Premise Beach - What If?

My friend Kyle Lees, cartoonist extraordinaire, has several different webcomics going all the time, to the point where he does one EVERY DAY.

His site is called Premise Beach (which is also the title of what is his longest comic series) which originally started in the campus news paper of Lakehead University; The Argus.

One of the other comic strips, however, is called Fight Song, and features Kyle drawing a cartoon about a song of his choice DURING the duration of the song. The following is one that he did for my song Elements.


Looks like Kyle Lees has done it again! Not only put me in a cartoon, but flattered me again.

For the last 8 days, I haven't shaved. It is in his honour that I have been 'trying' to grow facial hair. Sadly, I failed.

Oh Kyle, the sight of your lush chin forest makes my eyes mist in both joy and envy. In fact, I wish I was on one side of that mirror...

As long as you don't murder me like in that 'Mirrors' movie, although hypothetically speaking, I'm totally curious as to how I would die. I wouldn't have my jaw ripped off or my throat slit or anything like that...it'd have to be crazy. Or really really plain...who knows?

But on that note, I've now appeared (ha...rhymes with 'a beard') in his cartoons several times, so please visit Premise Beach (also on Facebook!), he has now been added to my 'friends' links!

Also, one more piece of information about him that will get you hot: click here.

Studio Day 9

So after 7 days of working on both acoustic and electric guitars, they are all done! However...there is still one more thing that needs to be done with them: I need to royally abuse my old Fender, by laying it down on a baffle, attaching some mics to it, and slapping away like it was a hand drum. For those of you that haven't seen me live, I used to beat that guitar into submission all the time, using it for 'kickdrum' sounds. I would also slap and tap the neck of the guitar to get percussive 'handdrum' sounds as well as a variety of other stuff. That's all that needs to be done, BUT...I'm taking a short break from recording in order to focus on some other things:
the MA thesis is still being worked on. My transcribing machines finally arrived from the States the other day, so I've been diligently working my fingers every day, either by typing out hours of interviews, or laying down tracks for the album.
Secondly, I'm also working on another soundtrack. This short film is called 'The Drink' and has been put together by Apple Wagon Films. I also happened to be one of the 2 main actors, so it's really neat to add atmospheric music that compliments the visual foreground.

[photo by Shannon Lepere]

Studio Day 7

After the 7th day in the studio, I've been able to finish a whole bunch of additional guitar layers.

My friend Curtis Jensen (of Apple Wagon Films) was there for a most of the evening, filming segments of the recording process to be used for the final DVD's "making of" segment. We're using performance content from the studio to make up a video for one of the songs, called How Come No Bones, which will feature a drum solo from Reggie Modin.

Also there tonight was Shannon Lepere, snapping some photos! [see left]

As the recording process continues, certain things are becoming more obvious as we move along. For example, some of the standout tracks are becoming clearer, but at the same time, I'm also feeling more confident about some of the other tracks that I thought might be cut out. The tracklisting includes 14 songs, with the idea that several of them could potentially be cut. The original list of 14 was already reduced from close to 20 tracks. This means: that the tracks that make the album will be quality! It's all for you, the listener!

Studio Day 5

On day 5, I managed to get one of the 14 tracks completed in terms of electric guitars, and I've managed to get 2 sweet amps to use:

Marshall TSL-100
and
Fender Super Deluxe Reverb

I've also been using an Ibanez Tube Screamer to help create some fantastic tones that I can't wait for you to hear. I've never used one before, but some magic is happening.

Tomorrow, more electric guitars!

Studio Day 4

Well, this is more of an attempt at recording...! Day 4 came and went without much advancement, however, Reggie left for London today, and I discovered that my Fender Stage amp, just won't cut it for this album...So I'm going to borrow some gear from friends and see what I can come up with!

Studio Day 3

Sadly,...I don't have much to say about today's adventures in the studio, however, I managed to get a good 50% of all the acoustic guitar tracks I needed to have done. I was also fortunate to have my good friend Josh Hogan (pictured) come out and do a little bit of drumming for 2 tracks on the album as well. He currently plays in the band Norris, which really showcases the unreal talent he possesses as a drummer (his work in Norris is far more technical than ANYthing on the upcoming CD. Meh, both projects have their own merits).

Tomorrow, I'll spend several hours working on electric guitar sounds to see what will work for the different tracks on the album. 'Til then!

Studio Day 2

Reggie is the man! That's right, in 2 days (a total of 12 hours of studio time), he managed to finish all 14 tracks for the new album! Several of which include other layers of percussion on top of them.

So...I've attached a video of him getting ready to throw down some conga beats. There's so much more craziness that we achieved in just 12 hours, but that'll have to wait. For now, enjoy Reggie and his mask!

Studio Day 1

Whewf!

Day 1 of recording has been completed!

A big thanks to Reggie Modin, who is doing all the drums/percussion on the album, and who managed to crank out 11 out of 14 tracks in our first session! Whataguy!

Tomorrow we continue, including recording a track that will feature Reggie soloing through half of it, as well as other alternative percussion!

I'm so excited to finally have things rolling in the studio, and I shall have more updates soon! I'm getting access to a video camera tomorrow in order to shoot segments of the 'making of' portion of the DVD, but I'll also make sure to throw up some video updates as well!

Stay tuned! Things are coming together very quickly!

Belgium photos part 4

Here's the last installment of my Belgian adventures!

Time to move on! Next up, will be recording blogs!

left to right: Back: Erwin, Paul, Marie-Roos, Guy. Front: Jean-Paul, Stephane

my dad and Stephane De Roover

aged statue

so many different layers of buildings!

an entrance to a building,...fantastic!

many old buildings and churches were being renovated/cleaned/repaired

The Flemish lion

door to nowhere on a river

this is an attempted recreation of a drawing that my dad's brother Eric did when he was younger.

Windows and doors! (of course I'd bring it up!)

Perfect picture, except for the anachronistic green van!

he just looks so sad!

translation: Health Pharmacy

scattered throughout Brugges, these tell you the speed limits in school zones

my grandmother's house

more wind turbines

mud in the fields...

I like this photo in two different dimensions...

symmetry

another church

plant magic!

my grandfather's grave

his gravestone

random gravestone

my uncle Antoon, Moemoe, and dad

church in Lokeren

The masthead of a ship in a restaurant in Lokeren

"yeah, i got gold, frankincense and myrrh, but this guy didn't bring me anything!"

gentile humor...


epic church statues

shining a light

about to behead Saint Barbara


Antoon, Moemoe, dad

Is that John Travolta? No...it's a turkey.

my grandfather's childhood home

the river at sunset

sailing past the moon

Gent (Belgium) city centre at night

Gent

Gent

Gent

a riverfront in Gent (it's not the moon, it's a distant clock tower)
Castle romance in Gent

myself and my cousin Bruno

my friend that I grew up with in Bolivia, over 10 years ago: Inger Kloos, now a professional horse trainer!

Prepping for training

Inger and Ellen Kloos

Inger and Ellen Kloos

The train station in Roosendaal (I think...)
The "Ice House": the City Hall of Den Haag (The Hague) in Holland

potential design for the new International Courts of Justice building in Den Haag. Anyone else see a resemblance with the Loch Ness Monster?

a very strange looking art installation

they had projections of children's faces on the figures.

it was actually quite frightening to watch. They were installed for World AIDS day

my cousin Paul De Roover

more of the "Ice House"

Paul again

more of the "Ice House"

the architecture is very old, but a few newer buildings seem out of place. The two 'peak' buildings are referred to as "The Tits"

eating a fresh herring

...covered in onions...

...delicious...

seagull, taken by my cousin Paul De Roover

lion statue

golden gate

oh really?

How time flies...

My late grandfather, Paul De Roover