Jack of all instruments, master of none

Finally surfacing again, and this week's theme is restlessness. I was supposed to be vacationing back home in the Midwest now, relaxing with the family in my college town. But because of some unfortunate scheduling at work, my plans got pushed off until next month. Now I'm looking for an outlet for some surplus energy.

Luckily that's exactly why I'm in a band. It's a much more official group now, because we've had our first public show. We played at a bar in the Mission, and it went very well. We sounded good, got some good feedback from the sound tech, and a half-dozen screaming girls made us do an encore. Good ego boost.

Since then, I've been more convinced than ever that this could turn into a serious hobby for me. I've reached a plateau as far as my drumming goes, so I've been looking to challenge myself in other ways. First, I've been writing songs for the first time, and they haven't turned out as badly as I was expecting them to. I'm no poet, but the lyrics and riffs I've scraped together seem to fit our straight-ahead rock style.

I'm also looking to fill out the sound of the band by putting as many of my limbs to work as possible. On a few of our songs, I've been playing drums and keyboards simultaneously with some success. (It's easier than finding a keyboard player on Craigslist, believe me.) And recently I acquired a loop pedal, which will hopefully allow me to pre-program some keyboard work and cue it up with a tap of the foot. This really works great on some songs, but on others I'm struggling to find a way to build up the loops and synths without sounding like a corny 80s band.

Of course, the music that comes out of me depends a lot on the music that's been going into me. Actually, I've noticed a shift in my listening habits in the last few months. I used to listen to a song and think, "Could I play this?" Now I'm finding myself asking "Could I write this?" The answer is usually no, but it won't stop me from trying.

Here are a few of my favorites lately:

Metric - "Hardwire"
I'd be blessed to have half the talent of Emily Haines, although I'll pass on the squeakish voice. This song really catches my attention because of the awesomely simple keyboard riff in the last third of the song.

Bat for Lashes - "Horse and I"
I've only recently discovered Bat for Lashes, but I think it's genius. I also have a soft spot for the harpsichord, and adding a snare march pattern clinches the deal. Wonderful.

Home Video - "Sleep Sweet"
Recommended if you like Radiohead. While my car was getting fixed up after its freeway mishap, I was driving a silver Mazda 3 rental for a while. (I loved it.) But since it only had a CD player and no iPod input, Home Video's No Certain Night or Morning was the chosen disc. Whenever this song came on, I felt like I was in a car commercial. Closed course, professional driver, etc.

The Polyphonic Spree - "Section 29 (Light to Follow)"
The lo-fi drums at the beginning of this song are one of the things I can do pretty easily on my new loopy gizmo. Unlike the Spree, my band doesn't have a gazillion people in it.

Nine Inch Nails - "In This Twilight" (and all of Year Zero, really)
I was skeptical about this album when people recommended it to me. With Teeth was decent, but seemed to wander. Upon giving the new one a listen, though, I was a believer. There are all kinds of great things to learn about the proper use of modern synthesizers here.

The Electric Soft Parade - "If That's the Case, Then I Don't Know"
Synth-rock with an ear-infecting bass/guitar riff. They've got plenty of other great songs too, it turns out. Why didn't anybody tell me about these guys sooner?

The Cinematics - "Sunday Sun"
Saw these guys with Mutemath, and thoroughly enjoyed their songs. This was my favorite. Mind-numbingly simple guitar riff and song structure, courtesy of Beck. Love it.

Blonde Redhead - "The Dress"
Very subtle use of drums and keyboards in the intro give it that distinctive dark atmosphere. The looped breathing noises are a little creepy, but that's their thing.

Menomena - "Airaid"
This is exactly the kind of piano sound I could see myself doing. Something really sparse and uncluttered (because I'd have to play it with my retarded left hand while my right hand does the drumming).

!!! - "Must Be The Moon"
Q: How do you pronounce "!!!"? A: Who cares? Shut up and dance.

Junior Boys - "Caught in a Wave"
See? Synthesizers can be sexy.