Brainphreak Tapping Guitar Improvisation

It's been a while since I posted something since I have been busy with life in general, so I thought I would post this short improvised tapping song, nice and mellow stuff inspired by Jean Baudin , Jon Gomm, Andy McKee and other percussion guitarists. This is my first ever recording of this style of playing, I just recently tried it out and am working on a composition based on this improvisation. I set up the iphone for recording video with the 8mm app (looks old school) , and here it is! Enjoy!

New Video: We Are Your Government (Occupy Oakland)

Brainphreak - We Are Your Government

This video was made using footage from the recent attack on the people of Oakland at the "Occupy Oakland" protest. The music I wrote and recorded a few years ago but thought it was a good time to make a video due to the recent events.
Being involved in the "occupy" protests in San Francisco and keeping in close contact with other locations in California, it was especially disturbing to witness the attacks carried out on the people in Oakland. It was a very clear abuse of power and bad decision making. It was broadcast live and I was following along as the attacks were carried out. Video from before, during and after the attacks are fully available from all angles on youtube.  In the end there was over 16 police departments involved to evict all 175 'occupy' protestors who should have been protected by the US constitution. When some of the protestors decided not to budge and participate in a common 'sit in' protest, the police opened fire on the entire group, utilizing everything from sound weapons and percussion flash grenades to 'less-than-lethal' rounds and an obscene amount of tear gas. In the end many people were injured and one Iraq War veteran was sent to the hospital in critical condition after being shot in the head with a canister by police.

This is all in the name of 'safety'? how is it this protecting the public when it has turned a simple protest which may have at worst contained possible crimes of 'vandalism' or even 'health code violations' by one or two individuals, into a complete war zone with 175 people running through the streets literally dodging bullets running possibly for their lives. This is completely un-american and police activities that should never be seen in a free society. Please share with others to raise awareness of the crimes that took place by the state.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/26/iraq-vet-oakland-police-tear-gas_n_1033159.html

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/28/BANB1LNK52.DTL

A Drive Through Los Gatos - Occupy Wallstreet Protests

I was driving through Los Gatos seeing all the amazing rich houses and properties on my way to pick up my guitar amp. I pulled out my iphone to capture some footage and was thinking about the Wallstreet protests and how most will never live in one of those mansions even though they work as hard or harder than most every person who does. The current system is definitely not a fair one, and one that is so full of waste its amazing our race has survived. I was listening to one of my favorite bands Menomena playing the song "5 little rooms" during this drive so when I got home I put all the footage together, Los Gatos rich homes, footage of the wall street protests, and Menomena. Enjoy!

Brainphreak Gig: Strangling Marilyn is Back!

After a long hiatus due to my back injury, 'Strangling Marilyn' have been practicing hard, added a new guitarist, and have a brand new setlist filled with almost all new songs! Since the last show I also received the amazing brainphreak v1.0 custom 8-string guitar which will make its official debut that night. Come out to the Bistro in Hayward and wear your costume for the chance to win prizes! Free band merchandise etc.  Read the flier above for more details. Hope to see you there if you are in the bay area on the 29th of October!

New Brainphreak Art For Sale!

Its been a couple months since I had one on sale, and usually I don't let them go in only colored pencil, but recently I am getting a lot of requests for "brainphreak" posters. So here is the best of both worlds, on Ebay shipped for only 75$ in the frame, 65$ without. No I am afraid Melina does not come with the drawing :)

Auction ends on the May 29th at 6PM

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brainphreak-lowbrow-original-artwork-/230928491213?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item33f3693251

<3 to my wife for posing with my pic

Tosin Abasi and Animals as Leaders

Brainphreak and Tosin Abasi at "the Metro" in Oakland, CA

I had the great honor and pleasure of meeting and getting a guitar lesson from Tosin Abasi this week! His amazing band Animals as Leaders was in Oakland so I ventured on over to the "Metro" before the show to meet him with my new custom Halo for an hour lesson. Tosin is not only an amazing player, but an amazing guy who is well educated and easy going. He proceeded to teach a few different techniques he has used in his writing, the most unique was his use of major and minor arpeggios mixed (top and bottom halves) and then moving them up the neck tonally so that you get a giant pattern that covers the neck and not only outlines the chords but has both major and minor sound and wide intervals making the riffs seem extra speedy. Tosin talked about a few influences and gave recommendations of various guitar instruction videos, most I was already familiar with (Steve Morse Power Lines, Guthrie Govan etc.).

Overall this was an amazing experience to not only meet Tosin, but to get a personal guitar lesson and then shortly after the entire band took the stage and tore it up! I have some video down below which I took from the very front. I also have a link and you can download the entire show if you wish! I highly recommend it! Its heavy, its mellow, and there are no vocals to mess things up!

For those not familiar: Animals as Leaders is an American, Washington, D.C.–based instrumental progressive metal band, formed by guitarist Tosin Abasi in 2007 which now includes guitarist Javier Reyes and drummer Navene Koperweis. The self-titled debut album was released in April 2009 by Prosthetic Records. Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes are also members of the supergroup T.R.A.M alongside former The Mars Volta wind instrumentalist Adrian Terrazas and Suicidal Tendencies drummer Eric Moore.

Animals as Leaders "CAFO" Official Music Video

Live footage I took from right up front! (Also in 3D!)

Download the Full Show in 3D! (Anaglyph Red/Blue)

Steampunk Gadget: How To Make a Diatonic Deductor

This Diatonic Deductor gives the possessor the ability to listen to even the most complex sound or music and understand its composition. This can be used to decode complex messages, be used to determine the cause of a sound or noise, or can be used to understand and recreate complex musical passages without effort or the need for previously acquired skills. Those wearing a Diatonic Deductor have been known to gain the ability to instantly play musical instruments with the most complex and modern techniques through tube and clockwork mechanisms. Igor Stravinsky was a loyal supporter of the Diatonic Deductor and has owned one of what is said to be only 11 ever made before the design was destroyed in 1894 in a tragic fire.

SPOILER!

I made this device up as I went along and glued things together as I saw fit. Its really easy to make your own steampunk device for costumes or just art if you take the time. I took photos as I built this one so that I can share with others and maybe inspire a few ideas. Hope you enjoy the photos as much as I did making it!

When I started I wanted to make something I can wear on my wrist for the steampunk costume I was designing. I needed something pretty lightweight but strong enough it wouldn't break so it could be worn on my wrist without falling apart or weighing my arm down too much.

I found the perfect thing, a bicycle drink holder which had an adjustable rubber grip and was made of mostly light weight aluminum.

As you can see I was able to bend the metal frame slightly and it could be worn on my wrist making a perfect frame for the new device!

Unfortunately I wasn't originally going to take pictures and post them for this project so I am missing a few steps below. I will attempt to explain. I created a large steampunk gadget which will be glued to the frame using various gears, watch parts, jewelry parts, some nuts, a keychain and a piece of chain. Most everything was purchased from Michaels, I wasn't sure what I was going to create so I used a pocket watch casing which was also for sale at Michaels as a platform and glued all the parts to it as you see below. 

 I then glued this chunk of steampunk onto the base drink holder and let it set overnight.

I went on ebay and won an auction for some old broken tubes which no longer worked or were untested. I thought these would add a nice flavor to the device so I glued a few onto the base.

Still looking for metal chunks of things I can add to the steampunk design, I was at a thrift store and found a box of napkin rings which were nice lightweight metal. I decided this would look good on the front of the device and can serve as barrel or nozzle.

In case anyone is interested I took a picture of the glue I used. I tried super glue as well, but would not recommend it as it will leave a white color on the metal as it dries and also does not do well on most metals so ends up taking a long time to dry anyways. The liquid fusion glue is nice because it dries clear like glass. You can see below how a couple of the gears I covered completely in glue so it looks like there is a glass gear or a lense.

 

I found some cool looking wings in the jewelry section of Michaels and glued them on both sides to add the "airship" feel and make it genuine steampunk!

Here is an old bottlecap from one of my favorite root beers, Thomas Kemper. They are very victorian looking :) Also you will notice I added a giant spring, this was taken from some kitchen utensil I got at the goodwill store for change.

Added a spring to both sides and added some more gear. You can never have enough! I tried to make them connect so they look like they are working.

 

A couple more tubes on the front next to the barrel.

This is the opposite side, a couple 'charms' are glued on. A wooden "G" and a rivet.

Finally I added some paint so the napkin ring looks more aged. I painted with metal paints, bronze and copper I think. Then I roughed it up a bit so both colors shined through. I also decided to add some light so its more 'functional' by placing some LED lights under the tubs and powering them with a nine volt battery which sticks out the barrel. I also painted the black rubber wristband/strap so that it looked a metal color rather than rubber.

Here are some pictures with the complete costume from our Halloween.

The whole family crew. Join us on our airship one day wont you?

Airship Pirate - By Abney Park