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