UPDATE

Well after a few months off my feet things have been happening behind the scenes. Mark and Jack have been promoting the facebook page whch for those of you that don't know can be found here,

FLASHPOINT On Facebook

Please take the time to check out our new videos being posted there and give the page a like. 

 I'm in hospital on Tuesday 22nd for my back operation so I'l be on the mend real soon and back to ripping my guitar with the band again. We are all looking forward to getting back in the studio for some much needed rehearsal time. We have a few tracks sorted but we'll be getting our shit together real soon. Look out for an E.P that's in the works in the near future. Mark tells me his leg is feeling better and is anxious to get back to jamming and the rest of us feel the same way. Pauls got himself a job with an agency so he's been working, Jack dislocated his thumb a while ago which should be better real soon. We can't wait to get together as a full band for the first time. It's just me holding things up now, Once my operation is out of the way this Tuesday (Which is tommorrow now as I'm typing this at 2AM Monday because I can't sleep because of the pain) The surgeon tells me he's going to try and keep the cut small to decrease recovery time and I should be back on my feet in a few weeks pain free.

4th August 2013 I know I haven't posted anything here in a while but big changes have been happening behind the scenes. Half the band quit on me to pursue other musical ventures and at the time I was feeling a bit depressed about it nursing a one step forward 3 steps back attitude. I also injured my back and an MRI scan showed that I've fractured a disc in my that's pressing on a nerve which has lead to quite a bit of pain & down time. I'm on painkillers and I'm due at Northampton Hospital's Fracture Clinic on the 29th August 2013 and I'll find out if I'm gonna' be needing an operation to put it right. Anyway despite everything threatening to be flushed down the toilet things have turned out amazingly well. I had a reply to the band ad from a guy named Mark Innocent, he sent me links to his old bands material and long story short they needed a drummer and guitarist and we needed a guitarist singer and bassist. And 2 incomplete bands have become one. We've had a tryout jam and it went really well. They're decent determined people and we got along well socially and musically. Paul felt more relaxed with the new members in the band and as a result we all jammed well together last Sunday and it was a fun relaxed atmosphere, How it should be. It's gonna' be a mad scramble for us all to learn each others tracks but we'll have a decent catalog of material to bash you around the head with real soon. We're dabbling in a heavier sound played in drop C tuning something I've not felt the need to do before and even though the sound is heavier it's a bit of work for me re writing the same riffs & solo's to Flashpoint tracks so that they are played in the same key as the recordings but in Drop C tuning. I've considered buying another guitar so that I can switch guitars between tracks without having to re tune or work out my songs again in Drop C but I'm warming to the idea of playing them in drop C but played higher up the fretboard to match the recordings key, I'm still buying another guitar though I've had my eye on a Jackson soloist for a while now and I want it :). Mark had some interesting harmonizing ideas we tried out on existing Flashpoint tracks the sound is bigger and played the way it should have been played all along. We've had a big problem in the past previous guitarists not being able to play the material to a satisfactory standard but I'm pleased to say this wasn't a problem for Mark, I'm really pleased he had no trouble at all getting to grips with the riffs and changes. Scott Litster our vocalist has already began writing new lyrics for So Far To Hell & Back, I'm looking forward to hearing what he's come up with, Judging by the tracks brought over from their previous band I'm sure it'll be great. His vocals are impressive and are far better than any previous vocalist we have had in the band. At our first meet up/Jam we played through a track called "To The Last Man" A track Paul & me really liked and enjoyed playing, I'm looking forward to our next Jam where Paul & me will be meeting Jack Richardson, our new bassist who was also in the previous band with Mark & Scott so is already familiar with their material. We are learning from each other at the moment it's still early days working together but at the minute it's looking good. I'm eager to get things rolling and so are the rest of the band.

Sat 23rd March 2013

Just placed a new Ad for a new bassist and Guitarist http://www.joinmyband.co.uk/classifieds/bass-amp-guitarist-wanted-for-northampton-based-metal-band-t483921.html

I really hope we find replacements and quick I just want to finish the songs and get out there and play it. We need fresh heads in the band maybe it'll be the boost we need. At the minute it's hard to get any real practice in because of the Band now only being Vocals Drums And Lead Guitar. I've been ill the past week, had flu, then got a stomach bug and threw up for 2 days but all i've got is a bit of a cold now so that's good. I've been practicing playing guitar the past couple of days and making some progress getting "So Far To Hell & Back" down in Pro Tools. Progress is slow as i'm recording everything exept for vocals on my own. I've multitracked up to the 1 st chorus and i'm now working on completing the rest of the track instrumentally in the next couple of weeks. Then we'll record the vocals. In the meantime i'm placing ad's anywhere that'll let me to find our new Bassist and Guitarist.

Saturday 16th Feb 2013

Well the rhythm guitarist who was supposed to be auditioning Friday didn't turn up. So another strike out there unfortunately. I'm trying to stay positive about the rhythm guitar situation but it's so frustrating. I'm sure Paul would hit his cues better with a rhythm guitarist filling out the sound. As is it's proving to be a bit of a problem. Last practice went quite well considering we had been off since Christmas. Listening back to the session recording there was loads of energy and the pace was just right for So Far To Hell & Back. Coming out of the chorus into the interlude before the 3rd verse is prooving to be a bit of a struggle for Paul. The turnaround is quite fast and there's a lot of changes. I knew it would be a struggle for any drummer to hit it just right because it's quite a technical track. I'm sure that with a rhythm guitarist Paul would play a lot better. It's also difficult for me because i'm constantly switching between the rhythm and lead guitar parts so the others don't miss their cue's. On a positive note Dave's vocals sound better and better all the time This practice i was standing legs apart teeth gritted, mouthing along with the words In a Steve harris from Iron Maiden fashion :) Violently shredding away on my guitar loving every bit of it. It's starting to feel good to play as it's coming together now. All we need is Paul to get his fills and changes perfect then the tracks in the bag. We can then do a multitrack recording, throw it into the pile and on to the next one. We've got piles of ideas but at the same time we don't want to have 2 or three tracks on the go incase one gets rushed or neglected. As time goes by we're definatley learning to take cues from each other and we're slowly becoming a precision machine. The current line up is still relatively new so we are still learning about what makes each of us tick. As we become more familiar with each other, and the material it'll only get better. It's gonna' be awesome when it's done. I said this practice when we finish this track we're gonna' have a party to celebrate our hard work :) It's taking so long to come together but it's quality material and we all want to do our best.

We're Still ALIVE! Sat 19th Jan 2013

Band practice had been non existant for the past couple of weeks and we're not gonna' be able to get back to it until at least the 25th Jan 2013 Illness and lack of money has rendered the band to a dormant state at the moment. It's frustrating but a couple of us hav'nt got the money for the practice room for a little while so unavoidable. Me and Dave met up last Friday and talked over a few ideas and I may have written a verse riff for the new track idea where working on. This new track is bouncy, heavy and a little technical. Pauls got a basic drum beat down and I continue to jam out ideas for riffs. Infact i'm holding my guitar right now. I noticed that what we started doing in the studio towards this new track (as yet untitled) has strayed away from the original idea a little so I've been listening to some early recordings I made when I first stumbled on the riff to refesh the picking pattern in my head. It's gonna' be a good one when it's finished. Once we're able to get into regular practices again We'll be working towards the current tracks we've been working on to complete them and get some new ideas down. I continue to mess around on my guitar and new riffs are being written all the time. Dave continues to put lyrics together and Pauls working on his timing and fills. Can't wait to get things going again now the Christmas and New Year break is over.

Rhythm Guitarist

We are taking auditions for rhythm guitarist, If anyones interested in trying out or knows someone that does message me or call/text 07796024864 You can also contact us through our facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Flashpoint-BAND/307971952595964?ref=hl Or by email, flashpointband@hotmail.co.uk

Updated Tracks

I've added some more samples to the MP3 Player on this page there's some more riffs for song parts that are works in progress aswell as a Vocal arrangement sample sent to me by the Singer (Dave Lawrie) we're real close to starting Vocal takes in the studio now i have my Condensor mic connected to my PC it can be used to add vocal takes in Pro Tools Or Cubase.

UPDATE

Well I hav'nt added anything lately because i've been a bit i'll Starting to feel a bit better now but not quite shifted it yet. Last practice went quite well, Paul's been practicing his drum parts but Dave had a bit of a sore throat so he did his best but it'll be better when he is. We ran through So Far and scratched our heads at it for a bit then we quickly ran through Massive Overload a track we hav'nt continued since our Rhythm guitarist left because it's the kind of track that needs a Rhythm guitar to sound whole. Dan did a good job of keeping the rhythm going and we ran over a couple of ideas to improve it in the future. We spent about 15 mins working on Massive Overloads Chorus which has'nt been recorded yet Dave a a bunch of lyric ideas and i arranged them to the chorus riff it's gonna be awesome once we put our full attention on it. FYYT had a breif revival to check that we could remember it mostly because we hav'nt wroked on it in a while. So Far To Hell & Back is getting our full attention until it's tight. It's all written but Paul & myself are working together to get the drum fills written and going over them again and again to tighten things up. We still face the problem of coming out of the chorus. The track proceeds nicely into the chorus but it's proving to be a bit difficult for Paul to change with the riff coming out of the chorus. We'll be working to fix this problem next practice. We should be finishing this track real soon. Also My Blue Icycle adapter came in the post which basically is an adapter that plugs into a computers USB port providing 48v Phantom Power to a Condensor Mic. I tested it with Pro Tools 10 And Cubase 6 I got it working OK in Cubase but to get it working in Pro Tools is gonna' take a bit of research ad clicking around in any case we're setup to begin vocal takes now so we'll be concentrating on that in the new year. For now we're working mostly on getting So Far finished. It's a complicated track with a lot of changes and we all need to be spot on with the changes to make sure the track has the impact we're aiming for. It's coming together & i reckon will have a big impact on people when it's finished i can't wait. We've got a pile of riffs & lyrics to work with to put together 5 more new tracks at least. I've been recording my my guitar practice sessions as well as the bands practice sessions. My own guitar practice to listen back to incase there's something usable in it. And the bands practice's for reflection & correction. I figured it would be good to record each practice and upload then email it to everyone in the band to listen to and think about whats wrong with their performance and correct any problems next practice. Looking forward to this Fridays practice Paul made a real big improvement in his drumming last week and i'm looking forward to hearing if it's any better next week. When he's great we're all great. Keep Practicing Paul.

Band Practice [09.11.2012] Aftermath

Well just got back from Band Practice...YEAH! It went amazingly. The new bass player was really good and has now joined the band. All we need now is a decent Rhythm guitarist. Best practice we've had in a long time i'm really happy with the progress and our tracks are sounding better and better all the time. We came up with a decent new riff aswell so that's another tracks to start working on real soon. Paul played really well tonight he's nailed So Far To Hell And Back and is sounding constant & tighter. I could have played a bit better but i was playing half rhythm guitar and half lead guitar to fill oput the track a little because of the lack of rhythm guitarist. Dave got the beat count and melody spot on tonight on several occations. He's really improving and has taken on the lead vocal role really well. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE makes PERFECT PERFECT PERFECT :) Looking forward to next week and must'nt forget we owe Big Noise £4.67 on top of the bill because we where a little short for the session and it did'nt seem right to ask Dan (Bass) to contribute to cost when it was his audition. We split it equally neext week though now he' a band member. The tracks are progressing well and Dan (Bass) did a good job of contributing some fat bass and it sounded awesome. Can't wait for next practice. Welcome to the band Dan Goodger (Bass)

Band Practice Tonight (09.11.2012)

Band Practice tonight, And it should should be a good one we've got a new bass player auditioning. Lets hope he's a good one and stays. Paul just rang me and he's coming and Dave will be aswell as myself all we need now is a Rhythm guitarist and we're a full band. We're working on "So Far To Hell And Back" Tonight because of a lack of rhythm guitar it's easier to compensate. Massive Overload is a bit more complex and requires 2 guitars to acheive the sound. I think i'll bounce down just the Rhythm guitar from the track in Pro Tools HD10 and use it as a dummy guitarist to jam with like a backing Rhythm guitar. Hopefully it'll work OK for now. We really need a Rhythm Guitarist... If anyone wants to try out please message me or call Phil on 07899042598 FLASHPOINT are a good rhythm guitarist away from completed material and gigs hopefully we'll find the right person real soon.

UPDATE [03.11.2012]

I havn't posted anything in a while because practice's have been few and far between lately but all with good reasons. First Illness then no Rhythm Guitar then no bass then Paul forgot to come to practice cause a friend came to see him from Manchester. The last session at Big Noise was far from wasted though both Dave and me went fuck it lets do it anyway! So we hit big noise last Friday night just Lead Guitar And Vocals. I hooked up the new Condensor mic to the Mixer plugged it in got it all working with a little help from Big Noise staff cause i was'nt familiar with their mixer :) I then fed a line from the mixer headphone monitor output to the Mic input on my laptop running Cubase 6 to record the signal. Then i ran another lead from the laptop Headphones out to a track on the mixer connected to the PA. Fired up Toontrack Superior Drummer with the MIDI for So Far To Hell And Back and bass in Cubase then Recorded the Rhythm Guitar parts and played back as a backing track where Dave sang and i played lead to it In seperate tracks creating a backing track of our song to account for missing bandmembers then using the Condensor mic in the figure 8 position to record the room. We then spent a couple of hours going over the arrangement of the Vocals. Everyone is gonna' be there next Friday and we have a new bassplayer trying out so we'll just be without a rhythm guitar. Practice was cancelled this week due to the birth of our baby Daughter Lily. Lisa and Lilly are staying in hostpital until Monday afternoon so i'm watching my son Leon full time until they come home.It';s definatly on next Friday and we'll be working towards the completion of "So Far To Hell & Back" which is complete but not fully arranged yet. Next Practice is gonna be awesome and i can't wait.

Friday 26th October 2012

Practice at Big Noise Room 3 8 - 11 tonight. We'll be working on So Far To Hell And Back tonight, This track is finished but not arranged so we'll be working on the arrangement tonight & hopefully come out with something definate. Setup might take a little longer tonight because of using the new Condensor Mic and i'll have to figure out the studios mixer to set it up how we want it. Hope Dave does'nt forget to bring the leads and the pop sheild.

Update [23.10.2012]

Not much has been going on the past month. Illness and lack of a Rhythm guitarist has rendered the band in suspended animation for a short while. I've continued to write new potential riffs and practice the other tracks. Dave (Singer) has been constantly putting lyrics together for the already established riffs. We're confident about the new material and practice will resume as normal next Friday even if it's only the 3 of us, Me (Lead Guitar) Paul (Drums) and Dave (Vocals) after a long break we really need to get together and work on the material. I've got The Studio Condensor mic and some Sony Studio Monitor Headphones now aswell so we can plug the Condensor mic into the Mixer at the studio for the Phantom power and XLR connection then plug the headphones to the the monitor and the output to my laptop running Cubase 6 to record the sessions using the Condensor mic in the figure 8 position to pick up the vocals on one side and the rest of the band on the other using it like a room mic.Dave (Singer) has got the leads and the pop shield so he'll need to remember to bring them to the session. I got the laptop the other day. It was kindly given to me by my good friend of mine who's name is "Campino" he got himself a new one so very generously gave me his old one. "Thanks so much for that mate, it's greatly appreciated & will be very usefull to me and the band Thanks" The search for Rhythm Guitarist and Bassist is still ongoing & I'm sure that we'll find the right people eventually but for now the grindstone still turns and we need all the practice we can get. New material is being written all the time we need to get back to work on it. So! Practice as usual this Friday 26th October people see you there. And remember that it'll cost us a little more this time because there's only the 3 of us. I work it out a about £6.66p each for the session. What dy'a know "666" :) \M/ lol.

Progress Report

We did't go to Big Noise this week i did't see the point since we had only one guitarist and the track need two guitarists because the two parts played together make the tracks what they are and if only one guitar part is playing then the whole thing sounds empty. So instead Paul Dave and me had a songwriting session round at mine instead. I figured that it'd be a good chance to put the new Pro Tools HD 10.3.0 to work :) Anyway we went over possibilities for the verse and chorus parts to It's So Far To Hell & back its soundimg really good. The lyrics are virtually done there are a lot of definates on paper now and its coming together well we wrote a chorus riff and some possible lyrics for it aswell. Its all about arrangement & presentation now. Daves been writing and recording possible lyrics on his phone and we gave them a listen aswell as some guitar ideas from me and Drum ideas from Paul. It's shame Ryan did'nt come Wednesday or Friday because he's fallen behind now and thats not a good idea concidering the length of time he's been with us. He can't make it on Fridays and thats a problem with everyone in the band for conveniant practice time. Wie really need to sort something out cause we need that Rhythm guitar there. Apart from that progress has been good and theres talk of a new track in the band.

Rehearsals Friday 14th September 2012

Practice is on as usual tonight Big Noise 8-11 Room 3 Ryan is coming tonight for his second audition. Hopefully he's got some understanding of how the tracks are build up by now after a week with the tabs he should know the basics by now. Dave ssays he's got some new lyric ideas for Massive Overload so i look forward to hearing what he's got and i know he can't wait for me to hear it :) We're all gon na have to p+ay +a +li+ttle e-xtra tonight to cover w hat Sean did'nt pay the practice he walked out and i'm not sure if we should be asking Ryan to chip in on his second audition although he might want to. I work it out at £8.33 each and i pay £8.34 to make it what we owe and Ryans share. Thanks Sean. Anyway hopefully it'll be a good one tonight Dave and me got together last Wednesday to throw around some lyric ideas and we'll be putting em' into action tonight. Now i'm gonna eat my dinner go for a smoke and carry on with my warm up.

Song Writing Session [08.09.2012]

Cancelled going to Big Noise tonight due to lack of a Rhythm guitarist and funds to pay the bill :) Instead Dave came round to mine and we spent a few hours going over some riffs and putting lyrics together. I'm Well happy with the progress where making despite the lack of Rythm Guitar and bass. It's given us a bit of time to focus on the lyric writing and melody placements. We have possibilitys for the 1st and 2nd verse to Massive Overload and also put together a verse riff the verse melody and some lyric ideas for So Far. It's going really well. The vocals are rough at the moment but given a proper vocal recording mic a mixer and time to practice and get the placement and key right it's gonna be amazing. I'm feeling very optimistic. Gonna audition a few new Rhythm guitarists next week i really hope i can find the right person who can play the riffs as well as i can play them. I don't mind teaching but i'd prefer not to have to. I've posted the tabs for 2 FLASHPOINT tracks and i'm asking anyone wanting to try out for Rhythm guitar to look at them and learn them to the sample tracks before meeting up to audition.

Auditions

Due to the amount of interest to audition for Rhythm guitarist i'm gonna tab out the rhythm guitar parts for the 3 sample tracks posted on the FLASHPOINT blog and bandmix. Anyone wanting to audition for rhythm guitar please listen to the tracks and work them out using the tabs. The decision to keep you in the the band will be based on your ability to play the already established patterns for these tracks. If you are accepted to join the band you will be free to add your ideas to any new material we write from then on. I have already tabbed the Rhythm guitar parts for Massive overload and it's posted on this page i will be tabbing out the other 2 tommorrow for anyone interested. To everyone that has contacted me about a tryout please be patiant i will get to you. There's quite a few people wanting to try out and i'm finding time to hear everyone that wants to be heard real soon. In the meantime please listen to the sampe tracks and work out the rhythm guitar or bass parts whchever applies to you for each track. I will be posting Rhythm guitar tab tommorrow as mentioned above. Use this time before meeting up to work out and practice these tracks to the best of your ability. Thanks.

Midweek songwriting session

Dave (Singer) Mentioned that he would like to have a midweek practice. Paul (Drummer) won't be able to make it because of his working hours, And Sean walked last practice but it will just be a melody and lyrics writing session so Dave and me could do it at my home studio. I'll multitrack the whole thing through Pro Tools and use MIDI to fill in for the drummer. It'll be good to have some one on one time to get the lyrics finished for Massive Overload. I think maybe Wednesday's but i'll have to confirm it with Dave.

Girly Strops Over Picks

Well just got back from the studio, We Got the first verse lyrics written for Massive Overload tonight,Finally! We're gonna work on the chorus next week. Oh yeah and Sean packed up his shit and walked out half way through the session because he said someone had nicked all his picks... Yeah i know... I had a tin full of picks with me i would have given him a few of mine if he wanted them Not sure what's happening. I think i'll be looking for a new rhythm guitarist now. Paul (Drummer) and Dave (Singer) are still up for it i asked them and made sure. I said "If you don't wanna be here then don't come, I'll find someone that does wanna come" They both said that they still wanted to carry on. It's just Sean hes been moody and unco-operative for a while now. And he can't play half the stuff i write anyway so it might be a good thing. FUCK! Now i need to find a new guitarist that will turn up co-operate and can play my riffs.. Grrr!!! But As "Gene Simmons" once said "The thing that got me through was my own selfish stubborness to think Why should i let some knucklehead ruin what i have built, I'm not gonna let someone elses problems or ruined life destroy everything i've worked so hard to achieve" Next weeks mission is to finish the verse we where writing this week then write the chorus. Dave was talking about having a midweek songwriting seesion aswell as the Friday night 8-11 session. I think that's a very good idea, Infact i've been pushing for jaming 3 times a week for some time now. For now i'm gonna record all the rhythm guitar parts as a backing track to replace the missing guitar until i can find a new Rythm guitarist.

New Band Member

FLASHPOINT New Linup. [FilGee - Lead Guitar/Producer] [Sean - Rhythm Guitar] [Paul - Drums] [Dave Lawrie - Vocals] No Bass Player Yet (Open For Auditions) We've a new vocalst joined the band last night after answering an ad and auditioning. We where inpressed with his audition and he seemed happy with our arrangements. Welcome to the band Dave and i hope that we can all write some killer material together. Look out for thoes tracks in your email i'll be sending them a bit later on. All we need now id a bassist. Sean had the idea that maybe he could play bass for a while and i take care of all the guitar parts until we can find a permanant bassist. I'm not sure if that's what we are gonna do yet though. Time to get to work and write some music I feel more optimistic about things now hopefully it will work out well.