Eyal Levi from Dååth, Levi/Werstler, and Audiohammer Studios has obviously been in this business for some time now, and he’s learned a thing or two about a thing or two. This week, he imparts ten lessons about the music biz — and life in general — to you, our beloved readers, once a day, two installments at a time. You can read lessons one and two here, and lessons three and four here, lessons five and six here, and lessons seven and eight here; check out the final two lessons below!

#9: IF YOU’RE NOT GOING TO SETTLE IT YOURSELF, LET IT GO

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxKiK-SeBhE&feature=related

I am wholeheartedly against turning the other cheek. That’s my disclaimer before I get into this. I’m a big proponent of the Nicky from Casino way of life. Two eyes for an eye all the way. There’s a wild card, though. And it’s a wild card we all know and love. It’s called the internet. Gone are the days when you could just settle a beef between just the two parties involved.

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Eyal Levi from Dååth, Levi/Werstler, and Audiohammer Studios has obviously been in this business for some time now, and he’s learned a thing or two about a thing or two. This week, he imparts ten lessons about the music biz — and life in general — to you, our beloved readers, once a day, two installments at a time. You can read the week’s first two lessons here, and the week’s next two lessons here, and the week’s most recent two lessons here; check out lesson numbers seven and eight below!

#7: WEEKENDS? THERE’S NO SUCH THING

If you’re fortunate enough to get to a point in your life where you can actually support yourself from a creative endeavor, then be prepared to throw away all notions of having a normal life. Now ,I know that there’s no such thing as “normal,” and that everyone is an individual, but hear me out on what I mean by that.

Weekends are for resting and partying; weekdays are for working. That’s a normal concept, which fits in with the archetypical 9-5 jobs. It’s perfectly setup for ensuring that you can hold down a social/family life while working at the same time. And, for the majority of the world, it works. There’s a good structure to it. I can see how it would get repetitive and old, but at least you know what to look forward to. And at least you can get things done without too much hassle, because the rest of the world is set up to cater to your schedule.

In the land of creative jobs, good luck with that idea. More often than not, you will find yourself working all hours of the night, for weeks, or even months, on end. If you take breaks like the rest of the world, then you will be left behind.

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Eyal Levi from Dååth, Levi/Werstler, and Audiohammer Studios has obviously been in this business for some time now, and he’s learned a thing or two about a thing or two. This week, he imparts ten lessons about the music biz — and life in general — to you, our beloved readers, once a day, two installments at a time. You can read the week’s first two lessons here, and the week’s next two lessons here; check out lesson numbers three and four below!

#5: EVERYTHING GETS OLD

My favorite dickhead line about dating is, “Show me a super hot girl, and I’ll show you the guy that’s tired of fucking her.” Other variations include “…tired of putting up with her” or “…tired of dealing with her shit.” Any way you say it, the point is that no matter how great something is at one point in your life, you will eventually need something else that’s bigger and better  (i.e., The Next Step). In my opinion, it’s the same phenomenon as when your brain stops registering physical stimulus if you repeat it enough (try scratching an itch for too long to see what I mean). Anything you do long enough without variation will not get you going anymore. Mark Lewis and I even have some theories about how this relates to sound and mixing. But that’s another article…

Is there anything that’s now normal to you which once was just a fantasy? Look at your life. Is there anything you have now that at one point was just a dream? Is there anything you can do now that you couldn’t even imagine doing at one point in time? I’m sure there is. Big or small, I’m sure there is at least one thing in each of your lives that fits the bill. Again, is there anything in your life right now that you almost or do take for granted which you would have killed for in the past?

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Eyal Levi from Dååth, Levi/Werstler, and Audiohammer Studios has obviously been in this business for some time now, and he’s learned a thing or two about a thing or two. This week, he imparts ten lessons about the music biz — and life in general — to you, our beloved readers, once a day, two installments at a time. You can read the week’s first two lessons here; check out lesson numbers three and four below!

#3: BE UNDENIABLE

I first saw Behemoth live when they toured with Suffocation sometime around 2004. I had only heard of them before that. Needless to say, this band blew me away. The sound was shit, as it always is at that club in Atlanta, but that didn’t matter. They came on stage and OWNED. I was captivated from start to finish of the set. And then I bought a shirt. That is such a rare occurrence that I remember it to this day. For me to go buy a shirt after seeing and hearing a band for the first time is not quite on the level of Haley’s Comet… but in the span of my own meaningless existence, it’s pretty remarkable. Anyways, Behemoth is now an institution in extreme music.

I remember the first time I saw Opeth on the Blackwater Park tour. I had kind of gotten into their music prior to that, but had not solidified my opinion on the band yet. When they finally played, I got this amazing feeling, as though I was watching something historical and religious go down. I had never seen or heard a band produce sounds and transitions and emotions that were so right and so on. I felt like people must have felt when they were first seeing the early metal bands in the 1970’s. I’m not exaggerating one bit. I was completely humbled and a fan for life. Obviously, the rest of the metal world eventually caught on.

Anyone here seen Muse live? I’m a sucker for great musicianship and songwriting, and Muse definitely have an ample amount of both. But that didn’t drive my loyalty towards them until I saw them live. Their show is easily one of the most incredible rock shows ever put on by any band ever ever EVER! To try and describe it will not do it justice. Just go see them. I saw them first in 2005, when they were playing small theaters. They are now headlining arenas. I guess enough people couldn’t deny their power.

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Eyal Levi from Dååth, Levi/Werstler, and Audiohammer Studios has obviously been in this business for some time now, and he’s learned a thing or two about a thing or two. This week, he imparts ten lessons about the music biz — and life in general — to you, our beloved readers, once a day, two installments at a time. Enjoy the week’s first two lessons below!

#1: (C+P = R) BEING SUCCESSFUL TAKES TALENT, JUST NOT AT WHAT YOU THOUGHT 

Someone just told me that Thomas Edison didn’t actually invent the light bulb. I was told that he just registered the patent to it. True or not, he definitely got the credit for it. And with that credit he certainly got the rewards as though it were true. It’s also well known that Christopher Columbus didn’t discover America first. However, what we’re taught in the early years of American education doesn’t exactly support that fact. Even though he wasn’t the first, he was the one that got the credit for being first. Just remember the following equation: C+P = R. That stands for Credit + Perception = Rewards.

In an ideal world, success in any field (I know music) would be based on skill, talent, and hard work. We don’t live in an ideal world. If we lived in an ideal world, lots of things we’re used to would be different.

In the world we live in, creative talent is second to marketing talent.  When you have a product that is going to take money out of people’s pockets, that product, whatever it is, has to be worth them parting ways with their cash. And everybody has different reasons for being willing to part with that cash. If you can tap into people’s reason for spending their money, then you will sell more product. Being able to access that part of people’s hearts and minds is a completely different process than the creative one. Yes, marketing and promotion can be creative, but it’s a completely DIFFERENT type of skill set than the creativity required to actually create something out of thin air. And it’s arguably a more important skill set.

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A conversation I once had:

Dude I Know: Hey man, do you have a sec? I need to figure out which amp to get.

Me: Sure, what’s up?

Dude I know: My band is about to go out on our first tour in a couple of months and I need to get a guitar amp that’s going to hold up and sound great.

Me: Yeah, that’s pretty important. What do you have in mind? What’s your price range?

Dude I know: Price range is 800 – 1200 bucks. I really want to invest in something good. I’ve seen these amps on eBay…

[He proceeds to send me a link]

Me: Well, I’ve used all of those on tour and in the studio. Amp 1 sounds great but it’s really finicky. I’d never take it on the road. Even in the studio there’s no guarantee it’ll last the session. Amp 2 sounds decent and I’ve bought a few for my band. They all lasted roughly the same amount of time then died. Amp 3 is your best bet. Never died on the road, always sounds great.

Dude I Know: My favorite guitar player uses Amp 1.

Me: How do you know?

Dude I Know: I saw it in a Guitar World ad.

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Have you ever stayed in a situation when you knew deep down inside that it was already doomed? I believe in the power of positive thinking a rational amount. That is, if I keep my mind focused on the right shit, the right shit happens in my life. If I focus on the wrong shit, the wrong shit happens. Either way, shit happens, but at least it’s the right shit. Or closer to right than it would have been otherwise. You definitely have some measure of control over some of the outcomes in your life.

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Isn’t waiting when you’re ready one of the most frustrating things ever? “Hurry up and wait” is a very familiar cliché in the music industry. Well, from years of touring and recording, I can say that it’s one of those clichés that’s based on some truth. When you are so focused and ready to do something that inactivity fills you with anxiety and fucks up your mood, then you can’t take advantage of everything you could be spending that extra energy on. There is enough to do in life that you could fill your time with productive, useful, and engaging things rather than sitting around rotting.

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All people are not created equal; anybody who thinks so is kidding themselves. Sure, we all deserve equal rights and yada yada yada, but to think that we’re all born with equal intelligence, talent, drive, temperament, etc., is borderline delusional. If we were truly equal, than each of our ultimate impacts on the world and society would be pretty much the same across the board — give or take. But guess what? Because we AREN’T equal, certain people’s contributions to the world will outshine the contributions of others.

I think that is very hard for some people to accept. Pride can be a nasty mental state that will often cloud perception. To really contemplate that someone else’s life, and thus death, may affect multitudes more people than your own can be a tough pill to swallow. I’m not saying that anyone has more of a right to life than anyone else, I’m just saying that some people’s lives will affect the entire world, while others will be lucky to affect the thirty cats they own.  I guarantee you that only one of these obituaries would make it onto the news (unless, perhaps, the latter deceased person sexually abused the thirty cats and then ate their corpses).

These thoughts were stirred up by two of the major news events that took place recently: the untimely death of Amy Winehouse and the horrific bombing and massacre in Norway. Both were terrible for two completely different reasons; one- – fame nor fortune can cure a damaged mind, and two — people are capable of heinous acts in the name of ideology. Both these lessons are universal. History can almost be seen as a fugue between these two themes — they are deeply rooted in who we are as humans. Our beliefs about the world and ourselves can be be incredibly destructive on a physical and/or mental level if not kept in check.

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Newsflash: You’re not going to get signed and become a rock star. Fucking get over that dream. I know I’ve talked about this before, and here I am talking about it again. You see, DAATH just went out on tour again, and once again, we’re getting demos and pressure to hand them over to our A&R guys and hook people up with their dreams. Once again, we’re seeing decent people of all talent levels that are  just plain misguided. Maybe they don’t want to accept what’s going on right now? Maybe they just are not aware.

Either way, while the people running the show are trying to get out of a huge bind and keep their lights on, there’s still many people trying to get into the game with starry eyes and puckered assholes. The saddest part is they have no idea the game may not exist in this form for very much longer. This is a PSA to all bands who think that anybody in the music industry that’s isn’t on the highest of levels can do anything for your career: Kill that idea. It’s doing you more harm than good.

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I’ll admit, I had some writer’s block coming into this blog. Sometimes it’s hard to think of what to write. I’ve been racking my brain for a few days now with the burning question… “What will I write about next time?” Good fucking question, and I really don’t have an answer in sight. So I’ve decided that I’m just going to write about not knowing what to write.

Writer’s block is an interesting thing. It’s kinda like having mental constipation. You know the ideas are in there. You know the ideas want to come out. But something is just clogging the passageway. I guess the only way to get the ideas to bubble forward is to move some shit around. So I’m doing that by exploring this topic, which by the way, is one that many people write to me about.

I think my strongest suite as a musician is in composition. I’m a much better writer than I am a player. To me, that’s where it’s at. Sit me down for a year and I’ll write you a few records. It’s what I do. and I’m used to getting questions like, “How do you come up with ideas like…?” or “How did you learn how to write so much?”, etc. Well, I guess my overarching answer to all “how to” writing questions is this — “JUST FUCKING DO IT!”

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Raise your hand if you’ve got trust issues.

I’m sure that at least ten thousand of you readers raised your hands. And I’m sure that those of you who didn’t are either living in denial or just have figured out the key to trust. I think I figured out the key to trust, and while it’s one of those “Easier said than done” types of things, at least I have it now. It makes sense to me.

Have you ever had a friend who stabbed you in the back? I’m sure you have. Check out this situation from when I was nineteen. I’m sure this is fairly typical, but it doesn’t diminish how terrible it feels. I had a girlfriend. We were in young love. I then went off to college and tried to keep it going with her. She visited a few times. We had a fantastic time the first time, but a horrible time the second. Bad vibe central. Anyhow, I started to suspect that something was amiss. When I got home for Christmas break, I realized that my intuition was right-on. She had been sleeping with one of my very best friends.

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Damn. I haven’t written a blog for you guys while flying in quite a while. (Don’t worry, I still hate it, but 2.75mg of Xanax helps me forget.) So the question is, “Why have I not been writing to you from the air like I used to all the time?” Well, the fact of the matter is that I’ve basically been in a cave for the past few months making an album. Sure, we took a brief break and went to Germany for a few days for some Slayer shows (who wouldn’t),  but I was in no mental condition to write. I’m only now, five weeks from having finished the album, regaining my sanity, creativity, and motivation.

As I was packing for this trip to Mexico City I put my iPod in my carry-on (if you find the concept of rape disturbing, try to never check bags), and I realized that I haven’t added any new music to it in months. My two biggest gripes, both of which you are very familiar with by now, is the dismal state of metal audio production, and that the different scenes are just getting tired. I stand behind my idea that the “modern” metal sound of the early 2000s is going to sound as dated to us as 1980’s production pretty soon. I’m pretty confident that dudes who are all-out “scene” in their appearance will look back at themselves the way that we see Nu Metal bands from the late 90’s and wonder, “How was that the ‘in’ thing?” while privately hoping that their kids never see those photos. I feel like there’s an endless wave of copycat bands out there right now, and that the overall state of heavy music is such that we’re about to enter a down period, much like when death metal went back underground in the mid 90’s.

That’s not to say metal will die; it is time for innovation and rebirth.

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Ever had something happen to you that was so out of the blue and unexpected, yet so fucking hilariously strange that you wished you could go back in time and let the younger you know it was going to happen just so the two of you could laugh about it? I just had one of those experiences, and I don’t quite know how to categorize this one. So I figured I would share it with you guys. I’ve already shared it with all my friends, but I feel like the community at large should know. And maybe you guys can help me form an opinion on this. So here goes:

Last night, around 3 a.m., I was Facebook lurking after a night on the town. To my surprise, an old middle school teacher hit me up. We’ve had no contact since I got out of that school. I haven’t gone to reunions. I’ve made no effort to keep up with anyone. That part of my life was effectively over the day I graduated. But I was happy to hear from him and we made some small talk. Eventually he said this to me: “Eyal – this has been a real treat!! Please look for me again and please drop me a message from time to time. I mean this sincerely – it was a pleasure to teach you – I loved the creativity of your mind and that you always were a self-made man! LOVE>”

Nice thing to say right? Nice to get a compliment like that from an old teacher considering what a horrible student I was. And then comes the left turn. Abruptly he changed the subject and told me there was a video he wanted me to check out. To “get my thoughts on it.” I said okay. Here’s what he sent me:

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I know that suicide happens in all walks of life. I realize that when celebrities do themselves in, it’s enlarged to disrespectful proportions compared to when non-celebrities choose death. That said… Have you ever wondered why some rockstars kill themselves? Why do we hear about that CEO that threw himself off a seven-story building? Why do people who survive plane crashes kill themselves a year later with drugs? Why is it almost cliché for someone to die by their own doing after achieving their dreams in life? How is it that people who have won at life so hard can feel so miserable that living is no longer an option?

I’m positive that someone trained in the art of mental health would tell me that each case is unique. I realize that I’m not an expert on mental health, but I think there’s got to be some common denominator there. One thing I’ve noticed around a lot of people who have in fact achieved what would be most people’s dreams is that a lot of them will never be satisfied with that alone. That’s because a dream can only feel like a dream when it’s in your mind. It’s easy to be in love with a simple idea, or goal. In reality we have many more complex needs and pressures affecting us than those we create in idealized lottery winner-like scenarios.

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Ever had a free loader, moocher, or destructive human parasite stay with you? I’ve had all kinds of them stay with me. My residence has kind of become a bed and breakfast for nomadic creative people. Actually, it’s not a “kind of.” It HAS become that. And it’s been that way for the better part of a decade.

After that much time you start to notice patterns. History will sometimes repeat itself, and if there’s one thing that’s stood out, it’s this: Bands or disgruntled ex-band dudes are typically the worst. I let bands stay at my place because I have enough space for them and I know that even one night of comfort on tour can do SO much good. Getting to sleep comfortably, shower, do laundry, get fed, etc. These things all mean a lot more to you when you can barely do them, and especially if you get to take care of them in an environment created for your ilk. I also really appreciate it when we (DÅÅTH) get that type of kindness out in the world (I love you Nick Hipa). That’s why I’ve decided that if a friend of mine’s band has to choose between their van and my house, well, they’re coming to my house.

Sometimes bands have multiple days off in Atlanta and they’ll end up hanging out for a few days at a time. It’s no problem. Really. Promise. It’s cool. I’ve got the space and I love hanging out with friends. If there’s room, come on by… BUT DON’T BREAK MY SHIT, DON’T LEAVE MY PLACE WORSE THAN YOU FOUND IT, AND WHEN YOU GET A CHANCE, TELL THE ASSHOLES IN YOUR CREW TO AT LEAST DROP THE FRONT WHILE YOUR FRIEND IS HOOKING THEM UP! ITS FUCKING WEIRD TO HAVE SOME GUY STAY IN YOUR HOUSE FOR THREE DAYS AND NOT GIVE YOU MORE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAN THE TOUGH GUY NOD!

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I’m on a kick these days. My current kick involves trying to figure out exactly what the fuck people mean when they say certain things. Last “Jumping Darkness Parade,” I mentioned that I have no idea what anybody means by the word “great.” Well, here’s another one I just don’t get: “Sacrifice.” I know what the dictionary says it means. And there are a few different connotations for it. Sacrifice one thing in order to gain another. Or you could simply just be selling something at a loss.

So what does it really mean? I mean, clearly it has something to do with loss, but to what degree and under what conditions? When people say they’ve “sacrificed a lot,” what do they mean? Did they sacrifice their legs in combat for your freedom, or did they sacrifice going to Starbucks for a month so that they could buy a new iPhone? It’s another one of those words that gets thrown around with such frequency and with so much intent behind it, but is so subjective that I think it’s more of an accelerant for someone’s story than a word that carries much meaning… at least in most cases.

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A few weeks ago, our friend, Metal Mark, posted a guitar-oriented webisode where our co-producer, Mark Lewis, said that he thought our lead guitarist, Emil Werstler, was hands down the best guitar player in metal.

His comment caused some pretty interesting dialogue. A bunch of great guitarists’ names were thrown around, as well as the customary amount of entertaining insults. Tobin Abasi, Ron Jarzombek, Ryan Night, Loomis, you suck, die, emotionless piece of shit, etc. You name it. People were getting all riled up.

And that’s okay. Music is something very personal to each and every one of us, and for some reason we take this stuff seriously. Let me say, for the record, I don’t think there is any such thing as a “best guitar player” in anything. Let me repeat, this time in bold, just so we’re clear: I don’t think there is any such thing as a “best guitar player” in anything. I think there’s only the right part played the right way at the right time, or it’s the wrong part. Some guys have a higher ratio of pulling the off “right part” than others, and they seem to do it with no effort. Some pull off “the right part” in ways that are completely non-traditional. Some guys will work their whole lives, and no matter what their girlfriends and wives tell them, they will never pull it off.

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Dear Metalsucks Readers,

It’s been a while. I would have liked to write some blogs recently, but, quite honestly, making the new DAATH record took every ounce of creative and physical energy I had available to me. I tried writing a few and I’d be embarrassed to put my name on what was coming out. So rather than give you guys inferior reading material, I decided to wait until I had more mental energy to devote to “JDP.”

Good news is that there’s lot’s of pent up shit in my head, and I’m looking forward to sharing it with you guys. Then arguing about it, or not. Anyhow, hope you’ve all been as well as possible, and we’ll be sparring again soon!

-Eyal

Daath’s new, self-titled album comes out October 25 on Century Media. While you’re waiting patiently, why not visit Daath on MySpace?

Its 4:21 am on June 14th, 2010. We’re exactly one week into the drum sessions for the new DÅÅTH record. I’m sitting in a makeshift control room that was constructed for us at the Atlanta Institute of Music. After a very insane start, we’ve hit a great workflow.

Let me explain what I mean by “insane.” One of our stated goals for this record is to make it real. What I mean by “real” is that what you will hear is what we played. No smoke and mirrors, no trickery, no using the studio as a crutch. In the older days, when albums actually sold and recording budgets were high, albums would take months and months to create. Of course, the technology that is available to us today was not around back then, so things that now can be done in an hour would take a day or more. Like editing drums, for instance. It’s much easier to edit drums on a computer with a monitor than on tape that you have to cut together. For a good example of what I’m talking about ,check out that scene in A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica where they’re talking about editing together the drum fills. While the editing capabilities have gotten better, lots of people have taken these new tools to the level of completely manufacturing what in the 90’s and earlier would be performed. Why do you think bands these days sound so damn tight on record? Its not that they’re actually tighter. It’s that they’re edited better. Bands, for the most part, were actually tighter in the analog days, because they HAD to perform their parts. They couldn’t rely on the editing skills of the engineer to fix their shortcomings.

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