Jen: Ooooooops!! & Reflection

"Sorry Franko".. I blamed Frank for turning off the comments options and know what? My dumb ass made the all links the same color as the background!!! ooooOOOOPS! hehe.. bet he's not laughing...

OK so we jammed on Saturday. It was not as long as we usually go because Frank had to get sticks and run other errands.. BUT it was extremely productive. We're having flashes of brilliance where you feel the earth align with the stars.. blah blah. We went through New Sun Rising, Switchblade, and Ignore Everything over and over to tighten them up and work Dave's vocals, then we worked on one of the newest jams. We had been referring to it as "Fire in Your Mouth". We agreed on a permanent name now... *drumroll*..

"FIRST STRIKE". Perfect name.. it represents the music well.

After all that conditioning, we pieced together 3/4 of another new song! Jared's big contribution.. Frank and I were jammin on this one beat and he writes this arpeggiated part based on the downbeat of a riff Dave was playing. THEN Dave comes up with another part based off Jared's part. Frank and I were keepin things solid.. it's too damn catchy!! That was the verse and everything flew from there. And it's a refreshing taste after all the hard, fast Lamb of Slayer-esque music we've been cranking out. Anyways, you'll get to hear all this shit at our first show back.

So this is a bit off topic, but I was reflecting today. We got asked all the time about what the hell happened to ANGERKILL the past two years. Well, to put it in a simple, non shit-flinging way, we fuckin' ran outta gas. Things will happen to try to pull you down.. and a NUMBER of things were pulling us down. We ultimately gave up and let them win. Some negative influences were much stronger than others, but overall, it was a combination of negativity from all different. We couldn't write anything worth a shit. Hell, we couldn't even get together to practice! We went from five practices a week, eight to ten shows a month to two and a half months of cancelled practices for different excuses. We decided to call at that time. On a personal level, we didn't talk to Frank for 4 months! That's hard to do when you're brothers.. and a sister-in-law.

Dave gave himself a break to get his mentality back to the basics of what he loves about this, then started looking for a fresh project and knew he wanted to jam with Jared. They looked for like a year and a half (although not that feverishly). They wrote a couple of songs together, tried out drummers, but nothing ever came to be. They put the ad in the Edge and got calls ranging from "Hey Bro, i'm really good - compare myself to Bostaph.. but I don't have drums at the moment" and "some of my influences? Eagles.. ya know.. classic rock". He even got "Dude, you want to play what? that doesn't pay." Dave's picky, man.. if someone called with no job or no car, shitty drums, he wanted nothing to do with that. After you've tried for almost ten years to get a tight band going, you just don't want to deal with that crap anymore.

So then Frank calls in July. Again, we hadn't spoken to him in months. He comes over one night and the three of us talk things out. Not even about the band, but about our relationships with eachother. What we like, dislike, but most importantly, what we expect. Not ten minutes after the conversation, they rushed into the garage to play.

Jared leaves soon after to San Diego for some personal business. Inopportune timing, but that's life.. I mean, he waited around all this time, things get together, and he's gotta leave. He has his Dad come over to pick up his equipment and ship it to San Diego. He practices his ass off over there to stay limber. During this time, Dave and Frank are writing like madmen. Everytime they get together, music flows like a fat lady with the shits. Jared came back a couple of weeks ago with a brand new cab and rack equipment, and that's where we're at now. He bought this really nice Ibanez this last weekend.. I don't know the model. It's the Shadows Fall one.

SO now we're "jelling". Practices are spent getting transitions down, making sure we have the riffs precise, physical conditioning and most importantly, we're having fun. Every practice has been an emotional experience that I hadn't felt since 2000. It's been FUN and it feels great.

We booked our comeback show for January. We'll be fine tuned well before then if we keep the same momentum. We've booked our promo pictures for a couple of weeks from now, we're exploring studio options and we've hired an established artist who's already begun the artwork for it.

I suppose I'm explaining all this because the fact that we're coming back is such a major part of all of our lives right now. Each new piece of music is more than just a piece of a CD, but it's important healing and birth. I'm not trying to be sappy, but trying to explain to those of you that care where we've been and what direction we're now headed (not even we will know where we're going until we get there).

Notice I said "those of you that care." That's who we're playing for. For ourselves and "those of you that care" - those who motivated us during our trying times. You know you who are.. individuals and bands alike. Each of you that shows up to the show at Bonds in January will not see a band up there wanting to simply entertain you, but we're presenting you with *ALL* the emotions we've experienced in the past five years and the outcome of it all in an artform. I won't even tell you it's gonna be a good show, but I can promise it's going to be soulful, emotional and heartfelt from each of us. It's our trophy for getting past it all - it will be a show we'll hold dear always. There are plenty of opportunities after that Friday the 13th to simply entertain and win new fans.

For AK, the only thing more exciting than this evening will be our new CD.

Frank: Practice on 10/24/05

Sorry for the late update. It's been a bitchin' week. Did i just say bitchin'?

Damn....sorry.

I was alittle tired and the cooler weather outside sure wasn't helping.

Dave and i start off with just jamming. I was doing the double kick pattern in 4/4 with a triplet snare beat on that backround. it was cool. And dave was playing this good ol' fashion C.O.C. type riff that fit really well. it was the kinda jam where the double bass just keeps going, and going, and going. Like...even through the verses and bridges and choruses and shit.

Berry Berry cool. And then we recorded it. Hopefully we'll have some garage jams for you folks to listen to in the near future.

What would ya'll think of that?

Moving on...

We then started to refine H.S.S. There is this break down in the middle of the song that i always thought was way too short. The riff that is there is like 'ear candy'. It's very catchy, and i just thought that we should extend it just a little bit. So we kept it 4x thru in the half time feel, and then another 4x thru full time feel. (you know what the fuck i mean)

And just when we were getting into the the grove...my last pair of sticks fucking broke. FUCK!

we had to stop about and hour early.

Next practice is schedule for 10/27/05 with everyone.

Laterz!

Frank

Jen: Strong momentum - steady pace

It's finally happened... things feel like they did back in 2000. We've got something strong going on and it's comforting!

We practiced as a full band last Thursday, tightening some things up, then again Saturday. That one was a long session. We actually ran out of gas. Frank got here at two and we stopped at 8:30 so Dave, Frank and Jared could check out the Edge Magazine CD release at the Rabbit. We have been exhausting all our babysitting time lately for practice, so I stayed home with the kids. The sole babysitter is my sister.. and with finals coming up, I can tell she's getting worn down as well.. but she's here every practice ready to help us out. I'm sincerely grateful to have her.

SO then we took promo pictures on Sunday. We went out to this factory.. I'm sure most of you have seen it. I went out there in highschool to shoot photos and have had a fond feeling for it since. It's an old run down, crumbling warehouse that has a soul to it... hard to describe. We had to walk through the woods, jump a couple of railroad cars, but we got there with a good hour or so of sunlight to shoot. It was kind of spooky but serene... I made Jared run like a girl but that's another story in itself. Haha... A huge, big ol', fat "thank you" to Rick for lending us his photographic talent! We very much appreciate it.

The guys practiced yesterday and broke down some riffs piece by piece to get Jared over some hurdles. He got our toughest song down.. its all downhill from here. Today is full band, tomorrow is either Dave writing lyrics or guitar sectional (depends on how today goes...), we're off for Turkey, then Friday and Saturday we're practicing again. It's unexplainable.. it feels great!!! It's such a release right now to get in there and pound out these songs. The new one's are fast... so we walk out of there sweaty with sore forearms but with a clear mind.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Steve Di'giorgio is God!

Jen

Frank: First AK practice with everyone

...and i was so tired. I have been so sick with allergies this whole week. So needless to say, i was just so worn out by the time practice started.

Monday, i started off with the stuffy nose. Tuesday, stuffy nose turned to a fucking runny nose and i couldn't catch it (ha ha! that was funny). Wednesday, sore throat, chills, and a low grade fever. Yesterday, my nose stopped running...but my ass caught whatever my nose had. It was horrible.

On the way to practice...i started feeling like i was having menstrual cramps and shit. At one point, i honestly didn't think that i was gonna make it. It hurt soooooo bad. As soon as i pulled up to the driveway, Dave was opening the garage door. I was like, "move bitch! I gotta take a shit!"

Eh...anyway...just a little insight for you guys there.

Now back to the practice.

Well, once i did get out of the shitter! Umm, okay...for real...

Regardless, i was feeling really shitty!!!!!!!!!!!! oh god...i was weak, my stomach was all achy and crampy from having the runs...okay okay okay....back to practice...

Went over New Sun Rising 2x. Made sure Jared had some of the key riffs down. He'll be okay...a little sloppy...but should improve over time.

Went over Switchblade 2x as well. More key riffs to be noted for Jared. Again...that song will improve over time.

Went over Fire In Your Mouth more than 2x! We really like this tune. It's your typical a-b-a-b-a-b kinda song. Pretty typical patterns...it's just that riffs are hard as hell. You should've seen Jen after the 10th time playing that song!!!!!!! She said her arms and hands felt real heavy!!!!!! I could imagine! That's probably what my stomach felt like too!


That was pretty much it.

Dave and Jared should be holding a Sectional here in the next few days. Dave, Jared, and i will be getting together on Monday. Next full band practice is scheduled for Thursday.


"Drink beer, okay? go ahead and drink beer this weekend"

damn...my fucking conscience is talking to me....i must obey...

Frank

Frank: Quick update

Promo pics are scheduled to be taken on November 13th. We'll have pictures of the new guy JARED up as soon as we are able to!

Full blown practice tonight. can't wait!!!

more details tomorrow!

Frank

Jen: Angerkill comeback show @ Bonds 007

Working with MT Productions, we have nailed down our comeback show.

January 13, 2006 Bonds 007 450 Soledad. SATX

Ages 18+ $5 cover

Lineup is as follows (in order of appearance):
ENORMITY
BROTHERHOOD
COURSE OF RUIN (Austin, TX)
ANGERKILL
LOKEY

We're pleased to work with MT Productions and have such a talented lineup for the evening. We will be bringing you our new material, along with maybe a couple of old favorites, new merchandise, and the first time for you to see us with our newest member, Jared.
Mark your calendar and please drop us a message if you'd like to help us promote this bitch!!!

www.ANGERKILL.com

Jen: Jared is back! What a kickass practice 10/15

Yesterday was an amazing practice.

Frank got here about 5, but by the time we got started, it was about 6. To make a long story short, that hour was spent bringing in a carpet to use under Frank's drums that we took from my dads that was being used for his dogs to lie on that Frank had washed so he could use it. It stunk like mold and wet dog. I made the mistake of going nextdoor to my dads and taking some Oust.. Dave went crazy with that shit and it made us all a little sick. Ultimately he got it the worst because it gave him the shits.

We started out with "Fire in Your Mouth". Now, no lyrics have been written for these three new ones, but we dub them as they sound. Frank came up with that nomenclature. The guys were tightening it up and I was observing and learning the riffs, then I'd jump in here and there as I got it. Luis comes in the back door. We kept going and recorded the final version of the song.

We then proceeded to "Ranting and Non-hearings." This song was written long ago for our 2 friends we lost... well, they were much more than friends. Short story about it.. long after the funerals, we found a file in my laptop saved under "Ranting and Non-hearings" and it was all various thoughts by Jesse. He used to use my laptop in the kitchen at night. The lyrics were written for Eric. His service contained a lot of empty preaching that left us with strong emotions about what was said. I remember Dave showing me the lyrics for the first time in patio in our backyard one night after he penned them. He said they came easy.. and drew a lot of emotion from him. We wrote this song a couple of years ago, but the music was never quite right. We played it live 2 or 3 times, but we always fucked it up somehow. I've got to give it to Dave and Frank. They figured out what was wrong and fixed it. I personally feel that it's now an amazing package and feel proud that it is what it deserves to be.

After hammering it out numerous times, we see some hands waving through the garage door windows. Jared's ass is back from San Diego!! Hell yeah.. he had just drove in and stopped by to leave his equipment. He's gotten fit (skinny bastard!) cut his hair and it's just great to see the "new" him. He takes off to go home and shower and says he'll return in an hour. We took a short break. The guys continue throwing down some beer (a twelve of Dos and eighteen of Bud Light! HA! So much for not drinking). Eh, well, it's about having fun while creating.

We come back and play the "one-open" song. This was another one written in 2003 but never came to fruition because something was lacking. Bottom line is that there was something inside of us that was missing, and it's not missing anymore. Another badass jam that's been given life.

Jared comes back. The guys quickly jump into all the new songs to show him what he's missed. I had emailed them to him, but the audio was not very discernible. We're talking one mic, emailed through the net. They ran through all of the new songs - Fire in Your Mouth, the one-open song, Signs of a Storm, Ranting and Non-Hearings and H.S.S. I stayed off bass to record them and also because I haven't written all my parts. I'm a bit behind.... I'll kick it up for next Saturday practice. The guys know I'm excited and will come through. I'm just the bassplayer anyways. (that's a joke..). Well, here's the amazing part. Watching these guys with Jared, I got to see the core of the band present all the creativity they've produced in the past few months. AK's all about rhythm.. and Dave and Frank do it well. I shifted thinking as if I was watching as a spectator, someone in the crowd. I didn't think about my parts at all. I was standing in front of the monitors and had chills the entire time. Chills and goosebumps... I've never gotten that feeling from Angerkill tunes. Jared's words after they finished summed it up well. "You guys have been working..."

Then they all went to play basketball in the dark. Funny shit. Dave, Luis & Jared were getting aggravated with me because I was laughing at the shots over the backboard, airballs.. so I went back inside. Who plays basketball in the dark anyways?!?

Well, as a band, our places of opportunity are surely not music. We need to get our equipment sounding good and get the overall organization in place (that part's me).

Anyhow, excellent practice!!!!!!

Jen

Frank: Great fucking practice yesterday!!!!

Hey AK Fans,

God Damn practice was great yesterday, man! Trying to finish this one song that Dave and i have dubbed "The 1 Open Song". No title yet...but man that song is turning out to be a monster. you might bang your head so hard to that song that it might fall off.

Let's see...Jen wasn't able to make practice. Her sister Bre got sick and was not able to baby sit. It's okay though. Dave and i still got to hammer out and condition on some of the new tunes. Same songs we went over again...

Started off with cold muscles and all:

Fire In Your Mouth (Man, that song is really growin' on me and Dave)

Rantings and Non-Hearings (Jesse and Eric would be proud)

Switchblade (Just all around heavy)

H.S.S. (Love it!!!)

The 1 Open Song (Watch out now...this one's got some pepper on it)

Practice started at approx. 7:15pm and we conditioned till about 8:30pm. Dave and i did not have one drop of beer this time. (Dave, i think that's a sign, bro)

My friend Aaron Murray showed up just as we were getting rolling. He got to check out practice.
anything else?

Nope...

C-ya!!!

Frank Diaz de Leon

Angerkill Motherfuckers!!!!

Frank: 10/10/05 Practice

Alright,

Yesterday's practice. Dave and i started a little late. i tell you why on my blog.

We went over Fire In Your Mouth, Signs Of A Storm, and Rantings And Non-Hearings.
And yes...we saved Rantings for last because we still got shit to sort out on that one. But it was all good. i am having trouble with this interlude part in the middle of the song where there is this double kick pattern along with some snare shit...it's pretty hard. But the hardest part is COUNTING the measures to that bitch.

Thursday is the next full practice with Jennifer. Can't wait...

Dave: More on 10/6 practice and other shit

Yo, I have to agree on Frank's assessment of the last practice...we were both a bit slugish i must say. I'm proud to say, though, that I overcame my laziness, grabbed the mic stand, and belted out the shit with the last bit of energy i had that day. it's weird, because as much as we're hype about playing and writing, there's times like last practice where it's tough to muster the energy.

So, weeeso, this goes for both of us, quit being a PUSS!!!! We must prevail!!!! You want to let Jared hear us play like that when he gets back!!?? The way i pump myself up is, i think about playing in front of those friends and fans again, the energy you feel when they're jamming, moshing, and singing along.

Overall, though, things are absolutely great with the AK. I'd have to say, this is the most momentum we've had since the old Oxbow days...it feels "real".

So, I can say with confidence, now, that we WILL be back. The music Frank and I have written so far is fast and intense. We had our buddy Mando and his wife Angela over to hang out the other day, and i thought one of Angela's comments was pretty cool...she said, "man, are all your songs this fast??!!" That kind of made me think...we were jamming a lot of the newer shit, and i thought to myself, "well, yes. our new stuff is pretty cut throught." Man, the new stuff feels good. It's pretty much the shit i've always wanted to write, and the shit i know frank's capable of, but for whatever reason, it wasn't there when we did DV8. Our fastest, most complex song on DV8 is probably New Sun Rising. Most of the new album is New Sun on crack.

What's cool is that I don't think it's "noise metal" or unlistenable. There's nice thrashy riffs, meaty double bass, and cool changes, dynamics. All the stuff i love. Of course, we fill the shit with subtle little nuances for the trained metal ear to indulge in.

Ok. I'm done. I'm drinking my Crown tonight and will probably delve into some Dream Theater and King Crimson tonight just for the hell of it.

To all my AK Crew...the posse lives. Can't wait to tear shit up!!!!

AK Dave

Frank: 10/06/05 Practice

Started practice a little late. I had to help Jen load some tables and chairs and take them to her moms house. But by the time we started practice...i was just a little tired. Dave and i went over Marvel, Switchblade, Rantings and Non-Hearings. Or should i say that when we got to Rantings, it just became a little difficult for me. I don't know why i'm having such a hard time with that tune. The timing changes are just a little hard. And not to mention, that i was just alittle exhausted. It's been a long week...I look forward to practice this saturday with Jen and dave. I'll have my kids with me, so they will be able to see their aunt, uncle, and daddy jam to some metal!!! Peace!

Frank

Jen: Comment to the last blog/first blog.. whateverthehell

You would think that I'd just comment, but I can't figure out how! Dammit.. can build our website, but can't figure out how to use myspace. This shits driving me nuts.

Here are my comments. Good luck getting Dave to post a blog. I've been asking him to and he just keeps saying "what the fuck is a blog?!" to piss me off.

I practiced with the guys for the first time last week. Dave and Frank have been writing intermittently since July and have dished out two new ones and many many homeless riffs. Dave spoke to him Friday and Jared is in San Diego and will be returning very soon with new equipment.
I can tell you about when i've been present. For a couple of months, I've been listening to these guys go at it from inside the house watching the kids. We decided to just go for it and now I've started jamming with them thanks to the help of my sister.

Thursday, I rushed into practice after Nadia's piano lesson. Dave and Frank were there... it made me nervous because I'm not used to being the one holding things up. They were just working on equipment - Dave accusing everyone of moving cables, monitors.. his usual. Frank was adjusting his drums. I plugged my shit in and proceeded to jam with the guys. My forearms were kickin my ass by the second song. I remembered most of the riffs, but forgot some bass lines. Drove me nuts.. my tone bothered me because I need new strings. I called H&H from Nadia's lesson and all they had instock were Elixers. $60 for strings... fuck that!!! Maybe if we were playing shows, but not now. Century, Sam Ash and Hermes are all too far from our hood so I had to deal with it.

Saturday was a great practice. It started out with my bass shocking me. No shit - never happened before. Freaked me out! I thought I was getting carpel tunnel because everyone describes it as 'tingling'. Then it started to happen both hands. Then shocked the forearms. I signalled to the guys to stop and told them what was happening. Dave said "go put your shoes on, dumbass." I was playing barefoot because I couldn't find any shoes. he told me later that he's been kicking them under the bed because I don't put them away. Asshole! Then they made a quick death metal parody of me saying "my bass is shocking me". Anyways, not a whole lot of writing, but much conditioning. We played New Sun, Ignore Everything, and the newbies - Marvel, Switchblade, HSS, Ranting and Non-hearings (perfected a new ending that makes that song kickass!) and newbie tentatively titled Signs of a Storm. That last one was written way before the hurricanes so no relation. So that doesn't seem like a lot, but try over and over in 90 degree garage. The music is intense.. total workout for the limbs.

Dave and Frank write again tonight. Mando, childhood bud of theirs, is coming to check it out. I'm sitting out because my days are Thursdays and Saturdays - that's when I have a sitter.
Who knows whats gonna happen. Walter from Course of Ruin taught me that I'm not a pessimist, but I pragmatist. (we had a long ass discussion about that the other day). In the 7 years of AKs existance, I've learned that you never can predict what's next. For the first time since 2001, we're all on the same page again without any negativity whatsoever. That's all we can ask for.

OK, I just realized Frank must have turned off the comments on his last entry. Goddamn Fishybitch.

Jen

Frank: AK's First Blog

Yo! What up AK fans?

This is the first blog post for AK. The purpose of these blogs will be to keep you informed of daily activities with AK. This will include new music thoughts, patterns, moods, and all around general shit that we think you guys might like to read.

The goal is to get everyone to post. Me, Dave, Jen, and Jared. It'd be nice to get everyones point of view on things.

I could say stuff like, "Dave ripped an ugly ass fart while we were playing Marvel. It smelled absolutley horrible."

If there is anything you guys would personally like to see more of, just let us know. We will do our best to accomodate your requests.

Peace!
Frank