Hey everyone. Yeah, I've been gone. Been so busy with the whole music thang, haven't had much time to pop in. So you remember how I said my band's name was Wolves in Wool? It was a lie! Turns out, it's actually Hillside Charge! (Officially) Exciting news: We've just now started to make ourselves known to the local public and have booked four shows for this month. We've also created a facebook page for the band so, if you're so inclined, please do like us on facebook! facebook.com/hillsidecharge I understand if you do not wish to like us until you've gone through the quality control process. (Really I do!) Therefore, if you'd like to listen to a few rough live tracks we recorded two weeks ago, be my guest. Which location would you like? I've got youtube, facebook, or reverbnation. Actually, that's technically only two since facebook pulls from reverbnation, Reverbnation Youtube (2 bonus tracks!!!): Wagon Train Vibrator Exodus Please Yourself Bigfoot (for Pallas) Rain Season Castle Walls Well there you have it! More to come (whether you like it or not)! Please "like" us if you actually like it. We need the self-esteem. P.S. (We entered an online battle of the bands contest with a local radiostation to win a chance to open for our annual summer music festival. If you'd like to support us in this endeavor, please follow the link asking for votes from our facebook page! It's gonna take a lot of votes to take down some of the popular local monsters here.) Thanks guys! - Rob
Alright, so again I had the rare opportunity to play guitar with a rockstar. She's shaken off her 'serious' stage presence and gone for a much more rocking one! Presenting, my amazing little girl in another of her favorite songs. "Your Touch" by The Black Keys! Whooo! Watch this!
Alright, so my bonus finally came in at work and I went out and spoiled myself a little with this sexy new electric guitar. It's an Epiphone Sheraton II. Got a great deal on it as it's lightly used. Still in great shape, though! I got a video of me breaking in my new girl. Also starring Natalie, who decided she needed to also play along with me. Enjoy this ****ty cover of Tighten Up by the Black Keys.
Wolves in Wool!!!!!111eleven Ahem. Ok, now that that's out of my system... We may have finally settled on a bandname that nobody hates. Nobody really loves it, but we're all "ok" with it. That might be the way it has to be for now. Can't please everyone. So, for the moment, my band is known as 'Wolves in Wool.' I guess that's kinda cool. Makes me think of one of my favorite music videos (And an intensely creepy one at that) by Queens of the Stone Age called 'Someone's in the Wolf.' In any case, the reason I'm posting to this blog is because we recorded a live set last weekend. We recorded 10 songs but, hilariously, only 4 survived. 5 were lost due to corrupted hardware and 1 due to apparent tentacle rape. I usually make it a point to keep my mouth closed when tentacles are about, but I guess everyone has to learn some way. C'est la vie... But I digress, I thought I'd share with you the songs that survived which I've posted to youtube. The videos are unlisted so you actually need the link from this page to view each one. None of the performances are perfect. Some bad mixing on the levels, some flat/sharp notes here and there, but it's pretty raw. Personally, I'm going to go ahead and blame my own mistakes on the absolutely massive amount of reverb on my monitors. The mic I recorded into was not the one I was singing into- The one I was singing into had way too much reverb on it and, had I known beforehand that we were recording, I would have asked for it to be shut off completely. But alas, like the retarded frontman I am, I didn't realize we were actually recording until about halfway through where I comically ask "Are we recording?" to much laughter from the other wolves. I'm getting offtrack again- in a weird mood today I guess. The surviving songs! Wagon Train Rain Season Come Feel It I Never Loved You Note: The synth/keys was something we were trying out, but we actually decided that we work better as a four-piece band and had to let the keyboard player go. Wolves in Wool is... Bass: Mark Wohlert Lead Guitar: Chris Gorder Percussion: Heath Main Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Sax: Robert Strain If you have any questions, comments, or flames, I'd love to hear them! Sincerely, Rob P.S. - Yes, that is our set list in the picture. YES, there is a song called Vibrator. No, I don't know why, just seemed a cool nickname at the time. The songs we recorded that day are the ones on the left side. The ones on the right are unfinished jams.
Hey everyone. It's been a while since I posted a new entry here, but I've actually posted many new videos since the last one on my youtube channel, just been too lazy to post them here. Check them out if you want. My channel is here. Some of the new videos you'll find there: Use Somebody - Kings of Leon Fell on Black Days - Soundgarden (An updated version) A full live version of Troubled Child Another song I wrote called Honeybee But the video I'm going to share with you right now is actually a cover of one of my favorite groups. A supergroup before any of the members were super: Temple of the Dog (Essentially Pearl Jam with Chris Cornell on lead vocals- how could that possibly go wrong?) Temple of the Dog - Call Me A Dog The song is actually kind of depressing, but it's blues so step off! Here are the lyrics if you'd like to follow along (note: the original is about 1,000 times better, but god damn it- I tried!) Call Me A Dog - Temple of the Dog You call me a dog. Well that's fair enough It aint no use to pretend you're wrong When you call me out, I can't hide anymore I got no disguise you can't see through You say it's bad luck to have fallen for me Well what can I do to make it good for you? You wore me out like an old winter coat Trying to be safe from the cold Yeah, but when it's my time to throw the next stone I call you beautiful if I call at all You call me a dog You tell me I'm low 'cause I slept on the floor Out in the woods with the badgers and wolves You threw me out 'cause I went diggin' for gold And I came home with a hand full of coal Yeah, but when it's my time to throw the next stone I call you beautiful if I call at all And when it's my time to call your bluff I call you beautiful if I call at all You call me a dog That's fair enough It doesn't bother me as long as you know Bad luck will follow you If you keep me on a leash and you drag me along Yeah, but when it's my time to throw the next stone I call you beautiful if I call at all Yeah, but when it's my time to call your bluff I call you beautiful if I call at all Yeah, you call me a dog
A couple months ago I posted an original song I was working on called Troubled Child. Overall, I got pretty positive comments on it, but one of the problems was that the song was unfinished. Well, I think I've finished it now and would like to know what everyone thinks of it. Whether the bridge works, whether the ending fits, etc. Or just your thoughts in general- both negative and positive. That'll work too. Here's the video. Unfortunately, the video file itself got corrupted and I was only able to salvage the audio, so in place my ugly face, I put in a couple of my favorite pictures of Lydia. They seem oddly fitting... Lyrics: Don't run to me now Don't run to me now Troubled child No need to breathe now No need to breathe now Troubled child Troubled child, there's trouble in your veins Troubled child, there's trouble in your name Troubled child, no wandering away Troubled child, you're trouble in my veins Tell me what I'm supposed to do If I'm in trouble, so are you I am not afraid of you I am not afraid of you I am not afraid of you!
Until We Fall (Live) Music and lyrics originally by Audioslave. I walk the streets where I regret...aaah I stood alone and watched myself fall apart Answered the voices in my head...aaah Slipped through the chain link of a broken heart And when I'm tired of feeling black Spread the wings upon your back Take us high above it all And stroke your feathers 'til we fall back down again Bought everything that sounded good I understand that I've been misunderstood And when I'm tired of feeling black Spread the wings upon your back Take us high above it all And stroke your feathers 'til we fall Until we fall, until we fall back down again Yeah, back down again What do you feel before you think What do you see before you blink Who do you battle in your dreams Who strokes your feathers 'til you scream And when I'm tired of feeling black Spread the wings upon your back Take us high above it all And stroke your feathers 'til we fall Until we fall, until we fall back down again Yeah, back down again
Ah, what the hell, figured I'd post a crazy song I wrote a couple weeks ago. Just like in the video description, no drugs were involved except Dayquil. I think you guys will like it though. Here's the song. Follow the lyrics below to sing along if you'd like. Mr. Sadman I'm Mr. Sadman the incredible madman Don't you get in my path 'cause I got places to go Sharpen your knives and always look to the skies 'Cause when I come you can't hide I'll leave you dead as a stone Shot in the temple for a loaf bread Give me your money so I can look in your head Nails in my pocket and I got blood in my hair I'm Mr. Sadman, I'm the walking dead I'm Mr. Sadman and I told you I'm mad, man And you can't understand there ain't no cause and effect Control is a lie, but you can try to deny And if you want me to die, then I won't get in your way Shot in the temple for a loaf of bread Give me your money so I can look in your head Nails in my pocket and I got blood in my hair I'm Mr. Sadman, I'm the walking dead I'm Mr. Sadman, the incredible madman I'm Mr. Sadman, the incredible madman I'm Mr. Sadman, I'm just a sad man I'm just a sad man. I'm just a sad man. Shot in the temple for a loaf of bread Give me your money so I can mess withyour head Nails in my pocket and I got blood in my hair I'm Mr. Sadman, I'm the walking dead Drop down...
So this is the song they sent me to record vocals over. I probably should re-record it, since the vocal rhythm is slightly off near the end. (forgot to fix it in audacity. For some reason when I record with that it puts in a short blip of silence and I have to take it out for it to match up. I left no visual indicator on how much to cut this time so I had to guess and check) It was my first try at the song, so I'm sure it'll sound better after I've practiced it a bit. In any case, here you go: Wagon Train EDIT: Fixed the timing thing. Well, at least I got it a bit closer.
Hello again. I just wanted to post a section of one the latest songs I've been writing. It's called Troubled Child and is pretty simple. (Only 4 chords at the moment). I hope to add a bridge section soon. Here's the video. Feel free to follow along if you want. It's still pretty rough, but let me know what you guys think. Here's the lyrics- they just sort of came to me while I was playing it. Don't run to me now Don't run to me now Troubled child Don't run to me now Me now Don't run to me now Troubled Child Troubled child, you're trouble in my veins Troubled child, there's trouble in your name Troubled child, no wandering away Troubled child, there's trouble in your veins Don't run to me now No need to breathe now Troubled child Don't run to me now Breathe now Don't run to me now Troubled child Troubled child, you're trouble in my veins Troubled child, there's trouble in your name Troubled child, no wandering away Troubled child, there's trouble in your veins
A melody came to me last night and it seemed to fit some lyrics I wrote around a year ago. Still pretty much WIP. I might post it here when it's done. Newborn Out of a roiling sea I am mournfully born Weeping like an infant, my body is jettisoned From the depths of a spirit so woefully torn Arises a frail, yet promising specimen Unshackled, I cry out and fall to the sand My mouth leaks corruption like viscid black oil I limp as compensation to an unholy land, With short, halting steps on obsidian soil This was just a sort of intro...I really have no idea where I'm going to go with it. I think it sort of fits with some other lyrics I posted here for review last year, if only from an individual point of view.
Been working on this song for a while and finally got around to recording what I've got. I sent it to a very trusted source and they really enjoyed it so I thought I'd share it with you all. I messed around with some reverb and reverse reverb effects to make it sound more ghostly on the vocals. I think it fits. It's more of a trance- a bit different than the sort of stuff I usually write. Some of the guitar work is pretty sloppy, but let me know what you think overall. (if you wanna) Enjoy! Eastern Winds Current Lyrics: Stumble on fragments Of my broken mind You try to show me something But sand makes you blind Under the temple Deep in the ground Restless in shadow Sleeps what we've bound
Sadness turns to frustration which turns to anger. I am angrier than I've been in a long time right now. I feel so...inadequate? As if there's nothing I can ever do to make up my past mistakes. Like no matter what I do, it'll never be good enough. This makes me frustrated, because I happen to think it is false. I very much believe in second chances, but someone else doesn't appear to. If I probe as to a reason why, the only response I can get is a sort of "Well I can't explain it. That's just what I believe." I can't help but feel that it's something they don't necessarily agree with, but it's something they've been told by a typically reliable source so they feel that it simply must be right. I'm afraid I can't go into details here. I haven't the liberty. But I need to talk to someone about this. Someone. And I wish this person would seek the counsel of someone else in this matter.
I was bored and not very hungry during lunch today, so I decided to play my guitar instead. Well, one thing led to another and I ended up recording a pretty mediocre version of Doesn't Remind Me. Anyway, if you're morbidly curious about what I like to do during lunch, I present to you: Rob's Lunch Break Pardon the completely terrible haircut!
Ok, so I was testing my webcam last night to make sure everything worked after reformatting my PC and thought I'd try Like A Stone by myself. It's definitely inferior to the duet with Lydia, (No matter how hard I try, I simply can't match her beautifully cooing songbird voice) but I don't think it's terrible. Plus it's one of my favorite songs and I hadn't ever posted a video of me doing it on my own. Speaking of Lydia, there's going to be another duet on the way soon, (Hopefully) so check back regularly for that. In any case, I give you Like a Stone (Live) Enjoy! (hopefully)