Symphony X and Dream Theater in Oslo....

..September 29^th, and we're so there. Finally I'll get to see one of my favorite bands - Symphony X - live (see my wish list a couple of posts down). Yesssss.

I know, I know - the headliners are Dream Theater, but I'd rather have it the other way around. Mind you; Dream Theater rules, as can be seen in this live version of "Another Day". Also; check out this clip of DT covering Pantera's "Cemetery Gates" (including guests Russel Allen and Dave Mustaine). If you've heard the original - and you should've, you'll notice how John Petrucci is nowhere near playing Dime's patented off-the-wall whammy bar harmonics, despite Petrucci being the far more technical guitar player. The one thing that really stuck in my memory from having played one of Dime's guitars is the blunt force trauma gain that sucker produced. The combo of the Dean and the Bill Lawrence pickups was capable of producing harmonics (not to mention feedback) without even trying. Insane output.

Still; the pearl of the line-up is Symphony X. Check out live clips of "Inferno" and "Of Sins And Shadows". Absolutely breath-taking! Russel Allen is an awesome singer, but more importantly (at least for me), Michael Romeo is one of the best guitar players ever. Dude's like 0.85 Yngwie Malmsteen. The total effortlessness with which he plays those incredible runs, sweeps and taps is almost unparallelled. Back to the metronome for me....

Also, if all the stars are aligned just right and the bulletin board rumors are true, Pagan's mind might also be on the bill. Check out "Aegean Shores" - damn how I wish I wrote this one.

Does new CDs sound weak?

Came across this great little clip on YouTube:

Really short, but right to the point. And played side by side, there is a clear difference between the clips. Mike Richter has posted some more details on his page.

So, what do you guys think: Is this truely a decrease in sound quality, or just some ravings from the audio nerds?

Travelling to Bergen can be arduous indeed

The first weekend of June we travelled to Bergen - primarily because I was to attend/organize a bachelor party. We went straight from work to the airport on Friday, and returned Sunday afternoon. Not everything went swimmingly according to our plan, though.

Seeing as how I brought my Ibanez S, I had some trepidations as to whether I'd be able to get through the airport security with no more than the accustomed feelings of oppression and abuse, but that actually went surprisingly well. Apparently it's no problem to bring an electric guitar in a gig bag onto the airplane. You can't bring a nail file, a pair of scissors or a small beverage past the security control, but the geniouses in charge of safety rules and regulations have no qualms about someone bringing what is essentially a baseball bat with strings. Good news for me, but that did absolutely nothing to reinforce my faith in airport security. Anyways; I made it through the security station with holding my belt, my jacket and my 'S, feeling violated and looking for somewhere to regroup, a support group or a shower to cry in, whichever was first available. Business as usual at airports. The first obstacle had been overcome.

As we were almost about to board the plane, our flight was delayed - of course. New estimated time of departure - ten minutes to whenever. This time we flew with Norwegian, an airline which has returned to being the bush-league, glorified charter airline staffed with SAS rejects it truly is. After the usual long wait at the baggage claims at Flesland, we were ready to get our rental car. We were given a choice between a Ford Focus C-Max and a Renault Megane. Being an idiot, I suggested the french car, since we hadn't tried one of those before. There are good and bad engineering solutions, and replacing a key + small remote with a humonguous block of plastic between the size of a cassette/8-track which accordingly does not fit in either wallet or pockets and which serves no extra functions compared to a standard key is undoubtedly a bad solution.


Since this occurred in the middle of the Bergen International Music Festival, getting a hotel room was no easy task. My wife spent a good couple of hours before finding an available room in downtown Bergen. The hotel looked cool on the internet, but it was located in the same building as Fotballpuben, Bergen's most famous watering hole for soccer fans in general and supporters of the local team - Brann - in particular. As we checked in around 9 PM, I optimistically inquired whether room service was still available. The clerk informed me that the hotel did not have a kitchen - so no. The included breakfast consisted of a baguette, a small carton of orange juice and a newspaper which was affixed to our doorknob in the morning. Also, we had requested a room on the top floor, but on account of old-fashioned incompetence, we got a room on the second floor. Oh well.

Now a bit disillusioned and quite hungry, we entered our room, which turned out to be directly above the smoking section/patio of Fotballpuben. There was no airconditioning and the weather was nice and warm, so we absolutely needed to keep the windows open. In the mother of all ironies, we had a non-smoking room, with "smoking prohibited" signs. Yet, being as how this was directly above the smoking section/patio of Fotballpuben, everything in the room smelled of cigarette smoke. Oh well. On to more pressing matters: grub. We were tired after a long day of work and travel, so we opted against going out to eat. Instead, we called for pizza using a flyer we found in our room. Dolly Dimple's had an arrangement with the hotel, where we could get pizza delivered to our room without any discount whatsoever, but no soda, as the rooms were not equipped with a minibar. Damn. Still; how this would affect us not getting cold sodas delivered is beyond me. Anyways; we made our order, and went to an open grocery store to stock up on soda before the food was delivered.

Back at our room, we rediscovered that soccer fans are loud yet inarticulate, and that they smoke a lot and spill plenty of beer on tables, floors, etc., as a result of which our room smelled of cigarettes and beer, and the noise level well past annoying. But that was ok, 'cause we had a TV in our room (presumably a color TV), so we could sit back, turn up the volume and vegetate while we waited for the pizza to be delivered, right? Not quite. After several failed attempts to turn the TV on, including cursing, we noticed a conspicuous absence of power cords between the TV and any socket and called the night manager. After discovering that the phone didn't work too well either, my wife walked down to get him while I waited for the Pizza delivery. The night manager came, and expressed his surprise that we didn't have a flat screen, because by now, all the rooms were supposed to have a new, wall-mounted flat screen instead of the old ones. Well; not our room, apparently. Still; despite having (presumably) the only room without a flatscreen we should still have one in working order, right? After some fumbling, the night manager discovered the lack of a power cable, and informed us that he'd call someone to fix it. Right.

Like two minutes before the pizza would have been free, I got a call from the delivery girl, who sat outside the hotel in her car wondering how she'd get into the hotel and up to our room. She actually asked me whether she was supposed to go out of the car and through the entrance door to the hotel. Uhhhh...yeah? Five minutes after she had embarked on the perilous journey from her car to our room, we finally got the food, and prepared to chow down. My wife opened the lid on the pizza box, and started laughing. The pizza was in a state somewhere between slightly burnt and full-on singed. After eating, we asked the night manager what's up with the guy who was supposed to come and fix the TV. Dude wrung his hands and indicated that he'd fix it tomorrow. Right.

Apparently, soccer fans get even louder when they're drunk. Who'd have thunk it, eh?

We never got the TV fixed - big surprise. I also discovered that the shower varied randomly between two settings; Arctic Discovery and Molten Lava.

Good thing the bachelor party went 67% according to plan.

Tips for playing live

..so your band landed a gig and you're primed for fame and fortune. In the very unlikely event that you're a guitarist in a gigging band with less onstage experience than me and you're reading this blog, here's some advice (inspired by this month's issue of Total Guitar) based on my trials and tribulations in a rock band:

• Unless you're the guitar player for a whiny singer/songwriter act where it's ok to sit on a bar stool, start to practice the guitar standing up. If this is a blinding flash of the obvious - good. Otherwise, don't think that your reach and handpositioning is the same sitting down as standing up.
• About ten seconds after you land the gig, you should decide on the set list (including order) and devote every band practice to playing those songs in that exact order. That way you'll see right away if certain songs don't fit in succession, and you can change things around, device segues, etc. Also, it'll be more familiar if and when the nerves kick in.
• Start practicing in a "stage" conformation, i.e. with the drum riser in the back, lead singer in the middle up front etc. Decide which side of the stage you're comfortable with, and arrange the band accordingly.
• Know the main parts of the songs well enough that you can move around while playing. Not necessarily doing a full-on Van Damme helicopter kick or anything, but at least have the possibility of motion.
• Bring a spare guitar! If you break a string mid-set, you shouldn't have to halt the gig in order to change strings. Very few bands have that kind of routine where they can still entertain in the face of technical difficulties like this. If you can't afford a second guitar, borrow one. Odds are you're not Knut Reiersrud and thus not able to changing a string while holding a rhytmand making jokes, so don't.
• Two words: Noise Gate. If you think you can uphold a great distorted tone at high volume settings without it, you're in for a surprise.
• If you don't normally play with your amp at gig volume, don't think you get the same instrument response when you crank the amp, unless you plan to run your rig directly through the console.
• Ally yourself with the sound guy at the venue - figuring out how much you need to adjust settings to correct for the acoustics of the venue + crowd takes experience.
• In the event that some of you screw up mid-song, don't start looking at each other. Odds are noone else noticed, and you should just carry on. Don't pull a Manowar and start the song over because you didn't fret the second arpeggio of the first verse wrong.
• Know Thy Technical Limitations when it comes to soloing. If you plan on doing a solo that you can barely pull off under the best of circumstances on the third try, don't even think of doing that live. Two options: practice until you can do it, or simplify your bit.
• No drum solos! Dragonforce don't do drum solos, and unless you claim your drummer has technical qualities Dave Macintosh doesn't possess, stay away from the five-minute trial of boredom that is drum solos.
• So you want to do an unaccompanied guitar spot? Unless you've got a) godlike technique and b) you're essentially playing an embellished melody. Surprisingly few people care about diminished sweep-and-tap arpeggios. However; playing one instrumental song can work, provided you don't go on for 20 minutes.
• Don't go on stage drunk. Even if you've read that the guys in AC/DC never play sober, or that Dime used to down five Black Tooth Grins before going onstage. If you're drunk, the performance might sound better to you, but probably not o anyone else.
• For the love of everything that's sacred, play in tune.
• Two minutes before you're going on stage is not the right time to figure out that you get nervous in front of crowds....
• Warm up your fingers properly prior to rocking out.
• Make good and damned sure the financial arrangements are taken care of and agreed to before the show.
• Have fun

Pop/Rock concert wish list

In light of the fact that TNT, Black Label Society and Ozzy Osbourne play in Trondheim today, I thought I'd list acts I'd really like to experience in a live setiting. I wasn't at the BLS/Ozzy concert today - by choice, I might add - seeing as how I think the present incarnation of Ozzy is primarily a scheme to line Sharon Osbourne's pockets, plus the fact that the self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness hasn't produced anything worth listening to since "No More Tears".

Anyhoo; this is my list - feel free to follow suit. I'm gonna list both acts I would've liked to see, and acts I'd like to see again.

• Yngwie J. Malmsteen: Sooner or later I'm gonna see Yngwie. It almost happened in Charlotte, NC back in 2001, but grad school duties came in the way. Dammit!
• Last Tribe: This Swedish AOR/Power Metal act is really high on my list. What? You've never heard about LT and Magnus Karlsson? For shame!
• Steve Vai: In or out of a G3 setting - I don't care. It's probably gonna be a total guitar nerd extravaganza...so right up my alley. Hopefully with Billy Sheehan on bass.
• Joe Satriani: Same as above
• Kamelot: This US/Norwegian power metal act played Rockefeller in May, and they've released the best live DVD I've ever seen. Next time...
• Angra: Brazilian power metal. Ideally with Andre Matos on vocals, but the odds of that are rather slim...dude could totally pull off Kate Bush songs.
• Edguy: German power metal led by the inimitable Tobi Sammet
• Symphony X: NJ power metallers with monster shredder Michael Romeo
• Dream Evil: Ideally with Snowy Shaw on drums. Are you prepared to get evilized?
• Firewind: Saw them in October 2006 - I'd love to see them again
• Dragonforce: Witnessed their first ever Norwegian concert last fall. Yes; they're actually able to pull the solos and whammy bar stuff live
• Dio with Vivian Campbell on guitar: Last In Line, We Rock, Rainbow In The Dark, Holy Diver, Don't Talk To Strangers......Look Out: The Sky is falling DOWN!!!
• Ozzy Osbourne with Randy Rhoads: Alas, this won't happen, seeing as how Randy passed away in 1982....
• Poison: Nuthin' but a good time, I tells ya
• Van Halen with David Lee Roth: Not gonna happen...
• Van Halen with Sammy Hagar
• Extreme: If they ever get it together - I'm there
• White Lion: The original line-up, not Mike Tramp and four hired musicians.
• Bon Jovi: I've played so many of their songs live, it'd be cool to see how they do it
• Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time/Seventh Son tour. Not the current version
• Megadeth: Dave is always Angry Again...preferably with Marty Friedman or Al Pitrelli on lead guitar
• Stevie Ray Vaughan: Pretty much the only pure blues guitarist I like, and dude's dead. Bummer.
• Europe: ...why not?
• Billy Joel: The urban Bruce Springsteen...you bet I'd like to see him live.
• George Michael: We just missed him in the Fall of 2006...MAJOR bummer.
• The Kids: I've recently discovered why Dag Ingebrigtsen and Torstein Flakne have been consistently successful for so long.
• DeLillos: Feelgood music with Oslo west accent
• Skid Row with Sebastian Bach: ...like that'll ever happen
• Wig Wam: Good showmen, and Trond Holter is a monster guitarist
• Roxette: We're so there if the opportunity presents itself
• Running Wild: Pirate metal rules like it's nobody's bidness'
• Dokken: If they can manage to stay together without self-combusting onstage
• Whitesnake: The 1987 era with Steve Vai, Adrian Vandenberg and Billy Sheehan.
• David Lee Roth: Line-up from Eat'em And Smile - again Vai and Sheehan
• Gary Moore: If either someone could provide me with a time machine or if someone could convince him to cut out the bluesy stuff he currently insists on bothering the audience with. Whichever is more likely - I just want to hear Dirty Fingers, Back On The Streets, White Nuckles, etc.
• WASP: "The Headless Children" tour
• Frank Zappa: Another dead dude
• Queen: Ditto. Witnessing the "Live Killers" gigs would've been awesome, I tells ya

...and that's all the acts I bothered to list......quite a few, actually

Friday quiz...

Since I can't post pictures in the comment section, I had to make a new post with my nonsens.

So, just a quick quiz on this Friday: What is the asking price for these two guitars? (Yes, Wilhelm, they are different. Don't you see the pickup? And no, they are not rusty scrapmetal.)

Candidate number one:


Candidate number two:

Great guitar shop in Trondheim

It's damn hard to find a music shop where you've got a good selection of guitars, amps and whatnot, a decent workshop, knowledgeable staff and good service. Whenever you find one of these, count your blessings and make sure to let the staff know. Having played since the early 90's and having been around geographically speaking, I've been fortunate enough to locate a few really good guitar shops.

In Bergen, I was really happy with Hagstrøm Musikk where I bought my Ibanez S, but I never got any work done on either of my guitars, so I know nothing of the workshop.

When we lived in NC, I was fortunate enouh to find a great guitar shop well within walking distance from our apartment (quite a feat in the South, I might add); the Music Go Round at Crossroads Plaza in Cary. The store owner/guitar tech is a fantastic guy, who gave me some really good advice and traded me some parts to my 'S for a cup of coffee. I've forgotten his name, but Dude; U da MAN. A couple of months before we returned to Norway, my main man Joe was kind enough to take me to Guitar Center Raleigh on Capitol Boulevard which totally made me feel like a kid in a candy store. Joe also turned me on to Line 6 gear, which now is the only brand of amps and effects as far as I'm concerned. Good service, great people and a selection to die for. Before settling on a superb, black-as-night BC Rich Neck-Through NJ Warlock, one particularly metal-looking staffer handed me a Dimebag Darrel signature Dean guitar which had actually been owned and played by Dime himself. On a side note, I see now how Dime got his squeal on, seeing as how I needed a noise gate to control the feedback off of that SOB even at the lowest volume settings. Seeing as how I enjoy playing without uncontrollable feedback, I never went for the Dean. Looking back, this was two months before Dime was shot and killed on stage in Columbus, OH. I wonder what the value of that guitar has increased to now.......

When we shipped our stuff back to Norway and Trondheim, the transport screwed up the neck on my Warlock up something fierce, and I contacted two guitar shops in Trondheim - RIFF and That Other One, who shall forever remain nameless. After some runarounds and exceptionally bad service from That Other One, I stumbled into RIFF and got my Warlock taken care of. Audun is the man when it comes to taking proper care of pointy guitars. Last year, when I was looking for a new axe, I had narrowed my list down to four guitar models; the Fender YJM signature strat, the Jackson King V, the Ibanez JS1200 or the Ibanez Jem, so I looked around to compare prices and whatnot. The useless punks at That Other One tried to convince me to buy other brands in the same price bracket without any concern for how I actually like my guitars to be (even after explaining that I had narrowed it down to four models), etc, and one of them even tried to sell me one of his own guitars. While I was trying out gear in the shop. At RIFF, it was a different atmosphere - they did not try to interfere with my selection, but retrieved info whenever I needed it.

That pretty much settled it for me - I went for the Jem, and have used RIFF Trondheim exclusively after that - both for purchases and for repair/set-up. If you're a guitar player living in Trondheim and you read this (yeah, right), RIFF is the way to go. Don't even consider That Other One.