Content is coming... I swear

It's been pretty busy for me lately, but I swear I will start posting meaningful things here. I've got a couple of ideas for topics floating around in my head and time willing I will have something out this weekend.

On a side note, I've got my computer set up for recording. Still tweaking it a bit, but for the most part it is up and running. There should be some content from that in the near future.

On a side note - what do people use to publish their content? Right now I am leaning on using deviantart for lyrics etc. and purevolume for music with a creative commons copyright on each. Any other free and easy solutions out there that are worth looking into?

Rant #1 - Line6

So I hate for my first post to be a rant... but sometimes there isnt much you can do. Here goes.

I recently purchased a new laptop. Like any self-respecting nerd - the first thing I did was re-install 64-bit windows vista ultimate to get rid of all of the random crap that dell put on there. Everything was going smoothly until I try to install the drivers for my Line 6 Toneport. I download the latest drivers from their website, go to install them and I get a message saying that the drivers are not compatible with 64-bit.

What the hell.

So I do some internet searching on the issue. Turns out that the Line 6 currently has no plans to support 64-bit drivers and there are no work arounds. Now I'm no rocket science, but it seems like I would be pretty easy to put out something that would run in 32-bit mode, even if their drivers dont support 64-bit operations. Apparently Line 6 likes to alienate the teach saavy and growing population of users of 64-bit.

Well looks like I will be downgrading to 32-bit and never ever buying another Line 6 product again.

The Formalities

Hello everyone! This blog is a place where I will be discussing my experiences and tips about creating music and music in general. This will include songwriting, improvising, recording, various rants and of course - shameless self promotion.

About me:

I am 22 years old. I have been playing music in some form or another since I was about 10, including piano, clarinet, trumpet and baritone. These were all things that I more less lost interest in and can barely play them nowadays. I primarily play guitar and have been playing for about 4 years both mainly electric but sometimes I get bit by the acoustic bug. I have some basic drum and keyboard skills, but you won't see me performing those any time soon. I have been thinking about picking up a bass guitar lately since I found myself playing a lot of bass type riffs on my guitar but I haven't quite got the impulse yet.

I recently moved out to the Seattle area and I am excited to check out the music scene here. If you are around the Seattle area, I love meeting new people and jamming (the shameless self promotion begins).

Right now my setup includes:

• Guitar - Yamaha RGX A2
• Computer Interface - Line 6 Toneport UX2
• Recording/Mixing Software - Reaper
• Drum Software - Acoustica Beatcraft

I am currently ampless. My little Kustom 10 watt amp amp would probably cost more to ship than it was worth so I decided I would just buy a new amp. Hopefully I will have a new amp soon.

My music tastes are all over the place but a safe bet is that I will like anything labeled as "progressive", "experimental" or "metal", although there are certainly exceptions to the rule. The short list of favorite bands/influences include Tool, Opeth, Queens of the Stone Age, RX Bandits, Alice in Chains and Porcupine Tree.

Right now my music goals are to write more music (including lyrics... ugh), get invovled with a band and start gigging. Hopefully this blog will keep me on track and share my experiences with you guys, which will help everyone involved.

Well thats all for now!

Brandon