17.10.02 Synthescape have reached the semi-finals of the Club Evolution battle of the bands. Synthescape play again at Club Evolution 138 Commercial Road Prahran. 11th December. Cancel your holidays. 13.10.02 Empress tonight 9.00. 8.10.02 Synthescape play at Club Evolution 138 Commercial Road Prahran. 13th November. Around 9 PM. 5 dollar entry. We have to presell tickets so give quang a buzz or else just turn up. It's for a battle of the bands thing. As usual expect some new crazy antics. The sets really short so you have to be there right on the dot or else you'll miss everything. We want you to go completely beserk for us because we want to at least make it to the next round. cheers! hugs and kisses to no one. There's a new mp3 up called Climbed into an Oubliette. 22.8.02 Synthescape play the Armadale on the 4th of September, 9-9.45 PM at an unbelievable price of 3 dollars. Wow! Don't miss out on our first real gig in a little over a year! Expect everything and then a little bit more. And then a little bit more. And you'll come a hundreth of the way to comprehending how amazing this gig will be. There will be tears, laughter, emotion, pretty much everything. It might not live up to expectations. 26.7.02 few new mp3s from recording session number 2. mostly improvements on session 1. 17.7.02 Long time since i wrote anything here. Fuck I just realised how much stuff i have put onto this site. I'm not an internet geek! but anyway, there's some brand new mp3's on this very site! The whole band, not just solo stuff. 6 Brand new recordings plus two new songs! Somnambulance (a working title) and clutchacleaver. Very nice! Gigs will come. Just be patient cos the reformation of Synthescape is nearing completion. 8.05.02 Hullo and welcome to a new brand of band. Synthescape has been pondering its own direction, aims, goals and its future and we have reached some intra-band conclusions. unfortunately this information cannot be revealed as it may ruin the facade of this band. However, i can see exciting prospects on the horizon. I'd like to go into some philosophical discussion now, but to be perfectly honest, the incessant drone of uni life has caused some minor disruption within my head. Uni life is somewhat unsatisfying. There's a peculiar oppresion within the freedom uni life presents. There are a lot of shit bands out there who regularly get gigs, have a small following and are quite proud of themselves. It just disappoints me personally that these bands are actually surviving and no one has assasinated them yet. There is a sea of shit out there and it is absolutely horrifying to wade through it to find anything half-decent. i'm not saying the music we make is great, but originality and creativity is admirable. Perhaps the most beautiful thing in this world is creativity. If anyone knows a remedy for writer's block it will be much appreciated. We all apologise to the human and alien races, for not playing any gigs lately and for not bettering our world. There is now a new section entitled 'headfuck''. Basically it delves into the musical musings of Quang and little else. Also there is a brand new guestbook...so please leave your opinion of absolutely anything. Anything! If you missed the U-bar gig, with a little imagination you may be able to virtually simulate it by running your pupils across the following characters: Round 1 Paranoid Android Mute All I Want Is You Daysleeper Disarm Round 2 Beautiful Impossible Tonight, Tonight Fake Plastic Trees Last Nite Bulletproof How To Disappear Completely Round 3 The Bends Idioteque Road Trippin' Don't Panic Pick You Up Better Run Better Be Home Soon Motion Picture Soundtrack True Love Waits 16.03.02 Geez, it's been quite awhile since anything's happened in the band lately. But we are working hard I assure you. Just a little internal restructuring going on at the moment. But gig-wise there finaaly is some news not the usual philosophical fodder that is usually placed here. Quang will be playing a solo gig at the U-bar (Melbourne Uni) on Friday 22nd March at around 8 PM. 12.02.02 Unfortunately, yet somewhat fortunately, there is some good news and bad news. You want the good news or the bad news?...or perhaps i could interest you in the weather? Well, anyway Synthescape's amazing, eclectic, efficacious lead guitarist, James McGuire...has been accepted into studying Medicine at Adelaide University...that was obviously the good news. The bad news is he will unfortunately be leaving Synthescape in the greedy pursuit of hordes of money when he undertakes his Medicine course...no bitterness intended. Obviously the band is shattered at Gwee's abrupt departure...but hey we have already recruited a new, invigorated, enthusiastic lead guitarist! Now his musical credentials are quite overwhelming...and also his pedigree is quite impressive. His identity is yet to be revealed...But still we must not forget the ever-important Gwee, bless his name, who was as much a part of our hearts as he was a part of the band. May he rest in peace. Goodbye England's Rose. In other news, Synthescape will debut the Masked Musician in a concert penned down for late early April where his secret identity may or may not be revealed. Plans are for the concert to be held at the Cherry Tree Hotel...of Durbeyfield fame. But details will be confirmed soon. Setlist-wise, half the songs will be originals...3 of which have yet to be played live...and half will be covers. Also, a choice selection from Dom's song database will be played. Expect his usual crazy antics as he teams up with the Masked Musician to add a new group dynamic to our performance. As a great Immanuel Kant once said, 'Rain is rain' Ponder it...but not for too long. 23.12.01 My head seems quite loaded at the moment. All these tidbits of tidbits are orbiting my head and i don't want them there. I think maybe I should write a song now since i feel so fucked. Oh god...what am i saying? Here's a random thought I thought of a few days ago. When you're making a decision who in fact in really making that decision? This is probably being expressed terribly but who cares? When you decide to get a drink, did you actually decide to do that? Something triggered something in your brain to do it. Fuck, this is difficult to express. But pretty much every 'decision' we make is determined not by us but by the conditions around us. Every single thing we do is conditioned by other people. What if you're alone in a room? Your decisions are determined by the physical conditions around you. So really life is like just watching a TV and you can't change the channel. That was a shit random thought. Here's another one. Many people, in fact most people wonder about an afterlife and if there is one. And sometimes I ask myself is there a God? And after a lot of thought I think it's just as probable that God is a monkey or people are reincarnated or there is no afterlife or you're trapped in a tunnel and all you can hear is your own voice and the voice of your mother. It is quite absurd that humans actually speculate that God is some magnificent man with a long beard and he lives in the clouds. Think back, weren't you fooled as a kid into believing there was only one santa claus even though you'd see black Santa Claus' and Asian Santa Claus'? Isn't it possible that thousands of years ago some king decided to make up a religion just to comfort his people who were being disillusioned by their meaningless lives? Trying to speculate about God is trying to imagine a new colour. The afterlife (if there is one is one that is) is beyond the scope of a human mind's imagination. There may certainly be different colours, there may be a fourth dimension (which I remember Ben Rotenberg pondered over in year 10). A chicken may have come from an egg and the egg may have come from a chicken and that chicken may have come from an egg and that egg came from God and God may have come from a chicken etc. Every idea about the afterlife is plausible. Nobody's views or religion or philosophy is incorrect or correct it is merely possible. Then again, I do go to church, I do hope there is a god and a heaven in the clouds. But why bother going further than that. I mean are priests 100% sure their religion is the right one or is a religion mainly a set of rules to live by? Fuck this is a complete headfuck. 13.12.01 Another new song is up...Red and Black! This song was written in the early hours of the day after the Xavier formal...thus Red and Black...hope the family is good...hope the world survives A funny thought crossed my mind today. Writing a song for a band is pretty much like bottling a scent for a perfume company. Research has shown that yes, this is true. Well, I'm just being stupid now. But here's how the analogy/simile works: Well if you wanna capture a scent...first you have to experience it...you have to be walking along the street and get hit in the nostrils by some amazing whiff of what you want to bottle. Same with writing music...you have to experience something ie. a headfucking incident. Then comes the difficult part of trying to encapsulate that headfucking feeling in music. So really you can't write music unless stuff is happening to you. So next time something bad happens...always remember something good can come out of it...musically Also, I discovered something quite interesting. Salt and vinegar chips are like a vocalist's dream. You eat them and then you're ready to sing...no warm-ups...NOTHING! Recipe for a warm voice Maggi noodles Coffee Salt and vinegar chips (just discovered) 16 November TWO NEW SONGS UPLOADED! Check them out! Mute - a very old song...still a favourite Happy Birthday - a succinct piano composition 1 October 2001 After a long time in hiding from the relentless paparazzi. Synthescape are planning their much awaited comeback concert. Details are sketchy at the moment but sit tight. A concert is being organised at Xavier College during a certain lunchtime. Probably 18th of October. Possibly the whole band may make an appearance however this seems unlikely with hectic schedules ahead. Most probably, a acoustic concert will occur with Quang and Dom. Check out the mp3 section for a brand new SONG!!!!! ARRRRRGGGHHH!!!! I AM EXCITED!! You should be as well. The rumour mill has been buzzing. Reports are there is tension in the band. Remember you are fortunate. 23 July 2001 Upcoming Stuff The Ivanhoe Gig: 11 August Venue: East Ivanhoe Uniting Church $5 Entry The Set Idioteque Nude (Big Ideas) Better Run Mute Apology 30 June 2001 Against the painted statue lady, the European guitarists, the guy with singing dogs, the Reject Shop speaker, the pot-smoking weirdo man, and the mute who could walk on his lips, Quang and Dom faced the toughest challenge yet...BUSKING. This is what we played in no particular order. Apology x 0 Better Run Mute Pgr Revolution x 0 Can't Always Get What You Want Driftwood Imagine My Happiness x 2 Teenage Dirtbag Time Of Your Life These Days x 2 Why Does It Always Rain On Me? x 2 Yellow x 2 Yesterday (Nice Dream) Bulletproof Creep Everything In It's Right Place Exit Music Fake Plastic Trees High And Dry How I Made My Millions x 0.5 How To Disappear Completely Idioteque x 2 Just Karma Police x 3 Life In A Glasshouse Lucky x 0.5 Morning Bell Motion Picture Soundtrack No Surprises Nude x 3 Paranoid Android Pyramid Song Rabbit In Your Headlights x 0 Street Spirit True Love Waits You and Whose Army 29 May 2001 Quang and Dom will appear in the city on the 30th of June, 2001 experimenting with new songs, new hairdos and new brains, as they busk and try to get arrested for stopping traffic and perverting the minds of innocent bystanders. Furthermore, they will appear on rooftops naked performing songs from 'The best of Synthescape 2001-2001'. Also on the agenda: Term 3 - scheduled date for Voluntary Mass Song. Quang and Dom will play either Karma Police or Motion Picture Soundtrack August 11- Scheduled date for Ivanhoe Gig 5 May 2001 Well, it's all paid off...we WON!!! In retrospect the fact that we won will make us happy and fulfill us for a bit but the actual moment wasn't that scintilating. Me and Bell were at the fair early - 12.00 and we waited in anticipation of the big moment. I was in a frenzy of panic cos well, instruments were out of tune...members hadn't showed up...the piano wasn't even on the stage...we were under threat of having to cut the set short...but we all came at about 4.00 and rehearsed shitloads. The feeling backstage was uneasy and stressful. But we wanted to have fun and not fuck up. Unfortunately none of those two ideals was met. We went out on stage and set up our shit. The crowd was packed which I was ecstatic about and the pressure was on. The cheer of 'encore' for the last band before us was slowly drowned out by cries for Synthescape to start. First song we played was No Surprises which went very very well. Perfectly, in fact. very pleasing. Bass was great, drums were fantastic. As well keyboard and lead were brilliant. Singing was pretty crap out of nervousness really. Next up was Exit Music, which was building up to the 'breathe' bit then the sound guy fucked around with the sound and fuck i was pissed off. We had to practically stop midsong, in one of the most powerful songs i've ever heard in my life, to regain our position. The feeling from there was very negative for me. Especially after everyone had a good chuckle in the most sombre song we performed. Everything started to breeze past from there. Mute was definitely a highlight though i stuffed up some lyrics. But McGuire's part for the verses was seamless and D's drumming for the chorus was pristeen. Well-performed. I kinda went crazy and people started laughining at my little head-shakes and screeching which was good. Keyboard was very cool. In revolution I was unsure if the mike was working but i didn't stop. it didn't feel right playing it as i did...facing the piano with my back to the audience. But it felt goood all the same. Apology was definitely a highlight - introduced by Dom as a 'faceless pop song'. But it felt very good and my singing was at my purest then. The medley went quite well I think. PGR felt uplifting and glorious. Especially at the end with the introduction of the speedy piano. The transition to Better Run was pretty good. Apparantly behind me the screen was showing a sign saying Start Cheering in 8-7-6 etc. and Dom tried to deny the audience that opportunity by turning them away from it...they cheered anyway which was pleasing. Can't Always Get What You Want was bloody fantastic. Great to play, great to sing! Dom got the crowd clapping with the beat and at the end we got a huge, huge response. After the show, i felt terrible and unconfident and dissappointed and totally depressed and angry about our performance. I kinda brought everyone down unfortunately cos everyone else felt positive 'part from me and Dom. But eventually i got over it, after talking to many many people. The pessimism wore off after an hour or so when we realised we were in the lead by 8 points and that we had actually somehow won the Battle of the Bands. I felt quite numb actually feeling the news. I guess it didn't sink in. I definitely regret not working up the crowd more. At the start i went to the sound guys are you ready? and the whole crowd went yeah!!! That was particularly amusing. I also regret not thanking the other guys on stage. I'm not arrogant at all or self-involved i was just disappointed for no apparent reason really. I was very glad to have contributed something to the Indians struggling on the otherside of the earth. We drew a good crowd and it was pleasing that i could enjoy myself and also somehow feel like indirectly i was helping people out. Maybe i'm just stupid. The crowd was very difficult to read in fact. I was struggling to get a genuine vibe. But all in all I'm very happy with our performance, and the luck that went with us and against us. Sincere thanks to Mark D'Angelo who was kind enough to lend us his 2 guitars and his skill in tuning a guitar. Also for putting up with me asking questions about BOB every second day over the past eternity. Photos section is coming. Escape while you can. 25 April Battle of the Bands 2001 Synthescape's first official gig...after one year of toiling around trying to find a certain musical sound for the band and gathering the right mix of fellows, all the hard work has been put into the first of many gigs. Line-up is as follows: Famous Privacy No longer protected Quang Dinh guitar, vocals, piano Dom Byrne keyboard, back vocals, guitar David Ruljancich Drums Adrian Bell bass James McGuire guitar Synthescape will play on the 5th of May at Xavier's prestigious Maytime fair from 4-4.30. The set: Go away feel remorse No Surprises 4.00 Exit Music (For a Film) 4.24 Mute 4.32 Revolution 2.16 Apology 3.16 PGR 3.27 Better Run 2.12 Can't Always Get What You Want 4.12 If u haven't seen the adds look directly above where you are sitting, or open the fridge. The language of aliens buzzes through my head..@ Sent, yes chap |
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