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By: Gian Erguiza
After walking a mile out of the parking lot, we were finally at the Anaheim Convention Center. The NAMM show which happens every year is not open to the public. NAMM is a trade show intended to serve its members and realize its mission of unifying, leading and strengthening the global music products industry and increasing participative action in the music making. To really feel the whole presence of NAMM as a whole, you would need approximately 4 days in total to see everything that NAMM has to offer. From the newest amps, guitars, bass, drums, microphones, software, clinics, brass, cases, pedals, and DJ equipment, NAMM is the place to be to see all of the new products about to be unleashed to the public. There was also no shortage of Rock stars from all genres signing autographs from their respected sponsor booths. Overall, my whole daytime adventure at NAMM was filled with nothing but pure joy.
By this time, we needed a break and luckily, some friends of ours had a room at The Hilton, Room 6417. There we recharged and rested our mangled feet and knocked back a few to calm down the nerves. As we were hanging out chillin', Doyle from The Misfits walks in with his wife and kid to also change up and rest as well. If you don't know who Doyle is, you need to definitely take a history lesson in Punk music because he is it, in the flesh. His wife was most charming teaching us her famed 1,2,1,2,3 dance while looking beautiful and being most friendly with us, eventhough we just barely met her that night. Their kid was by far the most charming though, talking up a storm and looking like a future rockstar trashing the room at will. Nice.
After the much needed break, we then proceeded to the star studded “Black Tooth Bash,” A Tribute to Dime. The first band had just finished their set and the party was already in full swing at around 8:15pm. The line outside was extra long of people trying to get in but it’s always good to know the right people, no lines for the frantik staff :). The second set was offered by a member of Black Label Society and he jammed on the guitar playing no other than Dimebag’s greatest riffs. The third set was when the party really started going off. With Scott Ian (Anthrax) on guitar, Paul Gray (Slipknot) on bass, JD (BLS) on lead guitar, Jason Bitner (Shadows Fall) on drums and some guy on vocals ripping it up, sorry guys, a bit intoxicated by this time, went through songs like Mouth for War and Fucking Hostile which really got the crowd riled up. The surprise set of the night was when Vinny Paul (Pantera, Damageplan) along with Tim Owens (ex-Judas Priest, Iced Earth), Scott Ian, and Paul Gray took the stage and jammed out covers like, “Cold Gin” by KISS and “Electric Eye” by Judas Priest. The final band to take the stage was led by none other then Lemmy from Motorhead and a few other select stars to finish off the night. After rubbing shoulders with a few of rock’s heavy weights, and drinking our assess off, we concluded the night and hit the road back home. The whole experience was nothing short of awesome. I am proud to say, “I was part of it.” Through it all, there was still a line wanting to get into the show after everything was said and done. Poor Bastards.
By: Gian Erguiza
I walked in to a Tattoo Shop the other day and there was this kid who wanted to get this tattoo on his neck. The Tattoo artist asks the kid all of the necessary info including his ID, How big does he want it, and if he is ready for the pain. The Tattoo artist then preps all of his instruments, sanitizes, preps the kid, and starts to ink. The art piece that the kid wants is detailed and has lots of shading. Ouch.
Two hours go by and I take my seat right next to him. The kid seems to be doing fine until....He suddenly drops to the floor like a bad habit. Panic ensues. The artists quickly get him on his feet and sit him back down. They ask him all sorts of questions like did he get rest the night before? Did he eat a full meal before getting inked? Did he prepare himself mentally? His eyes seem to be in shock mode and he plainly said “No” to all the questions. Big mistake.
So what went wrong here? Why did the kid end up on the floor shaken and confused? Simple. He didn't follow the four steps that you have to do before you get a tattoo and the tattoo artist didn't ask if he followed the four steps beforehand. You see it's not just about handling the pain, Its how you prepare yourself that makes the inking a bit less Everybody has their own way of preparing themselves beforehand but these four steps are proven tested.
First, you have to get 8 hours sleep. Getting 8 hours sleep helps the nervous system calm down when your threshold is at its fullest. Second, you have to eat a full meal at least an hour before you sit down. You are losing blood therefore you need a substitute like sugar and protein. Third, you cannot have any alcohol or drugs in your system. The alcohol makes the ink rise, since alcohol makes your blood run wild, and drugs just don't help your mental state when it forces you to focus on the pain. Last but not least, get a lot of rest the day before. No matter how much you follow the first three steps, if you don't get enough rest the day before, you will breakdown and it will hurt that much more.
The kid ended up getting fed by the shop with some noodles and crackers with water and finished it up like a trooper. The kid then vowed to follow the steps for the next time since he doesn’t want the same incident occurring. He was pretty shaken even when he left.
So now that you know about the 4 steps of preparing yourself to get tattooed, the only other thing you need to know is....It is going to hurt. It is going to hurt well. It is going to hurt bad. Happy Inking. There is no other way around it!
By: Gian Erguiza
Finding the right sound is a pain in the ass. Whether it be clean tones or distorted madness, it's a task to find the warmth, smoothness, and bite to find the right sound. You can ask any musician and they’ll tell you no different.
There is numerous ways of finding the sound but with a little bit of knowledge, you can surpass the hours of earaches by getting the set up correctly. The setup sometimes takes longer than recording the tracks but is well worth your time. Having the right setup will fully increase the possibilities of getting that rich sound you dream of.
Although explaining the full setup would help, that is a whole other story. We’ll start you off with the basics of having the right microphones to do the task. Having the right Microphones in the right positions are extremely critical in getting the right sound.
I propose you use the Shure SM 57. They are the best sounding and most versatile for the price they are in. The best bang for your buck as they say. There are countless other microphones out there that can get the job done but the Shure SM 57 always gets the job done. Trust your ears.
I've tried in vain for years to see which mic'ing position works best but I've found out that to get the right sound, you have to use 2 microphones to get the full effect. Placing the mic's in the right position can make or break the sound. If you place a mic way too much behind the other one, phasing will have to be involved. I choose to place the mic's right next to each other. I place one mic at a 45 degree angle facing into the cone and the other mic I place slightly to the side of the cone, dead center. Placing the mic slightly to the side of the cone puts less pressure on the mic thus letting all the high warm tones in. The other mic, facing into the cone, which is placed at the 45 degree angle is set to get more bass letting all the highs shoot pass right through it. There are many formulas on how to place mic's but this one works the best.
There are also many different enhancements and procedures especially once the other instruments come into play. Trust your ears and if you want to, model the sound from a favorite guitar player or band of yours to get a feeling of how the sound is supposed to be. Listen closely as every band has their own tones and sound. Duplicating is not recommended but if that is the sound you are looking for, shoot for it.
Use this technique for a better sound and cut out hours of earaches and heartbreak. There is nothing more annoying than trying to get the right sound or tone and having nothing at the end of the day/week. Other than that, using this mic’ing technique gives you more time to focus on your material. This is what you want. Have fun with it and enjoy.
By: Gian Erguiza
Are you aware that there is no known cause for Autism? Did you know that they haven't found a scientific way to prevent or cure Autism? An alarming rate of 1 out of 150 kids born since 2006 have acquired Autism.
1 out of 1000 people in the United States has Autism.
Autism is a group of disorders known as pervasive development disorders. All of these disorders are characterized by varying degrees of problems with communication, social interaction, and atypical, repetitive behaviors.
There is no specific gender or race targeted and there is now approximately 1.5 million people affected with some sort of Autism. Some people have mild autism, which allows them to lead an independent life. But some require lifelong care and supervision.
I was at a housewarming at my Aunts house a few months back and 3 of her friend’s kids is Autistic. All three kids are different ages and all Autistic. For no known reason, the youngest of three had the worst case of Autism. He had this look on his face like he’s angry and confused at the same time and he really didn’t want to play with any other kids. I decided to talk to him and just befriended him. He didn’t want to tell me his name and I was perfectly fine with that.
After talking with him for a while, he wanted to play with the computer and he showed me the website that he loves to go to. It was so fascinating that the website he took us to was a website that tested your intelligence about riddles, problem solving, and puzzles. He quickly grew excited at the sight of the homepage and began to do a series of tests in different areas of intelligence. I was completely floored at what I was witnessing. This freaking kid was a freaking genius! What the hell? He was breezing through tests without fail when I, on the other hand, was busy trying to figure things out on the tests. He didn’t have any problems with any of the tests except for one, which he couldn’t answer at that exact moment and it completely threw him off.
He all of a sudden started sweating, making faces at the computer, breathing hard, and doing a lil bit of a nervous shake, like we all do in shady situations, with complete discontent. I then looked at the computer screen and noticed that you could go ahead even if you didn’t answer the question right so I told him to just go right along and press next question. He listened. The next question was posed. He answers the question right and was completely back to normal after that. It was very interesting to me how he couldn’t figure that out that one simple thing when he was answering all of these questions that a normal 11 yr. Old couldn’t have answered if his life depended on it. He reminded me of that movie “Rainman” with Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. So smart but yet the little things seem to complicate them the most. He then completely just lost focus and went outside and started amusing himself with the other kids. I was left baffled. I finished the test for him with only 2 questions to go and he passed with flying colors. I then went to go see how good he really did and the statistics showed that he did better than most adults. The statistics also showed how most adults couldn’t even get half of the questions right! Go figure.
Autism sounds like a bad nightmare but there is hope. President George W. Bush just signed the S 843, Combating Autism Act, which authorizes $1 billion dollars through 2011 for autism-related research, intervention and early detection. This Act will raise public awareness about Autism and with federal funding support, will help recognize the symptoms of Autism. S 843 will also increase the number of providers that can screen, diagnose and intervene with people about the disorder. Autism Centers with the federal funding will also provide basic and clinical research, which is very critical to knowledge of the disorder, will also be enhanced to support services to families affected by Autism and persons with Autism.
Today, parents, clinicians, and leading scientists are fighting the battle to find a cure to this unknown disorder before it strikes more people. Spread the awareness and lend a helping hand. Autism is no joke. Autism is a serious threat to society.
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