Ties That Bind

“I tear on the leash, that keeps me contained and controlled. Let me go, I want to break free and bite my way out of this hole. One last hope, to rise and break away above the faded line, way beyond the ties that bind. This I know, the risk is worth the gain it’s worth the sacrifice, way beyond the ties that bind.”

Like the lyrics in this song, I can’t find my way out of this hole, it keeps me locked up. And as soon as I am about to get out it pushes me back in, it’s suffocating. The thing about it is, even though the seniors here are about to graduate I’m still gonna be here for 3 weeks, and it seems like, even as the next year comes I’m about to get out of this place, but this isn’t my hole, my hole that I’m trapped in is the restrictions of the music industry, well not completely it’s the restrictions of everything, you walk down the street, there’s restrictions, the walk and don’t walk signs, your in school restrictions everywhere you go. In the mall, the “no group larger than six people” rule, I don;t get that one, just cause you got a group larger than six people doesn’t make them a gang, I’ve personally been kicked out of the Airport Mall because of that rule. But some rules are very useful, like at school, no guns, no weapons, no phones, no I Pods. But hey, the music industry has more than a few restrictions, the few written ones, listen to the producer, stop when the recording has stopped, but then there’s the unwritten rules, play what’s popular, play what everyone is used to, don’t play something new than what you used to play, it really confuses me sometimes, because my music would have been popular in the eighties, and seventies. Now, that music is only remembered in the minds of our parents, and some select kids our age, and for anyone else reading this, I feel bad for you too, if you play the same music as me. Til next time from the guitar man himself, Jake Gray.

Myles Kennedy (Alter Bridge)

Higher

“When dreaming I’m guided through another world. Time and time again. At sunrise I fight to stay asleep,’cause I don’t want to leave the comfort of this place, ’cause there’s a hunger, a longing to escape from the life I live when I’m awake. So let’s go there,let’s make our escape come on, let’s go there. Let’s ask can we stay? Can you take me higher? To the place where blind men see. Can you take me higher? To the place with golden streets.”- Scott Stapp, Creed

Yes, I like creed, don’t judge me for it. But this song is really amazing. It shows what it’s like to be at the top of your career then plummet, because that is exactly what happened to Creed, ironic that the highest point of their career was the song “Higher”  right. But I don’t want my band to end up like Creed, I want to last longer, you know, just keep getting up after falling down. Unlike Creed who just fell and didn’t try to stop it, they just let it happen, but now they’re making a come back, like Metallica with Death Magnetic, or Megadeth with the System Has Failed. So this is really just all I had to say. Til next time, from the guitar man himself, Jake Gray

Mark Tremonti (Creed)

Black Sunshine

“Gripping the wheel, his knuckles went white with desire! The wheels of his Mustang exploding on the highway like a slug from a .45. True death: 400 horsepower of maximum performance piercing the night… This is black sunshine.”-Rob Zombie, White Zombie

So I’ve been writing this song for about the last 10 minutes about a guy who’s racing his Camaro at a dirt track, who crashes and wakes up in the back of an ambulance, at least that’s what I think it will be about, cause I got my first half of a verse written. It’s kinda like this.

“Driving 160 at a breakneck pace, my Camaro about to break under the pressure of this race. This dirt track kickin’ up some dust, there’s debris on the ground littered with rust.”

That’s pretty much all I got, so tell me what you think. All I need is a couple more verses, and a chorus. After that I have a good guitar part written, but I still need to finish the lyrics. I guess other then that I’ll tell you how I came upon influence the lyrics. So, by now it’s been about 15 or 20 minutes, and I was thinking about Bumblebee from “Transformers” and how awesome the car looked, then thinking about MX racing on a dirt track. I got tho thinking about an underground racer whose car flips and he is hauled off to an ambulance. I guess this just says that inspiration can come from anywhere. Til next time, from the guitar man himself, Jake Gray.

J. Yuenger.  (White Zombie, Guitar)

Rust in Peace

“Tremble you weakings, cower in fear. I am your ruler, land, sea and air. Immense in my girth, erect I stand tall. I am nuclear murderer I am Polaris. Ready to pounce at the touch of a button. My systems locked in on military gluttons. I rule on land, air and sea. Pass judgement on humanity. Winds blow from the bowels of hell. Will we give warnings, only time will tell. Satan rears his ugly head, to spit into the wind. I spread disease like a dog, Discharge my payload a mile high. Rotten egg air of death wrestles your nostrils. Launch the Polaris, the end doesn’t scare us. When will this cease? The warheads will all rust in peace” – Megadeth

War. War never changes. Since the dawn of human kind, when our ancestors first discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of everything, from God, to justice, to simple psychotic rage. In a sense man has succeeded at destroying the world, look at pollution rate, look at the death rate in foreign countries because of war, look in the streets of some cities in the U.S., people dying in the crossfire of some hellish gang war. Even storming a military base to find the leader of Al Quaida may have been a little much. I agree with the death of bin Laden but killing three others in the crossfire was a little much. But as I said before, war never changes. War has gotten more advanced in this new age, and more blood is shed now, but it’s still the same, man is killing man. But as this quote will say “Brother will kill brother, spilling blood across the land. Killing for religion, is something I don’t understand.” But you know, it could be as world renowned scientist Albert Einstein once said “As long as there is man there will be war.” I mean I’m not totally against war, without war where would the U.S. be today, we got to be a free country because of war, we got to be the most powerful nation because of war. Now I’m not totally anti-war, but I am against nuclear weapons, because nukes can destroy everything, did you know that if all the nukes in the world were shot off, there would be another ice age, not to mention that everyone would be dead. So why not get rid of all the weapons? Because if the need arises we would have to use them, but it probably wouldn’t. What does any of this have to do with music though, this is an entry about one of the most written about things in the world, war. Almost every band, from Metallica to Slayer, and The Stones to Bruce Springsteen. It is also one of the most desirable kind of song to hear. Till next time from the guitar man himself, Jake Gray.

David Ellefson (Megadeth)

Under the Bridge

“Sometimes I feel like I don’t have a partner. Sometimes I feel like my only friend. Is the city I live in the city of Angels? Lonely as I am together we cry. I drive on her streets ’cause she’s my companion. I walk through her hills ’cause she knows who I am. She sees my good deeds and she kisses me windy and I never worry now that is a lie. I don’t ever wanna feel like I did that day. Take me to the place I love take me all the way. I don’t ever want to feel like I did that day. Take me to the place I love take me all that way (yeah yeah yeah)” – Anthony Kiedis, Red Hot Chili Peppers

This is depressing, actually Anthony wrote this about a time when he had been sober for a few years and felt that it was distancing him from the rest of the band. It was written as a poem, when the manager looked through his stuff and found it, he told Anthony to show the guys the poem, and they wrote an incredibly emotional song out of it. Just for the record I do not support suicide or the use of drugs, but this song can show those what it’s like to have depression, or an addiction. I’ve had my fair share of dealing with band members on drugs, and ones that had depression, but if you can help them overcome their problem, they can grow stronger. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had problems sure, not addictions, but I have had a small stint with depression, I don’t anymore, but I still get upset sometimes, but having good friends, and band mates to help it makes it easier, actually now that my problems have subsided I feel better than ever. Don’t ask me questions about it, because it’s all over. What helped me overcome my problem the most was music. People know me as a music freak, yeah, but if it weren’t for a small bout with depression, I wouldn’t be that way, I’d be the same old guy I was before. I did get help from people, mostly my step brother, Elliot, but he helped because he plays drums, and he helped my music get better, making me feel better. Again, don’t confront me about it, I’ve put all of it behind me. So, til next time, from the guitar man himself, Jake Gray.

John Frusciante (Guitarist Red Hot Chili Peppers)

Kashmir

“Oh let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dream
I am a traveler of both time and space, to be where I have been
To sit with elders of the gentle race, this world has seldom seen
They talk of days for which they sit and wait and all will be revealed ” -Robert Plant, Led Zeppelin

The peace of mind that only true dreaming brings, that is true calm. To dream about things that make you happy. The world needs that feeling, we go to war so much and without hindsight about what it may do to people. Calm can only be brought about through peace, and peace is only there when there is happiness. That’s what music helps with, think about the ’60s, Woodstock, Hendrix, The Who, Zeppelin, and Sabbath, they made people happy, well at Woodstock there were other things involved in creating the calm happy atmosphere that was there, but mostly the music. Summer time where you can feel the warmth, you have time, and the music from the soul fills the world. Where at night it’s still warm, and you can see the cosmos, and wonder to yourself “what’s out there” and then that song starts. That gives you a vision of my “Happy Place” where ever I can here a good tune, and can crank it. It creates an atmosphere of bliss. And at the center is me. I have many places like that, my “JAM ROOM” is another where I can play music to my hearts content, and nobody cares how loud it is. I can feels the vibration from the bottom of my feet, to the top of my head. Oh and for those of you interested in my music, I expect my bands first gig to be at The Kave in Bucksport, sometime this summer, when I’m not working. Til next time from the guitar man himself, Jake Gray.

Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin)

Strange World

“The only place where you can dream, living here is not what it seems.
Ship of white light in the sky, nobody there to reason why.
Here I am, I’m not really there, smiling faces ever so rare.
A let’s walk in deepest space, living here just isn’t the place.”

I want to be in a place where I can be accepted with my music, a place that used to be so close, but it’s not really a place, it’s a time, back in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s when it didn’t matter what music you played, just as long as it was good enough for people to listen to, that’s the world I want, I mean I even feel like I was born in the wrong time, I feel like I should have been born in the early ’70s, or even the early ’60s. Then I could have my music accepted, I can’t change it but I wouldn’t have such a problem if I had been born then. But I guess I have no choice but to live my life in this time, and this place, I have to make the most of it if I ever want to be a famous guitarist. Til Next time from the Guitar man himself, Jake Gray.

Dave Murray (Guitarist Iron Maiden)

Heading out to the highway

“Well I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You get nothing for nothing: expect it when you’re backseat driving and your hands ain’t on the wheel. It’s easy to go along with the crowd and find it later on the your say ain’t allowed. Oh that’s the way you find out what you’ve been missing. So I’m heading out to the highway, I got nothing to lose at all. I’m gonna do it my way, take a chance before I fall. A chance… before… I Fall!”

That’s life for you, destiny is driving and your in the back, no chance of changing it. But that also describes leaving somewhere you’ve been for a long time.  You go to the highway and drive away not knowing where you’re going, but just driving, heading wherever you go. It’s like a tour, you head to the highway right after you get comfortable with being where you’re at.  Or like moving out of a house you’ve lived in a long time. Life works in mysterious ways, but you can’t change what happens, you wish you could change what happens, but you can’t. Life is just a massive roller coaster ride, it has all the loop the loops, twists and turns with it. It’s like the quote from “Forrest Gump” Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna get. Even if some people say you can change your destiny, everything happens, you think you can change what’s going to happen, but how can you if you don’t know what’s going to happen next. Til next time, from the gutiar man himself, Jake Gray.

K.K. Downing (Guitarist Judas Priest)

Weidmanns Heil

“Ich bin in Hitze schon seit Tagen, So werd ich mir ein Kahlwild jagen. Und bis zum Morgen sitz’ ich an, Damit ich Blattschuss geben kann. Auf dem Lande, auf dem Meer, lauert das Verderben, Die Kreatur muss sterben! Sterben!”

Today I will be writing in German, not really, but wouldn’t that be sweet? That song above is by German Progressive Metal band Rammstein, which translates to “two stones together”. They are a great band with songs like ” Du Hast” and “Weidmanns Heil” But what does that mean you ask well all those German words are inappropriate to say in English so I won’t tell you what the lyrics mean, but Weidmanns Heil means good hunting, and Du Hast means you have. But why am I just talking about things that really aren’t that exciting? I don’t know, but on account that this song means good hunting, I find this as a sign of good luck to me hunting for the time to record a demo, or the hunt for a record label. But in reality it’s about hunting, though I find that hunting some animals is wrong, hunting things like deer, or moose, things that are abundant in this state are okay to hunt, but hunting things like pandas, and elephants for their pelts is just wrong. But back to the subject, I have three or four good labels for my now black metal band still called Path of Gore. Red Stream Inc., Insidious Poisoning Records, or Hatred Nation. We already have the story for the lyrics of our first song, It’s about a traveling executioner in medieval times. Til next time from the guitar man himself, Jake Gray.

Richard Z. Kruspe ( Guitarist, Rammstein)

…And Justice for All

” Halls of justice painted green, money talking. Power wolves feast at your door, hear them stalking. Soon to please their appetite, they devour. Hammer of justice crushes you, over power. The ultimate in vanity, exploiting their supremacy. I can’t, can’t believe the price, you pay. Nothing can save you, Justice is lost, justice is raped, justice is gone.Pulling your strings, justice is done. Seeking no truth, winning is all, find it so grim so true so real.”

Politics, what’s the point in them, not to sound like a revolutionary, but most politicians don’t know what they’re talking about, how does this tie into music you ask. Well, ask Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, in the year 1985, him Frank Zappa, and John Denver. They were all asked to go to a hearing with the PMRC (Parents Music Resource Center) about censorship. Politicians don’t have a say in the censorship of music, because most of what’s offensive means something entirely different. Also people like LePage, governor of Maine doesn’t know how to run state, he uses his political power to for things that Maine doesn’t need. First he’s trying to get 5 years of High School, and now he’s trying to make Friday part of the weekend. He’s also not the brightest bulb in the box, he doesn’t know what to say, ever. All the words are put together in his head, but make no sense when they come out. I don’t have a reason, but he should be impeached, for the better good of this state. Til next time from the guitar man himself, Jake Gray.

R.I.P. Cliff Burton, amazing bassist til the night he died. Your memory will live on in the hearts of fans everywhere.