your job sucks and you want to be in a rock band

Alright folks. I know. You're tired of pumping gas, or making copies, or handling other people's money, or working for "the man", or being "the man", or using your ass to make sure the couch doesn't run away. We both know you'd rather play rock'n'roll.

It's time to be in Cancer Killing Gemini live.

Looking for bass, guitar and keys. Can you play guitar and keys? You're my hero.Can you play guitar and keys and sing backing vocals? I'll get you a hooker and a nice ribeye.

Seriously, it's time to take this show on the road, literally. Looking for folks who can take time off and tour a few times a year / or take long weekends.

Do you know anyone who fits this description..... do you fit this description? Male / female, black / white / brown / yellow / green , gay / straight, it's all good. Just no hard drugs.

Sweet. Let's do this.

Eric
Cancer Killing Gemini

Want to be in the next CKG music video?

Want to be in a CKG music video?

Here are the details:
The song is called "Should I Tell You That You're Pretty". It's Cancer Killing Gemini's "one-night-stand anthem". You can download the mp3 for free from the widget below (press options) or from the Cancer Killing Gemini website: http://www.cancerkillinggemini.com 
 
 
album on iTunes, Amazon


To be in the video:

You can:
lip sync a few lyrics
act out a line in the song
react to a line in the song
dance or freak out (alone or with friends)

You cannot:
get naked
do anything illegal

Specific footage needed:girl - looking bashful
girl - looking naughty
girl - sobbing
girl - holding plate of breakfast food, smiling
girl - holding plate of breakfast food, sad or crying
girl - pulling strap off of dress, taking off sweater, unbuttoning jeans (no nudity!)
guy - looks at cellphone, ignores
guy - answers cell phone, doesn't recognize caller
guy - looking charming
guy - looking creepy
girl or guy - getting ready to go out
girl or guy - with bedhead
girls or guys - dancing at club

Guidelines:
no videos of babies or pets
the sound will not be used, so it's all about the visuals
"YouTube" / iPhone quality is fine (videos don't need to be HD quality)
NOT ALL VIDEOS WILL BE USED
Deadline is October 31st, 2010

Send videos and any questions to CKGPrettyVideo@gmail.com

Can't wait to see your clip!

Eric
Cancer Killing Gemini

---Lyrics---
my little princess
how'd you get so sweet
you're looking lost girl
why don't you come with me
hold out to me now
you just found everything
don't worry dear now
you'll just have to trust me

get down on the floor
if you'd like to feel my hips hit yours
do you want to bend your back with me
can you push hard enough to hurt me
you think you're strong enough to saddle me
you think you'll get the chance to straddle me
should I tell you that you're pretty
would it be best if no one knows
now did you ever wonder who you'd be
without your clothes

my little princess
why don't you get some sleep
'cause in the morning
you won't have to cook for me
how'd you get this number
what was your name again
what gave the idea
that I would be your boyfriend
'cause you're not my girlfriend

Engineering a "Trainwreck" (with a little help from my friends)

When the recording of "It only hurts when we breathe" was nearly complete, I sent a few of the mixes to some friends and fellow musicians for feedback. "Trainwreck", a straightforward rock song, had existed for a while in different forms but this was the first time it was recorded, other than on a 1983-era boom box in a rehearsal space. I sent it off to my friend Jason, whose taste in music has always been ahead of the curve.

His comment was..."cool tune - can you make it more distorted?"

"In what way?" I asked.

"Like this..." and he sent me a link to a song: "Ibitsu" by Boris

So I listened to the song.

"Oh.... you mean make is sound like it was recorded live on a 1983-era boom box?"

"Exactly" Jason replied.

Here's the result.... ("boom box" on the choruses)

(Just in case the widget didn't load, check it out here)

10 songs you can't live without?

If your iPod only held 10 songs, what would you fill it with? 10 songs you wouldn't get sick of... Ever. When you listen in shuffle mode, what songs do you never skip? I thought I'd post a few in the order they entered my mind....

Deftones - "Change"

No Doubt - "Hella Good"

Nine Inch Nails - "Wish"

The Pixies - "Where Is My Mind"

The Jesus Lizard - "Zachariah"

Fiona Apple - "Fast As You Can"

Come - "Brand New Vein"

Veruca Salt - "25"

Silversun Pickups - "Well Thought Out Twinkles"

Sneaker Pimps - "6 Underground"

Alright... stopping at 10. What's your list?

how [the] Jesus [Lizard] saved my [musical] life

I'm not much for organized religion. Enough said about that.

For those not in the know, The Jesus Lizard is a band formed in the late 80's. There are heavier bands out there in a number of genres, but there may not be or have ever been a scarier band than The Jesus Lizard. Their songs aren't great. The singer is awful, most of the time. But when they lock into a groove, it will crush you, preform oral sex on you, kick you in the head, then get you in trouble with your boss. The riffs are absolutely undeniable. Seeing them live will set the bar for all other live shows for the rest of your life. What these guys can do with one bass, one guitar, one drumkit and one microphone is terrifying.

So as I may or may not have mentioned, I hit musical overload 7 or 8 years ago and quit cold turkey. It just wasn't fun anymore. Since the pay is terrible, the hours are terrible, the chance of success is very low, you need to love music to keep doing it. I hit a point where it wasn't fun anymore. Without the fun, there was no reason continue. All the equipment went into the attic and I didn't touch a guitar or keyboard for years. And despite the lack of music, I was quite happy. 

For the first time in my life, I truly became a music consumer. I bought cd's of many of the bands I had been listening to on the radio for years. I replaced music long gone missing (where'd my vinyl and cassettes wander off to?): the Pixies, Faith No More, Fleetwood Mac.... all kinds of stuff. And of course, The Jesus Lizard.

The singer for The Jesus Lizard... David Yow. There are moments of brilliance, but they are surrounded by unintelligible, out of tune, poorly written, self-indulgent slobber. But when those brilliant moments do occur, they are spectacular (check out "Zachariah" - the most beautiful ugly song you'll ever hear).  He finds notes that don't exactly fit, and barely, barely hits them. For the most part, I think I'd have preferred another singer for this band, but since it's not my choice, I'll rather listen to Yow than skip the band because of him.

Yow aside, the guitar and especially the bass and drums are what have always drawn me to this band. Their use of the space between the notes makes the notes huge, powerful, sludgy... the dissonance of the guitar gives the bass room to crawl; their use of rhythm is unsurpassed. Think about what the band that could destroy Rage Against The Machine would sound like. Monsters live in the basslines, and the guitars have learned to scream. And every hit of the drums has reason.

Alright, so you get the picture. When a friend called and said they were coming to town in Nov (2009), I knew I needed to go. And as soon as the show started, I knew I needed to play and write again. 

Thanks Jesus Lizard, I owe you one.

live music - cream of the crop

So this past week was a good one for live music in Boston - I saw Hole (yes, the Hole with Courtney in it), Silversun Pickups, Nada Surf, Foxy Shazam, Metric, Against Me, Matt & Kim, Gogol Bordello and Mean Creek. The thing that struck me was how some of the performers, not necessarily the bands, could leave such a lasting impression. 

I'll give a Steven Colbert-style "tip of the hat" to the keyboard player from Foxy Shazam - a crazy-eyed, crazy-bearded madman who was all over the place - standing on his keyboard, jumping up and down on it - all in all a fantastic showman. Shame that the singer might be the worst frontman I've ever seen (you can quote me on that). 

Another "tip" to the drummer in Silversun Pickups. I could watch this guy all day. He set a crash cymbal up at a height a good 3 feet above the rest of the kit, and seeing him hit it was like watching a backwards softball pitcher holding a drumstick. Tons of energy - this guy does more with a snare drum than many can do with the whole kit.

Gogol Bordello... played an "acoustic" set which meant guitar, accordion, violin, percussion and vocals. I can't say I like the music, but it was a great performance. To see a gypsy / polka / whatever band ignite a crowd of altrockers.... nice job. Most of the credit has to go to the singer / guitarist - straight out of a 70's porno - this dude hit the ground running and never looked back. I doubt I'll ever but a record of theirs, but I might catch another show.

Courtney Love.... I saw Hole years ago when she was on drugs. It was awesome. This time, she seemed, clear and focused......and well... by comparison... boring. Courtney: please pretend you're on drugs even if you aren't. I miss the crazy. Oh, and P.S.: your band is boring, and I think they're scared of you.

Well, back to the studio to work on some new tracks....

music promotion in an age of digital apathy, part 1

It's interesting seeing the difference in the way music moves on the web since 2000. It used to be that an artist could put up a website, get listed on a few music sites (like mp3.com and cdbaby) and fans of the artist's genre would simply find them and buy cds (yeah, the things that crackle in the microwave). The number of fans (or friends) was dramatically lower, but the intensity of those fans was much higher - as a music listener it was cool to find a new artist with a great record - it was activity on the part of the listener that created the initial contact, that sparked the new musical relationship.

Enter 2010, when the search of a genre like "rock" brings up hundreds of thousands of artists. As a fan, what do you do if you're looking for new music? (Seriously, music fans, what do you do? lol) Sites like last.fm and Pandora offer a good option by playing song that they see as similar to an artist you already like, but sometimes the suggestions are way off. You can wander around MySpace or facebook, but it's easy to get bored trying to sift through all the content looking for something you like. 

From the perspective of the artist, the challenge is to rise above the din. How do I get you to check out my music video instead of the 15 other videos your friends posted on facebook today (of babies or sports bloopers or Lady Gaga)? Access to everything sometimes turns into interest in nothing. What I want (as an artist) is a small piece of your time, a chance to spark interest with the eventual goal of selling a song or an album. Leaning how to get you to spend your online time with me instead of Bejewelled is the question....

But the upside is the potential, the scope of contact, the number of ways an artist can be in contact with fans and the public. The technology that makes us invisible can also make us famous. More on that coming soon....