Woo for double-content posts!
My roommates Greebo and Diieu (those are their screennames - not about to post their real names) got me a Christmas gift that blew my fucking mind away.
Yamazaki 18 Year Single Malt Whisky.
I wanted to try Suntory whisky - it was the only Whisky I hadn't tried, and it pisses me off. That's right, it makes me angry. They got me a bottle of Whisky, and that pisses me off.
I had consistency in my life. Whisky/Whiskey came from Tennessee, Kentucky, Scotland, Ireland, and Canada. Nowhere else. At least, not the good stuff. But Yamazaki completely changed that. It's smooth - smoother then anything else I've ever tried before, and it's got an amazing, mature, full flavor palette. It's damn good.
So now my Whisky/Whiskey list, in order of preference to sip, is as such:
Scotch, Suntory, Bourbon, Tennessee, Canadian, Irish.
You see that breakdown? Suntory is now preferred over bourbon for sipping. See how wrong that is? It's like the softer brother of Scotch. While I have sincere appreciation for the rough edges of Scotch - as well as the other darker flavors contained therein, Suntory breaks that ideal and goes to the smooth edge. All the flavor, but with a bit more of a refined feel.
God dammit.
Speaking of gifts, I'm recording as a gift this year, a continuation of last year, where I recorded a 6 song CD for a Christmas present to my family and friends. I included 3 drum and bass songs, as well as 3 songs with guitar and other instruments. All of them but one were original compositions.
This year, I'm going it again, but all the songs are going to be full-on guitars, drums, and bass. I'm not doing electronic music this time around because I want to do the full recording deal. It's been a challenge so far, but fun. My track list is coming down to something like this:
1. Delé - New Hard Rock song with delay laced intro.
2. Walk - Solo acoustic piece written for Allison's graduation.
3. Goin' Down - Cover of a cover of a Freddie King song
4. Untitled progressive song here - think Vai-ish with Satriani hanging out, too.
5. Probably a blues/rock song here.
6. Probably a acoustic guitar / electric guitar thing. Calm outro idea.
If I can muster a 7th song in time, I'm definitely doing it, but that track list seems to be the direction I'm heading.
I've learned a lot since last year. My rhythms are much stronger, and my melodies are a bit better - though not by much.
My recording sensibilities are a bit stronger this year, as well. I'm making better use of the stereo soundstage to get a bigger field, and I use doubletracking quite a bit for the first song to get a bit more of a ballsy feel.
I still have a lot of work to do - I just got the drums and bass done for the third track, but overall things are going will.
I hope you're all doing well. If I don't post before, have a wonderful holiday season!