I could get it done all by myself. That said, I'm hoping to take some of the confessional, storytelling lyrical content of Springsteen and merge it with hard rock, and even metal instrumentation.

Not final artwork (HA!)

The tentative title is Uptown, with a title track called Uptown (Moody's Blues), which, as you might expect takes imagery from Chicago's Uptown neighborhood, and mixes it with some narrative related to my character in Golden Boy. I like the lyrics I've come up with or this one, and the chord progression I've been playing around with. It's a slower, more meditative, yet still electric number. I'm going for a touch of urban jazz/blues. Fitting, since Uptown is home to The Green Mill.

At this point, I have a couple other ideas starting to coalese into songs, specifically a tune called Ashes, and another called Burn. Neither is as developed as Uptown on the lyric front, but I have a basic guitar track for Burn recorded. It's probably the most "metal" track I've done in a long, long time, and certainly the fastest, at about 145 BPM (I know, not really all that fast). It'll be interesting to see how I handle a drum track at that tempo. I'll figure it out, however, as part of the fun of this work, as I told my friend Matt K, is asking yourself to do things just outside your abilities.

I'm hoping to further work on my drumming for this new stuff. I'm well aware it was the weakest part of ...And Getting Dollars Back, but I am happy that it's live, and not a drum machine. That, to me, makes that record the best thing I've ever done, even if it was a "work in progress" as far as learning how to be a drummer, and learning how to mix drums well. I am confident the next disk will only show improvement.

I'll leave you with another link to the soundcloud Page for ...And Getting Dollars Back. The tracks are all still free to download, and this is the proper sequence for the album, as I'm told that downloading will not keep them in the proper order. Enjoy, and I'm always open to comments and criticism.