Just checking in, and a small thank-you gift

longtermsurvivor said:

the most impressive thing about this
is that your voice has recoverd from the rads enough to sing like this. Very fine. Thanks.


Pat

Thanks
The funny thing is, for this sort of "singing" (maybe to be more accurate I should just call it "vocals," haha) I actually arguably sound better than before all this cancer mess. The whole "gravel" thing I have going now wasn't there before the tonsillectomy/lymphedectomy and radiation.

In fact, in the studio I tried doing a take on one of the slightly mellower songs without the "gravel," and our "record company guy" (actually the company is just a crazy guy who bought us studio time, hope he gets his investment back!) was all "Whoa, what was that? Sing the way you do onstage!" Singers talk about "finding their voice" in a literal sense sometimes, and I guess I've found mine, for better or worse!

The Lord works in mysterious ways, haha.

fisrpotpe said:

congrats!
congrats on the news, one year is huge. now you can dance even more to your own music. celebrate.

john

Thanks John
As others have reported having, I had a false positive 2 scans ago on a PET, however apparently the activity is just my neck still repairing itself, because they went back in and did a biopsy and couldn't find anything. So now they have a new baseline of sorts and don't freak if its still a little active there.

Reading what some folks go through I know very much how blessed I am to not only be able to have resumed a more or less normal life, but to still be able not only to play in a band but still sing. If you can call what I do vocally singing at all, haha. The good singer in our band is the bassist, who does the backing vocals on the album and in our live performances. We met through church so maybe God's hand is in all this. I don't pretend to know all the answers!

But I am sure going to work on having fun with it.

Btw, for any of you who like to listen to streaming radio, and/or support local "low power community radio" (LPFM), in all probability we'll get played on kfok.org today on the Unsigned Artists show. It's a station up in the California mountains, of all places, very far from our home base in Florida, but with the web it's as close as anyone's computer. The show features all genres, from hard rock to country to hip-hop to Christian! It airs from noon-2 p.m. Pacific time (3-5 p.m. Eastern, 2-4 Central, 1-3 Mountain).

luv4lacrosse said:

LOVE THE NED
Brian, fantastic news my friend. I just hit 17 months since treatment and all is good. Still have some nagging side effects, but what the hell, it sure beats the alternative.

BEST!!

Mike

Exactly Mike
Every day above ground is a good day.

Funny how getting really effed up makes one appreciate things. Thanks.

Skiffin16 said:

Congrats....
Both on the Dx and your album....

Did you record it in HogTown....

Best,
John

Yep John
Thanks, yes we did record here in GNV. An old scene buddy of mine, Rob McGregor, has a studio called Goldentone that I've done recording at with various bands over the years. He's a great guy and been in bands on the local scene since c. 1990, which is when we first met (playing a house gig on the back porch of my then-band's lead singer). He basically understands how I like to record and what I want out of a record, so he's very easy to work with. He's recorded all of the big names on the indie/punk/etc. scene coming out of Gainesville, like Less Thank Jake, Against Me!, and Hot Water Music. Very talented guy. Although the album has a very live feel to it, since we don't do any involved post-production or ever worry about getting things absolutely perfect, there's a lot of his craft in it.