Thought for food, and TZMR November 6th

Hey S.I.Q. fans! (and groupies!)

   The block party this past Saturday was awesome. Liquid awesome. Or more accurately, awesome in the form of delicious barbeque sandwitches. I had three.
   Aside from the food, there was a bouncyhouse for the kids AND the band members. Yes, we each took our turns in there. After 10 seconds of being in there I got rug burn and 5 kids hanging all over me. Also we got to hear the acoustic music of Tattermask and Luna's Lament, as well as the full band sound of our new friends State of Art. And we even did an acoustic set of our own, ending with a never-before-rehearsed-but-carried-off-well acoustic rendition of Stasis. Props to the rest of the band for transfering the part so well (I played my electric 5 string, but clean rather than distorted).
   The one other thing that made the block party memorable for me is that I got a taste of what it is like to be a rock star. No, not the money or endorsement deals. I had a groupie. She got me to sign her demo, got a picture with me, then hung around me the whole night. Felt pretty cool.
   This is the last week to officially buy tickets to the November 6th battle of the bands at Tremont music hall. Be sure to get yours ASAP. If you buy them at the door they are $15, as opposed to the $12 they are if you buy them from one of the band members or one of our close contacts. Yes, we know, the price is a bit high, but when you think about it, considering how many bands are playing, its about a dollar per band. Plus, you will go down in our metaphorical book of people who helped us win this thing.
   Wanna know what I'm listening to lately? I'm always listening to Dream Theater; They are my greatest influence and inspiration. However I have been listening to the two albums of Norwegian prog-metal band Circus Maximus, as well as testing the waters of the music of Threshold, a British prog-metal band. Specifically, I have been really appreciating the sound of keyboards recently. This interest may even effect some of our music in the future. No, I will not be taking up the keyboard, but someone else might...

   Happy headbanging!

(Yes this is me)

Cole Millward

S.I.Q. bassist

It's going to be huge, and YOU are going to be there. Hopefully.

Hey S.I.Q. fans!

   Of course, in the title, I am referring to the giant block party being hosted by none other than us! There will be free food, drinks, and even some live entertainment. We, Luna's Lament, and Tattermask, will be playing our acoustic sets as a promotion for the TZMR records battle of the band at Tremont music hall on November 6th. So why not come out and have a good time?
   In practice, we have begun work on a song of my composition, which I am very excited about. Remember how I said in a previous entry that we can't help but write stuff, even outside of practice? Yeah, I do that a lot, but since we start a lot of song projects in practices, we rarely get around to stuff each of us has written on our own time. See why I'm excited then? Also, it's gonna be another lengthy one, with another technically challenging instrumental in the middle.
   I am going to end this blog with a question. Which do you find to be better: A musician with tremendous technical skill, or a musician with not much in the way of skill, but lots of "soul"? Let me know in a comment!
Once again, thanks for all your support!

Cole Millward
S.I.Q. bassist  

Nothin' but good news here!

Hey S.I.Q. fans!

   We hit a huge career marker two days ago when our song "Broken Pieces" was played on 106.5 The End! It was so cool! I was sitting here at my computer when Ashton called me and said "We're on the radio, tune in to 106.5, I gotta call Phil, bye." My family and I tuned in just in time to catch the solo and the end of the song. Now THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is a good feeling. As an added bonus, I got to hear Tattermask's "Just Listen" two songs after ours. Made my night!
   We are still writing constantly, practicing as often as we can. We hope you will like our newest songs when we're finished with them! They are getting a lot more progressive, and a lot more technically involved. They make me happy :)

   For any of you who have not seen what our guitarist James Nelson can do, here's a video.

Dang he's good...

We hope to see you all at a party that we are holding as a promotion for our performance in the TZMR records November 6th battle of the bands. The Party is on October 23rd at 2036 Winsor Chase Drive, from sunup to sundown. See you there!

Cole Millward

S.I.Q. bassist

Does/can/will time repeat itself?

Hey S.I.Q. fans!

   All of us in the band are getting very excited about the upcoming TZMR battle of the bands at Tremont music hall. The last time we played there was also in a battle, and we won. It was an incredible show, and this one promises to be just as much, if not more so. It's on a Saturday November 6th, so most of you should be able to make it. As a ticket selling event, Ashton is hosting a block party on October 23rd. Bring all your friends and a side dish or two. Hang with us, get an S.I.Q. tshirt or demo if you haven't already, and just have a good time.
   Here's a bit of news in the prog world for you. John Myung, bass player for Dream Theater and my bass idol, won MusicRadar.com's "Greatest Bass Player of All Time" award. In my opinion, it is well deserved. And the guy just keeps getting better! It makes me happy.

Cole Millward
S.I.Q. bassist

Bright lights, big city, and HUGE bass amps.

Hey S.I.Q. fans!
  
    I have some bad news and some good news. That show in Ohio I talked about in my previous entry? Not happening. At least not with us in it. It turns out Phil has a school thing that he can not miss or it will give him a failing grade and possibly cost him his scholarship. So THAT's not going down.
   Instead we have been offered two shows in New York.
   New York.
   .........
   NEW YORK.
   I don't know about you, but my excitement just doubled. The first show, on December 10, is in Long Island, which is the hometown of my favorite band of all time, Dream Theater. The second show is the very next day in Manhattan. This means that I won't have to miss a cruise with my family to do a show! And it means we get to play in New York! So cool...
   I also wanted to share a bit of equipment info in this entry. My current bass amp head is a Peavey Mark VI XP series bass head, made in the 80's, no longer in production. It is capable of pushing 800 watts. It's powerful, even for a bass head, and it gets great tone, so I love it. Nevertheless, as a pasttime, I like to look up other ones and here's what I found:

The Mesa M9 Carbine:

900 watts and LOTS of tonal control. It even has the equalizer in the middle that I like so much!

The Mesa Big Block Titan V-12:

Holy crud. 1200 watts and plenty of options to play with.

And Finally.....
The Bugera BTX 36000 AKA "The Nuke."

3600 watts. Who would ever need that much power? Ever? Most cabs will probably blow out if you turn this bad boy up A quarter of the way. Thats insane.
   Alright, I'm done with my geek-out. Have a nice evening!

Cole Millward
S.I.Q. bassist

Movin' on up!

Hey S.I.Q. fans!
(and as of last night) Hey new S.I.Q. fans!
  
   Well if you haven't heard (which would be incredible, because it's all over facebook), we pulled a victory out of the TZMR records battle of the bands last night. What a night. What a show! Battling us were a couple of our friend bands whom we like very much (The Jupiter Tide, Tattermask), so it was definitely a tough one. The craziest thing about it was that we weren't able sell a whole lot of tickets, it being on a Wednesday night, therefore the only way we could have won was by winning over other bands' fans! And judging from the raucous noise that followed our name during the voting, I'd say we did just that.
   Also, because of our music and performance, TZMR has offered us a headlining show IN OHIO. No, your eyes do not decieve you. Ohio. Playing that show will make us a national act, capable of playing out of state. So stoked!
And so is Corey! XD

Oh gosh I bet he'll hate me for that.
Ah who am I kidding he probably doesn't read these things. Love you man.
   If you have visited the band page, you no doubt have seen how we are moving up in the ratings on 106.5 The End's website. We are (as of right now) number 11, almost in the top 10, and Stasis is number 17 for songs. Very exciting. I've heard from a friend that he heard us on the radio the other night as well. I'd say we are well on our way to achieving recognition on a large scale.
   As my finishing thought, I would like to thank all the bands who we had the pleasure of playing with last night. Forgetting for a moment that it was a battle, it was one heck of a show. I look forward to playing with those guys (and gals) again later.
   And thanks to all you out there who have given us support, whether monetary, vocal, or just headbanging at our shows. We love you all.

Cole Millward
S.I.Q. bassist

Sweat, Blood, and Tears

   Hey S.I.Q. fans!
   That would be sweat from walking in the Mint Hill Madness parade (and subsequently running all the freakin' way back to my truck), blood from all the nosebleeds happening to people I know, and tears from just how much my right big toe hurts right now.
   Now that that's out of the way, I wanted to make a comment on our practices and writing sessions. It's very cool when we're writing music to see how each individual member's influences and style comes out in what they write. For example, stuff that I write has a tendency to be very progressive and usually heavy. Phil's stuff is either slow and melancholy or REALLY heavy (he's our resident metal-head). James's stuff varies a lot, but it's mostly progressive with much virtuosity. Corey hasn't written much yet, but his style challenges any conventional formula of songwriting; he really just goes with what feels right to him. Finally, Ashton doesn't write much of the music, but his lyrics are usually very dark and abstract. He has even told me once that he has a difficult time writing "happy" lyrics. Something that will just come with time and much experimentation I suppose.
   Tomorrow I am playing with the Revolution Youth praise band at Mint Hill Madness from 2-2:45 pm. Technically I'm only playing for half of it, because I'll be trading off with another bass player, a friend of mine who I give unofficial instruction to from time to time. But please, come see us play and have a good time.
   BATTLE OF THE BANDS!!! This Wednesday from 6 to 11 pm! There isn't much time left to get your tickets so be sure to grab those ASAP. We need all the support we can get because we are up against several other very talented bands that evening.
   One final bit of news, we are so close to finishing another song, one primarily being written by Corey. We believe you will like it very much whenever you may get to hear us play it.

Cole Millward
S.I.Q. bassist