NIN - Grand Rapids, MI - Nov 15, 2008

Last Saturday (11/15/2008), my wife and I got to see the latest tour from the band Nine Inch Nails. For those who don't know, Nine Inch Nails is an industrial/metal band headed by Trent Reznor. In the studio, Trent plays all instruments except drums. For the tour, musicians are added to reproduce the sound.

We had last seen the band in 1995, during their "alternative" peak, when smashing instruments and rebellion was the focus of the show.

Trent has traded his angst in for a more artistic representation of his music.

In the past year, Trent has completed his commitments to a record label, and began releasing material independently. This first started with a 2-CD all instrumental disc called "Ghosts", which Trent made available on his website for $10. Then, just a few months later, his made the new release "The Slip" available for free download from the website. Both these releases were given more "typical" distribution to retail outlets, and "The Slip" included bonus material. In both cases, Trent was enjoying his new freedom from the record label, and was rewarding the fans.

For this new tour, Trent brought along some multi-instrumentalist musicians to help cover all the needed sounds from newer more mature material. Guitarist Robin Fink was back, having not been with the band for the past 10 years or so. Bassist Justin Meldal-Johnson (previously with Beck) is now with the band, and also covers some guitar parts during the set. The band is completed with a drummer and keyboard/guitar player. Trent handles vocals, keyboard, guitar, and marimba.

Also, continuing in his drive pioneer new artistic ideas, Trent worked with the company Moment Factory to come up with an interactive multiple LED screen setup. This allowed Trent to create his own visuals "on the fly", while also have numerous standard lighting and strobe effects.

A brief overview of this customized light show can be viewed here:



and here




The set list included music from their entire career, but a majority of the show focused on more recent material. About halfway through the show, the band traded their electronic instruments for a more "acoustic" portion, which included songs from the all-instrumental release "Ghosts". Trent spent most of the section handling the Marimba parts (with an actual marimba), and the band also performed a jazzed up version of their hit "Piggy". Combined with some soft blue lighting, this section was certainly a side of Nine Inch Nails that most are not aware of.

However, the evening was not completely without the energy and angst that made the band famous in the 90s. Early on in the set, "March of The Pigs" was performed with even more energy than it had 14 years ago. Trent certainly had kept himself in shape. If the show had a movie rating, it would definitely fall into the R or NC-17 category.

The 2008 version of Nine Inch Nails is certainly more mature musically. They are no longer just an "industrial" band, but are now experimenting with a variety of styles and combinations. Trent Reznor continues to come up with new ideas for visually representing his band, and isn't content with doing what everyone else has already done.

Whether or not you like the music, the fact is that Trent Reznor continues to pioneer new concepts in music performance, distribution, and visuals. And certainly is enjoying his new found independence.

You can download "The Slip" release for free at http://theslip.nin.com/

Later.

We are the United States - Best Country on the Planet, period.

As a fellow American, I proudly support the democratic process and believe it demonstrated itself in our election. I do not magically believe now that Barack has the right set of ideas, and I believe McCain was much more gracious last night. However, I have always said I don't believe Barack has any malicious intentions and sincerely means to do the best for the country. I simply disagree with how he plans to go about it.


Should Barack prove to be correct and we have much more improvement in the coming years, I will gladly accept that I was wrong and not say otherwise. I also expect the Barack supporters to be ready to "eat it", should the guy fall flat on his face.


Barack wasn't my choice, but he will be my president. And to that, I support him and pray he will be a great president.


Democrats wanted their chance to show they can do a better job than Republicans/Bush. Well, now you've got the chance, so time to stop talking and show us some results.

Official start of solo project

I've been wasting about a year now trying to get myself "up to speed" on a home studio upgrade. The idea is that with a home studio, I would be more productive with getting some original projects completed. I also spent a few extra bucks to get a "virtual drummer" program, in order to more easily facilitate progress.

Now, almost exactly 1 year since getting all the hardware up and running, I've got nothing to show for it. Not quite the plan, is it?

So, I am declaring an "official start date" for embarking upon my solo project, hoping that writing about progress (or lack thereof) will help continue to motivate me. This would also possibly provide a somewhat interesting journal of the process.

The "official start date" will be marked as January 1, 2009. I may start earlier, but this will at least give me a chance to clear outstanding projects off my desk and properly position myself to move forward. Should I start earlier, I will move the date up accordingly.

There is no expected "complete" date, but I would hope to be done within 1 year. I expect this will be a full instrumental project, with smooth jazz tendencies. I expect it to include guest musicians filling the guitar role, and some keyboard work. I also hope to have some guest percussion work, but will most likely end up using more "virtual drummer" for a majority of the drum work.

So, watch for that to kick off in about 8 weeks.