Lets talk about Toxic Coma.

Was wondering when you'd make a TC thread. So you say that there has always been Toxic Coma and that there are a lot of LP concerning this insanity. What are some of the names of the lp's that will never be released?

I never say never, all the old toxic coma might be released some day, so..

Who is part of TC these days anyways?

This new one about to come out was 100% me on the musics, and lung gravy did some sampling. i think he wrote a few lines in digital gravy.

Isn't it "easier" to work on Toxic Coma?

Because you admittedly don't give a fuck...you have fun with it.

Do you think having a more "serious-minded" attitude is necessary/helpful for the VAC project?

Do you think you could be more productive if you somehow adopted a similar (but not full-on) mentality that you take with TC?

Well not really. I almost take toxic coma more seriously. I try to make it really fucked and annoying to normal people. this is a task as well, but i still want it to be kinda kool in some way i guess.

With vac, its about how I feel most of the time. So that comes more naturally, I am not goofy and fun and annoying all the time. Most of the time I think about my fucked up past my fucked up future, and my fucked up right now. I worry. I hate. I really dislike the people in my past as well. I'm a very sour person. So making depressing angry music comes very naturally for me. So does being dark.

Letting loose, having fun with an agenda is actually more difficult for me on a person level.

No kidding?

That's interesting.

But isn't it easy to just get lost in your emotions when you're writing something that can be so "natural"?
To change that into an actual Construct that is also entertaining to the listener...something worth hearing...not just an abstract painting of sound, that's where I find the most difficulty when using music as a vehicle for my emotions.

Well with toxic coma music rules exist as well, I have to keep things uniform even in the abstract.

I play guitar all the time, I play keyboards all the time, I learn to play songs i like all the time. So when I go to write, my instincts and playing are where they need to be. I think most people struggle because they lack musical talent and discipline. Most people don't put in the work. The work of knowing how to play an instrument. With out that you cannot possibly make an instrument sing your feelings. This is one of the things I take pride in. Being able to play weird chords, knowing what sounds good when you play, know how to do dark and spooky chords and progressions.

Watch old movies, the sound tracks were so good at bringing mystery and tension to the screen, this is another place I learned how to do these things.

Also, i have to play different instruments, each instrument can make me feel a certain way as well. So making them all work together is very hard. This takes discipline.

Practice, Practice, Practice.

THIS IS CRUCIAL!

Sad but true. Absolutely. I'm definitely guilty of this. I had the ability at an early age but stopped practicing Piano at around the age of 12. Never really consistently practiced again.

Even now, when I have an interest in writing my own stuff, I can feel how hindered I am due to that lack of training and discipline.
I should get back to the basics honestly. I've considered it. Maybe even take lessons again.

fuck the basics, learn modes from my modes list, play them front and back learn them fast.

then look up how to play songs you love, play them.

Just always play the instruments and learn how they express moods and how.

I play everything from metallica, to the cure, to nin, to the pink dots, to puppy, to nitzer ebb and depeche mode. Old punk too. I play songs i love. It helps me when i am writing so much.

Hmm. It'd sure save me money lol

good point though. I should digup some sheet music for some of my faves...I miss that feeling of playing classics and favorites.

(It was a good ice breaker too for family gatherings)

Ahh...and your modes list. That's the sort of thing I've always neglected to discipline myself to learn and practice.

There are so many things you need to be able to do to make music emit emotion and sound cohesive.

Engineering is the hardest thing, getting your own sound. Your way of mixing and using fx. That is a whole other ball park. Then there is being able to play the instruments and put down the notes and record the riffs. Then arranging the songs to flow correctly. Then words and lyrics and meaning and melody. Bass, groove, and all the emotion. Its a bitch.

I write so much music. I write constantly, or i am playing constantly. People don't understand that this is what it takes, its a fuck ton of work. It is not always fun. You have to be obsessed with it to be good and to have your own sound and your own unique identity that actually works and appeals to people.

I was a spoiled brat, man. I learned and began Piano at a young age...like at 6.

I learned everything by ear. My teacher tried her best to get me to discipline myself with Theory and homework assignments, but I had none of it.
I learned some complicated pieces for a little shit back then too...all by ear.

There's an advantage to having an "ear", but it means dick-all if I still act like a child and don't discipline myself.

Mainstream music theory can hamper expression!

Major scale = BLAH!

I fucking loath it.

I play weird ones, strange scales aeolian, dorian and arabic. I find these way more expressive to my moods. I am not a happy camper so learning mainstream happy camper bullshit will ruin you, i think it is how some of the people i worked with got so ruined. School can suck the life out of you too.

The reason i never stayed in music school is because i hated the shit they were teaching me, who wants to learn contemporary music, or mainstream classical. Fuck that. its boring and "NOT ME".

Like i said, learn the music you like to listen to. This is the most important thing. Because when you play, it wont be stupid shit you will never want to write.