krisis

Krisis has been creating Crushing Krisis since 2000, writing songs since 1996, and reading comics since 1991. He is a Customer Success and Digital Brand Strategy executive, serial organizer, parent, and feminist, among other things. Based in Philly through 2017, he now resides in Wellington, NZ.

Making Music Work: Write It Down, Pt. 1

August 10, 2011 by krisis

Keeping track of what we play is a key to getting better, faster … so why do we all avoid doing it?

Every musician wants to improve their craft. That’s why we take lessons, play scales, and rehearse! If there was a secret to saving valuable hours of rehearsal time, we’d all want to know it.

The secret isn’t a secret at all, because the answer is quite simple: write it down.

My songs were scattered across multiple notebooks and sheets of loose paper until 2006, when I organized them into a single database. Fifteen years later you can barely read the penciled lyrics in my 90s notebook.

There is no substitute for having a written record of lyrics, chords, and performance notes on how you play a song. It will help you remember your songs and can lock in all the little touches you’ve added over time.

“But,” you might protest, “I do write things down. I’ve got a notebook of lyrics, plus some files on my laptop, plus loose paper where I’ve jotted down ideas.”

That’s not what I’m talking about. “Write it down” means more than scribbling chords out on cocktail napkins. It’s about being organized. [Read more…] about Making Music Work: Write It Down, Pt. 1

Crushing On: Rad Bromance

August 10, 2011 by krisis

I make no secret that my ultimate musician’s dream is to front an acoustic Madonna cover band that includes a string quartet.

That’s not only because I’m a lifelong Madonna devotee who owns every piece of her sheet music – it’s because all well-built pop music is easy to strip down and translate into other genres, and Madge’s is some of the best-built in the business. I wish more pop was saved from the clutches of perfunctory cover bands to be played by musicians with bigger imaginations and better chops.

Case and point: last night I saw Rad Bromance, an all-male Lady Gaga via hard rock cover band.

They were exquisite.

Gaga’s chugging rhythms and minor key singles make for an easy translation to drop-D riffing, but RB went far beyond that to reconstruct each of her songs into active-rock radio behemoths, with newly conceived drum fills and wicked guitar solos, plus passages of inventive two- and three-part harmony.

In their way, Rad Bromance out-Gagas Gaga. Despite her dressing up each performance with a new concept and choreography, her only major reinterpretations so far have been stripped down tunes at the piano. While stunning, they frequently sacrifice some of her most indelible hooks in favor of dramatic formatas…which is fine – Gaga is riveting enough all on her own.

Rad Bromance is all about indelible moments. They took “Telephone” from verbatim croon on the opening verse into a body moving rap/rock thrash that eclipses the original. “Edge of Glory” and “Hair” were married to the histrionic hair rock that pervades Born This Way, the exact melodies accentuated with extra harmony and guitar solos. “Love Game” didn’t lose its syncopation but was full of chest-thumping kick drum. “Alejandro” became a torch song for metal-heads. Closer “Poker Face” included one minute long unison trio tapping solo – yes, including bassist Brad Bowers.

Most impressive? Rad Bromance is a young band. Rhythm guitarist Dan Geraghty is barely legal to drive, and I’m not sure I could have bought any of them a drink. And it must be said, RB’s lead guitarist Chris Greatti is one of the better soloists I’ve ever seen live – aggressive but restrained at all the right moments. Mike Montalbano is monstrous on drums – I kept checking to see if he had a double kick (results: inconclusive).

That you can see Rad Bromance for a tenner in a bar instead of playing to a few thousand people in Vegas is mind-boggling. The quality and fidelity of their performance is incredible, and they’ll only continue to improve. If you live in the vicinity of Philadelphia and love Lady Gaga’s hooks (even if you don’t like Gaga herself) they are worth a hefty drive to see.

Lady Gaga needs to look them up and plug them into a few tracks on her next tour.

(My suggestion? Have them play on “Marry the Night,” which is practically a Pat Benatar song already, or “Government Hooker,” which screams for a transgressive pounding rock arrangement.)

PS: Catch the band on the remainder of their Monsters Balls tour – 8/11 Strousdberg PA, 8/12 Hamden CT, 8/13 Rockville Centre NY, & 9/2 Foxboro MA.

X-Men Collected Editions Review, July 2011

August 9, 2011 by krisis

Here’s a recap of the newest X-Men hardcover and trade paperback collected editions from the blogger who owns almost every one ever published! Let me tell you, that’s a lot of collected comics!

Since this is my first column, I’m going to recap new releases from the whole month of July. Whether you’re a major X-Fan or a casual reader, I’ll tell you what’s worth picking up. If you have any questions, just let me know – I own the vast majority of these books, and I’m happy to help.

This is a supplement to my Definitive Guide to Collection X-Men in Graphic Novels, which tells you how you can buy any X-issue ever printed. Ever. But if you’re new to X-Men in comics form, you should read my recent Intro to X-Men (on a budget) post.

xXx

Collection of the Month:
Daken/X-23: Collision HC
Collects Daken: Dark Wolverine #5-9, X-23 #7-9, and the Daken/X-23 story from Wolverine: Road to Hell.

CK Says: Buy it! This hardcover has some heft to it in both page count and story, and it doesn’t require a lot of prior knowledge to enjoy. It introduces Wolverine’s amoral, bisexual, illegitimate, villainous offspring Daken to the criminal underworld of Madripoor. Meanwhile, Wolverine’s increasingly-less amoral, teenage, female clone X-23 and her chaperone Gambit wind up on Madripoor’s shores as well, hunting a connection to the Weapon X program.

The result? Much blood and claws, huge explosions, Daken doing his typical double- and triple-crossing, and some truly sumptuous art. (Also available for pre-order as a TPB)

xXx

What other books came out in the July, including a fan-favorite Wolverine book I consider a “must-skip”? [Read more…] about X-Men Collected Editions Review, July 2011

Better (excerpt) – Arcati Crisis, Live @ Rehearsal

August 9, 2011 by krisis

I keep crowing about how we have a new bass player in Arcati Crisis, but what I have been slightly mum on is that Jake the Bassman is also a formidable singer. He was the other baritone in our erstwhile professional acappella group, and one of my go-to companions for heading out to open mic nights.

Gina and I being the hardcore harmony freebasing addicts that we are, it was only a matter of time until we used Jake to upgrade one of our duets to three-part harmony.

Behold, our first successful attempt on “Better,” with harmony as arranged by Arcati Crisis with the help of my dear wife, E:

When I first started learning to play music I had a free guitar tab notation program, and I would spend endless hours entering my favorite songs into it. In many cases I was notating them in ways that would be unplayable by one, two, or even three guitars.

I didn’t care. I wanted to hear the harmony. I would set the midi patch on “vocal oohs” and pretend that a group of singers were crooning the song back at me. How amazing, I thought, that people could make chords with their voices like I do on my guitar.

(This perhaps explains my obsession with acappella groups.)

That version of Peter barely knew what notes were portrayed on a treble clef, and couldn’t hit one if his life depended on it.

Fifteen years later, three part harmony, exactly like my speakers sang to me back in the 90s.

I love making past versions of me proud to be grown up :)

#MusicMonday: “The Fight” – Sia

August 8, 2011 by krisis

Last Monday I caught Sia at The Trocadero in Philly, and I haven’t listened to anything but her since then.

If the name sounds familiar but you can’t place the music, here’s a hint: Sia was X-Tina’s side-woman on The Voice, and her “Breathe Me” scored the final episode of Six Feet Under

CK readers already knew that Sia’s eclectic neo-70s dance pop LP We Are Born was near the top of my 2010 albums list, and YouTube watchers will know her music videos are all hallucinatory classics, but she also wound up being one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen.

Sia isn’t a note-perfect singer, and she doesn’t move around the stage very much. What she is is a stunning interpreter, and a present, engaging performer who makes you feel like you are sharing a memory with her, rather than just attending a performance. Her dance tracks shook my booty, and her powerful ballads were all breathtakingly riveting.

Here’s a video of her performing We Are Born‘s opening track, “The Fight,” live @ London Roundhouse.