A New Turn of Events pt. 2

Hey S.I.Q. fans!

   Production on the upcoming album is progressing smoothly. Recording for the two singles we will be releasing is finished (Well, 99.9 % finished. I may need to re-record a bass track for one of them), and mixing will occur hopefully within the next two weeks. Following those, we will continue recording and mixing the rest of the songs in the tracklist. Be on the lookout for those two singles; we believe you will enjoy them immensely.
   This week saw a fortunate turn of events for the guitar section of S.I.Q. While in Guitar Center this past Saturday, James was selected by the GC manager to be Charlotte's "Hometown Hero." This means James' picture was taken and will be featured on the Charlotte Guitar Center website soon. Also, Phil got some new gear, in the form of a new multi-effects pedal. I have already heard some of the simple effects he has gotten out of that thing, which leaves me excited to see what he can create with time and a little effort.
   Paul was a little less fortunate this past week, as he underwent surgery that left him unable to play drums while he healed. He should be back in shape in time for our next practice session this Saturday. Still, keep him in your thoughts as he recovers.
   As for me, I have been struggling with one of the most proggy riffs I have ever encountered. Phil wrote it a few weeks ago, but he wrote it in Drop D tuning. I am attempting to play it in standard 6 string bass tuning, and I am slowly conquering it. You can be sure that you'll hear it on a future album, and most likely in multiple shows beforehand. (I know this whole bit isn't really important news, but I just thought I'd share, as it is something of interest to me.) Also, within the next week (I hope), I will be receiving in the mail two items that will make my life easier and my music sound better respectively: an Android-powered tablet (thanks to my uncle, who graciously gave it to me and even more graciously fixed it when I did something to make it not work) and a new multi-effects pedal. As a matter of fact, the pedal is the bass version of the new guitar pedal that Phil got.
   Just like most people my age, I am going to be attending my first semester of college starting in only a few weeks. I will be attending Central Piedmont Community College, and will be aiming for an Associates in Fine Arts (focusing in music, of course). This means that in my first semester, along with all the general education classes, I will be joining a jazz ensemble. I am especially excited about that, as I have begun to experiment with and learn about jazz within the past few months. In particular, I have been paying attention to the bass playing art of Jaco Pastorius. Here's a video to show why he is becoming an idol of mine.

Pretty sweet stuff right?

   It is at this point that I will also share with you all the other music that I have taken a special interest in over the past week or so.

"Long Way Home" by Seventh Wonder

"Fireroses Dance" by Vanden Plas

"Supremacy Our Kind" by Pagan's Mind

"Crack the Meter" by Jordan Rudess, the keyboardist for Dream Theater. I actually have this album because my sister bought it. So nice to have a sister that also likes prog!

Here's a bit of an unusual one for me:

"Blackest Eyes" by Porcupine Tree. 

And lastly, this:

A good quality live version of "On the Backs of Angels" by Dream Theater. MOST excellent.

I would actually like to close this entry with an invitation to any readers of my blog. I share a lot of my favorite music with you, but never get to hear what you listen to. Here's your chance. Post a song or band that you like in a comment. If I have not heard it/them, I'll give it a listen. 

Have yourselves a nice end to your summer!

Cole Millward

S.I.Q. bassist

Solving the Riddle

Hey S.I.Q. fans!

   Big week for us in S.I.Q. land. We had the first of many recording sessions for the new album on Friday, and it went swimmingly. We started by doing scratch tracks of all of us playing together so that we could have something to listen to as we re-recorded our individual parts. We did this for two songs (songs 2 and 3 on the tracklist). We picked one to work on, and I went back and fixed any mess-ups I might have made in recording the original track. Paul didn't have to redo anything because he got it all right on the first go. (Doesn't that tick you off??) After I finished all my little adjustments, Phil and James re-recorded their rhythm tracks, doubled them, and then James laid the leads over top. We even had enough time left after that to do vocals as well, which Ashton later told me he wants to redo. Next Friday, Phil, James, and Ashton will be going back to the studio to do guitars for the other track, as well as vocals for both.
   Yesterday, we had a writing session at Phil's house, and completed a song, the first track to be on the album as a matter of fact. The song had been close to completion for a while and just had a few bits to clear up. Sadly, Paul was unable to attend the writing session (day jobs, gotta love 'em), so we have to show the finished song to him and practice it with him before it will be studio ready.
   After much consideration, we have decided to cut down the number of tracks on the album from 9 to 8. I can't give out the tracklist yet (as much as I may want to), but I can give you an update on where each song is in relation to being recorded and ready to be released.

Song 1: Needs drum part, practice, recording, and  mixing
Song 2: Needs re-recorded vocals and mixing
Song 3: Needs guitar tracks, vocals, and mixing
Song 4: Needs recording and mixing
Song 5: Needs practice, recording, and mixing
Song 6: Needs finishing, lyrics, practice, recording, and mixing
Song 7: Needs recording and mixing
Song 8: Needs recording and mixing

And we are also brainstorming ideas for the title. All the song names have been decided.
   It is really an exciting and inspiring experience for the five of us. Even more ideas for future music are sprouting in our heads.
   Strangely, I don't really have any new music to show you this week, and for that I apologize. Go have a look at my list of artists that I listen to, and pick one or two to listen to. That should be satisfactory. Until next time!

Cole Millward
S.I.Q. bassist

It's All Coming Together.

Hey S.I.Q. fans!

   A lot has happened since my last entry. The primary reason for my internet silence is that I have been on vacation in Southport, NC, with my family for the past 5 days. Now, however, it is time to once again get you all up to date on the goings-on inside the S.I.Q. camp.
   A week ago, last Tuesday, we performed at Jortsfest in Cornelius, NC. I am not going to sugarcoat it; It was one of the poorest playing experiences we have had as a band. I am not blaming the management, because it seemed like the coordinators of the event were honestly doing their best to make sure it went over well. I am not admitting the fault was ours either, because we still played our setlist near perfectly. It just was not our day.
   When we arrived, we discovered that there was no house sound system; the venue was an old movie theater with the first few rows of seats removed from each individual theater to make room for a makeshift performance space, and the only supplied sound system was a small P.A. to amplify vocals. Amplifiers and drums went un-miced, which made a solid, well-mixed sound all but impossible to achieve. Also, the band that went before us went well over their allotted time with their setlist, and made no effort to quickly load up their gear to make way for ours. Already stressed because of this, Phil and I were further frustrated when we found that the power cords for our amps would not easily reach the power outlet, and James encountered difficulties when he broke a string while warming up (fortunately, Phil had spares of all the strings, and was able to supply a replacement). Probably the greatest inconvenience was during our first song, Stasis, when Paul broke the head on his snare drum. To top all of this off, the temperature inside the venue was sweltering hot, leaving us all sweat-soaked.
   Not our best show, to be sure. I will say that it still benefited us, as Paul has now played a great show with us, and a not-so-great show with us.
   All of our fans who attended still said that we put on a good concert, so perhaps all these peeves are in our own heads. We will be endeavoring even more now to put on nothing but good performances for you, our fans.
   Now for the real news. Are you ready?
   We are reentering the studio this coming Saturday, July 9th, to begin the long process of recording our first, yet untitled, full length studio album. We are planning on a nine track setlist, including two re-recorded songs from our demo. We will be keeping you up to speed on our progress through my blog, our facebook page, and a possible video documentary. Who is excited? Aside from us I mean.
   Along with the album, new merchandise is in the works.
   Speaking of new music, how about I share some with you? I'll start with the one that excites me the most.

A single released from Dream Theater's upcoming album. This song is called "On the Backs of Angels".

Thanks to Phil, this is "And the Maiden Spoke", by Nevermore.

"Rush of Silence", my favorite track from Vanden Plas' The Seraphic Clockwork.

And those are really all I have for today. Keep an eye out for all the upcoming news on our album, and I will post again when I return from vacation. 

Cole Millward

S.I.Q. bassist