Rediscovering Suspyre

[voodoo]

I have to admit that I stepped away from metal in the middle of last year. I had listened to so much of it the past 3 years or so that I essentially grew sick of it. I went to a couple of shows and had an occasional "relapse" but for the most part I shied away. I did manage to check in on all the bands every day, though, so I didn't miss any news.

But not until this week did I start listening to metal again on a regular basis, but only to online stations. And now Suspyre was the first band whose music I listened to on CD from start to finish, and it feels like I am hearing them for the first time. It's a great feeling to discover a new band and get to know the songs intimately. But sometimes, if you are away from a band long enough, you can sort of recapture that feeling even if you are already familiar with the bands work. Hearing When Time Fades (and the others) with refreshed ears really has made an nice impact, and helps me remember how good this band really is.

So, with that said, I am really looking forward to hearing what Gregg and the band comes up with next, especially now that they have a full time drummer. Although the departure of Rich has saddened me, I'm sure Suspyre will overcome that obstacle.

 

[Cello]

I believe I kinda counter the growing sick of metal by just moving from one subgenre to another every now and then. There's so much variety in progressive metal alone that you can listen to it to your heart's content and still discover new things all the time. Personally I vary a lot from Progressive to Black, even some Melodic Death and the occasional Power Metal period, and I never find myself tiring of this particular niche of music.

I don't think I'd be able to go without any music at all since I've made it such a big part of my life. Like some people feel naked without their phone, I feel naked without my mp3 player with me to get me through the short idle times

I couldn't agree more when you talk about the particular talents of Suspyre though. Even though I haven't been listening with refreshed ears like yourself, I find myself enjoying Suspyre every time they come along on my playlist, and to me it never gets old. It's a shame Rich left, but like you I'm sure they'll find someone capable enough to take his place. And maybe with the new fulltime drummer and a new guitar player, this is just the 'fresh wind' blowing through that they need to take their music on that next step in the evolution of Suspyre.

 

[voodoo]

Oh, I didn't go without music - I can't do that! I just went without metal. Every genre and sub genre. I went through a long period where I needed a completely different vibe, mood, atmosphere, you name it. But now that I have gotten back on the metal train it's like hearing Suspyre for the first time again. Almost. It's a nice feeling.

 

[Cello]

Curious: what kinda music DID you listen to?

 

[voodoo]

As a matter of fact, some reggae and other tropical/Caribbean music, singer-songwriter stuff like David Gray and Pete Yorn, a little Bruce Springsteen, some classical.

A pretty good mix of the complete opposite of metal!!

 

[GreggSuspyre]

Glad to hear that you're listening to our music again! I can totally relate to your getting tired of a genre; it happens to me all the time. But when you take the break and rediscover it, it has such a refreshing effect on you.

To tell the truth, I haven't been listening to any "metal" either and only lately have I been rediscovering it. For many months (may have been years, actually!), I was on a huge jazz, fusion, and classical kick that I almost totally forgot about other music. Hearing so many double bass blasts, wanky instrumental wizardry, and stratospheric screeching singers just drove me to the point of being so tired of it all.

I've noticed this trend: I'll discover a genre, research a bunch of bands and artists that are considered leaders in that genre, then after a couple of years I find myself only listening to a few survivors while the ones that inspired and impressed me the least got lost in my pile of CDs. I think I just finished filtering out my interests in the newest metal genres I've discovered, while my honeymoon with jazz fusion and the like is still going on. I think Dream Theater is the band that's survived through all these taste changes (I relate a lot of that due to the fact that they are so diverse and know what they're doing musically; whenever I hear something of theirs that isn't as interesting, I know it's not because of negligence and lack of skill, but just an experiment that didn't work so well.)

I think doing music professionally sort of ruined the enjoyment for me. The last thing I want to do when I get home from teaching guitar or recording a band all day is to listen to music or work on a musical project. Also, I don't listen to metal music for pleasure, per se, but for inspiration and mixing purposes so I know what to do with the next Suspyre album. I get aural satisfaction only from jazz fusion and certain forms of classical music (totally digging Messiaen right now).

Since we're going to start to write another album soon, I've been trying to get back into more metal stuff. Having spun only metal in my car for the past week has been pretty interesting, so I'm excited to start writing again to see what emerges!

 

[voodoo]

Hey, Gregg! Nice to see I'm not the only one. I have never really stuck my neck into jazz all that much, to be honest. But I do switch on some classical, blues, or "coffee house rock" sometimes. Actually I do that quite a bit when I am trying to relax at night reading a book before going to bed. I have Direct TV and I just put on one of those channels and chill. It clears my head.
But in my car the past few days I've had all 3 Suspyre discs and Dream Theater's Systematic Chaos. Had to listen to DT since the announcement of the latest being released this coming June. Can't wait for that one. Can't wait to hear what Suspyre comes up with next, either.

And Gregg, from what I have read about you and your varied musical interests and incredible talents, I wonder if you have thought about recording an album of original jazz or classically inspired stuff. I think I remember reading something along those lines in an interview you did a few months back, but that information escapes me right now.

 

[GreggSuspyre]

I had a hard time getting into jazz, as well, which is ironic since saxophone was my first and main instrument for years! I didn't start understanding the structure and complexity in harmony that created jazz music until college, actually. But like metal, jazz has lots of sub-genres. The best way for a rock guy to get into it is to start with listening to the more fusiony styles like Al Di Meola, Chick Corea, (also Return to Forever and Elektric Band), Allan Holdsworth, Greg Howe, and Frank Gambale (also Vital Information)...whom most jazz elitists would stay away from anyway because they're too "rock."

It's cool that you remember my non-Suspyre projects; I'm working on a bunch right now.

One CD I'm working on is by "Serin Omaye." The lyrics and vocal melodies were all conceived by her, then my job is to produce all the music and tie everything together. It's very eclectic; I see the styles best described as a combination of Tool, Fiona Apple, some 90s alt-rock, and even electronic and ethnic influences. I'm programming drums, playing guitar, bass, and probably some saxophones sooner or later. She sings and plays koto (a Japanese string instrument). We have almost finished six songs so far and there are going to be up to eighteen. Expect the first wave of them to be in the public the first week of April.

Another project I'm doing is "The Nice Marmots." The songs in this band are all written by a client of my studio, Ryan Curtis, who originally did them as acoustic folk tunes. They all have a 60's rock vibe, mixed with some modern influences. On the recording I'm playing bass, additional lead guitars, and maybe some keyboards. He's cool to work with because the songs have a classic, vintage sound, but he likes when I do modern quirky solos and add melodies on top of everything. I also get to experiment a lot more with linking a bunch of pedals together to get some pretty nasty sounds.

I also have an album's worth of jazz/fusion works that I've written in college and grad school, I'm just having a hard time starting the recording. I am debating whether or not I want it to be live or if I want to produce it more like a rock album. As for classical stuff, I have a lot written, but releasing it is going to take a lot of planning and funds (programming it with samples and releasing it just doesn't seem right to me at the moment; I'd rather hire real musicians).

 

[voodoo]

I think it is great that you are involved in other area's of music, and in all facets of the production, etc. I would think exposure to other styles/methods/ideas are helpful when it comes to writing your own music.

As far as jazz is concerned, I'm almost afraid to start listening to another style of music. There is already so little time in the day to listen to everything else.

 

[GreggSuspyre]

Since this thread was discussing side projects, I thought I'd post this.

Two almost finished songs have been uploaded to Serin Omaye's Myspace page, "Peep," and "All I'll Ever Have." The other songs on there are demos she did with another producer. There will be more up soon, as there will be up to 18 songs on her first album.

I'm responsible for all the sounds on those two tracks, minus the vocal performances. Check it out!

Footnote: As Peter Jackson loosely said, "you never really finish a film. Just one day someone tells you to turn it in." That's how I am with music - and why they're almost finished. I will work on these pieces until the album is sent to be mastered!

 

[Cello]

Hmm, I'll have to check this at work tomorrow. My computer's soundcard is busted