tag:ativandal.com,2005:/blogs/latest-newsLatest News2019-03-11T19:45:20+11:00ativandal falsetag:ativandal.com,2005:Post/44411132016-10-28T12:27:30+11:002024-01-10T18:09:28+11:00Melbourne. A new home. One year in Melbourne so far and what a ride. I've performed at some great venues and have met some really decent people. Melbourne Australia and Portland Oregon have a lot in common: a vibrant and hugely diverse music community, healthy art scene, culinary wonderland, long, grey, rainy winters, rampant gentrification, traffic...It feels just like home in that regard. The differences are both fantastic and curious. Lots of people from all over the world live in this city. People are crazy for rugby, Australian football, cricket and horse racing. In fact, the AFL finals and Melbourne Cup are state holidays and if you end up working those days you earn double wages. It's windy here, too. The weather, in general, is completely unpredictable and can go from sweltering to bone-chilling in the course of several hours. Political correctness is not the norm. People here will make casual comments and generalizations regarding race that would definitely be considered offensive and racist in the States. You get used to it. People, for the most part, are friendly and hospitable.<br>I've been writing lot's of music and studying audio production at university. My wife is working in pre-production for a large printing company and brewing beer. We still have yet to purchase a barbecue which is apparently very un-Australian. I figure, we are doing alright, regardless.ativandal tag:ativandal.com,2005:Post/37120202015-05-25T04:31:35+10:002023-12-20T17:23:48+11:00too long sparks is now ativandal Yes, I changed my name. Yes, I know it's risky. I just feel the music has taken on a new identity lately and it was time for a change. Now, onward as ativandal...ativandal tag:ativandal.com,2005:Post/36560902015-04-14T09:01:06+10:002024-03-28T22:52:05+11:00East Trip April 2015I'd like to thank Sean Richardson and the music community of Charleston, West Virginia for making me feel welcome in their beautiful city. I've missed performing in such an enthusiastic and supportive music scene. I made some new friends and soaked up some of that southern hospitality everyone talks about. It's no myth. Folks were amazing. Thanks also to Pittsburgh and the Blue Moon bar for a great couple nights. We will be back!<br><br> ativandal tag:ativandal.com,2005:Post/34514082015-01-05T08:48:02+11:002023-12-11T04:15:00+11:00january 4, 2015Hi Ho Happy New Year. Just sipping some hot tea and checking out a track by Kinski of Seattle.<br> <a contents="https://soundcloud.com/kinski-music/let-me-take-you-through-my-thought-process" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/kinski-music/let-me-take-you-through-my-thought-process">https://soundcloud.com/kinski-music/let-me-take-you-through-my-thought-process</a><br>I'm anticipating a fantastic Mega Songwriter Blowout at the Firkin in Portland this Thursday. Hope to see you there.<br> ativandal tag:ativandal.com,2005:Post/33468502014-12-02T08:00:13+11:002023-12-13T17:41:53+11:0012-01-2014Happy Thanksgiving, folks. Hope you're fat and hungover and ready for more holiday abuse.<br>I'm currently booking shows for the winter from Seaside, Oregon to Port Townsend, Washington with as many stops in between as I can manage.<br>Check back for updates and join my mailing list! xxoo<br> ativandal tag:ativandal.com,2005:Post/32473092014-10-24T08:44:20+11:002023-12-13T17:42:31+11:00my studio is a functional disasterI've been focusing lately on ukulele based songs partly because I love the compactness of the instrument and also because it has a much different character than the guitar. Who am I kidding? I love gigging with it because I'm lazy and it's small. I'm developing songs right now that I can perform live using only the ukulele, a loop pedal and a few effects pedals. I'm getting some pretty good layers with this relatively minimal setup, using a newly added octave pedal to create some new textures. I'll have the results of my labor up on the site soon.ativandal