You Guys Sound Like a Real Band! And Vacation is Awesome

Hey S.I.Q. fans!

   It has been almost a month since I last posted a Bass Lines entry, for a number of reasons. We have been doing a lot of work in the band on music, promotions, and future plans. There's a lot of exciting stuff in our near future that several people are working very hard to achieve. I'll put it this way: the two days before I left on vacation were spent in practice or meeting with the band to discuss plans. And it's not just those of us in the band. It's also the parents and acquaintances who are working toward getting us out of state, getting us a music video...
   Anyway, as the title of this entry declares blatantly, my vacation was awesome. My family (parents, siblings, one set of grandparents, and cousins) and I took a cruise on the Royal Carribean ship, the Freedom of the Seas. It was the same ship that we went on for last year's cruise, but for me, this time was a lot better because I knew what to expect.
   There was a lot of great live music on board. It was mostly jazz, nothing heavy like our genre, but it was enjoyable to me nonetheless. I also brought my bass to practice on. Being in a technique phase, I didn't write much, but what lyrics I did write are very cool. Who knows? Maybe you'll hear them in a song down the road.
   Those that know me know that I'm not much of a party animal, but this week I let go a little bit and went to a few late night parties in the teen nightclub. There, I made the discovery that I can actually dance! I know...its weird... The only dance instruction I have ever recieved was in three years worth of ballroom/latin dancing classes, but I guess the basic principals of it paid off. I even had several other guys asking me how to do what I was doing. Ultimately, even though clubbing isn't really my thing, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Also I got a couple of people to listen to our music. What did they have to say? "You guys sound like a real band!" I love it when people say that.

   So now I'm back at home. Probably one of the things I missed the most is my practice stack. While on the cruise, I practiced out of a belt clip-on mini-amp. Nothing compared to the house shaking power and sound of my 800 watt Peavy head and Mesa cab. Ahh it makes me happy.

As you can see.

My 4 year old brother took this picture. He's cool.

Cole Millward

S.I.Q. bassist

Another Step (which also happens to be the name of an awesome Andromeda song)

Hey S.I.Q. fans!

   To start things off, I want to thank every one of you that were able to make it out to Tremont to support us in the TZMR battle of the bands last night. And to those of you who couldn't, it's ok, we love you anyway. Sadly, we did not win the battle. It's not that we put on a bad show; We played amazingly for only being allowed 15 minutes (we could have filled that time with one song!). Circumstances were simply against us. The voting was done by crowd response and the use of a decibel meter. Pretty much the way it went down is that, since we didn't play last, the crowd for the last band was the closest to the stage. The decibel meter registers sound as louder the closer the people are to it. Another thing that prevented our victory was the fact that someone not in our group of fans used an airhorn during voting, which was prohibited, and therefore our croud was forced to redo their response. Obviously, it wasn't as strong the second time. Despite all this, we had an awesome time playing up on stage. This is the first show that Phil has used his new Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier, and it sounded great! I also got to use my full stack, which always makes me happy. To make things even better for me, after we finished playing, a guy came up to me and told me that my performance has inspired him to learn to play the bass. When he asked me for advice, I told him practice, and listen to lots of Dream Theater.
   Personally, what I have taken away from this whole experience is that I do not want to play any more battles. Playing music is not about being better than another band. It's about conveying thoughts and emotions through melodies, harmonies, and rhythm in such a way that people can relate to it. I do not enjoy the stress of having to take every precaution to be "better" than someone else. Ultimately, this is something the band will have to discuss inwardly, because we still have the Gorilla productions battle of the bands this coming February. We will most likely be participating, so as to remain professional, but I really think until then, we will withdraw into the practice room and WRITE WRITE WRITE. We have a lot of song projects that are near completion, and once we have those finished, we will be able to fill some major time slots.
   Another cool thing that is happening for me is that I may be giving private bass guitar lessons soon, in the studios of Rock University of Charlotte. These lessons will range anywhere from basic bass technique to bass theory. I will be meeting with a representative from Rock U this Wednesday to discuss details. If you are interested in taking private lessons, contact me or Rock U after this wednesday.
And here's one for all of you to enjoy!

 Cole Millward
  S.I.Q. bassist

HE GOT IT!!!!

Hey S.I.Q. fans!

   To whom do I refer in the title? None other than Phil, who got a Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier amp head the other day! He has been wanting this for a long time, as has the rest of the band; the old Vox had a tendency to get a bit feedback-ish, and also the level knob had some issues. Basically, it occasionally gave us trouble during practice. I wanted him to have this amp as badly as he wanted it. So now, we all have our ideal equipment for where we are at as a band right now. Except for a 6 string for me. And maybe another guitar for Phil. But we're well on our way!
   So, now that no equipment shortages are holding us back, this Saturday is going to sound AWESOME. If you haven't bought a ticket to the battle, you're not too late. We still have some that are going for 12 dollars apiece. There are going to be a lot of great bands there. It is the finals after all! We will be battling the winners of all those previous.
   Who remembers the Gorilla Productions battle of the bands? You know, the last time we played at Tremont. Arguably the best show we have played (so far). That was also a qualifying round. The finals for that tournament will be February 26th. It's a long way off, but we are going ahead and starting to get it ingrained in all your personal calendars. We will be selling (and HEAVILY promoting) tickets very soon. Be on the lookout!
   One last thing, something I completely left out of my last entry. Another of the artists I'm really into right now is Andromeda. I just bought their "II=I" album. Progressive metal at its proggiest, ladies and gentlemen. Really awesome stuff.
   Hope to see you all at Tremont next Saturday! Be sure to vote for your favorite band ;)

Cole Millward
S.I.Q. bassist