Like some of you know, I’m a rock n’ roll guy. I like all kinds of rock n’ roll. Regular rock, metal and prog rock. Not only that I’m a huge fan of metal, I’m also a huge fan of prog rock. I love prog rock bands like Rush, Yes, Jethro Tull, Dream Theater, Opeth, etc. I’ve played acoustic guitar for most of my life and I want to do something different.

Keep my focus on rock & metal guitar. Play like all the heroes that I looked up to over the years. So that means I’m gonna have to learn to study the technique and rhythm stuff for that kind of music. Gonna have to get good with the metronome and get good with music theory which is what I’m working on. I want to play great rock & metal guitar so I’m gonna have to learn all kinds of techniques like open string palm mutings and things like that. If I want to learn how to shred, I might have to learn sweep picking and two handed finger tapping and all that stuff. I would like to experiment with whammy bar dives but I don’t have a guitar with a whammy bar yet but I do want to get one. I do want to play like a shredder and virtuoso but working my ass off to get there. I’ve been playing guitar for like 20 years and still feel I haven’t gotten there yet but I will. I’m still learning ear training and improv skills too ’cause if you want to play rock & metal gotta have a good ear. Having a good ear is crucial to metal. I love rock & metal guitar and I finally want to get into that full time.

Don’t worry, I’m not giving up the acoustic ’cause I will always play that too but I spent most of my life playing acoustic and honestly getting kind of tired of it. I just want to do something else and rock out, man. I want to rock on the guitar this time and rock hard on the electric. I believe I’m capable of making some badass and tight rock riffs that will get you headbanging, just wait until I can show you what I can do.

If I were to do a metal album, what would it sound like you may ask? Well, my idea for a metal album would be in the similar vibe of Sabbath, Jethro Tull, Led Zep and the Sword maybe. That kind of sound. I want to bring back the 70’s rock sound that I grew up on is the idea. I believe I could make good rock & metal. I really want to make it happen sometime. It’s just the matter of coming up with money for studio time and finding the right musicians to play with is the problem. I’ll get it done somehow ’cause I want to do this.

I’ve been wanting to switch from acoustic guitar to electric guitar full time for a long while and actually gonna do it this time. Just want to rock and have fun.

Kev

I purchased and downloaded two albums from Itunes earlier tonight. Couldn’t afford a whole lot this month ’cause of Christmas shopping so I decided to download two albums from the Itunes store.

They are:

Avenged Sevenfold “The Stage”: I don’t know why so many people hate Avenged Sevenfold. I think they’re a great band. I just read their interview with them in this months Guitar World magazine with the band discussing the album and it was good enough to make me want to get it for myself so I did.

Opeth “Sorceress”: I’ve been wanting to get this album for a while, just haven’t gotten around to it until now. This album came out in Sept earlier this year so I finally got it. I’m a big Opeth fan. Heard all of their albums when I used to listen to Spotify/Apple Music but I don’t do that stuff anymore. I’m just starting to buy Opeth albums so I can own them for myself. They’re a great band.

When will I do my top 15 music albums of 2016? I’ll probably do it the week after Christmas like always. Should I do it on video or on a blog post? I’m thinking I’ll write it on a blog post this year ’cause doing it on video is a lot of work.

Kev

I used to be against guitar pedals and effects when it comes to playing the electric guitar ’cause I’ve used to believe that they were used as an excuse to cover up your crappy guitar playing. My opinion changed on guitar pedals until I decided to check out the AmpliTube app on the Ipad. AmpliTube which is an online guitar playing simulator or some sort. Recently I’ve had a change of heart with guitar pedals and effects so I’m gonna start collecting those in 2017. Yesterday, I just got a BOSS DS-1 Distortion pedal. Yeah, I know the BOSS DS-1 Distortion pedal is very popular with guitar players. A lot of guitar players out there have one so I finally decided to get one for myself. After messing around with the pedal last night, I finally realized why that pedal is very popular with guitar players ’cause it has a great sound.

If I want to play bad ass rock music and even metal, I need effects. I already have 4 pedals in my collection but need a lot more. I’m gonna need a fuzz pedal, delay, chorus, flanger, echo, compressor, volume pedal, etc.

Yep, so I want to focus on electric guitar. Why? Simply because for the past 20 years, I’ve been playing acoustic guitar that I think it’s time for something different. The whole purpose of me picking up the guitar was that I wanted to play electric. That’s why I picked up the guitar at 18 years old ’cause I wanted to become a rock guitarist. I wanted to shred, play some great guitar solos and riffs. I wanted to write killer rock n’ roll and metal songs on the electric.

I’ll use the electric guitar so I can learn all my favorite rock and metal songs too ’cause I need to do that. I’ll learn how to play songs by Metallica, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Dream Theater, Joe Satriani, Hendrix, Led Zep, etc.

I want to focus on electric guitar playing mostly ’cause I’m hoping to get my own band going. Not to play live shows but to record original music in a studio and hopefully release a full band rock album which is something I’ve always wanted to do. It’s been my dream for years and I want to make it happen.

Kev

A lot of people can’t see me being a metalhead and they are usually surprised when they find out that I am. I enjoy listening to metal ’cause it’s real art. That’s where the good songwriting is really. Sure, there is good songwriting in other genres of music but I believe “metal” has the best songwriting. I just love the guitar riffs, the rhythm playing, the solos and the lyrics. I listen to bands like Metallica, Sabbath, Slayer, Megadeth, Maiden and bands such as those ’cause they helped me in life. I’ve started getting into death metal and black metal too… that stuff isn’t actually all that bad. I love all kinds of metal really. Metal is just cool music to listen to.

I may not have the tattoos and long hair. I may not wear clothes that look like you’ve been shopping at Hot Topic and don’t wear eyeliner and all that stuff but I just like metal for the music. Not for the image. I listened to metal throughout my whole life. When I was a kid, I listened to 80’s hairmetal and listened to 90’s metal as well. I have also attended metal concerts as well. In fact, that was the whole reason I wanted to pick up the guitar in the first place ’cause I wanted to study metal. I still am studying metal ’cause I want to be a hard rock and metal guitarist. I would like to make a metal album of my own someday. I experimented with metal guitar on the electric when I was young. In 2017, my goal is to focus on electric guitar mostly. I spent most of my life playing acoustic and want to shift to electric. Do something a little different. Don’t think I could make loud headbanging and heavy music? Watch me. I think I could make original music similar to Sabbath and Slayer maybe. Me singing those Sabbath songs on video should give you a good enough example that I can do metal. Metal music is what I grew up on.

You should see my Itunes playlist, there’s a lot of metal on it. I enjoy most genres of music but rock n’ roll and metal are my main genres. It’s real art. I’ll always be a fan of heavy music and will never outgrow it.

Kev

So I went out to the mall to start my Christmas shopping (which I only got half done) and usually each time I do Christmas shopping every year, I always buy myself a gift. I just had to get a copy of Metallica’s new album, “Hardwired to Self Destruct”. I already know it’s a good album ’cause I heard the whole album online so I already know it’s really good. I ended up picking this album up at Target ’cause they had it on sale for like around $10.00.

As I was cashing out this album at Target, I was chatting with this old lady who looks around 60 and she was like, “Is that the new Metallica album?” and I said, “Yep.” Then she responded back saying she’s a Metallica fan too and said she likes the “Black Album”. An older lady who likes Metallica? She was trying to think of a song she likes off the Black album and then she said a “lyric” from a song but couldn’t remember the title… the lyric was “Now I lay me down to sleep”… and then I told her the song she was talking about was “Enter Sandman”. In my head, I was saying, “You’re no true Metallica fan if you can’t remember the title of their songs”. I wanted to say it but didn’t… I had to be nice when I’m out in public. She was probably no Metallica fan, I think she was being nice for the Holidays.

Anyway, I saw the movie, “Arrival” today which I will review tomorrow. Don’t feel like it tonight. Coming down with a cold and not feeling well!

Kev

Like the title of this topic says when I perform songs with backing tracks on video, I’m not singing through a karaoke machine. Why I don’t use karaoke machines? I simply hate them. Singing karaoke is cheating in my opinion ’cause those things automatically makes your voice sound better. I like to sing for real like through a P.A. System which is what I’m singing through. I just crank my studio monitors up and crank up the P.A. System and away I sing.

I think those Sabbath songs that I did sounded pretty good. Those videos got a few likes too and got some views. Nobody said anything negative about them which is good to see. I’ll be doing more videos like that. I want to sing more of my favorite metal songs. I will do more Sabbath and more Ozzy. Will also try singing Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Soundgarden, etc. Will also try singing some classic rock songs that I loved over the years. I want to see if I can sing every genre.

I won’t be able to sing everything ’cause some songs might be challenging ’cause of the high notes and stuff. I try my best to nail the song down just by listening to vocal melody and to try copy what the singer is doing. I’ll do songs that I’m able to do and the songs that are in my range. I was able to sing Ozzy pretty good ’cause Ozzy’s voice is kind of similar to mine.

While I refuse to do those singing competitions you see on TV, I wouldn’t mind auditioning for a cover band, though. Singing lead for a cover band might be kind of fun and I might take that under consideration.

Kev

Enjoy! I really enjoyed singing these and will be singing more Sabbath and Ozzy solo stuff.

Kev

Enjoy.

Kev

Hope you enjoy, y’all. I’ll upload two more of me singing Sabbath songs tomorrow. Here is the first one.

Kev