Status Update

Aaron Sword at practiceDuring the last part of 2014 and the beginning of 2015 I spent a good deal of my time in the studio writing and recording new tunes. Normally you do your writing before you get into the studio, but since it’s my studio I can write in there if I want to! LOL Those tunes that are the result are in the mixing stages for the most part and I hope to have them on the site for everyone (yeah, both of you) to listen to soon.

Most recently I have been planning and preparing for a live show with a friend of mine, something that I hope to present around the local area and farther if possible. So, to that end, I have been working on song lists, set lists, repairs, getting hardware and learning new material (both originals and covers) for the show – among other things. My friend Adam is an awe inspiring guitar player and between the two of us I believe we will put on one heck of a show site web. Now we both just need the time to finish what we have started!

All that being said, I am getting the itch to record again so I may try to lay down some tracks while getting ready for the show, so maybe I’ll have even more stuff ready soon. It seems that I have no shortage of ambition, just a shortage of time and energy for getting things finished once under way. Anyway, if you are reading this then thanks for stopping by and I hope you found something you liked here on the site!

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Technology Taking Place Of Talent

autotune_alSomething Glenn Fricker with Spectre Media Group said has stuck with me and made me want to do a post about it. It was in a YouTube video he did called Autotune Sucks, and his statement was that “technology is taking the place of talent” in music today in that modern musicians are more prone to mediocre performances having the philosophy that they can “fix it in the mix” rather than do it right. He also adds, and I wholeheartedly agree, that the fans deserve better!

I for one agree with his statement. I have seen it more than once where a performer will have a less than stellar take and someone (like the engineer or producer) will say that it can be fixed in the mix later or that once everything else gets added you won’t even notice it. Add to that technology like auto tune, time aligned drums via beat detective, simulated guitars and amps and more, and you get bland boring mediocre music that doesn’t live up to the music of decades ago before all of this technology when musicians had to hit the mark or go pound sand.

Nowadays, bands and groups are based on and made by their image and look, not their musical talent. There are bands that are famous for having studio musicians play their parts on the album and then teaching those parts to the band members so they could play live. Meanwhile, it was the image crafted by some producer or manager that made them famous zyban to quit smoking. It irritates me, especially with “boy bands” that they get created in some producers office to fit an image equation rather than being a group of talented musicians that worked hard to learn their craft make actual music.

I really can’t say this any better than Glenn can, so go check out his video about auto tune and then some more of his videos because they are very entertaining. Thanks for stopping by!

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Check out Black Dog Shine performing Wishing Well by Blackfoot!

Let’s take a look at Black Dog Shine performing Wishing Well by Blackfoot at the Giles County Relay For Life in 2014. A good time was had by all!

-bds-ww

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Music for you!

musicI have added a good portion of my songs to the site (18 of them so far) for you to listen to and see what you think. They span the last twenty years and include live and studio recordings from several bands I was in at the time as well as some that are solo works. All in all they aren’t too bad, some are better than others as far as recording quality goes zyban dosage. Some of that has to do with the nature of recording bands live at shows, especially years ago on a budget, and some of it naturally depends on the studios they were recorded in. There are a couple there I recorded at home on my computer long before I had or even though of having a real studio in my home. When you get down to it though, I believe they are entertaining, and that is what counts. So go to the Downloads section and check out what I have for you. I will have some new stuff coming soon, I have been in the studio recently working on new material, and hopefully I’ll have some rough mixes up for you to listen to soon. I hope you enjoy the tunes!

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Solid State Stigma

tube-amp-vs-solidstate-ampI have noticed something lately, as I look at guitar amps to purchase, and it concerns me navigate to this web-site. It’s the stigma that seems to be attached to solid state amps versus tube amps like they aren’t and can’t be as good, regardless of brand, sound, quality, etc. I say this because I have recently been looking around for amplifiers and when reading and watching reviews on amps, I saw a trend that showed any solid state amps in a negative light. Reviewers would actually say that these amps “kicked ass” and “sounded awesome” but then tell you that they would only be good for practice amps, backup amps, or maybe playing somewhere rough where you don’t want to scuff your two or three thousand dollar tube amp. I personally think this is ridiculous, and I for one don’t care if an amp is solid state or tube, if it sounds good, it sounds good, and if I like it I am going to use it on my front line at my shows. I have and have played both tube and solid state amps and I have heard amps that astounded me they sounded so good and then some that made me cringe with how bad they sounded from both sides of the fence. I think there is a mentality that because solid state amps are usually cheaper than tube amps, they can’t be or sound as good, and technology today is making that an old and obsolete argument. This is just my 2cp worth on the subject that’s all, leave me a comment and tell me what you think!

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Welcome!

Blue SGWelcome to my site, the new and improved AaronSword.com. This site will feature my music, writing, thoughts and ramblings and pretty much anything else that I happen to feel like posting about. I am an aspiring musician, so I’ll be writing a lot about my time making music. Whether that’s in the studio recording things or out playing shows, hopefully it will not only spawn some entertaining reading now and then, but some good music to listen to as well. I am also an amateur writer, and if I get brave enough I’ll even post some of my writing on here, but that’s for another time. When I have time I am also an avid gamer, I LOVE games and I am mostly a PC gamer, although I do own a Wii and Wii U along with a couple of older consoles, I normally stick to the PC for games. My current mainstays are Star Wars: The Old Republic, Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm, and Diablo III. Though there are lots of other games I play now and then, those are the ones I play the most. This being said, I’ll probably post about games and such as well. In all, there is no telling what I might ramble on about, but I hope that you will drop some comments and tell me what you think about whatever it is that is going on. So thanks for stopping by, be sure to come back soon there will be lots more to come!

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