Ask our new advice columnist!
The Decibel is starting an online advice column, and we need your questions to answer!
If you have any burning questions that just need to get answered…or less urgent questions that sound like fun…submit them to thedecibel@mcnallysmith.edu and we will get a reply your way!
Thanks and have some fun with this!
Written by A.J. Zamora
It was an unusual day for the Varsity theater to host a metal concert. They even went out of their way and brought in some extra speakers and whatnot to accommodate all of the “loud” they were going to be dealing with throughout the night. On tap for the night we had Kylesa, Torche and the legendary High on Fire.
The night got off to a great start with Torche and Kylesa. Incorporating sludgy/progressive riffs, spacey experimental elements and top notch performance in the drum department, Kylesa brought forth the thunder. Torche blasted through a a lot more songs, being that they were mostly a lot shorter (mostly two minutes or less) and faster than most metal songs (bordering on pop punk). They did throw in a few slower/sludgier ones (the highlight being “Tarpit Carnivore”), maybe to prepare the crowd for the behemoth that would be High on Fire.
But High on Fire never really showed up. Well, they did, but they weren’t exactly on their A game. Frontman Matt Pike showed up completely wasted. He could barely make it through a song, messing up on lyrics and guitar parts. He was playing music in his own little world, sometimes leaving the rest of his band trying to figure out what he was even playing. At one point (just before a huge solo) Pike’s guitar came unplugged, and he didn’t even notice until someone came onstage to help him plug it back in. In addition to all of this, there were tons of problems with Pike’s guitar rig, which would go from sounding fine to sounding like an incoherent fuzzy mess to producing no sound at all. Eventually, Pike barged off stage in frustration. Bassist Jeff Matz apologized to the crowd, stating that the band had been having a “rough few days”. They convinced Pike to come out and play another song during which he barged off stage a second time.
So, two bands put on great shows and the headliner falls short. Not every day you see a show where the opening acts wow the crowd and the main act leaves you asking “What happened to these guys?”.
Written by Nick Schulke
As guitar players, we are constantly on the lookout for affordable amps that sound better than the Peaveys in the practice rooms. One of the best amplifiers available for the frugal guitarist is the Vox Valvetronix, an extremely versatile digital modeling amp with a price range from $200-$500 depending on the wattage. What sets the Valvetronix apart from competing digital amps (particularly the Line 6 Spider, which sounds like a swarm of bees) is the use of one actual tube to acheive that sought-after “valve sound,” in addition to Vox’s fine ear for tone, which has attracted such players as Joe Satriani, John Scofield, and Brian May. A typical Valvetronix will model 11-22 distinct amps, including a Fender Tweed, Vox AC30, Marshall DSL, and Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier with stunning accuracy. And if that isn’t enough to whet your musical appetite, the amp features a slew of effects- your usual suspects like reverb, delay, and chorus alongside some unorthodox ones like auto wah and rotary reverb. An additional nifty feature is a wattage control, which allows you to dial in that “tube-driven” sound at levels that won’t make your ears ring.
The amp, however, is not without flaws. The stock tube (an Electro-Harmonix 12AX7) is a tad too microphonic, and the stock speakers are drab-sounding to say the least; replace the tube with a Tung-Sol and the speakers with Celestion Vintage 30s and then you’ll have a truly pimped out piece of equipment.
I’ve owned a Valvetronix VT100 combo amp for over 4 years and would recommend it to any guitar player, regardless of their musical specialty. You should act now, though, as Vox has discontinued several varieties of the Valvetronix. They are becoming increasingly hot commodities.
Final verdict: 4/5
Written by Jacob Rodgers
This is a relatively inexpensive piece of hardware that I acquired about 8 months ago. Being a new student coming in without any true professional experience with recording, this unit has been great as a 2 channel recorder.
In the back are three inputs: two 1/4” line inputs and an IMPACT XLR mic input. This equipment is based on its three “Scene” selections. The first is the “Mic + Instrument” setting, using the mic preamp and a line input. The second is “Dual Instrument”, allowing both the line inputs to be used simultaneously in mono. And the third is the “Stereo In” setting, which puts the two line inputs in stereo.
Outputs include a headphone jack, and separate left and right monitor outs for studio monitors. The gain of each input may be controlled, and reverb can be added to the monitor mix with the reverb knob when a recording program is running.
A favorite feature of mine is a knob that controls the ratio of the DAW/computer volume to the input monitor volume, making it very easy to set a proper gain level of your input while still being able to hear your backing track or metronome comfortably. The rest of the unit includes dB meters for input gains or pre/post levels (toggled with a button). There is also a mono button for the output, and a dim-output button.
Depending on preference, the unit may be powered by the FireWire connection itself or by the included AC adapter. The driver disc comes with Cubase 4 LE, but I would recommend getting the drivers from the web, as they are up to date.
The only issue I had with the unit was some crackling and cutouts when the computer was working hard, though I have not experienced this issue recently. It may depend on your system. It is compatible with both Mac and PC, and I highly recommend this as a cheap single-user audio interface.
Any trouble you may experience is likely to come from drivers, so you should do your research to find out if this is compatible with your system.
Price: $199
Final verdict: 4/5
Hey readers!
The latest print issue of The Decibel is now available online!
Find it here!
There’s more where that came from. Our next print issue will be out around the end of October, and between now and then we will be posting lots of information right here on our blog.
Thanks for reading!
Written by Julie Robison
Minneapolis offered electronic super-jammers Big Gigantic a stellar welcoming for their first-time visit at The Cabooze September 17. The duo, formed in 2008, brought enough force to transform a room of head-bobbing hip kids into a killer dance party. Projecting a blend of riveting DJ elements with a live band setup, this duo rocked—or whomped, rather—the socks off the city.
Dominic Lalli, brainchild of the project, presents a clever mix of electronic arrangements accented with live synth and (here’s the kicker) live sax that is sure to take the mover and groover on a pleasant ride. This soulful sound is rooted by intelligent and innovative beats provided by Colorado native Jeremy Salken, making the duo a fresh and funky must-see on the electronic music scene.
As Dom and Salken threw down, the crowd was engaged in every jazzy hook, thumpy bass groove and dazzling melody. With a fusion of first timers and already-established fans, there was a harmonious energy that unified the audience—defining the experience that is the Big G. This was acknowledged by a simple turning of the head to the shoulder bumping show-goer nearby and locking eyes as if to say, “Are you seeing this!?”
The power pair played a brilliant mix of fresh tracks from new album A Place Behind the Moon, released in early September, and previously released recordings. Proving to be a live music delicacy, the two offered a hard-to-find blend of thoughtful, planned out arrangements and off the hook improvisation. The electronic creative combo left the crowd nothing less than awestruck and eager for more.
Download the new Big Gigantic album for free: www.biggigantic.net
Written by A.J. Zamora
I’ve seen the Flaming Lips three times now over the course of four years. In these four years, I’ve only seen improvement on an already amazing act. The band has come to be revered as one of the best live acts in the world today, and they deserve it.
At a Flaming Lips concert, you are generally treated to great psychedelic alternative rock, gratuitous amounts of confetti, and an overall amazing visual aspect to their live performance. On their most recent visit to the Twin Cities, the band had modified their show to include a personal warning from frontman Wayne Coyne himself warning all those who might be sensitive to strobe lights to “just not look at them” and for those who are drinking beer to “finish it quick” in order to hold him up in his famous Space Bubble. Other tweaks to the performance that include Wayne Coyne’s giant rubber hands being modified to now shoot lasers, someone in a big furry bear costume, and the entire band entering the stage from in between the legs of a multicolored naked woman displayed on their mega screen.
Although it’s pretty much impossible not have a great time at a Flaming Lips concert, Coyne seems to think that the audience isn’t into it. He seemed to ask the crowd more often than I’ve seen before to liven up. However, I thought the audience was pretty into it despite the slightly smaller crowd (most likely due to having such expensive ticket prices for a Sunday night show). People were dancing, cheering and a lot of them were dressed up in funky costumes paying homage to the band’s ridiculous persona. Perhaps the fans they’ve got just aren’t cutting it for the Lips anymore. Do these guys want more than we’re giving them?
No matter what the Flaming Lips want from their fans, what they’re giving us is an amazing live performance. Everything from the instrumentation to the visuals and overall vibe is perfect. And with the constant improvement and modification of their show, I don’t see fans getting tired of going out to see these guys anytime soon.
Beginning with Issue 2, the print version of The Decibel will be running a series, called ‘The Life Rock-Quatic With…,’ featuring three musical acts who are past college age. Here is an introduction to the series. Enjoy!
Written by Kent Horgan
At what point in our lives do we stop doing what we love? When do we pack our guitars into the darkest part of the closet and stop practicing dance moves like the moonwalk? The answer is, never.
A passionate life is like Minnesota in the sense that it holds many seasons. Our lives will have changes that cause us to put certain things on hold. Activities will move from urgent to important to unimportant. Perfecting that awesome double bass pattern might seem urgent in the moment that we find ourselves unable to sleep at night. When we have out of the blue life changes like children or loss of a job, the beat might not seem so urgent. We need to remember what is important and keep a balance of the things we love.
Without the right balance, it becomes difficult if not impossible to continue doing what we love. The elements of a balanced life such as work, productivity, a social life, spirituality, and self are very important. If we have extreme highs or extreme lows in any of these elements, it will throw our lives way out of whack. An unbalanced life will result in placing distance between yourself and playing music.
Hobby vs. Vocation
I understand that each one of us has talent and ambition and would love to use them both in a career in the music industry. At some point in our lives we may realize that “making it” in the sense of becoming rich and famous just doesn’t seem so probable. I do encourage everyone to reach towards his or her dreams, but to know that we can’t live life reaching towards other people’s standards. If we don’t have jobs, and don’t have enough gigs to make money to buy new bass strings, we are working backwards. We have to remember to do things for ourselves. If we love music enough, we will know if the time comes to have an “outside” career and play music as a hobby. This way we have balance and are still able to do what we love.
Don’t let your goals and talents be crushed by life’s dream-busting hammer. Remember to be adaptable and keep balance in every aspect. Pressing on with activities we love really puts the “joy” in enjoyment, as well as in our lives. Sure, we can’t all be rock stars. We need to continue to play for our love towards music. As for the moonwalk, keep practicing and continue to do what you love.
Hey McNallians!
The Decibel Volume 3 Issue 1 will be out this week! Watch for it in the library, at the resource center, in the TV room, and all over the school!
Check back with us here on the blog for content from our writing staff. We are officially up and running!
Caiti Laszewski
Want to contribute to The Decibel? Email us at thedecibel@mcnallysmith.edu and let us know!
There have been a lot of changes going on here at McNally. Arriving back to school for the new semester was almost like coming in to a whole different building! Here is the second of two student perspectives on the new construction.
Written By A.J. Zamora
I’m really liking most of the renovations I’ve noticed so far here at McNally. The walls really needed the paint job and I like the new location of the bookstore. However, there are a few issues that I think should be addressed:
For starters, we still have signs hanging in some of the hallways from when this building was the Science Museum of Minnesota! I would say that it’s a nice decorative touch, but there’s really no explanation as to why these signs are still up. I’m sure most students aren’t even aware that this building was inhabited by dinosaur fossils about twelve years ago. While they are not exactly what I would call a huge problem here, they are somewhat confusing and misleading. However, the reason these signs really upset me is because they remind me of the lack of dinosaurs we have here at McNally.
Also, the automatic door in the library is kind of weird. It doesn’t open until you’re uncomfortably close to it. Besides, why put an automatic door there of all places? Wouldn’t it make more sense to put one somewhere people might be carrying around large instruments and heavy equipment?