Overdrive and Studio Time

Sorry I wasn't able to post last week due to a hectic work week. Since last GGI update we have a new song and we are getting ready to go to the studio to record our demo. Our new song, called overdrive, is musically as well as lyrically a blend of light and dark sounds with a blend of mellow and intense melodies. Overdrive is a new favorite of ours and we are glad to have in our repitoire. We are negotiating with different sound engineers right now to find the right person to help translate our vision to the next level in the studio. We are hoping to have our demo ready and finshed early 2012, but we will keep posting updates as the events unfold.

Individuality

Next neat bit of news this week is our new song “Individuality” was added to our official website today at http://www.wix.com/gravitygivingin/official

About the Song:

Individuality is a song about a protégé from the role models perspective…the kind of molding from yourself into another person and seeing that change into something else…and that something else realizing its own shape (or its own individuality)

We are very excited to share it with everyone and we hope its well received!

Drummer?

Well, second week back we have some exiting news! Gravity giving In has begun the search for a drummer! Originally we had only intended for our little band to be just Lizi and myself, but we feel there is just something about the live presence of a real drummer. We have started the search but are in no hurry to fill the spot. We will probably audition and then get to know them and if that doesn’t work out we will just use studio musicians as needed.

Trimming the Fat

When people start writing music they usually throw everything at the wall and see what sticks "figuritively of course". We have thrown a lot of different things around and we decided to hone in on the style that works best for us. We are now a synth/rock band with our focus centered more on new wave w/ some indy undertones. (This was kind of our vision for the band originally) We have trimmed the fat and some songs will no longer be available on our site. We enjoyed making and playing them,and they will be shelved for later projects down the road.

Gravity Giving in "Flash Site"

We now have a flash site with song clips, photo's, and other neat stuff coming soon. Come and check it out at http://www.wix.com/gravitygivingin/official

Where'd You Go?

So things have been crazy- lost a job, got a job that was aweful and killed band time all together. I got fired so things have a way of working themselves out. Just got a work at home job working goofy hours, and good news is I have time again for Gravity! Keep checking in for the latest in our world as I will be updating weekly again!...

Oh yeah here is a new song I wrote in like 30min today. It's a love song all dancey and 80's-tastic. So I hope you like it there's no space themes or robots but it's kinda fun still!It's called One Forever - I havent written the guitar parts yet so its uber poppy and not the least bit a rock song "Yet".

Something Old and Something New (Re-animator)

Re-animator is the title of our latest effort. For this song I decided to sing in some different areas I have yet to try, as well as utilizing some older vocal styles I haven't used in a while. I wanted to use my voice tone to help aid in visualizing the atmosphere around what was happening in some other way than just with words. I wanted the song to have a dark ominous feel to it in the verses by utilizing more baritone. In the chorus I wanted to convey the struggle of identity with tense and relaxed, coarse and calm vocalizing while maintaining fluidity from each line to the next. The guitar for this one is mostly fuzz distortion palm muted off and on...pretty basic what I call "me guitar". It works well with just about everything, and it's kind of my go to sound as its compliments my voice pretty well- that and growing up every song I enjoyed had the same thing, "fuzzy palm muting off and on", so its now engrained in my musical DNA to use it as often as humanly possible!

Re-animator is about a town somewhere dark and old where a mad scientist lives who re-animates the dead from time to time. The scientists minions bring him a girl who has just died and he re-animates her. The girl, now resurected and programmed to do the mad scientists bidding, has somehow retained a portion of her own thoughts and she is at war with herself trying to come to grips with her new self.
Super neat sci fi tradgedy...good stuff. Check it out!

Research and Planning for New Equipment

Well everyone this week we decided to get clear and concerned about the next step in the "Gravity" process. This involved researching the best possible equipment in regards to studio and live sound as well as expanded function. After researching amps we decided to allocate finances for two keyboard amps (K1800Fx Ultra-Flexible 180-Watt 4-Ch PA System / Keyboard A), mixer (Behringer XENYEX1002FX 10 Input 2 Bus Mixer EQ 24fx), and 2 Heil pr35 microphones. We chose keyboard amps because they have a full range of sound so we can run EVERYTHING through a mixer and out of them. Having all of the sound- vocals, guitars, etc. running this way is great because your not competing with other amps and having to find the right room placement and angles for optimum sound. Anyone who has ever been in a band or has had to set up larger equipment knows the turmoil of moving everything around trying to find the best spot for amps without overpowering or feedbacking into something else. This usually involves some sketching on paper to get an idea of what it should look like. (My friends would always draw little sound wave lines to prove their idea to be the best). In my own experience I have just found that using a single mixer and having everything run together to be the most efficient and effective way to channel the sound. It's way less time consuming, cheaper, less stressful, and that to me makes it the best way to go as far as setting up. All of that being said, finding the right place for microphone placement is still tough..unless your willing to pay out the butt for superior mic's...but alas we found the Heil pr35's that are a third of the price of some of the others out there and user reviews have been singing its praises (literally)!
So, we decided to go with the Heil pr35 microphones because of the flexibilty of use for recording and for using live. Supposedly these microphones block out the other sounds around it and only pick up what's directly on it (you and your voice) so your not competing against the drums or guitars for your microphone. I have always had trouble when using other microphones because of this competition and it causes all sorts of issues like feeback squealing, having to almost yell everything (which if that's all you plan to do then you shouldn't have this problem), and weird pitch changes. These microphones also have this "roll off" switch that let's you combat feedback and too much low end sound. Super exicited to try these out!
Now for the saving which is always the hard part but so very rewarding when all is and and done, and at least now we know what we need and how much we need to budget for.

Are You Guys DJ's or Some Kind of Techno Now?

Some readers/friends/family have been asking if we switced to techno and they want to know if we are DJ's now or what? The answer to that question is "no". We have just been writing on the keyboard a lot lately.The guitar and/or bass lines have not been written for this song or the past three songs as our finances have not been large enough for us to get a second amp yet. This is why our songs with guitar have no bass or keyboards, and the songs with keyboards have no guitar or bass.
A good musician uses what they have and let's nothing become a limitation for their abilty to make music! I would tie shoelaces to a f***ing shoe box and sing over it if I had too! We will have another amp soon, but until then we will continue to utilize what we do have and just keep doing what we do!

Who Likes New Songs? We Do! We Do!

As promised on our previous blog site Lizi and I have begun working on a NEW song this week. It all started in a kind of funny way. This morning Lizi got out of the shower and she said she had this part of a song stuck in her head and she proceeded to sing it to me. I really liked it! After she got ready for the day I got out of bed and had Lizi follow me into the jam room. She grabbed some water and a snack (probably because she knows that sometimes I go in there for hours at a time-it's like she knows me or something). All too often writing takes for freaking ever, but today everything came together pretty quickly! We already had a chorus which is half the battle already won. As Lizi was gathering snacks I began composing various tracks (on the keyboard) and layering them over each other, and by the time we were just getting comfortable most of the song was already ready. I wish this happened all the time, but no, it never works that way. I had Lizi sing the chorus over different drum tracks to see which ones fit. It only took two drum tracks! Then I had to come up with some vocals that would compliment everything else that was already going on in the song...no pressure right? I came up with a verse and a pre-chorus and mixed all the parts together and "ta-da" a new song. Check out the pre-chorus and chorus of "Making a Connection" in the song area.

Gravity of the Instruments Giving In

This week I decided to write about our sound and how we get our sound that particular way by writing about our equipment and the significance of each piece.
I (Michael) use a Ibanez Artcore six string as my main guitar. This particular guitar is known as a hollowbody because it is hollow on the inside. The hollowbody gives the guitar a richer, resonant,"classy" sound. I use larger gauge strings because I use a lower tuning and I feel that the thicker strings hold drop tuning better. I use standard tuning in D, drop tuned down a whole step which is (CGCFAD- I think that's right). I use the lower tuning because I love the extra low end range, and I think it sounds bigger!
I use a DigiTech RP200a multi effects processor for all of the guitar/bass effects because it has a bunch of sounds I can combine and edit to my own specifations. I use primarily distortion, overdrive, chorus, and delay effect combinations. The RP200a also has some cheesey drum tracks on-board that I use from time to time that are fun to jam along with. You can hear them on the song Outer Space.
The keyboard we use is an Alesis Micron which is only 36 keys but it is a powerhouse of sound! We compose all of the sounds we like and arrange them to where we need them. This is easier said than done some days! I really enjoy using the keyboard because of the range of sound and emotion you can make in an instant-very cool!
Lizi uses a Sammick bass, which is a company that in the past 10 years were finally able to make their own name brand equipment. For years they have crafted guitars and basses for all of the big name guitar companies. Lizi plays a four string Sammick bass that packs mean punch, and lays down great grooves. Its like an all weather vehicle- ready for anything!
All of these instruments and effects are what give us our sound. We feel each piece gives every nuance of our music its own special quality that otherwise would not be part of the Gravity Giving In mélange.

Robot People Envy

*from our previous blog written on 6/14/2011
Guess what? Yep... it's new song day! Two weeks in a row! I mentioned before in an earlier post about how some days as a musician you feel like giving up, but then you have times when you write, and write, and it's all so amazing! The past couple of weeks have been just that, amazing! I decided last week, after watching TRON: Legacy a half a dozen times to write with the keyboard and I ended up writing "Away From Here" which Lizi and I immediately fell in love with right away. The song ended up having that neat sort of dark- science fiction kind of sound to it. Well, today I wrote another song using just the keyboards and my voice. And while maintaining that sort of science fiction theme from last week, this week I wrote a song about a robot who wants to be human. The overall feeling of the song ranges from the robot characters' frustration to be human to its passionate plea to love one of us (humans). The music and vocals work well in my opionion, conveying the imagery and emotion of the song.
For this song we already have some artistic direction as far a making a video for it using a lot of sillouettes and dark romantic imagery in a mechanized sort of atmosphere. It should be interesting to see, and we will keep everyone updated on the videos completion date. Until then please enjoy a clip of our new song "Zeros and Ones"!

NEW song "Away From Here" is born

*from our previous blog written on 6/07/11
Today is new song day in Gravity Giving In land! Its a wondeful time full of exaustive writing and re-writing, disecting pieces and glueing them together in an effort to make something that sounds good enough to not get tossed out like so many others that have come before it. Oh yes, new song day happens only when the stars aline just right, and the house work vs. free time is balanced in free times favor.
I wrote a song today called "Away From Here" all on keyboards with accompanying vocals and drum tracks. The song has a bit of a dark sci-fi feel to it and I really enjoyed making it. I made it and re-made it probably 8 or 10 times over the course of 4 or 5 hours and recorded and re-recorded it maybe 20 times during that time tweaking vocal pitch and arrangement, just to get everything the way I wanted with everything just right. I got everything the way I wanted and made sure I could do it again and again the same way to solidify the awesomeness for final touching to be done by my lovely wife. I played the new song for her in the car and immediately she started weaving in vocals that took the whole thing to another level.
Happy new song day everyone! I will post it up soon so all can enjoy!

Technorati Family Day

Today, Gravity Giving In is now a part of the Technorati family of blogs. We descided to join because of the opportunity to reach a wider audience, and to enjoy the community of bloggers that dedicate themselves to things they are passionate about as much as we are. We are looking forward to all the intersting people to whom we will meet from time to time in our "little blog sphere".

7NS4KH6CJHEG

Writing Music...It's For Fun or Donation Amputation

I (Michael) write as much as a can as often as I can, but that doesn't always mean that when I write it all just comes together and magically a song appears. Some days I feel like just donating my equipment to a more talented musician who could actually make songs that are worth something and then chopping off my arms and giving those away too. But those are just bad days and everyone gets them. Sometimes though, everything just comes together and magically a song appears...forget what I said before- anyway, it's days like that which make being a musician great. When you have written someting you can be proud of is an amazing feeling! You walk around with this goofy confidence- I don't know how else to describe it, you just have this yeeeeeaah kind-of-feeling on the inside and the rest of the world looks at you like what the f*** is wrong with that guy? But it's all good.

How, What, When, Why...and Future?

I started playing music at an early age and have been immersed in it my whole life. My wife had a more gradual approach and then she embraced the hell out of it! (she's a classically trained opera singer and genius writer) I learned to play guitar by playing guitar tabs online when I was 14, and I never learned any proper musical theory or ever even took any music classes. *that's a lie I was in general choir in 6th grade I learned the do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do thing and how to play "hot cross buns" on a sh**y plastic recorder. Basically, I just learned what I wanted and developed my style accordingly- which I call faking it.

I sang in the only bands I was ever in growing up while still playing guitar as a hobby. It was at some point I got tired of all the politics between band-mates so I quit doing "the band thing" and I learned to do it all myself. It took some time to learn keyboards and drum tracking, and it wasn't until last year that I was finally able to play guitar and sing at the same time (yay!!! And it only took thirteen years). But, all the new skills and instrumental abilities aside, it's a lonely world if you live like that, and you shut everyone out. So, I decided that if I ever was in a band again I would want my wife by my side. She is amazing, and I wouldn't be the amazing person I am without her- and musically it just made sense that she would have the same effect. Lizi doesn't have as much free time as I do to write, and she just recently started playing bass. (this was because after we decided to jam together we didn't know if we wanted her to play... drums or bass- because she has a natural ability to rock at anything, it was more a matter of what best suited her. Eventually, we decided bass suited her more than drumming, and she's getting pretty good already) So for now I pretty much write the songs "raw", and then she helps shape them into "cooked and delicious". Soon she will take full ownership of writing bass lines with her skillful precision and entusiasm, as well as adding electronic elements and phenominal vocals! We have a great dynamic together no matter what we do, and I can't wait to see the future of Gravity Giving In!

Name for Change- and the New Name Callenge

After two whole days (not an exaggeration), we have finally found the "New" name for our band! It took us what seemed like forever to come up with a name that we - a. both liked, b. was not too long, c. embodied the same sense of musical direction and ideas, and last but not least D. was not taken. Part D. of this entire process was the biggest pain in the ass I have ever endured as far as naming anything! But thank God we finally have our new band name "Gravity Giving In"! I can sleep soundly and pay full attention to what's going on around me again. I'm so relieved, and I am ready to get some much needed rest.
From an outside perspective it would appear that I have been obsessing over the re-naming situation- and I'll admit I have, but...
Just for fun, I challenge everyone reading this to make up a name for a band and and Google it to see if its taken. The guidelines besides the band name not being used by another band are as follows. The band name can't be the name of a movie or any other copyrighted or trademarked material. It can't be a series of words anyone has ever strung together and posted "anywhere"! No short stories, blogs, songs, names of famous people, or anyone/anything that would require legal consent to use. Now for an added challange, make up a message you want to convey in your imaginary band, and then make your band name have something "anything" to do with your message.* Bonus points awarded for three words or less. After you have all of those elements together you win the band name challenge! WARNING: May cause serious insomnia, nausea, headaches, fleeting attention span, irridibility, complete and total loss of mind. Not reccomended for women who are pregnant or may become pregnant due to chest pain in some labratory results.
All joking and complaining aside we are very happy with our band name and we think it likes us too.