T Minus 30 freaking days

Tensions are definitely up as we started work on the last song today, "The Quest for the Latke Oil." This is the 9th and final proper song on the record.

There will not be another full rehearsal for a week and a half. In that time we will break into smaller groups, work out the rhythms as two guitars and bass, and work with our drummer to make sure tempos are ok and that all his kicks match.

I confessed to Doug our bassist today that I am petrified about being the mix engineer. I know I can do this but I do become the only member of the band whose primary responsibilities start once everything is recorded. Stress is good for the soul though. For the body? Well I have a physical tomorrow. I will let my doctor tell me how anticipating the mix is treating my digestive tract.

Despite the brief venting above I definitely think this band is going to be ready. Many records have been written and recorded much quicker and under much more adversity. I am so proud of how much we have been able to do in the few short months since deciding this would be the next project. It took us five years to write five songs since recording Wrath of the Gods and suddenly we have 9 songs ready to go in less than six months. We can really step up to the plate when we need to and I can't wait for you guys to hear this. Even if you don't care about holiday music this is going to be a really interesting album........

TMinus......OH FUCK!

In 31 days Gods of Fire will be entering Emandee studios in Williamsburg to record basic tracks for Hannukah Gone Metal, a full length album of classic Hannukah songs and new material we wrote for the holiday. It will be released in October in time for the holiday season.

The plan is to record 9 conventional songs plus three "bonus tracks" in the most elegant but cost effective way possible. Plans are made to be shattered but this is the current roadmap-

6/11-6/15 basics at Emandee. My goal is to record all drums and bass, and as much of the rhythm guitars as possible. Also we are going to have strings and horns on the album. I would love to get as much of that recorded in a "proper" studio as well. Marc, the engineer at Emandee, has great mics and a beautiful live room I would like to take advantage of. He also passes everything he records through 1" tape before it hits the computer to add some analog warmth.

6/16-6/30 overdubs at the Orange Room (my home studio). This is going to be vocals, guitar solos, keyboards, and any of the acoustic instruments we did not get an opportunity to record at Emandee. My goal is to have this album fully recorded by the end of June.

July - the mix. This is the part I am most worried about. The limitless freedom of home mixing can also encouarge nit-picking by band members and too much time spent worrying about the little details. I want to take my time and make this album sound phenomenal, but I do not want to release Chinese Democracy. The biggest challenge for me as a mixer is to know when to allow flaws to reveal themselves in the recording. It is so easy to make everything PERFECT that the challenge is no longer to make something sound as good as possible, but to know when to make the choice to allow imperfection to reveal the humanity in the music.

8/22- Mastering at STERLING FUCKING SOUND! This makes me giddy. I can't help it. I only have great things to say about the mighty Alan Douches who mastered my last two records but it is impossible to pass up this great of an opportunity.

So there it is. And as of this writing the band hasn't even LEARNED all of the material yet, let alone perfected it. But this has been an ambitious project from the start and everyone has been working their ass off to make sure their parts are learned and are grooving. This is going to be a busy summer but a fun one.

Frequent updates will continue......

LATENCY ISSUES IS BACK!!!!!!

Welcome to Latency Issues 2.0.

This is not just a fresh coat of paint. I am officially bringing this blog back to its roots as a recording blog. If you are not interested in the process of writing recording and mixing an album you can stop reading here.

My Facebook status updates and postings on Baroque Bleak Brutal will keep you connected to my personal life.

For everyone else, I am embarking on a pretty awesome journey. This blog will be updated regularly and frequently to chronicle the recording process for Hannukah Gone Metal. Come along with me for the ride.

Genital Neon

This is what happens when you let my band rehearse on Int'l Talk Like a Pirate Day.

The drawing was a bit of a group effort with Doug drawing Jason, Keith drawing everyone else, and Jason working to make Keith's mic look more like a penis.

Click the pic for full size stupidity, suitable for framing.

Practicing what I Preach

So recently I wrote a call to arms for anyone in a band to be 12.5% as awesome as Rush. What I really meant, of course, was to reflect upon what you provide to a potential audience, especially in light of what the venue charges them to go see you. Well I wrote that as much for me as anyone else. I do enjoy maximum entertainment when I go out, even if the music is "important" or whatever.

So I spent a lovely day with Jason today that quickly evolved from corned beef hash at the Waverly and playing with pedals at Matt Umanov to spending quality time at the Home Depot and Abracadabra. Fun fact- Abracadabra is where I bought my battle axe.

We have some great things to show for our day. Gaze upon the new shit. More new shit to come. These are the baby steps. I reckon by the end of the summer, when tomato season has passed its prime, people will leave our shows saying "damn, that band was at least 20.1% as awesome as Rush!"

Porn Rock Ball- The Aftermath

Wow, I am hungover (surprise, surprise) ! They say a picture is worth 1,000 words so in lieu of an actual write up, you'll have to do with this. If you didn't show up, you were a FOOL!

Thanks again to Pink for inviting us!

Porn Rock Ball tonight!

Everyone should be coming out to tonight's rock show. Strippers, porn stars, fake boobies and Gods of Fire. This is why we started the band in the first place. To play with strippers!

And the Fulltone Wah will make its debut live appearance.

This is going to be sick sick fun. I think I'm going to try out the bondage room. I tend to do whatever women tell me always, but the pain is usually mental. Maybe I'll be a good masochist. Although...........sadism is pretty metal.

Remember ladies, it is not exploitation, it is empowerment!

$5 off admission if you print out the flyer here: www.pornrockball.com

We're up on the YouTube!

Thanks to Michelle for the fun stealth shots of us playing Nectar from Don Hills on Thursday.

This is really going to please the shareholders when we are asked to speak to our 2.0 strategy!

Gods of Fire are user generated!

A perfect ratio

Today is a great day for the Gods of Fire MySpace page.

We have the PERFECT amount of friends! Looky look look! (click the pic for full size awesome awesomeness!!!)

Ok gotta run to PMK...........

This was unexpected....

The singer of Gods of Fire wants to adapt Burn, a song I wrote about being angry at Sebadoh, into a full on Metal tune. If you haven't heard the song yet you can find it here.

I am down to try it, but there are some interesting concerns. Jason said if it stays as a Scream Bloody Virgin track (my solo nom de plume) then the song is a "waste."

Is it? Just because I don't see myself "pushing" my solo music in the same way we "push" the band am I wasting a good song by keeping it for myself? Do I owe the Gods of Fire first crack at my "A" material? Although I am very proud of my latest GoF contribution The Dying Wizard, Burn is probably one of the more interesting things I have come up with lately, especially lyrically.

Really I just want people to hear my music I guess. Being precious about my songs has never particularly helped me. I am a bit nervous by what kind of changes would be made to make the song ready for Power Metal, but it is also exciting to think of a song entering the Gods of Fire repertoire that is actually about a subject that doesn't involve dragons or monsters or villagers.

At the very least I guess this is permission to try to write a little more "maturely" for the band. Stay tuned, things can get interesting.