Happier ears

2011-12-26 / hsoi / 5 Comments

It’s a good entry-level set, Pearl Forum. But like anything entry-level, shortcuts are made to enable it to be affordable. Crappy heads, crappy cymbals. But in a way, having the crap allows you to appreciate the good stuff.

We put an Evans head on the snare. An Evans Genera HD Dry Batter Coated Snare Head, to be specific. Nice improvement in the snare’s sound.

But more important? Daughter’s been saving her money, made Christmas present requests of gift cards, and this morning we counted it all up. She finally had enough to allow her to get a cymbal upgrade! She picked up a cymbal pack: Sabian B8 Performance Pack. It comes with a set of 14″ hi-hats, 16″ thin crash, 20″ ride, and a bonus 18″ thin crash. She also picked up 2 boom stands.

We set it all up and boy, what a difference. Yes, these are Sabian’s entry-level cymbals, but they’re a huge upgrade from the Pearl cymbals she had (merely a 14″ hi hat and a 18″ crash/ride). They sound pretty decent, tho with all the cymbal options now, she’s having a hard time adjusting to them. 🙂 Just having to learn the new layout for her set, tweaking placement, angles, and other things.

Next up… a new hi-hat stand, and new top-heads for all her toms (maybe the bottom heads too, depending upon money). I reckon once that’s done, it’s going to sound pretty darn good.

She also got a stick bag and a music stand. She hung the bag off her floor tom. She put the music stand off to the side of the hi-hat. She’s feeling more like a real drummer now. Me? I’m just happy she’s enjoying music, enjoying playing, enjoying the challenge, and yes… even the fact she’s saving her money, setting goals, working towards them, and then feeling the satisfaction of accomplishment. All good stuff.

Now, just need to get her to practice more regularly. I figure with the new cymbals, she’ll be happier to play. 🙂

Sunday Metal – Twisted Sister

2011-12-252011-11-21 / hsoi / 4 Comments

Twisted Sister – Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Merry Christmas, y’all.

Sunday Metal – Kage

2011-12-182011-12-12 / hsoi / 2 Comments

I’ve been waiting for a long time to be able to post these guys in Sunday Metal.

Kage – “Night Show”

Kage were one of the best unsigned metal bands in the Washington D.C. area in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Loved these guys. I wish they could have been bigger, I wish they could have gotten signed, but for whatever reason things didn’t work out despite all their local success.

Back in my college radio days, I did a sort of “song battle” on my show and Kage’s song “Darkness Descends” won for like 11 weeks in a row, so I had to retire them so someone else could get some rotation. Jeff and Alex came and hung with me one night in the studio, which was a lot of fun. Saw many of their live shows, hung with Jeff a few times (including one of his birthdays). Ah, memories.

There’s been a resurgence with the band recently. The “State of Mind” album was remastered and is available on iTunes. They’ve got a small website where a lot of freebies are being made available. Facebook page. There’s work afoot to remaster their other albums, and even a reunion show in 2012 (wish I could make it).

Check it out.