Alive, but trembling

Hello. Every now and then, I tend to post something here to the effect of "I'm still alive, and I haven't abandoned the blog." This may be an "I'm alive" post, but the connotation is a little different this time. Today should have been a fairly normal day. I had a few interviews scheduled, and returned to my apartment to grab lunch between them. I left the apartment at 12:15 for my second interview, and returned around 1:40. My intention was to stop by my apartment, change out of my suit into more comfortable clothes, and head out again to go grocery shopping. Instead, I found my apartment inaccessible.

Police barricades cut off that entire side of the block.

Unbeknownst to me, three incidents had occurred in my brief absence. The first was a minor collision, blocking some traffic. The second followed from the first, with an 18-wheeler backing over the car behind it (well, under it, but you get my point). Apparently, there weren't any critical injuries in either of those cases. That can't really be said of incident #3. In the third incident, which was apparently unrelated to the others, a man was shot in the stomach about a minute's walk from where I sleep every night. On learning that, from the comfort of a Starbucks a few minutes away, I started shaking for reasons other than the unneeded caffeine.

I've lived most of my life in a pretty quiet neighborhood with little in the way of danger. My sister's car window was smashed once, and some possessions stolen, but I certainly never felt that my life was in peril. On moving to a new city, I'm about a month into my new life before someone gets shot in the stomach half a block away mere minutes after I leave. So yes, I am still alive.

Alive, but trembling.

Guitarman, out.

Transitions

You've probably noticed that I've been less than active lately. I don't really have time to post a review today, but I figured that I at least owe my readers an explanation for my relative silence. I graduated with my BA in international economics and philosophy on the 13th, and moved into my new apartment on the 19th. Lately, I've been using most of my time on the hunt for employment, and haven't had time to write here. Hopefully this'll change once I get a job and a stable schedule. I have a few interviews lined up for actuarial and financial positions, so hopefully I'll get my foot in the door somehow. Once I do, I'll be sure to keep you updated.

Until then,

Guitarman

Finals, finals, finals

With my final undergrad semester coming to an end, I've been kept pretty busy. Between working on term papers and searching for employment, I haven't exactly had much time to post here. Thankfully, there's a bit of a lull at the moment, so I've come to share some avant-garde metal goodness with you.

Hailing from Poland, Ketha play metal with prog sensibilities and a strong underlying groove. #!%16.7, the EP I've linked above, wastes nary a moment of your time, and clocks in at around 16 minutes over 12 tracks. In reality, it plays more like one song in twelve parts than a collection of short songs. The musicianship is excellent, the grooves are airtight, and the brass section is just right. I recommend it highly.

Until next time, Guitarman out.

Obscure and worth it

Today I'd like to introduce you to a fun little band that, unfortunately, never really took off: Dark Hall. Dark Hall is, or rather was, an instrumental jazz fusion group from the late 90's. They released a total of three demos, one with their original lineup and two more after changing guitarists. In the end, Dark Hall never actually released an album, and I've only been able to track down their last demo (their self-titled effort from 1998) and one track from their 1994 demo Solace.

You might be wondering why I'm so interested in this non-starter of a band from the 90's. One answer is that Dark Hall was simply great at what they did. For demos, the five tracks of theirs floating around are well mastered and impeccably performed. This wasn't exactly amateur night, and Dark Hall had a rather noteworthy cast of talent. Dark Hall started as a trio with Steve Di Giorgio on bass, Chris Dugan on drums and Flamp Sorvari on flute and saxophone, adding Eric Cutler on guitar in time for their first demo. Now, I haven't been able to find much information on Flamp Sorvari or Ken Schultz (the band's replacement for Eric Cutler on guitar in '95). However, the rest are associated with some fairly high profile acts of their own. Chris Dugan is known less for his musicianship and more for his work as an audio engineer, working with Green Day from American Idiot to Revolution Radio. That probably goes a long way towards explaining the high audio quality of the demo. Founding guitarist Eric Cutler (not to be confused with the opera singer of the same name) is also a founding member of Autopsy, a rather legendary death metal band. Steve Di Giorgio is probably the most prolific of the bunch, playing bass guitar for a slew of metal legends, from Autopsy to Death to Testament to Control Denied.

On the video I've embedded in this post, the first four songs are their 1998 demo Dark Hall, with the last track being from their 1994 debut Solace (meaning Eric Cutler is on guitar, rather than Ken Schultz). You can pick them up for free at the band's ReverbNation page here: https://www.reverbnation.com/artist/downloads/3622154. According to the band's write up, they're "in the planning stages for a new recording." I, for one, wouldn't get your hopes up too high, though. They've been in the "planning stages" since 2013, and we haven't heard a peep from them since. They could actually be making something new, but I dunno. It's quite possible that we'll have to content ourselves with their killer demo in the meantime.

By the way, if you have some obscure band that you think deserves a little more coverage, let me know so I can feature it. I can be reached at my email, askguitarman@gmail.com. Until next time, Guitarman out.