Listening to my Gut Instinct

In my last post I mentioned that my gut tells me more is coming. It was correct.

I have a new video. Here is the link. Insert Coin Video

I had some stuff printed up to go along with the guitar picks. So more on that soon.

I recently put together a 16 bar verse for a contest that XOC (xocishungry XOC Entertainment) is organzing and running. I was able to accomplish a few things I've always wanted to do. Every few lines I changed up the style of delivery. Its a mix of rapping and singing. Different cadences, different melodies. Its more consice and straightforward than my abstract stuff but still complex enough to be me. I'm damn proud of it. The really awesome part to me is that I stayed on topic and told a complete idea/story so to speak.

I got a little bit better at mixing during this. 6Cide and I both entered track's. His is a verbal onslaught.

The thing I'm trying to do much more this year - is write quickly. Don't over think it. Just make it. Hopefully I'll get some links up soon.

Between Myk Media and XOC they've helped me re-spark in a way that I can tangibly hold onto something and move forward again. Ed Sheeran played a part. Thanks Ed.

I always tell myself that I need to update this once per month. I'm slacking apparently.

I have Sample the Martian Guitar Picks coming soon. They're freaking awsome.

I have kind of adopted a new songwriting strategy. Hopefully it works. I have a track that I'm working on with Myk Media. I'm remixing/reworking a track from his called EP Starlight Springs Mall. I have written some basslines and a hook. I'm still working on some stuff with 6Cide. My gut tells me there is more stuff coming.

I posted a newly reworked track to my bandcamp. I always thought it was a good song - but I wrote and reocrded the vocals in a few hours. So I had some stuff that I wanted to fix. As far as my songs go. . . Box at the End is the one most people really like. This one is up at the top like that. Here it is. Go listen to it. Insert Coin

Listen to it twice - all the way through. Sing along. "Hpnotized by the flashing glow. . . "

Hamtramck Music Fest - Angel of Mars

I had the pleasure of going to see Angel of Mars at the Hamtramck Music Fest last night. Sometimes for me music is purely emotional. Sometimes its all thought and other times its spiritual. This show was all three of those things. I was able to catch 3 bands at the Sanctuary but I'll get to that in a moment. With music there are so many things to know about. From theory, to gear, to who has played with who in which bands and which recordings etc. Its all interconnected in intricate patterns. One of the guitarists in Angel of Mars played the intro and outro for the very beloved Sample the Martian song: Box at the End. (Thank you everyone who enjoys that song). That would be Andy Gould playing a PRS. His wife, Terrianne Gould is on vocals, and guitar (playing a Gibson SG). Rich Hartwick who also plays in a band Rabbit Ears is on bass (Plays an Eastwood) and Angelina Manly (who played with Broadzilla). When I walked in they were doing their sound check and Angelina was playing some massive blast beats. It was a treat for me to see that. I didn't get a sense that she was showing off on purpose - but it was amazing. It takes a lot for a drummer to really grab my attention. Not just speed and accuracy but also feelign and diversity. I don't know for sure but I'd guess that she could rip out something in 13/16 time like it was nothing and make it sound like it was as natural as 4/4.

The set was great. If you are familiar with subgenres like doom, stoner, sludge - its definitely that. There are also some really great time shifts and tempo changes. The grooves are solid - the layers make it really shine. There is a lot to disect. Its a unique take on these elements and I'd definitely recommend checking them out live when they play in October - but also hunt down their songs as they become available. I'm positive that they knew that their final song was a crowd pleaser. It definitely left us wanting more. Here is their setlist.

1. Solstice rising
2. Siren in Scorpio
3. What would your angel do
4. Moon water
5. Petey
6. Dance of the luminous crone
7. Through the looking Glass


It is also worth noting that as I approached the venue I met Kristin (ThunderQueen). She plays drums in Warhorses. Even though I had to work at 6am I needed to see some of their set - and I'm glad that I did. They were very theatrical and brought wonderful stage energy. The guitarist had lots of chops that grabbed my ear. I need to dig in more to this band. I feel like an ass writing such a short bit on such a cool group. But hopefully "More will be revealed.

The 2nd band that played was Dr. Wolf's Cult of Kings. They played a Ween cover of Tried and True. They were more of a jam band. I enjyoed their set quite a bit. I also heard them mention Marquette. Since I lived there for 5 years late youth I had to pay a little extra attention based on that. There was some intense soloing and one of the guitar players broke the thick E string. I don't see that often. That comes from playing your ass off of course.

I haven't been to as many local/indie shows since the pandemic. This is proof that I need to do this more. Especially when I can enjoy the whole night and not work. I had an amazing time.

6 Sides of Sickness

My boy 6Cide just dropped 4 tracks on youtube. Please go check them out. Let them seep into your soul (as if you will have a choice). His words are deep.

Calm Down Relax Official Audio

New Strain Official audio

Borrowed Time Official Audio

Shampoo Official Audio

Plugin Nightmares

For anyone that works on music with a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) or looper you will have no doubt used VSTs, VSTi's or plugins of some sort. Depending on what you want to call them. So for us dinosaurs - I started writing some music many moons ago on old software. Some of it has been updated. Other pieces of software have become extinct. I think most anyone who takes their music seriously wants their source files - in case they want to tweak anything, remix, or even just to generate instrumentals for live stuff. If you are a musician and you ever collaborate either in a studio or with other musicians. ALWAYS get the source files, stems and a or save files for the specific application that it was used in.

So one of the issues that I've faced is that I used a Sony Track EQ from Acid Music Studio 5.0 on a lot of Fruit Loops projects. This is an old 32 bit plugin. I actually own Sony Acid Pro 6. But Fruity Studio can't find the Track EQ if I install 6.0. It has to do with the software's name being changed from Acid Music Studio to Sony Acid Pro. So - anyhow - in trying to get everything compatible with the newer DAWs. There are a lot of issues. I have lots of old projects that I've never finished. I don't want to lose that stuff. Some of it is worth converting to newer project types. Some of it isn't. It is a lot of work.

The good news is I have been working on finishing more music. I've put more time into working on new material than I have in a long time. Some of what I'm working on has a learning curve where I need to re-learn something. Other stuff is like jumping into a comfy pair of pants from years ago. (fresh out the dryer of course)

The Days Pass - Will You?

I'm 100% that I need to update this more. I've been working on music for about a month or so pretty consistently. I've been doing it a long time so a lot of the software that I started using is old and no longer viable. So in order to continue some of the demos that I started back whenver . . . I need to update a few things and get it all sorted. I've been practicing, writing, working with my kids to help perfect some stuff. I have also been working with this really cool musician who now lives on the west coast. He goes by 6cide. I feel like our styles really compliment each other well. We have similar threads in what we do - but we are also different enough to make it more interesting when we combine. Below is a track that we did together.

Listen here ---> Creative Linking on Bandcamp.

This song actually goes back a LONG time. I started it with someone who was really talented both as a rapper and as an artist in general. His mind worked unlike anyone else that I ever met. I can't actually even explain what happened between him and I because I don't know. One day I was just no longer welcome in his life. Normally if I burn a bridge - I know why. his time - I had no idea at all. So. The song evolved. I tried getting a few MCs to write the other parts with me. . . and it just never came to fruition.

My story with 6cide goes back a ways. I can't tell you the exact date but sometime before 2010 I think? He hit me up via e-mail and he was very supportive. I knew that he wrote too - I always considered him someone with amazing talent. So once he was ready to collab with me - I was very inspired. He is someone that has heard more of my unreleased stuff than most. I think Joe, 6cide and Ashley (not in any order) have heard more stuff than anyone else. Years ago - shortly after Self-Made Loner came out - I made a group on fb called the inner cabal or something. 6cide was in that group then.

My daughter asked me - if I was ever going to do music again where I did my songs in front of people. She said she would really like that. That brings a happy tear to my eye. I don't push my music onto my kids - its an odd balance I guess. The music world is really weird. For me its been full of high highs and really low lows. Like when you do everything you can to put together a show and 3 people show up. . . or other times I would just do a show and lots of people would come out. I don't want them to ever have to experience the difficulty of all that so I kind of steer them away from music in that way. So its cool that they like it organically. ~eMpyre ramireX

I told myself in when it was time to renew the galactic dust domain for 2021 that I needed to use it more so that I could justify the cost. So far its working out how I hoped. I don't like to post too often but definitely more than once or twice a year. I've posted 5 new tracks to Bandcamp this year for OverDue Save Points. Made to Shatter, For a Reason, Treasure Map, Groove Beams and Chompin Pellets.

Made to Shatter: when COVID started I played video games for the first few weeks and quickly got back into music. I was playing a gameboy classic that I never beat as a kid. I needed to learn one of the songs on guitar. So I started playing guitar very seriously again. After some amount of time I started trying to write on guitar again. Not a whole ton really struck me until this. I did start a song last year on guitar for my daughter. More to come on that later though. I wrote some lyrics a few days before the riffage and this is some of it. "Made to shatter hopes and dreams
I've gotta throw, away everything I know, everything I think it should be
Gotta let the past die even if it's part of me

For a Reason: I started this back when I was doing shows still for Self-Made Loner. It came together pretty quickly and I love the guitar in the 3rd verse.

Treasure Map, Groove Beams and Chompin Pellets: In 2012 I was trying to do 1 song a day based on a story that Nikola shared with me from when he met one of the Final Fantasy composers (I think?). It was about writing a song per week, then a song per day, then a song per hour. I did these over a few day span along with another one called Kessel Running. I'll post that one eventually. When I named Treasure Map it was shortly after I re-connected with a childhood friend of mine. He moved from the Detroit area to British Columbia when I was maybe 12? We used to write each other letters. One time I sent him a treasure map with something that I burried in the large yard that connected to my backyard.

In addition to that I've been posting a countdown to Riot Fest with my favorite hand pick bands and a short review. I've put these on the StM facebook page and Twitter.

I'm hoping to get the Golden Stickers printed soon. Possibly Shirts and Posters for Self-Destruct Code.

For the first time since 2012. I feel like I'm back in the cut. Thank you very much for your patience and support.

For a Reason

"Dreams and signs - - that push and guide our lives
Forces and vibes that glide when no one drives
Sometimes we fall hard - - to sweeten the surprise
Sometimes we die a little - - to know that we're alive"

For a Reason <-- Click the link for the new song!!!
Maybe I should say tap?

I could write a LOT if information but . . . I don't know that people read all the details. Maybe only one person who reads it all is enough? (Its never enough) It took me a while to figure out what Sample the Martian's new direction would be. It isn't one vector exactly but - but the bulk of what I'm pursuing now musically follows my guitars. I have released a new demo for "Overdue Save Points" on Bandcamp. What that means is you should go listen to all of it. (Again possibly) and report back to me what you like most. I need to get these 27 demos up there and let you guys pick which ones I should give the final touch treatement to. There is a good chance that I have more than 27.

The other thing that is very important for me to say. Every now and again something cool happens to me in terms of music and Sample the Martian. The week after I released Self-Made Loner - abc aired an episode that had my sticker nice and huge in one of the scenes. Maybe that was chance. Maybe someone threw me a bone. I'll never know. When the OA came out - their production company hit me up for art and stuff to use in the show. . . and my sticker made an appearance. When I watched the OA - I was very honored. To me - artistic integrity is very important. Being brave and doing something unique is very important to me. (Or at least trying) and Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij fully embody that. Anonymous Content - as well as Brit and Zal - make some some of the most interesting and fulfilling television that I've ever seen. From Philip K Dick, to The OA, to Counterpart to Mr. Robot.

I don't know why or how these things happen sometimes. They always seem random. The stuff that I push for seems like pushing a rock up hill. Then out of nowhere something awesome happens that I wasn't even thinking of.

~eMpyre ramireX

PS4 to PS5 data transfer rates

PS4 to PS5 data tranfer over Wi-Fi was about 2 MB per second. Yes. That slow. PS4 to PS5 data tranfer over LAN is about 100 MB per second. 188 GB in like thirty something minutes. That's MBps not Mbps. I connected my PS4 to PS5 with an a Ethernet (Cat-5) cable. No additional configuration was needed. Plug and go. Now to figure out how to upgrade my storage oh my PS5. 1TB is nowhere near enough. If anyone knows what the SSD TBW specs are for the PS5 shoot me a line. Please. I'm posting this both for myself to have as future reference and for anyone else who might search for this.

Some stuff for twenty - twenty.

Its been a while since I've posted. It has been a long year. I made the decision to divorce shortly after my last post. Between moving and stress and all of that I've been redefining who I am in a lot of ways. Music is still at the heart of my heart along with my kids.

I a new song to the Bandcamp song a while back but haven't noted it on this website. Its called Robot.exe. It has some of my favorite lyrics and a chorus that is one of my catchiest ever. I have other stuff I want/need to post. The remainder of this year will be pretty difficult at work but with COVID - I've played a lot more music at home. I've been doing some songwriting too. I hope to share some of that with you all soon.

The concept behind what I'm doing here is to start with some songs that are fully written . . . but still need some production. I'm going to upload demos from 27 different songs that I've been working on over the years. Some of them will get polished and will become B-sides. Others will become songs that end up on the next record. Now that the technology exists - its really easy for me to upload and replace a demo with a newer version. So - if you are listening deep like many of you do - you'll get to hear the changes between versions and see the evolution and how I get to a final version of a song.
So - with bandcamp - if you are to purchase now - you'll have access to all 27 demos and their evolved replacements as they happen.

The older replaced versions might not always be available via bandcamp - so if you like something and get attached to it - download it. . . or at the very least make note of the date code if you need to hit me up for it later.

What I'm hoping to do - is take any of the proceeds that I do get and use them to either fund new merch or some software plugins that I'll use for mixing and advanced production.

~eMpyre ramireX

IVx17 Self-Destruct Code

I've finished writing a few new songs - but the first one that will be finished is called: IVx17 Self-Destruct Code. Its about aliens and the end of the world and possibly a techno-organic virus. I'm told that it is plenty complicated like I would hope for. I'm playing and recording on upgraded equipment and software. I am positive that you will hear the difference. I have a semi-rough mix done. Its very close to being arranged the way that I want it to be. Its catchy. The bass hits. It tells an interesting story. Its also something that everyone can relate to. There will be a new T-shirt to go along with this song's release.

I can also confirm that the album that it will be on is titled: Mutants, Humans and Robotrons. I'm not sure how many total tracks there will be but I'd guess between 6 and 10. I'm hoping to release a track every 2 months or so. This is the artwork (close to final) that will appear on the front of the T-Shirt.

~eMpyre ramireX

What does "I'm Back" even mean?

I know that some people don't use Facebook and that is where I post most of my news and happenings. In the years since my last release I've gotten married, had 2 kids and earned a Master's Degree. Now that school is done I've been working on new material. I have 7 songs that are mostly written. Most of them only need a little bit of recording and then some mixing to be finished. I'm not 100% sure how I'll release them but I would expect to hear at least 1 of the tracks by the end of January. A long time ago one of my co-workers and I used to joke that all rappers feel the need to announce that they are "back" on each album . . . I don't think I've mentioned it in any of my songs. . . but it's still worth joking about considering the roads I've taken between releases. Its been a challenge to stay focused and continue writing and creating. I might beat Tool though - at least there is that.

Kovax - The One You Shall Not Sleep On

As some of you have noticed - I've been noticeably absent from releasing new music. A lot has happened in the last few years. Marriage, children, and the thing that makes it the most challenging is working on my Master's Degree. I have about 9 months until I finish. . . and then its on. In the meantime however I have been working with Kovax (a local Detroit MONSTER) to help bring him to the next level. . . actually I'm thinking double promotion here and getting him to the level beyond that as well.

I've met and listened to hundreds of independent artists over the last few decades and every now and then someone will strike me as being a few notches better than all the rest. Usually they are missing something . . . but this dude has it ALL. He has the drive, work ethic, talent and he is willing to learn new parts of the business. He's performed to large crowds and he's one of the best stage performers that I've ever seen. I've seen him evolve musically over almost a decade now and he's continually changing things up while still keeping his deliveries full of energy and wit.

Definitely check out these 2 albums. He has another one dropping towards the end of the year. On Catching Energies Bare Mitts and Die in Detroit on Feral are some of my favorites. . .but honestly both albums are strong from front to back. They are available on Amazon, iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify and plenty of other outlets.
Kovax: Feral

Kovax: Catching Energies

Rock Band 4 Review - FINALLY

The most important thing first - my kick pedal trigger works fine with RB4. Like I said in my last post...I did purchase the Rock Band 4 Bundle. I have been using my RB1 drum-set though. I've been having issues with my RB4 Drum- Kit. I've tried many things to get it to work and currently I'm waiting for a response from Mad Catz.

So first the good stuff. I love Rock Band 4. It combines some of the wonderful stuff from Rock Band 1, 2 and 3. The guitar is much more responsive than the previous Rock Band Guitars. I don't play guitar nearly as much as drums but I had no problem playing on Expert on Bass and Guitar. I also did some vocals. Again not my prime instrument but as a test drive I think the vocals were what I would expect them to be.

The soundtrack is everything I wanted it to be. When I saw the track list I was worried because I wasn't familiar with a lot of the songs. When I played through the RB4 Soundtrack though I enjoyed every single song. Harmonix was not exaggerating when they said, "Top Tier Soundtrack." I was surprised how much I enjoyed the U2 songs. From a drummer's standpoint the songs were mostly more challenging than the other songs in their tiers but not terribly so. Where this is good is that Harmonix chose songs that you wouldn't play through once and Gold Star or FC (Full Combo) easily. They all have rhythms and patterns that are new and make the game fresh and enjoyable again. Standouts to me were both U2 songs, No One Like You by the Scorpions, Panama by Van Halen, The One I Love by REM, Friday I'm in Love by The Cure, Lazaretto by Jack White, Uptown Funk, Brandi Carlie, Cake, Avenged Sevenfold, The Protomen, 4 Non Blondes...and I could go on. My personal opinion is that it would be extremely difficult to come up with a mind-blowing set-list that would satisfy everyone. With all of the great songs available in previous games and in DLC there isn't a lot to choose from outside of new songs that were released in-between Rock Band 3 and 4. The DLC is reasonably priced and there is something there for any music lover. The new features are split for me. I love the dynamic drum fills. It makes learning the song more interesting. It also makes a full combo far more rewarding. I didn't get a chance to try out the freestyle vocals. I personally didn't like the Freestyle Guitar Solos but I just turned them off. You can also easily turn off dynamic drum fills and freestyle guitar solos. By the time I got my game up and running I was able to get the RB3 Export. I also had no problems getting my previously purchased DLC. There are some DLC songs that haven't been ported over to RB4 yet but they are working on them. They are releasing legacy DLC, Track Packs and Exports at a very reasonable rate.

Some people complain that the game was released only partially completed. I'd rather have the game that came out at release with regular updates now than have to wait even longer to get a completed game. The updates are free and to me the updates keep the game fresh which in my opinion will help the longevity of the franchise.

As far as "missing features" 2 out of 3 of them are in development. They are Practice Mode, Set-lists and Online Play. With RB2 and 3 I think I only used online play once or twice. No big loss for me but I'd love to have it. There is still new DLC coming out in regular intervals and there are almost 1700 DLC songs available today for RB4. That with any of the export packs that might have been purchased is a daunting amount of material to try and conquer.

So my TLDR review is: Rock Band 4 continues rocking and it rocks well!

I've also contacted Harmonix Customer service. . .and truly they are amazing. Mad Catz still remains to be seen. More on that later. The Harmonix folk are very enthusiastic about Rock Band and that makes me want to support the franchise until I am too old to play. Hopefully that never happens.

Rock Band 4 Review Coming Soon!

Back in October I bought a Sony PS4. I was holding out for the 1TB version. Before Christmas we got a new TV for it and shortly after Christmas I finally purchased a Rock Band 4 bundle. I've had a chance to play all of the instruments and sing. I've also had a chance to play along with friends and family.

I'm still using my Yamaha KP-65 along with a Yamaha kick pedal (endorsements anyone?). I've been working on triplets with my kick foot (I'm a lefty for now). I've had ample time to play the game enough for a fair and detailed review but I need some time to polish it up.

In the meantime feel free to add me to your PSN friends list.
My PlayStation® Network ID is empyre327

Rock Band Drums - Use a REAL Kick Pedal

For those of you tuned into Rock Band video games - you know that Rock Band 4 is due out later this year.

I played the hell out of the original 3 Rock Band games for PS3. What I ran into trouble with was really fast songs that were demanding on the kick pedal. The spring in the stock RB pedals didn't have enough action and I wound up working WAY too hard for beats I could hammer away at on a real acoustic kit. What I found recently was a kick trigger pad from Yamaha that can be hooked up to the stock Rock Band drum set or the Ion Rocker set. There are other brands of kick trigger that will work as well. I already had a pedal for my drum set and any standard pedal will clamp on to the Yamaha KP-65. They are available to purchase all over the place for about $70.

However in order to get it to work with your Rock Band Drum set or Ion Rocker set you need something to convert the signal. If you have any electronics know how it is not too difficult. There used to be a KickBox, a VTI Trigger Box or a Kickwire available from online retailers to do this signal conversion for you. However - since Rock Band's popularity waned after the market was saturated these products dried up.

Here is a schematic that will give you what you need if you want to build one yourself.

Also - here is a parts list with Radio Shack part numbers:

- 555 IC (2761723)
- 386 IC (2761731)
- 100K resistor (2711347)
- 10K potentiometer or 5K resistor (controls pulse width of 555 output)
- 2N3904 NPN (2762016)
- 0.1uF cap (55047626)
- 10uF cap
- 1/8" male mono phono plug (we hard-wired this output to the box)
- 1/4" female mono phone plug (for the drum trigger input)

For those of you like me - who have been getting ready for the release of RB4 - this information should help. I've seen a fair amount of posts recently from people looking for a Kickwire or TriggerBox.

~eMpyre ramireX *IS* sAMPLE tHE mARTIAN

If anyone knows how to get a hold of Katie Ares . . Riku from Detroit. Have her hit me up. Its been like forever.

Apparently I have been neglecting the G-Dust page with all the social media outlets that I have. Big things are in the works. Some pre and post shows for Nerdapalooza 2012 as well as new material.

There has been a great influx of press since Sample the Martian joined with Scrub Club Records.

Read the Sample the Martian interview at: The Geek Path.

5 Albums that changed my life on Blog Rocking Beat.

Tomorrow Empire is the featured guest on Nerdcore Meow's Podcast!

Right now the biggest piece of news to know about is Sample the Martian playing with K.Flay at the Crowfoot Pike Room in Pontiac Michigan.

March 23rd at the Detroit Pub in Clinton Township

There is an AWESOME Sample the Martian show lined up for Friday March 23rd at the Detroit Pub in Clinton Township. Its FREE!!!!! It is 21 and up.