By popular demand, "Mass Assembly" EP - revisited

People have been asking what's up and going on with Mass Assembly.  Well, in short, not much.  MA's been on a very long hiatus and nothing upcoming is planned.  However, I thought I'd post the EP for those of you who haven't heard it and might care to listen.

"Mass Assembly" features Bill Broad on guitar, Davy James on bass, Bruce Brandau on drums and me singing.  It was recorded and mixed by Taras Petryk at serpentOne sound.  Hope you enjoy and, who knows, maybe some interest might awaken the beast...

New song upload! "Oh Ya Whateva" by D.D.M.

Another brand new tune inspired by lack of inspiration and the birth of meaning to an unexpecting mother. One more addition to the Just a Man explanation.  Get it?  Cool.

(If you'd like to purchase this or other DDM tunes, you can find them at http://thisisddm.bandcamp.com.  Thanks!)

Noisy Cricket!

I built this from a vero layout I found at http://www.sabrotone.com/?attachment_id=35. It's a very cool little 1/2 Watt amp that's really good with pedals and surprisingly loud through the right speaker. It runs on a 9v battery, sounds really clear and warm and is very responsive to your playing. I thought I'd share it but you must please excuse the guitarist for he knows not what he does.  You should get the basic idea anyhow...

New Song Uploaded - "Dust to Lust" by DDM

"Another song born and raised to be acknowledged. I could not control the lyrics that escaped from out of the point of my pen so the point has been made heard, accompanied by beaten notes and sung in wails from burning mouths. Beware the approaching, for they have no cause..." -unknown

New song uploaded - "Eleven" by D.D.M.

Here's a new song I wrote and recorded yesterday. It's about the end of time and the universe being a malevolent benevolence and the warnings we never see and the awareness of nothing and about, like, when you think you own something made of leather but then it rips and laughs at you yelling "I'm not real leather, hahahaha!!!" and just stuff like that, you know?...(I don't know what it's about but it is a song that wasn't two days ago...)

DDM Set Rehearsal - 7/21/12

So, as you may have noticed, I've got a couple of shows coming up in August and, just so you know, a whole lot more in the works.  You also may know that I'll be playing solo - without a band.  This, for some reason, seems to be confusing a lot of people so, I decided to post a basic, no frills recording of a "set" rehearsal made yesterday afternoon - just me, my guitar and some tunes I hope you'll enjoy.  There're some covers I may or may not be playing at any given show and even a couple of really old tunes from way back some of you might remember (please expect and excuse the usual, guaranteed screw-ups generated straight from the deepest depths of my being...)

Joy Division - No Love Lost (Cover by D.D.M.)

I recorded a cover of Joy Division's "No Love Lost" because it's one of my favourite songs ever and I thought I'd post it here and not on some regulated 3rd party website that would take it down (sorry). Anyhow Ian Curtis gave me permission to do this in a dream and until the Superior Humans Who Rule tell me that that's not valid enough, it'll be up. I kind of arranged it my own way from memory and all the takes are one off's so, it may be a little different from the original (it might even be totally wrong- haha). Hope you enjoy!

My Acoustic Goes Electric, (just like me...)

Ya, I know this is going to look like a million other YouTube videos out there where people show off their gear and the mods they've done and all that kind of stuff but that's not what I'm going for here.  All i'm saying is, if I can do this, anyone can! I cut some cable, screwed some holes, soldered some wires and made some connections. I filmed basic clips after each stage and ended up putting them together as they now exist in the video below.  If you care to view it, here it is: a very short, basic video clip showing what I've done to my innocent little Ibanez acoustic guitar.  (Pardon the terrible acting, I didn't realize I was actually being filmed by myself.)  ;)

I have added a Tone pot and some knobs which make everything sound much better...

 

D.D.M. on Twitter, video content and upcoming shows

So, D.D.M. is on Twitter at https://twitter.com/thisisddm.  I just started following people today and, for the most part, they're all bands or solo artists (like me).  It's cool to know what's happening for artists I like and I think Twitter's the best for that.  If you care to, you can follow D.D.M. on Twitter for updates to the website like new songs, blogs, videos or whatever gets added.

Which brings me to Videos. No videos are up yet because there are no videos ready to upload yet.  There will be soon enough.  I'll be trying out some home made movie making skills I haven't really learned yet and posting the vids as well as some live or recording footage up on the site and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/thisisddmvideo.

Which now brings me to upcoming shows.  I've played hundreds of shows in millions of bands but none yet as D.D.M..  I'm soooo itching to get playing though and will commence booking in roughly 2 minutes (or however long it takes me to finish writing here).  So, check in to the Gigs calendar whenever you feel the urge to see what's upcoming and if you'd like to book D.D.M. click on the "Contact" link in the main menu above.

Thanks, talk to you soon! - DDM

Imagine - The Story of the Guitar

I watched this just a while ago and enjoyed it so much, I thought I'd share it. It's a 3 part BBC documentary which I've set up in a play list on YouTube.  You can watch it by clicking HERE.
The following description is taken from the BBC website:
"Alan Yentob embarks on a three-part personal journey to discover how the guitar became the world's favourite musical instrument. Beginning with the rise of the acoustic guitar, the series takes him from an ancient Middle Eastern ancestor of the lute, to the iconic guitars draped round the necks of Bill Hailey and Elvis Presley and beyond.
Featuring interviews with Bert Weedon - the man who taught Britain to 'Play in a Day', Pete Townshend, Bill Bailey, flamenco player Paco Pena and classical guitarist John Williams."
My personal favourite part is at 3:53 of Part 1 where Pete Townshend explains his earliest intentions for his weapon of choice (actually, anytime Pete Townshend speaks is my favourite part, haha).  I hope you enjoy...
(Special thanks to YouTubers JJAAHH and logix2010 for uploading the vids.)

Why blog?

Well... first off, I've got stuff to blog about! I love Rock'N'Roll.  I love discovering it, creating it, experiencing it and talking about it with other people who love it just as much as I do.  I love searching for new bands and artists, new sounds and new gear.  I love all the different art associated with Rock'N'Roll, from visual and written (cover art, posters and reviews!!!) to crafted and mechanical (swag and gear!!!).  I want to share what I find resourceful and informative, entertaining and inspirational.  A cool tune, a cool Rock'N'Roll t-shirt or cool effects pedal.  If I find it, I want to share it.  So that's why I'm blogging, with hopes that you might get turned on to something you find here, just as it turned me on, and that that something leads you to ultimate, creative Rock'N'Roll bliss.

- DDM