I pleased to announce that tomorrow at 6pm Pacific / 9pm I will be kicking off another episode of Severed Fifth TV; a live videocast in which I provide Severed Fifth fans with updates on the band and the project. In the next show I will be talking about: Live Band: Latest Updates, Rehearsal Updates [...]
I pleased to announce that tomorrow at 6pm Pacific / 9pm I will be kicking off another episode of Severed Fifth TV; a live videocast in which I provide Severed Fifth fans with updates on the band and the project.
In the next show I will be talking about:
Live Band: Latest Updates, Rehearsal Updates and more!
Severed Fifth Seeks Bassist
Second Album Progress Update and New Songs
Live Recording Dates and Live Streaming
Severed Fifth Street Team Goings Ons
Severed Fifth Fair Pay
Q+A – bring your questions!
Here are the details of when and where the show is:
Severed Fifth are actively looking to recruit a flexible, capable bassist for recording and live performances. This is an awesome opportunity to join Jono Bacon, Jim Adams, and Ben Gibbs at the birth of Severed Fifth. We are not only looking for someone who has the skills and talent to play some rocking bass, but [...]
Severed Fifth are actively looking to recruit a flexible, capable bassist for recording and live performances. This is an awesome opportunity to join Jono Bacon, Jim Adams, and Ben Gibbs at the birth of Severed Fifth. We are not only looking for someone who has the skills and talent to play some rocking bass, but also someone with an easy-going, relaxed, but enthusiastic personality that will knit well with the rest of the band.
What We Are Looking For
We are looking for the following attributes in candidates:
solid bass playing technique; the flexibility and diversity to know when to add bass flourishes and melody, but also when to keep things simple and clean, particularly over complex and fast guitar parts.
an easy going, relaxed, constructive and positive attitude and personality. We have a strict “no assholes” policy in Severed Fifth. We want to ensure that the successful candidate knits well personality-wise with the band.
flexibility to join at least two rehearsals a week and time available for performing at live shows and future tours.
based in the Bay Area, preferably in the East Bay (Oakland/Walnut Creek area).
equipment for rehearsals and live shows. We play in C.
we expect you to have a car to get you and gear to and from rehearsals and live shows.
we would preferably like someone who plays with their fingers if possible.
How To Apply
Ideally we would like you to have an audition video available somewhere online that we can watch.
To apply, send an email to ‘jono AT severedfifth DOT com’ and tell us:
links to preferably an online audition video or music we can listen to that you have played in.
who your influences are, both bassists and bands.
what your musical experience is and any bands that you have played in.
I am pleased to announce that from Wed 11th – Sun 15th August principle recording for the second Severed Fifth album will take place. Within the five day recording session, taking place primarily between 10am – 6pm Pacific I will be recording all the guitars, bass, and solos, and finalizing much of the drums, before [...]
I am pleased to announce that from Wed 11th – Sun 15th August principle recording for the second Severed Fifth album will take place. Within the five day recording session, taking place primarily between 10am – 6pm Pacific I will be recording all the guitars, bass, and solos, and finalizing much of the drums, before going on to perform first-level mixes. The recording takes place in my home studio here in the Bay Area, California.
Not only is the recording session confirmed, but for the first time ever the entire recording process will be streamed live on the Severed Fifth UStream.tv channel where you can watch the recording and interact with me via the live web chat throughout the five-day session. This is a tremendous opportunity to take a glimpse into the studio, watch the recording process, and experience how a Severed Fifth album is put together.
Over the coming weeks I will be announcing the name of the album, the track listing, the release date, and providing more details of what to expect throughout the recording process. I will also be announcing some special competitions and prizes to celebrate the release of the eagerly awaited follow up to Denied By Reign.
So, put Wed 11th – Sun 15th August in your calendars and get ready for the Severed Fifth train to roll into the next station.
Tuning Into The Recording
To tune into the recording, simple visit the Severed Fifth UStream.tv channel where you can watch the live stream and chat with other Severed Fifth fans and myself.
Today I overhauled our gallery and gave it a significant upgrade, firstly because it was a bit old and crusty, but secondly because we are getting more and more folks in the Severed Fifth Street Team who want to contribute wallpapers, banners, images and other content for Severed Fifth fans. Not only this, but as [...]
Today I overhauled our gallery and gave it a significant upgrade, firstly because it was a bit old and crusty, but secondly because we are getting more and more folks in the Severed Fifth Street Team who want to contribute wallpapers, banners, images and other content for Severed Fifth fans. Not only this, but as we head toward the recording of the second album and the formation of the live band, there will be more and more studio and live images, photos and other fun stuff that we want Severed Fifth fans to have easy access to.
As such, today if you look at the main red menu at the top of the website you will see that Gallery has gone and we now have Media, complete with a drop down menu. This menu links to these new pages:
Wallpaper – a growing collection of wallpapers that you can adorn your desktop with.
Photos – a wide variety of photos of Severed Fifth.
Of course, this is just the beginning! We will be adding more and more photos as Severed Fifth continues to go from strength to strength!
Featured Wallpaper
torontomario from the Severed Fifth Forums shared some awesome new wallpapers with us today, and I just wanted to highlight this one as one that I think looks particularly awesome. Mario’s other two look fantastic too, and you can download and use the new wallpapers by grabbing them from the Wallpaper page.
I pleased to announce that tomorrow at 12pm Pacific / 3pm Eastern / 8pm UK / 9pm Europe I will be kicking off another episode of Severed Fifth TV; a live videocast in which I provide Severed Fifth fans with updates on the band and the project. In the next show I will be talking [...]
I pleased to announce that tomorrow at 12pm Pacific / 3pm Eastern / 8pm UK / 9pm Europe I will be kicking off another episode of Severed Fifth TV; a live videocast in which I provide Severed Fifth fans with updates on the band and the project.
In the next show I will be talking about:
Live Band: Updates and New Members!
Second Album Progress Update
Frets On Fire: Severed Fifth Edition Update
Severed Fifth Street Team
Severed Fifth Fair Pay
Q+A – bring your questions!
Here are the details of when and where the show is:
DATE – Tuesday 22nd June 2010
TIME – 12pm Pacific / 3pm Eastern / 8pm UK / 9pm Europe
Recently I have been in the process of putting the wheels in motion for a Severed Fifth live band. As many of you will know, traditionally Severed Fifth has been an entirely solo driven project where I wrote, performed, recorded, and promoted the music entirely myself. It has always been part of my plan to [...]
Recently I have been in the process of putting the wheels in motion for a Severed Fifth live band. As many of you will know, traditionally Severed Fifth has been an entirely solo driven project where I wrote, performed, recorded, and promoted the music entirely myself. It has always been part of my plan to put together a live band and get out there and take Severed Fifth on the road, and in the last few weeks this has turned from a plan to a reality. Let me give you the story.
A few weeks ago I was at an airport and bumped into Chris Kontos (ex-Machine Head, Testament, Konkhra) who was on his way back home to Oakland from his European tour with Attitude Adjustment. We got chatting (largely because Chris was one of my influences as a drummer, and my old band Seraphidian used to cover Machine Head’s Davidian from Burn My Eyes) and I talked to him about Severed Fifth. Chris was keen for us to follow up when we got home and he said he knew some musicians who might be interested in joining Severed Fifth. As such, I sent him some tunes to give him an idea of the music, and he recommended a guitarist called Jim Adams who he felt would be a good fit.
I headed over to Jim’s home studio on Saturday to audition him, and it was instantly a good match. We worked through a few Severed Fifth songs, talked about the direction of the band, our philosophy of great music and great bands, and what ingredients we felt we needed for success. Not only did we knit well musically, but we knitted really well as friends, and I think Jim is going to bring so much to Severed Fifth, both musically and personality-wise. Jim is also hugely motivated by the Free Culture nature of Severed Fifth and giving our fans free access to our music.
Jim Adams ripping up the stage live.
Jim started playing guitar at the age of 12 after hearing the live version of Kiss’ Black Diamond. He played in several different bands through is middle and high school years, but came to local recognition once he landed the job as lead guitarist for the Oakland CA based Defiance in 1986. He has five albums available with Defiance, three under the Roadrunner label (Product of Society, Void Terra Firma, and Beyond Recognition), a box set from MetalMind Productions (Insomnia) and the most recently released from last fall with Candlelight Records (The Prophecy).
So folks, join me in welcoming Jim to the Severed Fifth family, and I look forward to you all meeting him at future shows!
Severed Fifth is all about finding fans and building community everywhere we can, and today we branched out into the popular MySpace social networking site. MySpace is hugely popular with music fans, and it has become a hotbed for awesome metal bands. It seemed only right that we join up. So, if you are on [...]
Severed Fifth is all about finding fans and building community everywhere we can, and today we branched out into the popular MySpace social networking site. MySpace is hugely popular with music fans, and it has become a hotbed for awesome metal bands. It seemed only right that we join up.
So, if you are on MySpace, go and join us and have fun! You can join us at:
If you are reading this you have probably heard about Severed Fifth, read the website, may have listened to the music that has been released, watched some of the videos, and possibly chatted in the forum. You may have even taken some Severed Fifth music and used it in your own music or videos, played [...]
If you are reading this you have probably heard about Severed Fifth, read the website, may have listened to the music that has been released, watched some of the videos, and possibly chatted in the forum. You may have even taken some Severed Fifth music and used it in your own music or videos, played it in your car, shared it with your friends or otherwise enjoyed the content.
Severed Fifth will never expect any kind of payment for this content or service; a core part of the ethos of Severed Fifth is we provide an awesome free service with lots of awesome music to rock out to.
Severed Fifth does however cost money to produce. I need to buy hosting, equipment for the studio, invest in promotional materials, buy t-shirts, buy recordable media to give CDs out, and ultimately I would love to take the project in many new directions such as sending our awesome Severed Fifth Street Team contributors free schwag for doing good work, putting on live shows and tours, upgrading the Severed Fifth studio, renting rehearsal space and more. Of course, each of these things cost money, but I don’t believe I should ever require money from you folks to benefit from the fruits of these investments. I am though keen to explore how I can fund these goals and ambitions in a fair way.
It is simple: you pay what you feel fair and comfortable with.
If you download the music and enjoy using the website and services and would like to pay $1, that is awesome. If you decide to pay $50 that is awesome too. It is also awesome if you decide to pay nothing at all.
Everyone still gets access to all the content as soon as it is ready, everyone will always get the music freely, everyone has equal access to the services, irrespective of whether you pay nothing or something. Severed Fifth Fair Pay puts control in your hands to decide (a) how much you can afford and (b) what you feel would be a fair and reasonable amount to pay. Simple.
How can I pay?
Payment is simple, just head over to the Severed Fifth Fair Pay and use your credit/debit card to make a payment. You choose how much.
One of the primary reasons why I am keen to make Severed Fifth’s albums and music available under the Creative Commons is that it allows you to use Severed Fifth in your own creative endeavors. One such example are people who create videos and put them online on YouTube and other video sharing sites. I [...]
One of the primary reasons why I am keen to make Severed Fifth’s albums and music available under the Creative Commons is that it allows you to use Severed Fifth in your own creative endeavors. One such example are people who create videos and put them online on YouTube and other video sharing sites. I went to take a look to see if there were any videos that use Severed Fifth in their soundtracks and was astonished to find so many.
As such, I have compiled these videos together so you can take a look at them. I have included the videos and included a paragraph from the uploaded of the video to describe what it is. Of course, if you know of some other videos that are not highlighted below, do share them in the comments!
If you would like to learn more about what you can do with Severed Fifth music, read this page.
If Religions Were Real
Every religion has stories that are alarming or bizarre. If Religions Were Real shows you those tales in live action, as imagined through the mind of a child. A really well made, professional looking video.
This is the slightly more leisurely edit of our 48 hours film competition. I’ve done a very rough soundtrack not having the tools or the ear for music and used a different ending (phone call), and added a pick up (Julien’s character falling from the building). It’s probably as far as I’ll go with this particular film. I’m very pleased with it. It seems pretty good to me despite its constraints. The broken mug, stupid lines about “You don’t have the right..” etc at the beginning, the drugged drink and the title were all required to prove that we’d made the film within 48 hours
Created for the 2009 Database Security Video Smackdown. Written, directed and edited by Justin Termini. Starring Daniel Aubin, Zhana Levitsky, and a Zombie Cast of Thousands.
A while ago, Frekydelic (http://www.youtube.com/FrekyD) remixed my podcast’s theme (‘Beavers and Ducks’ by http://switch.newgrounds.com) and made his own version called ‘Pingas and Ducks’.
I made a remix of the theme for an unreleased episode and thought I would place it here.
Headbang Hero – mini mosher takes the test – Ars Electronica 2009
One of the little big headbangers we had during The Royal Interface Culture Masquerade Ball at Ars 09.
He’s headbanging to Take The Test by Severed Fifth.
Some of you may be familiar with the game Frets On Fire; a free equivilent to the rather awesome Guitar Hero series of games. For some time now I have dreamed about having a special Frets On Fire: Severed Fifth Edition version of the game, with all Severed Fifth songs available to play. Well, this [...]
Some of you may be familiar with the game Frets On Fire; a free equivilent to the rather awesome Guitar Hero series of games. For some time now I have dreamed about having a special Frets On Fire: Severed Fifth Edition version of the game, with all Severed Fifth songs available to play. Well, this weekend I started working on exactly this.
So far the game is looking pretty cool and all branded to look like Severed Fifth. It includes the familiar artwork, the logos and other fun things. It also include a transcribed version of Edge Of Design from Denied By Reign. So far it looks like this:
I only started doing this at the weekend, but I think we are off to a great start. There is though lots to be done, and I need your help!
Transcribers Needed!
To make Frets On Fire: Severed Fifth Edition happen we need help to transcribe Severed Fifth music into songs that you can play in the game. Fortunately this is really simple, and you can do it inside Frets On Fire itself.
To do this you first need to get set up on your computer. There are two ways to do this:
This Is Recommended If Possible: Download The ‘Frets On Fire: Severed Fifth’ code
The recommended way to do this is to download the Frets On Fire: Severed Fifth code and run that. To do this you need the bzr tool and just run:
bzr branch lp:fretsonfire-severedfifth
You can then run the game by going into the src directory and running:
python FretsOnFire.py
You are now ready to transcribe!
Transcribing The Song
If you want to transcribe a song, first pick it and then check our forum here to see if anyone has already started working on it. We don’t want to duplicate effort! If someone has picked a song and there has been response on the forum for a while, you may want to check if they are still working on it.
When you have a song to work on, to transcribe inside Frets On Fire follow these instructions:
Load Frets On Fire.
Go to ‘Song Editor’.
If you want to work on a new song select ‘Import New Song’ and enter some basic details about the song, or if you to improve an existing Severed Fifth song select ‘Edit Existing Song’ and select the song you want to transcribe.
You should now see the main transcription view. Before you start, press escape to see the main Song Editor menu and select ‘Estimate Beats Per Minute’ and follow the instructions to get the beat time right. Now press Escape to go back to the main transcription view.
In the main transcription press Spacebar to toggle playback (you can use the arrow keys to move around when not playing back). Start playback and then use the normal controls to add the notes in time with the music.
When you have finished, select ‘Save Song’, and quit.
Now look inside the folder where you installed Frets On Fire and look in the data/ folder, then inside the songs/ folder. In there will be a folder name with the same name as the song you transcribed. Zip up that folder and put it online somewhere (there are lots of free hosting services available). Now email jono AT severedfifth DOT com with the link and also post to the forums about your work.
We want to ensure that the successful candidate knits well personality-wise with the band.
Jim Adams ripping up the stage live.
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