14th September 2009: Monday Mosh #16

14th September 2009: Monday Mosh #16
G’day everyone, hope you’re all doing real well. Welcome to the latest edition of the Monday Mosh. Hopefully you’ll all enjoy reading the update.

We had our first show with Richard Sallows on drums on Saturday night. We played at the Castle in Northbridge, which is a regular gig spot for us. Richard did really well, and you certainly wouldn’t have known it was his first performance with the band. It was a very solid effort. As sometimes happens at Castle shows, there was a low turnout, though to be honest I didn’t mind, as this gig was as much about getting some live performances into Richard as it was about rocking a crowd. We all enjoyed ourselves, and learned a thing or two for next time as well. Our previous drummer Dave Kilgallon came along to watch the show, and it was good to catch up with him. It was also really good for Richard and Dave to meet. Sometimes member transitions can be awkward, but this one has gone really smooth, praise God.

It’s only two weeks until we fly to Sydney for Blackstump. We are really looking forward to this one, and I actually feel pretty organized for once! We are staying near Cronulla, so huge thanks to our good friend Mark Maley for putting us up. We have worked out our setlist – we will be playing songs from each album, as well as covering “The Destroyer Beholds” from Mortification. Hopefully the stump crowd will appreciate hearing that Aussie Christian metal classic. Rich has done a stellar job to learn the songs in rapid time, but I must say he has added his own feel and interpretation to the songs. Considering last time at stump we had Dave on drums, Tim on vocals and myself on guitar, the band we are taking this year is quite a different animal. However, I do feel we are playing very well at the moment, so we’ll go in with a lot of confidence. Bring it on I say.

We are playing this Sunday at East Fremantle Baptist Church. This is a youth group gig, so we’re not sure how many people to expect. We are using it as a dress rehearsal for own full production. We have put on our own shows in the past, but we are now looking to develop a stage show and act that we can take anywhere in the state. I have recruited Scott Devenish and Rowland Gwynne as crew, and we are going to take in our own PA and lighting and set up from scratch. The idea being that the band, along with a hard working road crew can put on an awesome live experience. We are really keen to become a very tight touring act. So wish as luck as we embark in this new phase of the metal mission.

I’m very excited this week to reveal the cover of the new live album “Light The Hall!”. You can see it at www.graveforsaken.com . This will be released to the Mosher Crew as a pay what you want download in 2 weeks on September 28th. The gig was recorded in July 2008, and features the lineup of myself, Elias, Matt and Dave. It’s raw and uncompromising live GF, as I’ve mixed and mastered it myself here at North Wind Studio. You can nominate to download it for free if you so wish, so now is a great time to join the Mosher Crew at www.graveforsaken.com . As I’ve already mentioned, I have looped and raised the crowd levels to add some ambience to the recording, however the actual performances were all recorded live on the night (with the exception of about half a dozen guitar and vocal overdubs Elias and I recorded here at the studio). The reality is most live albums are edited to an extent, but I’ve always believed that this process enhances the recording, and makes for a more enjoyable listen. Due to some good positive feedback, it’s increasingly likely there will be a hard copy issue of the album in the coming months to go with the download. To that end, I’m busy working on the booklet. The tracklist for the live album is

The Calling
Warriors Of Light
Perish The Thought
Destined For Ascension
Horror And Sadness
Harder To Hate
The North Wind
No Eye Has Seen
Wasting Power
Death On The Cross
Light The Hall

I would like to draw everyone’s attention to a cool feature we now have on the website www.graveforsaken.com . If you go to the mp3 store, you can actually preview every song we’ve ever released. These are full length previews, so if you’ve been meaning to check out the band but have never gotten around to it, this is the perfect place to do so. Literally every song we’ve ever done can be heard for free. Obviously if you like what you hear, we’d really appreciate you purchasing a song or an album via download. So far we’ve had a good amount of traffic, but I’m not sure everyone realizes just how cool this section of the site is.

Also, Richard has been busy working on the myspace site and a new darkjam site. The darkjam URL is http://darkjam.com/Grave_Forsaken so check it out. Richard has really taken his role in the band seriously and is fast becoming an indispensable asset for the group. The ideas and enthusiasm he has brought in are really helping band morale. I think you’ll agree the work he’s been doing on the myspace and darkjam sites is awesome.

Last week I finally put up the late episode of Grave Forsaken TV. The url is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBiMtmCKpYc . This episode is part 2 of my Grave Forsaken history series. There are some really interesting pictures and excerpts in the episode, so please check it out. Because this episode was so late, the next one is due next week. I’m well on schedule with that one, so look out for it on Monday. It will have some backstage and live footage from Richard’s debut with the band on Saturday night. Should be a cracker!

Finally, we have been working on a new range of shirts and hoodies. As we speak some new stuff is being made. We are really excited about the new designs, and can’t wait to make them available to you guys. Hopefully we’ll be able to unveil them at the stump show. So for all those people who been requesting our Mosher Crew hoodie, they’re coming back!!!

I think that’s everything for now. Our next Monday Mosh will be September 28th, just before we fly out to stump. Until then God bless and Rock on!

Next Monday Mosh – September 28th