Swayze's 10/11/07

13 Day Mission - http://www.myspace.com/13daymission
Like Skeletons - http://www.myspace.com/likeskeletons
Plastic Parachute - http://www.myspace.com/plasticparachute
Lennox - http://www.myspace.com/lennoxrock

13 Day Mission took a wrong turn and ended up having to use their real life mapquester Fazal on the way out to Swayze's last night. He gave us perfect directions, and we made it in time for the show without a problem. All things considered, our set went really well. Close to the end of the first song, 001, I broke a string on the bass. I've never broken a bass string before, but I suppose it was bound to happen. Fortunately, the bass player from Lennox, Jarrod, lent me his. Before I even strummed it, I could tell that Jarrod's bass had been around the block before, so I had no second thoughts on continuing to destroy it for the next three songs of the set. Fatigue is something we have been working on lately, and it has been paying off as we were both able to maintain speed and clean playing throughout the show. Steven busted ass the entire show, even continuing into a drum solo while I set up my temporary bass. The music was mixed well; the air was ripe with the sounds of space. We were pleased with the response after the show and got to send some people off with CDs.

After packing up we went back in to watch Like Skeletons from NY. This four piece played a more traditional version of indie rock than we do with two guitarists, a vocalist, and a traditional rhythm section. Despite the fact that their regular bassist was not playing with them, the band played very well, and I enjoyed what I heard. I was interested in getting one of their CDs, but I was unable to at the show.

The next band, Plastic Parachute, was a quintet that had two guitars, bass, drums, and a female vocalist. Although their music was not exactly ground-breaking, they were all talented musicians and played well together. At times it was hard to hear all the different elements of the music, as they did not just follow each others melodies because the two guitarists were always playing off each other, improvising throughout the set. I did manage to get one of their CDs, and as I am getting deeper into recording and mixing music, I like to hear what other musicians sound like when recorded by other studios. I listened to the album this morning, and it sounds pretty clean. The engineers and mixers who recorded the album are clearly apt at their jobs; the guitars sound great, and it was nice to be able to hear everything that both guitarists were doing. Although hers are not the typical female rock vocals, the lead singer has a powerful vocal presence, which is refreshing to hear. This Elephants and Giraffes is a well-assembled album.

Lennox came on next. While these guys were setting up, it was easy to tell that they were ready to blast this place. And did they! I am happy to have played a show with another band with so much energy. The vocalist was great, able to switch from singing to screaming easily. Both very talented, the guitarists played off each other well and ripped through the air. One of them broke a string during the set, and again another band hooked someone up with their gear, so the show could go on! About halfway through the set I was trying to get some pictures of these guys rocking out. I went to the left side of the stage and got a shot, walked back to where I had been standing, and when I looked up the bass player was face-down on the stage...and no longer playing. He had apparently hurt his knee, but this guy was awesome enough to start playing again on the next song. Because he had hurt himself, he propped himself up on the wall and played the bass sitting down for the rest of the show. The drummer dominated the whole set, his kick drum was massive, and I was a initially concerned that he would not know what he was doing, but he killed that notion very quickly.

Lennox


Overall, I had a very good time that evening. Everyone stuck around to watch all of the bands, who were all very talented and generous with their gear and merchandise. I was still able to get home and in bed before midnight. I know that may not be very rock-and-roll, but like most other independent artists, I had to get up for work the next morning.

For some of our last shows I have been making up flyers for both printing and for posting on the internets. I think they are turning out really great, tho they are not as thick and or crazy as a lot of the ones that I see, they definitely get the point across and are in a way 'art' themselves. So I shall post them for your viewing pleasure.









As I create them I will post more...