Ryan Malmstrom’s Blog

We’ve seen a few bands in Austin and I wanted to see if I could come to a resolution regarding my opinion of “live” keyboards versus “sequenced” keyboards in a cover band.

Band #1 used sequenced keyboards.  They performed the songs really well, the keyboard patches were accurate and they had all of the parts nailed.  I did hear a few vocal harmonies on their sequences, so that briefly bummed me out, but I’m sure most people wouldn’t notice that and really, that was only a small complaint. 

I will complain about the overall live experience though:  they seemed rather lifeless and were just going through the motions.  The drummer was a joy to watch, as he had energy and an awesome voice.  Good for him, as he was clearly having a good time.  The rest of the guys just didn’t show any signs of life.  Even the stage banter sounded forced.

I don’t really know how to score this band though.  I applaud their dedication to getting the songs right, but they really should improve their stage presence.  We can put these songs on at home, you know?

Band #2 used live keyboards.  There wasn’t a full time keyboardist for this band, but I was impressed with how close the sounds were to the original recording.  There were even some unique patches that really added some depth and character to the songs. 

That’s about where my praise for the band ends.  The band looked like they had other places they would rather be and often looked bored.  Maybe they haven’t heard that comment from the people that watch their shows?  That could be, but for a band that has been doing this for a very long time, I have a hard time believing this hasn’t been mentioned at least a few times.

Their sound was quite weird though.  They promote how authentic their show is to the arena rock experience, but it was honestly too processed and had a very canned sound to it.  Their sound just lacked the thud and roar of a rock show that fans of this music expect.   Small sample size doesn’t come into play either, as we saw two shows.

So what do I take away from these performances?  I have no problem with a band using sequenced keyboards, even though it takes a bit away from the live experience.  It’s all about selection and visualization.  If you think that the organ solo on “Carry On Wayward Son” would be far more interesting with someone actually playing it, you’re probably right.  It just looks weird.  Fans like to attach themselves to the person responsible for the part being played.  What, are they going to look at the mixing board?

Here is an absolute must though:  you must kick some serious butt on stage.  Run around, smile, engage the crowd, juggle cats, breathe fire, act like you truly want to be there and have fun!  Distract your audience and they will not trip on who is playing the intro to “Runaway.”  But if you are playing “Faithfully” without a keyboardist, it looks like karaoke.

The loss of Peter Steele is flooding my head with memories.  I don’t even know where I would be without Type O Negative.

The video for “Christian Woman” came on Headbangers Ball one night in late 1993 and I could not have been more disturbed.  It was the most terrifying video I had ever seen.  I could not turn it off though.  I ran out to purchase “Bloody Kisses” the next day and was hooked.

I remember seeing them open for Queensryche in 1997.  As they were playing their last song, the crew starting breaking down the equipment.  Finally, the last piece of equipment was Peter’s bass and the stage was empty.  All Peter could say was “I guess 30 minutes means 30 minutes.”  There was always that humor with them. 

In my first semester at Hennepin Technical College for the Audio Recording program, I seem to remember sitting out in the courtyard and a dude walking by in a Type O shirt.  I may have actually had MY Type O shirt on too, but we instantly connected, as he was in the same program as i was.  Chris and I would chat about Type O and bands that sounded like them.  One day, we ditched school to go buy CDs from some guy at the Mirage.  I don’t remember what the CDs were, but the man we purchased them from was Don Decker.  He would later go on to take a shot on the band that Chris and I formed:  Lorde of all Desires.  Were it not for Type O Negative, Lorde of all Desires would have never existed.  Epicurean would not have existed either.

I saw Type O on the Ozzfest 1997 tour at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.  There was a period where Chris and I had lost contact between school and Milwaukee Metalfest later that summer.  The wheels were really set in motion with Lorde after that Metalfest meeting, but I do remember running into Chris at the parking ramp prior to Ozzfest.  I knew I’d run into him, since Type O would be there.  I don’t remember our conversation at all, but I remember it being brief.

Type O came to 1st Avenue on the October Rust tour.  I seem to remember showing up very early with Chris and Dinis.  Or it may have been Tony, I don’t remember.  But we got a chance to meet Kenny and Johnny before the show.  I remember them playing pool and Chris talking with them about tattoos.  I don’t think I said a thing. 

Again, in Minnesota, they came to town on the Life Is Killing Me tour.  I had seen them on the World Coming Down tour a few years earlier, but was rather disappointed that they didn’t play the title track off that record.  I nearly cried when they played it on this tour.  After hearing that song live, I could die a happy man.  I would never need to go to another concert ever again.

I am feeling such a loss right now, but I can say that I am grateful for the impact Type O Negative had on my life.  I think Peter would appreciate how many lives he changed.  He wouldn’t want it to be about himself. 

Peter, you will be missed.  Thank you for changing my life.  Thank you for disturbing me, making me laugh and making me cry.  Your impact cannot be measured.

Ryan Malmstrom

Hello Austin Texas!  We got down here on Thursday, April 1st and have been running around ever since.  The funny thing is, we haven’t even scratched the surface of what this beautiful city is all about, but we’re getting there.  It sure feels like home though.

I’ve begun the process of looking for a band, but I’m really going to take the time to find the right situation.  I think playing covers again is where I’m going to start, since that is still fresh in my mind.  I’d like to open up the songlist to include more new wave and pop from the 80s, as well as stuff from the 70s and 90s. 

Of course, if the right original project presented itself, I’m more than open to that.  In fact, that would be my preferred form of music, but since I am new to the city, latching onto an established band might be the way to go in either case.  I’m more interested in progressive/hard rock than anything I’ve done in the past, so we’ll see what kind of options are out there. 

I feel like I’m leaving myself open for a number of opportunities and I am looking forward to an exciting musical career in Austin.  The city sure has a buzz and I have a great feeling here.  The ad is up on craigslist, so wish me luck! 

Keep stopping back for updates, as I’ll be posting quite often!

Ryan

I intended to include this list in my “Rockfist Announcement” post, but things didn’t exactly go as planned in the end.  I will say that there were more good times than bad, so I am going to take some time to reflect on the good.  This isn’t a list of ”things I miss about Rockfist,” but more of a random list of moments that maybe the fans didn’t catch and will never leave my memory.  Briana and I are less than two months from moving to Austin, so I figured it’d be best to capture these thoughts while we’re still in Minnesota.

- Chris and I liked to do what was called the “Love Gun ending” to close out a set.  When the song was coming to a close, I always looked back to Chris, waiting for him to launch into it.  Sometimes he’d leave me hanging and choose the 2nd or 3rd set to do the ending, which was fine because that strange anticipation would just build inside me.  It was just always one of those little things that made the night fun.

- Rick and Kenner would absolutely nail the harmonies in “Don’t Treat Me Bad” every time, but the highlight was the “oh yeah” right before the last chorus came in.  (2:36 on the original recording)  It was such a climatic moment in the song and they always delivered.

- I always liked to mess around with lyrics when singing lead.  During “Crazy Train,” I always replaced “I know that things are going wrong for me” with “I know that things are going wrong for Ben.”  He’d playfully flip me the bird and smile.

- There were songs that Rick went to another level and to this day, it baffles me how great of a vocalist he truly is.  We played “Mission” from Queensryche maybe once or twice, but I’ve never been so happy performing a cover.  I know my neck hurt for days after headbanging so viciously.  I just wish we would have played that one more often.

- Chris “The Hat” Crooker.  Dude dressed like a rock star and could play the part to boot.  His appearance at every show was stylish and hard to top.  If you tried, you’d fail. 

- When we played  “Faithfully” from Journey, I always liked to catch the eye of Briana out in the crowd.  Sometimes the lyrics of a certain song said it all and this one hit home.  We were by no means a “touring” band at all, but I wasn’t home a lot and that’s always going to be the price of being married or dating a musician, especially when your significant other can’t make a show.  I just know that she stuck by me every step of the way. 

- Rick had some funny little ad-libs, especially in “Faithfully.”  Near the end of the song, he’d say to the audience “the lyrics are really easy on this one, they’re just ‘whoa-whoa-whoa.”  I didn’t actually notice this until I listened to some audio of a performance. 

- Speaking of Journey, we had a couple of fans named Terry and Sue who adored Journey.  Their opinion of how we performed their songs was always very flattering.  These two were such a joy to watch from our side of the stage and it was always worth it to see them smile.

- Ben is easily the best guitarist in the Twin Cities.  I found myself picking my jaw off the floor every time he pulled off the “Radar Love” solo (White Lion version).  It was one of those moments where I became a fan of the band and cheered when he was done. 

- The night Kenner lost two basses.  Strangest thing I’ve ever seen:  he broke a string on his bass, which was rare, and he broke a string on his backup bass.  A very cool fan, who also played bass, let us know that he’d go home and pick up his bass, so Kenner had one for the rest of the night.  But what to do in the meantime?  Take a long break?  We played “Another Thing Comin” and I handled the bass parts on the keys.  Rick did an acoustic version of “Caught” from his old band, Conditioned Response.  I admired the fact that he just busted into it and he performed it beautifully.  Rick always had a way of amazing me and it was neat to hear a CR song live.  Lorde used to practice next to them at City Sound, but I sadly never got a chance to see them live. 

- Dale was probably the best fan you could ask for.  He’d rarely miss a show and it didn’t seem like a true Rockfist show without him.  Just an outstanding man.

- The drive to far away gigs was always a very peaceful experience for me.  It was a nice way for me to have some quiet time to myself and listen to XM Home Plate.  It always made more sense to carpool with someone, but the space allowed me to get in the zone.

- Our first gig at the Xcel Center was an almost Spinal Tap experience.  We’d play after the Minnesota Wild game that night, but getting our gear into the joint was a project.  We’d pull into the underground lot and unload our gear at one of the docks, then take the elevator up to the club level of the Xcel.  The gig was at the restaurant on the club level called Headwaters, so we had to roll our gear through the kitchen and then down a short hallway outsidethe restaurant.  Just so many twists and turns made me want to say “Hello Cleveland!!”  The really cool part of the gig was a few younger kids dancing in front and having a good time.  These kids knew practically every song we played, which was odd because they couldn’t have been older than 10 years old.  After the gig, we asked how they knew all of the songs.  “We heard all of them on Guitar Hero!”  Note to cover bands:  browse the song lists from games like Guitar Hero and learn them.  The kids will LOVE you and they’ll truly appreciate seeing you actually “play” the songs.  These kids made our night.

- Ben’s “Bloody Mary” cough.  I had to be present for that.  Just so I could laugh at him.

- This one always tore the place apart:  the final chorus of “Runaway” from Bon Jovi.  I got chils every time Rick sang that part.  I’ve seen so many bands half-ass that part and it bums me out.  But I do realize how lucky I was to be in a band where the vocalist can pull it off.

- The outdoor show at the Firehouse last summer was nicely halted due to a severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings.  We got maybe 7 songs into the first set and it started pouring.  The previous year, there was a tent.  Not this time.  So we had to rush to get all of our equipment off the stage.  The rest of the equipment rested under a tarp, because we simply couldn’t see anything out there at that point.  Plus, it just wasn’t safe to be out there.  It could have been a lot worse, as no one lost any equipment due to the storm and no one got injured, although I did fall on my ass at least twice.  We spent a few hours inside the bar until the rain let up.  The satellite was down, so we lost TV for a while and I received weather updates from my wife via cell phone.  Some kept up on their iPhones.  Strange night.

- The lineup of Lance, Dave, Felicia, Chris, Kenner and I:  where it all began.  Ok, so it was only one show, but it was the debut of Rockfist.  It was an “80s night” at the musicians co-op, Area 52.  Chris brought down some classic 80s posters and we decorated the stage with them.  We also brought out the spandex and leather for this one.  This was the only show Rockfist ever made an attempt to look the part of an 80s hair metal band.  This was the show that started it all.  We knew we had a good thing going and intended to take it to the next level.  Mission accomplished.

- Speaking of Lance and Dave, I am glad to have had a chance to jam one last time with them.  Dave and I were in a band together in high school and he’s probably one of the most talented guitarists in the city.  Lance and I were in Epicurean together and what started as a goofy idea between the two of us really turned into something special.  I just wish he could have been a part of it for more than the one show.

To wrap this up, I’ve never hidden my opinion of these guys:  Rick, Ben, Chris and Kenner are the best collection of talent I have ever been around.  I look forward to what Austin brings!

Technically, there was a “solo-era” between Lorde of all Desires and Epicurean, but since I will be re-visiting the solo material very soon, I’ll dive right into Epicurean.  Gotta keep the book open, but I will write about the period between Lorde and Epicurean in the coming week.

A Brief History:

Epicurean started out with John Gensmer (drums), Lance Vien (guitar and vocals), Jake Bullard (guitar), Jordan Rex (bass and vocals) and myself (keyboards and vocals).  It was a slow process, in terms of writing material.  Jake had to bow out, so we recruited Dave Whitmer, who was also in a band with Lance at the time (RisingFall).  Dave solidified the band, adding a strong song-writing presence that was sorely needed.  He also added a powerful voice that worked well with the rest of the band. 

With the lineup set, we eventually released a demo called “De Natura Deorum.”  This demo included 4 songs, including an intro sharing the name of the demo.  The band played numerous shows in the Twin Cities and we were constantly at work writing material for a full-length album. 

Another roster move was made, as Dave was let go.  We pressed on as a 4-piece before finally landing guitarist Joey Lovecraft.  Joey (or J-Lo as I liked to call him) was a fantastic vocalist and song-writer.  One of the things that I loved the most about the band was that we had many options to choose from when it came to vocals.  If there was a keyboard part that was especially difficult for me to play, I could just as easily turn to Lance or Jordan to sing the part.  And if the song called for a maniacal guitar riff, I could scrap playing keys for that part and just sing. 

The “VII.RVI” Recording Sessions:  (also known as the debut Epicurean record)

I’ll start this off by saying that the album was recorded in two different studios.  Most of the tracking was done at Triple 4 Studios with Jamie Strobach, while the rest of it was done at the practice space with Rob Nesco.  Without getting into specifics, Joey was dismissed from the band after much of his tracking was done.  Rob filled in where needed and tracked a number of great solos.  To tell you the truth, I don’t really remember how much of Joey’s guitar tracks were salvaged.

When tracking first started, I still had the same two boards that I used in Lorde:  the Alesis QS6 and the Korg N364.  I stuck with many of the programs that I used in Lorde with the Korg:  BigStrings, Deep Choir, Piano&Strings, Harp String, Notre Dame and Hackbrett.  Most of those sounds were pulled directly out of the Korg 01W via download from a Korg site.

The Alesis actually made only one appeance, with the exception of some “techno” remixes of Lorde songs that we used to rock in the studio.  (Clothing optional.)  I did use it for some of the scratch tracks, but the board fell out of favor in the studio because the Korg could do everything that I needed.  At least for the most part.

At one point in the recording process, I took a hiatus from the band.  During that time, I got rid of my boards in an effort to condense my gear into one board and purchased a Korg Triton LE. 

I figured that while it wasn’t as powerful as the previous Triton’s, it would fit my needs.  Plus, if it was missing some sounds, there was the option of adding a sample board and adding my own.

My thoughts on each song, track by track:

“Deviance of Horrors” - In my absense from Epicurean, I spent a lot of time getting to know the Triton LE.  I really dug into the different sounds and the sequencer.  When I returned to the band, I quickly came up with an intro called “Deviance of Horrors.”  I recorded the song with enough ambient noise at the beginning to leave space open for a sample from the movie “The Seventh Seal.”

I took advantage of the arpeggiator on the LE and built the song around a rolling snare loop.  I don’t play around with the loops and beats of this board much, but this one was inspiring enough to push me to compose the main piano part.  I added a deep bass drum part to fill in the gaps.  This was one of the few songs that I have programmed any heavy percussion.  The arpeggiator did a lot of the work, but the beauty was that it was always in time and kept me on my toes when adding the bass drum part.

“Channeling Divine Creations” - This song was more guitar-based to start off, but once the chorus ended, it became more keyboard oriented.  Big Strings from the N364 were the program of choice for this one.  No real surprise there, as this program makes an appearance on nearly every song.

The vocals are in your face and stand out really well on this one.  I believe this was the song that convinced us to double track the vocals for each song.  It was also the song that John flubbed a bass drum part.  This was a simple fix, as the bass drums were triggered.  A quick punch-in, hit the trigger pad and punch-out.  Oddly enough, it was one of the coolest, yet funniest things I’d seen done in a studio.  (sorry, John…had to)

“Demise: The Shattered Soul” - Dave and I split the lyrics for this one.  He also contributed some killer riffs as well.  Lance took the lead vocals for the verses, while John took the chorus.  I took lead after that for the duration of the song, with the exception of the final chorus.

The original track included the Big Strings and Notre Dame programs from the N364, as well as the Phantom Organ program from the Alesis.  I opted to keep only the Big Strings track and re-record the organ part on the Triton.  I believe it was the Full Drawbars patch that I used.  It just had a brighter sound than Notre Dame and cut through the mix a bit more.  (more on the Notre Dame sound later…)

“Dying of the Light” - Dave’s writing was all over this one too.  We had a decent formula:  one of us writes a few riffs and we try to string them together with something the other person wrote.  This was exactly that formula.  Dave wrote the first half and I wrote the second half, beginning with the keyboard break.  Only the N364 was used on this song, with Big Strings being the choice of program.

I had a good time recording the vocals for this one.  There are a lot of different layers to give the song an added punch.  We even had the crazy idea of inviting a bunch of local musicians to the studio to do “gang vocals” but that never happened.  It would have been fun though.  John did add a “clean” chorus, which sounds much better than the original version.

“Ceremonies of the Moon” - This track was my favorite off the album.  If you were to put one Epicurean song on a compliation that defined the style, this would be the song.  Joey’s riffs gave the song a very Green Carnation feel to it.  And that was good in my book, because I couldn’t stop listening to that band at the time.  To me, the songs just had the perfect mix of agression and atmosphere.

The Notre Dame patch makes it’s first appearance on the album.  This patch was a combination of a pipe organ with a bell patch on the lower octave.  The program was touch-sensitive, so if you played lightly, only the pipe organ program was audible.  Bang on the lower octave and the bell produced it’s dark and sinister sound.  I used it in the interlude of the song (4:14), but only for the bell effect.

I’m very proud of the vocals on this track.  It was my first experience laying down harmony vocals on top of my own voice.  Joey also came up with a great bit during the interlude where he just sings the words “ceremonies of the moon” over and over again, while I sing the main line.

“Hypnotic Descent” - The intro has choirs holding the chords and the strings playing the main melody.  When that breaks, I use a slow atmospheric patch to transition into the piano riff.  The Alesis made it’s only appearance for this one, using a Piano/String combination. 

I wanted to use a Kevin Moore-type lead patch for the part beginning at 3:24, but I was afraid it wouldn’t cut through the mix very well.  And it may have been too “prog rock” for that type of song.  I did find success with a bell patch on the Triton and it seems to work perfect there.  I believe the patch was called Hybrid Bell.

“The Irreparable Loss of Sons” - I wrote this song between bands and expanded on it with Epicurean.  I’m quite pleased with how the keys turned out for this one.  The patches I used were BigStrings and Deep Choir.  I tracked the strings first and played the exact same thing for the choir tracking.  The combination of the two makes the song sound huge, especially when the song really kicks in at 0:44.

Overall, this song has one of the best mixes on the album.  It was always a major headbanging song at shows too.

“Netherworld” - The song is a prelude to “Nocturnal Deity” and many of the riffs from that song can be heard littered throughout “Netherworld” on the Hackbrett patch.  The Hackbrett on the Korg N364 was one of my favorite sounds.  It is a sound designed to mirror a hammered dulcimer.  “Netherworld” was built around a patch on the N364 called “<<<hell>>>” and, as the title suggests, creates an atmosphere appropriate for the song.  The additions of strings and choir round out the piece.

I’m pretty sure that I maxed out all 16 tracks on the sequencer.  That wasn’t too hard, as all “combination” sounds occupy eight tracks.  I was a big fan of the ending too.  I’d always wanted to do a swelled orchesteral hit to lead into another song and this seemed to work just perfectly to go into “Nocturnal Deity.”

“Nocturnal Deity” - This song goes back to the final days of Lorde.  We had a song that included the intro riff, but that’s about it.  I also brought in a couple of passages that were on a very early solo demo.  One I liked to dub the “power metal” riff.  The other was the descending riff between the intro and verse.  With a solid base to build around, all that was needed was to add a chorus and an interlude section.  This may have been one of the quickest songs we put together.

I do recall a funny moment when the interlude section was being composed.  I had a vision of a simple piano line, dirgy rhythm guitar and a guitar solo.  Dave had trouble coming up with something and it seemed to really wear on him.  No problem, I had something in mind:  a simple, harmonized guitar solo.  Or I thought it would be simple to pull off, as two, maybe even three, practices were spent trying to nail it.  Some hair was pulled out, but it eventually got done.  I just thought that something “easier” wouldn’t have been so time consuming.

I’m not a fan of how this section came out on the recording though.  I felt the guitars should have been smoother.  I’m not looking for Adrian Smith/Dave Murray twin guitar goodness, but they turned out a little rough for my liking.  Another reason I am not satisfied with the section is I should have kept the keyboard line in the solo portion a little more simple.  I do real quick arpeggios at the end of the riff and I think a more simple finish would have allowed the section to not sound so cluttered.

Other than that, I’m pretty happy with how the song turned out.  I felt my vocals turned out really strong and John did a great job on the vocals for the chorus. 

Most of the keys were done at Triple 4.  I was rather happy with the initial “scratch” tracks so I just left them as is, with some minor tinkering done later on.  I re-did the piano section with the LE, using the Acoustic Piano patch.  I also re-did the descending riffs using the Hybrid Bell patch.  The patches I used were on the N364 were BigStrings throughout the song, except the interlude section.  I also used the NotreDame patch for the deep bells on the interlude.

“Talent of the Gods” - This was a fairly straight forward song, so I primarily followed the guitar with the Deep Choir patch.  To give it a little more variety, I added an arpegiatted riff in the pre-chorus.  Lance and I traded vocals on this one and John added “clean” vocals.  John had such a good ear and outstanding pitch, so it made sense for him to run with this one. 

I should also note that Lance did the lyrics for the majority of this song.  The pre-chorus and chorus were already done, but he stepped up and did a great job on the verses.  They’re quite possibly my favorite lyrics on the record.

“Third Moon of Tragedy” - I used this piece as a show introduction a few times and felt that it blended in well with the overall atmosphere of the album.  My inspiration for the song was the “Halloween” theme by John Carpenter and “Fugitive” from Nightmare Lodge.  While “Third Moon” doesn’t follow a structure like either of those songs, my goal was to create an uneasy feeling by the use of the minor 2nd that is so prominent in horror soundtracks. 

The song revolves around a harmonized pizzicato string melody and dissonant bells.  It also offers a resolution with a calm synth patch, while still the pizzicato section continues and the bells depart.  I used this as the intro to “Prophetic Damnation” because I felt that due to the contrasting of uneasiness and calm in this piece, it would be an appropriate prelude to a song that was of an apocalyptic nature.

“Prophetic Damnation” -  This ended up being the last song I wrote with Epicurean.  I remember writing the song in my little apartment in St. Paul.  I had this idea of a song revolving around a busy keyboard line during the verse and an almost Black Sabbath riffing style during the chorus.  I ended up sequencing at least half of the song on the N364, as sort of a rough sketch, and I am very proud of the overall song structure and the intricacies of the keyboard parts.  There were so many layers of keyboards that unfortunately did not cut through the mix on the album.  It is my biggest regret that we didn’t spend as much time on that song as we should have. 

Joey did the lyrics on this one.  We made a few changes, but this one challenges “Talent” as being among the stronger lyrics on the album.

Overall, you can see where my complaints and positives are with the album.  I think that we rushed the album when I returned to the band because we all just wanted to be done with it.  We had already enlisted a full time lead vocalist, so we wanted to move to that next chapter.

I will say that the recording sessions were some of my favorite memories of my musical career, along with the shows.  I just can’t escape the feeling that for as long as I can remember, there just seemed to be that missing piece to the band.  Mentally, I just wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do with music anymore.  A lot of my lyrics and passion for writing came from some seriously dark times in my life.  When those days became much brighter, it became difficult for me to write.  I really needed to step back from music completely and have some time for myself. 

I’ve been asked if their success has made me angry or bitter.  My answer is a confident “no.”  To me, they are a completely different band and I think they would tell you that as well.  The only connection I have to that band anymore is the name and Gensmer.  That’s it.  Yes, we made a name for ourselves while I was in the band, but they did a great job of putting forth the energy to make their own success.  Epicurean has become a great band and I wish them the very best.

Buster Olney from ESPN posted a response to an email I had sent him in this mornings blog.  (must be an ESPN Insider to view the full blog post)

Perhaps you can shed some light on this. I’ve read various articles over the last few days that have confused me. An example would be “Mets ‘absolutely in’ on Figgins.” Now, Luis Castillo has the same agent as Chone Figgins, but my understanding is that the Angels are the only team allowed to talk with Figgins at this point. Aren’t other teams prohibited from talking to agents about free agents until November 20th?
– Ryan Malmstrom, Minneapolis

Ryan, agents can talk to all teams before the free-agent signing period begins — this year, that will be at 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 20 — but by rule, they are not allowed to talk actual dollars with any team other than the player’s 2009 club. And if you believe the executives and agents all abide by this rule, well, I’ve got some oceanfront land in Vermont to sell you.

I was sure this was the case anyway, but why make the rule if agents and executives are not going to follow it?  This date is put in for a reason:  to allow the teams exclusive negotiating rights with their players that have filed for free agency.   What is to stop Scott Boras from telling Matt Holliday “I know the Mets will offer you more money than the Cardinals, so let’s just wait until after November 20th to sign the deal.”

When it comes to players salaries, no one bats an eye when the advantage falls to the player.  But when a player is not tendered a contract because the team feels the player is not worth what they’ll make in arbitration, the players association is “monitoring comments from team officials that it believes are meant to put a crimp in the money spent on talent this offseason.”

Garrett Atkins is certainly not worth $10 million a year to the Rockies.  Teams are not attempting to keep players salaries down.  They just cannot afford to pay them, knowing what they’ll get in arbitration.  The Yankees can buy a World Series, yet any advantage to the small market teams are either taken away or being questioned.

I’ll have an Epicurean post here soon, but for now…

Greetings friends and fans of Rockfist! I wanted give you an update from Rockfist land. Many of you know that I’ve been tossing this around for quite some time, but after much thought, I have decided it is best for me to leave the band.  Finding the time to be with friends and family has become a larger priority to me than being in a band.

I say with a heavy heart that this has been quite a wild ride and one that I will remember for years to come. When I started this band, I had no idea that it would become what it has today. I thought it might be fun to get together with some friends and play some of the songs that I grew up on as a kid. What evolved was a collection of some of the finest musicians I have ever worked with. And I could argue that they are the best musicians in the Twin Cities. We played fantastic venues throughout the state, as well as some high profile gigs that I never envisioned becoming a reality when this all began.

I plan to use this time to do a lot of writing, as well as seek out studio and fill-in work over the next several months. The goal is to be active in several projects, so a good deal of time will be spent exploring what options are out there and fine-tuning my musical resume.

It is also important to me that I have the time to spend with family and friends. It has been especially difficult for me to find time to do these things and I am truly looking forward to having the time off to not only relax, but spend some quality time with the people I love.

Thank you to all current and past members of Rockfist for making this all possible and turning a goofy idea into a successful musical experience. You have all pushed me to become a better musician and I am eternally grateful for that. I am proud to have shared the stage with you all and wish you the best of luck.

Many thanks also go out to all the fans that dedicated their weekend to Rockfist! I met some really great people along the way and appreciate all of your support throughout the years.

My final shows look to be Scoop’s in Coon Rapids on October 9^th and Neisen’s in Savage on October 10^th. I’d love to see you all there!!

Cheers!

Ryan Malmstrom

My years in Lorde of all Desires started with a rather limited knowledge of keyboards.  Not really knowing anything more than the sounds I would need for the band, I went to Aabe’s Music in Richfield to see what they had to offer.  I figured someone there would know what I was shooting for.  The salesman determined that I was looking for “bread and butter” sounds:  strings, piano, choirs and organ.  I opted for a “cheap” setup:  a Yamaha DX21 and a Roland Sound Canvas (SC55).  The gear:  (photos are stock from Roland and Yamaha)

Years later, I would find out that the DX21 was a little brother to the highly acclaimed DX7.  I never messed with the sounds too much, as I used it only as a midi controller.

Lorde was still in the beginning stages, as Chris, Tony and I were trying to find other members to round out the band.  We’d practice for an hour or so on a Saturday.  I don’t remember what we were actually playing, but I believe “The Scars of Withered Beauty” was formed from those practices.  Or at least the intro.  The evening would be spent finding someone to buy us beer and then hanging out in the cemetary until the wee hours of the morning.  Hey, what did you expect?  We were a black metal band.

The sounds worked out fine with the Roland at practice.  I had noticed that most of the sounds were the same used on the first Cradle of Filth record, so I was confident in the purchase.

A month or so passed and Lorde took a hiatus.  In the downtime, Chris, Tony and I had lost contact.  We ran into each other at the Milwaukee Metalfest in 1997.  Chris and Tony mentioned that they found members to fill out the band, but wasn’t sure if the keyboardist/guitarist they met was going to work out.  His name was Shawn and he was auditioning to be the keyboardist for Cradle of Filth.  I told them, whatever happens, I’m interested.  We chatted for a long time and I felt good about what I was getting into. 

Shawn, for some reason or another, didn’t land the CoF job, but wanted me to join anyways so he could focus on guitar and vocals.  They had 3 songs already written, with another 2 in the works.  They would provide me with a recording, so I could start getting my keyboard parts written. 

We practiced in the basement of Shawn’s house in Uptown.  And we practiced quite loud too.  The problem was that the Roland wasn’t cutting into the mix very well.  It sounded so thin compared to the rest of the instruments.  I can’t remember the PA we were using, but something wasn’t right.  Shawn was (and still is) quite the accomplished keyboardist and he’d always have his Korg 01W set up in the basement.  He’d let me use the Korg when my frustration with the Roland reached a boiling point.  And it would be like that for practice and eventually, gigs. 

I gave up on the Roland/Yamaha combo and was allowed to use the Korg as long as needed.  In the meantime, I would look to find something more professional.  I didn’t rush out and buy the “quick and cheap’ this time around, but I was on a budget.  I didn’t need anything fancy, but I needed a versatile synth that packed some punch.  I had my eyes on an Alesis Quadrasynth at the Uptown Music Go Round.  I liked the feel and the sounds were amazing.  I kept shopping and found the newer version of the Quadra Synth was available at Guitar Center.  My first ”real” keyboard purchase was an Alesis QS6.

By this time, we had already recorded our first EP “Crowned in Blasphemy.”  Shawn let me use the Korg on that record and was always more than happy to get together outside of practice to work on keyboard parts.  I truly valued his opinion and his knowledge of the Korg was quite helpful in live situations. 

I was able to find similar sounds on the Alesis, some of which were quite better.  I was quite fond a patch called “Phantom Organ” that inspired my first true song-writing contribution to Lorde:  “The Immortalizing Winter.” 

I did run into a few problems trying to make the switch from the Korg to the Alesis.  The string patches on the Korg were much darker, while the Alesis programs were quite rich and epic.  It wasn’t really a big deal, but the songs didn’t seem to have the same feel to them as they did on the record.  I wasn’t satisfied, so I started to combine layers of strings with a synth patch that had a heavy attack to it.  Now we’re talkin!

When it came time to record the next album, “The Scent of Malevolence,” Shawn was already dismissed from the band.  And that was actually more to my benefit.  When I joined Lorde, I wasn’t all that confident in my abilities as a keyboardist.  I never liked recording while others were in the same room, especially another keyboardist.  Shawn and I never had the relationship that was “me against him.”  In fact, it was quite the opposite.  It was great to have him around to and run ideas by him.  But it also got to be very nerve-wracking.  Give me a studio with just the man at the board and I’ll get my takes done within no time.  And they’ll be good.  Have someone sit there in the other room, ready to pounce with an opinion or just being that watchful eye and I’m probably going to sweat it out just to get my takes done that night.  It happened with the EP and without that distraction, I was able to focus on putting solid takes onto tape.

The sounds on this album were a bit more unique than the EP.  On “Diablerie’s Course,” I used a woodwind patch that had a real ethnic feel to it.  Not exactly dark and spooky.  I loved playing this song live, just to see the reactions in the crowd in response to using such an oddly placed synth solo.  It worked well, although it was buried in the mix on the album.  I think if I could change anything about the album, it would be to boost the solo.  After all, it was a solo.  It should be heard as such.

Shortly before entering the studio, I added a very slow, eerie string patch to my arsenal of favorite sounds.  It’s not very evident on the record, but during “The Immortalizing Winter,” I overdubbed the strings to follow the root notes of the organ.  It was designed to give the song a sinster feeling, which was the main theme of the record.  You can really hear the beauty of the sound at the end of the song, right before the guitar solo.  It also worked well in “Whence Chaos Cometh,” as that was the patch I primarily used. 

I did dust off the Roland for a few spots in this album.  I used a “Sea Shore” patch in the song “Solitude.” I did minor preproduction for this one, writing it on a little Fostex 4-track.  I also used a swirling synth patch on the Roland in the intro song, “Enraptured By A Long-Awaited Eventide.”

Shortly after the record was finished, we decided it would be neat to have some sort of intro for our shows.  I had become quite familiar with the 4-track, but needed more tracks to produce a “true” intro and I didn’t want to bounce any tracks.  Of course, the Alesis was only a year old, so buying another synth with a sequencer seemed like a far-fetched idea.  I had come across a hand-held sequencer made by Yamaha called a QY70. 

It was relatively inexpensive and fit my needs.  And it was just slightly larger than a compact disc, so it could fit on my keyboard.  We actually got cute and set up a 3 foot pillar on my side of the stage and put the Yamaha right on top of it.  It was a neat little stage prop that lasted just a few weeks, as the pillar cracked in half transporting it from a gig one night.

The darn thing was a powerhouse though.  The string patches rivaled the Korg.  It was a friendly tool, as it was a 16 track sequencer and even had a little keyboard built in.  And yes, I did use the little keyboard every now and again.  It was great for correcting a mistake during sequencing.  You could literally open up the edit screen, delete a note and replace it by using the small keyboard in just a matter of seconds.

The piano sounds were amazing too.  In fact, you’ll read more about it in an upcoming blog about my solo work.  But I even recorded a new version of “Solitude” and it turned out even better than the original.  I tied the ending of one of the songs from the EP called “The Feasting” and transitioned it to “Solitude.”  We did that at a few gigs and it worked really well.

I had also recorded an intro for the shows.  I wanted to try to re-record the intro from the “Scent” record, but went in a different direction when a cool, triumphant theme popped into my head shortly after purchasing the QY70.  It had that feeling of a black metal band intro, so it only made sense to expand on it.  The song came to be known as “Crimson” and appeared on my solo demo that I handed out at Metalfest, to coincide with the release of the Lorde album.  I had also submitted a song to the label, Root O Evil records, and it was put onto a compilation in time for Metalfest.

Strange things began happening with the Alesis.  For small bursts, the keyboard would seemingly go out of tune.  Impossible for that to happen with a keyboard, right?  It sure is, but that is the best way I could describe it.  It sounded like someone was going into my global settings, entering into transpose mode and changing the pitch at random.  It never happened at a gig, just only at practice. 

Just a few months after Metalfest, I came to the realization that I should probably get another keyboard and I still lusted after the Korg.  I kept tabs on what Korg had been putting out and was rather unimpressed with the X5.  It had the same synth engine the 01W had, but I felt the quality really lacked.  Didn’t seem like it was built for the long haul.  The N5 and N1 were similar, but I decided that I wanted a synth with a built-in sequencer, even though I still had the QY70.  I wanted something of a main keyboard that could offer limitless options.  I had my heart set on a Yamaha EX7 because of my newfound love of Yamaha synths and, mostly the string sections.  The fact that sampling was included in the EX7 was an even nicer bonus, but I was scared off slightly by the price tag.  And really, I didn’t need the sampling all that much.

Korg released the N264/364 series and I was hooked.  This board combined everything I was looking for:  the same synth engine used in the 01W and a sequencer.  I opted for the 61-key version, N364 model.

This synth packed creepy sounds, amazing strings and ambient patches.  Any sounds that were missing from the 01W could be downloaded.  The hard drive was kinda loud and clunky, but it wasn’t as if I needed to store sequences for a theatrical event.  I just needed to store my basic settings and sequences.  In fact, the only time I ever used the drive was when transferring downloads from my PC to the keyboard.

The sequencing was pretty basic and I used it to compose intros and interludes to use during the show.  This ‘board didn’t have a long tenure with Lorde, as I left the band and began work on my solo album.  But to this day, it was one of the best boards I had ever worked with.  The strings and piano sounds alone are worth it.  Maybe I’ll try to get my hands on one again…

Hope you enjoyed the keyboard history behind Lorde of all Desires.  Next up will be my journey into solo composition.  Thanks for reading!

First off, let me say that I listen to “MLB Home Plate” on XM Radio every single day.  I probably listen to it more than music, to be honest with you.  At least two hours a day.

That being said, I knew the airwaves would be flooded with A-Rod talk.  (if you’re just finding this out for the first time, according to a report by Sports Illustrated, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for anabolic steroids in 2003.) 

So i knew what I’d be up against when I listened on the way out to Grampa Al’s in Faribault, which is a good hour drive for me.  I listened for 3 minutes and couldn’t listen any longer.  It made me sick.

Alex Rodriguez has always been one of my favorite players, despite the fact that he is a Yankee.  I even had more respect for him after the Mitchell Report came out and his name wasn’t in there.  I figured, if there was a “pure ballplayer” — there he is.  Barry Bonds would break Hank Aaron’s home run record, but it wouldn’t matter because a clean player would take on the record in a few years anyways.

I recently read Rob Neyer’s “Big Book of Baseball Lineups” (published in 2002) and each time I got to Alex Rodriguez’s name, I said to myself “wow, what an amazing ballplayer.”  Each time I got to a part about Roger Clemens, I shook my head. 

Oops.

I don’t think I’ve ever turned off baseball in any form.  Even in an off-season that has been focused on where Manny Ramirez will end up.  It’s a game that I’ve loved since my dad and brother introduced me to it.  Yes, I loved the Braves in the 80s.  And since then, I’ve just loved the game, win or lose.

But this one hit me hard and I don’t know how I’ll look at baseball from here on out.  I won’t give up on the game, but I can’t fully trust it either.  Maybe because I fear other of my favorite players being involved.

Alex Rodriguez was the guy that was going to save baseball.  Sort of like Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa brought the fans back to the game after the strike of 1995 and put on a show in 1998.  Turns out that all of their paths to saving baseball was by cheating.

“Chicks dig the long ball” but I imagine kids would dig the role model that is clean with pure athletic ability.  Who will save the game this time?  And will they come back?

I will be doing a 5-part blog on the keyboards I have used over the last several years, focusing on Lorde of all Desires, Epicurean, Rockfist and Shadowchase.  My first blog will be on my journey into the world of keyboards.

My high school band (The Accolade) is where I began to do a little more than “dabbling” with keyboards.  Back then, I was a singer and only sprinkled keyboards into songs when needed.  The drummer of the band (Scott Nelson) actually owned the keyboard, so I didn’t really pay much attention to how much the keyboard could actually do.  I just wanted to know which buttons to push so I could play.

The keyboard I used was either an Emu Emax SE or Emax II.  It was an 8-bit sampling keyboard that, to me, was a powerhouse for it’s time.  We did a lot of sequencing and sampling, including some dumb Beavis and Butthead quotes.  The keyboard did not have internal sounds, so there was a box of 25 floppy disks that had to be accompany the keyboard to any gig.  That was a bit ridiculous, but it was still a pretty nifty machine.  Here is a picture of the SE version:

The Accolade started out as a cover band.  We played songs from Metallica, Pantera, Testament, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Extreme and CCR.  (those last two bands didn’t really fit the theme, huh?)

Our guitarist, Dave Hart, was very talented for his age, so moving onto original songs seemed like the logical next step.  We kept with the “thrash” theme and had a few odd time signature moshers.  Having keyboards in thrash metal was really unheard of at the time.  Or at least it was to us.

Dave started to get bored with distortion, so we shifted our focus towards progressive acoustic songs.  I used to like fashioning our band as an acoustic version of Dream Theater.  That wasn’t entirely true, but in high school, you had to have a band to compare yourself to, even if you couldn’t.  The truth was, we just wrote songs that were in odd time signatures, had obscure chord structures and intelligent lyrics. 

The keyboards were mainly used in instrumental interludes.  “Shadows in the Dark” had a sampled section in the middle:  Scott sequenced some effects like street noise and child voices on one channel.  The other channel was routed to his trigger pads on his drums to play a bongo sample.  It all worked very well together, building up to the final chorus of the song.

“Point of Anger” was another song that had some sampling.  We sampled a clean guitar riff while Dave did his signature “shread” soloing.  This song was scrapped, in order for us to be true to the “acoustic/clean guitar” theme. 

I typically used a string section sample in most songs that required keyboards.  I also used a piano/strings sample, with more of an emphasis on the piano portion of the sample.  “Like a Shadow” had a very cool spacey, panflute melody and solo that I enjoyed playing.

We must have had close to a dozen songs after our graduation from high school.  But as it turned out, the band wanted to find a new singer, but they offered to keep me on as a keyboardist.  I wasn’t a fan of the idea, so we parted ways.  That was when my Savatage obsession was at its peak.  I spent a lot of my time learning songs from their album “Streets.”  Just my voice and an upright piano.  Those were the days.

So there you have it.  One never knows where they’d be if they made “this” decision or “that” decision, but I think leaving the Accolade was logical, looking back.  What if I were to continue to play keyboards with a band that no longer needed me to be a singer?  Would I have been a better keyboardist?  Would my ability to sing suffer over the years?  Would I have had the confidence to sing in other bands?  It’s hard to say.  It is likely that I would have never joined Lorde of all Desires though, a band that actually did go somewhere. 

I’m not sure what the Accolade boys are up to these days.  Dave Hart was in the first version of Rockfist and left to focus on his band, Open Element.  He was once in a pretty neat cover band called Barrakus several years prior to joining Rockfist.  That’s about all I know. 

The experience was positive though.  We wrote some good songs, played some covers and had a great deal of fun.  And most importantly, it was my first experience using keyboards in a band setting.

Next up:  I’ll be writing about the keyboards I used in Lorde of all Desires. 

Cheers!

Ryan Malmstrom