I was once. 
When I was in high school, I was in a 5 piece band, "Know Reason." We weren't really together for very long basically from October 2003 to May 2004. But in the short time we were around the Kelowna scene, we managed to gain a bit of a following. Our sound was reasonably metallic, kind of what would happen if you mixed Tool with Testament. But it was also fairly radio-friendly, as our song structures were fairly simple. This was a notable accomplishment at the time as Kelowna's scene was (and still is) otherwise soaked in emo/screamo bands.
We recorded a demo in 2003. It was definitely our most radio-friendly stuff, had as much of a Linkin Park sound to it as it did our other influences, but that's basically where we started, nu-metal with solos. It was only towards the end that we really developed a harder edge. At the time we recorded the demo, there was a big battle of the bands type thingamajig going on across the valley to get a spot on a compilation disc made up of all local bands that would be mass marketed. It got entries from over 300 bands all over the Okanagan valley. We submitted our demo, and we placed 5th, which earned us the opportunity to re-record the song that they choose in a professional studio with a professional producer (guy named Kevin Kane, was in a band in the late 80's called The Grapes Of Wrath), a professional engineer... hell, everything professional. So, in May 2004 we went into the studio and made this:
EDIT: Apparently we can't post Soundclick widgets anymore. Lame. Here's the link: SoundClick artist: A Place Of Fate - page with MP3 music downloads
Of course, the band didn't last. There were internal conflicts, it was basically set up as me, the other guitarist and the bass player, versus the singer and the drummer. And there were other problems too. We were all fairly immature. I was the oldest one and I was only 17. I knew I was being forced to move the Yukon as soon as I graduated, and I was in my last year of high school. Plus, the other guitarist was a chronic pothead who got into the harder stuff not long after the band fizzled. At 15 years old, he was in rehab for a cocaine addiction. The bass player was just plain garden-variety high-school immature at the time. The singer and drummer were divas. (Just FYI, this recording doesn't represent the singer at his best, as we only had one day we could record this song and he had strep throat.)
So, that was that. My dreams of becoming a rock star flew out the window.
Perhaps the worst part is that the song was finally released a few months after I moved away. I'm told it actually got some decent attention from some good sized labels, and that they were disappointed to find out we were no longer together.
Still though, I have fond memories of the time I spent with the band, generally speaking we were all good friends. I still talk to everyone but the drummer on a regular basis, and the only reason I don't talk to him is because he dropped off the face of the earth. The singer, who is actually an extremely skilled jazz pianist, makes a living doing that. The bass player, who now plays guitar, plays in a band called "Secret and Whisper," who have a pretty decent following. The other guitarist never really got his life together. Last year he was busted for the first time for trafficking. Shame, he has real talent.
And me... I just kinda survive. I'm only 24, and I'm a much better guitarist than I was back then, but at this point, I pretty much feel like my time has passed.
So, that's my musical life story. Hope you enjoyed.
If you have a story like this, feel free to share.
And message to guitarists who HAVE made it (looking at you Bulb
), perhaps you can give the rest of us some pointers? Eh?
When I was in high school, I was in a 5 piece band, "Know Reason." We weren't really together for very long basically from October 2003 to May 2004. But in the short time we were around the Kelowna scene, we managed to gain a bit of a following. Our sound was reasonably metallic, kind of what would happen if you mixed Tool with Testament. But it was also fairly radio-friendly, as our song structures were fairly simple. This was a notable accomplishment at the time as Kelowna's scene was (and still is) otherwise soaked in emo/screamo bands.
We recorded a demo in 2003. It was definitely our most radio-friendly stuff, had as much of a Linkin Park sound to it as it did our other influences, but that's basically where we started, nu-metal with solos. It was only towards the end that we really developed a harder edge. At the time we recorded the demo, there was a big battle of the bands type thingamajig going on across the valley to get a spot on a compilation disc made up of all local bands that would be mass marketed. It got entries from over 300 bands all over the Okanagan valley. We submitted our demo, and we placed 5th, which earned us the opportunity to re-record the song that they choose in a professional studio with a professional producer (guy named Kevin Kane, was in a band in the late 80's called The Grapes Of Wrath), a professional engineer... hell, everything professional. So, in May 2004 we went into the studio and made this:
EDIT: Apparently we can't post Soundclick widgets anymore. Lame. Here's the link: SoundClick artist: A Place Of Fate - page with MP3 music downloads
Of course, the band didn't last. There were internal conflicts, it was basically set up as me, the other guitarist and the bass player, versus the singer and the drummer. And there were other problems too. We were all fairly immature. I was the oldest one and I was only 17. I knew I was being forced to move the Yukon as soon as I graduated, and I was in my last year of high school. Plus, the other guitarist was a chronic pothead who got into the harder stuff not long after the band fizzled. At 15 years old, he was in rehab for a cocaine addiction. The bass player was just plain garden-variety high-school immature at the time. The singer and drummer were divas. (Just FYI, this recording doesn't represent the singer at his best, as we only had one day we could record this song and he had strep throat.)
So, that was that. My dreams of becoming a rock star flew out the window.
Perhaps the worst part is that the song was finally released a few months after I moved away. I'm told it actually got some decent attention from some good sized labels, and that they were disappointed to find out we were no longer together.
Still though, I have fond memories of the time I spent with the band, generally speaking we were all good friends. I still talk to everyone but the drummer on a regular basis, and the only reason I don't talk to him is because he dropped off the face of the earth. The singer, who is actually an extremely skilled jazz pianist, makes a living doing that. The bass player, who now plays guitar, plays in a band called "Secret and Whisper," who have a pretty decent following. The other guitarist never really got his life together. Last year he was busted for the first time for trafficking. Shame, he has real talent.
And me... I just kinda survive. I'm only 24, and I'm a much better guitarist than I was back then, but at this point, I pretty much feel like my time has passed.
So, that's my musical life story. Hope you enjoyed.
If you have a story like this, feel free to share.
And message to guitarists who HAVE made it (looking at you Bulb
), perhaps you can give the rest of us some pointers? Eh? 
