Hey everyone, specifically addressed to Mikael in particular.
I had the honor of seeing Dark Tranquility in montreal 2 weeks ago as many of you might have seen from the photos and short review I posted in the US tour thread...at any rate I was also lucky enough to arrange a press pass with CM and get an interview with Mikael. This is where I address it to Mikael and if any admins or anyone have a way of getting this message to him please let him know or pass it on it would mean a lot for him to know what I'm about to say.
Basically one of the last questions I asked in my interview with him was "what advice would you give to a band that's just starting out and about to record?" and well....just last night I was kicked out of the band I've been with for over a year....and that was the reason I was asking the question...the band are great friends but if I hadn't known these guys any longer I would have gotten more furious than I feel about all this....basically they said lots of things that didn't add up "you've missed some practices, your timing seems off, you seem more into this type of metal than power metal" and well....even the singer was talking to me discreeting saying it's bullshit and even he doesn't know what's going on cause this decision was made by the other guitarist and the drummer. Mikeal...the advice you gave to me I thought of almost right away after I had cooled my head in reflection when I got home. Everything you said about "taking your time" and not to rush it and to do what makes you happy and not to do it for money and everything and just have fun....that was a big motivator for me not to get to down over this even though it feels as if the last year I've spent with these guys was all for naught because the other guitarist recorded all my parts...which is why they were taking so long over the projected time for me to hit the studio. I'm still in shock because I worked so hard with it...but at the same time these are friends and I don't get anything in the band...they even said "you can take your songs with you if you like we understand" and they were talking all this legal mumbojumbo that if I was on it and they got signed it would be a problem maybe if I wasn't in the band anymore. That to me is almost more insulting as if they wouldn't care if I was wiped entirely from the last year I spent with the band. It's a hard situation for me and the band is still split on it...and theydid just start working with a manager 2 weeks ago which is when this apparently came up...and well putting 2 + 2 together it just adds up to something more outside that they're not saying because these reasons don't stack up...I've been in 4 bands, always been at the core with Phalanx...I even came up with the name and the guys all liked it I've got some goofy ass CD cover I did in grade 10 art with the name/logo on it and everything...that was like 6 years ago now. I just wanted to say Mikael what you said still means a lot for me and it's kept me going from getting into a slump and just giving up because everything seemed so solid with this bunch and it came out of nowhere and not a "we think you need to change this/work on this" it was "we don't like this...and I guess you're out man"....Thanks again Mikael it was an amazing concert experience and every band was gracious and humble after the show and that meant a lot to me too that you take the time for us fans when you can, you were still giving me all the time I needed even though the interviewing schedule that day was behind and you were so personable as if we'd been good friends for a long time it was an honor to meet you and interview you and the rest of the bands there that night.
Please if anyone knows Mikael or a way to drop him a line, point him to this post I really want him to know just how much it meant to me and how much it's affected me in a very positive way despite this huge bubble bursting in my pursuit of my passion of playing/writing music.
thanks to those of you who finish reading this as well, I know it's long but of course a lot has to be said when something this major happens at least for me...
keep it metal...I know I will be
I had the honor of seeing Dark Tranquility in montreal 2 weeks ago as many of you might have seen from the photos and short review I posted in the US tour thread...at any rate I was also lucky enough to arrange a press pass with CM and get an interview with Mikael. This is where I address it to Mikael and if any admins or anyone have a way of getting this message to him please let him know or pass it on it would mean a lot for him to know what I'm about to say.
Basically one of the last questions I asked in my interview with him was "what advice would you give to a band that's just starting out and about to record?" and well....just last night I was kicked out of the band I've been with for over a year....and that was the reason I was asking the question...the band are great friends but if I hadn't known these guys any longer I would have gotten more furious than I feel about all this....basically they said lots of things that didn't add up "you've missed some practices, your timing seems off, you seem more into this type of metal than power metal" and well....even the singer was talking to me discreeting saying it's bullshit and even he doesn't know what's going on cause this decision was made by the other guitarist and the drummer. Mikeal...the advice you gave to me I thought of almost right away after I had cooled my head in reflection when I got home. Everything you said about "taking your time" and not to rush it and to do what makes you happy and not to do it for money and everything and just have fun....that was a big motivator for me not to get to down over this even though it feels as if the last year I've spent with these guys was all for naught because the other guitarist recorded all my parts...which is why they were taking so long over the projected time for me to hit the studio. I'm still in shock because I worked so hard with it...but at the same time these are friends and I don't get anything in the band...they even said "you can take your songs with you if you like we understand" and they were talking all this legal mumbojumbo that if I was on it and they got signed it would be a problem maybe if I wasn't in the band anymore. That to me is almost more insulting as if they wouldn't care if I was wiped entirely from the last year I spent with the band. It's a hard situation for me and the band is still split on it...and theydid just start working with a manager 2 weeks ago which is when this apparently came up...and well putting 2 + 2 together it just adds up to something more outside that they're not saying because these reasons don't stack up...I've been in 4 bands, always been at the core with Phalanx...I even came up with the name and the guys all liked it I've got some goofy ass CD cover I did in grade 10 art with the name/logo on it and everything...that was like 6 years ago now. I just wanted to say Mikael what you said still means a lot for me and it's kept me going from getting into a slump and just giving up because everything seemed so solid with this bunch and it came out of nowhere and not a "we think you need to change this/work on this" it was "we don't like this...and I guess you're out man"....Thanks again Mikael it was an amazing concert experience and every band was gracious and humble after the show and that meant a lot to me too that you take the time for us fans when you can, you were still giving me all the time I needed even though the interviewing schedule that day was behind and you were so personable as if we'd been good friends for a long time it was an honor to meet you and interview you and the rest of the bands there that night.
Please if anyone knows Mikael or a way to drop him a line, point him to this post I really want him to know just how much it meant to me and how much it's affected me in a very positive way despite this huge bubble bursting in my pursuit of my passion of playing/writing music.
thanks to those of you who finish reading this as well, I know it's long but of course a lot has to be said when something this major happens at least for me...
keep it metal...I know I will be
. I spent all night recording stuff on my own. That is a truly annoying thing, when you are in a band and the material you write gets shrugged off because it's too complex (Im not bigging myself up here, I'm more talking others down). My friend told me tonight If I had a band that could play the material I'd written and roughly recorded then I'd probably get signed. It meant alot to me, but I'm never gonna find people who want to play my sort of stuff. That's the problem with music. You need a group of like minded individuals. Any other art you just need tools.
