My debut CD "Zero Mantra" is finally finished - instrumental rock guitar

DrewPeterson7

DrewPeterson7

Sage of the Order
This one was a LONG time coming. :lol: I've been tracking since 2010, talking about releasing it since 2005, and the oldest song was written in 2001. A bunch of my guitarist buddies used to joke for years that it was going to be a dead heat between my debut and Axl Rose's "Chinese Democracy." I lost. :(

Anyway, as of this week it's now for sale on CD Baby, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, and a couple other places I'm forgetting. Here's a couple tracks:

"Letting Go" - mellow bluesy rock.
http://youtu.be/qEINf399sDY

"Red Skies" - melodic hard rock, seven string grooves
http://youtu.be/trnztVCYnyk

If you like it, you can grab it here:
http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/DrewPeterson
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/id957333173

This may or may not be your thing, but if Joe Satriani, Andy Timmons, David Gilmour, and John Petrucci appeal to you, it's worth a listen! And this board gets a shoutout in th eliner notes, I learned a ton here and got some really good mix feedback from the community. So, thank you guys! :)
 
Good lead playing (checked out the two freebies).

Letting Go wasn't particularly interesting, sounded like blank canvas for the leads.

Red Skies has more bite and energy, but like the other track it cycles through the same progressions a few too many times and just becomes background noise/filler to noodle over. You should find a songwriter and jump in on leads for them, that way you can skip this milktoast stuff and put your skills to good use. :)

The drums are very reverby (fast gated faux studio sound) compared to the rest of the mix. Just something to reconsider in future releases, the "room" (or stage) should be somewhat consistent unless intentional for an effect. The mix overall is real good regardless.

Good luck, instrumental rock is very small niche and only the masters have managed to make a living on it. Your talents would be welcome in any number of bands/projects, so think about collaborating if you aren't/haven't already.
 
Well done Oh Sage of the Order...

Always good to realise a dream.

And it's way better than Chinese Democracy... :D
 
Schwarzenyaeger said:
Good playing.
Are you hoping to make an honest living off of this?
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:laughings: That is probably a backhanded insult, and certainly reads like an unintentional one if it isn't, but to answer your question...

...no, I'm not. I by and large like my day job, I'm good at it, and it pays well enough that it's hard to imagine the level of success I'd need to achieve in the (VERY niche) instrumental rock world to make it work quitting. This is just something I do for fun on the side; I like playing, I like writing, and I like recording, so really my only "financial" goal here was to break even on the sales, which I've already done. The primary objective was just to have fun releasing an album, and hope that people don't hate it. Still, after working on this on and off for quite literally 10 years, it feels pretty effing cool to share it with people, and it's been a lot of fun to talk with other people about something that's been a very private part of my life for about a decade. :)

Thanks for taking the time to check this out, though, guys. :)
 
Pinky said:
Good lead playing (checked out the two freebies).

Letting Go wasn't particularly interesting, sounded like blank canvas for the leads.

Red Skies has more bite and energy, but like the other track it cycles through the same progressions a few too many times and just becomes background noise/filler to noodle over. You should find a songwriter and jump in on leads for them, that way you can skip this milktoast stuff and put your skills to good use. :)

The drums are very reverby (fast gated faux studio sound) compared to the rest of the mix. Just something to reconsider in future releases, the "room" (or stage) should be somewhat consistent unless intentional for an effect. The mix overall is real good regardless.

Good luck, instrumental rock is very small niche and only the masters have managed to make a living on it. Your talents would be welcome in any number of bands/projects, so think about collaborating if you aren't/haven't already.
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This is just about exactly my thoughts.

Best to you Drew! Enjoy your music. That is what it is about man. :)
 
Thanks guys! Out of curiosity re: songwriting, how many of you normally listen to instrumental stuff like this? I.e, how much of it is just genre related ("where's the singer?") and how much is just the songwriting could be stronger?

I mean, ideally I want to get to the point where you don't even miss the singer even if you don't normally listen to instrumental rock... But I'm still curious. Thanks!
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
Thanks guys! Out of curiosity re: songwriting, how many of you normally listen to instrumental stuff like this? I.e, how much of it is just genre related ("where's the singer?") and how much is just the songwriting could be stronger?

I mean, ideally I want to get to the point where you don't even miss the singer even if you don't normally listen to instrumental rock... But I'm still curious. Thanks!
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I listen to instrumental stuff all the time. I don't listen to metal shred guitar rock, but I listen to traditional and dirty surf-guitar stuff all the time. I love it. I don't miss singers at all if it's an interesting instrumental song.

Congrats on your album. I know it's a good feeling to have a finished piece of work that you can put to bed. Good luck with it! :)
 
Congratulations on finishing your album. I'm not much of an instrumental fan but enjoyed previewing Red Skies.
 
I am of the mindset that one or two instrumentals on a 12-song album is a good thing. I'm not crazy about an all instrumental album, though I might own a few.

I listened to the two freebies when you first posted last week and liked what I heard. I thought you tried to be more melodic than technical and I like that. (And you are a pretty damn good guitar player, too)

I would think your songs could find a venue with TV, film and video. You'd have to do some footwork, but maybe Taxi.com could be a start.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
Thanks guys! Out of curiosity re: songwriting, how many of you normally listen to instrumental stuff like this? I.e, how much of it is just genre related ("where's the singer?") and how much is just the songwriting could be stronger?

I mean, ideally I want to get to the point where you don't even miss the singer even if you don't normally listen to instrumental rock... But I'm still curious. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I like some instrumental stuff (like The Aristocrats) but generaly I'm like Chili and appreciate a few instrumental tracks on an album, or the instrumental moments during a long prog song. In comparison I haven't listened to a Vai, Satriani, etc album in ages.
 
Greg_L said:
I know it's a good feeling to have a finished piece of work that you can put to bed.
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Oh good lord, can I even tell you how much fun I'm having working on NEW material that hasn't been part of my life for ten years? :laughings:

Thanks guys - I definitely appreciate all the feedback, and furthermore you guys sticking around to answer questions that I'm asking. :)

Pinky said:
I like some instrumental stuff (like The Aristocrats)...
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Man, isn't Govan insane? I'm pretty sure that guy can play anything he puts his mind to. If you haven't yet, check out some of his work with Steven Wilson. "The Raven That Refused to Sing" was, to my ears, the best album released in 2013, and that same lineup is about to release a second album (though Govan and Minnemann won't be touring with Wilson in the US, which has me crushed. :/)
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
:laughings: That is probably a backhanded insult, and certainly reads like an unintentional one if it isn't, but to answer your question...

...no, I'm not. I by and large like my day job, I'm good at it, and it pays well enough that it's hard to imagine the level of success I'd need to achieve in the (VERY niche) instrumental rock world to make it work quitting. This is just something I do for fun on the side; I like playing, I like writing, and I like recording, so really my only "financial" goal here was to break even on the sales, which I've already done. The primary objective was just to have fun releasing an album, and hope that people don't hate it. Still, after working on this on and off for quite literally 10 years, it feels pretty effing cool to share it with people, and it's been a lot of fun to talk with other people about something that's been a very private part of my life for about a decade. :)

Thanks for taking the time to check this out, though, guys. :)
Click to expand...

I didn't mean it as an insult, honestly.
I was adding onto the statement that Pinky made about instrumental rock being very niche + the competition being high at the same time. The people you are competing with are Vai, Satriani and Andy Timmons, really.

I commend you on recording an entire album by yourself and releasing it. :)


And to add to your question: I love, love, love Andy Timmons. There is no man with a greater vibrato and bends and "tasteful" shredding, whatever that means.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
Oh good lord, can I even tell you how much fun I'm having working on NEW material that hasn't been part of my life for ten years? :laughings:

Thanks guys - I definitely appreciate all the feedback, and furthermore you guys sticking around to answer questions that I'm asking. :)



Man, isn't Govan insane? I'm pretty sure that guy can play anything he puts his mind to. If you haven't yet, check out some of his work with Steven Wilson. "The Raven That Refused to Sing" was, to my ears, the best album released in 2013, and that same lineup is about to release a second album (though Govan and Minnemann won't be touring with Wilson in the US, which has me crushed. :/)
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That's how I know of Govan, big PT/SW fan. Agree about Raven, and have second row tickets for his May 2015 show in Albany. :D [my first SW show, solo or PT]
 
Schwarzenyaeger said:
And to add to your question: I love, love, love Andy Timmons. There is no man with a greater vibrato and bends and "tasteful" shredding, whatever that means.
Click to expand...

They's tone is ridiculous, isn't it? He's also probably the nicest guy in the business I've ever met.

Pinky said:
That's how I know of Govan, big PT/SW fan. Agree about Raven, and have second row tickets for his May 2015 show in Albany. :D [my first SW show, solo or PT]
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Albany, NY? Man, I hate to be the bearer of bad news... But Minnemann and Govan won't be on the US tour, since they have an Aristocrats tour the same time. :( I'll still g, I figure, but I was crushed when I heard that. Wilson on the "Raven" tour was one of the best shows I've ever seen, barely edging out the first time I saw PT (on the "Deadwing" tour, at the berklee theater, where they managed to get a 3-minute standing ovation after "Arriving Somewhere... (but not here)" in the middle of their set from an otherwise seated crowd. Insane...).
 
Schwarzenyaeger said:
He seems really legit. Like he never made it big enough to go crazy with power and lose his touch. Benefited him if you ask me.
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Yeah man. If you ever get a chance to catch a clinic he's playing, do it. Super chill guy - you're probably right, and additionally he's not bitter about the fact he never achieved more success, I think.
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
Albany, NY? Man, I hate to be the bearer of bad news... But Minnemann and Govan won't be on the US tour, since they have an Aristocrats tour the same time. :( I'll still g, I figure, but I was crushed when I heard that. Wilson on the "Raven" tour was one of the best shows I've ever seen, barely edging out the first time I saw PT (on the "Deadwing" tour, at the berklee theater, where they managed to get a 3-minute standing ovation after "Arriving Somewhere... (but not here)" in the middle of their set from an otherwise seated crowd. Insane...).
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Yup, nothing I can do about it. Tickets are cheap anyway ($38), can't complain. Supposedly the replacements are solid musicians. Don't see Wilson needing to settle for second best. Would have preferred to see Marco and Guthrie, but that's not in the cards.

I think the friend I'm going to the show with has been to nearly every northeast PT show since their Deadwing tour, he reflects often about them. He was probably at that Berklee show. Definitely any NYC/LI shows. he says the vibe is very good for a 'rock' concert. Very cult following. I'm not religious. :D
 
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