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.