12/15/2011-BAND PRIMER-Being a 1 Person Band-Pt.3-Guitarists

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Wayne W. Johnson

-Last month I started going into specifics in regards to being a “1 man (or woman BTW…) band”-which I started 2 months ago. Last month I focused on singers. This month I’ll tackle guitarists.

-In many ways, the guitarist without a band has the opposite problems of the singer. Most guitarists know how to write music (at least the guitar parts)-and/or write riffs (and no, just because you can come up w/ riffs doesn’t mean you can write songs per say) but draw a blank when it comes to writing lyrics and/ or vocal melodies. Learning how to do this is a good step in making you more than just “a guitar player.” The more you can do-and do well-the more valuable you become.

-One thing to note w/ guitarists-many have to learn how to “reign” things in a little bit. What do I mean? Many guitarists-especially in the jazz and/or hard rock/heavy metal field- seem to just play to impress other players. That’s nice and it has it’s place.If that’s what you want to do, fine. Realize though that just showing off one’s virtuosity can at times be very limiting in terms of who wants to hear it and/or which place is going to let you perform like that. In addition, how do you think the rest of the band will feel if you keep going into 5 minute (or longer) guitar solos-or solo anytime there’s an open space in a song? You might end up on stage just playing along to backing tracks like a karaoke player. Don’t forsake your technique though. There will be times when excessive playing will be needed for a situation (maybe in a studio session the producers wants a totally rippin’ guitar solo or a guitar clinic that showcases that type of playing).

-I would suggest guitarists 1st work on their singing. If the most you achieved is becoming a good backing vocalist, that still puts you further along the pack-plus you can get some possible recording gigs just doing b.vocals. Of course-solo acoustic gigs now open up as well. Then work on songwriting-where you learn that all the instruments have their place and it’s best to have everyone “pick their shots” instead of one person blowing their load constantly in an attempt to impress. This will also help when you do co-writing and/or writing for hire.As you progress, having a home studio & writing/recording/releasing your own songs now becomes viable. If your guitar playing is good, teaching others is another possibility. Also-try bass playing. Don’t be fooled though-many guitarists play bass like a low end rhythm guitar. They’re missing the point. While you can do that, playing bass is a whole different animal & approach. And w/ that (plus I’m out of space) we’ll get to bassist next month. Happy Holidays!

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11/26/2011-ACTING-Second Day Filming on “The Devil’s Hand”

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Wayne W. Johnson

-11/26/2011-Here’s the 2nd day of me filming for “The Devil’s Hand.” 3 of the 6 scenes I had to do were done. Filming actually got cut a little short due to the battery dying.

-We 1st went to this 1 location where I have been to before for shoots w/ “Stone” & “The Brothers” (even more MAF films had scenes filmed here). This one was a flashback scene-no lines. However, I did get to “neck” a lady here (Lauren T.) but I guess my “necking” was a little too intense cause I accidentally bruised her neck! (I owe you a Rice Krispy Treat for that Lauren 🙂 ) Also had a small fight scene to do w/ Mark J. Peek. It didn’t take too long to do. The next was one I wasn’t in-that was Mark & Jim Cacciatore. That went by quick as well.

-Then we went to this abandoned factory (see pics). Some scenes w/ Mark & Shanna H. Becker were filmed. Then came time for me & Shanna (w/ Mark coming in part way). Got to “neck” Shanna-no damage here this time. Mental note-need to do more vampire movies (HA!) 🙂 It was also at this time that I got to put on an addition to my outfit. Kinda like a robe. I only have it on towards the last 1/3 of the movie. I felt bad for Shanna cause she had to lie on the cold, disgusting floor.

-Then me & Mark had a battle scene to do. Just me, Mark & Matt. It was interesting-a cluttered corridor w/ 2 guys fighting who are basically blind as bats w/out their glasses on 🙂 We pulled it off quickly though. Then came the final scene we filmed before the battery died.

-Swallowed some fake blood at times (although at the next shoot I will be drinking more). Hope the wig stayed on good-I can never tell w/ that thing unless I’m in a room full of mirrors.

-Had a great time filming again w/ the MAF cast & crew. I have to admit it’s a lot of fun playing this role-not that others I have done aren’t, but this one is a little different.Looking forward to getting my remaining 3 scenes done. Cya next time!

-Oh yeah, the pics don’t lie. I can’t get the blood fully off the fangs so,yes, I now have pink fangs. Soooo Scary! 🙂 Pics are now up on my acting page on Facebook.

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*Note-“The Devil’s Hand” is now called “The Crimson Moon”

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11/23/2011-ACTING-“SMEAD-The Movie” Premieres in Syracuse, NY

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Wayne W. Johnson

-Today was the day “SMEAD-The Movie” was shown at The Palace Theater in Syracuse, NY-it’s premiere. I was fortunate enough to be there and had a great time (outside of one of my “headaches” hitting me 1/2way, but it was a minor one fortunately). It’s always interesting to see oneself on the big screen. There was a good turnout and Al even had a reunion performance w/ one of his old bands-Vicious Rumours. Big congrats to Courtney Angell for seeing this all the way from a dream to a reality-and congrats to everyone who was in this & helped to make this happen. Pics from the premiere are on my acting page on Facebook.

-BTW, I also made it on the bonus disc-that’s where you see my 1st attempt at the interview and Ham was in the background making faces. I wish I had thought to say at the time “Man, the mosquitoes in Syracuse sure are big!” (HA!) 😉

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11/15/2011-BAND PRIMER-Being a 1 Person Band-Pt. 2-Singers

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Wayne W. Johnson

-Last month I gave a very general overview on how you don’t have to be sitting around waiting if you’re not presently in a full band. There’s many things you can do. Now I’m going to focus on individual roles-starting w/ singers.

-In some ways, the singer’s role in the band is the easiest-in some ways it’s the hardest. The singer does not need to buy any gear outside of a good microphone. Singers don’t even have to lug gear around-although some do help with set up / tear down of the PA at shows.They don’t have to buy strings, pedals, amps, etc. The main concern of a singer is upkeep of their voice so at show time it will do what it’s call upon. For those of you who have been in numerous bands, I’m sure you know that, for some singers, that’s hard enough for them to do .However, many times when a band falls apart a singer who only sings is pretty much helpless until they get into another full band. Many singers I know can write lyrics / vocal melodies but don’t know a thing about how to write parts for the other instruments-so they are stuck until they find someone who can do that for them. It doesn’t have to be like that.

-My 1st suggestion would be to learn to play another instrument-normally a guitar. Even if it’s just chords / playing rhythm. At the very least, you can go out and perform as a solo acoustic act. Learning guitar will also help improve your singing because your vocal now has something to anchor itself to-as long as the guitar is in tune of course. This will also be a big help in making demos if you wish to record stuff. If you have a demo w/ vocals & rhythm guitar on it, you can coordinate w/ a studio to hire the rest of the players and record your song. Now you have something to play to people when they ask what kind of music you do-and it also helps when you are looking to hire people for various things like recordings, live shows, etc. Ideally it would be great to have you’re own recording setup and do this yourself. Yes, that means investing in hardware / software, but many home studios do just this and can record up to broadcast quality. In addition, singers have an advantage w/ this method because they can do one of the hardest things when recording-writing vocal melodies / lyrics & singing them.

-In addition, you can also do many other things. Some of them include getting jobs singing on people’s demos/recordings-whether it’s lead or backing. Getting connected w/ people who do jingles (commercials) on radio/TV/internet is another option. A 3rd can be to write songs for other people to use. If you get good enough w/ this, it’s possible to make a lot of money thru places like TAXI (www.taxi.com). Next month-Guitarists!

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11/9/2011-ACTING-“The Brothers” Available to Watch Online-Full Movie

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Wayne W. Johnson

-Here’s the full movie of “The Brothers”-produced by Wendellvision Filmworks and directed by Andy DeAngelo. I show up early in the movie playing the role of “Jessica’s Boyfriend”-who gives the main lead a hard time 🙂 Pics can be seen on the WWJ PAGE ON FACEBOOK.

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11/5/2011-ACTING-More Double Day Filming of “Night of Something Strange”

Posted on November 5, 2011 by Wayne W. Johnson

11/4/2011-And here I am w/ more NoSS filming updates (at least the ones I’m involved in). I rode down with Rebecca & Kirk-and we started filming not too long after we arrived. It was cold & windy this night. I wasn’t “zombified” this night-I mainly took pics and was part of the crew working with the light reflectors. It was pretty windy this night was in the low 30’s. Kudos to both Rebecca & Kirk who both had to wear a short sleeve shirt/shorts combo during all of this. One interesting note to make is while Kirk was being “zombified”, we started hearing a couple next door have sex-loudly I might add. I thought their headboard was going to break! 🙂

11/5/2011-this night I was “zombified” and for at least 6 hours. Trey had come up and we finally finished scene 40-a large scene that was the 1st scene filmed way back in August! The wind wasn’t as bad this night-but it was colder-down to 27 degrees. There was frost on car windshields. We got thru it.Kudos to Trey cause not only did he have to wear hardly anything out there at times, but he also had to get wet (!) several times. I wear an “appliance” (as a prosthetic is called) on my face when in zombie mode ad it kept coming loose. My theory is it’s getting to heavy for the adhesive to hold properly. Plus I tend to heat up real quick which means I start to sweat. Got thru it though-although some of the pics taken were of me when it was loose and-at times-it looked like I was ranging from chewing a huge wad of tobacco to having a Goiter 🙂 I still have a lot left to film, but now it’s a few less things to do. Pics are now up on my acting page on Facebook. (Non FX / non zombie).

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10/17/2011-ACTING-First Day Filming With “The Devil’s Hand”

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Wayne W. Johnson

10/17/2011-I was contacted about a month ago (or so) by Matt from Mad Angel Films in regards to the role of Victor-a vampire-for “The Devil’s Hand.” kinda funny…I’m in the midst of playing a zombie and now I’m playing a vampire. Can a werewolf be far behind? 🙂

-I liked the script a lot and felt I could really do it good-but I needed the right look. Matt gave me the basics of what he envisioned and when I sent him the 1st set of proof pics he said I nailed it. One thing to note-yes folks, I am wearing a wig. My hair is still shoulder length, but to me, a male vampire looks better w/ hair at least down to chest length. I actually got more accessories than I have for any other role-and I forgot to put on some of it on the 1st day-nice huh? 🙂

-The 1st scene was in Utica where I’m chasing after a girl and I trap her in an alley. That was fun-although not for Lia to run in those heels 🙂

-Then we went to a location in Little Falls where I did battle w/ “Wario” (HA!) 🙂 Check the pics-you’ll see what I mean. At one point, the wig got a little loose and I can see that in the pics. Probably when I had to fall on the ground-luckily that shot was a 1 take. Had to put in special contacts & fangs as well. Although this is a short movie, this film probably has the most dialog I have to date. Everyone played their roles great & I hope I was up to par. Jason Covey found out the hard way that I tend to “get into” my roles. I’ve had some people call it method acting-I just get into the character and let it out. To me, Victor is an aggressive, forceful & dramatic character-so I play him as such. I hope this got caught on film, but on 1 take, I bit into Jason and then look up to see Lia running off. When I did, my fangs were still in Jason’s neck (HA!).

-I had a great time and am thankful to be a part of this. Looking forward to the next time we film this. Pics are up on my acting page on Facebook.

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*Note-“The Devil’s Hand” has been changed to “The Crimson Moon”

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