stay in the shade

Sounds

I don't have much to update about so I suppose I'll post about some music I've been listening to.

Have A Nice Life - I think this band is one of my favorite bands of the past couple of years. How can I even describe this band? I guess you can say Burning World (read a few posts below) was definitely inspired (aka got me off my ass to record songs) by this band. Think shoegaze mixed with some mild drum and bass, mixed with noise. The record is so depressing sounding and is a perfect mix of slow songs with mid paced songs. The songs themselves are not too complex but not too simple where they get boring or repetitive. The vocal melodies in the music are actually pretty, yes I used that word to describe a mans voice...but it is true. If you have not listened to, heard, or heard of these guys you are seriously fucking up.

Cold Cave - Now before I start this I want to say that I am personally not a fan of AN/GUTG/SG or anything else that Wes has been in, not that it's not good but they were personally not my thing. Cold Cave hits a soft spot in me, that soft 80's music spot that makes me want to dance in a club like in the second scene of American Psycho. I wasn't a fan of Cold Cave until I saw them live at FYF and they blew me away. Love Comes close was a great record and their new one is better, the songs are well put together, catchier, and more layered... and the lyrics are better. Solid new record.

Trap Them - Their new record kicked my ass. I wasn't too big on their last record "Seasons..." but this new record blew me away. This band has matured so well since they've started...although I must admit I'll be that guy and say that Sleepwell Deconstructor is my favorite record...this record comes in a close second to that. I remember when I was told that Ryan was in a new band and was shown the rough tracks of Sleepwell...I couldn't have been more stoked. I am a huge Backstabbers Inc. fan (the Kamikaze Missions record helped me get through my last years of high school) and hearing Ryan left right before the tour that 7gen played a show with them on was a bummer. I played drums at that show...I'm not even a drummer.

This Will Destroy You - I had always heard about this band but I never took the time to listen to them. I've listened to their new record about 10 times within the past week. It's good ambient noise to just zone out to. If you're a fan of that genre I suggest giving it a listen.

Swans - Swans was a band that I came into liking in about 11th or 12th grade (I read about them and M.Gira via Backstabbers Inc. liner notes) and they didn't really hit me until after I graduated. Filth was my first record I listened to that really hit me...really heavy riffs with angry yelling, not screaming but audible yelling. This band has been a huge inspiration on me since then, more specifically Michael Giras approach to his art and music and how it has affected my view on art and the way I create my music. I got to see them earlier this month and if I had not had the flu I would have been 100 times more stoked than I actually was. I got to watch Swans do their thing while sitting in a chair against the wall and it was still an amazing show.

Braveyoung - GOOD GOD. Their new record "We are lonely animals" is seriously phenomenal. I cannot stress enough that you should listen to this record. These guys are amazing friends and amazingly talented musicians. Buy and listen to their new record.

Notorious B.I.G. - Listening to 90's hip hop will always remind me of being a little kid and sneaking into my older brothers room to listen to his cassettes. Hip Hop was my first true love and I will always have a soft spot in my heart for it. Ready To Die is a solid god damn record.

Neurosis - Do I even need to say anything about this band? Every band you listen or have listened to is in one way or another inspired by this band. You are a moron if you do not like or appreciate what Neurosis has been doing for the past 20 years. Listen to Through Silver In Blood or Times of Grace and try to tell me that this band was not years beyond their time.

I have been listening to too much stuff, but this is all I want to write about care to remember at the moment.

I deleted Twitter, I deleted Instagram, I deleted every social networking profile I have. This will be my only connection to the internet...that way if people want to read this then they can, I don't care about reading about them on a news feed.

Fuck All

life in pictures

Here's some photos from the weekend...I miss these guys so much already.



















Check out Braveyoungs album streaming on their page.

Cousins of the anti-christ

I'm almost positive people read this more than the actual COG blog...so I'll post it here. We're playing 4 days with our friends braveyoung, from north carolina.

Thursday - San Francisco at the Sub-mission art space. (2183 Mission St)
Friday - Santa Cruz at 105 Pioneer Street.
Saturday - Santa Barbara at Foundation Press (5959 Hollister Ave).
Sunday - Fullerton at Riffhaus.

Come watch these guys and get blown away by their amazing talent.

I'm excited as hell to see these guys as I only get to see them about once every two years or so.

In the mean time...watch Chelsea Wolfe and go buy her record.

Reverb reverb reverb

I almost forgot...I put together what some would call a "demo" for Burning World. Here's an exclusive link to download it.
http://www.mediafire.com/?ruc8fwitpyghyn5

I've always been fascinated with low-fi recordings so I decided there's no point in me trying to put together the greatest quality collection. This material is layered with a lot of fuzz and reverb, simple, dark, and...again layered the way shoegaze should be.

Hope you like it...or not we'll see what comes of it.

life as i knew it

I realize that the nature of online blogging is a form of narcissism in its self, which is why I've kind of been neglecting writing (typing) in this for a while. With all the themed blogs about fashion, pseudo porn, and funny photos I wanted to avoid seeming like some kind of self aggrandizing idiot blogger that gets lost in the static.

Then I realized I do not give a single fuck.


Work has been going good. There's times like the one up above when I really love my job. I hate the monotonous nose, belly button, and lip piercings so when I get a chance to pierce someones tongue to a giant hole I jump at the chance of doing it. The shop has been consistent even though people are still losing their jobs and the economy is still in the gutter. I'm thankful I'm doing what I'm doing and am good at what I do (self aggrandizement).


Chens...greasy Chinese food that thankfully is catering to my dietary choices. Since I decided to go vegan it's been hard to find food that reminds me of growing up as a fat kid. Chens has been the talk of the house for a while now...this place is a bad influence on my life.


Speaking of which...this past week a couple of us decided to make an overnight drive to Vegas for donuts. We spent a total of 4 hours in Nevada only to come back and get to work at 9:30 in the morning. We gambled, some lost, some won, some won big. I think that little taste of winning has sparked a desire to gamble in me. Luckily the closest casino is not within a comfortable driving range.



That's about all I have on me right now. I don't do much which is why I don't write much. I've been watching a lot of documentaries focusing on Zionism and the whole Israeli/Palestinian conflict. I never had the biggest desire to learn about that situation up until recently and needless to say it is such a fucked and complex situation going on over there. I suppose my opinions on that subject can be expressed in another post.

Half sleeper

I've been waking up at odd hours of the night/early morning, surprisingly this has had little effect on my daily energy level. I've noticed that I have been waking up at 6:27 every morning...checking my phone and then falling back asleep until 7:13. In between that almost hour of sleep is when I have my dream(s), as if my mind saves them for that final finale. So here I am awake writing in this, hours before any of my daily obligations (besides work at noon, there are none).

I've been going on a lot of bike rides on my road bike...I've taken quite a few spills by no ones fault but my own. I think I have injured my self more riding my road bike more than I have injured my self skateboarding, playing football, riding bmx, or just being a little kid. That's besides the point, all my rides lately have been no less than 25 miles which isn't much by cycling standards but to a lot of people who don't ride bikes but it's definitely the minimum for me now. Living in Irvine I've noticed how Orange County has a lot to offer as far as different kinds of landscapes...I can ride my bike up and down pacific coast highway or I can ride my bike up the canyon and ride past a lake and trees (which I never knew were there). The only downside to cycling is that I have neglected running...which is not good for me because I enjoy the more strenuous exercise. I've yet to pick up swimming which is something that I need to do soon if I want to enter into a triathlon. Priorities...priorities.

Recently I have come to love my job. My hours have changed and so has my schedule which is good and bad, I work on the busiest days (more money) but I work the weekends...I'd rather do that then have to worry about money. So I guess life in that department has been good. I work 4 days and make more than friends with full time "legitimate" jobs. I'm grateful that in this shitty economy people still want to modify their bodies.

Now to my current musical endeavors:
I have been working my ass off on this new gloomgaze band that I've always wanted to start. Minimalist guitar, bass, and drum work but very atmospheric with atmospheric vocals. It's dark and droney but has a shoegaze influence in it as well. I've gotten tired of trying to figure out who can drum (or would want to drum) easy simple beats so I decided I should just figure out how to record drums via drum machine my self. I'm happy with the results. So far the only member of the band is my self...now it's just a matter of putting together a rough demo and finding members. I decided I wanted to keep the SWANS theme going and name it Burning World...not sure when anything else will happen.

Children Of God: With the inception of BW, I have put COG and other projects on the back burner...I haven't really felt angry lately and I absolutely hate forced aggression...make it legitimate or don't make it at all. We should be headed into the studio to record new material for a split we're doing.

As I've said...I've been working on other projects so bands that don't play often (or at all) get little attention. VVegas will be putting out a 7inch and I'm not sure what The Mistake will be doing...I have music written for both...but again it's a matter of finding the time and getting peoples schedules to sync up. Time will tell.

I can't believe I forgot to mention that I got to see Neurosis a couple weeks ago. FUCK. I am kicking my own ass so hard for not going to see them when I had the chance years ago. This show was unreal though...I have never witnessed anything like it. I think everyone in the crowd legitimately wanted to be there and there was no tough guy "I'm too cool for this show" posturing going on. A bunch of old heads came out and got to see this band melt everyone's brains. Words cannot describe how mind blowing that show was.

That's all for now.

My list of stuff I've been doing...albeit not important but it's still "Stuff":
-Riding my bike: I've been really good at being physically active lately, especially since my training partner is an official Iron Man. It helps to have some motivation to move faster rather than at my own pace.

-Running: I've been killing it on these runs. This has always been a part of my daily routine but running 3-4 miles after a 15+ mile ride is a new thing and an accomplishment for me. I can't go more than a day with out running...and I don't even like doing it.

-Trying to eat healthy most of the time: I say this after yesterdays meal. I've been cutting bread/gluten out of my diet for the past two weeks (except for one cheat day) and I've felt a huge difference in how my body digests food and how my stamina has increased a bunch.

-Working: What else is there to say? I hurt people for a living, sometimes it's good and sometimes it's bad.

-Writing: Music and writing in general. COG has a grip of new material waiting to be recorded and I'm sure the world is just dying to hear it (if only sarcasm could be detected through this nerd box). I'm proud of the stuff I've been writing. I have a few projects lined up and a new idea for a writing project I've been brainstorming about. I hope all these projects see the light of day somehow.

-Doctors: I seriously cannot stand the entire medical field but this new Dr I am seeing is a good guy. I hope he keeps up the good talks because I enjoy paying him 5 bucks to hear about all the stuff going on in my head.

That's about it. There's nothing more to write.