Back.

Hi there. Haven't been on here in a while, I feel guilty.

Actually, I probably wouldn't be on here right now normally, but as it is I'm as sick as a goat. I woke up around 4am, sweating like mad with my head feeling like it was going to explode. Now I've had some neurofen I feel a little better, but I've still got a very uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. Like I'm gonna throw up. I'd rather just get it over with so I feel a little better for once.

What sucks even worse is that I've fallen sick during my half-term break. Couldn't you have at least rescheduled my illness a week later, God? To add to insult, my mother wishes to cut my hair. *tut*.

But hey, at least I've started writing on here again. Hopefully I won't stop for a while.

DO NOT PANIC.

I WILL BE WRITING MORE. I WILL RETURN SOON. JUST DON'T WORRY.

Supergroup - well...

Hey there.

Right, so. First off - my guitar STILL isn't here. I'm going to be seriously angry if it doesn't arrive before my holidays are over, I mean - RAGE angry. THIS ANGRY:

ANGRYMETER:

Usually I'm this angry (since I'm a teenager): [llllllllll               ]

After the first guitar was sent back? [llllllllllllllll        ]

Now: [llllllllllllllllllllllllllll]

Anyway, onto today's topic. You may or may not, depending on if you keep yourself decent by updating yourself on websites such as ultimate-guitar or by reading magazines such as Classic Rock, know about this knew "supergroup" going by the somewhat strange name of Chickenfoot. I mean, funky name and all, but can it live up to the expectations?

Sorry, sorry, I should explain. A supergroup is the term labelled to a band formed with experienced and generally accepted to be awesome rock'n'rollers. For example, stick Flea, Travis Barker, Zakk Wylde and Ozzy Osbourne into the same band and you have a supergroup. Of course, there is absolutely no guarantee that the group will actually produce decent music together! In the example, the only two who would really mesh together would be Zakk and Ozzy, since they've worked together in the past and share the same style of music. Flea is all over the place, genre-wise - best know as bassist of RHCP, who have been through psychedelic, punk, funk, alternative... you name it, they've sampled it. Anthony even throws in rap in a lot of their songs. And Travis Barker is pure pop-punk/hip-hop, as shown by his journeys with popular punk band blink-182 and with his remixes of hip-hop/rap songs like Low and Soulja Boy.

So, Chickenfoot comprises of these members: Michael Anthony (bass), Chad Smith (drums), the great Joe Satriani (lead guitar) and Sammy Hagar (rhythm guitar/vocals). Recipe for success, right? Actually yes, it is right. Despite the fact you might imagine their tastes clashing, their chemistry seems to be brilliant - they actually look happy and fitting together on stage, bright smiles plastered over their faces, etc. Chad, drummer of RHCP, again has been through a lot of types of music, including socks-on-cocks. Sammy and Michael have both been in Van Halen at one point so they're on pretty level ground right there. Satriani is a surf-rock kind of guitarist, best known for his solo guitar work such as Satch Boogie, and his incredible technical ability. They're actually pretty similar, hence their great cohesion.

Want proof they're good? I'm sorry, but this riff is just SO addictive it's crazy.

Yes. Yes, yes and yes. With those three shocking yeses, I must go. G'bye.

Amazon Marketplace = bad.

Yes. It's been ridiculously long since my last post. A month is far too long for someone like me (someone awesome that is :D ) not to post on his super-cool, absolutely amazing blog. But it happened, for a mixture of reasons which I will explain.

Reason one: Also the biggest reason. I've been waiting for my damned guitar to arrive. Yes, it STILL ISN'T HERE. If I were anyone else I'd be laughing at myself right now, but I'm not someone else, I am myself. Therefore, I am not laughing. I am the exact opposite - a very angry little sod who is on the verge of going psycho and smashing household objects. I mean, come on. Guitar one that I was going to buy - from Amazon Marketplace - was an Epiphone Les Paul Standard, trans-blue flame-top finish. Very good looking guitar, and I was really looking forward to having it. Unfortunately, the knobhead who was the seller (remember this is Marketplace, essentially a less hectic version of eBay) decided to be a complete dick and not send my guitar. That's right, he didn't even POST it until my mum made around three e-mail complaints. Then, when it finally arrived approximately two weeks late, my mum decided to send it back again. I later found the action to be completely logical because the seller had a lot of recent feedback about items being faulty, but at the time I was so excited I was about to finally get my mitts on the LP, only to have it whisked away from less than five metres away. I went into rage mode when my mum came into the living room without the guitar in her arms and the words "I sent it back" coming out of her mouth. I was... angry. Afterwards, we decided in a change of guitar (again, yes) from the Epi LP standard, to the Epiphone Les Paul Lt. Edition w/ Bigsby tremolo. One of the reasons for the change was the tremolo - I'm just getting really interested in Satriani's technique, though I'll always prefer a Les Paul over something else. Satch uses a lot of tremolo in his guitar pieces, so I knew the Bigsby would be a great choice. However, today we received a note saying "The Epiphone model is currently not in stock, so you will have to wait a bit longer to receive your item. Thank you for your understanding and remember to leave good feedback on my Amazon account!" Yeah right. Why post something as for sale if you don't have it? That's essentially fraud.

Anyway.

Reason 2: Completely forgot it whilst typing reason 1.

Goodbye.

I CANNOT WAIT.

Believe it or not, the great, fantastic, awe-inspiring genius you know as Harry is actually fidgeting. FIDGETING. In his seat.

Hazard a guess why? Maybe I'm about to go and watch the entire nation of France cry when they find out snails are actually slugs, which are pretty much worms, which crap out soil. Gross. Or maybe I'm going outside to point and laugh at Britney Spears who just shaved her hair off a second time. (By the way, that hasn't actually happened, I'm just theorizing.) Or maybe even...

I'M GETTING A NEW GUITAR WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Okay, this will be complicated to explain... right, here goes. Basically, this is the list (in chronological order) of guitars that I was going to spend the money I receive from this blog on.

- Les Paul '56 Goldtop Reissue (£379)
- G-310 (~£150)
- G-400 (~£250)
- G-400 1956 Reissue (~£310)
- Les Paul Standard Plain-Top (worth £350, I got it for £250)

Yeah. I know, I'm a teenager, I'm undecisive. You can't blame me though - there's a massive selection that you're asking me to rifle through and pick the best from. First, I saw the LP Goldtop's finish and said "I WANT IT". However, I soon realised it'd have taken almost until my birthday before I'd have saved up enough money for it. So, being impatient (and, in hindsight I see stupid), I decided to set my sights on one of the cheaper Epiphones - the G-310. It's not a bad guitar by any means, but the finish is so boring and untextured. It's the one you'll see a picture of, the fully black one with chrome hardware and white trimming. Of course, I read a few reviews to check up on the G-310's musical abilities, and found it was inferior to its bigger brother, the G-400. As such, I decided to get that instead. Then I looked at a review for the '56 reissue, which claimed better tone, finish and action. It didn't cost a huge amount more (or so I thought at the time) so I decided to aim for that. THEN I saw the LP Standard, and realised why my first choice had been a Les Paul. Sure, the SG looks great - I still love the shape of that body with the similarly shaped pickguard, it's a beautiful guitar. But unless I could have had the '55 reissue (EVEN BETTER than the '56 one) I knew Les Pauls were better overall. That must've been the reason so many more artists are famous for their Les Pauls than SGs - take SGs. They're great, but the only truly famous musicians that frequently use/used them are Angus Young and Tommy Iommi. As opposed to the Les Paul - Jimmy Page, Slash, Jimi Hendrix (yes, he did when he was touring London before switching to the Strat), Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton (for a while), Ace Frehley, Billie Gibbons, Roy Orbison, Kirk Hammett, Mick Taylor, Joe Perry and of course, the legend Les Paul himself. That's just naming a few.

So, that would conclude this post. NOTE: It's not today's post, I'll be making another. Maybe even three - is it possible? I hope so.

WARNING: This is level 8 stuff.

Correct-a-mundo! This is level 8. By which I mean, my JFK assassination assessment which you can find below fetched a level 8 from my history teacher. It's actually pretty good, although in the end, when I had to print, I found it took up 7 pages and 2 lines. That's the longest essay I've ever written, which just goes to show how much effort I put in. I'd been working on it for around 3 weeks when I handed it in, and it still wasn't complete in my opinion. I missed out medical evidence and the Cubans, for example... I just didn't have enough time, especially as I had my English assessment to hand in as well. So, without further ado I introduce you to the most amazing and longest essay I've ever written.

EDIT: Dammit, the formatting when I copy-paste it into the blog is really screwed up, so I'll try to find another way to get that working so you guys can read what earned me a very satisfying grade. For now I suppose I'll have to entertain with a normal post.

Well, that was a bloody disappointment, wasn't it? Oh well. It's the summer, there isn't anything I couldn't care less about than the way the formatting of a 7-page assessment turns out. The weather in the UK is great nowadays - lots of sun, only rains in the early morning and... cock, I better go now. See ya.

School's Out!!

YESSSSSS!!! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Sorry, had to get that out of my system. 7 weeks of non-school rock 'n' roll is something that induces random outbursts such as that one within me.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

There goes another one... ah well. Anyway, yeah. Last day of school was today, but it's doing it more credit than it deserves by actually referring to it as a school day - more like a half-day-of-messing-around-in-art-class-followed-by-an-assembly. However, there was a twist involved. Two of them, in fact. Actually, three of them. Cock, there's four in fact. I'll run through them in chronological order.

Twist number one - I twisted the front wheel of my bike. Not the tyre or anything, but the friggin' wheel itself. I was just riding along minding my own business (that business being going to Ben's house to collect him on the way to school) when a kid who goes to our school in year 7 called Tom rams into me from the side. Since he was head on and I was side on, he went over my front wheel, bending it completely and utterly out of shape. Instead of looking like this:

It looked more like this:

And no, that's not my bike actually. I just googled "bicycle wheel" and "bent bicycle wheel" and used some images from there instead... I'm just too lazy to take a picture of my own bike and bluetooth it to my computer. Besides, I'm helping the people at Google's careers by doing so, because... well, I just am. Anyway, at least I don't need my bike urgently for the next 7 weeks anyway and I can have a legit excuse for my mother to drop me off everywhere instead. Ho ho ho, happy days. Still, I bet she'll want me to take it to Halfords sometime soon anyway. Aw well.

So, that's twist one dealt with nicely. Numero two - when we got to school there were THREE PEOPLE there that had been off before because of suspected swine flu!! WOAH!! At first glance this might have been great, since one of them was Charlie, but actually one of the girls that came in still looked sick as a sick schoolchild... which she was, I suppose. She was coughing and sneezing all over the place, it was scary... but at least we got to see Charlie again. Me and him once again baffled everyone else with our guitar talk - discussing what guitar I was going to get in fact. I was speculating whether to get a 3-humbucker custom G-310 Epiphone or the slightly more expensive G-400, which also has a half-pickguard rather than the traditional full one on the G-310 and Gibson models. Charlie pointed out that the G-400 Vintage comes with EMGs, which give a richer tone than standards, but I countered with the fact that two of the three pickups on the custom G-310 were P90s, which also have a nice tone and can produce some beautiful distortion too. The heritage cherry finish on the G-400 is also much nicer than the factory black gloss on the G-310... anyway, yeah. That's how confused our friends feel whenever we discuss guitar.

So, trois. Like a lot of secondary schools, ours holds a "hall point" competition. Basically, students can acquire these hall points by doing various suck-up deeds such as volunteering for helping teachers, doing good work, bla-de-bla. (I got ten of these for my level 8 History assessment by the way :> ) Then, at the end of the term they are counted up and added to each hall's total. There are two halls at our school - Darwin and Nightingale. Blue and Red. I'm in Nightingale. The tradition at our school is that Darwin always seems to win the damned trophy at the end of the year. As a joke, me and some friends pretend to be in Darwin at the end of the year so we get to cheer when everyone else in Nightingale looks miserable. However, instead of tradition, Nightingale actually won this year. Of course, there was a draw-back - we had to boo instead. But it didn't matter, since nobody but saddos actually care about the trophy anyway.

And finally, twist four. This twist is the most recent, and it is that I forgot what I was originally planning twist four to be. So on that bombshell, I leave you with some funny quotes from Top Gear and make my hasty escape.

Or not, Youtube isn't working on my computer. So bye!

Swine Flu makes me :(

Wow, this is the longest I've ever maintained a website of any sort. Ever. Seriously.

Anyway, I got some bad news. You've almost definitely heard of the "swine flu" epidemic that is striking globally. In case you don't, it's a form of influenza that originated in Mexico. Apparently according to Andrew, it started when somebody had sexual intercourse with a pig... groosssssssssss. Anyway, it's like normal flu but it kills faster, or so I hear. There is medication and antibiotics to cure the illness but you can't just leave it and only take medicine after having it for a few weeks - it's got to be cured ASAP.

Anyway, about half of our class has been struck down with swine-flu symptoms - note that they don't necessarily have it though. It's just a few symptoms! For all they know it might just be normal flu! Well, yeah, a lot of the school's been affected but I can't help but think that a few of my friends are simply using the epidemic as an excuse to get off school - a brilliant plan which I could never pull off thanks to my mother's constant insistency that I don't miss school... ever. Actually, this year is the first I've achieved 100% attendance! Hooray!

Technically speaking, that could drop by 0.05% or so still, since the school year isn't over. But anyway, bubye ladies and gents!

Guitar Lesson - Speed Buster!

Speed is something which comes to a guitarist with constant practice! Determination and consistency are two things that will get you to your goal. Vinnie Moore in his instructional CD said, he had a daily 1 hour routine where all he did was just shred, and play chromatics, and also play patterns, at blazing speeds. One of his biggest secrets is no secret to a developing guitarist, you have to go up gradaually. No one can expect to get upto speeds reached by Michael Angelo at once.

To someone eager to reach high speeds, the metronome should be your best friend. Now there are alternatives to the metronome, but this is the best way. As I have said before consistency and determination is what you need. You should try to create a practice schedule pf your own, let it be 30 mins, or an hour. Its very important. Now what do you do, in this 30-60 mins, this is supposed to be really boring. Repeat chromatics, play them in different patterns and so on. Here are some exercises that you can do in your routine. I found them very useful. You'll say the same thing after doing them. For those of you who dont know! A D refers to a downstroke and U to an upstroke!

Exercise 1

This is for beginners. Dont avoid alternate picking, its a key weapon when it comes to playing fast. The exercise lets you get used to alternate picking.

D U D U  |-0--0--0--0--1--1--1--1--2--2--2--2--3--3--3--3-|Repeat till 12  |------------------------------------------------|  |------------------------------------------------|  |------------------------------------------------|  |------------------------------------------------|  |------------------------------------------------|

Its really helpful especially if you havent done alternate picking before. After that reverse the pattern, that is Up Down Up Down.

Exercise 2  D U D U  |------------------------------------------1-2-3-4--5-4-3-2----------------  |----------------------------------1-2-3-4------------------5-4-3-2--------  |--------------------------1-2-3-4----------------------------------5-4-3-2  |------------------1-2-3-4-------------------------------------------------etc  |----------1-2-3-4---------------------------------------------------------  |--1-2-3-4-----------------------------------------------------------------

This is the 4 note chromatic pattern. Its really boring, yet very useful. Play it till the 12th fret. To make this a bit more interesting you can use legato (Hammerons and Pull offs), and string skipping. When you use string skipping use your imagination, you can play the 4 note pattern in E String then skip to D, then A to G and so on.

Exercise 3  D U D  |-------------------------------1-2-3--4-3-2-------------------------------  |-------------------------1-2-3--------------4-3-2-etc---------------------  |-------------------1-2-3--------------------------------------------------  |-------------1-2-3--------------------------------------------------------  |-------1-2-3--------------------------------------------------------------  |-1-2-3--------------------------------------------------------------------

Now this may seem simple enough. But trust me, its not. Its pretty deifficult to keep the D U D U pattern going. Thats the key to this exercise. Try to play D U D U, until you become absolutely 100% accurate. Use string skipping.

Exercise 4  D U D U  |-----------------------------------------1-3-2-4---------|  |---------------------------------1-3-2-4---------2-4-3-5-|  |-------------------------1-3-2-4-------------------------|  |-----------------1-3-2-4---------------------------------|  |---------1-3-2-4-----------------------------------------|  |-1-3-2-4-------------------------------------------------|   |-----------------------------------------|  |-----------------------------------------|  |-2-4-3-5---------------------------------|  |---------2-4-3-5-------------------------|  |-----------------2-4-3-5---------3-5-4-6-|  |-------------------------2-4-3-5---------|

Now this is very very useful! Now instead of using playing 1324, you may also play 1423 or 1324 or anything. Use your imagination. Use string skipping.

Exercise 5  D U D U  |-1234----------------------------------------------6789--|  |------2345------------------------------------6789-------|  |-----------3456--------------------------6789------------|  |----------------4567----------------6789-----------------|  |---------------------5678------6789----------------------|  |--------------------------6789---------------------------|    |---------------------------------------------------4321--|  |-8765-----------------------------------------4321-------|  |------7654-------------------------------4321------------|  |-----------6543---------------------4321-----------------|  |----------------5432-----------4321----------------------|  |---------------------4321-4321---------------------------|   Exercise 6 and 7  D D D D  |-----------------------4-------------------------|  |---------------4-----3---------5---------------6-|  |-------4-----3-----2---------4---------5-----5---|  |-----3-----2-----1---------3---------4-----4-----|  |---2-----1---------------2---------3-----3-------|  |-1-------------------------------2---------------|  UUUU  |-1-------------------------------2---------------|  |---2-----1---------------2---------3-----3-------|  |-----3-----2-----1---------3---------4-----4-----|  |-------4-----3-----2---------4---------5-----5---|  |---------------4-----3---------5---------------6-|  |-----------------------4-------------------------|

These 2 exercises will later help you with sweep picking, treat them with respect, and you will be rewarded. Now before I finish I will provide one more exercise, in fact its a pattern. That is you can use it with scales and stuff. Its probably the most common off em all. And as you get faster you'll realise how often they are used by your favourite speed demons.

D U D U D U D U D U D U D U D U   |---------------------------------|--------------------------------|  |---------------------------------|--------------------------------|  |---------------------------------|--------------------------------|  |---------------------------------|---------5-------5-6----5-6-7---|  |---------5-------5-6-----5-6-7---|-5-6-7-8---6-7-8----7-8-------8-|  |-5-6-7-8---6-7-8-----7-8-------8-|--------------------------------|   |---------------------------------|----------------------------------|  |---------------------------------|---------5-------5-6-----5-6-7----|  |---------5-------5-6-----5-6-7---|-5-6-7-8---6-7-8-----7-8-------8--|  |-5-6-7-8---6-7-8-----7-8-------8-|----------------------------------|  |---------------------------------|----------------------------------|  |---------------------------------|----------------------------------|

Now this is really basic, spend some time with and try using it in your solos- very useful. You should play all the exercises above regularly even though its got the same effect as watching Oprah. But unlike Oprah this helps (no hard feelings n e 1, its just that the show is boring). Try to make them more interesting by using effects, using variations I. e strike each notes in a different way, vary your speed, use other legato and all.

Now that ends part I, (I don't know whether there will be a Part 2). If you are a beginner, what I would suggest is play each exercise in such a way, that you can play em with your eyes closed. Then use the metronome, and gradually increase your speed that is from 110 to 120. Dont kill yourself by starting of with 150. Thats about it! Take care and remember that the metronome is your best friend.

Note: In my 3 years of learning these are some exercises which have improves my playing a lot, I have studied articles, videos and lots of other stuff. If the article looks or is similar to any other in the internet, its accidental. There is no plagiarism involved.

Enjoy.

God Gave Rock N' Roll To YOU!!

Hello.

Have any of you guys seen School of Rock? You know, that stereotypical Jack Black film in which he throws up the horns every ten seconds and always stands with his legs spread and singing a soprano. You know... it has lots of children in it? There's a show at the end which is completely unrealistic, you know? Aha. Well, to refresh your memory it looked a little something like this:

Yeah, it's actually not all that bad. I suppose they really did have to Hollywood-ize it in order for anyone of today's society to actually pay attention to it. It has its moments - the guitar kid in it can actually play pretty impressively for someone of his age.

Now, picture Kiss, the band. Here, I'll do it for you.

See the dude at the bottom? That's Gene Simmons. Believe it or not, he did a similar thing to School of Rock himself. We watched two of the episodes in music class today, since the equipment got packed up due to demolishment of one of the rooms.

I'd go into more detail but I have to go. Again. Very badly timed.

Anyway, see you guys tomorrow.

History Assessment Extract - hooray!!

Hey guys.

I'm feeling better now - my throat's still giving me hell but at least I don't feel so weak that I can't even stand up on my feet without feeling dizzy. To be honest, this isn't going to be a great post since I am slightly preoccupied. I have a History assessment due in tomorrow concerning whether Lee Harvey Oswald was responsible for the assassination of JFK. Or, for those of you who don't know what that stands for, John F(itzgerald) Kennedy, 35th President of the United States. Here, since I can't really write much without wasting time, I'll copy and paste a paragraph of my essay here.

Actually I won't - what if someone from school were to steal it and hand it in as their own? I'd get screwed sideways if that happened.

Anyway, sorry about the second short-as-hell post out of two this month, it'll only get better though. I had adequate excuses for both anyway, so don't whine.

OR ELSE.

(hehe)

ILLNESS :( :( :(

I've been sick for the past few days :(

This post is going to be very short, just saying I'll post more. I just didn't feel up to it recently. See you later guys.

Not a great way to mark my 30th post...

Improv!??!?!

Don't even mention that sudden surge of inactivity. I was doing so well too.

Anyway, have any of you guys ever wondered how someone came up with the concept of a guitar? How did they think it up? Perhaps: "I know, I'm going to stretch a few strings of different thickness across a hollow wooden frame, wind them around small knobs at the top and stick them through the frame at the bottom, pluck the strings whilst holding them at different positions with my left hand and see what happens"? Yeah, right.

I have no idea who actually came up with the principal guitar - or the lute, or whatever it was. I'm not too great on the history of guitars, just guitars in general. Anyway, surely it was somewhere in the Roman era, an era of invention and revolution, of music and entertainment. Perhaps it took ages and ages to think it up, or perhaps it really was quite simply, spontaneous. I'd like to think its conception was in the method of the latter - since there's so much to do with guitar that is spontaneous. Improvisation in particular.

It seems I'm the only one in our year group capable of improvising an intermediate solo on the spot, with or without backing musicians/tracks. I don't know why - it's probably down to my classical guitar roots. I'd learned classical guitar from a very good teacher called Mr. Everitt since the start of primary school. I stopped and switched to the classical's electric counterpart somewhere between primary and secondary school. However, during the half-hour classical guitar lessons we did a huge focus on three aspects of guitar - a) fingerpicking (the main form of classical playing, since no players use picks), b) rhythm and c) scales and arpeggios. The last of those is what comes into effect the most when I improvise - I really would be as helpless at improv as my mates are without my training. Indeed, even the Year 11s seem incapable of, what seems to me, a very simple talent. All you need to know is what string to be on, what fret to hold and when to hit the string. Once you have that down well, you can go faster and faster. But improvising isn't ALL about the melody.

Rhythm is very important too. Can you imagine a solo that went "wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa" in a constant beat without any variation? Let me give you an example of how boring that can be.

(By the way, I'm a Paramore fan and Josh Farro is... well, a good guitarist. But he could have done SO much better on Misery Business' solo. It's at 2:13.)

Now, compare that to a heartfelt and compelling improvised solo from the great John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, in this live performance of their song off By the Way if I remember correctly, called Don't Forget Me. Listen to that solo and tell me it's worse than the Misery Business one.

Also note that eerie sound John makes through that Strat, and you can really see his Hendrix influences. Flea, the bassist, is also coming up with some brilliant improvisation that perfectly meshes with John's guitar. And the way the band just flows from improvisation to the song itself is true nirvana in my opinion.

Now, the top 3:

1. Black Dog - Led Zeppelin

2. For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) - AC/DC

3. Can't Stop - Red Hot Chili Peppers.

And that's all for now, folks! Oh, wait, a lolcat!! :D

Gets me every time.

DO NOT PANIC.

Don't worry. DO NOT WORRY. I'm not going into another inactive spree just because of missing yesterday, it was blogger's fault actually. When I clicked on "New Post" it said something like "Unable to complete your request" and an error code to go with it, to make me feel so special and new. But I didn't, I simply got angry that blogger let me down. Still, I tried to post yesterday, and that's what counts.

But just in case you don't believe me, I'm gonna have to do two posts today, in order to make up for yesterday's slip in my armour. So, let's do it then.

We've been practising frequently in the pods at lunch breaks, which is helping a lot. I'd forgotten how much more fun it is to play with your friends than to play on your own, which is what I'd been starting to get used to. I stopped going round Charlie's house for a while due to the aforementioned musical differences we'd grown, but started jamming on my own or to a sound track in order to keep my skills honed. This way my musical taste flourished and I was able to explore without being hindered by Charlie telling me that song was crap or that riff was lame, and vice versa - I used to shout abuse about Pete Doherty whilst Charlie was playing a Babyshambles song or whatever.

But now we're playing together, as a group of friends no less, it's great fun. There's just something about creating some music with people you know - or even people you don't know, for that matter. That's why I love music so much, it's just so amazing, free and easy to get into. It can be soothing or arousing, calm or furious, sweet or angry. With Charlie's bass throbbing in the background and adding a long-lost depth to the song for me, me putting my guitar through her paces and Glyn smashing the drums up - a true thing of beauty.

So, people, I'd like to advise you all turn to music when you feel in need. If you're depressed, listen to some metal at full volume - it's okay. With bands like Metallica, behind the angry-appearing sound is actually a different form of emotion, not something actually negative, just a different way of showing a positive outlook. If you're happy, I find a good run of "For Those About To Rock" by AC/DC can get me even happier. Oh, and if you play an instrument - move in time with the music. It loosens you up, and for me and many other artists (Angus Young included) it makes playing easier and more natural. Don't be embarrassed about looking like an idiot just because you want to headbang or run around the stage, Young-style. It's cool. If they laugh at you it's only because they don't understand what it feels like, to let the music flow through you openly and accept it in your movements.

Anyway, I've got to go for dinner now. That was part one, I'll post another today if I remember (which I will. I MUST.)

So, adíos.

I can has band!?

Hello again, after a good night's sleep.

Today we had a sports day. I'm not the most active of people (not that I'm fat, I'm just very very lazy) so I wasn't paying much attention. What did catch my attention was Charlie organizing a band. Most definitely consequent of the lunchtime jams we've been having recently (well, actually 2.)

So, here's how it's gonna be - me on lead guitar, Dan on rhythm guitar, Charlie on bass, Glyn on drums and Harvey singing. We're all capably musicians but there are a few issues with the line-up. For instance, this may sound harsh, but Harvey isn't a fantastic singer. He's a little too shy when it comes to his singing voice and isn't able to belt it like a lot of professionals and amateurs can. However, he has got some emotion behind it, just like a lot of average singers do. Myself, I don't share the same taste in music as Charlie or Dan. I do with Glyn and Harvey, although Glyn listens to techno crap and death metal whilst Harvey listens to both - and everything else. Charlie and Dan aren't into classic rock songs and bands.

I can understand Dan's reasons - he isn't exactly a dedicated player. He almost sold his guitar last year and nearly gave up, for Christ's sakes - but Charlie I don't. I mean, he's been playing guitar for a good year or so now, and he still hasn't appreciated real rock music yet. The whole root of guitar's passion, in my opinion, lies within the deep chasms of rock 'n' roll, yet Charlie finds the bold idiocy to look rock in the face and say weird things such as "I think it isn't bad, but it's just not as good as indie rock".

WHAT!?!?!?!?

Indie rock isn't bad, I admit. It has got peaks. But how... how... HOW can you compare that to rock? I mean, it's like comparing Paris Hilton to Susan Boyle for Christ's sake! Sheesh. Indie rock never has blazing guitar solos full of inspiration and emotion, and isn't full of catchy riffs and musical understanding. Rock is. And that's why I love good ol' classic rock so much.

I don't think it'll hinder the band too much though. And we've agreed to play a few times together in the pods to get comfortable before we actually get half-serious about it. It'd be pretty embarrassing to start a band, then announce that we've split up a few days later because our musical differences were too hard to overcome.

Anyway, I'll be on here tomorrow. Notice how consistent I'm being? *Pat on the back.*

Bye guys.

Volume control please.

Hey guys.

This will be longer than yesterdays, thank god, since it's actually before 8 o'clock, when my mum makes me get off the computer. So anyway, today at school.

Me and three of my mates, Charlie Glyn and Dan, hired a pod for lunchtime. Technically, we didn't actually hire it since we didn't pay, and we just turned up and asked for one - definitely not the definition of hiring something. Anyway, you should have seen it - the pods at our school are actually not pods at all. They're just little rooms which aren't even soundproof, about as big as a mousehole and just as comfortable. We picked one with a drumkit in, since Glyn was insisting he was quite good at drums. He borrowed a pair of drumsticks, we borrowed two guitars and a bass (which wasn't used much) and three amps. After getting everything set up (clumsily I might add) we started. Me and Charlie did.

That was, until King Kong himself appeared and smashed the drum kit up.

At least, that was what it sounded like. A King Kong with rhythm, granted, but King Kong nonetheless. Glyn was hammering the crap out of the drums, making us barely audible and leaving us with ringing headaches afterwards. It was somewhat frustrating, especially if one of us was tuning and Glyn suddenly starts playing the drum line to "Hysteria" by Muse, making it nearly impossible.

Eventually, when it was time to leave and I and Charlie had nearly faded into the wallpaper, we were that quiet, we left the pod. My ears were ringing and it had been the least enjoyable jam I'd had with my friends. Not that Glyn was bad at drumming - he's actually quite good - but he could have taken it a little easier on them. As a result, tomorrow we intend to recruit George to the regime instead, who apparently can actually adjust the volume he plays at on the drums. Plus, he's a Guitar Hero World Tour veteran, just like me. Therefore, he must have some sort of skill since I do too. :)

Well anyway, just venting my frustration for a few precious and relieving minutes.

FOUR WEEKS LEFT OF SCHOOL, WHOO.

See you tomorrow.

Yeaahhh. Back on track.

Yesss, I'm actually posting daily nowadays. Well, by that I mean the last three days... so not really a great feat of any sort. Ah well.

I'm gonna have to make this quick, since I'm meant to be off the computer already, but my mother will allow exceptions if I'm writing on this blog - better than playing games, right?

Yeah. This is going to be incredibly quick, since my mum is now literally harassing me over getting my ass upstairs and doing something other than being "glued to the bloody screen". So yeah. That's me out.

Wait. Top 3...

1. For Those About to Rock (We Salute You) - AC/DC

2. TNT - AC/DC

3. Dream On - Aerosmith.

Check them out on YouTube, I really don't have time to put them on here.

See you tomorrow (hopefully).

Ohmigodohmigodohmigod!

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN.

You guys know how I was intending on spending the money I raise from this blog on a Les Paul?

Right?

WRONG!

I know, Les Pauls are fantastic guitars and they are one of the best looking types I've ever laid eyes upon. But following my recent addiction to rock band AC/DC, I've become hooked on another of Gibson's masterpieces - the SG.

Oh, yes. Angus Young, lead guitarist of AC/DC, is famous for his SG and his prestigious skill at playing it. It can achieve a variety of sounds - like AC/DC's more bluesy stuff, such as "Stiff Upper Lip", to their famous crunchy distortion sounds - "Whole Lotta Rosie" and the blazing solos that occur - "Back In Black". I know, I know, the Les Paul can achieve this as well. And the Les Paul, a lot of people might argue, is better looking too. Well, my outlook on life has changed over the past months, since I started this - Les Pauls are a portrayal of perfection, cleanliness and holiness. Hence the reason Jimmy Page plays it - Led Zeppelin are the liquid form of music, so elegant and harmonic. Right up until AC/DC smashes right into the delicate sheet of paper that is Led Zep's music and Angus tears up a killer riff on his destructive, demonic and eeeevilllll SG, with an ebony finish, and ends up literally making everything explode but himself and his guitar.

And for those of you who do not know what an SG looks like:

That's my current definition of beauty. It's not the same type of beauty as a lovely and curvy Les Paul - look at this thing. You could spear someone's eye with those points for Christ's sake! It's awesome! I'd like to say quickly that I'm not a satanist and the only reason I find this beautiful is because... well, I just do. Is that an issue?

Plus, it's cheaper (not meaning it's worse, don't forget) and it means I'll be ready to grab it a.s.a.p! I CAN'T WAIT!!!

A month... no!!!

I haven't posted in nearly a month. How stupid am I.

No dwelling on the negative stuff though. I'll launch straight into a post and get to the meat of it all.

Music - I've said it before, I'll say it again. In my opinion, music is as important as oxygen for the human brain. Sure, you can try to replace it with some other crap, like counting the blades of grass in your garden or something stupid, but in the end, music is a necessity. And my favourite artist has changed over the past week or so. Hooooraaaaay!

Yeah. I'm now totally hooked on a little band you may have heard of called AC/DC. Who am I kidding, there's nothing little about them at all. One of the most famous rock bands of all time, in fact. Angus & Malcolm Young, Beano Johnson, Bon Scott, Phil Rudd, Cliff Williams, they're all legends and they fit together perfectly. The chances of that are like firing a thousand-piece puzzle out of a cannon and finding they land perfectly in place - nigh on impossible. Yet it happened, down under in Australia, long ago it seems now. Yet they're still together and still kicking some serious ass.

Their newest album, Black Ice, hasn't changed their sound at all - just the way it should be, since there's only been one album that sold more than their biggest hit, Back In Black. If you haven't heard that, you're a satanist and you deserve to be punished. Here, listen to this awesomeness and tell me it isn't good.

That, my friends, is what I call musical perfection. Great riff, great lyrics and singing, great solo, great drumming, great song. ARGH. It's almost too good!

Well, gotta cut this short for today. I'll post tomorrow, I promise. Maybe. Hopefully.

Peace.

What's most important in a band?

HEY! I posted early today! It's a god-damned miracle!

I'm so happy! Yet I can't think of what to write about. Hmmm... Aha, I know. Alright, those of you who play a rock instrument (the ones I'm mainly thinking of are guitar, bass, drums, singing, keyboard perhaps) and have ever played in a group will know how frustrating it is if you cannot be heard over the noise of the other members of the band. I for one completely sympathize with this situation, since last half term. You see, last half-term in music we were doing a project where we wrote our own song. Ours wasn't fantastic but that isn't the point. The point is, Ben - who was on the drums - was way, way, way louder than I could achieve with the crappy little Gear4Music amp the school provided. Therefore, the entire 55 minute session would always pass with Ben making 90% of the noise, me making 9.99% and Andrew on the keyboard making about 0.01% - literally, once me and Ben came in he was history, totally inaudible.

However, many instruments simply aren't meant to be heard very clearly in my opinion. For instance, a keyboard compliments songs well when it's in the background, for instance Smoke on the Water. But when it's a main part of the song's volume it can ruin a song entirely. In my opinion, the main instruments in a rock band that need to be the first things to hit you in the face are the electic guitar(s) and the singer. After which comes the drums, then the bass.

Bassists will immediately read that above and start researching where I live in order to assassinate me for blaspheming, but hear me out. I never said bass is not important - in fact it's one of the most important, along with the drums, in my opinion. But it's not something you remember the song for, unless you're listening to an insane bassist like RHCP's Flea. No, normally what keeps your attention and sticks in your head for hours afterwards is either a) the guitar riff or b) the lyrics and vocals. That said, bass and drums are vital for a song. Imagining just a guitar and a singer brings various suicide techniques into my head, because it simply wouldn't work. Maybe if you're sitting around a campfire with your mates and you're just having a sing-a-long, then yes, it works fine. But a studio song? No, never. Ever, ever, ever. The only exception is Stairway to Heaven, which managed a guitar, keyboard and singer for four minutes before introducing the two more important instruments.

God, I haven't structured this post very well. I'll sum it up as quickly and understandably as possible, since I may be flying straight over your head by this point. Summary - bass and drums are essential. But guitar and vocals are more important. No, bass and drums are more important, but so is the guitar and the vocalist. Not as much, it's less important, but it's not unimportant. The bass and drums are most important and the guitar and singing is just important. Aaaaah, screw that. You get my drift.

Peace.