Daddy's Little Drummer

Hello to all, 
For you soccer fans out there, I hope you've all been enjoying the World Cup as it's been pretty interesting. Many of the European teams are out of the tournament including my team (Italy) and my band mates (Portugal) respectively. It's funny how so many of the good European teams are out, seems to me it's rigged as so many South American teams have suddenly made it to the next round. Anyways, may the best team win.
On another note, it was my youngest daughter's birthday this week and I thought I'd surprise her with her first drum-set. The look on her face was priceless, she wasted no time and smashed those drum skins with a huge smile on her face! I must say, it makes this dad proud to see his daughter so eager to play the drums and who knows, by the time she's five she may even kick my ass on them! 

The drum manufacturers sure have come a long way in the way they produce  beginners drum-sets let alone a drum-set for toddlers, and the finish on them isn't bad either. I think every kid should have a shot at least on one instrument, music is just as important as anything else in my opinion. My dad always supported me in music and it meant a lot to me, it helps to know you have that support. I remember when we use to practice in my garage in the dead of winter, my dad insulated the whole garage for us not to freeze our asses off, that was pretty cool. Looking back now I don't know how we did it but I guess you'll play in almost any condition when you love your music.
I want to wish my daughter a happy 3rd birthday! 
Daddy loves you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARCO!!!!

We just want to wish our brother behind the skins a Happy Birthday!!! Lucky prick that we aren't having a show for yours, cause it would be a storm of surprises for you! Cheers from all of us at DR

From 'Merica with Love

What's Up Everyone,

    Writing this from Florida as I packed my bags and came down here for a week to get some sun and relax a little. Hanging here is nice and the weather is beautiful! It is hotter than hell but the sun is shining so I can't complain.
    Last week we spent a lot of time working on some of the new material and working out the kinks and it feels like it's starting to take shape. We've been spending a lot of time talking about the direction of the new song(s) and what we want them to sound like (None of us want it to be the same as the last set of material we wrote) and how we're trying to evolve but still have our signature sound on it so it is interesting to see the direction we're going in and how we're trying to get it down just right! We spent many years writing the first 2 albums as "Condemned" and then spent another 5 or 6 writing "Evolution's Mistake" so to start writing so quickly the last thing we want is to have another Evolution's Mistake on our hands…and that's the difference when you aren't signed and don't have to go on tour for 2+ years to promote the album. We've always seen writing as an evolving process and (at least for me) a way to challenge ourselves as musicians and as a band.

    I'm sure sooner or later we'll be out there playing at least some of the new stuff….maybe even on August 1st with The Agonist but we'll see how it's coming together closer to the date…

Cheers everyone and I'm off to the beach!
J

Hand Jobs for crack…M'kay

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Long Legged......Road Island Red Chickens!!

Hey Everyone,

    It's been awhile since it was my turn to write something and I'm glad to be back here spewing my verbal diarrhea (pardon the graphic nature) for you all. While we were on a temporary hold for the month of April due to unforeseen family circumstances we finally got back at it in May and began writing some new material that hopefully will see the light of day in the form of an EP or something like somewhere down the line. It's theme based and possibly a trilogy or a four-parter (which is something we had been wanting to write for awhile) so we're looking forward to having it completed by the end of the summer and then we'll see what happens after that. So far the first song is done and I'm pretty excited by the sound of it and where it seems to be taking us. 

    On another note I'm in the process of waiting for my new custom "Desolate Rage" guitar to come in from Halo Custom Guitars !! So far I couldn't be happier with the way things are working out with these guys during the build. They have been very easy to deal with and extremely helpful. I received a quick sneak peak at the fret board the other day (still under construction) and it looks SIC!! Take a look..........

The expected date for me to receive the damn thing will be as early as September so looks like I'm going to have to be patient for now but little sneak peaks always put a smile on my face and make the waiting game a little easier (to be honest I was hoping I'd have it in time for the show with The Agonist on August 1st).

There are some other things in the works but I'll save those for another day or someone else to write about but be sure that we'll keep preaching and I promise that my next one won't be as long of a sermon as this one was. 

Cheers!!

Jorge