Staring At The Screen
0 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Tuesday, July 31, 2007 at 11:03 PM.
Today was Chicken Parma Tuesday! There's this pub around the corner near SAE that serves a kick ass chicken parma.
So after a huge, satisfying meal, I spent the rest of the day staring at the screen, editing one of my new songs on Pro Tools. It was time consuming, but totally worth it. All the noise were properly cleaned up, all the waveforms tightened up and all the mistakes that were masked became obvious. This way, I could re-record all the bad takes now that the parts are identified. So, this means I'd have to go in for more recording sessions over the same song. This was for Until I Fall, by the way.
At the moment, there are just heaps of different guitars both acoustic and electric, a bunch of lead and backup vocals. There was some shaker in there, but it needs some work.
All the songs that I recorded was played to a click track which means I could add other instruments on top of the current tracks, later. If all goes well, drums, bass, piano and whatever instruments I can get my hands on.
I spent a grand total of 6.5 hours editing and working on this track alone and it wasn't even mixing yet. But the payoff is huge. Without much mixing and slight level adjustments only, the track is sounding good already.
After 6.5 hours, I came out almost half dead, not because of physical exhaustion but mental and listening fatigue. How frequencies affect a person would be a really good research topic. Some frequencies are just so harsh they make me wanna puke, literally. I've definitely have to work on those problem frequencies during the mixing stage.
These songs are my first crack at playing, recording, editing, mixing and producing my own tracks. I've been learning heaps! Looking forward to the end results.
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Broken Scar's album, Midnight In St. Kilda is available on www.mytracks.com/brokenscar
Broken Scar's album, Midnight In St. Kilda is available on www.mytracks.com/brokenscar
So I watched The Simpsons Movie today. I think it opened later than Malaysia, on the 26th. Anyway, there were a few parts that were really unexpected and were really cool. I especially liked the intro to it all, the closing right at the end after the credits, the Springfield anthem, Spider Pig and a few interesting bits throughout the movie. It is still pretty much rooted to the TV series overall.
The intriguing bit is the credits in the movie. There were so many people involved this time round and the credits were designed tastefully. I just couldn’t really figure out why there were so many people involved as it is still pretty much like putting 3 or 4 episodes of the TV series together, workload wise.
After the movie, I headed to my favourite store in the world, JB Hi Fi! I wanted to feed my addiction more and buy more Paramore stuff but I was told that when a band tours Australia, the price for their merchandise which includes CDs will normally be on a special sale! I guess I’ll just have to wait then, since I’m such a sucker for discounts.
The weekend was pretty laidback, just chilled out and did my own thing. Celebrated a friend’s birthday on Sunday and that was about it. I haven’t been video blogging as much as I wanted to mainly because I keep forgetting to record the videos when I actually go to the studio to do stuff. I’m very excited because the songs are coming out mighty fine! More about that soon.
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Broken Scar's album, Midnight In St. Kilda is available on www.mytracks.com/brokenscar
Broken Scar's album, Midnight In St. Kilda is available on www.mytracks.com/brokenscar
In the frame of thirty six
I absorbed the warmth of the sun
I watched it slowly go to sleep
And I watched it shine down on me again
All this, in the frame of thirty six hours
I absorbed the warmth of the sun
I watched it slowly go to sleep
And I watched it shine down on me again
All this, in the frame of thirty six hours
...Broken Scar
My body clock is definitely messed up and somehow I’m wide awake, yet too exhausted to do much. It all started on Thursday afternoon when I did some live sound work at two clubs here in Melbourne. It was an awesome experience and I learnt heaps. It was hard work though and the money could have been better, but hey, it’s better than nothing.
After work was over, a friend and I roamed Melbourne in search for a place to just unwind and have a nice cold drink after a long day’s work. We walked for an hour and nothing was opened! We settled at a 24 hours diner and by the time we got there, we’d worked up an appetite already.
We hung out and talked about everything under the sky. Well, more music related to be honest. Music is the central theme in my life, as if you haven’t noticed. Before long, it was already Friday morning.
Fast forward.
I watched a Queen DVD, the making of A Night At The Opera and it was awesome! They are simply mind blowing. There will never be another Queen. There’s never been such a strong song-writing force in a band other than Queen. All four of them write very different songs and sing in very different ranges yet they have a defined Queen sound.
Fast forward to today.
With all the lack of sleep in view and every inch of my body in pain, I was restless, nonetheless. So naturally I put on some music and my current addiction is Paramore! They’ve induced a refreshing in me!
I grabbed my guitar, cranked the amp, learnt their songs and within minutes I started jamming to the songs, imagining myself as their guitarist playing at the Warped Tour!
I’ve been putting a lot of thought into the new songs I’ve been writing and the dilemma is whether to write individual songs, capturing particular moments and emotions or songs which fit a central theme.
One of the things I constantly want to avoid is having the word “I” in the songs. I don’t know, without the songs coming back to me, it’ll tend to lose its connection with the listener. I don’t know.
My body clock is definitely messed up and somehow I’m wide awake, yet too exhausted to do much. It all started on Thursday afternoon when I did some live sound work at two clubs here in Melbourne. It was an awesome experience and I learnt heaps. It was hard work though and the money could have been better, but hey, it’s better than nothing.
After work was over, a friend and I roamed Melbourne in search for a place to just unwind and have a nice cold drink after a long day’s work. We walked for an hour and nothing was opened! We settled at a 24 hours diner and by the time we got there, we’d worked up an appetite already.
We hung out and talked about everything under the sky. Well, more music related to be honest. Music is the central theme in my life, as if you haven’t noticed. Before long, it was already Friday morning.
Fast forward.
I watched a Queen DVD, the making of A Night At The Opera and it was awesome! They are simply mind blowing. There will never be another Queen. There’s never been such a strong song-writing force in a band other than Queen. All four of them write very different songs and sing in very different ranges yet they have a defined Queen sound.
Fast forward to today.
With all the lack of sleep in view and every inch of my body in pain, I was restless, nonetheless. So naturally I put on some music and my current addiction is Paramore! They’ve induced a refreshing in me!
I grabbed my guitar, cranked the amp, learnt their songs and within minutes I started jamming to the songs, imagining myself as their guitarist playing at the Warped Tour!
I’ve been putting a lot of thought into the new songs I’ve been writing and the dilemma is whether to write individual songs, capturing particular moments and emotions or songs which fit a central theme.
One of the things I constantly want to avoid is having the word “I” in the songs. I don’t know, without the songs coming back to me, it’ll tend to lose its connection with the listener. I don’t know.
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Broken Scar's album, Midnight In St. Kilda is available on www.mytracks.com/brokenscar
Broken Scar's album, Midnight In St. Kilda is available on www.mytracks.com/brokenscar
Paramore, my new found favourites! I can't imagine I didn't dig their stuff earlier. They are brilliant! I'm looking forward to see them live when they tour in Australia soon. Hayley's voice is just amazing. Watch the vids if you like. They are awesome!
Paramore stripped down
Their video for Misery Business
This is an awesome video for one of the Paramore contests and this was the winning video.
Paramore video blog
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Broken Scar's album, Midnight In St. Kilda is available on www.mytracks.com/brokenscar
I wrote a longer post for tonight but I decided to scrap it for now. I'm just going through one of those "I miss everyone" day.
There's too much negative stuff out there and you'd hear them in songs with lines like "dying on the hotel floor" or your typical "I hate this life I wanna die" lines. I'd much rather write about love tonight and I don't care if it sounds cheesy or uncool to talk about love but people need to learn how to love more.
So here's to you my friends, I miss you and I love you all. You know who you are.
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Broken Scar's album, Midnight In St. Kilda is available on www.mytracks.com/brokenscar
Broken Scar's album, Midnight In St. Kilda is available on www.mytracks.com/brokenscar
My man Benny at the DMCs @ The HiFi Bar, Melbourne
This weekend has been pretty sweet! I went to support Benny a.k.a. DJ B2wo at the DMCs at HiFi Bar on Friday night and after his set I headed to The Arthouse to check out The Getaway Plan at their second last gig in Melbourne before they head out to Florida to record their debut album. The coolest thing was Benny had put me on his guest list and getting through the door was not a problem. Did I mention that if you're on the guest list, you get in for free? I also got in to The Getaway Plan gig for free. It was all sweet.
Last night was also a good night out at The Espy in St. Kilda. I went to see The Basics play and it was just a great night hanging out. Oh, the gig was free too and there were heaps of bands playing but I have to admit The Basics were the best band of the night. There was a metal fest happening in one of the three rooms at The Espy as well, but that was 25 bucks. Obviously I did not go for that one. Haha! I would have gone if it were free.
Anyway, here's a video of The Getaway Plan to give you a feel of what they are like.
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Broken Scar's album, Midnight In St. Kilda is available on www.mytracks.com/brokenscar
Broken Scar's album, Midnight In St. Kilda is available on www.mytracks.com/brokenscar
I've always been complaining that I've never won a single thing in my life before. Well, complain is a strong word, so maybe not complain, but somewhere along those lines. I've entered giveaway-contests to win the prizes offered but I've always failed. At first I thought it was maybe because I didn't want it bad enough or that I didn't put in as many entries. So I gave up entering any of these contests, thinking that I'll never win because I'm not destined to. I thought to myself, if I can't win the prize, I'll just go buy it. But there's still this awesome feeling when you win something, you know?
Recently I was told that maybe I don't enter enough contests, therefore limiting my chances of winning. So to prove a point, I tried to pick it all up again. The first try was a Snickers bar contest. There's a grand prize draw but that wasn't the aim. There was a smaller prize where you could redeem a free Snickers bar if it says so on the inside of the wrapper. So I bought one and to my surprise, I won! So I thought, okay, that could have been a fluke. I tried a few more times and to date, I've won 3 bars already! As simple and small as it sounds, it was exciting!
So I entered this other contest in an audio magazine called Mixdown and look what came in the mail today! A pack of strings and a stack of CDs! I was stoked!
Recently I was told that maybe I don't enter enough contests, therefore limiting my chances of winning. So to prove a point, I tried to pick it all up again. The first try was a Snickers bar contest. There's a grand prize draw but that wasn't the aim. There was a smaller prize where you could redeem a free Snickers bar if it says so on the inside of the wrapper. So I bought one and to my surprise, I won! So I thought, okay, that could have been a fluke. I tried a few more times and to date, I've won 3 bars already! As simple and small as it sounds, it was exciting!
So I entered this other contest in an audio magazine called Mixdown and look what came in the mail today! A pack of strings and a stack of CDs! I was stoked!
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Broken Scar's album, Midnight In St. Kilda is available on www.mytracks.com/brokenscar
Broken Scar's album, Midnight In St. Kilda is available on www.mytracks.com/brokenscar
I got this picture in a forwarded email and along with it came these words:
"Don't go the way life takes you. Take the life the way you go and remember you are born to live and not living because you are born."
It's corny sometimes to receive these emails with cheesy lines and quotes, but I'd rather positive messages than negative ones despite it being cheesy. This picture reminds me of the Salmon. Up stream is the way to go, against the mainstream. Get my drift?
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Broken Scar's album, Midnight In St. Kilda is available on www.mytracks.com/brokenscar
Videos From Melaka
0 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Thursday, July 05, 2007 at 10:10 PM.
These videos are almost a year old. I never got the chance to put them up as I didn't have the proper tools to edit, convert and upload them. I guess it's never too late to put them up. The videos were taken in Melaka during the Hitz Hypez The Nation Tour. It was very likely 2nd September 2006. We played on the MusicCanteen truck and it was awesome. Great sound, great crowd and great company. The audio isn't that great though because the camera was right in front of the speakers.
Scratch
The Bleeding Confession
Venus In September
Down
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Broken Scar's album, Midnight In St. Kilda is available on www.mytracks.com/brokenscar
Broken Scar's album, Midnight In St. Kilda is available on www.mytracks.com/brokenscar
Labels: Videos
It's July 1st already and since it's the first of the month, I thought I'd better get cracking on my posts. It's getting colder here in Melbourne and I'm loving it. Coming from a country that is humid and forever hot, I can't complain. Feels really good to sleep the days away in this weather especially when it rains outside. But hey, we can't let life just slip away like that can we?
I've written heaps of material, recorded heaps of demos and will continue to write and record as much as I can.
I'll also be embarking on a new project in the next 3 weeks or so and we'll see how it goes. I won't mention it yet, in case it doesn't happen eh? Fingers crossed.
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Broken Scar's album, Midnight In St. Kilda is available on www.mytracks.com/brokenscar
Broken Scar's album, Midnight In St. Kilda is available on www.mytracks.com/brokenscar
