Hey S.I.Q. fans!
There is very little that has happened for the band since our last show (and my subsequent entry), but there are several things have happened for me. One, I FINALLY got around to putting new strings on my acoustic bass. It was out of comission for a long time because one of the strings in the previous set broke and acoustic bass strings are a rarity in Guitar Center. Now, it has some very bright-and-shiny new bronze strings. So now I will say with confidence that I own 4 bass guitars.
A week ago, I drove to Rock Hill to take a lesson in bass mastery from the resident master himself, James Johnston (who also happens to be Ashton's uncle. What a connection eh?). I half expected to go in there and learn a whole bunch of new techniques to build upon what I have already learned, but ohhhh no. The start of the lesson effectively went as follows:
James: "Play this riff."
Me: (copies riff)
James: "Now play it without getting any fret buzz at all."
It was pretty intense. He taught me how to roll my wrist while playing series of notes in order to make my playing more dynamic, and we also focused on stretching my hand so as to easily play the notes low on the neck without causing fret buzz. Ultimately, I had to unlearn some of what I knew in order to use his tips as a more solid foundation. It's all I've been working on since and I have to say it pays off. In S.I.Q.'s last practice, my playing was tighter than it ever has been. Mad props to you James.
Soon I will be able to take some videos of myself playing for anyone who wants to watch me in action. If you happent to be a friend of me on Facebook, you may have seen the video I posted of me covering Dream Theater's Fatal Tragedy. More will come.
Before our writing session this past Friday, Phil, James, and I went to Manifest cd warehouse in search of new music to buy and enjoy. I found the third Pagan's Mind album, "Enigmatic: Calling" (I already own the first two) as well as Dream Theater's "Metropolis 2000: Scenes from New York" DVD, which I have already watched through twice and immensely enjoyed. Basically just another reason for them to be my favorite band of all time.
And now some news on upcoming shows:
February 26th, the Gorilla productions battle of the bands finals. Cost: $10 if you buy them from a band member, $12 at the door. Location: Tremont music hall near downtown Charlotte. Time: around 4:00 pm.
That is the only set show we have for the moment, but, because of our successful show at Amos' at the Lake, we have been offered a headlining show at AMOS' SOUTHEND! We are extraordinarily excited for that, and will let you know all about it when planning is complete.
And now, I am going to do some practice. Rock on!
Cole Millward
S.I.Q. bassist
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