Conference napalm::heavy_metal

    >	How do you interact with others at DEC that aren't into metal much
    >	less musicians?
    
    Fine.  I'm a pretty well adjusted 27 year old.
    	
    >	Is your music just a hobby, doing it for fun, or is it your
    >	hopeful ticket out of the 9-5 world?
    
    Simply a hobby, having worked in "the Biz" for a bit after Berklee, 
    I've come to the realization that only a job like DEC can support the
    lifestyle I desire (read Big $$$!).  The decision was as simple as 
    that.
    
    >	How does it effect your social life?
    
    PLaying in a band?  It affects it alot.  Nuther reason why its only a 
    hobby.
    
    >	Do you ever feel like a split personality because of the drastic
    >	differences between your work and your music?
    
    No.
    
    >	How does the heavy metal musician at Digital deal feel about
    >	all this?

    I don't classify myself as a Heavy Metal Musician, and, I don't think
    I qualify, anyways.

    
    
        The only time being a metal musician or for that matter being just
     a musician comes into play is when you are trying to establish small
     talk to break the ice in a meeting or over lunch. As soon as you say
     I'm into X kind of music the other people usually come back with.." I
     like MC Hammer, or Paul Simon"..It's tougher at 40 in a meeting
     talkin' music then at 20. What I listen to is light years ahead of
     what my age group usually listens to. Hell when we invite people over
     to the house, my music usually puts the guests into instant cardiac
     arrest!
        One of the biggest sacrifices to be made by the family is the time
     set aside for practice. When I was married to my first wife I used to
     practice 2-3 hours per day which included composing time and rewrites.
     I now put aside only 1 hour with my present wife...during a time when
     I know that she and my son are doing other things.
        Music has always been a hobby to me, but one in which I took very
     serious! I always dreamed of being the star..makin' the big bucks, but
     reality kept me in focus. I could never have the toys I've had..from
     ATV's,4X4's,fast cars, to Musical toys...if it wasn't for the money I
     make at DEC.
    
                            R.B. to the HM world...but Randy Bronson to
                        the business world.
    

    
> How do you interact with others at DEC that aren't into metal much
> less musicians?
  
    	I definitely stand out in my group. The hair length is never
    	mentioned but I know it's noticed. Heck, it's longer than
      	any of the women's never mind the men's. The other enginners
    	in my group aren't into music per say, they are pretty much
    	into sports like Golf or basketball. I only interact with them
    	on a professional basis.
    	
> Is your music just a hobby, doing it for fun, or is it your
> hopeful ticket out of the 9-5 world?
  
    	Definitely all three! 
      
> How does it effect your social life?
  
    	It IS my social life. My band practices almost every day.
      
> Do you ever feel like a split personality because of the drastic
> differences between your work and your music?
  
    	Not really. I shut different sides of me off depending on
    	the situation. Other people may think so though.
      
> How does the heavy metal musician at Digital deal feel about
> all this?
    
    	If I didn't have my job there would be no way I'd be able
    	to afford my music. I have thousands invested in my set and
    	thousands to go.
    
    	/prc

    
    
    	Being the only one in my band with a REAL steady job,
    	It makes things a little difficult.. Considering I'm
    	the only one that cares about his job! 
    
    	I think I'm basically in the same boat as Pete.. Without
    	this job I would'nt have been able to afford my musical
    	tastes! But to narrow things down.. I know the music business
    	is a VERY tough unsteady road... But if I ever get the chance
    	to do it as a job.. I'll be the 1st one in line!!
    
    
    	Jim-

    
    
    This is gonna sound corny but my guitar playing is my life. Okay, I'm
    no-where near the standard of Lynch or Beach or any other guitar
    players I respect but believe me, I'm getting there and it'll ony be a
    matter of time before I'm at a standard I'm happy with. I've been
    playing guitar for only two and a half years and my current band has
    supported Anhilator, Saxon, Onslaught, Horse and many more. They also
    had some vinyl out, but I joined after so I didn't get a chance to play
    on it. Not bad progress for a 20 year old.
    
    However, my playing is just a very serious hobby. One day I'd very 
    much like to quit my job and go pro, but you have to be realistic and 
    responsable too. I just see my job as a way of financeing equipment
    and it gives me a car to get to rehearsals. I new job to me doesn't
    mean a carear advancement - it just means a new unit for my rack and a
    quicker car to get to jam sessions!! 8^) As Jim said, its dog eat dog
    in the pro business so if I ever do decide to do it I want to make sure
    that I'm prepared and am at a standard I'm 100% confident with.
    
    All my friends at work are really great. Most of them are my age and 
    I've even managed to convert some of them to rock/metal, so instead of 
    them sitting listening to Rick Astley, they're sat there with Motley Crue
    blaring!
    
    As for hair - well, I get some *funny* looks from people, but I also
    get women come up to me and say "is that hair all yours ?" and they get
    real jealous!! I had one older women start raggin' on me about my hair 
    in a pub one afternoon and I turned round and said "Listen babe, in
    a few years time when you go grey and your hair starts to drop out
    you'd give yer left t*t to have half of what I've got". She shut up.
    
    If you're hungry enough, you'll get fed eventually - besides, rock and
    roll is too much fun 8^)

    Strictly a hobby to me.  I have no desire to "make it big".
    As Buck hinted at, the music biz is no way to have a life...
    Especially for a 29 year old with a wife, mortgage and hot tub.
    :)
    
    Fortunately, being in the software biz means that the people I work
    with are pretty open minded.  They don't seem to give a crap how long
    my hair is.  People seem to associate social misfits with software
    people anyway...  :).
    
    On the other hand, some of my musician friends get a funny look
    in there eye when they see my hair, then see my home and stuff.
    Seems like musicians are more shocked to see a sucessful long-hair,
    than a professional seeing a long-haired musician.
    
    Now my Mom would like to see me get a haircut and let my pierced ear
    grow back...  :)
    
    jc
      

    For me its just a hobbie,I love playing guitar even though I'm never
    fully happy with how I am playing.I've jammed with a band in the past
    but that is as far as it will go,I'm a realist whats why the music is
    just for my personal enjoyment. As for hair length,well I wear a 
    goretex fab suit so nobody sees it and if as in the in past any
    comments on the length then fair enough,its their opinion but its my
    f*ckin' hair my boss doesn't mind neither does my mum so there nyah! 8P
    I'll keep growing it and playing my guitar until I see fit to change.
    
                                      Staynz
    

>    	New topic time (i hope). How do heavy metal musicians that work
>    	here at DEC feel about their music?
 
    If you mean "musician who participates in the Heavy Metal notesfile",
    then I qualify, if you mean "muscian who plays heavy metal" then I
    don't...  But I'll answer the questions anyway because I enjoyed
    reading the other responses.
    
>    	How do you interact with others at DEC that aren't into metal much
>    	less musicians?
 
    No biggie, that's my thing I don't expect others to be into it.  To
    each his own.
       	
>    	Is your music just a hobby, doing it for fun, or is it your
>    	hopeful ticket out of the 9-5 world?
 
    For me, it is a hobby and I do it for fun.  Even though I'm not that
    great, I love to play and do it as much as possible!  (yeah, I know; why
    aren't I doing it now instead of reading notes?)
    
>    	How does it effect your social life?
    
    It certainly takes a lot of time and decreases a lot of certain aspects
    of my social life, but on the other hand, I've acquired a lot of really
    great friends from playing.  It's kind of a tradeoff.
    
>    	Do you ever feel like a split personality because of the drastic
>    	differences between your work and your music?
 
    No, these things are just different facets of my personality.  FWIW I
    don't perceive such a "drastic difference" between work and music. 
    They are both just things I do.  Would it make a difference in my music
    whether I flipped burgers or wrote software?  (other then not being
    able to afford the kind of equipment I have if I flipped burgers)  I
    don't think so, a job is a job, it's part of you life.  For me music is
    another part.  I don't see a conflict.
    
>    	How does the heavy metal musician at Digital deal feel about
>    	all this?

    As I say, I'm not a "heavy metal musician".  I'm a heavy metal fan and
    I have long hair (in the back anyway), do I qualify?
    
    gh

    Well, how I feel about my music....
    
    I am a rhythm guitar player.  I don't envisage myself being anything
    else.  I have been play for Ahem years, but have improved noticabley
    in the last 3 months (mainly due to the fact I am playing in a band
    again).
    
    I would not call myself a musician as such coz I am at a standard
    that I feel sucks, and there are many rehersals where I have been
    on the point of saying "F*** it!"
    
    Hair is a problem as a C.S. Engineer, I am constantly under pressure
    to appear as a "Normal" person (i.e. comments like "Isn't it time
    you got your hair cut")
    
    Music is a hobby (a very expensive and time consuming hobby, but
    a hobby).  I find it very easy to pick up tunes, but very difficult
    to write anything.  So I will remain as I am.
    
    Bonzo

    
    re: .9
    
    That must be brutal! The last group I worked for there was one guy who
    always made comments about my hair (and it wasn't as long as it is now)
    always in a joking way, but I always wondered if he really was joking
    or not.
    
    /prc

    
    
    
    Nobody has said anything about my hair.. I worked 3rd shift for 4
    years, so...... But now I'm on 1st and work around alot more people...
    no comments yet, but millions of looks! It's pretty funny...
    
    
    
    Jim-

    I'm no metal-head either, but I used to *try*, and that stigma still
    follows me to a degree.  My hair is a LOT shorter now than it was then,
    but getting cut didn't really change the way people see me.  Don't know
    if that's good or bad.
    
    I have no dreams of "making it big" ... but I do plan to play a LOT in
    local clubs/parties/whatever, with an occasional road trip if the
    opportunity presents itself.  This town is saturated with killer guitar
    players, I'm nowhere even close to them, so I know better than to try
    and compete on their level.  I'd rather be a medium sized fish in a
    relatively small (local) pond, than chum in the real world.  Gimme some
    applause, at least $100 for a weekend, keep posting stuff I don't need
    in the various "for sale" topics, and I'm happy.
    
    Luckily, my boss is a guitar player too, and he used to play in a band
    back before he got a life (another strat cat ...).  We can talk work,
    as well as talk strings, so that works out pretty well ...
    
    
    Scary (I ain't complainin' ...)

    I still record my music, but for playing live I no longer do.  I've
    found a new way to get the HM enery out, I am the road manager for 
    an up and coming band.  The band is STILETTO.  They have been signed
    to a subsidiary label of CBS, and city lights management.  Currently
    they are working a deal with Geffen records.  It is amazing how long
    these deals take, and how much they change the band.  I've done a lot
    of fun gigs, such as:  Testament,Antrax,24 Seven Spies, Babalon A.D.,
    Wendy O Williams and the Plasmatics,Firehouse, Kings-X, Seahags,Death
    Angel, Y & T,..............   When you actually work with a signed
    band, there is a lot to be done.  Now that I am married and have to
    be a working class guy, this seems to fulfill my desire and doesn't 
    effect my work. It's an experience, I can remember the first time I 
    did a Civic Center with the band.  I wore the head phones and called
    out to the spotlight people which stage to spotlight, well I thought 
    the it was as it appeared, my right was stage right and my left was
    stage left. Boy was I suprised to see that the spotlight was on the
    wrong side of the stage. But I guess live and learn.  I don't know what
    I'll do if the bands new album goes big.   The road or Digital ?
    
    
    Bigilo  

    Bigilo- The Road!
    
    SueJ

    Why do you need long hair to play in a heavy metal band? 'Angry
    Toliets' take pride in being different and not having long hair.. I
    have short hair, Vocalist has a skater haircut and everybodies else is
    pretty normal. We are trying a different formula to success.. The music
    business is already packed with guys with long black hair acting tough
    and all.. We don't try to act tough...But we are not people who stand
    still and just play.. We think up crazy ideas that would be funny and
    dont worry about if people will find it acceptable. Kindof like GWAR.
    We are not a bunch of punk freaks either. I am heavily into music
    theory and create classical counterpoint type music on my 4track as
    well as songs like 'I drank your mother's blood'. We dont want to be a
    band limited to only metal. I think being different is the main factor
    for making it big in the 90s .. Thats why Faith No More got popular.. I
    have approx. $5000 in music equipment including the computer for use as
    a MIDI sequencer. What our band is doing is combining
    Disco/Punk/Funk/Metal/Classical/Dungeon/Blues/Jazz.. I love that Disco
    scratch sound you get with a wah pedal and raking the strings. I grew
    up with 'Saturday night Fever' ..DISCO INFERNO!
    

    
    Our guitarist has short hair. As long as he can keep up with Steve,
    who cares how long his hair is! 8-)

    
    My band has just recruited a new vocalist, and the guy has a very
    powerful/melodic voice (sort Cry Wolf/Steel Heart type) and he has
    short ginger hair and a ginger moustache!!!
    
    I don't mind, it means more babes for us posers(wannabes?) in the 
    band 8^)
    
    I just hope he can cut it live though (gulp!).

    
    So, he has a "powerful/melodic" voice does he Tony?  You told me that
    all you heard at the audition was "noise".
    
    8^)
    
    Flip

    -2
    
    Sounds like Freddie Mercury with a bad dye job!
    ;^)

    
    
    Yes Flipper, but I said that on Saturday after not being able to hear
    jack-sh!t at rehearsal, but I heard him again on Sunday and I have to 
    admit, he is *good*.
    
    Don't take my word for it, come see us play live.

    
    
    Re: .19
    
    
    ACK!!!