Cauldron of Fuzz: Se7eN

Hello everyone, let me start by saying that I know it's been a while. But, with the birth of fall comes the talk of another Cauldron of Fuzz album. I skipped last year because I really wasn't feeling it and I hate to force material out there just for the sake of releasing it.

So, I guess this is me saying "I am pretty certain there will be a Cauldron of Fuzz this year". I have about 3 tracks that I am comfortable with releasing. I have to bring my bass in to get repaired (which may take a little bit) but, all in all I can finish the bass in the last week as long as the songs are written.

Right now I have

Se7eN
The Serpent in the Garden
30 Pieces of Silver (to Buy My Time)

I went through a fairly tough August and there is a lot of shit going on with me health wise that I am trying to deal with... so.. hopefully none of this "extra shit" will get in the way of me making a decent release for everyone. I'm looking for a 30 minute album (more or less) and I'm looking for something that will have a little bit of everything.

I might even return to doing a cover this year (SiX was the first COF that didn't have a cover on it) I was testing out different songs and did a jam of "Hole in the Sky" from Black Sabbath (Can be heard here) I don't know if I'll finish it because it is really predictable to do a Sabbath track. Even though it is one of my favorites and I think the demo/jam came out pretty decent.

Other than all of that I hope you ALL had a wonderful summer. I thank everyone who's written me about the 2 demo releases I did this year. I really enjoy them and I'm thrilled that you do as well.

I did get a question asking what happened to the "Red Earth" tracks that I stated would be on the release. For a quick (non-dramatic) answer the truth is that I just wasn't comfortable releasing something that had Josh on it in anyway. We haven't spoken in a while again and I personally think that our ups and downs have finally reached the bottom... and I'm not sure they'll be bouncing back up this time. He is a great guy, and a good friend and I wish him all the best in the world. I have nothing but love for the guy and hope he finds what he needs to be happy in life.

Back to what matters... the music.
I'll be going into "COF" mode which means tons of studio time and lots of buttons being pressed... lots of screaming being done... maybe some blood, sweat and definitely tears. But, hopefully at the end.. Se7eN will be up to SiX's standards. I really really enjoyed SiX for what it was... just this fun... short.. album that had a little bit of all different styles I play... If you enjoyed SiX you'll be in for a treat... if you didn't... might wanna wait for Lucifera.

Above all else.. enjoy the fall my friends.. and we'll all speak soon!

New Music This Month

"See How the Hands Do Murder" will be up in a couple of days. It's not my next album per say but instead its a collection of demos and what-not I've had lying around for the past couple of years.

What's on the release?

Digital Devil

In 2008 I was in talks with Christian Linderson (Lord Chritus of Saint Vitus, Lord Vicar and Terra Firma) about doing a project which I codenamed "Digital Devil" I re-recorded AfterGlow (From COF2) and a Black Sabbath song called "Keep It Warm" from the Born Again album. The project never came to light due to the fact that I just had so many computer problems and lost all of the material I was writing. Chritus and I still talk back and fourth and really I hope it's something that I can get done sometime before we are both in retirement homes. But, until then I am putting these two scratch tracks (with me singing) on this release.

Red Earth

in 2009 I got together with my brother and old bandmate Josh to try recording some songs. I didn't want it to be Planet Gemini and really I wanted to give him a little more free reign to record his material. We probably jammed about 10 times and screwed around a little bit with polish but I really don't see it getting finished as Josh is very much a "free spirit" and is off on sabbatical yet again. We did about 7 songs (4 of which were pretty damn good) the production was all over the place but I managed to salvage a couple of tracks from these sessions. It's the closest I think we'd ever get to coming together and making music again. I love the guy but it really is a chapter in my life that I must put behind me because it's just not worth the head/heartache...

Demos

Doing "The Devil's Cauldron" I actually had a whole album I was calling "WarCry" it just didn't flow with what I was looking to release at the time so I figured I would take some demos from those recording sessions and throw it on there.

Vocal Tryout

I did a vocal tryout for a band that was looking for a singer. It just didn't work because I have my own style and vocals and they just didn't like it. I believe the band was called "Wrath of Ragnarok" and they just couldn't find a singer. I hope they found someone because even despite the obvious fake drums and tinny production I think they could do something pretty good if they release a little control and let a singer come in and make their stuff a little more... professional sounding. Songs about Freddy Kruger are not evil nor scary... in fact... songs about Freddy Kruger with bad lyrics just come off young, amateurish and comical. Guitar players.... please... stick to what you do best... guitar.

AND MORE!

Who knows what will go on this thing. It's going to be a quick throw together and it is very much in the light of my old "BluePrint" albums. It should be fun for anyone who has been following the band for a while.

The next album... Fall 2010 (hopefully)

It's been a while. You know I've been busy as hell when I go 8 months without posting a blog on here. But, I'll try to beef this one up to make up for lost time.

Last we spoke I believe I was reminiscing on 2009/Cauldron of Fuzz:SiX and probably spouting out about how the next album isn't very far away. Well, fact of the matter is... I wasn't lying. The album was almost done. But, running a studio is kind of a pain in the ass because when I get a band in here for a long period of time I find that going back to a project is very difficult. I'll find my whole direction has changed. My sound is different and the songs just aren't fitting together as an album.

Fact is this new album has changed names, styles, production.. about 4 times already. Here is where I am at now...

The album has been called "WarCry" for a while now. I have a batch of songs that I wrote for the WarCry project. Here is a quick tracklist of what has been recorded.

WarCry
A Bargin with the Shadows
The War Machine
Gemini Killer

now, from there I took a "break" to record another band. When I came back I wrote a whole new batch of songs.

The Myth/End of Daze
Angel of Light
Devil's Cauldron
Idle Hands

Now, THESE songs aren't really fitting well with the other songs. I like the direction of the new tracks a lot. I'm not going to call this WarCry though I don't think because they are very different. I wouldn't mind redoing a couple of tracks and just calling this an album.

Fallen Angel
Man Who Burnt the Sun
Hole in Heaven

and maybe 1 or 2 more new tracks and I think that could be a fantastic new album.
The album would probably be around the 45 minute mark at that point and I really like that idea. One thing that I have been noticing lately is that long albums have been boring me. Doing something that would fall in under the 50 minute mark would be nice...

This leaves us with the question: Will there be a Cauldron of Fuzz this year? I don't really know. See Cauldron of Fuzz is strange because it really is a sudden urge that comes over me around September right now I am so busy recording and doing drum stuff for other bands that I am just not sure if that urge is going to hit me. We'll see as I have been in talks with a friend of mine about coming down and maybe trying a collaboration for this years COF. Details are still unclear but we'll see. If the Gemini album isn't done by mid Sept I might have to put COF on hold this year and start doing alternate years for COF albums.

I am also working with my friend (and old bass player for Planet Gemini) on his project which is called "Red Earth". In this project I am playing drums and singing and the other duties are really up for grabs. Most songs he plays guitar on. But, sometimes I'll play guitar... sometimes he'll play bass.. sometimes he'll play both..etc. All of songs, music, lyrics and melodies are Joshs and not mine. It is a very fun way to make music with my best friend again. So, I will definitely keep you all posted on Red Earth's status and let you check out a song or two when we mix and master (We are about 3 songs away from finishing that album). fans of older Planet Gemini should enjoy it and you'll definitely hear the influence Josh had in PG once you hear this stuff. Josh and I are very similar when it comes to writing. As musicians we are completely on the opposite side of the spectrum. Josh just likes to feel it out... while I really like to study music and theory and whatnot. Two worlds colliding so to speak. It really is the reason why Josh and I had a hard time toward the end of PG. but, hopefully this is better for everyone involved. I let Josh do his thing and in turn I get to make music with my best friend again... and in turn.. I get to keep making Planet Gemini music the way I see it. Everyone wins!

That's really about it right now. I hope that you are all well and that you enjoy the new material that will be coming your way this year.

Sincerely
H

T.Y.I.G. 2009 and BEYOND!

It's been a somewhat slow but interesting year in the Gemini camp this year. I did a lot of work in my studio but, didn't really have a TON of time to move Planet Gemini as far forward as I would have liked to. I figured I would take the time to tell you all what happened in 2009 and what hopefully is going to happen in 2010.

*The great CRASH of 2009*
My computer at the studio died a horrible death in 2009. Losing pretty much all of the files I was working on for a project with a great doom icon. I have since not been able to recover or re-create these tracks to my liking so I don't want to go into much more detail. I lost a LOT though. Pretty much 6+ months of work spanning from Planet Gemini stuff to other projects I was working on. I even lost some data from other bands that were recording in my studio at the time. I was running a RAID configuration and even that couldn't save my beloved files. I'm chalking up those tracks to being "gone" into the ether and hopefully their presence will return to be at some random point and time.

The crash destroyed almost a whole CD that I was calling "The End of Everything" it was dark and meloncoly and I very much believe that… it was a sign that the material was not to be released. It also destroyed a lot of demo files I had for the previous years Cauldron of Fuzz (which was to be called 666).

Regardless it's done and overwith and I can't get the stuff back. All three of my HDD's were fried and completely screwed beyond all recognition.

 

*Cauldron of Fuzz: SiX released on Halloween*
2009 saw the release of COF:SiX. An album that was basically written and recorded within a week or so and done with a BROKEN WRIST none the less. I really love this album as it is very much a fun listen. I love "My Nightmare" and "To Conjur the Silver Sunset" (which is spelled wrong on purpose by the way… think about it). The standout track from the feedback I've gotten is the final track "No Rest for the Wicked" which is basically a track that kind of talks about the "Curse" that I felt was on the album "Wicked". Reviews on the album have been kind of mixed. But, one thing I've always been appreciative about is my audience's open mindedness. I don't really get a lot of the people saying "PG aren't TrU D00M" type bullshit.

There were some fun instrumentation on COFSiX. Including my first use of Piano on a PG album. I used some synth in places. I used Congas and shakers and a bunch of percussion instruments. All kind of buried in a poor mix that was done in one day. But, hopefully I will re-visit COFSiX and give it a better mix.

*Wicked [Collector's Edition] (((The Curse Has Been Lifted)))*
FINALLY Wicked was released to what I would consider HUGE fanfare. Mark from PsycheDOOMelic got in touch with me and asked if I would like to release Wicked on his label. He basically told me to do anything that I like with it. I was blown away at the great offer that really had no strings attached to it (for the first time in my music career). I had a mix left over from a 2008 deal I had to release Wicked (That fell through) and so I was ready to send it off. I sent it to a friend of mine (Hoss/Dave from DeathMask) and he basically said "It feels like it's missing something" so I took it into my studio and completely opened up the old files and remixed and remastered everything. I even reworked and cleaned up some bothersome parts that were bugging me. After about 3 weeks of 12 hour days working on Wicked I finally left with something I was truly happy with. I added two bonus songs onto the end and basically called it [the collector's edition] because I am never going to put that out on the webpage. That is only going to be for those who have been bugging me for something substantial to own from PG.

 

After a bunch of nightmares with the pressings and dealing with a ton of unexplainable shit (including 6 fucking masters getting rejected by the pressing company). Finally Wicked is done.. it sounds great.. and I am so pleased at all of the amazing reviews it is getting. Most of them being 9 out of 10's or 19 out of 20's. I've got one 4 and a half stars and.. just.. tons of praise that really makes my black heart feel good. So for everyone out there who takes the time to write something up… thank you so much. (Even if you said I sound like the dude from sHEAVY… hehe). I truly appreciate everything you guys do for Planet Gemini and this style of music in general.

 

*2010*
13^th year of Planet Gemini's existence. My eyes get all teary and wishy washy at the mere thought that it's been so long. 2010 will yield another PG album. But, probably no Cauldron of Fuzz this year….

*NEW ALBUM INFO*
I've been working on some new material for a couple of weeks but, I'm waiting for some new mics and some new studio equipment to come in. Expect this to be a little more "symphony-like" than previous Planet Gemini albums. The tentative name of the album is "The Devil's Workshop". I'm hoping for the album to be done in the spring and to be pressed by summer (hopefully by PyshceDOOMelic's label again as Mark and I have already talked about it). The album will be very dark and sinister but it might tread into some different territories. With all of this new equipment I've been buying it will no doubt be the best sounding PG project to date. I don't really have much more information for you guys at the moment but, it should be interesting.

*Comp songs!*
I've got two comps that I'll be doing songs for. My friends in the Doom Metal Alliance asked me to do a track for them a while back and I still haven't gotten off my ass to do that. But I will. I also have another magazine that asked me to do something for them so I'll be busting those out early 2010 hopefully. I love doing comps it really is a great way for new people to find my band.

*COFSeVeN*
I'm not thinking that the album will be done this year. I'd like to work on this with a close friend of mine and he is not in my general vicinity at the moment. But, I have faith that we can make something work and release something fun. If it's not this year it will be in 2011. We've been talking about working something out for a while. He has an album to do of his own and I'm going to be focusing on the Workshop so…. This year looks unlikely.

I mean, that's really about it. Another year down and more steps forward for PG. Thank you all so much for this year. Thank you all for all of the kind words you've said on forums or posting youtube videos… or.. whatever. For all of you who have sent me e-mails I cherish them all I really do. I've had people call me everything from a "Musical Genius" to a "Pompous Asshole" this year and frankly I think they both had some facets of the truth involved in them. I can't even begin to tell you all how much your support means to me. I know it seems like I disappear for a while but, it's just because I work so hard at getting better. Getting better on my drumming for these albums. Getting better at production for these albums.. Planet Gemini is really my life-force. There is very little I do that is NOT involved in learning and getting better for this. My music may not always be the most technical but… my music is soaked in passion. I bleed this stuff and will continue to do so until my dying day.

The fact that you all listen to it… gives my life validity and never forget that. You are just as much a part of this as I am. I've had so many e-mails this year from people telling me their stories. Maybe they were going through a hard time or had a bad situation. Some told me about how my music got them out of a "funk" that they were in. Or how sometimes my aggressive lyrics hit a nerve because of a situation that they were struggling through… E-mails like this ring in my head daily. Whenever I feel like I'm working too hard or some people don't understand me. You guys are always there… and as much as you say my music helps you.. Your e-mails help me. So… enough mushy stuff for now.

Onto 2010… onto more power, more strength and more HOPE… hope for a better future, a better world.. filled with better people.. onto a whole new world of shine.

I thank you all, I love you all
You'll hear from me again SOON!
Till I see you again
H

Wicked [Collector's Edition] release

Kay, so here's the deal. I just got my final pressings of Wicked [Collector's Edition] and I'm in the process of ordering some envelopes and updating the webpage.

Here is the thing... PLEASE READ!!!

I will only be signing and selling 50 COPIES of Wicked... that's it. That's all you will be able to get from the Planet Gemini Store as I have limited copies of the Digipack.

Everyone who's seen the artwork has loved it. It's got a 8 page booklet, lyrics, pictures and the usual crazy ramblings and rantings from me.

The CD includes all of Wicked completely remixed, remashed and remastered. It sounds LIGHT YEARS better than the offering on the webpage.

There are two bonus tracks included "Rise of the RedGod" which can be heard on the Myspace page and "Fal From the Sky" which I have completely remastered and reworked to sound more like the rest of the album.

This is NOT some quick release. In fact it's taken about a year to get all of my shit together to put this out.

The Packages include:
Wicked [Collector's Edition] Digipack
$13.00 USD with shipping included for the continental US
$16.00 USD with shipping included for International orders

Wicked [Collector's Edition] Digipack, Wizards Blood CD
$19.00 USD with shipping included for the continental US
$23.00 USD with shipping included for International orders

Wicked [Collector's Edition] Digipack, SuperGod[t]DevilMan CD
$19.00 USD with shipping included for the continental US
$23.00 USD with shipping included for International orders

Wicked [Collector's Edition] Digipack, SuperGod[t]DevilMan CD, Wizard's Blood CD
$23.00 USD with shipping included for the continental US
$27.00 USD with shipping included for International orders

and as I said there are only 50 that are coming from me. The rest will be up to the label.

I can however tell you this... 50 of these are NOT going to last long!!!

I will be updating the webpage over the next 2 days and the album should be available for purchase on Thursday. But, I will keep you notified via my blogs. Keep checking in.

Cauldron of Fuzz: SiX to be released tonight 8pmEST

So for anyone paying attention to the myspace page will know. There WILL in fact be a Cauldron of Fuzz album out tonight. I will consist of 7 songs.. and run about 40 minutes (give or take).

It will be available on the webpage tonight FREE of charge. In mp3 and uncompressed WAV format. Be aware that this is album that I basically wrote/recorded/mixed and mastered in about 4 days time. This mix is NOT going to be perfect at all. But COF is a Halloween tradition to some of my listeners and I got a lot of e-mails from people saying how dissapointed they were last year... so... COFSiX... TONIGHT...

*Technical Issues*
Please keep in mind that COF has been known to crash my webpage due to large amounts of traffic. If you should log on at 8PM and the site is slow or down.. give it about 10 minutes and try refreshing your browser. Halloween and the day after are usually the highest traffic days for PG.net.

hope you all enjoy!
H

A Quick Drum Exercise

Hey everyone, I actually got a decent amount of e-mails off of my "How to Practice" Blog that I wrote a little while back so I figured that I would take a little time a share with you a drum exercise that I've been working on recently. I've found that it's quite helpful in building independence and just filling in your playing.

I actually stumbled upon this while learning Led Zeppelin's "Fool in the Rain". When I had a hard time doing the "tradition shuffle" I decided to go into the studio and just spend a day working at it. So I started with this..

Basically I just played that for about 30 minutes to an album (even if the song was in 4/4 just make it fit and use the song as a time piece).
(playing this as 16th note triplets)

1	2	3		1	2	3		1	2	3		1	2	3
R	R	L		R	R	L		R	R	L		R	R	L

Kay, so after about 30 minutes I was feeling that this pattern had become 2nd nature so I started adding in kick.

1	2	3		1	2	3		1	2	3		1	2	3
R	R	L		R	R	L		R	R	L		R	R	L
K				K				K				K

Var2

1	2	3		1	2	3		1	2	3		1	2	3
R	R	L		R	R	L		R	R	L		R	R	L
K						K		K						K

and lastly I changed the hand pattern slightly to involve a flam tap

1

2

3

1

2

3

1

2

3

1

2

3

R

R

R

R

R

R

R

R

L

L

L

L

L

L

L

L

K

K

K

K

Finally on the kit after learning different patterns well. (Keeping time on the hi-hat in quarter notes or eighth notes)

1	2	3		1	2	3		1	2	3		1	2	3
H	H			H	H			H	H			H	H
		s				s			s	S				s
K						K						K

The drumbeat should ALMOST feel like the "Purdie Shuffle" if you are unfamiliar

Bernard "Pretty" Purdie is a great great man.. extremely entertaining to watch.

Hope this helps some of you

Talk soon and keep practicing!
Sincerely
H