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Thursday, September 6, 2007
Mikael Karppinen
"Tight guitar playing," "great melodies," and "warm guitar sound" are just some of the ways Mikael Karppinen from Helsinki is praised. Vote for this Guitar Hero at Sony BMG's Guitar Hero Competition. (click here to vote for Mikael.)
Sounds Like:
Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Vai, Jeff Beck, Scott Henderson
Songs:
"Behaviour 13" (download)
"Emotionally Vacant" (download)
Video:
Sounds Like:
Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Vai, Jeff Beck, Scott Henderson
Songs:
"Behaviour 13" (download)
"Emotionally Vacant" (download)
Video:
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
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Tuesday, September 4, 2007
The Spotlight Interview
Interviewer: Mary
Crystal, part Cherokee, was raised on the Cherokee reservation in what she describes as complete poverty. Often her family did without "electricity, a stove, refrigerator or other luxuries". She grew up in a "seriously dysfunctional family" which led to a personal battle with "self esteem, anger and depression".
Bill was born in Yakima, Washington. His mother had to raise him alone when his father left the family. He was turned onto music by his siblings. His mother eventually remarried to a man Bill calls "a violent alcoholic". He started playing guitar at age 13. Five days after he got that guitar he was a man die a violent death which he says "no doubt had quite an impact on" him.
They met through a mutual friend. Crystal was moving into a new apartment and they asked Bill to help. He ended up staying. Though they separated for years and life took them in different ways, it seems these two were destined to be together.
1. Who are your main influences?
Bill: When I was 12 I thought Kiss was the greatest thing in the world and that compelled me to pick up a guitar. After that it was Van Halen all the way. I used to jam along with all my records as soon as I got home from school until it was time to go to sleep. I'd be learning all the parts on the first four Rush albums, whatever I could decipher on the Zeppelin records, the Who, some Sabbath, the first couple of Pat Benatar records 'cuz Neil Geraldo played some bad-ass stuff on those. When Pink Floyd's "The Wall" came out, I bought it and when I took it home and put it on my record player it was the most stark, depressing thing I'd ever heard to that point in my life and I really couldn't get into it yet, but later on, Floyd and Black Sabbath turned out to be the most important groups in my life. Now I'm big into TOOL and A Perfect Circle. Not much other music reaches me at the level that does at the moment.
Crystal: Yeah. Van Halen was a major influence for me too. The first "metal" band that I ever loved. I think that lyrically I am drawn to writers who create songs with meaning. Lyricists like Maynard from TOOL who are willing to delve into the world other people like to forget about. Musically too, I like vocalists who are somehow beyond the norm of everyday music. I love TOOL and Alice in Chains and Pantera. TOOL though, has been kind of the standard that I hold my writing to ever since I first heard them back in 1992. Though there was that long period of time when Queensryche ruled the world...
2. Is anyone else in your family creative musically or otherwise?
Crystal: I never really thought about it before you asked the question, but like a lot of southern families, we’re pretty musical. My aunt played piano in church when I was little and my dad can carry a pretty good tune vocally. One of my uncles plays banjo and is passing THAT love onto my nephew, Avery. My sister is AMAZINGLY gifted with visual arts! She draws and paints and creates beautiful pieces of pottery. In truth, she is the most talented person in our family.
Bill: My oldest brother played electric guitar, and I think he wrote a few songs. My mom can play some church organ music if you sat her down with some sheet music, but her real love is painting. My sister is very creative and is huge into scrapbooking.
3. How has venturing into the digital world helped or hindered your creativity?
Bill: I love the digital age. I used to have to keep all my ideas on cassette tape, which was a nightmare when you want to try and go back and find something. Sometimes I come up with ten times as much material for a song than I'll actually end up using, so the ability to file things away and access it easily is a godsend. I still ened up losing stuff, but it's much better in that respect now. Also, I can perfect one part of a song before even writing the next part. I don't always write that way but it just depends on the piece. The greatest thing is when you finish a tune, you can turn it into a digital file and share it with literally the rest of the world only moments afterwards.
4. Tell us a bit about your recording gear and how you record?
Bill: It seems almost everybody else is P.C. based but we have outboard gear. We use a Zoom MRS 1608 all-in one unit. All our effects, drums, mastering abilities, etc. are built into this one console. I can't wait for the next model to come out, because this one will probably be well-worn by then. Crystal bought us a new Behringer condenser mic a while back and it's been a mass improvement from the SM-58 we were using. The Shure has a real big proximity-effect when using it that can be a real bitch to deal with, even with a pop-filter. Generally, I'll arrange the music and get as much of the pre-production stuff cleaned up so the song is fairly complete, musically before Crystal comes in with the vocal parts. We have 16 real-time tracks to work with and as many virtual and bounce-down channels as we need, but honestly, when I start doing too much of that, it's too easy to muck shit up and screw up tracks. Crystal has managed to control herself quite well at times when I had a 'Homer Simpson' moment and accidentally erased a part she worked very hard on. We'll turn the mic on, check the levels, and try and make sure there are no booming or popping going on with the microphone. It's pretty easy to get a decent vocal sound with the mic on the softer songs, but on the heavier music, the mix is a lot more complicated and it's challenge sometimes to get a clear vocal recording. I'm still learning, and with every new project, it's a little more experience. I like recording Crystal's voice because easy to work with; very clear and pretty. Lots easier than recording my own voice, but then I never considered myself a singer, because I'm NOT. The only reason I started singing on my own stuff is because I got tired of writing and recording instrumentals.
Sometimes we co-write the lyrics, one of us will come to the song with a core-idea for the lyrical structure, or she'll do all the words, or we'll do like we did on the last song "The Blackest Hope" where we worked each line of the verses together. We were really honest about each other's ideas and said "that's not as good as it could be, how about this, or, I don't like the way that flows" etc. and as far as I'm concerned, it has to feel right for the person singing the words. Even if I come to the song with a lyrical idea I feel pretty solid about, it comes down to how it works with her voice, her emotion and everything else.
Crystal: Yeah....what he said....(laughing). Actually, the new mic is a lot easier to work with. It seems like I hear "Do it again" much less often than I used to.
5. What inspires you to write the type of songs you do?
Crystal: Well, we don’t sit down consciously and try to decide which dark subject to write about. I think that both Bill and I have experienced first-hand the dark and ugly side of life so often that it is just an ingrained part of us by now. Music has always been such a release and coping mechanism for both of us throughout the years, and it just happens that the dark and ugly shit leaks out when we create.
Bill: I think we're both pretty comfortable expressing ourselves in dark ways and I guess it's fair to say we're more inspired by the things that make us unhappy than by the things that make us happy. LOL...I'm not saying that I think we will always aim to limit Wormscrew to a life of miserable, morose musical content, but for now it's a hell of a lot of fun. I think we'll continue to become darker and starker as it is pretty much my own personal goal to write the saddest, most depressing music I can possibly come up with, but I think we will also get more experimental and unpredictable as well. We're not one-dimensional beings, and I think that will become more and more apparent as we get to keep working and creating new things.
Crystal: Yes...and truth be told, most people have a lot of darkness in their lives and so relate to that grittiness of the real world and real emotions that we find ourselves writing about.
6. How often do you practice?
Crystal: Hahaha! How many hours did you spend in the studio last weekend, Billy?
Bill: Well, I'll tell ya..."The Blackest hope" was definately NOT a one-take deal for me. Honestly, I hate to say it, my guitar is in it's case six out of seven days lately, just because of work and life in general. I won't touch the guitar for a long time, and then I'll get a feeling inside me, turn on the recorder and start spitting out ideas for hours and hours. Sometimes I'll just sit down and riff out for awhile. It's very sporadic. I don't have a practice routine.
7. Will you always be an internet band or are there plans to play live somewhere?
Bill: We've talked about doing it live, but we want to do it with a complete band when we do. Have to find the right people and get a certain amount of gear and do it right.
Crystal: Oh man! I love live music! The mood…the atmosphere…the beer! Now that I’ve gotten a bit of confidence I am ITCHING to play live, but I defer that to Bill since he has so many more years of experience with that than I do. I trust he will let me know when the time is right.
8. Crystal, do you have plans to take up an instrument and play on future projects?
Interestingly, I took a couple of years of guitar lessons as a teenager and bass lessons again as an adult, so I am familiar with some of the basics but I’m not really sure I have the musical capacity to play an instrument and sing at the same time and the vocals are the piece that really touches my soul.
9. Is it easy or difficult to both live together and work together on project?
Bill: It's not difficult. In fact it's pretty convenient when you want to bounce ideas off one another. We don't have any creative conflicts and we're pretty honest about what we like and don't like. The only problem is when there's someone's underwear all over the recording equipment...
Crystal: Yeah. You need to get your g-string off of there so I can wash it too! I think that we just have so much fun recording together that we just see it as another extension of our personal relationship. Which is not to say that there aren't times when we don't get frustrated with one another, but usually that only happens when one of us is trying to express an idea the other can't quite grasp. OR when SOMEONE accidentally erases the one good take I've managed to squeak out within a three hour session! *sticks out tongue*
10. Tell us a little bit about your experiences on DM?
Bill: Dmusic has been a source of inspiration and encouragement for me for several years now, it's helped me get better at writing and recording, though obviously I still have a lot to learn. I don't always have the time to log in and hang out like I want to, but it's a special community and I've never seen another one like it online. I'm glad I'm able to work with Crystal and put our music here together. She has always wanted to do this and Dmusic makes it even more special. There are some REAL characters here, and some of the best people I've ever virtually met. We have MOAM's cd here on top of the dishwasher and I wear my Dmusic hat quite often. It's not a stretch to say Dmusic comprises a disturbing amount of our social life.
Crystal: Well, for me, Dmusic has changed the whole scope of my life. It was the original way I was able to reconnect with Bill after so many years! But, musically, without all the positive feedback from the members here who listen to our music, I don’t think I would be gaining the confidence I need in my vocals. The support and response has enabled me to take an active step forward in pursuit of a dream that I had long ago given up on.
11. Who's playing at the wedding?
Crystal: Well, Bill's friends from his old band are planning to come out for the wedding so we are hoping to put something together with them...that's provided Bill's hands aren't shaking to bad to play... LOL AND I talked to Ebarb and they might be on board for coming down to hang out! How cool would THAT be? The POPDOLLS playing at the reception?!?
Bill: Yeah! I hope they don't move out west before then because that would be way too cool!
Check out Wormscrew here - http://wormscrew.dmusic.com/
Crystal, part Cherokee, was raised on the Cherokee reservation in what she describes as complete poverty. Often her family did without "electricity, a stove, refrigerator or other luxuries". She grew up in a "seriously dysfunctional family" which led to a personal battle with "self esteem, anger and depression".
Bill was born in Yakima, Washington. His mother had to raise him alone when his father left the family. He was turned onto music by his siblings. His mother eventually remarried to a man Bill calls "a violent alcoholic". He started playing guitar at age 13. Five days after he got that guitar he was a man die a violent death which he says "no doubt had quite an impact on" him.
They met through a mutual friend. Crystal was moving into a new apartment and they asked Bill to help. He ended up staying. Though they separated for years and life took them in different ways, it seems these two were destined to be together.
1. Who are your main influences?Bill: When I was 12 I thought Kiss was the greatest thing in the world and that compelled me to pick up a guitar. After that it was Van Halen all the way. I used to jam along with all my records as soon as I got home from school until it was time to go to sleep. I'd be learning all the parts on the first four Rush albums, whatever I could decipher on the Zeppelin records, the Who, some Sabbath, the first couple of Pat Benatar records 'cuz Neil Geraldo played some bad-ass stuff on those. When Pink Floyd's "The Wall" came out, I bought it and when I took it home and put it on my record player it was the most stark, depressing thing I'd ever heard to that point in my life and I really couldn't get into it yet, but later on, Floyd and Black Sabbath turned out to be the most important groups in my life. Now I'm big into TOOL and A Perfect Circle. Not much other music reaches me at the level that does at the moment.
Crystal: Yeah. Van Halen was a major influence for me too. The first "metal" band that I ever loved. I think that lyrically I am drawn to writers who create songs with meaning. Lyricists like Maynard from TOOL who are willing to delve into the world other people like to forget about. Musically too, I like vocalists who are somehow beyond the norm of everyday music. I love TOOL and Alice in Chains and Pantera. TOOL though, has been kind of the standard that I hold my writing to ever since I first heard them back in 1992. Though there was that long period of time when Queensryche ruled the world...
2. Is anyone else in your family creative musically or otherwise?
Crystal: I never really thought about it before you asked the question, but like a lot of southern families, we’re pretty musical. My aunt played piano in church when I was little and my dad can carry a pretty good tune vocally. One of my uncles plays banjo and is passing THAT love onto my nephew, Avery. My sister is AMAZINGLY gifted with visual arts! She draws and paints and creates beautiful pieces of pottery. In truth, she is the most talented person in our family.
Bill: My oldest brother played electric guitar, and I think he wrote a few songs. My mom can play some church organ music if you sat her down with some sheet music, but her real love is painting. My sister is very creative and is huge into scrapbooking.
3. How has venturing into the digital world helped or hindered your creativity?
Bill: I love the digital age. I used to have to keep all my ideas on cassette tape, which was a nightmare when you want to try and go back and find something. Sometimes I come up with ten times as much material for a song than I'll actually end up using, so the ability to file things away and access it easily is a godsend. I still ened up losing stuff, but it's much better in that respect now. Also, I can perfect one part of a song before even writing the next part. I don't always write that way but it just depends on the piece. The greatest thing is when you finish a tune, you can turn it into a digital file and share it with literally the rest of the world only moments afterwards.
4. Tell us a bit about your recording gear and how you record?
Bill: It seems almost everybody else is P.C. based but we have outboard gear. We use a Zoom MRS 1608 all-in one unit. All our effects, drums, mastering abilities, etc. are built into this one console. I can't wait for the next model to come out, because this one will probably be well-worn by then. Crystal bought us a new Behringer condenser mic a while back and it's been a mass improvement from the SM-58 we were using. The Shure has a real big proximity-effect when using it that can be a real bitch to deal with, even with a pop-filter. Generally, I'll arrange the music and get as much of the pre-production stuff cleaned up so the song is fairly complete, musically before Crystal comes in with the vocal parts. We have 16 real-time tracks to work with and as many virtual and bounce-down channels as we need, but honestly, when I start doing too much of that, it's too easy to muck shit up and screw up tracks. Crystal has managed to control herself quite well at times when I had a 'Homer Simpson' moment and accidentally erased a part she worked very hard on. We'll turn the mic on, check the levels, and try and make sure there are no booming or popping going on with the microphone. It's pretty easy to get a decent vocal sound with the mic on the softer songs, but on the heavier music, the mix is a lot more complicated and it's challenge sometimes to get a clear vocal recording. I'm still learning, and with every new project, it's a little more experience. I like recording Crystal's voice because easy to work with; very clear and pretty. Lots easier than recording my own voice, but then I never considered myself a singer, because I'm NOT. The only reason I started singing on my own stuff is because I got tired of writing and recording instrumentals.
Sometimes we co-write the lyrics, one of us will come to the song with a core-idea for the lyrical structure, or she'll do all the words, or we'll do like we did on the last song "The Blackest Hope" where we worked each line of the verses together. We were really honest about each other's ideas and said "that's not as good as it could be, how about this, or, I don't like the way that flows" etc. and as far as I'm concerned, it has to feel right for the person singing the words. Even if I come to the song with a lyrical idea I feel pretty solid about, it comes down to how it works with her voice, her emotion and everything else.
Crystal: Yeah....what he said....(laughing). Actually, the new mic is a lot easier to work with. It seems like I hear "Do it again" much less often than I used to.
5. What inspires you to write the type of songs you do?
Crystal: Well, we don’t sit down consciously and try to decide which dark subject to write about. I think that both Bill and I have experienced first-hand the dark and ugly side of life so often that it is just an ingrained part of us by now. Music has always been such a release and coping mechanism for both of us throughout the years, and it just happens that the dark and ugly shit leaks out when we create.
Bill: I think we're both pretty comfortable expressing ourselves in dark ways and I guess it's fair to say we're more inspired by the things that make us unhappy than by the things that make us happy. LOL...I'm not saying that I think we will always aim to limit Wormscrew to a life of miserable, morose musical content, but for now it's a hell of a lot of fun. I think we'll continue to become darker and starker as it is pretty much my own personal goal to write the saddest, most depressing music I can possibly come up with, but I think we will also get more experimental and unpredictable as well. We're not one-dimensional beings, and I think that will become more and more apparent as we get to keep working and creating new things.
Crystal: Yes...and truth be told, most people have a lot of darkness in their lives and so relate to that grittiness of the real world and real emotions that we find ourselves writing about.
6. How often do you practice?
Crystal: Hahaha! How many hours did you spend in the studio last weekend, Billy?
Bill: Well, I'll tell ya..."The Blackest hope" was definately NOT a one-take deal for me. Honestly, I hate to say it, my guitar is in it's case six out of seven days lately, just because of work and life in general. I won't touch the guitar for a long time, and then I'll get a feeling inside me, turn on the recorder and start spitting out ideas for hours and hours. Sometimes I'll just sit down and riff out for awhile. It's very sporadic. I don't have a practice routine.
7. Will you always be an internet band or are there plans to play live somewhere?
Bill: We've talked about doing it live, but we want to do it with a complete band when we do. Have to find the right people and get a certain amount of gear and do it right.
Crystal: Oh man! I love live music! The mood…the atmosphere…the beer! Now that I’ve gotten a bit of confidence I am ITCHING to play live, but I defer that to Bill since he has so many more years of experience with that than I do. I trust he will let me know when the time is right.
8. Crystal, do you have plans to take up an instrument and play on future projects?
Interestingly, I took a couple of years of guitar lessons as a teenager and bass lessons again as an adult, so I am familiar with some of the basics but I’m not really sure I have the musical capacity to play an instrument and sing at the same time and the vocals are the piece that really touches my soul.
9. Is it easy or difficult to both live together and work together on project?
Bill: It's not difficult. In fact it's pretty convenient when you want to bounce ideas off one another. We don't have any creative conflicts and we're pretty honest about what we like and don't like. The only problem is when there's someone's underwear all over the recording equipment...
Crystal: Yeah. You need to get your g-string off of there so I can wash it too! I think that we just have so much fun recording together that we just see it as another extension of our personal relationship. Which is not to say that there aren't times when we don't get frustrated with one another, but usually that only happens when one of us is trying to express an idea the other can't quite grasp. OR when SOMEONE accidentally erases the one good take I've managed to squeak out within a three hour session! *sticks out tongue*
10. Tell us a little bit about your experiences on DM?
Bill: Dmusic has been a source of inspiration and encouragement for me for several years now, it's helped me get better at writing and recording, though obviously I still have a lot to learn. I don't always have the time to log in and hang out like I want to, but it's a special community and I've never seen another one like it online. I'm glad I'm able to work with Crystal and put our music here together. She has always wanted to do this and Dmusic makes it even more special. There are some REAL characters here, and some of the best people I've ever virtually met. We have MOAM's cd here on top of the dishwasher and I wear my Dmusic hat quite often. It's not a stretch to say Dmusic comprises a disturbing amount of our social life.
Crystal: Well, for me, Dmusic has changed the whole scope of my life. It was the original way I was able to reconnect with Bill after so many years! But, musically, without all the positive feedback from the members here who listen to our music, I don’t think I would be gaining the confidence I need in my vocals. The support and response has enabled me to take an active step forward in pursuit of a dream that I had long ago given up on.
11. Who's playing at the wedding?
Crystal: Well, Bill's friends from his old band are planning to come out for the wedding so we are hoping to put something together with them...that's provided Bill's hands aren't shaking to bad to play... LOL AND I talked to Ebarb and they might be on board for coming down to hang out! How cool would THAT be? The POPDOLLS playing at the reception?!?
Bill: Yeah! I hope they don't move out west before then because that would be way too cool!
Check out Wormscrew here - http://wormscrew.dmusic.com/
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