10/1/04
OK, so I'll rant when I rant. No more promises of doing it more frequently and such. Though that's always the intention.

So last night we played The Cobalt Cafe with many killer bands. Cerberus, Tchidlress, Wintethrall, and Deception. It's nice when all the bands kick ass, it keeps the vibe up all night with the crowd. I was hoping for a slightly better turn out, but it doesn't matter. First time playing that place. Ana and Ed have played there before though. I laid off my flanger pedal this time because I could hardly reach it. I can see some people reading this now and saying "good". There was hardly any room on the stage. I can't believe we all fit on that thing. If you can call it a fit. So to fill you in for those of you who weren't there. The Cobalt Cafe is a decent sized room with a small stage. It has a minimal PA that only does vocals and come fully equipped with a sound guy that disappears. Yep, one of those places. Won't be adverse to playing there again. It's a take it for what it is type place. So we sounded pretty much how we do when we rehearse. Only this time we were in a room that was bigger than our rehearsal space. We played for the 2nd time an At The Gates cover, "World Of Lies". It's a fun song to do. But Winterthrall covered a Carcass song off Heartwork. DAMN IT!!!!!. I've been wanting to do that for a while. I would have felt better if they didn't do a good job of it. haha.

We've been basically been preparing for the show for the past weeks. I'm not sure exactly what approach were going to take when it comes to what to work on next. I guess we'll work that at tomorrow night at rehearsal. We do have another show in 4 weeks at The Whisky. I don't think were going to spend 4 weeks preparing for it. We will certainly keep you posted. If you would truly like to be filled in, be sure to sing up for the Artisan news letter on the front page of the web site. Don't worry, we don't give emails away or any silly stuff like that.

PLAY THAT HEVY MUSIC ARTISAN BOY
Swallow The Sun - The Morning Never came
Amorphis - Far From The Sun
Insomnium - Since The Day It All Came Down
Monstrosity - In Dark Purity
Megadeth - Many of the remix/remasters
Amorphis - Elegy



07/12/04

I guess you could consider this more of a journal than a rant. This is a overview of things that went on with the last show in my eyes. Warning, lots of technical jargon in this one.

First off, there are many honest opinions in here. I would be lying if I said the show went off 100% killer and was flawless. It was a good show though. The bumps and bruises you may not hear. But these are my thoughts damn it!

From the moment we accepted this show, many things have been a big squeeze output-wise. There were many elements not in our favor. One being that Ed would have to compose many solos in a matter of weeks. Another being that Ana was out for a week and a half on business and illness. So in many ways, the odds weren't great. In a nutshell the show came out how I thought it would. However we progressed, showed. And whatever didn't get straightened out enough came out as well.

So lets talk about the last 2 weeks before the gig. On top of all the challenges listed above, another challenge was added. We were asked to play quite a long set. We were prepared to play 35-40 minutes. So we started breaking out the Death cover "Pull The Plug". Ed pretty much learned and jammed the song minus one part I didn't know on guitar in one night. Then we just went over the songs we were going to play in addition to some problem spots. It's a bummer to work on 3 legs as a band, but there's benefits. When one person's missing, it's always interesting to hear how the band stands with the other members alone. In all directions this has happened with Artisan. It makes you learn a lot about the people you play with.

Four full rehearsals to go. I believe it was then, Ana's amp crapped out. She borrowed Ed's spare Fender and that's how we jammed for the next few rehearsals. It's the worst feeling when your stuff doesn't work. Of course this didn't help as we were planning on getting the overall band sound more squared away. She borrowed our former guitarist's, Perry Grayson Boogie amp for the rehearsal the night before the show, and got her amp back the next day. Show Day.

Now on to bass. Where can I start? I have disliked my sound for quite a long time and have not been able to afford to replace my amp. So for the past while, I've been using the Sans Amp Bass Driver, DI to get a bit more out of my tone. I have an Eden 410XLT cab which rules. No complaints there. Now, lessons are learned with every show. This one had more than usual. I have one main bass. An Ibanez SR1206. I love this bass very much. It's my one instrument that your body grows into after many years of playing. Now the plan was to restring that bass the night before the last rehearsal to break in the strings properly for the gig. I come home from work that day on a mission. 45 minutes to eat and restring a 6-string bass. I didn't do so well, but came close. I bring the bass to the jam room. That night rehearsal started late. Which is a bit stressful seeing it's the night before the gig. We had to pick up that replacement amp for Ana. Any how, we arrive to the jam room, I set up my gear ready for some nice fresh strings and......... and....... and.... .. bypass my pedals and...... .and.... and........ FUCK. My bass isn't working. The night before I changed the 9V in the electronics compartment and I can only suspect that something happened in there. And so it was. A wire to the battery was broken. So there I am. Ana's got a Boogie amp in her hands at least and it's the night before the show. Now I could have been more stressed but it was a simple issue and Ed offered to fix it the next day. A perk of being in a band with Ed. But to break out a 4 string I kept at the studio, the day before a show. ... May I bitch about how complicated a 4 string is when you play 6? Funny huh? Actually I practice some of the songs on 4 at times so I knew how to transpose some of my parts. Some I didn't or just really couldn't. All of that while I was singing and playing. There were some "Oh Shit" moments for sure. Another thing was I play mainly 4 string when I teach, but I don't play or show off that much when I teach. So my hand got kinda fatigued with the wider spacing on the 4-string. One thing I must say, that bass is my best sounding bass. I've had it for 12 years I think. It's an Ibanez SR1500. The string separation is better than any of my basses. It had way more attack, but it was saturated and only came out in subtle amounts. A good thing. So a big lesson learned was I may be sick of my amp, but a great sounding bass is more important than a great sounding amp. Damn, and I always thought it was in my hands. hahah. The rehearsal was OK. The previous 2 were better, which is kinda scary seeing it's the last one before the gig. I know that didn't really mean we'd play that way at the show though.

Now about the show. We got to the bar/club and it was my first time there. I didn't know what to expect except it was small enough that the PA would only be supporting vocals. 3 other bands played and 2 of them had short notice new members. So I believe that is why I heard lots of metal covers that night. It was cool though. The big question for me that night was... "Hey Ed, where are we going to fit all our gear?" So we started pondering. I don't think decisions were actually made until we started loading on the stage. We were the only band with racks. One band, the singer was on the floor in front of the stage. When we played, only Justin the drummer was on the stage.

There was a covered patio and we loaded all our gear in there. In typical bar fashion, all the drums were set up in front outside of the bar. Brings back the days of Mancini's in the Valley. You'd go on and your hands would be cold from watching your gear outside. I had expressed to Justin that night that I have not played a place so small since '96. It wasn't tiny mind you. Just the stage was limited in space. Ed, Ana, and I broke out our instruments on that outdoor patio and started warming up. I did it off and on. Running around talking to a few people, and going into a car to sing for a bit. Finally it was time to get on stage. Loading all your gear on stage is interesting in that by the time you get it all done, your hands don't feel so agile any more for playing an instrument. I believe the stage set up went as so. Justin on the stage. Ed, and Ana got their racks and guitar cabs on the stage. I had my rack on the stage with my Eden on top of it. I was trying to avoid putting my rack behind my cab as I wouldn't be able to see my tuner. Had to do that a few times at Paladino's. Anyhow, I had a new pedal board get up and I thought I had it squared away, but it took me too long to get everything hooked up to my rack in my opinion. I'll have to re-examine how I'll approach that next time.

So finally we are set up and the mics are feeding back badly. Now this is probably our fault as Ana and I decided we would bring our own mic's. Hey, I'm weird like that. In a way it's a germ thing, but mainly it's about knowing the dynamics of your own mic. So the house appropriately provided Sure SM58's, but we had Beta 58's. Which are way hotter. So feedback was at a constant. I would turn my head to talk to Justin and I know the whole bar was hearing it. Paul, the promoter finally pin-pointed the feedback after a few songs. I admit, changing the gear that is set up a particular way all night is kinda jackass of me.

After the very kinda Ron V. introduces us, we kick off our set with "We All Bleed. My bass sounded so different than I was used to, I was kinda shocked. In fact, I wonder if I was even singing the right words to the song, I was so embarrased/annoyed with my sound. Another thing I noticed was the mic was kinda low and a few inches too far from where I'd like it. So I felt like Max Cavalera from Sepultura through that song. Hunched over and screaming some vocals out.

I'll just let it all out about my bass tone and volume here. First off, my knobs on my bass are set up in a very odd fashion. Because the electronics cavity is quite shallow, or supposedly the last pre-amp I had installed was put in with a very different set up. One thing was fresh strings. My ears weren't prepared for that. Another thing was the room. The last thing was my knobs. For a while I think I had the bridge pick up at full for a while and my volume in the middle. It was very nasal like. After each song, I turned the level down on my Sans Amp, By the 4th song, it was acceptable from what I could hear. But what do I know? I play with ear plugs. I asked the crowd how the volumes between the instruments were. I got one response and that was from Ron who replied.. "Very loud, but very good". I can deal with that. The crowd wasn't huge. We went on just before 12:30a.m.

Now for performance. You can speculate into the ground what it will sound like. Even knowing what we did about the PA and club set up. We thought it wouldn't be much different from rehearsal sounds seeing there wasn't any PA except for vocals. It was actually a bit harder. It was a good challenge though. Justin told me he couldn't hear shit and was just playing along with the songs in his head. That's pretty impressive. We played relatively well and pretty much how I expected. I wish we could have had a bit more energy. It was hard. 10 months since the last gig. Also, there really wasn't any room to move around. I had my pedal board at my toes and the stage against my heel. I was waiting the whole set to fall forward or backward.

If I recall, "We All Bleed" went over pretty well. I'm not sure it was the best choice for an opener now. I know we played it pretty well. I think my vocals were pretty good for that song. One thing I was thankful of was the time I had to warm up bass. I was sure my right hand would cramp for that one the first 30 seconds. Second, we played a song for the first time, "I Own The Silence". A different song for us. This may sound funny to some, but it is our first song with only one tempo in it. It's got some different stuff in it. I'm not sure how the vocals came out because I was pretty self conscious about them. After that, "The Sickness". That song we played OK. It's a hard song to pull off as a band and you know when you've done it right. The vocals could have been better. I worked quite a bit extra the past few weeks and I was hoping it would shine there. The people who were there to see us dug it though. We gave that song away as a sampler, so people knew that tune a bit better than most. Next up was "The Stain Of Life". I actually think we played it slightly better than we had at rehearsals. I did fudge my bass tapping/vocal thing a bit. Live I have always wondered when I was going to bite it with that section. I've been very lucky, or better practiced up until then. Artisan plays metal that goes through many moods and speeds. Sometimes it's hard for crowds to get into songs unless they know them or have been to show before. I love "The Stain Of Life", but it is 7 minutes long and the crowd was hearing classic metal covers with some good balls out straight thrash most of the night. We then proceeded with "World Of Lies" a cover by At The Gates. See? We broke out a few covers too? When I asked the crowd if they have heard of At The Gates, one person responded. Oopps. So I replied with, "Well, we're going to expose them to you." The song has a good energy so I think people enjoyed. We went on to "Goodbye". I can't remember why now, but something freaked me out about my bass and I botched the bass/vocal thing in the very beginning. OH I know... It was when I discovered that I was playing on my bridge pick up most of the time. YAY!!! We got our second best response for that song. I think that is the song we play the best as a whole. Even though it's got some twists and turns like the rest of the tunes, I believe we play it with some confidence, and people can tell. We then inserted a Death cover, "Pull The Plug". This time, 5 people have heard of Death. I'm thinking that most of the people in there were mainstream metal listeners only. Not important though. The Death cover went over best, even though we came closest to train wrecking with that song. We closed the set with "Vindication Mine". Still a new song to many people. It went over well. We played it well, and the crowd responded well. In my opinion a good opener. We've used it as on for our previous two shows I believe. Regardless, it's good to experiment and see what works when it comes to constructing a set.

Artisan has played a limited amount of shows. This show was promising, but not our best. I was happy to be playing with Ed again. I was just plain happy to be playing metal. I'm hoping we'll be able to have a bit more energy which I know we've had in the past. Good energy makes the musical bumps and bruises a lot more bearable. It was a good show though. I'm glad we did it. Makes me look forward to doing another show and knowing it will be better. Much appreciation to our friends who came and those who stayed late to check us out for the first time. Hope this rant/journal, ties you over till next time.



Ranting 2003 Away

Hello once again, friends of metal. Well, this is what could be but what only a few more years will tell, my Annual End of The Year Rant. I don't think I ranted more than a few times this year. I was just reading up on my past rants. In a way, this year resembled last year. In some ways that's a disappointing thought. On other levels, I feel good about where Artisan is. We once again, had a lot of great moments and a few total disappointments. But even those weren't so bad once we got through them. You'll see what I mean as you read on.

Our Year started out with auditioning drummer Justin Bouchee in January. Justin came down for a weekend from Arizona. We played Artisan songs, we hung, we jammed new ideas, and a few days later, we asked him in. Justin moved to L.A. in February and started to learn the tunes in depth. Only a few months later, we played our first gig with him at the L.A. Gates Of Metal Festival. We had a great response about Justin and the overall band performance. We were very pleased and had a great time, playing and being able to just hear and hang with a bunch of metal bands and metalheads all day. We also go to introduce two new Artisan songs. "Vindication Mine" and "We All Bleed".

A whole other life or lack of life was blown upon Artisan just a day after the Gates Of Metal show. Guitarist Perry Grayson shared with me his intention to leave Artisan to focus on his other musical project Falcon. Now, if there were any huge disappointment in the whole career thus far in Artisan, this would be it. I've been friends with Perry since '95 and from week one, we've always been jamming and making metal together, despite our other bands. It was something we always did very easily together. A lot of fear was struck in me and still is honestly, not having Perry to write with any more. Not downing who's left in the band mind you, just that I knew how to work with Perry, and I'm guessing he knew how to work with me, we got a lot of music done together and as a whole band that I really enjoy playing and listening to. So feelings that came with Perry's leaving were distress, fear, and wonder. Never sadness. I guess I was feeling a VERY RARE mature feeling about Perry leaving. Knowing that it was now more of Perry's calling and desire to give all his musical love to Falcon, I knew this parting would be rare and not filled with vicious complaints that lead to a splitting. Though Perry and I have not jammed since his final exit of Artisan, I know we'll jam again. Like I say, there's always something to do. Here's an example of a true metal bro. Perry in almost the same breath as telling me he was departing from Artisan expressed to me his concern about not wanting to leave the band high and dry. He knew we had a few show offers on our plate and we had just finally gotten back out to playing live again. He loved Artisan as much as us, staying or not. So not to halt the momentum of the band right in it's tracks, Perry offered to stay on for a while longer. Only days later when Artisan got an offer to play at The Whisky with Samael, Strapping Young Lad, and Cathedral, we were able jump on it. A great farewell show for Perry in fact seeing I knew he'd love to check out Cathedral once more. Also in all the years of Perry's playing, he never got to play the Whisky. His one chance screwed him out of playing there by a typical political music industry story. There were a few months in between the Gates Of Metal show and the Samael show, so Perry took time off and Justin, Ana, and I went to work on new songs. A few weeks before the show, Perry caught up with us and we started rehearsing. The show came and it was a really great day on many levels. We keep so busy rehearsing 3 times a week, we don't always get to hang all together as a band outside of rehearsals. I believe that the show at The Whisky in September was the best Artisan show on all levels. There was a good response and we made lots of new friends that night. On a professional level, that night was crazy as hell when it came to the setting up of bands on and off the stage, set times, and so on. We got on stage and off very quickly thanks to the help of Shivaji, Lewis, and Istvan. Got to play our full set. For a moment there, I thought we were going to get screwed on that. Also a side note: I thought vocally, it was my best show so far. I felt pretty strong. The show came and went, Perry wasted no time in making plans to record a full length Falcon album which he has thus far, minus some mixing. It was time for Artisan to find a replacement for Perry, a new metal brother.

Believe it or not, while preparing for the Samael show, we were also still working on wrapping up our current demo. Yes, even just 4 songs can take a long ass time to record. Mainly scheduling reasons that kept it slow. Finally towards the end of the year the recording was mastered.

A very scary thought about adding a new guitarist to a band and hoping for this person to be a songwriter as well, is knowing that your sound is going to change somewhat. Up until then, the sound of Artisan had been what it's been. At least hoping to find someone who would understand what we are trying to do, uphold the same philosophies and tastes as us is tough. Not to mention a few other band requirements that are hard to fill. We auditioned a few cool people. To spare you the details, we decided on guitarist Ed Laing. Ed and I have a playing history that goes way back to high school. Perry and I did a project with Ed, and even Ana's played with Ed some. So there's already an element of a working relationship with him. Were looking forward to getting the ball rolling. I can't wait to play live again.

And here we are now, this very moment you are reading. I know what Artisan is doing, but do you know what youÕre doing?

PLANS FOR 2004. . . they are only plans.

While we were in the process of auditioning guitarists, I got really frustrated goal wise. We had written new tunes which is a good thing. But we didn't want to take them too far before we had a new head in the band. We needed a goal. So it was decided that we would focus on making our next demo. Which was perfect, because making a demo is filled with many little goals. So we have been preparing, practicing, and plotting. PPP! Now that we have a new guitarist in the band, none of us could tell you when we'll start the demo. First part of the year is the hope. We'll wanna get Ed all caught up. One goal is to not have it take over a year to put out this time. It's a good goal!

I really don't see the end of a year as monumental. When the clock strikes 12, I'm still the same person, left with the same problems, challenges and goals. I don't feel any nostalgia from the new year to change things, or try any harder. I do hope everyone over the course of their lives gets what they want, minus a few people of course. If you stop working at it, it'll never happen. Learn and find a way to enjoy the quest.

Now, here's my play list of what I've been spinning the most the past 12 months. This list isn't sensitive to just 2003 releases.

Anathema - Alternative 4
My Dying Bride - Like Gods Of The Sun
My Dying Bride - The Light At The End Of The World
Lamb Of God - As The Palaces Burn
Amorphis - Far From The Sun
Kreator - Live Kreation
Opeth - Deliverance
Opeth - Damnation
Hypocrisy - Hypocrisy
Paradise Lost - Draconian Times
Agalloch - The Mantle
Godgory - Way Beyond
Monstrosity - Rise To Power
Monstrosity - Millennium
Soilwork - Natural Born Chaos (mainly in Justin's Van)




10/21/03

Greetings bastard children of heavy metal,

Look, I speak!!!!!!. Yeah the longest time between rants ever. What you gonna do about it huh? Stop checking to see if I ranted recently or not? Why are you here then?

Ok now that we've got that out of the way.... So much has happened with Artisan. First off, we played 2 shows that we all really enjoyed. One being an all day festival called, The L.A. Gates Of Metal. The show featured a slew of local heavy bands of all shapes, forms, and ages. What size are those kick drums Leatherwolf... 26"? Also we had the honor of playing The Whiksy with Samael, Strapping Young Lad, and Cathedral. We lost guitarist Perry Grayson, which was a big bummer. Perry was cool enough to stay on and help us get our metal on at The Whisky last month. The show was pretty darn good in my thoughts at least. Lots of other things have happened as well. We mastered the demo finally, so now we just need to press it. I can't say when as we kinda took a big $ hit on our last show. Also, it's hard pressing up a demo when you are only splitting it 3 ways now instead of 4 with a full line up. We did press up a batch of shirts. Go to the merch page and check them out, there's even girly shirts. They look fuckin cool. We are selling them quite cheap. Mainly, Artisan has been spending time writing new tunes, and searching for a guitarist.

As for myself and myself alone, I've just been working and spending a few evenings here and there writing at home. Dropping ideas on the 'puter and seeing if shit floats as they say. Some parts have been used for new Artisan material. Then, after listening to some of it after I lay it down on CD, I wouldn't use it for a Nirvana revival album. That's how it goes though.

You may ask (or may not), why I hadn't ranted in a long ass time. If you have survived this rant, you may realize, I knew my next one was going to be quite boring. Sorry, you read it not me. I just wrote the thing.

My Ears, Pierced From Within (Now Playing)

Suffocation - Pierced From Within
Monstrosity - Rise To Power
Amorphis - "Far From The Sun
My Dying Bride - The Angel and The Dark River
Kreator - Live Kreation
Lamb Of God - As The Palaces Burn



6/2/03
It's been a long while since I've left a rant. Damn, I always promise not to do that. I think about it, and time passes. Then before I know it, too much time passes. Well,...here's what's been going on in the world of Artisan and a bit about what I've been up to as well.

Artisan entered Utopia studios on two occasions this past month to finish mixing 3 of 4 songs that will be included on our up and coming demo. One more song to mix and then we master. We are most anxious to get this stuff out there as we have been working on it for a very long time as most of you know. Also, we have been rehearsing established and new material and looking for shows. YES FOLKS, you may actually see Artisan in the year 2003 play some fucking metal. Also be on the look out for Artisan logo shirts.

As for me, I've gone to a few shows. The first was Meshuggah with Strapping Young Lad. SYL ruled as usual, and it's always killer to see Gene rip it up on drums. Meshuggah was very fucking good. I wasn't so into the 8 string guitar songs though. They were tuned really low, but it didn't constitute heavy to me. When they got their 7 strings out tuned a half step down, I was diggin it. Also I went to that Blackest of all Black festival or whatever it was called a few weeks ago at Universal Amphitheater with Danzig, Behemoth, Nile, Opeth, Lacuna Coil, and Superjoint Ritual. The drummer from Behemoth was a machine. Opeth was rad but only played 3 songs. At least they were long. Danzing was pretty cool to see, especially with Tommy Victor. Then, just this week I went to the Cat Club and saw Agalloch from Portland, Oregon and Virgin Black from Australia. I missed Antimatter though. It was an early show and even showing up around 7:30, the action was over by 10pm. Agalloch was really good, I had only heard one song of them prior, I bought their newest album Mantle and I really dig it. It's atmospheric and kinda folky. Virgin Black was pretty cool. They had a female shredder just like Artisan. They were semi gothic metal in my opinion and had some really good 3 part vocal harmonies live. I'm glad there's been some metal to be had. I know I missed so many other shows. It's a good thing when there's so much metal to check out, you have to pick and choose.

Anyhow, thanks for listening.

One ear is good enough to metalize!

My Dying Bride - The Light At The End Of The World
Opeth - Damnation
Old Man's Child - In Defiance of Existence
Rush - Hold Your Fire
Artisan - goin over those damn demos
Agalloch Mantle




2/11/03
Hello once again Friends of Artisan,

Well, a lot has been going on since the last rant. First off, as you know by now we are no longer drummerless. We've been recently joined by drummer Justin Bouchee from Tuscon, AZ. Justin is a great pro drummer and fits into the Artisan fold very well on all levels as we are learning. We look forward to getting back out there and doing some shows as soon as we all feel that we have properly gelled. I know also Justin is quite excited to get out there and get his metal on. Be on the lookout for "Justin Rants". To also learn more about him, his profile has been posted. Also in the Artisan world, we continue to move forward with the demo. We are now in the mixing stages, a few more steps to go. We attended 2 very cool shows this last week and learned that there is still a large interest and support for the Artisan recordings. I want to thank all our friends and supporters for having a sense of humor and patience in waiting for our demo. We are just as excited to get it out there. I am equally excited to continue with some new music. One song which we did a 4-track demo of for reference, "We All Bleed".

Last week was a good week for shows. Opeth, and Testament. Both bands kicked my ass and I was stoked to see them in addition to Halford at the Testament show. I could go on and on about both shows but I won't. It was just good to see both shows, they filled in metal fix on many levels. It was also good to see friends I hadn't seen in a while.

For those of you that live in the Los Angeles area, I'd like to take this moment to do a shameless plug. Any of you looking for bass instruction, feel free to contact me. Any other correspondence feel free to email me at mike@artisanmetal.com I teach not only metal but other styles, theory, technique, soloing, and so on. 4, 5, or 6 string.

Well, like promised, I didn't take as freaking long to rant this time.

Who needs earplugs when you have a crusty bloody ear!!!!!

Sentenced - Crimson
Jaco Pastoruis - Invitation
Opeth - Still Life
Monstrosity - Millennium
Obituary - Slowly We Rot
Green Carnation - Light of Day, Day of Darkness



12/13/02
The year is ending fast and we have come across many odd moments this year (or at least I have). Once again, important people have died, metal has lived, and I've tried my hardest to do my part. Also it dawned on me today after being in a random bad mood that December 13th is the one year anniversary of the loss of our metal brother Chuck Schuldiner. (Insert all common sentiments here). I hate immortalizing someone publicly. Especially when Chuck's music would have, and has stood up whether he died or didn't. I still listen to his music constantly and love every moment like it's the first time. Over the past year Artisan attained a drummer, lost a drummer, played 4 gigs, started work on a demo, and wrote some as well. Doesn't sound like too much for 12 months I know. In some areas it isn't at all. In some it is. Depends on how hard you work and also what you are working with. I couldn't even start to forecast what Artisan will bring in the next year. This is the only thing I can predict: For myself, I am still very driven and that has never seemed to go away. I always hear metal in my head. I'm always very excited to get back on stage and do what I need to do. It seems Artisan won't run out of material to work on any time soon. Once a drummer is locked down, I look forward to creatively blowing up as a band and really exploring how to continue to make our own version of metal.

I want to quickly thank all the supporters and enthusiasts of Artisan over the past year and beyond. Some have been to all the shows. Some have been consistently asking how the band is doing. I know I thank people for their support, but inside I don't feel like it's enough. So thank you once again for everything. I feel like all the shows we played were very low stress because of the support of friends and metalheads all around us. It helped us get the metal out that much more.

So I bought the most recent issue of Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles magazine and there's all the end of the year play lists and such, albums, and shows. I think I did something similar last year. I think.... oh well. I'm going to do it now. Wish everyone the heaviest new year. I enjoyed making a bit of noise this year as a member of Artisan, I hope to make at least 10 times that next year. Plus, I promise to break my on stage record of saying "FUCK" in one show. Yeah, I'm highly intelligent.

- Mike

These albums are in no particular order and have nothing to do with coming out this year necessarily, just what I've found myself listening to quite a bit.

Hate - Cain's Way
Anathema - Judgement
Hypocrisy - Hypocrisy
Soilwork - Natural Born Chaos
Pink Floyd - Echos (yeah I know it's a best of , but shit.. that's why they call it a "best of..")
Carcass - Necroticism: Discanting the Inselubrious
Sentenced - The Cold White Light
Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind
Arch Enemy - Wages of Sin
Opeth - Blackwater Park
Opeth - Deliverance
Iced Earth - Dark (fucking) Saga
Monstrosity - Millennium
Rise - Divine Aeturnum
Amorphis - Tales From The Thousand Lakes
Paradise Lost - Draconian Times
Kreator - Extrememe Aggressions
Death - Symbolic
Iron Maiden - Rock In Rio
Metallica - Ride The Lightning

Once again like all my lists, I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out.

KILLER SHOWS

I didn't go to as many shows this year as 2002 but still there was some good ones.

- Iced Earth and In Flames @ The Palace (missed most of Jag Panzer, Fucking Laurel Canyon!)
- Arch Enemy @ The Troubadour (That show had such an overall cool vibe)
- Hypocrisy and Soilwork @ The Showcase Theater (I have to thank Kyle for taking me. If I missed that show I'd go on through life feeling like something was always missing.)
- Kreator and Destruction @ The Key Club (I was so fucking happy to finally see Kreator)
- Most Interesting show of the year. Flotsam & Jetsam@Paladino's. w/James Rivera (Fuck did I just give him name recognition?) Interesting show.

I hadn't been to as many local shows either this year, but I had a good time seeing Rise a few times, Prototype, Forewarned, Epicedium, Noctuary, and The Iron Maidens.



Belated rant from sometime in November...

Hello Friends,

It has been a long while since I have ranted. I'm sittin here listening to Metallica's "..And Justice For All". Sucks that I only listen to it only about once a year. I have so many damn CD's sometimes it takes me a while to come across one that I hadn't come across in a while. Then of course the timing has to be right when I'm in the mood to listen to it. Otherwise, it will just get lost in the mix of my collection until the next time I happen upon it. I can remember when i thought this album was amazing sounding. Now I listen to it and say, yes you can have a heavy mix for guitars and bass in the mix. Every year that becomes more apparent with albums like. In Flames "Clayman" and Soilwork "Natural Born Chaos". ... and that's just talking bumpin bass too. Wow you just read through one of my babble fests. Poor you. On to other things.

We have continued to work towards recording our up and coming demo. Sounding pretty good so far. Vocals laid down for only one song so far but we are pleased overall. I'm looking forward to getting it all done so we can get back to work on new songs and such. There's a lot on our plate material wise just waiting to be worked on. Also of course, DRUMMER DRUMMER DRUMMER. What the hell happened with Matt? I'm not fucking telling you, now stop asking. I'll tell you what is going to happen though. Artisan is going to find a kick ass drummer, move on, release a demo (finally), play out, and start movin. Matt is going to find a killer band or whatever he wants to do. Hopefully that's the way it works out for everyone. Time-wise, we've been working on vocals seeing we are in the vocal phase of recording. Also we have started to lay down some guitars on the 4-track for the last few songs we worked on with Matt, Vindication Mine which we played at our last show, and Rip Through You. Both songs are different in contrast and I look forward to working on them more and laying my bass contributions down on the 4-track so I can kill the songs in my own way.

Well, I believe that is all I have to report for now. I'll not take as long between rants this next time. Remember friends. Momentum, momentum, momentum, metal, metal, metal

Hear Them Calling Meeeeee..!!!!

Metallica - "...And Justice For All"
AC/DC - "Let There Be Rock" Soundtrack
Callenish Circle - "Flesh-Power-Dominion"
Rush - "Hemispheres"
Damn The Machine - "S/T"
Flotsam & Jetsam - "Cuatro"
Monstrosity - "In Dark Purity"



9/23/02
(very belated!) Hello friends of Artisan. The past while overall has been a kinda odd and disjointed feeling. I'm going to share a bit about my self here which I normally am against cause I really only would like to keep my correspondence ARTISAN related, but this relates.

I don't have the typical day job as you would say, where you work from 9-5, 40 hours a week and have a boss. I'm my own boss. I teach bass guitar privately out of a store 5 days a week for only hours at a time. Though I feel my hard work as an individual player, I feel I have earned this job. There's different types of teachers. There's a few who have done the whole original band thing and are trying their hand now at money making only gigs where they get hired to do what someone else wants. I spent a while doing that and it was good fun, but it wasn't expressive enough in relation to me. There are a few teachers who take my route and are trying to get their own music out as a band or solo artist. So I am always in bass player mode really. I am always playing at least 5 days a week for work, and then some for ARTISAN rehearsal, then at home in whatever amounts I see fit. There's a lot I do with my down time when a student doesn't show or I have a gap in my schedule for one reason or another. Part of the time I work on reading music or I borrow a book from the store and try to get a few new tricks up my sleeve pertaining to another style. Much of the time as well, I jam out with CHIP (the drum machine) and play ARTISAN songs or spend time creating ideas to apply to ARTISAN.

The past few months have been very chaotic for ARTISAN, with personal situations, along with well deserved vacations and such, our work ethic as a whole has been a bit erratic. Now as things wind down and we are soon to get back into hard core work mode I look back on how lost I felt without the metal in my life 3 times a week. I could jam with CHIP all I wanted, but it just didn't make for what I would call METAL. When I wake up in the morning I sometimes find myself muttering the words "metal, metal, metal.." as I get out of bed and turn on my stereo ready to hear something heavy. I bring up my work situation because I feel like my head is always in bass player mode. I have the pleasure of not worrying about thoughts of deadlines or dealing with some jack ass of a boss. Though I do have a few things to worry about as my own boss, they are light in comparison. I am lucky enough to say I live as a musician. I consider myself a metal bass player, not a bass player. I can play and have played many other styles. When I play though, I'm thinking metal. I use metal as lessons for my students because it contains so many physical and mental elements that it can benefit any player. I can tell you from both sides of the spectrum, it's hard to keep up the productivity at times when you have work responsibilities and you want to put in the hard core time any band needs to be musically and publicly productive. So like I said, there hadn't been many full rehearsals, but here's what's been up the past few months.

I recorded my bass parts towards our demo that we have been working on. We did do some jamming to help Ana stay nice and tight on the songs we were recording. Then she went in 2 weeks after and recorded her rhythm portions of the demo. I've done some jamming and writing with Perry, on a new song that we've been developing over the past months gradually, "The Violent Calm". Ana and Matt are now involved in it as well. It's great to work and feel it come together more and more. I jammed with Matt on a few new ideas. Also one night Perry and I and then Matt and I went into our rehearsal studio, minus lighting (don't ask) and helped me comb over my vocal parts for "The Sickness". In addition, we had spent time tightening up a new tune called "Rip Through You". Every song thus far has elements that makes them feel different from the others to play, which is great!

Sometimes, time against you, and when you try to steal a little back for the glory of gettin your metal jones on, it can come back and kick you in the ass 10 fold. It's all worth it. Everyone thus far has worked so hard and I'm so pleased on that matter. I know the demo is going to turn out ass kicking because, even if we don't get paid for it, we all live through our instruments, and HEAVY FUCKING METAL!!!

CRACK KILLS..my jewel cases

Geddy Lee - "My Favorite Headache"
Memory Garden - "Merage"
Monstrosity - "Millennium"
Anathema - "A Fine Day To Exit"
Steel Prophet - "Book of the Dead"
In Flames - "Colony"

Books: "A Saucer Full of Secrets" Pink Floyd Bio - Nicolas Schaffner
"Pop Goes the Weasel" by James Patterson

Videos- Rush - "Exit Stage Left"
The Doors - movie

 

8/27/02

Hello again friends,

Well it's been a busy time and a sad time as well. Some personal downers for the band over the past week. Things will bounce back though I know. Tonight we had our first full rehearsal in a while and it was fun. We were pretty tight for the first time in a few weeks. Some new stuff was played and it's sounding good. We also are jamming out 4 songs that Ana and Perry are preparing to lay down their portions for our recording. I just yesterday laid down my bass and had a good time hanging out and playing some metal on the mighty Roland recorder. Poquito Mas was consumed once again. I've officially switched from Gatorade to Smurfy Blue Powerade. It's chugable! Matt caught up with Perry, Vince and myself at the studio when I was about done with my tracking and we all loaded our stuff back into our jam room and proceeded to Del Taco. I ordered food and went to wash my hands, only to come back and find Matt was eating my food. "Thanks for the taco, bitch." By the way, the drums a month later coming back to them, sound killer still. Always a good thing. Looking forward to wrapping up the demo but I know it may take a while. For now, no shows scheduled. I'm looking forward to continuing to work on new stuff. New tentative song titles, "Rip Through You," and "The Violent Calm." We have so much material on our plate just waiting to be developed. Ok well enough ranting for now. Till next time folks....

Sadus - "Elements of Anger"
Ozzy Osbourne - "Tribute"
Vader - "Litany"
Amorphis - "Tuonela"
Exodus - "Good Friendly Violent Fun"
Iron Maiden - "Killers"



8/13/02
Thanks to all who attended our show this past Saturday Aug, 10th at Paladino's with Engine. It was a fun night. Forewarned was killer and we made some new friends which is always cool. Now we are going to get back to recording and writing. Looking forward to all of it. Thanks to all who gave us feedback on the previous show with Nile and Arch Enemy at The Key Club.

I am metal....sit and spin!!!

Rush - Hemispheres
Gardenian - Soulburner
Morbid Angel - Domination
Cryptopsy - And Then You'll Beg
Iron Maiden - Killers
Death - Individual Thought Patterns



7/26/02
Hello friends. I want to give out a bit fuck yeah to all the ARTISAN supporters and local metalheads who contacted ARTISAN for the hook up on ticket purchases towards the Nile/Arch Enemy/Hate Eternal/Origin show. It was really great to see this enthusiam for ARTISAN and metal. The show was great. The place was packed and the music was heavy. All great elements. We had a really good time and all the bands that were touring were very cool, which is always nice. Look out for pics coming up (of Perry, Matt, and Myself with Mike Amott \m/ ). I really had a good time and I'm glad we had a chance to get the metal out. The pit was pretty damn cool when we played "Pull The Plug" We blew through nearly 1,000 stickers. The night overall was a sucess.

Next order of metal. We have the Engine show at Paladino's on Saturday August 10th. All the details are at the main page. We are looking forward to probably getting at least one new tune out for the show. I'm expecting a modest turn out due to the Dream Theater show the same night, but if you aren't going to see Dream Theater and you are 21 or over, you have no lame excuses. This is an ARTISAN show on a Saturday. Our first Saturday show. I'll piss on your shoes if you give me some lame complaint, you know who you are!!!! ARRRGGGHHHHH Ok I'll chill.

In a Metal Mood .... What else is new?

Sentenced - "The Cold White Light"
Rush - "Signals"
Rush - "Exit Stage Left"
Morbid Angel - "Domination"
Edge of Sanity - "Evolution"
The Gathering - "Mandylion"



6/28/02

Well, has it been long enough since I've ranted? A lot has gone on. Hypocrisy kicked my ass. That was a good thing. Almost didn't happen either. PHEWW that was close. Thanks to an kick ass metal head and Arti-friend for helping out. I know I've been to more shows than that since my last rant but I can't keep track. Hmm Rise at the Tryst kicked butt and I am so happy that my buddy Charles Elliot is now an official member of one of my favorite local bands, Rise. Oh yeah, also Perry and I checked out Engine at the Troubadour. They were pretty cool.

Hmm What have I been up to?..... I was supposed to go see The Who this Saturday until one of my students broke it to me that their bassist John Entwistle died today. Oh that really got to me. I wanted to end the lesson there and just take a walk. It's really sad. I had such a humorous cynical view on seeing The Who as well. One such as, I better see them before .... you know what... Bad right?

OK this rant is long enough, sorry I lagged on writing a more recent rant. I'll be better I promise. lol Look forward to seeing you all up against the stage at the Arch Enemy/Nile/Hate Eternal/ARTISAN show on July 17th @ The Key Club.

Obsessive Listening Disorder

Soilwork - Natural Born Chaos
Fate's Warning - Perfect Symmetry
Hypocrisy - 10 Years of Chaos and Confusion
Death - Human
Marty Friedman - True Obsessions (fitting)
Kreator - Extreme Aggression (love us or hate us!)



4/26/02

HEEEEEYYYYYYYY MAN!!!!. We'll it's been a crazy active past week and a half. We had our show last Sunday celebrating the release of Prototype's first full length album "Trinity". We had a really fun show. Closed the whole set up with "Caught In A Mosh" which was really fun. Thanks to all our friends who attended. Prototype was great and it was cool to see them play a nice long set. Zero Hour was brought down and they were really fucking good (in addition to well-tuned and a great set). They ended up being really cool guys. I bought both their CD's and I highly recommend them.

Anyhow, the very next day Perry, Matt and I headed into Loyola Marymount University to try and replicate mayhem on a recordable format. YES FOLK... A DEMO!!! Special thanks to our friend Steve for hooking it up. Thanks also to his friends how have helped out as well, Aaron and Lacie. The next day, I laid down my bass, and Saturday Perry and Ana laid down the heavy fucking guitars. There's still a bit more to go and it will only be one song but we plan on recording a few more in a very short while. What is recorded so far is sounding pretty good. That is all for now. Looking forward to seeing Iced Earth, In Flames, and Jag Panzer next Tuesday.

Once Again... Now Sit and Spin!!

Arch Enemy - Wages of Sin
Iron Maiden - Rock In Rio
Hypocrisy - Catch 22
Zero Hour - The Towers of Avarice
Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden
=Sentenced - Frozen



3/28/02

We've been working hard towards recording. Are you sick of hearing that yet? Oh well. Hopefully you'll be satisfied that you waited so long. Meanwhile for your temporary amusement we have posted video and sound clips up on the site here from our first show here in Los Angeles. Mind you, the quality is crude as it is from a video camera. We've also been working on new material. I'm really stoked on the new stuff that's up and coming.

Speaking of up and coming.... So many freaking shows coming up in L.A. Iced Earth/In Flames/Jag Panzer, and the woody of all woody's to give me a woody about a show. Entombed(?)/Hypocrisy. FUCK YEA!. Ok I'll leave my rant there for this week cause that's a great note to leave it on.

Until They Bleed, Clot, or ho Hissssss all by themselves.!!!

Gardenian - "Soulburner (Black Days, rad song)
Amorphis - "Tales From The Thousand Lakes" (Only Fins can sound heavy talking about sailors)
Nevermore - "Dead Heart In A Dead World" (Simon and who?)
Hypocrisy - "The Fourth Dimension" (Doomy Peter:)
Death - "Spiritual Healing" (Some say she's naive, she's a stupid......)
Iced Earth - "Alive In Athens" (Might as well be a best of)



3/4/02

Well, our first show was 2 weeks ago now and we have continued to get a good response. I didn't excpect lame, but not this good. I won't let it get to me. All of us took a couple weeks off but now we have been working hard to get ready to record and are very pleased so far. We are also going to see Arch Enemy this week and are quite stoked about that.

Otherwise, not many interesting things going on. We saw our friends Prototype, and The Iron Maidens (tribute to Maiden of course) at Paladino's this weekend. Both bands kicked ass. Was cool to see Prototype play a new tune and an old Psychosis tune as well.

A few weeks ago I laid down some bass on a tune for my friend Charles' band, Inhuman Visions. It's a heavy one folks. I'll post the MP3 link in my next rant, which should be available within the next week or so.
That's all folks.

It's all so circular!:

Amorphis - "Tales From The Thousand Lakes
King Diamond - "Them"
Iced Earth - "Days of Purgatory"
Meshuggah - "Chaosphere"
Iron Maiden - "Killers"
Lock-Up - "Pleasures Pave Sewers"



2/18/02

Hello Friends,
Last night's show went over really well. We were so happy to see so many friends and a community of metalheads at these show. All the bands that played ruled and it was a really fun night. The response was good and everyone's making it really hard for ARTISAN stay on track with our recording agenda, asking us to play more shows. Once the recording is done, we'll play to our hearts content. I had a lot of fun getting up and doing metal again. It's been a long time for all of us. It took me a song or two to get comfortable but apparently after that I was back to my usual self saying "Fuck", and "Fucking", left and right.

The sound at the club kinda blew but all the bands seemed to push through it. It was quite a long night, every band was worth seeing. Thank you so much to our friends who came, and thank you to those who had no clue who we are, and were attentive and expressed future interest in ARTISAN, it's what I like to think I do with bands I've never seen.

I have to add really quickly. It was quite special for me to play the same night as my former band PROTOTYPE. I knew it was going to be a trip. It was really great, and on our first show too kinda added some heat to it for me too. It was also really special to all of us that we had the opportunity to bust out "Pull The Plug" for Chuck Schuldiner and Paul Baloff.

As the seconds pass :

Bruce Dickinson - "The Chemical Wedding"
Death - "Leprosy"
At The Gates- "Terminal Spirit Disease"
In Flames - "Tokyo Showdown
Kreator - "Cause for Conflict"
Rush - "Caress of Steel"



1/25/02

Well Mattey McMetal has been pounding away at the drums the past few weeks getting things going for himself and progressing nicely. We are all working getting ready to record the up and coming demo as well as some new material. Come to think of it, it's a bit of a joke every time I say "new material". It's really only new to us, *everything* we do is new to you.

So Matt and I headed down to the Priest/Anthrax show last Friday. Priest was really good. Tim Owens is a really fucking consistent singer. As for Anthrax. Hmm, I love those guys but I have a few issues. Why when bands either talking about or introducing new material call it the heaviest most "brutal" stuff yet and then it always turns out to blow more than anything else they've pulled out of their asses. C'mon Bush. I'm not a dog. If you put a piece of shit dog biscuit in my face and try to get me excited about it, I'm not going to think it's any cooler than the same shit you give me when I eat it, unless it really is. (OK that only made sense to me but I don't care.) My advice, put the solos back in your fucking songs and tell Scott Ian that just cause he can still mosh around on stage doesn't make up for the the lack of solos. I'm not that bitter mind you. I was still happy to see them. Just don't blow smoke up my ass and try to tell me something is brutal. I know brutal is a relative opinion but trust me folks, this was not brutal.

ONLY IN ONE EAR THIS WEEK :

1) Ozzy Osbourne "Blizzard of Ozz"
2) Control Denied "The Fragile Art of Existence"
3) Sentenced "Frozen"
4) Carcass "Necroticism- Descanting The Insalubrious"
5) Fates Warning "Perfect Symmetry"
6) Jonas Helborg, Sean Lane "Time is The Enemy"

1/4/01

Happy New Year, people!! I hope everyone had a good holiday. Perry, Ana and I cruised out to see our friends The Iron Maidens (all female Iron Maiden tribute) on New Years Eve. They were pretty cool. They played "Murders in the Rue Morgue", which was a big supprise. Got home about 2 that night. Not too late, I had a punguin suit gig the next morning.

ARTISAN has finally moved into our own permanent rehearsal space. First order of business, metalize the room. Matt's big fucking erector set of a rack and his 9 piece drum kit are in there along with our amps, racks, cabs, and PA. Threw up some carpet on the walls, and some posters and all is well. We are ready to get our jam on. Start rehearsing our up and coming demo. That's all for now folks.

The Voices In My Head Tell Me To Listen To:

1) Pink Floyd - Echoes
2) Testament - The Gathering
3) Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss
4) Solitude Aeturnus - Through The Darkest Hour
5) Death - Symbolic
6) Arch Enemy - Wages of Sin

Video - AC/DC "Let There Be Rock"



12/17/01

I'm gonna guess that my rant will be related to at least 2 of the other ARTISAN member's rants.

Chuck is gone. Even though we as fans had 2 years to prepare ourselves for a resolve to him having cancer, it still doesn't soften the blow of the news. This may be long.

So many people have already confirmed what an inspiration Chuck's music has been to metal. If it weren't for the music of DEATH, I wouldn't have even thought to check out almost 100 other bands. As time and life progressed, Chuck made his music more and more intelligent, as he made sure to attain the appropriate musicians. Chuck had to put up with a lot of shit. Changing labels, band mates and something that comes along with being an innovative force, negative stories about his work ethic and the way he functioned socially. Chuck would properly quiet those words with his phrase "Support Music Not Rumors".

There are a lot of local bands and players in Los Angeles, and all over. I hear so many people bitch about stupid shit and have exceptional expectations for the receptiveness of certain genres of metal. OK people, now go play Korn Rock if you want public affection. Chuck never made out well financially by playing his music. He put out 7 albums under DEATH and one under CONTROL DENIED and I believe recorded a thus far unreleased CONTROL DENIED. I meet so many folks who can't get past the b.s. that comes along with just being a local band. What drove Chuck was Metal. He properly expressed himself in his music and that's why it progressed and was always good. He never held back. That is the most Metal thing you can do. At all costs and aggrivations keep doing what drives you. Chuck was in his young 30's and was still undoubtedly a Metalhead with his attitude and persona.

I really didn't mean for this to sound like a book report. I just want to make sure everybody realizes that this man produced and performed his music from what he felt was right. It's really hard to think of Chuck as gone, honestly. I know his name and music will be immortalized in the realm of metal and I don't know why, but for some reason I hate that. I guess that I feel that Chuck would dislike the sensationalism on the merit that he is gone. His music deserves to live on truly. He was always setting the pace in heavy metal for technicality, melody, and creativity. It would always seem, as Chuck took a new turn, many would follow. Rightfully so. The Piper is gone, who are we to follow? Here's to one heavy fucking soul; Chuck.

Remember, Metal is a mentality and feel that creates the music and appreciates it, not a product of the music.

Headphones This Week

Fate's Warning - "Awaken The Guardian"
Godgory - "Resurrection"
Strapping Young Lad - "No Sleep Till Bedtime"
Anathema - "Judgement" (yeah, yeah, SHUT UP!!)
Believer - "Dimensions"




12/3/01

Busy Busy we are. We've put the promotion part of Artisan into high gear as we are now offering band updates via E-mail to those interested. If you'd like to join (all addresses confidential), email us at Artisan-list-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and you'll be automatically subscribed. We will keep you posted as thing progress. Speaking of progressing, Matt is on his way to settling in and we've done some rehearsing with him. We are finally plotting to record a demo of 3 songs. This is for the pupose of promoting, and doing what most of you have been asking for, posting MP3s!!

Last week on Monday, Ana, Perry, and I went to check out Witchery and the Haunted in Costa Mesa. We had a good time, the bands were great, and did our standard assault of flyering as well. We flyered the Troubadour show as well but weren't able to go to the show cause we had rehearsal. Oh well.

A side note. My former band Prototype had completed a full length cd a while back called "Trinity". It will be coming out in the states under WWIII records mid February and is now out in Brazil and Australia I believe under Toxic records. They are taking orders for the US now. www.prototypeonline.com. It's a great disc and I'm really happy for all the guys involved. It's been a long time coming.

Pink Floyd - "Echoes"
In Flames - "Colony"
Testament - "The Gathering"
Prototype - "Trinity"
Hate - "Holy Dead Trinity (great fucking death metal ala Vader & Monstrosity!)
Iced Earth - "Dark Saga"




11/18

Well the year is closing up. It's been a pretty active year and it's crazy to think that it took so long for ARTISAN to complete a line up. Oh well, can't say we blew our load on the first people that came to us. We've already been working for practically a year and a half. It's crazy to think that essentially, this is truly the beginning. The line up full and many songs to work on prove to be a very busy year ahead of us. I'm looking forward to finally playing shows with ARTISAN and even making some sort of true recording to spread the word.

Well, that's it for now. Starting tomorrow, we kick the ARTISAN boot camp for Mattey into play.

AND I HOPE YOU CHOKE ON IT !!!

Godgory - "Resurrection" ask Ana why. This is also my dog's pick.
Death - "Symbolic"
Entombed - "Wolverine Blues"
In Flames - "The Tokyo Showdown"
Dream Theater - "Scenes From A Memory"
Amorphis - "Elegy"
Dimmu Borgir - "Spiritual Black Dimensions"



11/1/01

The time is coming. Chip tried to get in on some reverb at rehearsal the other day. Fucking wants to sing now too. I guess. He's really testing us. I'm ready to kick his quantized ass to the curb.

We started work on a new tune. Seems the ball keeps rolling. A good sign as always. So I'm keeping it short this week cause I just ate a lot of food and can't concentrate. Sorry folks. OH yeah and as always "Things are progressing" lol

Now Sit And Spin !!!

Forbidden - "Distortion"
Mercyful Fate - "Into The Unknown"
Opeth - "Blackwater Park
Iron Maiden - "Somewhere In Time"

My dog, Freckles, would like to nominate for my playlist:
Monstrosity "In Dark Purity"
She sat on my bed in front of my monitors and just listened for a long time to it. Her farvorite song is "The Angel's Venom".



10/17/01

Well for embarrassment purposes we laid down a new tune that we've all mentioned in our past rants (I believe), called "Goodbye". This is for the purpose of our new skinsman to get going on it. Now that we've done that we will get back into writing and refining mode I am to assume. Anticipating Matt's arrival on everyone's part including many non ARTISAN members. Didn't go to any shows this week. Kinda lame but it's cool. Save some $ at the same time.

Here's something different. I'm going to do a song list this week as opposed to an album list SO NOW...

THE TUNES THAT RULE MY HEAD

"Black Days" - Gardenian
"The Fourth Dimension" - Hypocrisy
"Home" - Dream Theater
"The Weapon" - Rush
"Individual Thought Patterns" - Death
"Poison God Machine" - Nevermore

Thank you... drive through !!!




10/5/01

Smashing, just smashing thank you. Haha ...things are going well on the ARTISAN front and I'm almost getting sick of saying "things are progressing". There's a lot of truth in that statement, though. (The progressing part at least). So YES the cat is now out of the bag. What a naughty cat it was too, I am the official vocalist for ARTISAN, along with the very important vocals of Perry and Ana. Some of you may tilt your head in confusion like some cute and stupid dog. That's ok, I like cute and stupid dogs. We can smell our own. The vocals have been coming along well and we have been developing vocally longer than most of you know. When asked by a friend last Friday why wasn't he told about my singing sooner by Ana, my response was, "Good, she did her job". We want to bring you and ourselves the appropriate representation all around musically, so we took our time in deciding if I was the appropriate person for the job. I hope once we start getting out there, you will all approve. Don't forget though, Perry and Ana's voices are another great piece of ARTISAN's sound as well. This is a long ass rant......
We went to the Century Media 10th Anniversary show at the Roxy last Friday and we all had a good time. Nevermore ruled and so did Strapping Young Lad. It was also good to see Shadow's Fall again. This weekend, off to support some local tribute bands, or cover bands as Ana would call them.
By the way, did you know that eating Chinese food before singing not only makes a distinctive smell but makes a distinctive sound with your voice? "We becyome accyustomed"!

NOW FOR THE SOUNDS
1) Hypocrisy - 10 Years of Chaos and Confusions
2) Gardenian - Soulburner
3) Amorphis - Tales From The Thousand Lakes
4) Mercyful Fate - Don't Break The Oath
5) Johansen, Johanson, & Holdsworth - Heavy Machinery
6) Slayer - Divine Intervention

MOVIE OF THE WEEK - "The Color Purple" Yeah I know I'm a woman.



9/19/01

Things have been crazy. I'm sure everybody's head has been in the same place as mine. I guess the trick is to limit your news watching to about 15 minutes a few times a day here and there to find out if anything is new. My suggestion at least STAY SANE. You're no good to anybody otherwise. So yeah I'm freaking bummed about what's been going on and a bit sketchy too. OK soo on to the Metal...
We've been working hard on finishing a new tune and I think it's pretty much there. So now we got to look forward to playing it over and over and over and seeing it take on a life of it's own as it becomes more and a more of a joy to play. Or wait should I say it kicks my ass!!!!? It's been a long time since anything has a green tinge to it since the start of Artisan. We've really taken on a full force attitude even drummerless and have been always progressing.
Also, we trucked out last Monday to see Savatage and Nevermore at the House of Blues. Damn the man! We didn't know we were on the list and we had already purchased our tickets. Of course the show ruled.

Now Here Comes The Play List
1) Overkill - W.F.O.
2) Amorphis - Tuonela
3) Godgory - Resurrection
4) Control Denied - The Fragile Art Of Existance
5) Sanctuary - Into The Mirror Live
6) Dream Theater - Awake

Video - Road Trip "UNLEASH THE FURY !!!"






9/6/01

Well the goings have been good here in Arti-Land. We are wrapping up a new song and it's coming out pretty good. I'm sure it will continue to develop over the next months like all the songs. Interesting things are happening with the band otherwise. More on that when we feel like telling you hehe. Checked out Prototype, Rise, and Imagika last Sunday at the Dragonfly. good show and lots of good metal. Finally picked up Rise's new cd. Yay. It's pretty rad. On Friday, Ana and I checked out our friends Inhuman Visions along with Epicedium at a dive of all dives. Both bands were really good. By the way. Inhuman Visions needs a bassist and they are a good fucking death metal band. If you have a lead or are interested go check thier web site out atwww.inhumanvisions.com . They introduced a new tune at the show and once again they just keep getting better and better. That's it for now.


NOW PLUG YER EARS!

1) Rise -Divine Aeternum
2) Amorphis - Tuonela
3) Sanctuary - Refuge Denied
4) Exodus - Another Lesson In Violence
5) Forced Entry - As Above, So Below
6) Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden

Video: Reqium For A Dream

Bass Stuff:Bunny Brunell's Bass Secrets - book
Creating Walking Bass Lines by Ed Friedland - book/CD



8/24/01

Well cool things happening. Chuck Billy's Thrash of the Titans ... RULED all around. All the bands were great. except maybe Heathen. I know when there are a lot of bands to see, some have to be not as good as the rest but c'mon people all the bands were pretty damn cool to see. I'm glad some bands are using this show as a launch pad to get back into the game. I think that's cool
Well we've seriously had it with Chip and it looks like he's just gonna be used as a teaching aid for me. More on that as we have it for you. Happy to say the band keeps contiuing to progress. I'm very pleased and I think if any other project I had been a part of had taken this much time rounding up the line up, the other members would've quit by now. It's all been well worth it.

Here's the playlist:
Solitude Aeturnus - "Adagio"
Dream Theater - "Scenes From a Memory: Metropolis 2000"
Arch Enemy - "Wages of Sin"
Iron Maiden - "Iron Maiden"
Rush - "Power Windows"
Carcass - "Necroticism: Discanting the Insilubrious"

Movie of the week:
Army of Darkness.. "Groovy"



8/9/01

Alrighty folks well here's the dirt. Ana had a pretty chill party on Saturday which was very cool. I made Fuck You Burgers and some dug it, and some didn't take to it this year. Oh well. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were good rehearsal days. Started working on a new song and it's coming out pretty good as of now. We'll see. We are all off to Chuck Billy's Thrash Of The Titans which is Saturday in San Fransisco. I'm really looking forward to seeing some bands in particular, and as always it's a good opportunity to hang with some friends.

O.K. Here's what I've been jamming down my ear over the past week or so.
1. Hypocrisy "The Final Chapter"
2. Amorphis "Am Universum"
3. Death "Symbolic"
4. Sentenced "Crimson"
5. Kreator "Coma of Souls"
6. AC/DC "High Voltage"

Movie of the Week: "The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie" ... what voilence?

7/24/01

Well we recorded a 3rd song to demo for the purpose of recruiting a drummer. The song is called (as of now) "The Sickness". Little did I realize untill just now, there's an album by a really really really, shitty shitty band called Disturbed called "The Sickeness". You know what? Shitty is Shitty, and ARITSAN is ARTISAN. I'm sure the Disturbed song is all about getting Wiggidy wiggidy whacked and stupified and all the other shallow crap-NUmetal shit out there lol. Or whatever. Enough of that. We have taken a break for reconstruction (see Ana's rant) so to speak *G*. Can't wait to get back to rehearsing next week. Programming more drums meanwhile. Hey if you hadn't signed the guestbook, go do it damn it! ... Saturday night, Ana and I kicked it and watched the Hypocrisy "Live & Clips" video. Pretty rad.

Here's what I've been listening to:
1) Hypocrisy - Hypocrisy Destroy's Wacken
2) Godgory - Ressurection
3) Sentenced - "Down"
4) Dragonlord - "Rapture"
5) In Flames - Colony
6) Overkill - Horrorscope



6/29/01

Well, business as usual here. Rehearsed this week, did some work, and summer is killing my teaching biz. It'll all be good though. Perry and I have been working on some lyrics for a new song together wich is cool cause it's the first time any of the ARTISAN members have collaberated on lyrics yet. I'm looking forward to that happening more and more within the group. Music and lyrics always sound better when they don't sound just like one person. Almost done programming drums for this tune too. Then yippie, with a few nips and tucks, we'll demo this like the 2 other songs we've done. So it's another thing that gets me all excited when I wake up in the morning. The first thing being that I get to relieve my bladder.

Here's what I've been abusing my ears to over the past week:
1) Iced Earth "Alive In Athens"
2) Amorphis "Elegy"
3) Godgory "Resurrection"
4) Hypocrisy "The Fouth Dimension"
5) Riefflin*Fripp*Gunn "The Repercussions of Angelic Behavior"
6) Entombed "Left Hand Path"



6/15/01

Well, if you read Ana's rant you'll know that I pawned Chip onto her this week. Pretty cool. On an individual basis, the band is currently attaining pieces of gear so we can get some demo work done for when we have the full line up. Anyhow, we did our usual practices this week. I'm gonna give you some song titles. One, "The Stain of Life", and Two, "A Silent War" (which we've been heavily working on). As soon as the songs are put in demo form for the public, we'll post lyrics.

Here's my playlist for this week. Amorphis "Am Universum, Sanctuary "Into The Mirror Black", Grip Inc. "Power of Inner Strength", Edge of Sanity "The Spectral Sorrows", Exodus "Pleasures of the Flesh", and Hypocrisy "Abducted.
Movie this week: Rush: "A Show Of Hands"
metal metal metal metal metal metal metal and more metal. Don't forget to purchase your ticket for "Chuck Billy's Thrash of the Titans" on sale this Sunday at tickets.com



6/8/01

Band rehersal good... drum programming old. We're getting the job done though.

A few months back I met a gentleman by the name of Mark of a band from Australia called Berzerker. I was helping out my friends in Inhuman Visions play a show with Dying Fetus and Goreguts and Berzerker was also on the tour. We were back stage talking bands and the almighty Cynic came up, and he told me about another band he plays in called Alarum. I purchased the CD that night and listened to it on the way home from the show. First thing I thought was, yep this dude likes Cynic (he wasn't copying Cynic but I could hear it). It was way technical and way thrashy. Those of you who know me know I like to share the music I discover, so I lent the CD out to one of the 2 Artisan axepeople (and I'm not gonna say who but I'll tell you it's the one who has a penis). 2 months later I get it back and it's still rad. Go to MP3.com and get this disc. It rips. Email Mark when you get the cd and make sure you tell him you think so . alarum1@yahoo.com



5/31/01

I'd like to express my disappointment about the last two Megadeth albums. I've always been one of those kids who liked Megadeth better than Metallica. I'm not as pissed at Megadeth as I am at Metallica. Geez Dave, give Al some writing space! (I saw all songs were written by Dave M.) Oh well at least it leaves the other members guilt free. I even dug on Cryptic Writings for what it was. Anyhow, stupid me - I'd probably go see Megadeth if they came to town though, I did that on the last tour and was happy they played some cool tunes so it was worth it. I want my money back on my free copy of "The World Needs A Hero"

Practice, Practice, Practice, this week's practices have been quite productive.

Now in my cd player. Pink Floyd "Dark Side Of The Moon", Psychosis "Lifeforce", Yes "Drama", Hypocrisy "Hypocrisy, Sadus "Swallowed In Black", and Exodus "Fabulous Disaster" I was grooving on the Queensryche "Operation Live Crime" video. Pretty cool.

Take Care All!



5/25/01

Friday, Nevermore kicked my arse, Sunday, Monday, Perry and I jerked off with the drum machine with dreams of throwing it out the window but we all hope to finish the programed drums for the song we are currently working on so we can demo it for perspective members. Rehearsed Tuesday. Perry got lots of reverb to bark through, Ana got a bunk Marshall, and I had fresh strings. BOING!!!