On this day… 30 Nov 1996

I appeared on Channel V with Robert Plant

Robert Plant and I had been invited to accept an award from Channel V – India’s premier music channel – and we had won an award for longevity.

The highlight of the show were to be Los Del Rios, whose ‘Macarena’ song was a global hit at the time. Unfortunately at the last minute the duo pulled out of the trip as one of them had developed a sore throat; which was quite ironic considering they were going to mime. As it was, the chief dancer and choreographer of their video was to perform the song on her own. I believe this was the first time Channel V was doing this on an international level and now they had a bit of problem. They approached us to do something and of course we didn’t have any instruments and hadn’t rehearsed. It was suggested that we could mime Rock’n’Roll with Roger Taylor from Queen on drums (who was there to accept an award on behalf of Freddie Mercury) and a bass player from Goa.

We agreed to it and did a quick rehearsal, I felt sorry for Channel V that they’d been let down by the Macarena boys. During the rehearsals the Goan bass player was well behaved but when it came to the show he suddenly developed a dose of Saint Vitus Dance and transformed into Billy Whiz crossed with the Flash. He couldn’t stop moving throughout the song and made it even more of a pantomime than it already was. But hey we did it and it was real good to be part of this special award show which is still being aired today.

-Jimmy Page

The article was original found here

5 Critical Elements Of Your Band Bio

One of the fundamentals of the modern band and band web site is the Band Bio. Many bands struggle to write an effective bio.

 

5 Critical Elements Of Your Band Bio

1. Who Are You?

The most important elements to include are fundamental to any bio. You should include:

• Your band name
• Your location
• Your contact information
• A description of your music
• Your influences

First impressions really, really count. Your bio is often the first impression that people get of your band. Simply put, the first paragraph of your bio is very important.

Your first paragraph has to grab attention and hold it. It has to be interesting, informative and engaging. Don’t make huge claims about how fantastic you are, that sort of bio text does not give a good impression. In fact unrealistic or fantastic claims actually work against you as people often read it as “unrealistic”. Far better to tell them the facts in an interesting way and let them be impressed by that.

2. What is your Band Doing Currently?

You should also include some info on your current band activities. For example do you have a planned tour? Are you releasing a new album? Or busy recording towards a new album? Are you writing new material? You get the idea.

3. Background

If you include any other background information, make sure that it is relevant.

One of the most common mistakes is to include information along the lines of “Rick has been playing violin since he was 4 years old. At 7 he began learning the guitar and performed his first gig at only 9 years old. At 10…”

Uggh…..

Industry pros will just toss your bio in the trash as soon as they stop yawning.

By all means include something about your relevant musical history but be brief, keep it interesting and present it in a way that it doesn’t simply become a list!
4. Highlights and Achievements

You definitely want to list your successes. You may have had your music played on the radio, have collaborated with a musician or music producer, won a battle of the bands or similar competition. Make sure that the most attention grabbing, flattering story about your band is featured in your bio!

5. Your Band in the Press and Media

You can include press quotes in other parts of your bio, for example to help describe your band sound, or the power of your performances, but you should try and include at least one press clip in your bio.

 

General Band Bio Tips

Apart from the critical elements of your bio mentioned above there are some more general things that you should be aware of:

No Typos

If you think that a typo or two would not count against you, think again. A simple rule: NO TYPOS

Honesty

Under no circumstances make up things to enhance your bio. It will be found out, and when it is the consequences are simply that professionals will not work with you and your reputation can quickly be ruined.

I’ll say that again, don’t make stuff up!

Create More Than One Version of Your Band Bio

You should make several versions of your bio so that it suits the purpose and needs of the moment. You should create the following versions:

• Long Bio – 1 full page
• Medium Bio- 3 paragraphs
• Short Bio – 1 paragraph
• Elevator Pitch – Be able to describe your music in 30 seconds, i.e. only a couple of sentences.

The various media outlets, festivals and conferences all have different requirements. Being prepared with different versions to hand means that you can react quickly to opportunities with a minimum of stress. Writing on spec when you are presented with an opportunity will lead to sub-standard pitches, which will do you absolutely no favors.

Keep Your Band Bio Up-to-date!

When you achieve something more, get featured, play a huge gig etc make sure that you add it to your band bio

====================================

This was originally written by my friend and very talented musician John Moxey. You may see the original article HERE

bassist : according to urban dictionary

I was amazed by the definitions written there..here are few which I loved !!

=>Bassist-
Musician who plays the bass guitar.
Primaraly part of the rhythm section however can be considered a lead instrument in some bands (e.i Motorhead, Mudvayne, Old Metallica, Red hot chilli peppers etc.)
Though a bassist may choose to play with 4 strings, he may play anywhere up to 12 strings. These are called extended range basses, or ERBS.
Bassists may also play the upright bass or double bass.
Generally speaking, a bassist is much more inclined towards funk and groove playing. The bass is more or less the instrument that makes the girls shake their booty.
Bassists are important for a band because they are able to hold the song together whilst a guitarist solo’s over the song. During solos the bassist and drummer may ‘Lock’, making it much easier for the guitarist to keep time, and makes the song much simpler.
Bassists may play in a variety of styles: Pick Style, Finger Style, Slapping, Tapping etc. Each adds its own element to songs.
Nowadays bassists use mainly picks, for a variety of reasons that may include: They prefer the timbre of pick playing or they arent fast enough with their fingers.
Many bassists are classically trained or inclined.

Some famous bassists include:
Les Claypool (Primus)
Flea (red hot chilli peppers)
Cliff Burton (metallica)
Lemmy (motorhead)
Victor Wooten (Bela fleck and the flecktones)
Jaco Pastorious (Weather Report)
Stu Hamm (steve vai)
Billy Sheehan (Mr Big)
Rob Trujillo (Suicidal Tendancies, Metallica)
Mark Hopp…

=>bassist

1.A person who has probably banged your girlfriend, because girls cannot seem to resist them, because deep sounds are arousing to women.

2.a female bassist is common and is usually underappreciated visually, and is often stereotyped as a lesbian.

1.Why do you think men have deep voices?

2.I’m a female bassist, and the other girls in my band get all the attention.

=>bassist

N. 1) A person who plays the bass guitar or the stand up bass (aka. double bass, contra bass, bass violin).
2) A person who used to play the guitar and decides that playing the bass is essentially the same as playing guitar. Many times these are simply ‘bass players’ and not bassist’s. Not to say that crossing over is wrong or that all who do predominantly suck, but that one must BE a bassist not just play the bass.
3) One who studies the art of music utalizing the bass as a medium. One who learns music on bass/f clef first.
4) Bassist’s are quiet, laid back, and quirky in nature. Many times the bassist is the most humble guy/chick in a band due to the role of the instrument. Bass is the anchor of music along with drums, although bass is often audibly more subliminal.

God is a bassist
Jesus plays drums

=>bassist

The member of the band with the largest genitalia.

Person #1: Dude, have you seen Billy’s junk? That thing is monstrous!
Person #2: No surprise there; he’s a bassist.

=>bassist

A bassist is a musician who plays either stand-up bass or the bass guitar. He/she provides the rhythmic and harmonic foundation to a song, and is found in most any type of music, including jazz, rock, heavy metal, salsa, classical, funk, and even hip-hop.

Due to simplistic and unimaginative musicians taking over the rock mainstream, the bassist is often looked at as the guy in the background thumping along on the E-string, playing root notes and doubling the rhythm guitar. Anyone who thinks this cannot rightly be blamed; after all, there are so many “I play 4 notes per song and contribute nothing” bassists out there such as Paul Thomas, Brent Wilson, Pete Wentz, and David Desrosiers (to name a few) that the instrument hardly gets any recognition among casual music fans. The aforementioned, however, are actually not bassists but something called “failed guitarists” who had too much trouble with bar chords but decided they wanted to be in a band anyway, and switched to bass. Such “musicians” have no business being in the same category as Les Claypool, Victor Wooten, Flea, and even nu-metalers like Fieldy and Ryan Martinie who gave something to music.

What goes unrealized is how the right bassline, played by a true bassist and not just a failed guitarist, can make an otherwise average song extraordinary.

Person 1: Hey, I can’t even hear the bassist in this song.

Person 2: Yeah, because he’s just playing the root notes and the producer tuned him out because his timing sucks anyway.

-OR-

Person 1: Dude, the bass in this Primus track is sick!

Person 2: Yeah, Claypool is a truly awesome bassist.

—————————————————————————-

this was from here

Rock n’ roll children

My attempt at writing out and out rebellious rock n’ roll song. Suggestions and critiques are welcomed !

[V1]
We are children of rock n’ roll
we deny the god damn chase
you may have sold your soul
but we are the one who win the race

[Chorus]
Do you understand what I mean
It’s beyond what you imagine
Do you understand what I mean
It’s beyond what you’ve seen
Do you understand what I mean
it’s our f*cking religion

[V2]
We don’t f*ckin’ follow the crowd
We stand against authority
You may think you own the crown
but we are the one to establish the prophecy

[Chorus]
Do you understand what I mean
It’s beyond what you imagine
Do you understand what I mean
It’s beyond what you’ve seen
Do you understand what I mean
it’s our f*cking religion

[Chorus]
Do you understand what I mean
It’s beyond what you imagine
Do you understand what I mean
It’s beyond what you’ve seen
Do you understand what I mean
it’s our f*cking religion

© Prayag Thakkar, 2011

Bleak – free download

My mumbai trip was awesome in so many aspects. All I did was rock n’ roll. SO along with my talented Sound Engineer friend Jainil I made this song. It’s my first ever attempt. I wanted it Dark Ambient and partly depressive. Made it on Steinberg Nuendo 4. I am very thankful to Jainil for helping me out with recording. Piano part is played by him.

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10164622

Led Zeppelica and Kryptos

Tired of previous day’s “Blizzards of rock” competition. I fell asleep in the afternoon and damn i woke up at 7pm. I was like SHIT! I called up shyam and asked him where he was, and he’d say he is already inside and kryptos have started playing. I was like FUCK !

I simply put on my Motorhead tee and left. Bought pass worth 300 and went in. When I went in, Kryptos were already playing. Last four songs were to go. I tried going in the front and found out that all those wannabe kids were moshing, rather they were doing “garba”. So I decided to stay away. But I gotta admit Kryptos were really good. Their music had this Old School flavor in it. Vocals made it even mint! Many didn’t like them coz they didn’t have machine gun double bass drumming through out the song. But again “ignorance is bliss” is the best suitable quote for them. I loved them. They were unique, they knew what they are doing and they knew their sound ! Later I met them off stage and they are humble guys. They don’t have fake “rockstar” attitude in them. That’s enough to love them !

Now, it was time for the grand performance. It was Led Zepplica. They started with “immigrant song“. They played “Dazed and confused” of full length and they nailed it. I was bit skeptical about the vocals part but he scored it well. It was ironic that the guitarist looked like Robert Plant. They played “rock n’ roll” but the crowd totally disappointed them by giving very ignored response! Actually that’s all you can expect from such a crowd. Mainly all of them had come for the DJ party that was right after the performance. After that it was time for “No quarter“. He played the song with the violin Bow..It was really amazing. Perfect wah-wah effect without using the patch ! They played all time great “Kashmir” and they went off the stage, every-one was wondering why not “Stairway” and the reason was the time. They were told to finish up by 10 and they actually did. When I checked the time..it was just 3 mins to 10pm. I think they didn’t know that IST means Indian Stretchable Time but Indian Standard Time. But they came back on crowd’s request, they played it..they nailed it.

I got to admit that I’ve never had such heavy doze of Rock n’ roll injected ! I wish it keep on happening through out the year.

After that it was some shitty DJ night and there more people interested in it, but for me the day ended when rock n’ roll ended.

Voyage 34: The Complete Trip – Porcupine tree

although the album was made way early in 1992 when porcupine tree was only Steven wilson. I got to admit that this album is something that really can take you to a trip of universe !!

artist : Porcupine tree

genre : space/kraut/psychedelic rock

~:Tracklist:~

1. Phase I (12:55)

2. Phase II (17:31)

3. Phase III (19:29)

4. Phase IV (13:42)

Download

here’s a video of Phase II along with trippy visuals..try it

PS- have a nice journey

one more fucking time

i can say that this can be the anthem song describing meself !!

Everyday more I dig, more I fall for motorhead..

PS – Lemmy kilmister accepted my request on FB..idk if he’s real one or fake..but i don’t care..sometime illusions prove out to be a great fuel to drive things properly !! Relevance is hard to find for you people..but to me it’s perfectly relevant !

All life is a mystery,
All things come to he who waits
All things just a twist of fate
It’s just a state of mind
All your time is not your own
It’s real hard to find out why
It’s real hard to say good-bye
To move on down the line…

Both your eyes wide open
You see the shape I’m in
It wasn’t of my choosing
It’s only bones and skin
And I will plead no contest
If loving you’s a crime
So go on and find me guilty
Just one more fucking time

All your life is in your head
All you dreams are in your sleep
And if your dreams are hid too deep
They’re just a waste of time
When you try to chase the dream
You never seem to know the time
You never recognize the signs
And nothing’s what it seems

Both your eyes wide open
You see the shape I’m in
It wasn’t of my choosing
It’s only bones and skin
And I will plead no contest
If loving you’s a crime
So go on and find me guilty
Just one more fucking time

And if I would have been a bad man
You would have seen the good in me
You would have seen the other
The good man I could be
But since I am a good man
The same was all the same
Nothing I could do, nothing I could do

All life is a mystery,
All things pass you by in time
All things just a perfect crime
It’s just the way we are
All instincts let you down
It’s not a case of love in vain
It’s not a case of love insane
It’s enough to break your heart

Both your eyes wide open
You see the shape I’m in
It wasn’t my idea
That I be the one to sin
And so all those years together
Weren’t worth a fucking dime
So go on and find me guilty
Just one more fucking time
And so all our years together
Weren’t worth a fucking dime
So go on and find me guilty
Just one more fucking time
And so all our years together
Weren’t worth a fucking dime
So go on and find me guilty
Just one more fucking time

my top Ambient/atmospheric albums

I have been digging ambient/atmospheric stuff lately. In various genres !!

here’s my list

1. lumikuuro – Kauan
2. Ashes against the grains – agalloch
3. sounds of pain – Uaral
4. lamentos a poema muerto – uaral
5. Maaäet – Tenhi
6. TheStarsAreDeadNow – coldworld
7. Stars Die : The Delerium Years – Porcupine Tree
8. Defective Epitaph – Xasthur
9. Nji. Njiijn. Njiiijn. – Njiqahdda
10. Om – Negură Bunget

Enjoy !!