Gospel's Musical Endeavors

[Gospel.]

So I decided to make this thread as a sort of interactive portfolio to document all of my musical projects.

 

I record a lot from home, and I've played in too many bands of too many genres to count.

 

There's a lot to talk about, and a lot of material to come as I develop more as a musician and an enthusiast.

 

[spoiler=                                                                                                                                                        About me, I guess]    

     My interest in music stems from a general interest in American culture from a very young age. When I was younger and living in Austin, it was easy to be exposed to all facets of american counterculture at once. In the late 90s, when I became more aware of my surroundings, I got to take in and appreciate all the nuances of city life and everything it provided. I experienced a lot of Austin's film culture, and when the punk revival came in the early 2000s I sort of found my niche.

 

     When I was maybe 9 or 10, my dad took me to Waterloo Records for the first time. I was introduced to bands like Cro-Mags and Bad Brains - a lot of New York Hardcore. It was surprising to me how this revitalized punk culture was sort of isolated and shunned, but I guess the conservative south had a way of dealing with us "rebelious ne'er-do-wells." It was strange to me, because a lot of these lyrics spoke for equality and strength among your friends and your community, and to never be afraid of expressing yourself. Fortunately for me, my father encouraged my self-expression as long as I attended class and didn't get in trouble with the law, which I respected.

 

     Even in grade school I projected a lot and, to the dismay of my teachers and peers, "would sit around during class and play that god-awful rock music."  This got me in trouble a lot. My dad didn't see it as justified in any way and made his opinions very clear in many PT conferences, BUT I wasn't a troublemaker by any means.

 

     By the time I was in middle school I became very close to the life-long buddies I still hang with constantly. We grew as friends through our love for music. We all liked the same bands, and our tastes changed in tandem. It sort of came together in 2007 when I discovered The Wonder Years' "Get Stoked on It!" EP and they immediately became my favorite band, and still are to this day.

 

     Highschool was pretty standard, and again music was my primary focus along with academics. I found that I was naturally gifted with sticks and drums, so I joined drumline my freshman year. I'd remain in band until graduation, playing tenors and snare throughout those four years. I went through the spectrum of uncertainty, stress and anxiety like most highschool students without a full-ride athletics scholarship tend to experience. My band director was a huge help in getting me involved with the music program at the University of Texas, and I'm currently attending for a bachelor's in computer science as well as doing music during the offseason.  

 

     In the years I've taken to becoming a decent musician, I've been in 11 bands, and have learned to play percussion, guitar, violin, trumpet, saxophone and piano. (I taught myself how to play trumpet for a shitty ska band, and good god it sucks. So did the band. Like, a lot.) I've also been able to acquire the skills I use to record music, and it's been an amazing experience. I encourage anyone with an iota of interest or curiosity to pursue it and develop your musical identity.

 

 

And with all that being said, here are some projects I've worked on. I'll try to organize these as best I can, from bands I've recorded or played in, to single songs I've filled-in on during recording. I'm going to be brutally honest with my opinions on some of these bands.

 

 

 

Music I've recorded/bands I've played in

 

[spoiler=                                                                                                                     "Hardship - 'Drifters" (recorded guitars/drums, live drummer)]

My buddy Will and I started this project in late 2013, and though we only played one show, it was the best crowd I've ever performed for. We waited until Christmas of 2014 to perform live, so we held a free charity show. For about 2 months prior to performing, the band went all over central Texas handing out flyers and promoting. About 250 people crowded the community center and got rowdy for a hardcore show.

 

[spoiler=                                                                                                                   "Revenge Is Not A Sin - 'Teenage Hearts" (recorded guitars/drums)]

Nathan and Cody don't make music anymore, and I didn't record it, so I don't feel terrible about this smelly turd. TBH, is was the most cringe-worthy song I've ever heard. Like, to this day. This was in 2010. I met Nathan at a Guitar Center in Austin and I was fiddling around on a practice kit they had when he approached me and asked if I wanted to be in a band. I was like, "ya k lel." They didn't have a drummer and only played one show prior to my joining, so when he told me to learn a song he wanted to record, I had to learn both guitar parts and write/record the drums. ALSO, NOTICE THE HORRID KEY CHANGE IN THE MIDDLE DURING THE WEIRD POP-PUNK BREAKDOWN THING. IT CHANGES TO A MINOR 7TH KEY AND IT SOUNDS TERRIBLE. I DON'T KNOW HOW HE THOUGHT THAT WAS MUSICAL AT ALL.

https://www.reverbnation.com/revengeisnotasin

 

 

 

 

Music I've filled in on

 

[spoiler=                                                                                                                                    "Soundings - 'Awakening" (recording drums)] My friend's bro had a djenericore band that needed a drummer, so I filled in for the recording. Not a whole lot to say. The music's aight tho, I guess. 

 

[spoiler=                                                                                                                                      "Ohanna - 'The Reset" (Dum fill-in)] I would've probably stuck with this longer had these guys not been such awful people to work with. I'd rather make tunes than sit around and smoke tons of weed. I filled in on drums for this song and an older one which isn't on youtube anymore. I actually had to record this through a Roland TD-9 through a shitty alesis midi controller into pro tools, which is the worst daw ever for recording edrums. Ever. Of all time. All because the guy we went to didn't have enough mics for a live drum setup.