The Trooper....kind of...

kcrknp

New member
Here is a YouTube link of my family "band" playing The Trooper by Iron Maiden. The sound quality isn't the best, and we have no bass player or singer, but you can still get the idea of what we sound like.
My father is on the drums, and my uncle plays lead guitar. I'm the one on the stage with the drummer. I realize my dad isn't the best drummer, but he gets the job done. As for my uncle, he's not bad but he's not a very technical player, he doesn't worry about hitting every note of every song or worry about playing the song right, he just kind of does his own thing within the context of the song. Also in case you don't notice he plays the intro riff wrong, and no matter how many times I tell him how to play it, he just likes his way better. Also my dad always hurries the stops in the beginning cause there's no vocals.
We have absolute crap for gear, my dad's drums and cymbals are really old and sound like garbage. His kick is miked through an old Sunn powered mixer into some home audio speakers. My uncle is playing his Ibanez (which doesn't stay in tune) through a Peavey powered mixer with most of the channels not working, the only thing he has for gain is a Boss Overdrive/Distortion pedal (he used to use dual Marshall ShredMasters when he had money), and a no-name brand 4x10 bass cab. I'm playing my Epiphone Les Paul through a Rocktron Utopia G100 multi effects unit into an old Fender Solid State head and then into a Behringer 4x10 bass cab. So we're both playing through bass cabs.
The room we're playing in is huge, a venue for a couple hundred, and the camera that the video and sound was recorded on is very far away from the stage. Anyway this was just a practice from around December I believe, let me know what you think, besides that my uncle is a dork.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJsNii94WYA
 
Re: The Trooper....kind of...

lol you ripped apart your dad and uncle to the point I thought it was going to sound like 5 year olds trying to play. It sounds pretty good actually. Your uncles poses and stuff made me crack up but it was cool. My buddies and I would play this song all the time when we jammed. Fun and easy.
 
Re: The Trooper....kind of...

LOL my uncle's poses are the lamest thing I've ever seen. He only did it while we were recording too, like he's some kind of rock star. Hilarious! Thanks for the comments, we do more technical songs but you can imagine how much I like my dad and uncle on those ones.
 
Re: The Trooper....kind of...

lol he's NOT a technical player? his soloing sounds pretty nice. and i actually think you should take from your uncle and MOVE while playing :lol: in a live setting he'd take the show
 
Re: The Trooper....kind of...

lol he's NOT a technical player? his soloing sounds pretty nice. and i actually think you should take from your uncle and MOVE while playing :lol: in a live setting he'd take the show


No he's not technical, the man knows 1 scale. The rest is just crap, trust me he doesn't even know what he's playing. This is just a practice and it was quite cold, there was no one there so I was more concerned with the music than the cheesy poses. That kind of thing doesn't impress me, I know when I see a guitarist live trying to look cool I usually think he's a douche. It's not the 80's anymore, poses don't get you anywhere if you can't keep it tight.
 
Re: The Trooper....kind of...

Cool...I wish my uncle and dad played instruments (or even listened to the music i do)...
 
Re: The Trooper....kind of...

Cool...I wish my uncle and dad played instruments (or even listened to the music i do)...

Yeah it's really nice to share an interest in some of the same music as them. I grew up around both of them listening to their favorite bands so naturally I like a lot of it. On the other hand, they want to play a lot of songs that I think are incredibly boring. For example they like to cover Beer Drinkers, Hell Raisers by ZZ Top and Rocky Mountain Way by Joe Walsh, both of which are incredibly boring for me to play on rhythm guitar. So I guess I take the good with the bad.
 
Re: The Trooper....kind of...

he with the most stage presence wins. It seriously is more important than good playing...
 
Re: The Trooper....kind of...

yeah cheesy poses may be a thing of the past, but rocking like a possessed angus young rarely gets old! Its more fun for you and if the audience dont like it, poo on them! But when you think about it the poses make your uncle more iron maiden-ish! they're all about being cheesy and contrived, and thats partly why we love em!
 
Re: The Trooper....kind of...

yeah cheesy poses may be a thing of the past, but rocking like a possessed angus young rarely gets old! Its more fun for you and if the audience dont like it, poo on them! But when you think about it the poses make your uncle more iron maiden-ish! they're all about being cheesy and contrived, and thats partly why we love em!

lol. You're right, they do make him more Iron Maiden-ish. I grew up in the 90's so that kind of thing was never big for me, but I love Maiden's music. I'm not much of a performer, I'll be the first to admit that. I know you don't have to be cheesy and contrived to be a good performer.

I think the reason I don't get too into this music is because it's not really "my music". My true love is punk and hardcore, most classic rock and metal isn't fast enough for me. For me to be able to really feel a song and perform it I have to genuinely think it's an amazing song. Don't get me wrong the Maiden is great musically, but there's a certain energy I think it's lacking that I need in my music. If I were playing some Gorilla Biscuits or 88 Fingers Louie, or something else that I grew up, and can really connect with, rest assured I would perform the hell out of it. The punk music may not be as musically complex but it makes up for it in raw emotion.


Legendary NYC melodic hardcore, one of my favorite bands: Gorilla Biscuits
 
Re: The Trooper....kind of...

I'm thoroughly enjoying this. I think it's great - your dad's drumming is cool.

And since you say your uncle's so crap at the guitar - how come YOU don't take the second lead?

And shave the beards!
 
Re: The Trooper....kind of...

I actually thought it was pretty good. You should enjoy playing with the family when you can. I play with my kids when I can and it's a blast - and even though it's not their favorite music, they enjoy making music with me.

I have to say, I started the video before I read the post, and I thought this was one of those trick videos where you played every instrument. From the distance I couldn't see many details, but you are all wearing the same red shirt, and your dad's beard looks fake.

Anyway, lighten up on them and just sit back and enjoy it. Never pass up an opportunity to play - especially with family.
 
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