My Weekend So Far

So yesterday (Friday), I participated in a MICCA festival with a small orchestra in my town - we got GOLD! and will perform again next week at either Mechanic's Hall or Symphony Hall next week.

Then I did it again with my high school's orchestra today. We got silver, but it was pretty awesome. Then I went back home, finally got a new strap for my violin (I had broken my last one a few weeks back), had ice cream (may the lords of gluttony smile down upon Dad), then took a walk where I ended up pondering a replacement for the United States Constitution. Now, I'm blogging and doing some final work on a new EP for [insert meme], which should come out quite soon.

Yup. Life is pretty epic right now.

E5 - Theme

Yeah! This took almost a month to complete; I put it up a week ago, and now it's on the blog!

E5 - Theme by PandaPlaysPunk
So first, I made the basic bassline thingy, then I recorded the improvised violin solo, then I put in all the accents like the strings and brass. That really made the song come alive!
The closing part is coming soon, as well as some more improvved violin solos; they are way too much fun.

All Hail Pizza

The school orchestra I participate in (I'm a violinist) is having a big rehearsal in preparation for a big concert. After the rehearsal, the entire ensemble will have a pizza party (WHOO!) of which us kids will pay $1 per slice. I put my pizza money in this envelope. Thinking about the pizza, I couldn't resist this doodle.

Note how horrible my handwriting is.

Memorial Service, The Instrumental

http://soundcloud.com/kidinthestudio/memorial-service-instrumental
This is the link to an intrumental version of Memorial Service (Note: I tweaked the name from Memorial Service (Memories) to just Memorial Service). I'll need Zhen, the singer in the band, to finish it up, and there you are.
I added a violin solo there. Pardon the absolute horribleness of my playing.

Stargazer

Another song that's not morbid...kinda.
This was SUPER HARD. But yeah, it's nice.
This will have a beautiful string loop.

(Intro)

See the stars, in the sky,

Little parts, of the night.

Twinkling, endlessly

Shimmering, blissfully

Oh, great star, how are you?

From afar, you shine true.

Far in space, you shine bright,

In a maze, out of sight

I let these, moonlit skies,

Banish tears, from my eyes.

All's at peace, in the night,

Not a crease, from life's strife

At this time, my pains flee,

Tossed aside, like dead leaves.

Night makes me, happiest.

Can't life be, just like this?

I'd sit here, for all time,

With no fears, of life's crimes.

There's no stress, no worries,

No sadness, and no tears.

(Violin Solo) Update: There is no solo.

Here's the sun, back to life.

Time to run, with our strife.

If only, life could be,

Just like the, night I've seen

But I know, for today,

Fear may go, but hope stays.

Peace can come, inside me

When night's a, memory...

Yup...Whaddya think?

Memorial Service (Memories)

Man, I need antidepressants. Song #4, and no happiness in sight. Wow, kid. Lighten up.
I have a arpeggio-based piano riff for this, but my super-slacker lifestyle means that I won't be recording it for a while. And Zhen (the pro singer in my band, Cracked Perspective) won't be around for a while, too. So yeah, I'm only on songwriting for now.

I saw it on the news today

The saddest thing I've ever seen 

But of the aftermath I'll say

These wounds may never heal

(add light beat)

We see such pain in all we view

But just forget about it all

So while people lose all they could ever lose

We ignore them like broken dolls

(Chorus)

The tragedies that come to us

They never seem to go away

But the memories they leave with us...these

Flashbacks of then, we never learn from for today

They say that once upon a time

People learned from their past

But now we disregard old crimes

Save for a flag at half mast

Right now, I feel the past is more

Than a history book paper

It tells of what we've endured

And how it could make us greater

(Chorus)

(Violin Solo?)

(Different Melody)

I wish that in another day,

We'll the world's worries and say

"I've had it with the tears and pain

Let's work 'till only hope remains"

(Final Chorus)

The tragedies that come to us

They'll still come in our way

But maybe we can learn for once

So that tomorrow, we'll be better than today...

There you go. What do you think?

Flight

Super morbid song. It's all about death, war and dreams.


(Sparse, quiet electronic loop only, echo-y voice)
I live without the strife
Above the fear and the lies
But the goal of life
Is how I wish I could fly

My dreams tell all I know
They are the star of the show
And they say I must go 
To where the birds may roam

(Chorus)
(Simple Bass, Piano - ditch echo for chorus)
Ooh, Oh I wish I could Fly
Ooh, Oh I wish I could fly
Ooh, I will do or I'll die...
...Oh, I wish I could fly

(Back to sparse loop & echoes)
The feds have sent me a call
A war is on, they want all
I'll walk myself down the hall
Yet I feel it's my fall

I'm looking out in the dawn
I'm in a jet with a bomb
To kill a man for his wrongs
And leave his family to long...

(Chorus)
(Back to Simple Bass/Piano)

(Violin Solo w/ bass & piano)

(Add Violin in background)
My plane is hit, I'm going down
Oh, I won't see again my town
I feel the sweat on my crown
I never thought I'd die now.......(stop background - only sparse piano chords)

(Final Chorus)
No, Now I never will fly
No, Now I never will fly
No, The war has killed me 'fore I tried
I have not done but I have died (piano chord for last note)


So yeah...Morbid.
This is only my second song...so...yeah...

Experment

I'm a violinist of five years. I also have a keyboard, complete with synth. Which gets me wondering, "What if I could hook up, say, a distortion pedal to my violin?" I guess I could hook a mic up to a pedal and play my violin into the mic, or maybe I could buy myself an electric violin. How much cash would that force me to raise?

Advice For An Upstart Band With No Resources

I started a band a few weeks ago, called Cracked Perspective. It's me and another kid. As a band we have:
-A keyboard
-A violin
-A MacBook
-An iPod Touch
-A small studio
-The best singer that does not have a record deal
-$16
I have a few questions:
-I've written a few songs and made an instrumental. Should I made a whole series of demos or send one demo now and record the rest with listenable quality?
-I'm a BAD songwriter, but people don't like ghost writers. Should I do a lot of collaborations? Or should I just suck it up and write?
-Where should I send my music? To a big music label? To an indie label? Or should I be an impertinent nitwit and make my own label?
-Do I really need better equipment? How much $$ do I need to raise?
Please Help! Thanks!