Monday, January 28, 2008
40 Watts from Nowhere
Sue Carpenter has decided to start her own pirate radio, in her home. Sue talks to many different people trying to find the equipment and knowledge to start her own radio station. After a couple weeks she actually has a couple djs, and has even had a guest on the show, but due to her boyfriend's heroin addiction and fear of being arrested in her home, she decides to start new in L.A.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
A little Thrash For you!
Writing one: Thrash Metal
Davis Stickney
Thrash Metal is a sub-genre of Heavy Metal and is categorized with Death Metal and Black Metal as the extreme metal genres. The aggressive and heavy sound and fast tempos influenced by metal and punk rock are what created Thrash metal. The genre has been split up more and more making it possible to say there are some thrash bands that have a more hardcore punk rock sound such as crossover bands Suicidal Tendencies and Dirty Rotten Imbeciles tend sing more about politics and partying. Other thrash bands like Slayer or Destruction will talk more of the occult and Satanism.
One of the most important things in Thrash metal is the tempo of the music. The genre is played constantly and very fast which makes just sitting there and watching no fun at all. The technique used to play that fast often makes a train chugging sound. This speed allows people to head bang and move around at a fast pace while going along with the song. An example could be Sepultura’s drummer Iggor Cavalera who created a new sound of drumming incorporating tribal elements involving double bass patterns.
Lyrical themes for thrash metal songs stretch from sitting at home trying to find something to do, to spilling the blood of a virgin sacrifice. Many thrash bands often make it a point to have very evil themes and talk of brutal murders or church burnings and sociopath ideas to mock the mainstream culture and popular religions that don’t except there sound, kind of like creating something you know someone will hate. An example are the lyrics of Black Thrash metal band Toxic Holocaust – Death Camp:
The confusion sets in and you're lost in the smoke
Pleading for freedom, let us all go
Trapped here in hell, and killed one by one
Death will be certain, your time has come
Many bands also use the evil to not promote evil but to show the cruel acts that might be happening today. Many thrash bands have actually been banned in certain countries due to lyrical themes, Slayer’s album "Christ Illusion" was forbidden to be sold in India. The more punk rock like thrash bands tend to talk about the same punk rock ideas including politics, being put down by the man, and having fun. Lyrical themes that oppose evil is not entirely unheard of but is usually a theme of other metal genres.
Metal musicians are some of the most talented musicians you will find anywhere. Many thrash guitarists can play at phenomenal speeds with exceptional technique and is what can be known as "shredding". Different styles and techniques used to play thrash metal help keep the tune up with tempo. Guitarists will use combinations of sweep picking, alternate picking, scales, arpeggios and other characteristics that can actually be found in classical music and orchestra music. Shred guitarist Marty Friedman, guitarist for Megadeth and founder of Neoclassical Shred metal band Cacophony, is one of the most technical guitar players of the genre making all those techniques look like nothing.
Bassists, who often play without picks, usually are forced to use picks in order to keep up because playing fast with the use of your fingers takes a lot of finger strength. Although some bassists will still shun the use of a pick like ex-Metallica bassist Cliff Burton. Drummers also have to step it up a bit, literally, double bass pedals will be used by metal drummers to fill in notes that one bass pedal can’t fill in to give a heavier sound and faster tempo. Sometimes at shows all you can hear is the loud thunder of the drummer’s bass.
Performance’s can either be really theatrical or just a plain show depending on the band. More evil sounding thrash bands will dress themselves in chains and leather, as well as face paint, fake blood, and other things usually relating to something morbid and dark. Crossover thrash bands will usually be dressed in what they normally wear and just look like punks. One of the most important things about thrash shows are not just the band themselves but the amount and types of fans at the show, as this is where all the action is being brought out of the music with people moshing, head banging, as well as starting circle pits and walls of death, an act where the crowd separates in the middle during the beginning or climax of a song and run full force at each other to smash in the middle. Stage diving and crowd surfing is also done a lot. Acts like this can often be dangerous and maybe even deadly. So types of people really matter when your in the pit. Some people will be stupid and rather than having fun will try to start fights and pick on people. Many of the people are actually very friendly and will look out each other, picking up the fallen so they don’t get trampled and pushing people out of the pit when they can’t take it anymore, or getting rid of some unwelcome guest.
Thrash Metal carries skill, loudness and a liking for things out of the ordinary and has some of the most diehard fans that practically create what Heavy Metal culture is seen as today. Without the influence from Thrash fans and the incredible musicians that play for them, Heavy Metal itself would not be what it is today.
Davis Stickney
Thrash Metal is a sub-genre of Heavy Metal and is categorized with Death Metal and Black Metal as the extreme metal genres. The aggressive and heavy sound and fast tempos influenced by metal and punk rock are what created Thrash metal. The genre has been split up more and more making it possible to say there are some thrash bands that have a more hardcore punk rock sound such as crossover bands Suicidal Tendencies and Dirty Rotten Imbeciles tend sing more about politics and partying. Other thrash bands like Slayer or Destruction will talk more of the occult and Satanism.
One of the most important things in Thrash metal is the tempo of the music. The genre is played constantly and very fast which makes just sitting there and watching no fun at all. The technique used to play that fast often makes a train chugging sound. This speed allows people to head bang and move around at a fast pace while going along with the song. An example could be Sepultura’s drummer Iggor Cavalera who created a new sound of drumming incorporating tribal elements involving double bass patterns.
Lyrical themes for thrash metal songs stretch from sitting at home trying to find something to do, to spilling the blood of a virgin sacrifice. Many thrash bands often make it a point to have very evil themes and talk of brutal murders or church burnings and sociopath ideas to mock the mainstream culture and popular religions that don’t except there sound, kind of like creating something you know someone will hate. An example are the lyrics of Black Thrash metal band Toxic Holocaust – Death Camp:
The confusion sets in and you're lost in the smoke
Pleading for freedom, let us all go
Trapped here in hell, and killed one by one
Death will be certain, your time has come
Many bands also use the evil to not promote evil but to show the cruel acts that might be happening today. Many thrash bands have actually been banned in certain countries due to lyrical themes, Slayer’s album "Christ Illusion" was forbidden to be sold in India. The more punk rock like thrash bands tend to talk about the same punk rock ideas including politics, being put down by the man, and having fun. Lyrical themes that oppose evil is not entirely unheard of but is usually a theme of other metal genres.
Metal musicians are some of the most talented musicians you will find anywhere. Many thrash guitarists can play at phenomenal speeds with exceptional technique and is what can be known as "shredding". Different styles and techniques used to play thrash metal help keep the tune up with tempo. Guitarists will use combinations of sweep picking, alternate picking, scales, arpeggios and other characteristics that can actually be found in classical music and orchestra music. Shred guitarist Marty Friedman, guitarist for Megadeth and founder of Neoclassical Shred metal band Cacophony, is one of the most technical guitar players of the genre making all those techniques look like nothing.
Bassists, who often play without picks, usually are forced to use picks in order to keep up because playing fast with the use of your fingers takes a lot of finger strength. Although some bassists will still shun the use of a pick like ex-Metallica bassist Cliff Burton. Drummers also have to step it up a bit, literally, double bass pedals will be used by metal drummers to fill in notes that one bass pedal can’t fill in to give a heavier sound and faster tempo. Sometimes at shows all you can hear is the loud thunder of the drummer’s bass.
Performance’s can either be really theatrical or just a plain show depending on the band. More evil sounding thrash bands will dress themselves in chains and leather, as well as face paint, fake blood, and other things usually relating to something morbid and dark. Crossover thrash bands will usually be dressed in what they normally wear and just look like punks. One of the most important things about thrash shows are not just the band themselves but the amount and types of fans at the show, as this is where all the action is being brought out of the music with people moshing, head banging, as well as starting circle pits and walls of death, an act where the crowd separates in the middle during the beginning or climax of a song and run full force at each other to smash in the middle. Stage diving and crowd surfing is also done a lot. Acts like this can often be dangerous and maybe even deadly. So types of people really matter when your in the pit. Some people will be stupid and rather than having fun will try to start fights and pick on people. Many of the people are actually very friendly and will look out each other, picking up the fallen so they don’t get trampled and pushing people out of the pit when they can’t take it anymore, or getting rid of some unwelcome guest.
Thrash Metal carries skill, loudness and a liking for things out of the ordinary and has some of the most diehard fans that practically create what Heavy Metal culture is seen as today. Without the influence from Thrash fans and the incredible musicians that play for them, Heavy Metal itself would not be what it is today.
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