... that was nice.
I've been thinking alot of some offer which needed a lot of time. At first i was thinking twice, but now i think i should be proud. From here on i'll be straightforward and say the facts about that certain offer.
My friend Dennis [a.k.a. Sendoh], the drummer of my beloved former band SuspenDead, told me something even before i left the band. It was a revelation... unexpected, but understandable. He wanted to make a new band; a different one. More different than SuspenDead has ever been. And he had high goals for it. He wanted to create a band who can perform a different kind of music [well, who doesn't want to do that nowadays anyway]. A fusion; a mixture of different styles... one which we had tried on SuspenDead for so long but was just too hard to accomplish. It was a different idea, i guess. But i can't state what type of genres will he fuse yet, for private reasons. He offered me to become his bassist once more.
The idea was interesting, as Dennis' eyes were gleaming with light. But that time i wasn't interested after i left my post as SuspenDead's bahizta. Obviously, i refused the offer. Instead, i suggested that i could get the right men for his proposed band. I already got the idea of whom to put up on his band, and my #1 pick for the lead guitars was none other than my former BH bandmate Edsel, whom i've played with a lot of times even after BH broke up.
Although i already refused to join, he still pursued me to become a member of his new planned band. I said i'll think about it, since i have my word for SuspenDead that i will no longer play a bass guitar for other bands after i leave the band.
So i thought about it, spending a lot of time thinking while i was at school. It wasn't a bad idea, really. I was just scared that SuspenDead might get a bad impression on me. I mean, think about it: i quit the band, then their drummer and former bassist on a new band? I think that's gotta suck, bigtime. And knowing i left a word regarding the bass. It was a bad option. Then i heeded second opinions from my good friends.
Some suggested that it was my big mistake to release such words then regretting it on the last moment, while some said that what i did was martyr-like and plain stupid. But a good suggestion came out, stating something like: "while you can't hold the bass anymore, why don't use another instrument instead?"
It gave me an impression... a better, untreachorous idea. One i've done already with Armada. One that could avoid further conflicts and could do only minimal damage. It was then i thought if i should be holding the guitars for a change. Since i had some little skills i got from the bass, i thought maybe i could transfer them to the guitars... since they're both strings. The main problem i'll be having though, was adjustment. It was about time that i call for my uncle Jimmy's help to teach me some "real" guitar basics. All i got from him before were suggestions, not actual training. So i thought that maybe it's better if i ask for his help.
Then, the StratoMarco was born. Now, what the heck is a StratoMarco?
I decided to buy my own guitar so i could get familiarized with the new feel of the neck, fret distance, and strings. Dennis helped me with some options. Either i buy a guitar in Raon/Sta.Mesa [bad option], OR budget-wise: buy a second-hand guitar.
I really am avoiding buying guitars from Raon or Sta.Mesa because of their manufacturing and bad quality. You might say it depends on how you choose the guitar, or maybe it depends on how you take care of it. But HELL. From my experience, you can never get a good-yet-cheap guitar with those places nowadays and you can't maintain them properly even if you're really the "careful type". The term "local" there sounded like "lo-qual", so nevermind.
If you're willing to have a good, performance guitar then you'll have to buy for around 6-10k. So my option for a local-yet-good quality guitar was RJ. Since i saw their shop in Cubao, i had a good vibe that their guitars have a good quality since they have a demo there that shows how their guitars are made. And what's good about RJ was that they're engineering their guitars well and they use good woods. My uncle adds that they have good pick-ups too.
So i decided to get a RJ, and the model: just a simple Stratocaster. I'm not after the design [even if it's a Flying V i won't take it], i'm after the feel and sound that's going to come out of the guitar. My uncle gave me an option to get a Les Paul stating that it's good for solos, but i'm starting to hate it 'coz EVERY band seemed to have a Les Paul nowadays. If i'm about to make a good sound, i'll try it out with a simpler guitar. And i won't waste my money for something that'll lose value after it gets EVEN a little dent/scratch.
How much is a RJ Strat? The last time i looked it was about 6,700+... and my budget was just about 3k. So what can i get? Should i proceed to Raon/Sta.Mesa? Nah. Dennis helped me to look for 2nd-hand guitars at Philmusic. There were many options; including a 2nd-hand Aria Pro Magna, Fender Stratocaster Squier, even a Gibson Les Paul. But since they're highly-priced, i went down to one last option to fit my budget: get a second-hand RJ Strat.
I got that used-up RJ Strat for about 2.5k [using the money for our electric bill, but hey i payed it afterwards]; and with it was a guitar stand, an Ernie Ball strap, a heavy-duty cable, and LOTS OF F#*!IN DECAL LEFT-OVERS. The body was obviously abused with lots of decals ripped off the surface... and by the time i bought it, it was entirely messy. I had to clean the guitar, with Edsel and Ian's help it was possible. I finished cleaning the whole body after 2 days... and i love the clean, new look of it. Although it has a coin-sized dent underneath, i loved the guitar very much, since it's my very first electric guitar. I'm thinking of changing the paint job later, i got to customize the whole thing first.
The pick-up and switch were rusted, though the tremolo board and the machine head were still fine. The tone pots were somewhat broken, but i can replace it anyway. I scraped off the head part since it was very dirty, to the least i got it clean as new except for some ink left-overs. The RJ logo was not there when i bought it, and it looked dull without something. Then i decided to put up a name for my guitar. I bought a transfer letter and wrote up "StratoMarco". Now i call it that.
Now i have to save up money if i'm about to change the pick-ups. I was planning on letting my uncle make me a customized one at first. If i get enough money, i'll be buying a DiMarzio pick-up for the tremolo part.
Anyways, enough about StratoMarco. It was then i reconsidered Dennis' offer to me, i'll join his band BUT i'll be on guitars. It doesn't matter if i'm lead or rhythms, Edsel and i can do both anyway. And i had a package deal. I want my student, Ian, to be on bass. If she can't join then i won't join. But Dennis said it's fine with him having her on the band.
You might think it's something like "special treatment" of sort. It's not. I wanted her to learn a lot of things about being in a band. It's a part of my test where i wanted to prove that a willing person who loves their music and instrument has the capability to improve, learn fast, play good music, and having the spirit of a bandmate. And since it's the bass, i could show her some secrets that me and Dennis alone know: our chemistry.
Issues were raised but i think they'll understand Dennis' plans in the long run. SuspenDead was a great band when it started, and i have greater visions for the band's music while i was still there. There were lots of potentials, i can say. And the potentials were still there by the time i left the band. The thing i wished was for that potential to be released someday after i am gone from the band.
Now with this new planned band of Dennis, i knew the people i selected were potentially-talented. Edsel exceeds me with his speed already. Ian's on the process of learning freestyles and can now play lines in two strings. While i'm still studying some patterns, these people improve further. I think Ian will reach my bass skills in no time and will surpass what i can do when i was still in SuspenDead.
Dennis is excited to start up the band. Our only problem is a vocalist. For the meantime, we decided that Edsel should sing for the band. One day after the decision, he already made a pattern and partial lyrics. Talking about excitement. I did some songs for the band as well. One was a former recipe which was originally meant for SuspenDead, one just came out of nowhere. Everyone else were excited while Ian was tensed. She said that she might drag down the band, but i encouraged her that she'll learn in no time and that i believe in her talent. I won't put her up in the band if she won't do any good in it. I know what she could do... i'm her bass instructor after all.
For about two months since the planning we finally had our practice last September 9. It was then decided that the band's officially booted up. We're not planning on playing as of now, we're focusing on polishing the songs to something different. But here's our target: after we make 3 good songs, we're planning on playing live with gigs. Dennis is planning on having our next practice this coming saturday. I just hope this won't get a conflict with SuspenDead.
We currently use RevEp as the band's handlename. As for its meaning, you'll know soon enough.
* Well, that was pretty long. It just shows that i missed blogging. ^^,
