Pelle's Diary

Vocals on there own are terrible to listen to!

2010-06-29T02:23:00.001-07:00

So this night I couldn't sleep and I figured I could listen to the recordings of my vocals and choose which take at which time was the best.

I only listened to the vocals (no piano, no guitar) and DAMN that's one honest thing to do. I am singing off key a lot! I could find good takes, but I need to practice more that's for sure. Pfft.

In the end I could combine all the good pieces, but man, some parts were awful in most takes. It's a reminder to practice on those parts more and get them right every time.

Pelle

Recorded songs for EP

2010-06-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

So I've been working on my EP ever since my band broke up and I decided to go on on my own at first.

I recorded a couple of songs, and I'm planning to do the following things as well:
* Photoshoot
* Videoclip in Berlin
* Release EP (with artwork by Natasha Taylor)
* Ask someone to modify a jacket for performances.
* Perform when in Finland

I recorded:
* Priest
* Like Clockwork
* Sir General
* Untitled
* White Knight
* Army of Jebus
* Cold

You can listen to bad recordings of most songs on: http://www.myspace.com/mmuziekbeelden

I am hoping that I got enough good takes and I can manage to make something out of the recordings of my vocals. I recorded them in the dressing (sea)container at my internship. I only had two days and four hours a day, of which one hour was wasted by trying to make programs do what they're supposed to do.

So.

Got to try to get my shit together and then I hopefully can play some shows :).

Pelle

School begint

2009-09-04T12:18:00.000-07:00

En we zijn weer bezig.

Deze week hebben we de demo binnengekregen, en we zijn er erg tevreden mee. Verder gaat Roemer nu bezig met boeken van optredens en ga ik bezig met het inhoudelijke aspect van de band; muziek en vormgeving.

Roemer wil een tour opzetten en optredens regelen, ik ga een show op papier zetten en proberen deze te realiseren.

Deze week zijn we bezig geweest met het visitekaartje en de hoes van de demo. We hebben besproken hoe we deze willen, en met Marije Kuiper hebben we een afspraak staan op 18 september voor een fotoshoot.
Verder hebben we 10 september ons eerste optreden.

Ziek

2009-06-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

Deze week hebben wij niet gespeeld, ik werd woensdag ziek, en ben nu nog steeds niet 100%.

We hebben alleen maar gewerkt aan papierwerk en hebben Jos blomsma en Cesar Eisema geïnterviewd voor ons onderzoek.

Beide interviews waren heel leuk en ook heel handig. Met Cesar hebben we bijna twee uur zitten te praten.

Beide hadden kritiek op de website, en ik heb nu contact opgenomen met Karsten, degene die ook de .com website erop heeft gezet met de vraag of hij met mij een compleet nieuwe website wil maken in de vakantie. Ondanks dat het 80+ uur werk was moet het toch anders, wat ik wel jammer vind.

Daarnaast ben ik weer bezig geweest met het onderzoek van de Romantiek. Maar ik vind het lastig, ondanks dat ik het wel heel leuk vind. Er is weinig informatie te vinden omdat google zelfs in het Engels Romantisicm met Romantic verward. Stomme Google.

Als laatste heb ik met Roemer gepraat over Berlijn. Dit gaan we nu net na de vakantie doen, in de introductieweek van de eerste jaars. We gaan de trip al voorbereiden in de vakantie, en in de week ervoor ook even inspelen, zodat we helemaal klaar zijn.
Merchandise, visitekaartjes en meer kunnen we dan maken en laten drukken voordat we weg gaan.

Week

2009-06-15T02:32:00.000-07:00

Deze week begon met Douwe Kroeske en daarna het oefenen met de band.

We zijn nu zover dat we een complete set hebben, en deze spelen we steeds door, verder proberen we kleine aanpassingen nog te maken, maar het grote geheel is er.

REST KOMT NOG.

Korte week

2009-06-07T16:29:00.000-07:00

Deze week was erg kort, en we hebben dan ook voornamelijk geoefend, en verder eigenlijk niks gedaan behalve dat wij zijn begonnen met het maken van het portfolio.

Ik zelf heb bij zangles gewerkt aan enkele liedjes, en aanwijzingen gekregen. Verder heb ik voor de band de officiele @sorrybunch.com emailadressen laten aanmaken door een vriend van mij, en ben ik begonnen met de website update.

Verder zit ik momenteel in een creatieve dip, waardoor er nog geen nieuwe nummers zijn ontstaan, of oude nummers zijn uitgewerkt.

Komende week gaat beginnen met een gastcollege van Jan Douwe Kroeske over netwerken en jezelf promoten op de radio.

Photoshoot en metronoom

2009-05-31T12:05:00.000-07:00

Deze week zijn wij vooral bezig geweest met de nummers oefenen; we willen namelijk eind juni toch een demo opnemen, met maar drie nummers. De nummers die we willen doen staan vast, en daarom zijn we die nu voornamelijk aan het oefenen.

Dinsdag hebben we zeer simplistisch een jaar plan gemaakt, deze zal nog iets uitgewerkt moeten.

Vrijdagochtend hadden we 2 uur lang bandcoaching van een gitarist Hendrik-Jan Bokkers. Hij heeft ons goede tips gegeven, en we hebben aan twee nummers in die twee uur kunnen werken, maar nog belangrijker; we weten nog beter hoe we onze twee instrumenten moeten gebruiken.

Verder hadden we deze zaterdag een photoshoot. Hiervoor zijn wij naar Winschoten gegaan, daar vlakbij zit de fabriek 'De Toekomst'. Ik had het idee om hier te fotograferen gekregen omdat deze fabriek al tientallen jaren leegstaat, en helemaal vervallen is. Een vriendin van mij ging mee waarvan ik werk kende, maar die verder niks professioneels doet.

Als concept had ik de avond ervoor bedacht om te doen alsof we er gewoon zouden leven (dus koken, tv kijken, slapen, maar dan met alles verrot). Daarom had ik een afstandsbediening, garde, kopjes, en krant meegenomen.

Uiteindelijk hebben we alleen de afstandsbediening gebruikt, en bleef de rest in de tas omdat we zoveel andere attributen daar al vonden, plus dat er een aantal mooie plekken waren waar geen attributen nodig waren.

We zijn niet de fabriek in gegaan; we begonnen eerst in een paar andere vervallen gebouwen foto's te maken, en we werden gesnapt voordat we daadwerkelijk in de fabriek waren (de fabriek wordt binnenkort gerenoveerd, alles was daarom afgezet).

De foto's zullen binnenkort te zien zijn op www.sorrybunch.com

Volgende week wil ik het onderzoek over de Romantiek afhebben, en wil ik de site opnieuw updaten (naast de foto's wordt de structuur van de website wat gebruiksvriendelijker, en ga ik proberen het uiterlijk ook iets aan te passen).

Verder willen we nog meer interviews regelen met bandleden, dit gaat Roemer regelen.

Weinig gedaan door korte week.

2009-05-22T16:20:00.000-07:00

Deze week is er niet zoveel gebeurd. We hebben twee keer gerepeteerd, en een keer daarvan was weer ouderwets jammen waarbij we meteen een begin voor een nieuw nummer verzonnen hebben.

Dinsdag hadden we een consult met Jelle van de New Killer Stars. Dit consult duurde een uur en dat was ontzettend handig; hij gaf veel tips en heeft ook veel verteld over hoe het bij hun ging. Door dit consult hebben we besloten om wel goede opnames te maken voor de demo.

Nadat ik met Freek had gesproken over het idee om een single op te nemen plus een nummer 'live' zei hij dat hij dat erg veel werk vond. Ook Jelle vond het beter om een demo van drie of vier nummers op te nemen. Dit gaan we dan ook proberen te doen, maar wel op het allerlaatste moment, zodat de nummers zo goed mogelijk zijn, en wij met metronoom kunnen oefenen zodat de opnames sneller zullen gaan.

Verder ben ik dit weekend weer bezig gegaan met het onderzoek over Romantiek. Dit onderzoek is nu bijna klaar, en die kunnen we zeker gebruiken.

Het andere onderzoek over hoe andere bands het doen gaat vooral interviews bevatten, waarvan die met Jelle er een is. We zullen de komende weken meer afspraken maken met andere bandleden en die ook interviewen, om zo een goed beeld te krijgen van wat wij moeten doen.

Verder heb ik Roemer gemaild dat hij meer moest doen. Ik heb de website helemaal gemaakt, ik heb de afspraken gemaakt, ik heb leraren gemaild voor lessen, en ik ben ook veel bezig geweest met de onderzoeken, terwijl Roemer het vooral druk had met andere verplichtingen. Ik hoop dat hij zich aan zal passen.

Les + EP uitstel + .com website

2009-05-15T10:27:00.000-07:00

Deze week was een beetje een rare week. We hadden weinig tijd om te spelen omdat we niks hadden gereserveerd na de vakantie. En de enige dag dat we konden spelen, kwam Freek luisteren en had hij commentaar op de muziek. Dit was wel heel handig, maar daarna besloten wij ook allebei dat de EP maar even moet wachten (die we met Freek zouden opnemen) gezien wij eerst iets beter willen worden, en de kosten van 400 euro wel erg hoog vinden (we moeten meer met metronoom oefenen, en nummers helemaal uitpluizen en alles echt 100% strak krijgen i.p.v. 75% strak zoals wij het nu hebben).

Verder hebben we zoals altijd weer de lessen van Ype bijgewoond en daar heb ik maar met Jelle een consult afgesproken (dat is de enige keer dat ik Jelle kan spreken). Die wou ons graag een consult geven, en deze zal plaatsvinden op dinsdag volgende week.

Ik ben, gezien wij toch niet zoveel te doen hadden, toen maar bezig gegaan met 1 van onze onderzoeken; het onderzoek over de overeenkomsten van de Romantiek en onze band, en hoe wij dit kunnen gebruiken. Hierbij ga ik in op de overeenkomsten en wat wij verder van de Romantiek visueel en muzikaal kunnen gebruiken om een beter unique selling point te hebben.

Als laatste is de website dit weekend de lucht in gegaan op www.sorrybunch.com. De website had ik al grotendeels gemaakt voor Above the Attic, en qua concept paste deze nog steeds bij ons (en ik had er +80 uur in gestoken, en vond het zonde om dit weg te gooien).

Consult

2009-05-10T05:08:00.000-07:00

Deze week was het begin van de weke even rustig omdat dinsdag het bevrijdingsdag was. Hierdoor bleef Roemer zowel maandag als dinsdag in Edam, waardoor we pas woensdag in de avond bezig konden. Ik ben zelf wel bezig geweest en heb 1 nummer afgeschreven waar nog zang bij moest. Verder kreeg ik de mogelijkheid om bij radio OOG te spelen, en dat heb dan ook gedaan, weliswaar op gitaar, maar ik heb reclame kunnen maken voor de band en ik mag nog terug komen om er piano te spelen.

Door miscommunicatie hebben we niet kunnen spelen (we hadden beide niet gereserveerd), maar we zijn bezig gegaan met het bespreken van wat we nog moesten doen.

Die dag hadden we ook nog een consult met Ype wat ons erg hielp met een beter zicht krijgen op wat we nog moesten doen. We hebben verder elkaar een rol gegeven; ik doe al het artistieke en Roemer al het zakelijke.

Ik heb ook nog een photoshop les gehad van Iris, wat ik nodig heb voor het maken van al het visuele.

Dit weekend of de komende week gaat www.sorrybunch.com de lucht in; de website had ik al afgemaakt. Verder had Roemer zijn zus gevraagd wat designs te maken voor de band, en deze gaan we eventueel ook gebruiken. En ik heb een vriendin gevraagd of ze een photoshoot met ons wil doen in Groningen.

Als laatste hebben we besloten om een lange termijn planning te maken, waarbij Berlijn iets is waar we nu mee bezig gaan, als supportact spelen bij andere band het volgende is, en een tourtje in Spanje volgend jaar ook in de planning staat (deze planning gaan we komende week schrijven).

Mei vakantie

2009-05-01T12:48:00.000-07:00

Gedurende de meivakantie was Roemer naar Spanje, en zat ik thuis.
Ik heb deze tijd gebruikt om de website van de band af te maken, en de myspace te pimpen met de hulp van een vriend van mij.
Verder heb ik Vera, Simplon en S2bar (een plek waar wij eerder met Above the Attic hebben gespeeld) benaderd om te vragen of wij konden spelen. Ook heb ik enkele mensen gevraagd of zij nog plekken weten waar wij kunnen spelen, om zo wat plekken te hebben om ook contact mee op te nemen.
Als laatste ben ik bezig geweest met de nieuwe nummers, en ben ik begonnen met het bekijken van de structuur en van de dynamiek. Dit zal ik later met Roemer ook nog eens gaan bespreken en bekijken, om zo de muziek nog beter te maken.
Jammer genoeg heb ik tijdens de vakantie niet zoveel kunnen doen als ik hoopte, gezien ik mijn pols had overbelast, waardoor ik de helft van de vakantie geen piano kon spelen.

Live opnames

2009-04-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

Deze week stond vooral in het teken van live opnames.

We hebben woensdag en donderdagochtend gebruikt om live opnames te maken met mijn microfoon. Deze opnames gaan we gebruiken om aan programmeurs te sturen zodat deze weten wat we maken.

De opnames gingen goed, en de nummers die we goed hebben opgenomen zijn:
-Intro
-Don't Take Things for Granted
-On Water we Float
-Britpop #2
-Catch 22
-Chase

Verder hebben we deze week contact opgenomen met Thomas Azier en gevraagd of hij ons kon helpen met de optredens in Berlijn. Hij heeft ons daarop een lijstje gestuurd met clubs waar wij zouden kunnen spelen. Met deze clubs zullen wij halverwege mei contact mee opnemen.

Als laatste gaan we bezig met Merchandise, ons visitekaartje en de website.

Ik heb met een oude schoolvriend contact gehad over de website (hij had ook geholpen aan de website van onze vorige band Above the Attic) en hij wou graag weer helpen.

Verder hebben we iemand van deviantart.com gecontacteerd omdat wij haar werk zo mooi vonden, en haar gevraagd of ze onze huisstijl wou doen. Jammer genoeg wou ze dit niet doen, maar misschien wel het hoesje van de EP. En ze vertelde ons dat ze bezig was met een Xbox game en dat er nog muziek nodig was, dus daar hebben wij natuurlijk op gereageerd dat wij hier graag ons steentje aan bij willen dragen!

Marketingplan

2009-04-17T14:07:00.001-07:00

We hebben deze week wederom gerepeteerd en weer aan alle nummers gewerkt, Don't take things for Granted is zo goed als af nu, Britpop #1 is omgedoopt naar Magician Girl, en is qua piano en zang af, maar er moet nog drums bij. On Water we float is ook alweer wat verder af; de structuur staat zo goed als vast. Al met al hebben we nu de volgende nummers zo goed als af:

Intro 2:20
Erase This 3:00
Magician Girl 5:00
Don't Take Things for Granted 2:30
Catch 22 4:30
Mr.Immovable 3:00
Wake up improv: 4:00
Totale tijd: 24:20 min aan muziek.

Volgende week is het plan om een live opname te maken van enkele nummers, zodat we deze kunnen rondsturen bij kleine plekjes waar we dan kort kunnen optreden met deze nummers, plus eventuele improvisaties (en andere nummers die ondertussen ook af zijn gemaakt).

Qua papierwerk zijn we weer wat verder gekomen; we hebben een marketingplan gemaakt. Hierin hebben we beschreven wat we willen bereiken, maar ook wat we precies willen doen, en we hebben besloten om onze introvertheid als unique sellingpoint te gebruiken, en deze uit te buiten in plaats van als zwakte te zien.

Met het marketingplan hebben we ook alles gepland, en Berlijn wordt nu een tien daagse trip van 10 - 20 juni. Verder hebben we via een vriendin de kans gekregen om in Oost-Duitsland op een klein festival te spelen genaamd raeubertage eind augustus. Dit gaan we ook doen.

Freekshow:

Ik stop momenteel met Freekshow omdat ik er niet in geloof zoals het nu loopt; ik denk niet dat het ooit zover komt dat het kan worden uitgevoerd met de huidige mensen, en met de huidige situatie. Daarom stop ik met Freekshow, en ga ik er volgend jaar mee verder zodra ik de juiste mensen heb gevonden.

Bandnaam

2009-04-08T05:12:00.000-07:00

We hebben onze keuze nu laten slinken tot twee namen:

-Dynamite Dogs
-Sorry Bunch

Roemer en ik weten het beide niet goed. Maar we weten wel dat we beide namen goed vinden, en geen andere willen.

Ondertussen ben ik druk bezig met nieuwe nummers schrijven en hebben we een nieuw nummer Catch 22, bijna af. Ik heb gisteren een nieuw nummer geschreven zonder zang, maar qua structuur bijna wel helemaal af.

Het lijstje wat we nu hebben:

-Intro (helemaal klaar)
-Erase This (helemaal klaar)
-Anti Dote (helemaal klaar)
-Mr.Immovable (helemaal klaar)
-On Water we float (Drums moeten vaststaan, structuur ook helemaal)
-Catch 22 (tekst moet nog helemaal af, drums moet helemaal af)
-Wake up (structuur enigszins in aanbrengen)
-Don't take things for granted (outro. Heeft alleen nog drum nodig, structuur staat vast)
-Rage (helemaal af moeten alleen dit nummer overzetten van de compositie die ik op de pc heb gemaakt naar hoe we deze precies willen uitvoeren)
-Chase (structuur helemaal af maken, drum vastleggen)
-Mind You (structuur helemaal uitpluizen, drum erbij bedenken)
-Rampetampamp (structuur is af, maar nog geen nieuwe zang bij gemaakt)

En dit zijn de nummers die nog helemaal niet ver zijn:
-Britpop # 1 & 2 (kijken wat we precies met deze nummers willen doen, structuur vastleggen)
-Crosses (heeft nog maar 2 structuren, wel al drum)
-Massive (structuur uitbreiden en zang)
-Nocturne (alleen piano, structuur nog niet helemaal vast)

Freekshow

Ik heb samen met Jeroen (een van de acteurs) en Berbel besloten dat het stuk in het Nederlands wordt opgevoerd, maar de liedjes in het Engels worden gezongen. We gebruiken nu de Engelse tekst, ik laat de acteurs deze enkele malen opvoeren, en aan de hand hiervan schrijf ik het script opnieuw in het Nederlands. Dit werkt goed, en het heeft geen effect opde voortgang eigenlijk, want de acteurs leren de tekst en ik schrijf tegelijkertijd de tekst op.

Liedjes en trip Berlijn

2009-04-03T08:41:00.001-07:00

Deze week niet veel gedaan, Roemer was er pas dinsdag middag, toen hebben we eventjes gespeeld en gewerkt aan een nieuw nummer. De woensdag en donderdag uiteindelijk ook niks kunnen doen, en pas vrijdag bezig gegaan. Vrijdag hebben we wederom gewerkt aan hetzelfde nummer en een nieuw nummer genaamd 'Abort', waar we de gehele structuur van af hebben gemaakt, waar alleen nu nog wat tekst mist.

Al met al hebben we nu vijf nummers, van in totaal zo'n vijftien minuten. Genoeg voor een halve set dus.

Donderdagochtend had ik een kort SLB gesprek met Hugo. Hierin vertelde ik hem over mijn idee om een trip van twee weken te doen, en daarin te gaan touren in Berlijn. Hugo vroeg mij waarom ik dit pas in de zomervakantie wou doen, en waarom ik het niet tijdens school zou doen. Ik vroeg het mijzelf ook af, en na met Roemer te hebben gebeld werd besloten om de 'tour' of reeks optredens aan het eind van dit semester te doen, als klap op de pudding van ons project.

Het idee is om via couchsurfing.com onderdak te vinden voor de twee weken, vantevoren regelen dat we kunnen spelen (het liefst iedere dag) en om dan van de buitenkant van Berlijn naar het centrum te gaan en terug. Dit in een tijdsbestek van twee weken en met het openbaar vervoer.

Freekshow: De acteurs worden eruit gehaald, iedereen behalve eentje (dat is Jeroen Kluitenberg, een goede acteur die onmisbaar is qua hulp en professionaliteit). De rest van de mensen (Peter en Yanesh) gaan eruit omdat het niet goed loopt; ik ga nieuwe mensen zoeken en op aanraden van Jeroen het stuk in het Nederlands doen en de nummers in het Engels. Ondanks dat ik absoluut niet van Nederlands houd, vind ik het wel een logische beslissing gezien mensen Engels moeilijk te verstaan vinden, en acteurs het moeilijk vinden om te spreken. Ik ben benieuwd of het mij lukt alles af te krijgen voor het eind van het semester.

Papierwerk afmaken

2009-03-31T05:01:00.000-07:00

Op dit moment zijn we bezig met het papierwerk afmaken. Zowel de normeringen als het plan van aanpak zijn zo goed als af, we zetten nu nog de puntjes op de i (inhoudsopgave maken, alles netjes per pagina, lettertypes goed, etcetera).

Deze week willen we ook onze nieuwe POP's afhebben, en ondertekend hebben zodat we dat allemaal klaar hebben en echt goed bezig kunnen gaan.

Qua muziek hebben we nu meer dan tien nummers die nog niet af zijn maar met niet al te veel moeite af kunnen worden gemaakt. Momenteel is een nummer al af (het oude intro van Above the Attic) en is een nummer bijna af (een nieuw nummer waarvan alleen de drum nog helemaal af moet, maar we zijn al een heel eind). Ik heb vandaag de nummers in de volgorde geplaatst waarin we ze willen afmaken. Nummers die al in vergevorderd stadium zijn staan bovenaan.

Afgelopen woensdag hadden we een zangeres die auditie deed, maar dat werd het niet; haar zang was niet goed genoeg, en haar stijl paste er ook niet bij. We hadden iemand anders ook via www.musicfrom.nl gecontacteerd, maar die heeft nog niet gereageerd. Verder hebben wij Nina Boegschoten nog in het oog, ik heb met haar gespeeld en dat was wel leuk, maar Roemer kon toen niet waardoor ik niet goed kon peilen of het wat was of niet. Wel reageerde ze heel positief op de muziek zelf.

Mijn musical Freekshow loopt goed. We repeteren drie keer in de week een uurtje, en dit werkt heel goed, de grote lappen tekst zijn geen probleem meer, en ik ga deze week alle nummers opnemen die af zijn. Anna-Mae gaat met mij in het vierde blok bezig de nummers af te maken, en ondertussen ga ik met de acteurs de liedjes oefenen die al af zijn.
In het vierde blok ga ik ook met Anna-Mae al het papierwerk weer bij langs, omdat dit inmiddels verouderd is (en nog steeds niet af, wat eigenlijk al wel had gemoeten).

Recording at school + demo

2009-02-11T07:43:00.000-08:00

The past three days we've been recording two songs; Cold Morning & Promise.

Two rather different songs which were also created on different times (Promise is our newest song while Cold Morning was one of the early songs created).

Recording with David was such a different experience when compared to Faber. David made it look like everything was a breeze and he helped with small suggestions and was so enthusiastic when it came to our music.

On Monday we started recording the drums, which took quite some time. Setting up all the different microphones (which David did; we couldn't do it ourselves of course) took time, and before we had enough good takes it was kind of late. But it sounded good and after playing both songs for way too many times we called it a day at around four.

On Tuesday we recorded me on the piano, cello and bass. For Cold Morning we needed bass which didn't took long. Neither did the cello part for Promise (which consists of a lot of piano and drum and cello only at the end). Both songs went incredibly well and we only needed about six hours before we called it a day (the fact that a piano doesn't need microphones also helped).

Today David recorded Anne. Unfortunately I couldn't be there the whole time, neither did Frauke or Roemer (I was there on Monday and of course on Tuesday). It also went very fast and what I heard sounded good.

At the same time we got our raw material from Faber, which sounded a lot better than we expected. Which is always a good thing.

Now all we need to do is wait for David to finish mixing the songs.

Selwerd 2 Flatbar Performance

2009-01-30T04:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had to perform in Selwerd in a small bar. Selwerd is a small place in Groningen, which has three big flats, called Selwerd 1,2 and 3. With the band we played in the flatbar of Selwerd 2.

We all had the same problem; we weren't feeling like it. Although we were going to play, everyone's mindset wasn't pointed towards playing for people. And if you count in the fact we hadn't played much the past weeks, it wasn't looking particularly pretty.

But once we were there, everything fell into place. There was a jamsession from 9 until 11:30. I played bass and guitar, and just had a nice time screwing up every song we played. I didn't know any of the songs, so I just tried and failed miserably, but it was so much fun.

Because of this I wasn't that nervous, but as soon as some friends of mine arrived I could notice I was getting nervous. And in the end I did make some mistakes, but overall it went well. People really liked it, and we all felt so happy and glad we played there!

We even played a new song Promise and in the end we decided to play Wake Up! as an encore , which went terrible, but was great to play.

I just can't believe how good it felt, and how we all felt the same way; just completely extatic!

Recording in Amsterdam

2009-01-06T04:35:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we went to Amsterdam to record a Demo.

At six in the morning I woke up, at seven I was picked up by Frauke. We had to take all our instruments, so we took my piano with us (Frauke's cello was already in the car). Then we proceeded to go to Anne, to pick her up, and we went on our way to Edam, towards Roemer. In Edam we picked up Roemer's Drumkit, while leaving Anne and Roemer behind (there was no more space in the car, and Roemer knew how to get to the studio via public transport).

We arrived at ten minutes to ten. At ten past ten Faber arrived (he's the guy who was going to record our Demo. He hadn't recorded something on his one, so this was a first for him as well). Frauke and I just finished putting everything inside when Roemer and Anne arrived.

The studio was a nice little basement which consisted of two rooms, divided by a corridor. One was the recording room, the other the room which had all the devices and such. Also, a little isolated room was there for vocals (or in our case; for the cellist).

We set everything up, got the drum right (after replacing Roemer's drumkit with a drumkit from someone else), and after about four hours or work everything was good. Until Faber fired up the computer and the program failed to open. Luckily it started working soon, and we could begin recording Loveless.

Idiots as we were, we decided we wanted to use a Clicktrack after recording it without first. Normally you use it every single time when recording but Loveless starts a little bit slower, and gradually picks up the pace. This decision resulted in one hour of trying desperately to use the clicktrack but failing miserably (though it sounded tighter, the emotion wasn't there and it felt flat). Finally we gave up and agreed that we wanted to use the one we recorded without clicktrack.

We then went to grab some food and to just take a break.

Then the program refused to start again, and this time, for quite a long period. In the mean time my sister swung by and that made the day a lot better. We went upstairs to a cafe which was next to the studio, and grabbed something to eat while waiting on the boss who would fix the darn pc.

We then proceeded to play the newest song On and on. That song went really well, though the song itself was quite hard for Frauke to play over and over again.

In the end we recorded two other songs as well within an hour and went home at around eleven. At a quarter past one I was home again, and went to bed.

It was an exhausting day, but it was great fun, and we learned so much from it. And poor Anne, who came with us but didn't even had to sing (we will be recording the vocals next week).

Thinking...

2008-12-28T15:28:00.000-08:00

...is the worst invention in the world.

Give me spare time and I tend to think too much about everything. About every relationship I have, about every person I know, about myself, about my own personality, about my band, about my life, about all the things directly concerning me. It annoys the hell out of me.

Plus my mind is screwing with me; I can be completely satisfied, terribly depressed and apathetic on one day!

Painting does fill me with joy though:
I've been working on it and I finished it today. I kind of ruined it though more than you could imagine. It looks great here, but I made some stupid changes. Ah well...

Cheers,

P

Photo shoot

2008-12-17T14:21:00.000-08:00

Today we had a photo shoot with Tim, a good friend of Frauke.

We started at nine thirty in the morning, making pictures on a roof. Everyone was freezing theirtoes off, but it was worth it; the scenery was really nice. The roof itself was not that great, it wobbled and felt like it was as thin as ice. The pictures themselves were gorgeous. Reactions of people were amazing as well, looking up, making gestures, smiling, thumbs up.

After we'd done that, we went inside, because everyone was freezing their asses off. We went inside one of the smallest rooms of the building, which had a fireplace which was modified (it didn't work anymore). Once again we had great shots and making them was fun, though sitting on the fireplace was difficult. These photo's took us quite some time, and I wanted to get some clothes I left at home. Roemer had a meeting at the same time, so I went back to get them, and when I finally got back to school everyone had started to make pictures at the side of the building we stood on an hour ago.

We paused for an hour.

After the break we went to a playground where we made some good pictures. There was a little pond for kids to use, and when we used it (all four of us on that thing) I got my shoes and feet wet (officially it's winter. It just means it's fucking cold but there's no snow to compensate the coldness). Yet amazingly, we went on for half an hour before I felt it. I really needed some other shoes to wear so we went back to Frauke's place so I could borrow a pair of shoes from Tim (we discovered that he had the same size).

After getting those shoes we decided we wanted to go on top of the roof; light was fading and we didn't have much time left. So we went on the roof, took more pictures, and also took some in the stairway that was next to the roof. Once again it went smooth and without anyone falling to his or her early death.

When those pictures were taken, we walked back to the school (where we'd shot the pictures on the roof and in the small room). There's a photo studio at the school, which we had reserved for three hours. Before using it, we decided we needed a short break, which turned into a rather long break because we didn't get all the pizzas we ordered (the pizza for Anne, vegetarian, wasn't there). In the end it took more than one hour and a half before we finally got to the studio (after discussing if it was necessary or not).

The studio was awesome. It's really different from making photographs outside; it's empty, and you have to use a concept rather than a nice tree or a nice bulding. So we decided we wanted to go back into the old days; when we all went to school. The concept was quite simple: Anne, Frauke and Roemer were asleep, and I knew the answer to the question. Different, but fun and nice as well. We also took some jumping shots and dancing, and silly stuff. We didn't expect much from this, because we were getting tired and we thought we'd ran out of ideas. Oh how we were wrong...

It was almost nine o' clock in the evening by now, so we wanted to rehearse for half an hour and call it a day. In barely fifteen minutes, we managed to play every single song we had (seven songs, normally it would take us twenty five minutes).

After doing all of that I had to get back to Frauke's place to pick up my shoes and socks (which were nice and warm when I put them on), and Frauke, Tim and I just sat there and talked some more before we all went to our beds.

I just can't believe everything went so well. I hate pictures of myself, and I hate being in the center of attention (that's what I thought). But this whole one day adventure was fantastic. Doing all this stuff makes you feel like you're finally getting somewhere with your band, and it's the most fun I had in months!

Right now everyone is mentally and physically exhausted (and I recon I'm the only one still awake). If there's anything you need to do as a band, do this. Because you won't forget such a day easily.

And I want to thank Tim for spending a whole fucking day with us and not once complaining about it or about the awkward poses he had to put himself into to get nice photographs (sorry Tim!).

Cheers,

P

Ps. And of course the best pictures will be posted on the website and here.

Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Edam, Utrecht, Amanda Palmer

2008-10-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been an amazing adventure.

I'll start with yesterday, and I'll work my way back.

Yesterday I was in Edam, with the drummer of Above the Attic, Roemer. During the day we just didn't do much, and in the evening we went to a concert of Amanda Palmer. This is where a lot went wrong...

First we were late, and when we finally got in Utrecht we had troubles finding Tivoli. When we got there we stood there watching a band play, because we thought Amanda was late or we got the time wrong. When they finished they said 'Well, enjoy the Pidgeon Detectives.' Roemer and I looked at each other, and realized we were at the wrong place. Apparently there are TWO Tivoli's.

An hour later (it was nine o' clock) we stumbled inside the Tivoli we needed to be at, where we had some troubles getting in (they talked with the other Tivoli, and after a minute we could go in). Finally, and in the nick of time.

I can't describe the show itself, I can only say I loved every second of it. The acting, the songs, the way everything was orchestrated. It was gorgeous. I even noticed that (I assume by accident) the shadows on the wall of Amanda and Lyndon (a great violist) were beautiful.

At the end I went to the table where Amanda was signing merchandise and talking to fans. I myself am normally not that kind of person; when I do such a thing, I have the feeling I am annoying people or that I am occupying a place which was meant for someone else. Anyway. I brought a CD with me which had six songs on it from Above the Attic. And I gave it to her, telling her how and what (which actually went quite well; despite forgetting to tell her my name).

If you read this Amanda, I love your music and I really hope you want to check out the website and such. I don't want anything from you except for your opinion. That would be great :-).

I sincerely hope she enjoys listening to it or that she responds by saying it's okay or it sucks or it's amazing (though the last one isn't likely to happen; we as a band aren't even that happy with the songs). It's a shame I didn't ask her for a hug, or asked her about how her leg was. But alas, I'm still a nervous and autistic person at heart, who forgets those kind of things in the heat of the moment. Sadly.

When the concert was over, we discovered there weren't any buses going to Edam anymore. So we tried calling friends and relatives to ask if we could stay there for one night. Only my sister answered, and she didn't have the room for Roemer and I. At the end we decided to take a cab for thirty euros. I honestly don't want to know how much money I spent the past three days...

Now we'll go to sunday. Sunday I went to my sister in Amsterdam. I hadn't been there for quite a while, and I hadn't seen where she lived yet. So I was quite suprised because her room is really really nice. And we went to a museum which had all kinds of photographs (one had pictures of people from Africa, street artists, who had monkeys, snakes and hyena's as their guards dogs. Beautiful pictures. Another person had all kind of pictures from the '30s to the '70s which had people in daily situations on it. My sister and I both were wondering how old those people were now, and if they were still alive. There was another one, but he sucked frankly).

Saturday I was at Mieke's place. Mieke is an old friend of mine, and she had a party so I decided to swing by. We spent the day in Rotterdam, which was enjoyable, and we spent the night at her house with lots of people. It was nice being with her again and meeting all her friends (of whom one, David, gave me a Dresden Dolls album. I can't thank him enough).
I also played a song with David. He makes songs using Reason; really nice songs which you can just play and they fill the room with a atmosphere. I played a slow guitar solo over it, and it was quite nice actually. Then I played Daisy, which a couple people liked (which in return made me happy).

And friday I went to Mieke, which didn't went that well (I expected to travel for three hours; I ended up spending five because of a bus and wrong information about buses).

It's 3:45 in the afternoon, and I just took a shower (shower are wonderful things when you feel tired).

Cheers,

Happiness comes in small portions

2008-09-27T15:52:00.000-07:00

It's true.

Today I sat in cafe de Beurs again, playing the piano.

And I stopped, as always at nine. At that time a man stood next to me putting a small tip on the piano for me. When I suddenly stopped playing he said 'You're stopping already?'

I said I had already played for two hours.

He replied; 'That's a shame, I really enjoyed it.'

Then he walked away.

These small things totally make my day.

Songs recorded. Song found

2008-09-25T01:33:00.000-07:00

We recorded six songs yesterday via my laptop and my microphone (which is a really neat thing. I bought it more than a year ago, never used. The past year it served it's purpose multiple times).

The recording went quite well, it's not good enough to post anywhere yet, but it's nice having something solid. At the same time I'm really eager on knowing when we are going to perform these songs outside our safe bunker.

We also stayed at my place afterward, eating chocolate cake with M&M's and whip cream, watching a really bad American comedy. I enjoyed it.

Today I found an old song I recorded more than a month ago; Mind You. I really really like it, and it's me and it's the piano and it's personal and it's not perfect, but it comes close. It's one of those songs you listen to and when it ends you wonder where the time has been. And if you listen to it closely you can hear someone singing about his life. Which I haven't done before, I always make songs about concepts or ideas. Turning my own personal life and adventures had always resulted in bad songs, so I just didn't try it after a while.

And then you find this. Which is all about me and about what I am. It kind of shocks me to know I had this song and I haven't found it earlier. It would fit so well with everyone. I'm going to fight for this song to remain the same. I want it like this.

This week has been insane. I have had time but my head is full and I messed up things I normally don't, it was my birthday (which was nice, though the real parties are next week), I played with Anna-Mae, and with Roemer. The whole week is filled with stuff to do, it's really really nice. Also really really chaotic for me.

But it's good fun.

Musical dilemma

2008-09-22T04:37:00.000-07:00

While I'm sitting on my bed, with a snoring cat from the neighbors next to me, I can't help but think I'm really enjoying everything. I played with Anna-Mae, which was a blast. After half an hour we couldn't focus any longer, so we just played random things, I played the drums, we sang stupid songs and just messed around. It was good fun.

We did finish one song and started another. There are eleven songs for the musical, four of which are already finished (one is a cover, the other three are songs I made some time ago and just changed them a little bit). The fifth is already half way done, and I've got some piano tunes we can use. I finished the lyrics of the eleventh song yesterday, while deciding there should be something like an ending song with the lights turned out which would give everything a warm feeling. Instead of turning the lights on and just bowing to the audience.

Now the band is something I still don't know what to do with. I like playing with them, yet I feel like I miss things/people. This is something I found after I played with Anna-Mae. I miss the opportunity to just play and have fun, yet be serious about it. The connection is gone, at least for me. I'll give it time.

I can't find teachers who can teach me to play the cello. I really want to start it now, or else I won't do it. I also need to look for a student who can help me develop my classic piano skills.

Now I have to excuse myself, the cat want to get out and so do I.

Cheers,

Note to self: Need to buy camera for adding pictures.

Got driver's license + busy

2008-09-15T15:49:00.000-07:00

Well I've got my driver's license (hurray!). I burst into tears when he (the exam dude) said I passed. I honestly couldn't believe it. I cried because I was so nervous (I've never ever been so nervous for something in my life. I also haven't felt that relieved when I heard I passed). I just stood up, after shaking his hand and shaking the hand of my driving instructor (who rocks. She's been so nice to me, has taught me in a way which really helped me and I haven't even thanked her for everything. Stupid), and wobbled outside finding my dad and telling him I passed still crying, feeling quite awkward because of the fact I just couldn't stop crying. I didn't know how I felt; relieved, sad, etc. The only thing I knew was that I couldn't believe I passed; I thought I sucked and it went so awful. According to my driving instructor I did very well and drove without showing nervosity. If only she could look inside my head...

And now I can drive home this Friday. I'm a bit scared, it's odd I can't stop thinking about not being able to drive anymore. It's just stupid.

I've also driven the motorcycle of my dad, which was a blast. It's really heavy at first, but when you hit thirty or more it just drives really nice.

Anyway.

Because of those things occurring, I didn't work on the musical at all. Which is a shame, but alas, I couldn't get a grip on myself. This week I will try to write at least one song. Unfortunately we'll only have one meeting and the drummer can't play. It'll work out itself though. I'm positive.

Roemer, the drummer of my band Above the Attic (hence the name Above the Attic's Diary) wants to have six songs ready within ten weeks. We discovered we already have one song completely finished (Mr.Immovable), and two songs almost finished (Wake up! and Nameless). Of the remaining three songs we have a skeleton; a basic idea or a tune without vocals and or real structure. Besides those six we've got loads and loads of idea's, riffs on the guitar, lyrics, and so forth. So six songs shouldn't be a problem.

Just now I've also finished selecting photographs with Roemer, which we will use for flyers and other things.

Here's one of them. I just like the fact that everything is black because of the clothing and the lighting. And the composition is really nice.

Picture by Roemer

Cheers,

Toy Band

2008-09-05T01:41:00.001-07:00

Last week was wonderful. I helped with the introduction week of the school. The newcomers could choose from several projects. I had developed the Toy Band with a teacher. The challenge was to make a song with instruments made for children. We had Casio Keyboards, a plastic guitar, my pots and pans, and more. I helped them with two others seniors. We called them Our Children and always asked other friends of us (who were also helping freshman with a project) how it went with their children.

It was a lot of fun. I had to play too because one of the people from my Toy Band got sick. We made a Keytar out of an old Casio Sampler, duck tape, and a guitar strap. This was the first time I performed in ages, and I enjoyed every second of it! It was just fun, fooling around with those toy instruments and the drumkit which we made from my pots and pans. I'll post the youtube video here when it's uploaded.

The other good thing that happened to me; I got myself a team for the musical I've written. We will have a meeting next week in which we will talk about what and how. It's great and a bit scary knowing that I am the person in charge. I'm really looking forward to it though.

But I'm sick now, unfortunately; my stomach hurts and I can't breath that easily. Coughing up mucilage while my throat feels like someone has thrown razorblades inside. I hope it'll wear off soon. Then I can really put all my energy in the musical (and in getting my driver's license).

Cheers,

It's going well

2008-08-16T06:48:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, I enjoy what I'm doing.

The thing that I'm doing is practicing! Piano and guitar, not much though, but enough. But what I'm really excited about is the fact that I'll be playing with Frauke, , the hopefully-soon-to-be cellist of Above the Attic.

Furthermore, there's a chance I will be getting a part-time job as a pianist in a busy cafe (I didn't know you could achieve that much with some chit chat).

And last but not least I finally have a roommate (rather a housemate). A first year student at the musics school I'm attending, who's a genuine nice person, and I think we'll get along pretty well.

The only thing that is frustrating me is the fact I am not playing that much piano and guitar. I could be playing three hours a day, but I can't. My bottle of concentration is empty after half an hour, no matter what I do. I also haven't been writing many songs (though I've never wrote many songs, but there are a few unfinished, and even those are gathering dust).

But school will start in two weeks, I'll be back working on everything and hopefully performing a hell of a lot.

Cheers,

Working and so on

2008-08-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

I've been busy, so to speak. With making music. I changed the genre again, now I'm trying to make composition with my Macbook. I've listened to too much Garbage songs. Now I want to use their style, and mix it with the Dresden Dolls, and my own style, plus Chopin. I really hope that'll work and I really hope this will finally be something I want to perform with (and I sincerely hope that I will actually perform).

So that is what I'm doing, plus practicing Chopin Preludes (I need to buy the Nocturnes), my own compositions and on the guitar scales and songs. The only thing I am not doing is practicing my vocals which is something I should do. I've generally neglected my vocals for the past year because I don't like hearing myself or I am just ashamed others might hear it. Yet I should practice because I will do the vocals on some songs.

I've been wondering the past few days about what I want to do.

Do I really want to perform?

- Yes, although I have to admit I'm terrified every time I'm standing in front of a small crowd.

What kind of music do I want to make?

- I don't know.

You see that second question? That's the one that freaks me out. I know I want to perform and I know I want to try to be famous or whatever. But I don't know with what kind of music. Now that I've started making songs via my laptop, I found it sounding great. At the same time I was wondering whether or not I could produce more songs that were this great. So now I want to prove myself I can do it by making about three songs in the next three weeks. If I'm really pleased with them I'll put them on youtube.

Cheers,

Fucking hot

2008-07-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

I hate this. It's so damn hot that I can't think clearly, can't play the piano (takes too much energy), and the worst of all: it takes away my appetite!

Anyway.

Today I recorded Mr.Immovable and a raw version of Wake up Wake up Wake up. It wasn't fun to do because of the heat, but nevertheless I'm pleased that I finally have something.

Next Saturday I'll be making the website of the band with a good friend of mine. But we haven't got everything, so I guess we have to improvise first with ugly, photoshopped and googled pictures. It's okay though, though I really want to finish it the same day (which won't happen for sure).

I've been listening to Dresden dolls a lot again, using it to analyze why I like their songs. They're are so brilliant. Simple melodies, nice rhythms, I'm so jealous they are where I want to be. I will also spend time on analyzing Chopin's preludes and nocturnes.

Hopefully I'll learn some valuable things.

Well that's it for now,

Cheers.

Brainfreeze

2008-06-24T14:07:00.000-07:00

Although everything seems to go okay, I'm still frustrated by so many things.

I can't seem to write new lyrics. I haven't got idea's or things that happened to me which I could convey in a song. And my English is too poor to make a nice song.

Yet the strange thing is that I know that those songs will come. Mr.Immovable is still a song I enjoy singing and playing. And I just wrote it when I got a sudden burst of inspiration. Two hours of work, and there it was!

But it's so simple and easy. I want songs which sound somewhat stranger. And we have a couple of chords and rhythm which are strange. But it takes time to turn those into a song. And I do not have the patience. I want to perform I want to know whether or not people genuinely like the music I make!

So I've been studying Chopin's Preludes. They are wonderful, and hard. I will try to learn most of them during my vacation. But concentration takes huges chunks of energy; every single time I play I feel like I'm being drained.

But on the bright side; we do got four songs which are almost done (all of them are missing the lyrics which we need to add soon). And there are a couple waiting (another one is finished, but Roemer can't remember that he liked it. For fuck sake, we played it for half an hour and were playing like we never did before. How the hell did he forget that song!).

Music is strange

2008-06-18T07:36:00.000-07:00

It really is.

I couldn't create any new songs for the past week. And I almost became frustrated and pessimistic about everything. Then I got the chance to play with a friend of mine, Anna Mae. And what do you know, there they were! Three new songs.

After playing with her, I played for an hour and a half with Roemer. And we created this insane simple but delicious short song. It consists of four major chords. And we played like crazy, and I sang like crazy (I even discovered I could put on a raw voice without damaging my voice much). We finished after playing the song for ten minutes, then I just didn't have a voice (I discovered that damaging your voice not much is still noticeable), and I felt tired. We quickly decided that this song should be recorded and Mr.Immovable should be recorded. So we will record them and put them on youtube within a few weeks :).

As I said music is strange.

Mr.Immovable

2008-06-13T14:32:00.000-07:00

Mr.Immovable is finished, I played it with Roemer (the drummer of my band) for over an hour. Been singing it too, and I feel good about it. It's a sweet song, a bittersweet fantasy tale.

Next week I want to make a video-clip for it, using just paper, a pen, and frame by frame shooting with a camera. I want it so fucking bad. Damn.

You know when an idea gets stuck inside your head at night? And you want to see if the result is to be compared to what you had in mind? That's how I am now. No camera in sight, though there's plenty of paper to be found.

I also want to try out my guitar songs on the piano, and then change them. And when there are five songs (or more. More is good). I want to perform. A lot. A awful lot. Experience. Experience. Needed. So. Bad. Dot.

I am completely obsessed by the Dresden Dolls. I'll admit. Their music inspires me, Amanda's blog inspires me, their whole style and way of performing is fabulous. When I finish the video-clip I'll most definitely send it to them. No chance they will see it, but nonetheless, I can always try.

And to make everything even better, Frauke will listen to our music next week. She plays the cello, and I want her in the band. I'll be in heaven when a cellist plays in my band. That would make the band even more of a quirk than it already is right now.

I want to do so many things, but I've got so little time. I want to work my ass off in the vacation; play with lots of bands, visit performances of other people, play for people, talk with people about music. Breath music. Would be great.

Scary shit

2008-06-11T16:28:00.000-07:00

It's 01:27 and the bulb in my room just exploded. This is the second one that exploded out of the three that have gone to smithereens the past six months.

My heart needed a good five minutes to stop pounding....

And now I need to turn on a light, so I can scrape the pieces of glass of the floor. I'm completely freaked out right now, I hate exploding objects..

2008-06-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

I like blogging, it gives me a space where I can vent all my thoughts, feeling, and so fort.

So now I am filling with inspiration, it's almost midnight, and I just wrote half a song which doesn't even sound half as bad as all the other crap I produced on guitar.

It's about Mr. Immovable. I was hugely inspired by a blog written by Amanda (Dresden Dolls Amanda) who wrote about her lover (?) being immobilized because of an illness. Luckily he was cured after a couple of weeks. I loved the idea of someone being immobilized and someone loving that person to death. So I wrote a song about it, which doesn't express a lot, but does make it sound sweet. I also want to use this song as a tribute.

Now I only need to write a chorus and a nice ending...