my funny story of how I got started...
+ 
|-+  Community» Chill Out» my funny story of how I got started...
Username:
Password:
Home Help Search Calendar Login Register
Pages: [1]   Go Down
« previous next »
  Print  
Author Topic: my funny story of how I got started...  (Read 584 times)
scott zeilenga
blame it all on gravitational time dilation
Writer
Sr. Member
****
Posts: 701


now conveniently located in the midwest


WWW
« on: October 23, 2006, 07:49:39 PM »
Ha ha... well, I was talking to redsavior and couldn't help but remember this story.  I think on it fondly because it all worked out in the end but it could have ended differently.  heh... Wink

~~~~~
So, the year is 1996, I have just graduated highschool and am ready to head into the world of college. (everyone say ooohh)   It has always been my dream to be involved in music in some way and since 1990 I had been listening exclusively to EDM.  My favorite groups at the time are Zero, World Wide Message Tribe, Prodical Sons and Deitiphobia (the "clean" album is still in my top ten ever).  So, after a final assigment in English class where I had to write the top ten things that I wanted to accomplish in the next five years I had decided that I wanted to write one techno album.

I head off to a college in Sioux City, Iowa to take up graphic design but with the secret ambition that I was going to write a techno album (back then all electronic music to me was techno). I sat down at my school-provided computer with the DOS email and emailed Mr Scott Blackwell.

My original email to SB went something like this :
~ "Dear Scott Blackwell,  I have always dreamed of writing a techno album.  I was wondering if you would be willing to help me out.   My idea is this: If you could fly me out to your studios and let me use your equipment I could write an album.  You could help me and then in return all the profits from the album could go to you. I wouldn't even need money from it. I just would love the chance to write a techno album.
If this is ok you would be making a young guy's dream come true. Please, email me back if this is ok. Then we can talk more about the possibilities.   Thanks, Scott Zeilenga"

Obviously, I was just a little ignorant with a healthy dose of naive.  Especially since a "techno album" now days can take me up to six or seven months.  I just was caught up in the dreams of sitting in Scott Blackwell's (Nsoul's) studio and making some sort of world-changing electronica music and then flying back home and watching the sales grow.   yeah, ok, I was only 19 at the time.

But in my defence, at that time there was like 5 quality christian electronica albums on the market and I figured any crap I threw out there would sell like hotcakes because it was in a new market.

So, anyway. Scott Blackwell was gracious enough to email me back with like 2 sentences that pretty much told me to "...go buy a keyboard - A Roland or Yamaha - and make a few tracks and when you think they are good enough send them to me."    In other words, heck no to techno.

Well, thankfully God also had grace on me because though my dreams were crushed in a fatal death blow He led me to a little side room in the music department and low and behold (did I hear angels?) there was an unused - although a bit dusty - Roland D20 ready for my music making.

So, to make a long story a bit shorter, I spent hours and hours in that little back room on a beat up old keyboard recording sounds and voices into some junk techno music. But in the end I came up with a little demo of horrible sounding techno music and found myself 6 hours away on night at a Prodical Sons concert.  (by the way, that concert rocked. Only JR was there but he talked with me for quite awhile about things)  In the end my demo got into the hands of JR and he brought it back with him to that strange and wonderful place called California and Nsoul Records.

I am fuzzy on the rest of the details but somehow the demo ended up in 404's hands. I don't even know if he was going by dj404 at that point but we talked on the phone and after all was said and done I had a track on the Eclectica 2 CD.

Well, that is my crazy story.   I didn't get to fly out to Scott's studios but somewhere along the line I did get my own studio and now I am making music all the time.  Seeing some progress and fruit as well.

ok, well, that is my story.   It has been a fun ride and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

z.
« Last Edit: October 23, 2006, 07:59:19 PM by s. zeilenga » Logged
~~~~

www.szeilenga.wordpress.com  //  www.myspace.com/szeilenga
zekthedeadcow
Full Member
***
Posts: 109

I have no personal text yet. Please tell me to write some.
« Reply #1 on: October 23, 2006, 09:20:23 PM »
...one of these days I'm going to remember why I'm at an EDM site as I'm a rock drummer...

My entrance into indie christian music was:

 I joined an upstart indieband called GEL (God's Eternal Light) but before we practiced I was sent to Belgium for 3 weeks with the military (was a reservist) ...and while there they kicked me out and replaced me.  So afterwards I took a 10 day vacation in Paris because I wasn't in any hurry  to get home.   The hostel had an internet connection so I checked out the RadioU Rant board and found another upstart band (BattleSound) looking for a drummer so I joined them (drummers were rare back in 1999 Smiley ) I get home and we practice... Dave, the singer mentions "Oh we need to write songs and record a demo in two weeks so we can play a show the following week. "  - yes before I even joined the band dave had scheduled a show... we actually recorded the demo and being that we had no fan base we promoted the only place we knew... the RadioU chatroom...

The day of the show, headlined by Spark, we get there and it turns out to be a bit more hectic than what I would later consiter a normal show... the promotor obviously did no promoting (which was typical) and his 5 year old was running around the stage... and even disassembled my high hat clutch and scattered the pieces across the stage...

the audience shows up... all 20 of them... and we soon find out that all of them are those we invited from the chatroom... so everyone was referring to eachother by online nics... 

We actually played a good show,  and managed to keep the band going for 3 years...

The Breakup
We switched singers and added a second guitarist... Jason (singer & rythem guitar)was very high strung (and terrified of insects) while Jeff (lead guitar) was very ADD (not ADHD)... We play a bad show here in columbus after a rough one in michigan (well nice place but they didn't feed us  Cheesy )  so everyone was cranky... the bad show was ugly and we knew going in, it was going to be bad... but it was a disaster.... I think it was the one where the headlineing band (Silverstar) got kicked out of the church for being jerks... 

we were starting to record our second indie album the following week too.  Jeff is supposed to set up his protools rig in my basement but takes forever perfecting everything... I swear no cables were parallel within 20ft of each other and everything was duct taped down.  we were supposed to start at 10am, but he wasn't done setting up until 4:30pm so I said we should just wait and start freah the next day...where he mentiones that he "wants to feel like he accomplished something today."  ...whereby Jason explodes... "God  police it!! Feel like you  police ing  accomplished something!  We've been sitting on our  police ing  police es all  police day!  I QUIT!!!!" ...that should be a close representation... 

Jason then took off his guitar and went to slam it on the ground but hesitated and did it in a way that woudn't break it... he then grabbed the nearest popcan and went to throw it ...shook it to make sure it was empty... and then threw it against the wall, and then stormed outside.

Lee (the bassest)  looked like he was completely blindsided and Jeff and I just sort of looked at eachother.  I then just said "well, it looks like we're over..."  I thought it was all pretty funny though Smiley

The fun part is that after we announced our breakup all of our songs went  in the top 50 of MP3.coms christian rock genre... we had a preorder of 1000 CD's in malaysia and ready distribution in Switzerland.   One of the guys from Audio A asked to produce the CD and for TWO YEARS places were trying to book us and labels (small but reputable) asked for demos... The one thing I always remind Jason when I talk to him is that all of the local bands we were equivelent to that stayed together were signed and in regular rotation at RadioU...  smiley18

So now a couple years later jason and I are consitering recording the songs... well they were pretty good... except for a couple that were just too hard (cut-time at about 150bpm)

 
« Last Edit: October 23, 2006, 09:25:07 PM by zekthedeadcow » Logged
Christopher Carl
Afterhours Planning
Hero Member
****
Posts: 8596


I KNOW I am funnier than Dat Phan.


WWW
« Reply #2 on: October 24, 2006, 02:22:07 AM »
Wanna know a little something less enchanting, Scott? Scott Blackwell had little to do with Eclectica 2 other than the fact that at the time he still owned the company. I put the Eclectica comps together with Phil Kim. And at the time I was just Chris Salisbury.

My involvement came by chance. Upon my first visit there I told them how much I was a fan of the label and wanted to do what I could be involved. They gave me a big box of CD's and asked me to do some street team work for them selling the CD's at parties. I was also able to buy anything from thier catalog for only $5. (I miss those days) A few days later, I get a message on my answering machine from Scott Blackwell asking me to call him back. Next thing I know I was an intern in charge of going through all the demos that were mailed in and keeping the good ones for Scott or Phil to listen to.

I had a dream just like you. I was just lucky enough to live an hour away from Chatsworth, CA and had the guts to drive over there to meet Scott. I was every bit as starrey eyed as you would have been.

In fact, when I was 20 (1994), I called the phone number that was listed in one of the CD's I had thinking N*Soul was big time record label. When the phone was answered I heard what sounded like Scott's voice (I had heard Scott talk on the Myx Motion Sampler) say "Hello?". I said "Is this N*Soul?" He said "Yes". I said "May I speak to Scott Blackwell?". He said "You are, who is this?". I was floored that Scott answered N*Soul's phone!!!

For all I know, it could have been his home phone! He did have a studio set up in his spare garage.
« Last Edit: October 24, 2006, 02:28:19 AM by dj404 » Logged
Read my blog. That is an order.
www.jitabeat.com
Comment frequently. That is a request.
www.castthefire.com
www.chrisandcrystal.com
www.christophercarl.net
www.myspace.com/christophercarlrox
and I'm on Facebook. Search me, Add me. Now. Do It. Do it. Do it.
Pages: [1]   Go Up
  Print  

« previous next »
 
Jump to:  

Theme by m3talc0re. Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC MySQL | PHP | XHTML | CSS
© 1996-2007 Tastyfresh.com | CMS by Joomla! | Forums by SMF | Advertise with Us