<html> <!--Generated by Angelfire: L03S00--> <head> <title>The 411... the skinny... the long and short of </title> </head> <body bgcolor="#000000" text="#ffffff" link="#00ff00" alink="#ffa500" vlink="#ff0000"> <basefont size="3"> <div align="center"> <!--Header--> <h1 align="center">The 411... the skinny... the long and short of </h1> <!--EndHeader--> <!--Image--> <div align="center"><img src="driftlogoredandblack.jpg"></div> <p> <!--EndImage--> <!--MyInfo--> Greg - Vocals<br> Greg - Lead guitar<br> Greg - Rhythm guitar<br> Greg - Bass guitar<br> Greg - Drum programming<br> </a><br> <a href="http://drift.earthsucks.com">http://drift.earthsucks.com</a><br> <a href="mailto:nightmaremachine@hotmail.com">nightmaremachine@hotmail.com</a><br> <p> <!--EndMyInfo--> <!--Freetext-->Thank you for stopping by. This page tells you a little bit about who I am and what my music is all about. <P> <img src="Greg_with_guitar.jpg"> <P> My name, as you can see, is Greg. I'm a 26 year old guy, I work at the friendly local gas station and am happily married to a beautiful, sexy blonde named Tatiana.<P><BR> <img src="Incredibly_Sexy.jpg"><P><BR> <P>We have a daughter, but since I don't update that often, you figure out her age. She was born on April 27, 2000. Her name is Alora Rose, and she's my life. Everything I do in some way is for her. She is one of those "Anne-Geddes-so-freakin-cute-you-could-just-die" kind of babies.<P> <img src="yelorose.jpg"></a><P><BR> My "band" is called DRIFT. If Nine Inch Nails is a band, then so am I.<P> Similar to Trent Reznor's NIN, DRIFT is a project that has taken many years to unfold. I have personally been in 10 different bands, all rock of some sort, and they all have one thing in common: chaos.<P> Between drummers who can only play til 7 cuz their neighbors hate the racket, bass players who bring their girlfriend, guitarists who don't know scales, guitarists who DO know scales and therefore think it's THEIR job to write all the songs (my personal group), and lead singers with LSD (Lead Singer's Disease: a swelling of the head involving delusions of grandeur and the belief that one is the gravitatioal center of the galaxy), it's amazing whenever a "band" CAN get together for practice, gigs, whatever. Another inherent problem with bands: do you have any idea the degree of difficulty involved in assembling 5 guys in a room and actually AGREEING on a piece of music?!? Let alone a DOZEN songs?!? HA!!<P><P> So, that brings me to DRIFT. Sick as I am of this endless dance, and aware as I am of the chances of "Hitting It Big", I decided that the only solution to my problem was to scrap the concept of an actual band, and do it how I want it done.<P> Now, technically I don't PLAY the drums, per se, a drum machine does that for me. However, I do have to choose which drums, cymbals and effects comprise my drum kit, as well as the considerable chore of writing the "music" the drums will play, measure by measure, and finally, assembling the entire song and recording it. Think I'm cheating by not using "real" drums? You friggin' try it.<P> If you aren't familiar with multi-tracking, it's actually rather simple; the magnetized tape in an ordinary cassette is divide into 4 sections- Side 1 L, Side 1 R, Side 2 L, and Side 2 R. The multi-track recorder uses those 4 "tracks" in a different manner; it allows you to record on each one while listening to the others. So, once I record the drums onto track 1, I hook up the bass and play track 1 while recording the bass onto track 2. Then, a process known as "dumping" places tracks 1 & 2 onto track 3, leaving 1 & 2 available. I use these for rhythm & lead guitars, recording the rhythm first, so I can listen to it to write the lead guitar parts. <P> Once the lead is done, I adjust all volume levels and play it back to make sure everything is in key, loud enough, doesn't cut out, etc.<P> Then, the part I hate; Vocals. I'm not very confident, and that's probably at least part of the problem. My family tells me I have a good voice, but if Aunt Edna asked if you like her organ playing, what would YOU say?<P> Now, I've traded up; I am no longer using a magnetized cassette, I have gone digital. You'll notice my list of tools has been altered, and I have purchased a 32-track portable digital studio. It's quite a noticable difference, although I'm still learning how to use it. Vocals should no longer be a problem, in terms of volume; it seems to be superior in all areas, but especially vocals.<P> All in all, for a musical person such as myself, it doesn't really feel like work when I'm doing it. It's my great escape, my outlet for stress, my mental vacation. If I didn't make music, I'd be in a clock tower with a rifle within 10 years. Now, we don't want THAT, do we?<P> Just in case you were wondering, I grew up on a steady diet of Ozzy-era Black Sabbath, with some credit also thrown to newer metal groups; Metallica, Overkill, Megadeth, and Slayer to name a few.<P><P> So, that's about it. If you're someone I know reading this, you've learned absolutely nothing new about me, but maybe something about DRIFT. If you stumbled onto my page browsing the 'net and think you'd like to check out my music, drop me an email and I'll send ya a disc. If you rate in my list of people that received a tape for Christmas, consider yourself lucky, as I've now moved on to CDs (Theoretically, this makes the tapes quite valuable, should I go on to make millions, but let's not hold our breath!). Care for one? Drop me a line. But there's a catch; you gotta tell me what makes you dig it... Favorite song? Killer riff? My (snicker) lovely voice?<P> "Best-kept Secret" and "Secrets & Nightmares" are free if ya want 'em (copyright laws and such), but "Nightmare Machine" (2001) and "Black" (2002) are $10, as they're all MY songs. Don't forget, there's MP3's on the main page and elsewhere in my site. <P><P> See y'all, Greg <BR> <P><P> ©2001 <a href="mailto:nightmaremachine@hotmail.com"><img src="bandlogowhite.gif"><BR>E-Mail</a><P> <P> <a href="index.html">BACK TO HOME</a> <P><P><!--EndFreetext--> <p> </div> </body> </html>