There are a lot of things in life that you just gotta do in order to fulfill your real passions and most of the obligations are not easy to submit to. (Ex. wear shoes, shower, don't spit at hookers, etc.)

Did I just sound like your nagging mother? Sorry about that. I just got out of a long day of work and sometimes you just gotta reflect and mope a little to make things easier.

You see, I love music. I just absolutely love it. There are many out there who consider music to merely exist in the background of their lives. They ride in the car, shop in the mall, and dine out while low-volume tunes whisper in the atmosphere.

Just a side note, I was out to eat with somebody once and a song by The Beatles came on and they said "Who's this?" I haven't talked to them since.

Anyway...

I'm the complete opposite. The only thing that exists timelessly to me is music. You really need to sit and think about it for a moment. Really, just think about it.

You can do your normal things in life and create a bunch of awesome memories. Those will be cherished until the day you die. That's fantastic.

I have normal activities just like anyone else, but I also create music... and that music will cherish my memories forever.

Or until the downfall of the internet.

That's just my take on the subject. It's almost like a piece of me has the gift of immortality. I like the idea of that since I, myself, am not immortal.

However, in order for me to have nice equipment to record and play with, to have time to lay down tracks, and the know-how to get those things done, I have to have a job and I have to work hard.

Now, there may have been a chance that by moving away to California and trying to create a band there that I could have had maybe a shot at being the touring musician that I always strived to be, but I've come to the realization that there are other ways of having a presence in the music industry...

and I'm gonna let those ride for awhile.

So, to answer my own question of "What do you do to keep your dreams going?"...

I am a software engineer.

Yep, I went to college, changed my major twice in the process, and came out a big ol' computer nerd. Seriously, I've written a model view controller application that can query data from a database over a network and use that data to display three PDF file reports in a web browser of employee hours for a particular job. Simultaneously.

Booyah! Jealous?

And that's my job. I still enjoy my work and it allows me to keep creating and sharing music.

I realized that this post seems to be more of a rant than some of my others, but hey, I'm not going to be all composed and trim every time that I speak to the public, otherwise when I'm 35, I'll be running for President

And I better see everyone voting for me!

But hey, I want to throw the ball over to you now. What is it that YOU do in order to keep your hobbies or your true passion alive? I've heard quite a few gripes from people so here's your chance to get some sympathy.

Leave your response in a comment :]

I think that it's time for me to post some more lyrics for those that are interested. I noticed that less and less bands are posting lyrics up on their sites.

I wonder if they're just ashamed or they're secretly mumbling jibberish for every one of their songs. 50/50 guess.

So, here they are and this song is inspired by my extremely wonderful and perfect girlfriend. She's just a bundle of awesomeness and I tried to use these lyrics to express that the best I could.

Leave me a comment below and tell me what you think!

[Falling Asleep]

Back home I lay down.
With time, I'm still competing.
My mind is on you.
Remember our last meeting?

You grabbed my hips and pulled me in close.
Almost unbearable to let go.

The seconds drag and kick up sparks on the road
Like a looming cliff I stand on, erodes.
My eyes are heavy and they threaten to close.
They tempt me constantly but I try to hold.

I feel like dosing off, but I've formed an obsession.
I keep myself from falling asleep when I imagine you here laying with me.

If more than a day goes by, I can't let sleeping dogs lie.
All my motivation dies, and the pain starts to terrorize.

Correction-less as bold.
Can't stop this.
Outlast away. Suspend the toll.
Escape depression through the folds.

Back here, arms out, erasing all my sorrow.
And this time you're here to flip the hourglass over.

You grabbed my hips and pulled me in close.
Almost unbearable to let go.
You lock my lips and I might overdose cause my addiction is you're beautiful.

Just about any time that I'm not working, I would like to say that I've been creating something musical, but this week I've had bigger fish to fry.

Last weekend was spent cleaning up my hand-me-down Ford Focus so that it would make a good trade-in on my prospective Hyundai Santa Fe. I detailed the shit out of that thing just to make sure that the only reason we wouldn't be getting a good price for the trade was because the dealer were just jerks.

Luckily, the car was clean and the salespeople were very kind which resulted in a satisfactory trade price.

But yea, I spent all Monday night in Sharon, PA and Boardman,OH comparing the same exact Santa Fe with only a small difference in mileage. Thursday night, I made the decision and signed some of the papers just so I could drive it home, and Friday, I laid down the cash and was bumping to some Austrian Death Machine with my girlfriend Danielle.

She does not like metal at all.

So, I'm super stoked with this vehicle and the sole purpose that I got something so big is because I'm thinking ahead about music and being able to transport my equipment safely and easily.

As of right now, I want to play the rhythm guitar in HonestKyle since I haven't had the chance to perform with an instrument in years. So, I got this crossover guy to fit in my soon-to-be-completed half-stack.

At the moment, I only have this very expensive Marshall cab and I'm looking for a head. We'll see how that turns out.

And now that I have this big purchase out of the way for awhile, I can go ahead and get back into my music. But geez, I really can't believe that I got my own first freakin' car! With my own money!

Go ahead and share your own "first car" stories below this post in the comment section. We'll all be excited together!

Not many things are truly free these days. If you start rolling away the cart with the hot plate full of bagel bites out to your car in the Sam's Club parking lot, you're gonna get some dirty looks.

Free samples my ass.

However, you can lay some serious cash down on the fact that THIS is free, and what is THIS I'm talking about? I'm talking about the digital release of my previous full band's EP for absolutely FREE!

Download links:
MegaUpload, MediaFire, Purevolume, ReverbNation

(MegaUpload and MediaFire include album cover)

Title: Wake the Lion Presents: The Dellamorte Track Listing:

1. Siren Out in the Dark
2. Death Becomes Her
3. I Am the Keeper

For the last 2 years I've been the vocal frontman for a southern rock/metal group called Wake the Lion. You can check out our tunes and info from any of these web pages: Myspace, Purevolume, ReverbNation, and Facebook.

We had a lot of fun playing our music throughout the local music scene of Youngstown, OH and people seemed to enjoy it. We even got our ugly faces into AP Magazine for the Blink 182 issue last year. Ironically, that's where our bassist, Justin, now has an internship as a graphic designer.

Whether it was a crowd of a few hundred of just a handful of our friends, it was still a swell, kickin' time at any show. Honestly, some of my favorite memories were of us sitting in our van that we bought ourselves and sipping on beer waiting for showtime.

Now, WTL has officially ended and it's pretty unfortunate since the band had been around close to 2 or 3 years even before I had joined and they really made a name for themselves because of it. If you would like to read the official statement of why the band ended, here's the link to the Myspace blog entry:

http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=119615457&blogId=520584867

We're still great friends so no worries there.

However, as our final "hurrah," we felt that we would like to have a tangible piece of the band to walk away with and that's why we laid down our last few tracks that we had been writing and turned them into a FREE EP that everyone can enjoy.

It's some of the most brutal stuff that I've ever been apart of and I'm honored that I was able to join this band and contribute to these song's creation. So, if you would like to download our free EP, hit up these download links and leave us some healthy feedback on Facebook, Myspace, etc. We would really appreciate it. Thanks!

Download links: MegaUpload, MediaFire, Purevolume, ReverbNation

When you have projects and things that you're really proud of, it's fun to get your friends involved. And then if they screw it up, you can pretend like everything is fine, completely erase their tracks in the recording, and spit in their food the next time you see them.

I kid. I kid. But I have definitely thought about getting some of my other musical and non-musical buds involved with my HonestKyle tunes since it started as a small project. I thought that giving my friend Pat a few voices on my gang vocal tracks would be a good place to start since he's "enthusiastic" and he lives a stone's throw away.

The tune that Pat put a few of his grunts and yells on is "Falling Asleep" which is available for listening right this very moment at my ReverbNation, Facebook (Click on the "My Band" tab), Myspace, or even by just clicking the player in this blog. Boo ya!

You'll hear him shouting and growling on the words "Go!" and "Can't stop this!" And just to warn my other nearby buds, I might be calling you next to help with future gang vocals like:

"Yea!" and "Let's Go!"

Other classics include:

"Come oooon!", "This time!", and "Hey!"

"Falling Asleep" is kind of an interesting creation that really makes me marvel in the mysteriousness of musical composition. Look at my big words.

What I'm talking about is how different something can seem in your head as compared to when it's actually laid out and recorded to a track and that's what caused me to make a substantial change to this tune halfway through the drum-tracking process.

This leads me to a fun little factoid about this tune:

You know the section near the middle where I sing "I feel like dosing off... but I've formed an obsession. I keep myself from falling asleep... when I imagine you here laying with me."

That was actually going to be the chorus. Hence where the title of the song came from.

But when it came time to record the drums, and I had my scratch guitar track going along with it, I was just blown away by the "You grabbed my hips..." section and rewrote the ending to accommodate.

Music is like spinning a lit bottle rocket. It's unpredictable, and it makes people move.

She's got a way with words,
But I'll never follow.

I know I just keep on breaking these bottles.
I know.

But I'm still craving the burn when I swallow.
I know.

She's got a way with words,
But I'll never follow.

I can't say it hurts,
But I feel I've lost my home.

I'm nailed down
With all my passion.
On fallen ground
This brutal session.

And yet I suffer again.
The second time is a synch.

I've been away so long,
I still can't believe all the cancer I lived.
A way to make me strong.
By never surrendering til' I win.

You can't fight me on your own.
Cause I still have trouble staying tied.
Unleashing a monster formed from pride.

Keep on breaking these bottles.
I know.

[ I really do NOT know how to prevent skinny head videos... Damn it...]

Recently, since I just became a self-proclaimed part of the music scene, I've been bombarded with questions from some fans and close friends about the equipment that I use to record my tunes. Apparently I'm impressing somebody somewhere.

I've been doing my own recordings since my freshmen year in college, so I'm going on 5 years now. Now, during that time I've definitely acquired some little tricks and techniques about mixing, adding plug-ins, and creating adequate mixes with limited money and equipment and THAT information plays a huge part in how my music turns out.

So, I don't want you to be disappointed if you decide to copy my personal studio setup exactly and don't get the results you want. It just doesn't work like that.

I know it blows, but that age-old chestnut about experience and time actually stands in this instance, so KEEP AT IT AND KEEP LEARNING until your mixes are dynamite.

I'm sure that I could span quite a few posts with some of the things I'm willing to share about my recording process, but we'll just focus on my equipment and setup for the time being.

Again, keep in mind, this is just what I use. Of course there are better and more proficient ways to record and cut a track, but this is what I learned and this is the equipment I use based on what I deem is necessary and supporting my infinite cheapness.

And, I should add, I have almost NO knowledge about tracking real drums or amplifiers since I've never needed to do it. My plug-ins take care of that for me. So, most of my skill lies with the mixing process.

Here's the basic rundown:

• Dell XPS 410 Desktop PC
• M-Audio Pro Tools M-Powered 8
  
• XLN Audio Addictive Drums
  
• IK Multimedia Amplitube 2 Plug-In
  
• M-Audio Fast Track Pro 4x4 Mobile USB Audio/MIDI Interface with Preamps
  
• Toshiba 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Dive HDDR500E04XL (Liquid Blue)
  
• Sony Srsd21X 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System
  
• Ear Tools Headphones w/ adapters and extenders
• Epiphone Les Paul Custom Guitar
  
• Rogue VB100 Series II Violin Bass
  
• Alesis MICRON Analog Modeling Synthesizer
  
• Yamaha MM6 Music Synthesizer
  
• MXL V57 Condenser Microphone
• Self-Made Voice Pop Filter
• Boom Mic Stand
• Cables

Dell XPS 410 Desktop PC
When I got this computer 3 years ago, it was considered the workhorse of its time with only 2GB of RAM and a 1.5gHZ processor. Obviously there are much better systems of up to 8GB of ram that I desperately want to invest in, but I can settle for my ol' buddy here with his memory maxed out at 3GB. If you haven't put it together quite yet, memory is what it's all about.

M-Audio Pro Tools M-Powered 8
I really started learning recording techniques with Cubase LE and then moved on to this. It's a little difficult to navigate at first, but offers similar features to other music production applications. Pro Tools seems to have more emphasis on high quality tracking as opposed to impressive cutting and pasting capabilities like Cubase LE however.

XLN Audio Addictive Drums
I'm pretty new to this midi-driven virtual instrument plug-in, but it seriously rules. Inside I can make my own custom kit, adjust the levels and EQ, and have most of the necessary drum effects like compression and reverb applied as well.

IK Multimedia Amplitube 2 Plug-In
This is where the guitars get their life from. There are almost way too many options with Amplitube as far as amp types, EQs, pedals, rack items, microphones, mic distances, etc. Legit.

M-Audio Fast Track Pro 4x4 Mobile USB Audio/MIDI Interface with Preamps
Expansion of my studio never entered my mind when I made the decision on this interface since it only allows up to 2 recording mic tracks at once. It's enough. I can adjust my headphones, set the input volumes, and it offers Phantom power for condensers. That's really all I need.

Toshiba 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Dive HDDR500E04XL (Liquid Blue)
You gotta have a place to put your files and your recording app will run much faster on a portable hard drive. Pro Tools actually recommends that you use a Portable HD with a firewire connection, but I found this out only after I decided to start loading tons of files on it. Nice.

Sony Srsd21X 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System
These are probably the best-sounding PC speakers that I'VE found. Of course they're not for recording purposes. I know that! Honestly, I can't even fit standard-size studio speakers on my desk so... That'll do pig.

Ear Tools Headphones
Now, I have to say that I really let my guard down when I bought these because I just walked into the store, asked the guy for some recording headphones, he handed me these, and I laid down my money. It's like I had a big "Scam Me" sign on me. I should have listened to the damn things first, but when I got home, I found that they are quite impressive and comfortable. Lucky swing on that pitch.

Epiphone Les Paul Custom Guitar
The second guitar I've ever owned and it's a bittersweet relationship. It's heavy and awkward for faster picking, but it easily has one of the best-sounding tones I've ever heard. But it's pretty heavy, the first time I wore it on a strap my shoulder was killin' the next morning.

Rogue VB100 Series II Violin Bass
This is actually my dad's bass guitar because I don't own one myself. The violin style is because he used to be Paul McCartney in a Beatles tribute band. How about that factoid? Another interesting thing, the strings probably haven't been changed in 3 years and I still used them in the recording of "Way With Words." Who has time to buy strings really?

Alesis MICRON Analog Modeling Synthesizer
My little starting synth for playing live shows, but sure does pack a library of rad sounds. Comes in handy for neat little beats too.

Yamaha MM6 Music Synthesizer
This synth is a bit bigger and handles all of my real-instrument sounds. On the earlier HonestKyle stuff, I played all the drum tracks on this thing. I basically took most of my life to finish those tracks.

MXL V57 Condenser Microphone
Before this thing, I didn't have phantom power on my audio interface and was forced to use a live microphone to dial in my voice. That's what you heard on the earlier HonestKyle tracks. With this new microphone, clarity is now my bitch.

Self-Made Voice Pop Filter
Made out of a wire coat hanger and panty-hose. McGrueber!

So that's my setup, but I'm always looking for more proficient ways to cut a track. That's why my equipment is constantly changing and being upgraded over the years.

But here's a question for you. For all you other private or mini studio recording engineers out there, what are the important pieces to your studio setup? And what's the single most important upgrade you made to your studio? Go ahead and leave a comment below this post.

[SPECIAL NOTE:] I do not actually claim to own the song by Aaron Neville "Don't Know Much"... This is made to obviously be a gag. Please don't sue me.

Today at work, my buddy Justin from the full band that I was a part of, Wake the Lion, alerted me to the fact that Aaron Gillespie, the enthusiastic drumming lead-singer of Underoath has decided to leave the band. Here's the official statement from the group:

We are taking this opportunity to sadly inform you the six of us have decided at the end of the current european tour, Aaron will no longer be playing in Underoath. This was not a decision made in haste but a thought out and prayed upon group agreement. It in no way effects any of the shows left on this tour. They w...ill still be our best efforts and enjoyable experiences for all.

For the future, Aaron will be pursuing other musical and ministry endeavors. As for the rest of us we will continue to work hard on the new Underoath record. We appreciate the love and support from everyone in the past and hope that all of us will continue to receive your support on our future paths. We love you guys. Tim, Grant, Aaron, James, Chris, and Spencer

I'm assuming that Aaron left to pursue things with his new band The Almost, but I could be wrong. All I know is that my favorite album by them will always be "They're Only Chasing Safety" and Aaron's hooks are really what made that record great.

What do you think of Aaron leaving? What do you think he'll do now? What do you think Underoath will become without him?