| Farewell....ish. |
[Sep. 25th, 2008|08:24 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Home | ] |
| [ | Mental state |
| |  cheerful | ] |
| [ | Noises |
| | Ayreon | ] |
Hai Thar!
For a few reasons (mostly, Im going to start importing my LJ to another site, which people from work might read, but also because I feel the need for tying this one off and starting afresh) Im starting a new account. http://baldusbastardus.livejournal.com/
The other reason, I suppose, is that I'm simply not the same person I used to be, and I feel a need to mark this transition somehow. Not deleting this one, however, as it holds some memories (good and bad) that Ill probably want to look back on at some point, but posterity aside, this journal is effectively ended as of now. A time capsule of my 20's buried under the proverbial lemon tree, if you will.
Please feel free to add the new one. If not, happy trails. |
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| Bird. End. |
[Sep. 22nd, 2008|07:28 am] |
| [ | Noises |
| | Dark Tranquillity | ] |
Defeat. Her siren song echoes 'midst the grey foreshoresA fallen brow arches, for lo! The swans have fallen illThe passer-by speaks: "..Look again to the shore ..." "…not ill…Those swans are dead" All the swans are dead.Defeat cries out through the nectar once more.Time is lost, hours lost, minds all lost...yet all those swans were dead. Serenity calls as we stand on the hill,though through fire and death we have wandered.Serenity calls as we fall and be still..though we never existed at all. Yet the swan sits dead in the moonlit tide,all those sighs of defeat fall unheard. For silence it found; so unburdened.....and so, I shall envy that bird.
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 18th, 2008|06:45 pm] |
The world financial markets are kinda going to shit...hey?
Looks like these guys were kinda on to something. No wonder hardly anyone voted for them.
I've been getting their newsletters for a while now (dont recall ever subscribing to them, mind you), and theyve been talking about this crash for months. I bet they'll be throwing a few big ''I told you so'' type statements around soon.
Glad I dont own any shares. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 17th, 2008|10:23 am] |
I decided, as a bit of an experiment, to let my hair grow for a while...and its been a month or so now...and I have something of a question for the not-bald people amongst you...
WHY ARE THERE SO MANY BLOODY TYPES OF SHAMPOO?!?!?! FARK!!! Its ridiculous! I ended up almost having a breakdown in the supermarket before finally deciding (with some expert assistance) on a kids 2 in 1 shampoo/conditioner. (The rationale being that my hair is relatively 'young' ...besides which, it meant only having to buy one product...the idea of having to work out which shampoo I should get AND then having to do the same for conditioner was just too overwhelming a concept at that point).
Probably not keeping it for very long, just figured Id grow it for a while to see how long it takes before I get annoyed with it...though I fear that the act of purchasing shampoo is an early manifestation of some deeper midlife vanity crisis. Lawl. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 14th, 2008|10:06 am] |
It was with equal parts amusement and amazement that I realised Ive now been single for a little over a year. Time flies when you are having fun, I guess! Though having been stupidly busy the last few months has probably assisted in quickening the passage of time also.
ZDF writing is coming together slowly but surely, lots of material partially written, and we are starting to get into the arrangement phase now. Really enjoying the new tangents that are developing within our sound. Ive been pushing myself a lot on guitar of late also, not necessarily just in terms of speed, but in terms of branching out with less obvious structures, etc. Will be unveiling some of the new material in December when we support Psycroptic for the Tasmanian leg of their Aus/NZ album tour.
- 5th December (Brisbane Hotel, Hobart)
- 6th December (Saloon Bar, Launceston)
- 7th December (Brisbane Hotel, Hobart - All Ages)
The week prior to that, Nosce Teipsum will be supporting Captain Cleanoff at the Saloon on the 28th November, so that should be a fun couple of weeks.
Have completed 2 and a bit modules of the Cert IV in Business I started a couple months ago, (it would be 3, but the teaching staff are on holiday, so I cant get my last assignment marked yet)...finding it rather easy so far, so getting through as much of it as I can while things are semi-quiet at work.
Anyways, Im going to be a bit domestic and clean my house a bit, then play some geeeetar.
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| Warning - icky picture beneath cut |
[Aug. 4th, 2008|08:30 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Home | ] |
| [ | Noises |
| | Textures | ] |
n
In other news - actually STARTED working on my Cert IV Business stuff tonight. Cruising through the intro modules atm, looking forward to getting to the stuff I dont already know how to do though...wading through a thick workbook of stuff I already know how to do isnt all that stimulating, unfortunately...but I did OPT to do the underpinning modules, in case there were gaps, so I cant complain. Much. |
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| Recap |
[Jul. 27th, 2008|08:24 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | Home | ] |
| [ | Noises |
| | Obzen - Meshuggah | ] |
I got a bit nostalgic the other day, and looked back at some of my older LJ entries from as far back as 8 years ago. I think the most striking thing Ive noticed is how much more...guarded ive become. Not only have I been posting entries as 'friends only' for ages now, but even in those I dont really give away much anymore...(thus probably why I barely use this thing anymore). I do not like this, so here is my first step towards remedying this.
Anyways, had an AWESOME 30th birthday WEEK. Started off with the family/close friends BBQ on the Sunday, (which turned into drinks and a slow start to Monday morning) and a few quiet drinks (lol) with the guys on Tuesday.
The real chaos started on Thursday, however - down to Hobart after work to catch Dismember, Earth, Terrorust, Separatist and MSI at the Brissie. Good times. All the bands kicked my arse rarther heftily. Ended up doing shots with the dudes from Dismember (and convincing them to pull dumb metal faces with me) til around 7 am, then heading to Aaron's for a few more beers before staggering with Jocelyn and T up through North Hobart (amidst a few disappointed/amused looks from folks heading to work/school that Friday morning, ha ha). The drive home that afternoon was rather painful...but, seeing as Jocelyn had uni, and T had to work, I can hardly complain. :)
Saturday - had a party at my place, which was goood times. Was nice to catch up with so many folks and get silly-drunk with some of the awesome folks ive made the acquaintances of over the past few years.
Yup, Im officially an OLD BASTARD now. How I managed to make it to 30 in one piece is entirely beyond me, but rest assured, I have no plans of suddenly becoming a sensible, well-adjusted member of society any time soon. :p
In less fun news - I kinda missed some small print in the tax rules, and might end up having to pay MORE tax, rather than getting the rather tasty refund I was kinda planning on getting...but more investigating to be done there before I hang up the white flag methinks. But yeah, FINALLY got around to putting an ad in the paper for my car (seeing as both of my bands are on something of a hiatus, its become a fairly redundant expense to be carrying around at the moment) so if I manage to sell that, I should be relatively in front anyway, so its all good.
Decided to make an effort to cut back on my drinking for a while, at least til October when I head up to Melbs for Carcass and Meshuggah, though whether I can stick to such a ridiculous decision for that long will be another matter entirely. More for financial reasons than anything else - I figure if I put away the money I usually spend on Bourbon in a fortnight, ill have heaps of spending money for my week in Melbournia for other things by the time October rocks around.
Other than this - the past few weeks have basically involved playing guitar/writing music, work, studying my Cert IV and (occasionally) sleeping. Actually felt a bit burned out today, so spent the day performing more mundane tasks like, um ... the dishes, and such. ha ha.
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 15th, 2008|07:29 am] |
I actually lost a bit of sleep last night thinking about this...but..
Why do fire-engines, police cars, and ambulances need to have DIFFERENT sounding sirens? You need to get out of the way regardless which of the 3 it is, and most people cant remember which siren is which anyway...I had a moments thought that MAYBE is was to alert the visually impaired as to which type of vehicle it was, but again, if a blind man is standing in the middle of the road and he hears a siren, his response isnt likely to vary depending on what type it is either.
It all seems a bit silly. |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 11th, 2008|11:07 am] |
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Somehow forgot to mention this, ZDF will be playing at Launceston's Albert Hall tomorrow as part of a TAP (Tasmanian's Against Pulpmill) organised event. We are looking at doing a bit of a collaborative effort for one song with some Taiko Drummers, which should be...interesting!
Where Albert Hall, Tamar Street, Launceston When 7pm to 12 midnight, Saturday 12th April 2008 Why to raise funds for TAP's campaign to stop Gunns' Tamar Valley pulp mill Great range of high class performers featuring: - The Stoics
- The Chromatics
- Bocamano
- Steve Power
- Shady Lane
- The Collins Band
- Matsuriki- Sheik Charmers
- Cambalache Tango Club
- Zero Degrees Freedom
- Bill Carney
Tickets on sale for only $20 each (see below). Bar and supper available. (tickets can be preordered following the link below)
http://tapvision.info/node/389
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Other Upcoming ZDF gigs...
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May 3rd - Brisbane Hotel - Hobart - All Ages
ZDF, Vulgar, Battle Cats
May 9th - Brisbane Hotel - Hobart - 'Beltane Bedlam'
ZDF, Lost Hope, Lacerta, Iciclan
Halloween fancy dress theme. - Prizes for best costume.
May 10th - Brisbane Hotel - Hobart - 'Multiple CD Launch!'
RUINS (Launching their CD 'Couldron', 'Grey Daturas' (VIC - also launching a CD), ZDF (also sorta launching the CD) and 'The Ghost and the Storm Outside'
May 17th - Launceston - 'Official album launch' (despite the fact that it will have been on sale for over a month by then, ha ha!) Details TBA
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After these shows, we will be going into 'hibernation' for a couple of months in preparation for our interstate invasion.
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| 'The Calm Before The Silence' - Now available! |
[Apr. 9th, 2008|02:20 pm] |
Tasmanian purveyors of dark, melodic metal, Zero Degrees Freedom are proud to announce the release of their LONG overdue album, 'The Calm Before The Silence' (Released April 2008)
Recorded at Red Planet Studios, The Troll Room, and The Danger Zone, Mixed and mastered by Joe Haley (Psycroptic) and featuring artwork by US artist Jon Jolley, the album features 8 tracks of intense, dark energy.
Tracklisting:
1. As The Silent Womb Crumbles
2. Her Clock Stopped at Midnight
3. A Riddle of Scars
4. The Vision Lost (download available)
5. Blood
6. Beneath The Flatline
7. Heneh!
8. The Last Leaves of Autumn
Buy now securely using Paypal. $20 AUD (Inc. Postage - worldwide) (send a message to: zerodegreesfreedom@hotmail.com ito arrange alternative payment methods)
Pre-Orders were mailed out this morning. Should arrive in the next 2 working days!
The album will be available on itunes etc etc etc within the next couple of weeks. |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 8th, 2008|01:00 am] |
| [ | Noises |
| | Crimson - Edge of Sanity | ] |
ZDF album was sent off for pressing on Thursday. Copies will be available in 2-3 weeks. Finally. Should feel more of a sense of achievement, but after this long, its more just a sense of ''thank fuck thats all done with now' at the moment. Unfortunately, the process has left me rather broke til next pay, so going to be rather antisocial for the next week or so. Ah well, good excuse to kickstart writing some new stuff, i guess. :)
In the meantime, you can listen to 'The Vision Lost' on our myspace page or from The ZDF website |
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| Quick update. |
[Feb. 20th, 2008|08:47 am] |
The ZDF album; The Calm Before the Silence is all but DONE. Mixing is done, mastering is (I think) done and artwork is well on the way to being finalised. Rather proud with how its all come along. Should be on track for a mid March release methinks.
House moving is DONE!!! Some minor tidying to do at the old place this evening, and a fair bit of unpacking to do, but its mostly done. The new place has some good and bad points (more space in general, not on the top of a steep hill = good, smaller kitchen, right next to a major arterial road with noisy trucks driving past my bedroom all night = not so good). Will get used to it though. No phone/net at the new place yet. Not really sure if I should bother getting it connected either. The internet is such a terrible distraction. Will undoubtedly get overruled on that one though.
My self-imposed '2 drink rule' at the Blood Duster gig was rather successful. Was a fun gig too.
Work is busy!
Upcoming gigs.
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March 15th - Little Theatre - Deloraine (All Ages Event)
"Northern Assault II"
Featuring ZDF, Vulgar & more TBA
March 22nd - Brisbane Hotel - Hobart (Licensed All Ages Event)
Psycroptic, Beyond Terror Beyond Grace (NSW) , ZDF, Solar Thorn
March 28th - Brisbane Hotel - Hobart (18+)
Nevetherym (NSW), Leicohtica (NSW), ZDF, Solar Thorn
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 19th, 2008|01:22 pm] |
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I realised today that a lot of the things that id been kinda stressing over lately, arent actually important at all. |
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| The Holiday is over... |
[Jan. 6th, 2008|06:03 pm] |
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Well....not quite...but Im back to the 8:30 - 4:30 grind tomorrow..(though my new job is actually pretty darn good, as far as jobs go). That said, I think I got mostly everything out of my 2 weeks off that I wanted; de-stressed, wrote lots of music, and most importantly, managed to clear my head of a few things that had been buzzing around in there for a while. The rest of 2008 is looking like it could go in a whole lot of interesting and pleasant directions, but other than with my music, in which I plan on putting a LOT of time and effort this year; my old modus operandi of 'hope for the best, plan for the worst' shall be replaced, as much I can manage, with just hoping for the best but just seeing how things pan out. No more stressing myself into knots about things. Methinks, it's going to be a good year. (Even if I am out of beer right now)
Spent my last day of holidays working on new ZDF stuff (sent the album tracks away for mixing on Friday!) tidying up the innumerable emtpies from around the house, drinking cheap red, and catching up on reading (book 12 of Wheel of Time is due for an early 2009 release allegedgly, so i'll get to see them through after all!).
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In other news:
Lots of gigs coming up in my various bands and things for those of you in Tassie, so come along and drink beers with me.
Saturday 12th Jan - The Hub (Launceston) 9:00 start, FREE entry.
The SAVAGES!!!!! w/ The Muddy Turds, Emma Dilemna Show & Cats for Hands
Australia Day (26th Jan) - The Brisbane Hotel, Hobart 4:00 start, $5 Entry, All Ages + Licenced area
ZDF, Solar Thorn, Mephistopheles & Estizar
1st - 3rd Feb - Jacky's Marsh Forest Fest - details - www.forestfestival.org
(ZDF are headlining on Saturday 2nd, as completely odd as that may be)
8th Feb - Batman Fawkner - Bar 39 (Launceston)
Blood Duster, ZDF & This Future Chaos
(Dont know all the details re: prices, times, but tickets go on sale at Mojo Music in the next week or so)
15th March - Deloraine Community Centre
Northern Assault II (Nosce Teipsum are playing, not sure who else, or details, other than its also All Ages) |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 5th, 2007|10:46 pm] |
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Are we shaped by our past, or is the past just the jetstream we leave behind in our wake to mark our passing? |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 2nd, 2007|09:09 am] |
Oops, came to my attention while eating some superb food amongst fantastic company (despite myself being rather quiet thanks to an oncoming cold) that I have been lax in my duties as a shameless self-promoter, and hadnt posted anything about this gig in my LJ yet (I guess I posted it elsewhere and assumed i had covered things):
So to correct this: Here's the skinny:
Yep, It's tomorrow. Yup, I have a cold and a sore throat. Fucking typical. That said, Im taking today off, and spending a day of rest, Halo 3, and maybe a tiny bit of recording, in view of shaking it off for tomorrow. Ill be playing regardless of my condition, Ive played gigs under far worse conditions in the past, but Id prefer to at least rid myself of the sore throat. Performing death metal vocals with a sore throat is not a terribly pleasant pasttime, im afraid.
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In other news, my campaign of biting off more than I can chew is going fantastically well.
As well as full time work, getting the album recorded (all the guitars are finished, save for a couple of solos that need tidying up) and completing my Cert 4 TAA modules by December, Ive also decided to enrol in a bar service course..which runs 3 nights a week for 5 weeks (starting NEXT week). Gawd. Going to be pretty much invisible til mid December as a result, but It'll help keep me out of trouble for a while I guess. :) |
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| I kinda thought that might happen... |
[Sep. 19th, 2007|01:36 pm] |
I just found out that James Oliver Rigney, Jr (AKA - Robert Jordan) Passed away on the 16th.
Apparently he had been working on the last book in 'The Wheel of Time' up to his death, and had passed notes regarding the important plot points and so forth on to his family though it isnt definate whether or not the book will be completed and released post-humously or not.
Im going to finish reading books 10 and 11 regardless...
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| (no subject) |
[Aug. 26th, 2007|09:12 am] |
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I had possibly the worst hangover of my life yesterday...feeling much better now though.
Had some friends from Hobart up on Friday night for drinks, jamming in the band room and spilling paint on the carpets, ha ha. Awesome times. Hayley got pretty messy, which made for funny times indeed!
Lots of things happening on the band front; ZDF will be performing as part of the National Campus Band Comp this Wednesday (at the Uni bar in Newnham, starts around 7), then a gig with Thy Plagues in Hobart at the Brisbane on 8th September. We should be commencing drum recording around that time, at Red Planet. (Need to check if Linton has booked the times yet). It's been over a year since we played last in Hobart, so even though we werent planning on doing any gigs til the album gets finished, Im looking forward to it.
Anyways, going to work on musical things today.
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