My interest in music really didn't take off until 1987. I would have ben about 14 then and my mate did me a tape of G'n'R's Appetite For Destruction and Metallica's And Justice For All. I was blown away by this great new (to me) sound I was hearing and my love for music has grown deeper and wider ever since. I now can boast an interest in many different styles of music although for me dynamics, emotion and depth are the key factors in my enjoyment of any piece, whether it be classical composition or industrial heavy metal. I took up playing the guitar when I was about 17 or so. I wanted to learn Metallica's Nothing Else Matters so I bought a cheap guitar and amp and it started from there. I'm self taught all the way and to this day my love for music far transcends my abilities to perform it but I love to try and I can't help myself. At age 19 a few of my mates and myself formed a band and we jammed about a bit for a couple of years playing a dozen or so gigs in the process. We recorded a demo in a little abandoned church somewhere in Wales which, unfortunately, I have since lost track of. From what I remember it wasn't all that good but it felt great to have gotten something down on tape. Since then, I've never played in a band again and, having moved to Scotland, I've lost contact with all my music buddies back down in Kent (where I'm originally from). I've met very few musicians since I've been here and those that I do meet have interests and styles too far removed from my own to consider planning a project with any of them. But, all is not lost. I got my first PC about 3 years ago and have since rediscovered my latent passion for writing and recording music. With a few basic bits of equipment I am able to put together fairly decent sounding stuff and, while I'm learning and, hopefully, improving all the time, I'm loving every minute of it. Working by myself I have none of the problems of personality clashes or musical direction issues which are inevitable in the band scene and if/ when something sounds crap I have only myself to blame :) Discovering BandAmp was a real coup. Having somewhere to share my music with others around the world- to have the chance to hear others' opinions on what I'm doing, having the opportunity to learn from the many talented artists who inhabit the site by hearing what they do and by learning what they have to offer in the hints and tips department is magnificent and is something which I feel must be nurtured and looked after. This site is innovative and original in what it is and I would very much regret being without it. http://ktartandude.bandamp.com/ admin@bandamp.com http://forum.bandamp.com/Audio_Review/1776.html I'm finally happy with the end product with this one. This is an instrumental which means my vocals can't spoil it. The actual performances were a little improvised and there are a few mistakes which could have been tidied up but nothing glaring I hope. I spent many, many hours mixing and producing this and I'm hoping it shows. Anyway, enjoy! (hopefully) All opinions and criticisms welcome and requested. Thanks. Wed, 25 Jan 2006 16:48:26 -0500 http://forum.bandamp.com/Audio_Review/2515.html One for the kids. I put this together for my son a while back. If any of you have young kids then they may like this. The music is mine and the samples were taken from some web page somewhere- can't remember where now, so I can't credit it, unfortunately. I hope there is no 'legal' problem with my using these samples on here. If there is I shall remove the song, but I can't see why there should be since I'm not selling the music (but I know little about this sort of stuff so I may be completely wrong.) Ironically, I think this represents one of my better efforts at mixing/ mastering. It is short and sweet and hopefully mildly entertaining. To anyone who doesn't know, Dexter's Laboratory is a program on Cartoon Network featuring Dexter, the boy genius. Fri, 19 May 2006 09:51:48 -0400 http://forum.bandamp.com/Audio_Review/3149.html My latest offering, following a little in the vein of 'Dreaming'. Hope you enjoy it. Any comments/ criticisms welcome. Sun, 13 Aug 2006 11:57:11 -0400 http://forum.bandamp.com/Audio_Review/2424.html Hello again. Too much work, not enough play lately so I've not been around much but today was free and I managed to knock this up in a few hours. Not my usual style you'll agree but I think it's worth a listen. Hope it doesn't bore the pants off you. Thanks. Sun, 14 May 2006 15:13:23 -0400 http://forum.bandamp.com/Audio_Review/4573.html A rock song. This is by no means autobiographical so don't get the wrong idea. I've somehow managed to mix this a lot louder than I usually manage without peaks. My stuff usually comes out pretty quiet... But, is it mixed too loud? I have no decent monitor and only really my headphones to rely on so let me know if you experience peaking distortion or or any other mixing nasties. Cheers. Tue, 27 Mar 2007 17:59:13 -0400 http://forum.bandamp.com/Audio_Review/1868.html For those with an ear for the heavier side of things... This is a work in progress and as such only the first 2 minutes of the song is posted here. I am interested to know what people think of this so far. Is it boring? Is it irritating? (I hope not :) )Are the levels okay? Thanks to anyone who takes the time to respond. Sat, 18 Feb 2006 17:38:21 -0500 http://forum.bandamp.com/Audio_Review/1883.html This is the complete version of Hellion. Some of the vocals have been reworked from the previous incomplete version and some of the sound has been tidied up, plus it gets to the full 3 1/2 minutes. I'm still not entirely happy with the guitar sound but I need to spend some time messing around with my set up to fix that I think. Thanks for listening. Please vote. Mon, 20 Feb 2006 17:44:30 -0500 http://forum.bandamp.com/Audio_Review/2031.html I've spent so long trying to iron out the flaws in this that I think I've ended up overproducing it and squashing some of the life out of it. If I went on messing with it I could very well still be doing it in twenty years time- equally unsatisfied then as now. So, I'm putting a stop to it. This is my new song. Unless someone can point out where I'm going wrong or what I'm missing then this is how it shall stay. It's pretty much in my usual style. I hope some of you enjoy it. Many thanks. Lyrics for anyone interested: I'm spinning round going down sinking faster than a drowning man always under water now I'm a frightened man on a rollercoaster never looking down never wanting to be closer to the ground I'm sinking now deeper, deeper I'm going down going deeper Why are you never here? Why are you never near? You're a part of me deep down hidden where I wanna be, always everything is different there I wanna be there hiding in the shadows Don't wanna face things don't wanna fight now I'm okay now going deeper I'm broken down going deeper Why are you never here? Why are you never near? Scratching and clawing I'm fighting myself on the inside searching for you Biting and gnawing I'm dragging myself to the outside searching for you I'm gonna find you and prove you a liar I'm gonna make you my heart's last desire I'm gonna tear myself open and see all my insides are blackened and rotten and I'm gonna rise I'm gonna wrap you and set you on fire I'm gonna make you a funeral pyre I'm gonna see who I am and I will see the phoenix inside me ignite me and I will arise Arise x4 Sat, 11 Mar 2006 13:45:54 -0500 http://forum.bandamp.com/Audio_Review/1723.html I am interested to hear what people think of this, particularly the change that comes at about 3 mins. I've heard this song about 200 times now so it sounds natural and good to me, but others disagree. What do you think. Please leave a vote even if you don't like the song. Either way, thanks for listening. Sat, 14 Jan 2006 19:08:42 -0500 http://forum.bandamp.com/Audio_Review/4297.html A little more mainstream than is usual from me. I've spent a bit more time on this than on some of my other songs and I am, finally, fairly happy with the mix and production. I welcome comments on all aspects of the song. All 'pointing out of flaws' generously accepted. Tue, 20 Feb 2007 17:19:24 -0500 http://forum.bandamp.com/Audio_Review/1617.html Probably not to the musical tastes of many here and most will probably agree that the title is remarkably apt. However, I am open to any and all feedback. Please feel free to take the piss out of the singing. It is not good but I wanted vocals so I did my best ( I really did!) :) Thankyou in advance for any and all comments. PS If you give up your time to listen to the track, please vote. 40%, 50%, whatever- it doesn't matter. It would help me to know that you feel that way and it would help my vote count for the January battle too :) Cheers. Mon, 02 Jan 2006 12:38:35 -0500