28th September 2009: Monday Mosh #17
Hi everyone and thanks for checking out the latest Monday Mosh. We are very pleased to confirm to the Mosher Crew that our downloadable live album Light The Hall! is now available from the members area of the website at www.graveforsaken.com . You can head over there and download the whole album or the individual tracks as a pay what you like download. You can choose to pay $0 if you like. We’d love everyone to grab themselves a copy, even if you can’t afford to give us any money for it. Simply choose your price, then add the album or song to the cart. If you choose $0, it will automatically open a download window. If you nominate a price, you will go to a paypal interface. I have worked extremely hard on this recording to make it best possible live album we can offer for our resources. So far it has passed the only real test I can give it – I’m happy with it! Being my own worst critic, this is a good feeling. If you aren’t in the Mosher Crew, you can join up for free by clicking on the Mosher Crew section of our website.
On the subject of the live album, I’m excited to let you know we are in negotiations with a local label here in Perth to produce a limited run of Light The Hall! hard copies. We’ve had quite a few enquiries about a hard copy release, and I can pretty much assure you that it will happen now. We are committed to working with Soundmass for future studio albums, but we’re just testing the water with this local label with regards to live albums. Traditionally live albums don’t sell as well as studio albums, so we need to explore ways of making the release viable. I’m hoping we can formulate a healthy relationship between ourselves, Soundmass and this particular local Perth label over the coming months and years.
Of course, it’s a madly busy time for the band. Tomorrow morning we are flying to Sydney to play at Blackstump on Friday night. Please check out www.blackstump.org.au for all the details. It will be a massive night of Australian metal. The kind of gig I’d consider going to even if GF wasn’t playing. We really look forward to meeting members of the East Coast Mosher Crew while we are there, as well as catching up with all our good friends in the other bands. We’re talking Synnove, Fearscape, Dei Elithion, InExordium and Those Who Endure. Wow, it doesn’t get much better than that over here in Oz!
We are taking over 2 new shirt designs to debut at the festival. We have a Tour 2009 shirt and a 5 Years And Beyond Shirt available. These will be available from our website a week or so after stump for all you people who can’t get to the gig. We are planning a bit of a merch blitz at stump. We will have 4 CD’s, plus 5 different clothing designs on sale at very reasonable prices. We’re hoping heaps of stumpers will get into the spirit and pick up some GF merch for themselves. Let’s make it a Christian thrash weekend!
We have been booked to play at the Castle in Perth the week after stump on October 10th. This is being organized by our main man Rowland Gwynne. The guy is better known as IronGuardian and he’s a true champ. He’s on a plane right now heading for Sydney to attend the metal night at Stump – that’s his dedication. This Castle gigs puts our tally to 3 shows for October, which is the most in one month for a very long time. I really can’t help but feel God has his hands on the wheel at the moment, we really are going through a time of great blessing. Better and better opportunities are coming our way all the time, and I really feel God’s influence on it all. It’s crazy that our little garage band is about to make it’s third interstate tour in support of it’s 3rd full length album. These kind of achievements were pie in the sky fantasies for me 5 years ago – now with God’s grace it’s all a reality. We really are the luckiest 5 blokes on the planet getting to do what we love in service of God. He truly is a magnificent God who’s grace is limitless.
One last thing – the latest episode of GFTV is now up at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yqF4QixKTo . This episode chronicles Richard’s first gig with the band a couple of weeks ago, and features a full rendition of This Day Forth with the new lineup. Make sure you check it out.
Well, I’m going to leave it there for another fortnight. I still have some last minute packing to do. The Mosher Crew October newsetter will go out next week, and then the next Monday Mosh will be the week after that. Until then, God Bless and Mosh On
Vaughan and Grave Forsaken
Next Monday Mosh – 12th October 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
28th September 2009: Monday Mosh #17
28th September 2009: Monday Mosh #17
Hi everyone and thanks for checking out the latest Monday Mosh. We are very pleased to confirm to the Mosher Crew that our downloadable live album Light The Hall! is now available from the members area of the website at www.graveforsaken.com . You can head over there and download the whole album or the individual tracks as a pay what you like download. You can choose to pay $0 if you like. We’d love everyone to grab themselves a copy, even if you can’t afford to give us any money for it. Simply choose your price, then add the album or song to the cart. If you choose $0, it will automatically open a download window. If you nominate a price, you will go to a paypal interface. I have worked extremely hard on this recording to make it best possible live album we can offer for our resources. So far it has passed the only real test I can give it – I’m happy with it! Being my own worst critic, this is a good feeling. If you aren’t in the Mosher Crew, you can join up for free by clicking on the Mosher Crew section of our website.
On the subject of the live album, I’m excited to let you know we are in negotiations with a local label here in Perth to produce a limited run of Light The Hall! hard copies. We’ve had quite a few enquiries about a hard copy release, and I can pretty much assure you that it will happen now. We are committed to working with Soundmass for future studio albums, but we’re just testing the water with this local label with regards to live albums. Traditionally live albums don’t sell as well as studio albums, so we need to explore ways of making the release viable. I’m hoping we can formulate a healthy relationship between ourselves, Soundmass and this particular local Perth label over the coming months and years.
Of course, it’s a madly busy time for the band. Tomorrow morning we are flying to Sydney to play at Blackstump on Friday night. Please check out www.blackstump.org.au for all the details. It will be a massive night of Australian metal. The kind of gig I’d consider going to even if GF wasn’t playing. We really look forward to meeting members of the East Coast Mosher Crew while we are there, as well as catching up with all our good friends in the other bands. We’re talking Synnove, Fearscape, Dei Elithion, InExordium and Those Who Endure. Wow, it doesn’t get much better than that over here in Oz!
We are taking over 2 new shirt designs to debut at the festival. We have a Tour 2009 shirt and a 5 Years And Beyond Shirt available. These will be available from our website a week or so after stump for all you people who can’t get to the gig. We are planning a bit of a merch blitz at stump. We will have 4 CD’s, plus 5 different clothing designs on sale at very reasonable prices. We’re hoping heaps of stumpers will get into the spirit and pick up some GF merch for themselves. Let’s make it a Christian thrash weekend!
We have been booked to play at the Castle in Perth the week after stump on October 10th. This is being organized by our main man Rowland Gwynne. The guy is better known as IronGuardian and he’s a true champ. He’s on a plane right now heading for Sydney to attend the metal night at Stump – that’s his dedication. This Castle gigs puts our tally to 3 shows for October, which is the most in one month for a very long time. I really can’t help but feel God has his hands on the wheel at the moment, we really are going through a time of great blessing. Better and better opportunities are coming our way all the time, and I really feel God’s influence on it all. It’s crazy that our little garage band is about to make it’s third interstate tour in support of it’s 3rd full length album. These kind of achievements were pie in the sky fantasies for me 5 years ago – now with God’s grace it’s all a reality. We really are the luckiest 5 blokes on the planet getting to do what we love in service of God. He truly is a magnificent God who’s grace is limitless.
One last thing – the latest episode of GFTV is now up at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yqF4QixKTo . This episode chronicles Richard’s first gig with the band a couple of weeks ago, and features a full rendition of This Day Forth with the new lineup. Make sure you check it out.
Well, I’m going to leave it there for another fortnight. I still have some last minute packing to do. The Mosher Crew October newsetter will go out next week, and then the next Monday Mosh will be the week after that. Until then, God Bless and Mosh On
Vaughan and Grave Forsaken
Next Monday Mosh – 12th October 2009
Hi everyone and thanks for checking out the latest Monday Mosh. We are very pleased to confirm to the Mosher Crew that our downloadable live album Light The Hall! is now available from the members area of the website at www.graveforsaken.com . You can head over there and download the whole album or the individual tracks as a pay what you like download. You can choose to pay $0 if you like. We’d love everyone to grab themselves a copy, even if you can’t afford to give us any money for it. Simply choose your price, then add the album or song to the cart. If you choose $0, it will automatically open a download window. If you nominate a price, you will go to a paypal interface. I have worked extremely hard on this recording to make it best possible live album we can offer for our resources. So far it has passed the only real test I can give it – I’m happy with it! Being my own worst critic, this is a good feeling. If you aren’t in the Mosher Crew, you can join up for free by clicking on the Mosher Crew section of our website.
On the subject of the live album, I’m excited to let you know we are in negotiations with a local label here in Perth to produce a limited run of Light The Hall! hard copies. We’ve had quite a few enquiries about a hard copy release, and I can pretty much assure you that it will happen now. We are committed to working with Soundmass for future studio albums, but we’re just testing the water with this local label with regards to live albums. Traditionally live albums don’t sell as well as studio albums, so we need to explore ways of making the release viable. I’m hoping we can formulate a healthy relationship between ourselves, Soundmass and this particular local Perth label over the coming months and years.
Of course, it’s a madly busy time for the band. Tomorrow morning we are flying to Sydney to play at Blackstump on Friday night. Please check out www.blackstump.org.au for all the details. It will be a massive night of Australian metal. The kind of gig I’d consider going to even if GF wasn’t playing. We really look forward to meeting members of the East Coast Mosher Crew while we are there, as well as catching up with all our good friends in the other bands. We’re talking Synnove, Fearscape, Dei Elithion, InExordium and Those Who Endure. Wow, it doesn’t get much better than that over here in Oz!
We are taking over 2 new shirt designs to debut at the festival. We have a Tour 2009 shirt and a 5 Years And Beyond Shirt available. These will be available from our website a week or so after stump for all you people who can’t get to the gig. We are planning a bit of a merch blitz at stump. We will have 4 CD’s, plus 5 different clothing designs on sale at very reasonable prices. We’re hoping heaps of stumpers will get into the spirit and pick up some GF merch for themselves. Let’s make it a Christian thrash weekend!
We have been booked to play at the Castle in Perth the week after stump on October 10th. This is being organized by our main man Rowland Gwynne. The guy is better known as IronGuardian and he’s a true champ. He’s on a plane right now heading for Sydney to attend the metal night at Stump – that’s his dedication. This Castle gigs puts our tally to 3 shows for October, which is the most in one month for a very long time. I really can’t help but feel God has his hands on the wheel at the moment, we really are going through a time of great blessing. Better and better opportunities are coming our way all the time, and I really feel God’s influence on it all. It’s crazy that our little garage band is about to make it’s third interstate tour in support of it’s 3rd full length album. These kind of achievements were pie in the sky fantasies for me 5 years ago – now with God’s grace it’s all a reality. We really are the luckiest 5 blokes on the planet getting to do what we love in service of God. He truly is a magnificent God who’s grace is limitless.
One last thing – the latest episode of GFTV is now up at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yqF4QixKTo . This episode chronicles Richard’s first gig with the band a couple of weeks ago, and features a full rendition of This Day Forth with the new lineup. Make sure you check it out.
Well, I’m going to leave it there for another fortnight. I still have some last minute packing to do. The Mosher Crew October newsetter will go out next week, and then the next Monday Mosh will be the week after that. Until then, God Bless and Mosh On
Vaughan and Grave Forsaken
Next Monday Mosh – 12th October 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
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
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
Monday, August 24, 2009
24th August 2009: Monday Mosh #15
24th August 2009: Monday Mosh #15
Welcome everyone to the latest Monday Mosh. Vaughan here as usual, and I’ll get straight into it.
There’s been a lot going on behind the scenes in the Grave Forsaken camp in recent months. A few weeks ago I spoke to our drummer Dave Kilgallon at length on the phone, and we came to the mutual decision that he would no longer continue in the band. This will come as a surprise to many of you, and it really came as a bit of surprise to both Dave and I. In the context of addressing a few difficulties we were having getting the whole band together to rehearse, we both realized that the current lineup wasn’t quite working the way we’d hoped. It was a difficult conversation, but Dave and I are extremely close friends, so we knew we could trust each other to be honest about our feelings. I can truthfully say his departure was a mutual decision with no hint of animosity on either side. In fact, the way it was all handled is proof of how strong the trust is in our band.
So where does this leave the band? We have a big gig at Blackstump coming up in 6 or so weeks. Fortunately, a work friend of Matt’s by the name of Richard Sallows happens to be a drummer and a Christian. On a whim, Matt gave him a call to see if he wanted to jam with us. We had a rehearsal with him and it went well, so we have offered him a trial period in the band up until Blackstump. That gives as a few weeks to rehearse with him and see how the band dynamic goes with him, plus see how he performs in the live arena. After we have played stump with him, we will make an official decision on whether he will join the band permanently. Richard is great guy, and is doing his absolute best to get the job full time. He is into metal and rock, so he fits the bill perfectly. His drumming doesn’t have the thrashing intensity of Dave’s, but so far he has been very solid and easy to work with.
However, it isn’t quite the end of the line for the lineup featuring Dave. As I’ve been discussing in bits and pieces, we have been working with Daniel Holmes on some new material for our next album. Dave has been fully involved in this process and is keen to finish what we have started. So after stump in October, we will hit Fattdog Studio in earnest with the old lineup and record our next album, with a goal to getting the album ready for a mid 2010 release (hopefully). This release will be Dave’s farewell performance with the band, and we are very excited about what will be delivered. The fact that we can even do this is testament to the strength of our friendship with Dave. While the album is being recorded, our live shows will feature the new drummer, be that Richard or someone else.
So as you can see, we are very much in transition at the moment. We are essentially working with 2 drummers for the time being, but both are excellent people who are fully accepting and understanding of the other. So while it has been difficult, we have such a close bond in the band that I’m very confident and excited about the road ahead.
Richard’s first performance with the band will be at The Castle on September 12th. He probably feels like he’s been thrown into the lion’s den, but it will be great to have a show or two under his bullet belt before Black Stump. We are playing at a youth group the following day, and then we have some tentative stuff lined up post stump. Of course, I will keep you all informed.
It would be remiss of me to finish this edition without giving my heartfelt thanks to Dave for his contribution to the band over the last 2 years. We love you like a brother, and already we miss your presence in the band room. The way you have pushed our sound into another zone has been proof in the pudding of your awesome God given talent behind the drums. You are a valued friend, and we have shared experiences and times that I and the rest of Grave Forsaken will cherish forever. I’m so thrilled we can crank out one last album with you, and we are determined to make this the best GF album yet. We all look forward to the good times the future holds.
Until next time – God Bless and Mosh On.
Next Monday Mosh – September 14th.
Welcome everyone to the latest Monday Mosh. Vaughan here as usual, and I’ll get straight into it.
There’s been a lot going on behind the scenes in the Grave Forsaken camp in recent months. A few weeks ago I spoke to our drummer Dave Kilgallon at length on the phone, and we came to the mutual decision that he would no longer continue in the band. This will come as a surprise to many of you, and it really came as a bit of surprise to both Dave and I. In the context of addressing a few difficulties we were having getting the whole band together to rehearse, we both realized that the current lineup wasn’t quite working the way we’d hoped. It was a difficult conversation, but Dave and I are extremely close friends, so we knew we could trust each other to be honest about our feelings. I can truthfully say his departure was a mutual decision with no hint of animosity on either side. In fact, the way it was all handled is proof of how strong the trust is in our band.
So where does this leave the band? We have a big gig at Blackstump coming up in 6 or so weeks. Fortunately, a work friend of Matt’s by the name of Richard Sallows happens to be a drummer and a Christian. On a whim, Matt gave him a call to see if he wanted to jam with us. We had a rehearsal with him and it went well, so we have offered him a trial period in the band up until Blackstump. That gives as a few weeks to rehearse with him and see how the band dynamic goes with him, plus see how he performs in the live arena. After we have played stump with him, we will make an official decision on whether he will join the band permanently. Richard is great guy, and is doing his absolute best to get the job full time. He is into metal and rock, so he fits the bill perfectly. His drumming doesn’t have the thrashing intensity of Dave’s, but so far he has been very solid and easy to work with.
However, it isn’t quite the end of the line for the lineup featuring Dave. As I’ve been discussing in bits and pieces, we have been working with Daniel Holmes on some new material for our next album. Dave has been fully involved in this process and is keen to finish what we have started. So after stump in October, we will hit Fattdog Studio in earnest with the old lineup and record our next album, with a goal to getting the album ready for a mid 2010 release (hopefully). This release will be Dave’s farewell performance with the band, and we are very excited about what will be delivered. The fact that we can even do this is testament to the strength of our friendship with Dave. While the album is being recorded, our live shows will feature the new drummer, be that Richard or someone else.
So as you can see, we are very much in transition at the moment. We are essentially working with 2 drummers for the time being, but both are excellent people who are fully accepting and understanding of the other. So while it has been difficult, we have such a close bond in the band that I’m very confident and excited about the road ahead.
Richard’s first performance with the band will be at The Castle on September 12th. He probably feels like he’s been thrown into the lion’s den, but it will be great to have a show or two under his bullet belt before Black Stump. We are playing at a youth group the following day, and then we have some tentative stuff lined up post stump. Of course, I will keep you all informed.
It would be remiss of me to finish this edition without giving my heartfelt thanks to Dave for his contribution to the band over the last 2 years. We love you like a brother, and already we miss your presence in the band room. The way you have pushed our sound into another zone has been proof in the pudding of your awesome God given talent behind the drums. You are a valued friend, and we have shared experiences and times that I and the rest of Grave Forsaken will cherish forever. I’m so thrilled we can crank out one last album with you, and we are determined to make this the best GF album yet. We all look forward to the good times the future holds.
Until next time – God Bless and Mosh On.
Next Monday Mosh – September 14th.
Monday, August 10, 2009
10th August 2009: Monday Mosh #14
10th August 2009: Monday Mosh #14
Hi everyone. Like I said last week, I’ve been finding I bit off more than I could chew with a weekly Monday Mosh, so from now on I will post them on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month. That means they will basically be fortnightly, except for when there are 5 Mondays in the month.
There is an episode of GFTV due today, but I’ve fallen a bit behind schedule unfortunately. I’m working on the episode right now, but it is still a few days away. I will post a message on our forum when it is on youtube. Mosher Crew Confidential #4 is due next Monday, and that will contain some significant info for Mosher Crew members. It is a really important edition to check out.
I’ve just had an extended chat with a couple of the guys in the band and we have been bouncing around some really exciting ideas for future live shows. We didn’t have practice, but a couple of the guys came over to my place anyway to hang out. I’ve always had this vision of taking the show on the road and playing in town halls in small country towns and regional centres. As we looked at all the gear we’ve accumulated in my shed, we realized we have been blessed with a small arsenal of equipment that we should really be putting into the ministry. We will be praying and seeking God’s will over the future direction of our live performances. However, if you live in regional Western Australia and would like to see Grave Forsaken play in your area and you know of a church or rec centre that we could play in, please get in touch with me and we try and work something out.
Thanks for the spectacular response to the Destined For Ascension giveaway. They have all gone now, but it was really cool to hear from so many people with your words of encouragement. It’s so pleasing to know that the Lord is blessing people through our music. I will have another competition in the October Mosher Crew newsletter.
We are looking forward to some upcoming shows. We actually have quite a bit on over the next couple of months. Just tonight we discussed a possible gig in Byford in late August at the SJ Rec Centre. We are then playing at East Fremantle Baptist Youth Group sometime in early September, plus we have a Castle gig on September 12th. We then obviously have Blackstump on October 2nd, and then we have been tentatively offered a gig at a high school fete in late October. So a fair bit is going on. We are entering a real time of working on our live show and performance to make it the best it can be. As well as presenting the gospel, we want to make our gigs a real fun time for everyone involved.
I’ll keep it short and sweet tonight. It’s nearly midnight and I should really get some sleep. This whole rock and roll late night thing can be taxing sometimes! But I wouldn’t swap it for the world. Thanks for checking in everyone.
God Bless and MOSH ON
Vaughan and Grave Forsaken
Next Monday Mosh: Monday 24th August
Hi everyone. Like I said last week, I’ve been finding I bit off more than I could chew with a weekly Monday Mosh, so from now on I will post them on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month. That means they will basically be fortnightly, except for when there are 5 Mondays in the month.
There is an episode of GFTV due today, but I’ve fallen a bit behind schedule unfortunately. I’m working on the episode right now, but it is still a few days away. I will post a message on our forum when it is on youtube. Mosher Crew Confidential #4 is due next Monday, and that will contain some significant info for Mosher Crew members. It is a really important edition to check out.
I’ve just had an extended chat with a couple of the guys in the band and we have been bouncing around some really exciting ideas for future live shows. We didn’t have practice, but a couple of the guys came over to my place anyway to hang out. I’ve always had this vision of taking the show on the road and playing in town halls in small country towns and regional centres. As we looked at all the gear we’ve accumulated in my shed, we realized we have been blessed with a small arsenal of equipment that we should really be putting into the ministry. We will be praying and seeking God’s will over the future direction of our live performances. However, if you live in regional Western Australia and would like to see Grave Forsaken play in your area and you know of a church or rec centre that we could play in, please get in touch with me and we try and work something out.
Thanks for the spectacular response to the Destined For Ascension giveaway. They have all gone now, but it was really cool to hear from so many people with your words of encouragement. It’s so pleasing to know that the Lord is blessing people through our music. I will have another competition in the October Mosher Crew newsletter.
We are looking forward to some upcoming shows. We actually have quite a bit on over the next couple of months. Just tonight we discussed a possible gig in Byford in late August at the SJ Rec Centre. We are then playing at East Fremantle Baptist Youth Group sometime in early September, plus we have a Castle gig on September 12th. We then obviously have Blackstump on October 2nd, and then we have been tentatively offered a gig at a high school fete in late October. So a fair bit is going on. We are entering a real time of working on our live show and performance to make it the best it can be. As well as presenting the gospel, we want to make our gigs a real fun time for everyone involved.
I’ll keep it short and sweet tonight. It’s nearly midnight and I should really get some sleep. This whole rock and roll late night thing can be taxing sometimes! But I wouldn’t swap it for the world. Thanks for checking in everyone.
God Bless and MOSH ON
Vaughan and Grave Forsaken
Next Monday Mosh: Monday 24th August
Monday, August 3, 2009
3rd August 2009: Monday Mosh #13
3rd August 2009: Monday Mosh #13
Sorry for the delay in getting this week’s Monday Mosh out – very busy weekend. Actually, I kind of bit off a bit more than I could chew by doing a weekly Monday Mosh. I’ve decided that from now on they’ll go out twice a month (so essentially once a fortnight). I’ll post the Monday Mosh on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month for the rest of the year, then reassess the things in the new year. Depending on my work situation, I’m hoping to have a bit more time up my sleeve in 2010 to concentrate on the band.
We have booked our tickets to Sydney for Blackstump last night. We will be playing on Friday night the 2nd October at the Equestrian Centre at Horsley Park in Sydney. We can’t wait! We are hoping to play a church gig on Sunday 4th October. If anyone reading this lives the greater Sydney area and knows a church that would have us after an evening service please drop me a line. My contact details are on the official Grave Forsaken site. On that note, we will also be available on the Thursday 1st October if anyone knows somewhere we could play. It could be a tiny gig for all we care – would just be great to play a few shows while we’re there. I’m also really looking forward to catching up with my friends in all the other bands – Matt, Pete, Phil, Jayson, Andrew, Brad and Paul (formerly in Fearscape). It will be really special.
We have had two rehearsals in the last 3 days. We are working on a setlist that contains songs from all 5 releases. We are using the next few gigs to celebrate our 5th anniversary. No guarantees, but we might be making a special 5 year shirt for all you GF supporters out there. Last night we were bouncing around a few ideas. As always it comes down to finances. We just annihilated my credit card booking airfares last night (don’t worry, we’ve got the cash to back it up). Between bills and airfares, I’ve put over $5000 on my card in the last two days! It’s that time of year when all the council and water rates arrive in Byford (my home suburb). But hopefully we’ll have some new merch out soon.
I’m still tweaking the live album “Light The Hall!”. That will be available in late September as a pay what you want download for the Mosher Crew. I like this idea because it means you can listen to it before you decide if you want to pay for it. With the physical CD market in such a bad shape, downloads are truly the way of the future. I’d like to think we can keep putting out actual CD’s, but they may have to be limited to professionally printed CD-R’s. It costs about $1000 Australian to manufacture 500 CD’s, but about $300 to print 100 CD-Rs. So we’d be paying more per unit, but we could definitely sell 100. I recently got an official live Kiss CD-R (Rock The Nation Instant Live), and apart from the blue back, I really wouldn’t have noticed (or cared) that it was a CD-R. Small bands like us may need to do things this way to keep the physical product alive. The offset is that we can still print the same quality booklet with all the liner notes and other cool stuff. I’m very optimistic that the determined bands can get through this rough patch for the music industry. We’ve always had an element of DIY, and there’s no reason we can’t continue. I have North Wind Studio now, so I can record our albums myself. Essentially what I’m saying is that GF isn’t going anywhere, despite the doom and gloom around the industry.
Speaking of downloads and CD’s, we now have a mp3 store and merchandise section at the official site. You can download every song we’ve ever released for what I think are very reasonable prices. You can also listen to each song through the page, so you get a real feel for the material before deciding whether you want to buy. It’s a really cool feature, and one we are very excited to offer. This is also the first time “Beside The River Of Blood” has been available digitally as well, so head over to the site to check it out. You have to pay through paypal, but it doesn’t require you to have a paypal account to make purchases. There’s a section in the shopping cart for people to use their bank accounts or credit cards.
With the release of the new Stryper album, I’ve decided to go back and listen to Reborn. It really isn’t as bad as it’s reputation suggests. I’ve always liked it to tell the truth. I think artists should be allowed to produce the music that’s in their heart. One thing I’ve learned is you can’t force a sound or style. What’s inside you is what will come out, so artists most of the time are really only doing what comes naturally. I always say vote with your feet – if it’s not your thing just let it be and listen to something that is your thing. People are entitled to their opinion, but having been in this band for 5 years, I totally understand why things change within a band. There you go, that can be my random soapbox for the week.
One last thing – I’ve decided to go a little bit crazy. I have 20 free copies of our 2008 album “Destined For Ascension” to give away to the Mosher Crew. So the next 20 Mosher Crew members who email me with their mailing address will get an absolutely free copy of the album. If you’re not in the crew and you want the CD, sign up now and drop me an email before they all go. You can join for free via the Mosher Crew section of our website at www.graveforsaken.com
So I will be back next Monday, but then there will be a two week break before the next Mosh on the 24th. Thanks for reading and you’ll hear from me again soon!
God Bless and MOSH ON!
Vaughan and Grave Forsaken
Sorry for the delay in getting this week’s Monday Mosh out – very busy weekend. Actually, I kind of bit off a bit more than I could chew by doing a weekly Monday Mosh. I’ve decided that from now on they’ll go out twice a month (so essentially once a fortnight). I’ll post the Monday Mosh on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month for the rest of the year, then reassess the things in the new year. Depending on my work situation, I’m hoping to have a bit more time up my sleeve in 2010 to concentrate on the band.
We have booked our tickets to Sydney for Blackstump last night. We will be playing on Friday night the 2nd October at the Equestrian Centre at Horsley Park in Sydney. We can’t wait! We are hoping to play a church gig on Sunday 4th October. If anyone reading this lives the greater Sydney area and knows a church that would have us after an evening service please drop me a line. My contact details are on the official Grave Forsaken site. On that note, we will also be available on the Thursday 1st October if anyone knows somewhere we could play. It could be a tiny gig for all we care – would just be great to play a few shows while we’re there. I’m also really looking forward to catching up with my friends in all the other bands – Matt, Pete, Phil, Jayson, Andrew, Brad and Paul (formerly in Fearscape). It will be really special.
We have had two rehearsals in the last 3 days. We are working on a setlist that contains songs from all 5 releases. We are using the next few gigs to celebrate our 5th anniversary. No guarantees, but we might be making a special 5 year shirt for all you GF supporters out there. Last night we were bouncing around a few ideas. As always it comes down to finances. We just annihilated my credit card booking airfares last night (don’t worry, we’ve got the cash to back it up). Between bills and airfares, I’ve put over $5000 on my card in the last two days! It’s that time of year when all the council and water rates arrive in Byford (my home suburb). But hopefully we’ll have some new merch out soon.
I’m still tweaking the live album “Light The Hall!”. That will be available in late September as a pay what you want download for the Mosher Crew. I like this idea because it means you can listen to it before you decide if you want to pay for it. With the physical CD market in such a bad shape, downloads are truly the way of the future. I’d like to think we can keep putting out actual CD’s, but they may have to be limited to professionally printed CD-R’s. It costs about $1000 Australian to manufacture 500 CD’s, but about $300 to print 100 CD-Rs. So we’d be paying more per unit, but we could definitely sell 100. I recently got an official live Kiss CD-R (Rock The Nation Instant Live), and apart from the blue back, I really wouldn’t have noticed (or cared) that it was a CD-R. Small bands like us may need to do things this way to keep the physical product alive. The offset is that we can still print the same quality booklet with all the liner notes and other cool stuff. I’m very optimistic that the determined bands can get through this rough patch for the music industry. We’ve always had an element of DIY, and there’s no reason we can’t continue. I have North Wind Studio now, so I can record our albums myself. Essentially what I’m saying is that GF isn’t going anywhere, despite the doom and gloom around the industry.
Speaking of downloads and CD’s, we now have a mp3 store and merchandise section at the official site. You can download every song we’ve ever released for what I think are very reasonable prices. You can also listen to each song through the page, so you get a real feel for the material before deciding whether you want to buy. It’s a really cool feature, and one we are very excited to offer. This is also the first time “Beside The River Of Blood” has been available digitally as well, so head over to the site to check it out. You have to pay through paypal, but it doesn’t require you to have a paypal account to make purchases. There’s a section in the shopping cart for people to use their bank accounts or credit cards.
With the release of the new Stryper album, I’ve decided to go back and listen to Reborn. It really isn’t as bad as it’s reputation suggests. I’ve always liked it to tell the truth. I think artists should be allowed to produce the music that’s in their heart. One thing I’ve learned is you can’t force a sound or style. What’s inside you is what will come out, so artists most of the time are really only doing what comes naturally. I always say vote with your feet – if it’s not your thing just let it be and listen to something that is your thing. People are entitled to their opinion, but having been in this band for 5 years, I totally understand why things change within a band. There you go, that can be my random soapbox for the week.
One last thing – I’ve decided to go a little bit crazy. I have 20 free copies of our 2008 album “Destined For Ascension” to give away to the Mosher Crew. So the next 20 Mosher Crew members who email me with their mailing address will get an absolutely free copy of the album. If you’re not in the crew and you want the CD, sign up now and drop me an email before they all go. You can join for free via the Mosher Crew section of our website at www.graveforsaken.com
So I will be back next Monday, but then there will be a two week break before the next Mosh on the 24th. Thanks for reading and you’ll hear from me again soon!
God Bless and MOSH ON!
Vaughan and Grave Forsaken
Monday, July 27, 2009
27th July 2009: Monday Mosh #12
27th July 2009: Monday Mosh #12
Hi everyone and welcome to the latest Monday Mosh. As usual we’ve had a busy week with Grave Forsaken, and I’ll use this update to fill you in on the details.
Firstly, we are pleased to announce that will be playing at Blackstump Festival in Sydney this year. This has been on the cards behind the scenes, and it’s great to be going back. It looks like we will be playing on the Friday night of the festival. The date will be October 2nd. We would urge all our East Coast supporters to make the trip to stump and catch the band. It will be our first show out of WA for two years and we absolutely can’t wait. It will be a very exciting 2 ½ months as we prepare for the trip and the show. Also we are very much looking forward to catching up with our friends in the other bands – it should be a terrific event. The lineup includes Synnove, Fearscape, InExordium and Dei Elithaeon, so it will be an utterly cranking evening. Being over here in Perth we sometimes feel isolated. Heading over to Sydney for this gig is a great thing for a band like ours.
The sessions at Fattdog are going really well. Dave put some drums down on Saturday, and I’m looking forward to hearing what he came up with (I wasn’t there). I will possibly go into the studio tomorrow to do some arranging with Daniel. A song I have written called This Dying Day has a basic set of riffs, but I’m trying to decide if it should be a snappy 3 minute thrasher or an epic. It could go either way at this stage. Whatever the case, I’m really happy with how it is coming along.
We recently recorded a cover of Bought By Blood by Deliverance for an upcoming Christian metal Realm tribute album. We are very happy with the recording. It features Dan Holmes of Templar on guitar, and it could be the best thing ever recorded under the Grave Forsaken name! We’re really that happy with it. There’ll be more details as I get them, but the song has been submitted to Arttie, the organizer of the project.
We have a rehearsal tonight at my house. With the news of stump it will good to throw around some setlist ideas and get into the vibe for the trip. Looking forward to catching up with boys in a couple of hours time!
This week we are streaming This Day Forth in it’s entirety again. All the songs have had a good number of plays now, so I’m putting it up from start to finish again. Head over to the official site and have another listen.
The next gig is looking like it will be on September 12th at the Castle. There may be a chance we will do a youth group gig in August, but I’m still in the planning phase of that one. Whatever the case, we are looking to do at least a gig a month for the foreseeable future. So for the Perth supporters, there should be a real opportunity to check the band out over the next few months.
I’ve put up a new Mosher Crew download in the members area this week. This one is a vintage performance of Light The Hall from 2005. This is actually recorded live in the studio by Ben Travia. It is historically significant for the band because it is the very first thing we recorded in the “Beside The River Of Blood” sessions. We were VERY raw in those days, so don’t expect a sonic surge of power. It does capture an enthusiastic band very keen to get working on an album. The funny thing is that Light The Hall never made the album in the end, though a crisper version than this did appear on the Horror And Sadness EP. Still, it’s a song we occasionally bring out live, and indeed we have named the upcoming online live album “Light The Hall!” after the song. It’s an old favourite of mine. Maybe we need to record a definitive studio version of the song one day. Hmm.
Well, that brings me to end of another week. Check out the download Mosher Crew, and check back in next week! Seeya then.
Vaughan and Grave Forsaken
Hi everyone and welcome to the latest Monday Mosh. As usual we’ve had a busy week with Grave Forsaken, and I’ll use this update to fill you in on the details.
Firstly, we are pleased to announce that will be playing at Blackstump Festival in Sydney this year. This has been on the cards behind the scenes, and it’s great to be going back. It looks like we will be playing on the Friday night of the festival. The date will be October 2nd. We would urge all our East Coast supporters to make the trip to stump and catch the band. It will be our first show out of WA for two years and we absolutely can’t wait. It will be a very exciting 2 ½ months as we prepare for the trip and the show. Also we are very much looking forward to catching up with our friends in the other bands – it should be a terrific event. The lineup includes Synnove, Fearscape, InExordium and Dei Elithaeon, so it will be an utterly cranking evening. Being over here in Perth we sometimes feel isolated. Heading over to Sydney for this gig is a great thing for a band like ours.
The sessions at Fattdog are going really well. Dave put some drums down on Saturday, and I’m looking forward to hearing what he came up with (I wasn’t there). I will possibly go into the studio tomorrow to do some arranging with Daniel. A song I have written called This Dying Day has a basic set of riffs, but I’m trying to decide if it should be a snappy 3 minute thrasher or an epic. It could go either way at this stage. Whatever the case, I’m really happy with how it is coming along.
We recently recorded a cover of Bought By Blood by Deliverance for an upcoming Christian metal Realm tribute album. We are very happy with the recording. It features Dan Holmes of Templar on guitar, and it could be the best thing ever recorded under the Grave Forsaken name! We’re really that happy with it. There’ll be more details as I get them, but the song has been submitted to Arttie, the organizer of the project.
We have a rehearsal tonight at my house. With the news of stump it will good to throw around some setlist ideas and get into the vibe for the trip. Looking forward to catching up with boys in a couple of hours time!
This week we are streaming This Day Forth in it’s entirety again. All the songs have had a good number of plays now, so I’m putting it up from start to finish again. Head over to the official site and have another listen.
The next gig is looking like it will be on September 12th at the Castle. There may be a chance we will do a youth group gig in August, but I’m still in the planning phase of that one. Whatever the case, we are looking to do at least a gig a month for the foreseeable future. So for the Perth supporters, there should be a real opportunity to check the band out over the next few months.
I’ve put up a new Mosher Crew download in the members area this week. This one is a vintage performance of Light The Hall from 2005. This is actually recorded live in the studio by Ben Travia. It is historically significant for the band because it is the very first thing we recorded in the “Beside The River Of Blood” sessions. We were VERY raw in those days, so don’t expect a sonic surge of power. It does capture an enthusiastic band very keen to get working on an album. The funny thing is that Light The Hall never made the album in the end, though a crisper version than this did appear on the Horror And Sadness EP. Still, it’s a song we occasionally bring out live, and indeed we have named the upcoming online live album “Light The Hall!” after the song. It’s an old favourite of mine. Maybe we need to record a definitive studio version of the song one day. Hmm.
Well, that brings me to end of another week. Check out the download Mosher Crew, and check back in next week! Seeya then.
Vaughan and Grave Forsaken
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