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4 June, 2011

Victory




This is how I live my life.

The characters above translate to mean, "True victory is victory over oneself."

I have never been competitive in the normal sense of the word. I have never tried to be, nor even had the desire to be, the best guitarist in the world. Nor the best runner, artist, songwriter or anything else. I know when I have done well with something, and it matters not if another has done or could do it better or worse, if I know that I am doing the utmost that I can, and continually improving myself, then I know that I am being the most true form of me that I can be. And I have no desire to be anything else.


4 June, 2011

Recording with Andréa and upcoming shows


I did a great recording session yesterday with Andrea Williams. She is working on an album of songs that combine operatic vocals with music that has a techno feel. The song we recorded yesterday was based on a Shakespear sonnet. It's pretty cool stuff.

She really likes the way that I keep my guitars, check it out on her website!

Andrea will be joining Ara'Kus in a fundraiser show on 11 June at Club Motor in Seattle. This is an old school style show for Ara'Kus as we will not be having all of our normal theatrics. This night will also mark the premier public performance of my other band, Hades Machine!


Club Motor
1950 1st Ave. S.
Seattle, WA 98134

All Ages
Tickets are $10.00
Proceeds go to Ariana and Alex's wedding!

14 April, 2011

The best rock guitar solos ever

(According to me)


A few years ago a friend asked me what I would consider the ten best guitar solos in rock music. It was not an easy task, aside from the difficulty in comparing the guitarists and the way they played on various guitar solos, there was also the question of which ones are considered rock - Is Bonnie Raitt rock? Rory Gallagher? Does metal count?

As the conversation and research continued we also started talking about the best albums and best guitarists. In the end I compiled some lists and all of the material is based on one common criteria, my opinion.

I'm not asking anyone to agree with these lists, I'm just putting out what I think about it and I have not put them in any particular order. In fact, I probably wouldn't even say that they are my top ten, just among my favorites, and these lists are by no means exhaustive. So let's start with those guitar solos (click on each one for more info):

Let It Be - George Harrison (The Beatles)
Diary of a Madman - Randy Rhoads (Ozzy Osbourne)
Revelations (Mother Earth) - Randy Rhoads (Ozzy Osbourne)
Eruption - Eddie Van Halen
Comfortably Numb - David Gilmore (Pink Floyd)
Cliffs of Dover - Eric Johnson
Scuttle Buttin' - Stevie Ray Vaughn
La Villa Strangiato - Alex Lifeson (Rush)
Black Star - Yngwie Malmsteen
Unknown - Unknown

12 May, 2011

Performance anxiety


I recently came across this quote from Steve Rapson:

A good performer jumps on stage, looks out at the audience, and thinks, "Here I am!"

A great performer jumps on stage, looks out at the audience, and thinks, "There you are!"

It's been vaguely bothering me and I finally realized why, I don't know where it puts me on his scale, but when I go on stage I look out at the audience and I think, "Here we are!"

(Note: I've looked around Steve's site a little and he seems to have some very good advice for performing musicians, the above is not intended as an argument against his statement, just as another point of view!)

7 April, 2011

Oddology Vs. The Internet


According to the data at mostpopularwebsites.net oddology.net is the 17,792,900th most popular website on the internet! That means that there are probably only seventeen million, seven hundred ninety two thousand, eight hundred ninety nine websites that you would prefer to be on right now. No wonder you're here!

So look around, enjoy your stay and be glad that you didn't end up at website 17,792,901, that one must really suck!

22 February, 2011

Download Confusion

You set the price!


I have decided to let everyone download my entire full length album Confusion for any price they choose, including free. Simply click on the "Download" link in the player below and you will be taken to the download page. Enter any amount you wish to pay and enjoy the album! And feel free to share the love with the "Share" button too.

Then let me know what you think about it all.



20 February, 2011

Things and Stuff and Junk


I decided it was time for a bit of an overhaul to ol' Oddology.net: a little different look and some new stuff to go with it.

I've put up a page with some information about my guitar lessons. If you are out of the North Seattle/Everett/Marysville area and are interested in lessons still feel free to get in touch as I am in the process of setting up to do lessons over video chat, I'm not sure how well it will work, but I'll certainly give it a go.

I've also added in a page with a selection of my less offensive poetry, check it out. If you happen to be looking for them, the entries that were formerly on this page may now be found an the Blawg page. And there are some new pictures in the Eyes section.

But most importantly I have totally revamped the Qows page! It's not even the same cows! Sometimes you just gotta get a little crazy.

Have fun, there's more on the way soon.