Hey everybody,

 

I was sending in for a studio session ad tonight and had to write out my perfomance/recording resume'.  Looking back at it I'm amazed at how much time has gone by and what I have done/what has changed. 

 

Check it out,

Bill

 

Bill Scott: performance and recording resume’

Recordings
Trinity Test 
2006 “Remnants” All Lead and Rhythm guitars
2003 “Waiting for Rebirth” Rhythm and Lead guitars
2001 “Decomposing the Atmosphere” Rhythm and Lead Guitars

Eviscerate
2001 “Beneath Dying Skies” Rhythm and Lead guitars

Jerk
2000 “Self Titled” Rhythm and Lead guitars

Jack Dill 
2005 Studio work for record demos (never realeased)
Played on “NYC to LA,” “Jersey Girl,” “Your Secret,” “Drink to that.” Rhythm Guitars

Jodi Rivera
2006 Studio work for Jodi Rivera
Played on “This Dream”, Rhythm guitars

Performance
Trinity Test
    * 2007-02-24 at Zen Sushi
    * 2005-08-19 at The Bomb Shelter
    * 2005-07-14 at RollerKingdom, Smashachusetts 05 Festival
    * 2005-06-21 at Midway Cafe
    * 2005-06-17 at The Bomb Shelter
    * 2005-06-12 at The Living Room
    * 2005-05-24 at Midway Cafe
    * 2005-05-13 at The Library
    * 2005-05-06 at Tufts University, The Oxfam Cafe
    * 2005-04-10 at American Legion
    * 2005-02-12 at The Library
    * 2004-12-10 at Mass Art (Rm. 175 through Kennedy Hall), Purity's Failure CD Release
    * 2004-11-06 at The Library, TDB Records Presents
    * 2004-08-28 at Fitzy's (sign out front says Zachary's)
    * 2004-08-06 at O'Brien's, Boston's Dead 2 Year Anniversary
    * 2004-07-24 at Central Square YWCA, There Were Wires final show
    * 2004-06-19 at The Hoss, Echelon final show
    * 2004-05-07 at Fitzy's (sign out front says Zachary's)
    * 2004-03-19 at 81 Linden Street
    * 2004-03-04 at O'Brien's, Boston's Dead No. 19
    * 2004-02-27 at Fitzy's
    * 2004-02-07 at Exit 23
    * 2004-01-29 at The Hoss
    * 2003-11-29 at The Old Bleachery
    * 2003-11-26 at WCUW 91.3FM
    * 2003-11-25 at Bridgewater State College (large ballroom)
    * 2003-11-08 at Club Marque
    * 2003-10-23 at O'Brien's, ABFreeRadio Benefit Show
    * 2003-09-22 at Club Marque
    * 2003-06-13 at Mr. Fluff
    * 2003-05-26 at The Ecko Lounge
    * 2003-05-09 at Safari Lounge
    * 2003-05-02 at Knights of Columbus
    * 2002-10-13 at Trance Buddha
    * 2002-09-06 at Bridgewater State College
    * 2002-03-02 at Christina's
    * 2002-02-08 at Tufts University, Eviscerate CD Release
Bill and Al’s Acoustic Adventure
    * 2007-02-18 at Rainbow Bar and Grill
    * 2007-03-17 at Rainbow Bar and Grill (upcoming)
Eviscerate
Various Shows from 1999 – 2003, including New Jersey and Massachusetts Metal Fests.
Jerk
Various performances from 1996 - 2000

Awards and other accomplishments
2001 Music Showcase Festival outstanding soloist award
2002 creating and running a benefit concert for victims of the 9/11 tragedy, raising $7,000 for McGinty children’s scholarship fund.
2005-2006 Working as an engineer at Saucer Sound in Norton, MA
2005-current Teaching guitar online for Learn Music Inc. partnered with Sam Ash
2006 Graduating Berklee College of Music with a Bachelors Degree in Professional Music


 

Hey Everybody,

My metal band, Trinity Test, is playing at Zen Sushi in Silverlake.  There are tons of awesome bands playing so I recommend you check it out.  We're playing at 9:15 upstairs, but show up whenever you can because it will be a great show.

Hope to see you there,
Bill

<image xsrc="http://www.churchofthe8thday.com/flyers/February24th_web.jpg"

 

 I'm playing an acoustic set in Hollywood this Sunday at the Rainbow bar and grill with my friend Alex.  Here's the message of posted.  If any of you guys are in the LA area derfinitely come check it out.

 Hey Everybody, Bill and Al are playing on Sunday February 18th at the world famous Rainbow Bar in Grill on Sunset Blvd. You can buy tickets from us for $8 or you can buy them that night at the door for $10. Just contact us through myspace at myspace.com/billandalacoustic, if you want advance tickets. Hope to see you there, Bill and Alex

This is an article I wrote a few years ago that I thougt might be helpful to SAMi students as far as finding your sound and picking gear goes.

 

Hope you like it,

Bill 

Finding Your Sound or Tone
By Bill Scott
Edited by Bob Mckee

    No matter how important one might think it is to be the fastest and use the craziest chord voicing known to man, your tone is the gateway to success.  Why is this, you may ask?  Your sound defines you as a player.  When a person pops in a C.D you want them to be able to say I bet Joe Schmoe played guitar on this track.  When your sound is identifiable it will make other musicians want you to be a part of their projects, and it will make you recognizable to all of your fans and admirers.  If you don’t believe me think of some of the most well known guitar players to date: Steve Vai, Jeff Beck, Allen Holdsworth, Wes Montgomery, Django Reinhardt, and countless others.  These players all have a sound that has left a mark on “The Guitar” for years to come.

Step 1: Use your ears

    We’ve established that finding your sound is important, but one important thing to remember before we dive too deeply into this conversation is that “good tone” is subjective.  What I like to listen to, might not be what you're into and vice versa, so step number one is to use your own ears and judgment.   You can read every review about a particular piece of gear, but truly not know enough about that gear until you check it out for yourself.  So the number one rule in finding your sound and in music is USE YOUR EARS!!!  Music is aural, and without listening you won't make it too far.

Step 2: Only you can make you sound better

You know the saying “practice makes perfect?”  When you sit down and practice all your scales and arpeggios, and other various techniques, be very meticulous in how you play them.  I’m not talking about how clean they are, which is important, but I’m talking about quite literally how you play them.  Do you slide into notes?  Do you bend into them?  Do you play a certain exercise staccato, and others legato?  All these different techniques help to develop your own personal style.

Another piece of this process is taking these practices and making them your own.  Now that you’ve studied scales, and arpeggios and so forth you have to decide how to incorporate them into your music.  An obvious example of this is to listen to how Yngwie plays an arpeggio compared to Wes Montgomery.  When defining your sound through your playing consider your musical genre.  I am by no means telling you limit yourself stylistically, but just think about it as a starting point.

A lot of your tone is in the fingers.  A good guitar player will still sound good through a fifty dollar beat up combo amp just as a bad guitar player will still sound bad through a three thousand dollar stack.

Step 3: Choosing the right gear

As you probably know there are so many choices, and more choices than you might even know about.  I have owned so much gear over the years while searching for the perfect tone for me, and although I’m getting really close, there can always be a “better” tone.  The easiest place to start when picking out gear is to know what genre of music more or less you’re into playing or know what the players you’re into are using.  Does your favorite guitar player use a Strat with a half stack or a semi hollow with a combo amp?  Obviously these two options can provide for very different results in tone and there are a lot more than two options to sort through.  Let’s compile a basic list of what gear to consider in our quest.

Guitars- Solid Body, Hollow Body, Semi Hollow, Acoustic, or the recent modeling guitars.
Pickups- Humbucking, Single Coil
Amplifiers- Combo, Stack, Tube, Solid State, Hybrids, Modeling, Rackmount with a preamp and power amp.
Effects- Pedals, Floorboard. Rackmount
Picks- Thin, Medium, Heavy, Jazz
Cables

Each one of these pieces of gear will affect your sound.  As guitar players we tend to like to use a lot of this gear, so one guitar or amp might not be enough to satisfy our needs.  When playing Jazz you may prefer a semi hollow, and when playing rock you might prefer a solid body guitar.  My best advice in sorting through all these types of equipment is to go to a guitar store and make decisions for yourself.  No one can tell you what you like; you need to try it and hear it for yourself.  Some choices may be really easy.  For example if you’re a singer/songwriter and know you want an acoustic guitar you have ruled out all the other guitars on the list.  Once you’ve begun trying things you will quickly learn about what you like and dislike.  I also recommend trying products that you do not think will be good. There are two reasons for doing this.  One, you might be pleasantly surprised, and two, listen for what you do not like in the product.  Knowing what you don’t want also enhances your ability to know what you do want.

I would also like to comment about the last two items on the list: Picks and guitar cables.  Picks can affect your sound greatly.  Thin picks sound very percussive especially with acoustic guitars where as a heavy pick sounds meatier and provides better resistance for faster picking.  Further more you can also use obscure objects for picking to stretch the sound of your playing.  Have you ever been in a guitar store without a pick and resorted to using a coin?  In certain situations a coin can sound very cool and produce some new sounds for your playing.  Guitar cables can also have a tremendous influence on your sound.  A quality guitar cable makes for a solid connection between different pieces of gear.  If you use a mediocre cable you will achieve mediocre results.  Test out different types of cables, and if possible A/B between them.  This will help you notice immediate differences in your tone.

I want to leave you with one last point before you begin or continue your journey.  Do not spend so much time looking for gear that you neglect your playing.  I have done this more than once.  Playing is the reason we have the instrument; not buying accessories for it.  When you find a great piece of gear it can be inspiring, and that makes it important, but playing ability is most important when you’re searching for the best sound.