First band meeting!

Posted on May 31, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

Yes! Today we had a kick off of sorts. The band, the new band I’ve put together, got together at Florens. A pizza and beer place at Church Village here in Göteborg.

We had a bit to eat and a bit to drink and talked a little about the future. We also booked the first two rehearsals. New music is about to be played! Feels good.

If that wasn’t eventful enough we also saw to really drunk people trying to make a run for it without paying there bill. The cooks ran after one of them and wrestled him down. Dragging him back to the restaurant. Then the other one came back with his tail between his legs. The cooks sat the first one down by the bar ant then another customer, he to drunk out of his mind, went up to him to tell him what he though of the running away from the bill and stuff. He did. A nice punch to the side of the head. And then he had to pay.

Ahh, the Island of the Hisingen. Ain’t it grand? (Also, while we were eating someone was shot in the back a tram stop away. Nice.)

The inhumanity of 12h shifts and Dunka-Dunka.

Posted on May 30, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

Another 12h shift at work today. 12h shifts should be banned. I mean honestly: 12h. Inhumane! (And don’t burst a gut. I know that there are plenty more severe stuff, as far as inhumane go, than 12h shifts in the world. It’s my blog and I’ll cry if I want to, cry if I want to, cry if I want to.) And naturally: today was the day when the climate threat came true on it’s promise and engulfed Sweden in tropical heat. Kind of. Heat and work, equals no good!

You would think that was enough crap for one day.

But nooooo-ooo-oooo… (or maybe yes, the crap I am now about to lay upon you actually happened last night.)

I had a bit of trouble going to sleep yesterday. The tropical heat was starting to roll in, not yet grinning it’s shark like teeth but still to the point where the covers felt like heat blankets. Add to that the complete stillness of humid air.

So, there I was. My thoughts wandering off to weirdness and nearing the piont of sweet dream and relaxation.
Then it began.
The neighbor euro-disco white trash party from hell. Heavy bass drums traveling trough the concrete walls into my head, appearing like little kids jumping on the nerve that when jumped on makes you furious, and when in that state sleeping is impossible. All you can here is the evil pulse of no taste and in the far you can just make out the drunken screams of idiots with alcohol dampened hearing, singing along, screaming along to the worst of the worst of the worst…

Last time I looked at the clock the time was 0110h, I estimate that there was an additional hour of Dunka-Dunka, as we say in Sweden, after that.

At 0510h my alarm clock rang.

Oh joy.

Artist of the month and more.

Posted on May 29, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

I’ll just pop in here with a little informal, semi-official, information regarding my status as the future king of rock, pop, salsa and whatever.

Got a mail from Pelle Moeld over at P3Lab, a radio show on Swedish national radio. I’ve been chosen artist of the month over there which not only adds up to honour but also e-list rotation, which mean that my song ‘Travel as I Wait’ will be played 2 to 3 times a week during the month of June on the, aforementioned Swedish national radio station: P3.

Still amazed as to how this song and the album, ‘The Anger’, seem to live a live of their own.

A more official post with lots of links and stuff will be up soon… Monday at the very latest.

The must’s and have to’s of work.

Posted on May 28, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

Oh my!
Back home after work.
First ever 12h day-shift for me. (I’ve done it nights before.)
Had to get up at 0510h after a bad nights sleep. I am really too tired to do anything right now. Camilla, my sweet Camilla, took the dog out for his evening stroll, that was my job today. Thanks!

It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be to enter the doors of must’s and have to’s. Maybe that is because I know that over the next 100 odd days I am only going to do it 15 more times. I’m not really a 12h-shift kind of guy you see.

More tomorrow.

Not wicked!

Posted on May 27, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

No rest for the wicked.
Is that the theme of the day?
But I’m not wicked!

Still, yesterday I turned in my thesis, tomorrow I will do the first shift at my summer job. I am, yet again, going to protect and serve one of the major truck manufactures in the world. I am not excited, but I need the money. I shouldn’t complain though, I am only going t work around 15 shifts this summer; june, july, august… so I guess it’s going to be a chill summer. I need that.

Right now I’m sitting here, drinking an Early Bird waiting for the UEFA Champions League final to begin. The drink is in an Arsenal pint, and even though the match is between Man U and Barca: Goooooo Arsenal!

My tip for the night? Well the team with most Arsenal connections off course; Thierry Henry, Alex Hleb, Sylvinho, Kolos brother Yaya and starting club for Cesc: Barca. They’ll win it 3-1 with Henry scoring two!

Done! Tired…

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

Sorry for yet another no-post-bore-day but I’ve been up to my knees in theses writing. From 0800h this morning to just turning it in half an hour ago. I wonder what I will do now…

I’ll give you an update on status and more tomorrow.

Right now I’m just so tired.

Must… Sleep…

sleep

Next single – What ever happened?

Posted on May 25, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

A few days ago I got a question from the guys over at itsatrap .com: Did you ever dicide upon a second single? now, here’s the thing. a while back I asked you all to do your part. I asked you to vote for your favourite track on the record, ‘The Anger’, apart from ‘Travel as I wait’. The winning song was going to be released as single number 2 off the album.

That did not happen. No single was released (as you might have noticed).

My record label was on the verge of releasing my record world wide and in doing so we were going to release single number to. The world wide thing did not happen, either, for reasons beyond our control. Now, were not lying on the lazy side, as we say here in Sweden. Were still aiming for world domination. If it happens soon, a second single will be released, if not then I guess you all have to wait for my next album…

We’ll see.

Top grade = exposure!

Posted on May 24, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

The first of the final three cram days of studying is done! I still have a long way to go and I have my doubts but I will write until the light abandons me. Write like a mad man I tell you, a mad man! I’ll also make you all a promise: I have been talking about this thesis for quite some time, and I’ve touched on the subject a bit. Still, I have done nothing to make you all believe that I actually am writing a thesis. And while I do not feel I have to make you all believe me, in fact; it could be the case that lying is a prerogative when one has a blog as I do, I feel it would be nice to, on this issue, come clean.

So here’s the deal:

If I get the highest grade possible I’ll publish the thesis on this blog. With that said I do not think you’ll ever see it; the paper.

Tug of war agony.

Posted on May 22, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

Last night I was in agony.
I woke up from sheer pain and thought that my time had come… well… almost.

Yesterday evening I was out walking the Boo. The Boo found a stick and in a playful manner The Boo and I engaged in a little tug of war. Now, firstly, this was no ordinary stick, or branch. This was a menace with nicks, crests, creases, splinters holes, cavities and things sticking out here and there.

The Boo caught me at a week moment.

He saw that I was not paying attention and so he made a hard pull back, putting all what low center of gravity and a fierce bite is. And let me just comment a bit on the Boos bite. They, and by they I mean the dog community; people who know stuff about dogs, say that Chow-Chows, and the Boo is a Chow, have the heaviest bite, the greatest pressure between their jaws, of any kind of dog. So you can take all your fighting K9:s, your German war-dogs, your Terriers and Bulldogs and shove them. In the Boo I have the best combo of a Teaddybear and a mastodon Crocodile Alligator White Shark… Yeah!

Here’s a picture of him. He might look calm but look at his eyes. He’s ready to strike at any moment, and do a death-roll!

bo_the_crock

So, he pulls back and my pinkie finger on my right hand gets caught on one of the nastiest of the nastiest nicks, crests, creases, splinters holes, cavities and things sticking out here and there and I started to bleed. It hurt like hell!

Therefore, last night I was in agony. I woke up several times from my pinkie throbbing from pain. I thought “Thank you pinky, you have served me well. I’m sorry I have to amputate you.”

Here’s a picture of my wound. The quality’s kind of crap… It reduce the severeness of my near amputic (it’s a word… now) injury:

Bild 101

I do not wish that agony on anyone.

On a roll!

Posted on May 21, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

Today, 5 days before my bachelors thesis has to be handed in, I finally got into the zone, I got the writers block out of the way and I got going. I can’t understand why these things always start rolling at the very last minute. I wrote like a mad man and I made sense, at least to me. I really hope I will get done in time…

That’s about it really. I have been sitting here by the computer writing most of the day. Been out with the dog a few times but other that that…

Tomorrow will be more of the same, I hope.

Sorry for the lame short post but some days are like that. Well, no, there not lame and short… if there lame then they are long and if they are short than they, more often than not, are not lame; fun.

Yeah!

Travel as I garbage?

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

I hope Robinareforever does not think that my song is garbage… maybe she (I think she’s a she) thinks my song is, what she calls, garbage-art; something beautiful created from something thrown away. If she does I guess that, she in a sense, is right.

Why do I write this?
Well Ribinareforever has posted a video on her youtube.com account and the soundtrack to that video is my song “Travel as I Wait“. Cool! Nice! Thanks!

Here’s the vid:

On the Radio tonight.

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

Just a quick reminder for you all:

Do not miss me on the radio tonight. (If there is grammar errors in that sentence, who cares!? Get me!)
Yes tonight I am going to talk some with Pelle Moeld on the P3 program P3LAB on Swedish, national, radio. I f you understand Swedish, and you want to have a listen, the program is, after airing, posted on the web. (Google it!) There will also be two songs played. Two songs by me at least, then some other songs, by some other people.

It’s on at 2006h CET.

The Monotony… of hardcore rap?

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

Has anyone notice that my post of recent have been getting less and less lively? Well. It’s true. That is because my life has been getting less and less lively. My life is so unexciting I can’t begin to tell you. Not that it’s boring or that I hate it or anything it’s just that everyday is everyday and everyday is the same as the next everyday which came before the everyday after that… get it? And in that fashion it all rolls on… and on and on and on. Very rarely does an event that breaks the monotony surface. It could be up to me I guess, to surface these types of events, but I feel I have to prioritise, and that I have to prioritise studying. On Saturday though Camilla and I are going out to Orust to visit friends. Looking forward to it. To break the monotony… of all this hardcore rap that has gotten to be a little bit out of control it’s cool to dance but what about a groove that moves and soothes romance?

Guess the lyric. Win a yeah!

A face for radio?

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

Yes.
That seems to be the case…
I am nowhere to be seen but:
I have an interview airing this Wednesday on Swedish radio (I’ll get back to you with the specifics).
A-list rotation on Radio Tromsö (as I mentioned a while back).
Yet another airplay on the itsatrap.com radio show.
Add to that radio airtime in Portland and in Leipzig

Seems like radio is the forum for me.

Saturday, Sunday, Runday.

Posted on May 17, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

This weekend has been a real slow story. Slow in a good way. I’ve been taking it mega-easy; walking the dog, watching TV, eating good food… or food at least. Tomorrow is the big bang start off. The last week super cram to get my thesis done. I hope I make it. I am confident but one never knows. I have until May 26:th 2359h and I expect to be glued to this desk, at which I am sitting now, until then. With the occasional dog walk and nutritional intake.

The whole band getting together thing is working out fine. Were going to have a kick-off dinner or something like that very soon. Fells good to have some kind of task, music wise, to do.

And wish me luck in my small radio interview tomorrow. Break a leg, kick a stone, ram a cow, flip a barge ant all that.
Kick a pointer sumo!

Music and music.

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

Got a call to day.
It was from Swedish radio.
The guy said something like: You have made a good record and it’s time we acknowledge that. One can’t turn on the TV without hearing your song. I would like to do an interview with you.
Naturally I said yes. He’s going to call me on Monday and we are going to do the interview thing via phone.
I do not know when it will air but I will let you all know, don’t you worry.

On other music related news the band thing is really coming together nicely. We are soon going to have our first rehearsal, try out some songs, get some feel for our sound.

Ok.

Band-Hunting: Done hunting?

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

Well… maybe. I just got mail-confirmation from a drummer. He said yes, at least yes to trying out, to playing a little bit. I hope it works out. I don’t know him from before, like I do the others, but i think it’s going to be all right. I got it from a reliable source that this guy might be the one. So, who is it? Well it’s Chrille! He plays percussion/drums with Navid Modiri & Gudarna [Spotify link here] and with Hanna Lovisa. He also used to play with Cat 5 [Spotify link here].

Let me then introduce the team:

KG, Lars-Martin, Brandt, Rob, Chrille and I, Tomas.

It is going to be a fun summer and a good record!

Band-Hunting: Four we are!

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

Yes I’ve tracked down a fourth member to be part in my band. Lars-Martin! He is a keyboard-wiz and a damn fine musician and songwriter and I am glad to have him on-board. I used to play along side him in Punk of Country and other groups. He now does so much I can’t even begin to list is.

So, now we are four. We are still looking for a drummer. I hope this experience does not go all Spinal Tap on me.

Thesis and Band ||:now clap your hands:||!

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

The weather here in Göteborg is amazing. Spring time for sure. I have decided to re-locate myself, from the study and the desk to a more comfortable position in the living room sofa, having a better view of Gigantic Rock and hoping to get more done. I am really tired of that other little room and my ass does not like the chair in there.

I’ve gotten a better grasp on my thesis. I have it all figured out in my head and on several notes. Now I just have to put it together. Like laying a puzzle. I’ve never been a big puzzle laying fan. I like to paint. To express myself, be original, unique, in every stroke. One can see the thinking part of my bachelors thesis writing as painting. Now I have to put it all together… It’s like doing the dishes.

I am going to talk to a guy today. After that I’ll probably have gotten my band together! Then all the fun starts. Planning, organizing, rehearsing, recording, world domination. We’ll see how it goes. I thought I had all the songs for the album done, and there are about 15 songs done, but I am only sure of 7 or 8 SO I guess I’ll have a bit of song writing to do as well. I’m not worried though, the energy from rehearsing with a band again will transform itself into songs, I’m sure of it, we’ll probably end up having too many. A nice problem to have.

Better get back to the jigsaw…

A frustrating week comes to an end.

Posted on May 10, 2009 by Tomas Halberstad

Sunday is nearly over here in Göteborg. About two and a half hours left. Glad this week is behind me, soon anyway.

Footballing wise it has been horrendous. First the exit from the Champions League and today the display of a efficient Chelsea against a cross eyed Arsenal. Stuck in fourth place of the Premier League with no where to go which means that Arsenal will have to qualify for CL next year and with the new rules of a free draw that means they could end up having to face a top club from Germany, Italy or Spain… and I promise you, UEFA will make that happen.

Study-wise it has been like walking in a city of only dead ends. Getting going thatn hitting a wall, getting going then hitting a wall, getting going then hitting a wall… I will start tomorrow cool and collected and try to do one thing after the other in orderly fashion. Fingers crossed.

Music-wise it hasenät been all that frustrating but all has been at a stand still. I’ve written a song though. That’s good. And I’ve taken the decision to put a band together and record as a band… that’s also good… I guess. A bright side, look at that!

So, for tomorrow: I can’t do too much about the football thing. Two things, of small importance to the team I think but still, I can do them; Keep supporting Arsenal and intensely hope that they thrash Manchester United come next weekend. I will also study my ass off!.. in a nice, calm orderly fashion and I hope that Rob calls with some news and that I can announce my whole band and start planning for the summers rehearsals and recordings!

See. That wasn’t so hard was it?