A four-year revelation

Four years ago, I decided to get serious about music again. I had a choice - I was either going to focus on guitar or drums. After a lot of thought and contemplation, I chose to become a serious guitar player.

Now that four years have passed, I have realized that I'm really no better at guitar than I was back then. I may have learned a few new songs (but probably forgot a lot more that I used to know when I was younger) but everything else has stayed relatively constant despite a concerted effort to improve.

I'm also still drawn to the drums. I tap out rhythms when I'm sitting at my desk at work. Or driving in the car. Or anywhere else, really. When I listen to new music, the first thing I notice is the drums. I feel like I have a mental block when it comes to learning the guitar, yet the drums just seem so natural.

You probably know where this is going. I've decided to stop denying it and embrace the fact that, despite all my best efforts to the contrary, I'm a drummer at heart. I still love the guitar and I'm sure I'll still play from time to time, but I won't be as serious about it as I was. Heck, maybe I'll even enjoy it more.

So I'm putting together a plan. I want to get a set of electronic drums (I'm really liking the Roland HD-3 V-Drums). I might thin my guitar collection down a little bit as I won't be playing them as much and there are already some guitars I rarely pick up anymore. I'll keep the bass, because I like the fact that I will have a complete power trio setup and I would still like to possibly do some basic home recording.

I'm excited about this. I feel like I'm finally going down the right musical path, albeit four years too late.

Review: Rob Chapman - Bare Bones

I've been following Rob Chapman - a.k.a. Chappers, a.k.a. The Monkey Lord - on YouTube for a few years now, and while I continue to watch his videos for his humor and his personality, it doesn't hurt that he's also a world class guitarist and an equally good guitar instructor.

However, before he was Rob Chapman, YouTube celebrity, he was Rob Chapman, professional guitarist. After a few bands he was in disintegrated, he put out a solo EP called Red Dream and started his YouTube channel. While building his empire (he also has a guitar company called Chapman Guitars) he recorded more songs and released another EP, but none of them had a wide release.

This year, to close the chapter on his early work and forge ahead to new horizons, he's released a compilation album called Bare Bones. In it are remastered versions of songs from his Red Dream EP along with songs recorded with his short-lived band Monkey Lord and his second EP At Arms Reach. While it's a good album on its own and features some of his best work, it's lacking enough to stop it from being the definitive Chappers collection.

Basscapades, ep. 2: Influences

With my pending foray into the world of bass, I've been thinking a lot about bass players and the ones that I most want to emulate. Just as my guitar playing is influenced by a mix of several guitar players to make my style, such as it is, my bass playing will most likely be the same. Everyone has influences, everyone takes bits and pieces of other players' styles and adds some of their own flavoring to make their individual style.

Here, in a particular order, are my top five bass influences. I'm not saying this is a list of the best bassists of all time (although each one deserves a place on such a list), but it's a list of the players I most want to emulate, starting with number five.

5. Steve Harris - Iron Maiden

Despite my progressive rock tendencies, there's more than a little bit of metal in me, and to me, Steve Harris is the quintessential metal bassist. His playing is authoritative and technical and he does it all on a P Bass, no need for fancy 5- or 6-string basses. Plus he writes most of the band's music.