Hey S.I.Q. fans!
I am writing this from Los Angeles, California. This is my third day of my trip, and it is quickly turning into my best birthday present ever.
But I'll start from the beginning.
The flight here was...a flight. It was 5 hours of nothing special. It did give me a great opportunity to just listen to music however. I get very few chances to just sit down and listen to all the multiple facets and complexities of the music of my favorite bands. A few songs that I found myself particularly enjoying were "Sheltering Skies" by Threshold, "Nemesis" by Bad Salad, "Another Existence" by Age of Nemesis, and "Alien Kamikaze" by Pagan's Mind.
When I landed (about 10:00 AM California time, 3:00 home time), my uncle picked me up and we went back to his house to relax for the rest of the day. Thus ended the first day.
Day two was definitely a busy one. My uncle and I visited a friend of his who works for Warner Bros. studios. We got a tour of the lot (HIGHLY interesting by the way) and ate there as well. As we ate, I talked with my uncle's friend about S.I.Q. and our music, and (having the foresight to bring a few along with me) gave him one of our demos, which he said he might use as a temporary soundtrack mix for the screener of a movie he was working on the post production of. Very exciting, because if the director likes the music enough, big things could happen for us.
Following our adventure at Warner Bros., my uncle and I drove to the Sam Ash music store in Cerritos, CA where the "Metal Masters" clinic was being held. I was excited about this in particular because Mike Portnoy, former drummer for Dream Theater, was one of the four artists hosting the clinic. His performance was excellent, and he also gave this speech, which I captured on video camera:
After the performance was finished, I got the tremendous honor of meeting him at the signing table. He gave me a signed poster and also signed one of the S.I.Q. demos I had with me. Sadly, because the signing line was so fast, I was unable to give him a demo and explain myself. Nevertheless, I was immensely satisfied just to meet him.
Today, day three of my birthday week in Los Angeles, was fantastic. I got to visit the Hollywood Guitar Center, which, while cool, was a little disappointing. It being Hollywood, I expected it to have a wider variety of instrument brands, but sadly it did not. Here is my analysis of the bass section on video:
Shame, no ESPs.
I took pictures of the rest of the store, including a whole section of John Petrucci signature Musicman guitars, but I do not have the proper cord to upload them from my camera. They will have to wait.
Following Guitar Center, my uncle and I went to the Musician's Institute, the music college that Phil, James, and I all wish to attend when James and I graduate high school. I was given a tour of the facilities (which I have nothing but praises for) and got to talk with the director of admissions about some of the options that the school provides with regards to an advanced education in music. It's a very exciting prospect for S.I.Q.'s future, one that we will be exploring and discussing in depth.
Even while I am here in California, back on the east coast my fellow members of S.I.Q. continue to work towards the solution to our drummer situation. They have auditioned a new possibility, and continue to jam with a drummer that we have been auditioning for close to 5 weeks now. We just want to make sure we find the right guy.
Tomorrow will yield more experiences for me to share with you all. Keep an eye out!
Cole Millward
S.I.Q. bassist
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