When my band Freakhouse was still living in Austin we used to drive up to Dallas to play gigs probably every six weeks to two months. Dallas is basically my home town and it’s about a three hour drive north of Austin. Our favorite club to play in Dallas was the Vampire Lounge. There was some magic in that place. It had a creek in front of it so there was a long wooden footbridge to walk to the front door and the loading area in the back had a similar long wooden ramp. We had some great times there with the crowd and staff. I think pretty much every show there we would open up for Drowning Pool. They are a great bunch of guys and we became friends. This was in ’97 or ’98, prior to either band having a record deal.
By the time we moved out to Los Angeles at the beginning of 2000 the Vampire Lounge had closed and we hadn’t talked to the guys in DP for a bit. It turns out they were right down the block from us at NRG Studios making their debut record. Then on course they blew up with “Bodies”. We were very proud and happy for them. We called up Dave Williams (RIP) and got the blanks filled in on what they had been up to. Turns out they were about to play in Los Angeles and would opening for Disturbed at the Palladium. Dave told us to come on down and he’d get us in.
So day of show comes and the DP guys didn’t have any tickets so they tried to sneak us (me, Rob — my singer, and my friend Aidan) in the back door. You wouldn’t think that would be necessary but because they were guests on the bill they didn’t have much pull, so security gave us the old heave ho. Bummer. Anyway, I went up to the ticket window to see if there were any tickets left. Nope. As I walked away the older ticket lady called me back. I think she could see I was pretty bummed. She slid me a ticket under the glass and said to enjoy the show. Awesome! My friends’ minds were blown. I was feeling confident and told them to just wait and I would get them tickets too. I looked around and saw an editor from one the metal mags. “I don’t suppose you’ve got two extra tickets,” I asked him. He opened up his jacket pocket and lo and behold handed me the two extra tickets he had. Time to buy a lottery ticket I thought to myself. Once again my friends’ minds were blown and into the show we went. The lesson here is that the solution is always right in front of you. I call it “tapping into the universe”. Also, life only gives you what you ask for. I could have accepted my fate but decided I was getting into that show.
Dave Williams was a great guy with a big heart. Full of energy and we always had a good time hanging with him. A true rocker.
Next time I’ll delve into what it’s like to do showcases for labels.
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As an engineer, I have become very aware of player’s strengths and weaknesses when I am recording or mixing them. I had been playing for years when a couple of more experienced friends of mine told me I needed to work on my timing. I was genuinely surprised and a little bummed. But, I got to work and started practicing with a metronome and ironed out any timing issues I had.
The better I got as a musician the more I think it helped my ear for engineering and editing in particular. I know from personal experience that it’s easy to get really good at one thing and not be so great at another. Even if it’s something basic like timing. If you don’t know what you need work on ask a friend or take a lesson and ask the instructor. You can save yourself a lot of time this way. If you always focus your practice time on things you aren’t good at, it’s much more productive. Another great way to check yourself is to record yourself playing with a click track.
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Also, in case you didn’t know, I mix singles, EPs, and Albums for Rock and Metal bands.