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20 Aug 2007
30 Silver Pieces recap part two.
Hello, and welcome back for part two... That is if anyone is really reading this. You are right?... If not I am entertained. Lol. Wow... I just lol'ed.
Where was I? Ah yes, the original six songs have been covered in part one. Well, technically seven, but "BID" wasn't played by Melodramus until November 2006. That leads me to the last song that I wrote while the original line-up was still playing together. (By original line-up I mean JD on drums). "Touch of Light" was written on October sixth two thousand five(Twilkes' B-day). I had been playing the intro riff for about four months before I actually put it to use in a song. I absolutely love this song, and I would have to say it is my favorite on the record at this time. I remember playing the riff to Jordan at a bbq at his house in the avenues. It was the most excited I had ever seen him about any song previously, or the band for that matter. A little secret about this song is that is was inspired by my favorite Dream Theater song called, "Another Day". It is in my favorite key, but you can figure that one out yourselves... The lyrics to this song were inspired by what I like to call "the light inside of us all" and the light we find in others. Whether it be love, courage, compassion, motivation, faith, hope. All of it. It is taking that power inside of us and using it to change. The guitar solo in this song is a look into the light inside of me(It is also a nod to Steve Vai, the greatest). I absolutey love the atmosphere of this song. From the marching snare to the melodic bass line to the electronic synth line in the bridge( run-on sentance anyone? ). Pure energy all around us. Can you tell how much I love this song? Geeez... We recorded two demos of this song in my basement. One with Jordan on drums and an all instramental version with Andrew. I just never got around to singing it... We experimented with this song alot and it even had a different chorus at first. Our hardcore fans know that I still use it to close the song. A tad of Melo-trivia right there. "TOL" is a very special song to me. I'll never forget jamming the bridge riff with Ted. When he came up with that synth line we could not help but smile like the people in the Soundgarden video "Black Hole Sun". We actually called our answering machine and recorded that part so we would not forget it. This is before we had the studio. But hell, I still call my phone and leave myself riff messages.
November 28th 2005 saw our last gig with Jordan in drum land. This began a period of frustration and anger for me as the band was without a drummer. We did however continue to record with Jordan for about a month or two after he was fired by our management. We did demos of "Reflection", "TOL", and "Lillium". These were never finished however because soon we would meet the piece to the puzzle that would just shove us over the edge as a band. Andrew joined in Febuary of 2006 after one audition. I offerd him the gig after running through one song! Andrew's passion for the drums oozed through him and onto everyone else in the room(Ewwww... just kidding). I still to this day have never met a drummer as possessed as him. He truly is a musician and not just a drummer. He also happens to be my best buddy... Andrew took us from being good to being god-damn fucking rediculously good.
With a new member came two new songs. These songs became know as "30 Silver Pieces" and "Fly Away". These two songs were the first to have Andrew's touch and writing contributions. I remember Andrew saying "let's see what happens when we write a song together, and then maybe I will join your band". "Fly Away" was born. Oh, Andrew is still here. So I think that writing session went well... Andrew was not the only person to have a hand in writing this song with me. An ex-band mate(No Frequency-bass) and friend named Derek had contributions as well from all the way back in 2003. He also has a song that contains some of the same riffs. He is one of the most gifted people I have ever met. I wish him all of the best. The lyrics to this song were inspired by my relationship with my father. Very, very personal lyrics here. Anyone close to me knows what I am talking about. I love my dad, and this is my song for him. This was the first new song that was completed with Andrew in drum land. We recorded this song in September of 2006. The version that appears on the album is essentially the same with some parts re-sang. We also had some vocal vengence added thanks to a dear friend and brother, Matty Jones. His contributions to this song reflect the rage inside of me. That is him screaming his ass off... Not me... Me, Scream?... Maybe next album. If Ted lets me.
"30 Silver Pieces" was written in the down time between drummers. I think it is obvious to anyone who knows their prog-rock that this song was heavilly influenced by Dream Theater, once again(I've been a hardcore fan since the age of eight people)... It was not concious however. I swear. I just wanted to write a riff as kick ass as the one in "Never Enough" off of Octavarium. I hear a Muse song inspred the DT guys to write "NE". As you can see we are all sharing. Sharing is a good thing unless it's your girfriend, your toothbrush, or a needle. But drugs are sad and disgusting, as is anything that is abused. Fuck drugs! I wrote this song in one sitting, lyrics and all. I remeber just singing it as I wrote it. The words just flowed through me. The other three members added their contributions later. This song however, was basically written by me all at once. This song would not have been the same without my amazing band-mates. Rosey added the groovy loop in the bridge along with a swarm of crazy sound effects ala Recoil. We recorded a demo version of this in our basement. This version has a slew of different sound effects and even has a slightly different chorus melody. Oh, and don't forget the "Yeah" at the end of the song. It's Whitney everybody. Just kidding... HAHAHAHA!!! Yes!.. There are a few copies of this floating around the M-cult and it recieved heavy airplay on Helmut Von Schmidts Salt Lake Soundcheck on K-ber 101. This song was one of the more difficult ones to mix when it came time to recording for the record. We actually cut the song twice. The first time we did it we did it with "Fly Away" and "Reflection" in September of 2006. Let me just say that the first time was not the charm. I think we did a killer job on the finished album version. Tough fucking song to mix! This was the only song on the album where I doubled all of my vocals throughout the song. I wanted to get that Ian Gillian effect from those awesome Deep Purple records. Geddy Lee also used this studio trick to make his voice sound extra amazing in the late seventies. Like I say, if you don't like Geddy Lee you are most likely a moron. Geddy = Coolest person ever! Can you tell I'm a Rush fan? Don't worry, the whole band is. Moving on now...
The lyrics to this song are about being betrayed by your best friend. Hence the title. The person this song is directed at will remain un-named. You know who you are. I want to thank you for your inspiration. I would not be who I am today if it was not for you "JP". There are no religious ties to this song sans title. Which of coarse comes from Judas betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. I would like to thank Mr. Research for naming this song. Maybe one day we can get "Judas" to sing this song with me. That would be irony in motion. I think I'll pass on second thought.
Wheeew... I am tired. I guess that is a good excuse for my terrible grammar and punctuation. Not to mention mis-spellings. But hey, I'm no writer just a story teller. So sue me... ; )
The saga will continue in part three. Thank you for reading. Have a wonderful day today. Thank you to all of those that support what we do. You're the reason we are here.
Love, light and respect, Z.H...............N.
18 Aug 2007
30 Silver Pieces- a recap review...
As you all know our debut record 30 Silver Pieces dropped about a month ago after about two and a half years of writing, demoing, and pre-production. I wanted to take a look back and give some insight on it's creation. Let's face it, I have nothing better to do at the moment. :) The majority of this record was written about two years ago and the songs changed and changed some more within that time. It all started with Carnaby. Carnaby was a pop-rock band that included myself (Zakkary), Mikey Collard, our original drummer Jordan Davis, keyboardist Jordan Keith, and former boy band star Jonas Persch. The history of Carnaby has been well documented on this here site so I won't go into much detail. What I am getting at is three Melodramus songs actually started off as Carnaby songs. These songs technically were the first Melodramus songs. These songs had different titles and even different lyrics and vocal melodies. "Reflection(Solitude)" started off as just "Solitude" and had a cheese-tastic verse and shorter solo. We have a demo of this song that was recorded by Aaron Carter producer and former The Gun guitarsit Adrian Gurvitz. This version of the song would not be out of place on a Disney Movie. "Song of Hope" was originally called "Waiting There for You" and had a slighty different arrangement and did not have the bridge section. The bridge was written by me after the whole split up of the band. I wrote it in two minutes and recorded it for a demo the very next day for a vocal lesson with my vocal coach Dean Kaelin. This recording is the first with me singing. I'm glad to say I have grown so much as a vocalist since then! "Down" was the first Carnaby song written by myself and Jordan Kieth. This song eventually became "Bringin' it Down". I love this song for it's catchy pop melody and less than mature writing style than we have grown into. It makes me smile every time. The lyrics that Jordan and I wrote are some of the best I have heard in a straight ahead pop song. This song seems to get a bad time from certain fans and band members alike, but I dare you to find me a better written pop song that kicks as much ass!
After Jonas quite Mikey, Jordan and myself set up in the basement and wrote four songs in about a weeks time. This was early 2005 btw. These songs became "Return", "Lillium", "Halo", and "Soundtrack". "Return" was written by Mikey a few years back and was actually brought to the table as a Carnaby song, but was shot down by Jonas. He thought it was to hard for the band. I remember him saying "We're not Guns n' fuckin Roses guys"... Hahaha. Funny shit! Anyhow, I remember the challenge of learning to sing and play this song at the same time. I learned alot about myself as a musician just learning this one! Mikey wrote the whole song and in my opinion it is one of our strongest. "Return" originally had a longer intro and a different bridge that was later cut due to management saying it was to long. Did I mention that some songs we have written were written in a political way? By this I mean, management over the shoulder politics... Oh well, compromise never killed anyone. (This is another story for another time) "Lillium" and "Halo" were written in the same day and my contributions to the songs came from riffs from previous bands Palindrome and No Frequency respectively... The other riffs or parts came from Mikey. Mikey has that gift of just picking up his instrament and playing something completely cool and fresh out of nowhere. Mikey and his talents are a blessing to this band! The drum intro on "Lillium" was written by Jordan and is the only thing that really stayed the same in drum land after Andrew joined. "Soundtrack" was written out of a jam and did not come completely together until Rosey joined and put his beautiful touch on this song. I wrote the lyrics to this song when I was seventeen. They were the first lyrics I wrote intended to be a song. They were inspired by a young lady named Heather that I dated for a year... She was cool. So if they sound like they are coming from a younger state of mind, they were.
Well, I think this is enough for now. I must get back to practice since Mikey just arrived at my door. Wish us luck!
To be continued...
Love and light, Zakkary
14 Aug 2007
V.H.M.
Category: Writing and Poetry
Hello everyone. Zakkary here. I just wanted to stop in and give a small update. The last month has seen much excitement and change. After the release of our debut album last month we played a couple of shows with great response... The train was rollin along until Andrew injured his back. Since then we have been focusing on the next chapter of Melodramus. I am very excited to say that the six new songs we have are the best I feel we have written. So we have just been writing and writing... Man, I'm rusty at this blog shit... I want to take this opportunity to thank our awesome webmaster Sean for the fucking awesome job he is doing! Thank you so much my friend. Love you bro.
Anyway I just wanted to share some new lyrics that I have written. It is called the Virtual Happiness Machine. Enjoy.
Till' next time, Zakkary
Cultivate yourself some intelligence. This race against the self will leave you dying. Drink a case of lies and fly with the pious... Your prize awaits in a mason jar. A silicon high, pride realized. Who is next in line? Who's eyes cease to shine? Does the air between us taste the same? Put off for to long, escape and right what's wrong. Welcome to the happiness machine. Cut off all your waste, plasticize your face. You can be the hero. God-like all along. Beauty in a box. Binge and purge your ego... Your appetite is tired of you. Desecrate the body, pollute promiscuous whore. Correction of percieved imperfection to benefit the mind... Your prize awaits. A silicon high, pride virtualized... Who is next in line?...
23 Mar 2007
Transparent Mind
Current mood: sick
Category: Music
The last four weeks have been such a rough journey. Coming off of a harcore flu to strep-like symptoms to developing a sinus infection... Illness sux! I have been one moody S.O.B. the last few weeks... I have found some release in my guitar. I have been playing the ass out of my girlfriend(Guitar) and have written some really cool stuff. I just wish I could F-ing SING RIGHT NOW!!! AHHH!!!.... okay... I feel better now...
There are however some exciting things happening in the Melodramus camp. The instramentals for the album are 95% finished, and that is a battle we have all been fighting for months. To finally see it coming to an end is... well... super. There are still keyboard tracks that need to be done, and then some bass touch-ups and the music is done. Please wish us no more computer farts or burps. Smooth digital sailing from now on please!
The album artwork has also started to take place thanks mostly inpart to Twilkes and Rosey. The art direction on this baby is going to be sweet! Rosey and Twilkes have come up with some really unique and cool ideas. The M-Cult logo is looking sweet btw..
Anyway, as soon as this sinus poop clears up I will be in studio laying down the best vocals within my ability. I have some really great ideas that I think will sound fooking killer. I am out to prove a point with my voice. I will not disappoint. This record is going to rock your face! Thanks to all of our friends for being so patient. I think we should post a rough mix of "Halo" on our page just as a teaser. I am telling you, it is so slamming! We'll see how that goes... I find myself reciting my own lyrics to myself all the time. I just wish I could live what I write. You never see the writing on the wall unless you're the one that writes it. Still, I am very aware, very much still in love, and hungrier than ever. Personally, I miss the intamacy I once shared with a dear friend and lover. The thought of her "return" drives me even harder. I have so much love to give. Will you take it?... If I didn't have my friends or this band I would go completely insane. lalalalala... Just like that....
Ramble on... haha... I leave you with this. "Leave the past behind, reach into my mirror and you'll find transparent mind..." -30 Silver Pieces-
I wrote it, but can I live it?
Love and peace, Zakkary Hale N.
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