http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdPVWvuBG_s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa3HfJohZUQ

EARLY SHOW!!! WE GO ON AT 9, ALL AGES, $10, DOORS OPEN AT 8PM, 1ST BAND, IDLE RED!!! SEE YA THERE!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa3HfJohZUQ

EARLY SHOW!!! THIS SATURDAY 11/14, WE GO ON AT 9, ALL AGES, $10, DOORS OPEN AT 8PM, 1ST BAND, IDLE RED!!! SEE YA THERE!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa3HfJohZUQ

Hello friends!!! We are playing an early show at Martini Ranch this Friday, Nov. 14th. All ages,$10,doors open at 8, we go on at 9pm. See ya there!

Some one recently asked me if I steal music. I answered, “It depends… What’s your definition of theft?”

I mean I’ve never stolen a CD from a record store. Not because of any moral high road that I walk but more because I’m lazy and don’t want to walk fast after the store alarm is triggered by the magnetic sensor they cleverly put around the CD’s.

(By the way if I ever did steal something I think I would keep the same pace and act like I didn’t hear the alarm go off. I’d just keep walking. And if I was stopped by some over zealous security guard then I would start doing fake sign language and pretend I was deaf. Any half decent human being would feel so bad I bet they’d just let me keep what ever I stole. Ahhh I can just imagine how much free stuff I would have if I was deaf.)

But honestly that’s not really my style… I’d rather fork out the $14 bucks keep my leisurely pace through the mall and forego the theatrics. (Lord please don’t take away my hearing for making a tasteless joke… Or my tasting)

But I digress.

No I haven’t stolen any physical property as of late. But intellectual property? Well that’s a whole different story! I mean that doesn’t involve any speed walking or store alarms or fake handicaps . Only thing it involves is high speed internet and a good bit torrent.

I’m just saying if the property is so intellectual then why is it so easy to steal?

I once heard that the smarter you were the easier it was to hypnotize you. Maybe it’s something like that.

Anyway the fact is yes if you’re going by Mr. Webster’s definition of: stealing

1. to take something that belongs to somebody else, illegally or with out the owner’s permission.

Then yes… I am guilty. I have stolen music and will probably strike again.

But if you’re going by Mr Casey’s definition of : stealing

1. to take something that will get you thrown in jail if you get caught… or at least slapped with a heavy fine and some embarrassing community service picking up trash in front of your school with an orange jump suit on while your friends point an laugh at you.

Then no… I’m not guilty at all. I have never done that. I’ve only actually heard stories of that happening to other people. Very, very distant stories of other people. So, so distant… Hmmm

But seriously a line has to be drawn somewhere or the art form dies. And for me this is the line.

If I hear a song on the radio, or at the movies or TV or wherever and I like it enough to remember the artist and the name of the song then I’ll go home and download it. I’m not stealing it I’m just checking it out… Borrowing if you will.

Now I have many playlists in my itunes and my top one is titled “All New”. “All New” pretty much means you’re in the farm leagues. I haven’t paid for any of the songs in this list but for the most part they are singles anyway.

Now here is the turn…

If the song makes it out of All New. And into any of my other playlists. Eg:

Driving Mix,
House cleaning,
Running Music, etc (there’s like 20 more and growing)

Then I’ll go pay the 99 cents for the track. Why? Because music is less of a property and more of a service to me. If I use your service then I most certainly will pay for it.

If you help me stay awake during a long drive, or inspire me to keep cleaning my house or motivate me to run a little faster then usual then heck ya I’ll throw a buck your way.

But if you stay in the All New folder for too long then most probably that means that I wont shell out the cash. But don’t fret I wont delete you. I’ll just move you to my Archive folder and if one of my friends looks through my music folders maybe your song will find a home in one of their active playlists and I’ll encourage them to buy it too.

Anyway this is what I do and what has worked for me for the past few years. But I’m very interested in hearing where you draw the line to buy music? Or if you buy music at all. Maybe you still peruse the record store and buy albums that have cool artwork. Or maybe you support music in an entirely different way. Let me know leave a comment…

(side note: if an artist has more then 3 songs on one album that have made it to my active playlists then I go ahead and buy the whole album because I have developed a trust for the artist and believe the other songs will grow on me. Last year I only bought 9 full albums.)

That being said obviously I’m a musician and you can buy our music on itunes anytime or come to a show and buy a physical CD. It’s not as fun as trying to sneak it through a shoplifting sensor but not much in life really is. Or so I’ve been told.


Curtis-
(the one who "steals" music)

So from time to time like anyone else I get bored and surf the net.

After about 3 IQ test, a couple of surveys, some online scrabble, some Myspacing, Facebooking and several visits to questionable websites that the folks would never approve of... I sometimes find myself searching for Vayden videos on youtube.

As shamefully egotistical as it sounds, mostly it's just clips of me jumping around the stage like a monkey on acid and a couple of Anime cartoon mashups. But recently I found this video a fan made of him rocking out to our song "The One You Left Behind" Now even though half the video is of him selling tickets to "the gun show". I had to appreciate the fact that someone would even do this.

And it gave me an idea

Everyday people hit me up asking where they can buy a physical copy of our CD but it's only on itunes right now. So there really is no place you can get a physical CD unless you come to a show and buy it straight from us.

But if you want a CD and you want it signed and you want it for free then let me make this offer to you.

You make a video of you rocking out to our song "The One you Left Behind" and i'll personally mail you a signed CD.

I mean it makes sense right? You take time out of your day to make a vid and show that you are a fan of the music. Then I'll take time out of my day to march to the post office and send you a CD. It's a beautiful arrangement if I do say so myself.

So here's the detailed instructions of how you can get your free vayden CD in 5 easy steps...

1) Turn on your webcam or find a friend that has a webcam and start up our song "The One You Left Behind"

2) Rock out and sing along to the whole song. (maybe by yourself, maybe with some friends the more the merrier)

Note: You don't need to know the words verbatim but at least get the hook right.

3) Upload the Video to Youtube only.

4) Send a message to the Vayden myspace with the subject "Video for CD trade"

a) In the body of the message include the link to the video you made and your contact info including name, number, Mailing address.

5) Wait for your free Vayden CD to come in the mail. (be patient)

Now I do have to say friends that I only have so many CD's in my closet and I don't really know how the response to this blog is going to be. I mean 2 people could make a video or 100 people but I will say that I have around 60 CDs in my closet now so I know at least the first 60 people to do it will get one.

I can also guarantee that I'll watch pretty much every video submitted personally so don't be surprised if your CD comes with a little critique for your vid j/k : )

That being said. Thanks so much for all your support guys happy video making.

Click on the link below to see the OG vid that gave me the idea to do this.




Curtis-
(the one who sings and jumps around stage like a monkey on acid)

98KUPD officially added "The One You Left Behind" to their playlist yesterday. We definitely want to thank KUPD for showing their support for Vayden.  For us this is probably the most important add because not only is KUPD one of the best active rock stations in the nation, it's our home town!!!!!!!

So Vayden fans call the station and request "The One You Left Behind" at 602-260-9800 or text in your request to 57516.  And if your not from Phoenix and want to check out KUPD go online at www.98KUPD.com and register to stream live audio - trust us it's worth the listen.

Please remember something very important.  When you are calling, texting or e-mailing requests to KUPD or any other radio stations --- BE GENUINE.  Don't call in over and over again to request the song, don't send a bunch of texts and don't spam their e-mail.  It is not genuine; the radio stations realize the difference between what's real and what's not; but, most of all it really pisses them off and that's not good for us.  If you want to help us out then tell all your friends and everyone you know that will listen to check us out, and when they like the music they can request it themselves because that's real.      

And also don't forget that we're playing KUPD's End of Summer Scorcher event w/ Alice in Chains, Deftones, Tantric, Theory of a Deadman, Five Finger Death Punch, Black Stone Cherry, RA, Another Black Day, Digital Summer, Mission G...and more to be announced.  The show's at Peoria Sports Complex on September 20.  Doors open at 1:00 p.m and tickets are available now and online at KUPD's website.  Ticket price is $42 but it goes up day of show. So get them early and come out and support us.

THANKS TO ALL OF OUR FANS AND DON'T FORGET TO MAKE YOUR REQUEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tolls the almighty toll road…

(if you don't want to read a complaining rant then read no further)

Living in Phoenix you learn to take a couple of things for granted. First the free parking most of the time and second the free driving. Meaning no tolls.

When you are traveling the country (mainly in the Northeast) you learn pretty quickly how much these poor people have to pay just to get around in a decent fashion.

Not only does the northeast have some of the highest gas prices and state taxes in the country but they also have a toll for just about every freeway out there.

Now mind you in the northeast they don't even call them "Freeways" cause certainly that would give off the wrong impression that not only are they free of traffic lights but that they are free to drive on.

No in the east they call these things Pikes.

I think they got this word by taking the words Price and Hike and fusing them together so subliminally the right tone would be set for travelers.

One day, I kid you not, we paid $40 for the privilege of driving on a few of these wonderful pikes.

I'm sorry people of MA, NY,PA, CT even OH but you guys need to do something quick about how you are getting raped more then the average American for driving a car.

(you like the mailing code abbreviations? I do that so that you all will have an easier time writing to your local representative and having them remove those god-awful tolls.)

I mean call me old fashion but isn't that what taxes are for? You know to pay for things like Schools, Fire Stations, congressman's hair cuts and ummm? Oh yeah that's right roads!

And my friends these guys have it down to a science. You don't even pay the toll in the beginning.

No way!?

A set price for unlimited driving on the road? Not nearly lucrative enough.

When you get on the pike they give you a card and when you get off the pike they take your card and calculate how much you owe them based on how long you've been driving!

And of course they take visa and mastercard.!

Anyway needless to say it's a huge scam and if I were a permanent resident of anyone of those states I would write someone about it.

Now one might make the argument and say "Curtis weren't the roads great? Weren't the rest areas top notch?" And to that I would agree.

The roads were great and the rest areas on these pikes are like little airports with food courts, gift shops, gas and really clean restrooms.

But here's the deal. These rest areas are the only places you can stop on the pike without getting off and paying the toll.

So just like airports, the food, gifts and gas is overpriced cause they have you trapped!

Ok so I know you're tired of hearing about toll roads but let me just end in saying this

"People of the northeast…

If I am going to spend $5-$25 a day (average) to drive on a road and I know that millions of my fellow citizens do the same everyday I'm going to expect a lot more then a smooth ride and clean bathrooms.

No way, not knowing how much income that generates everyday.

Here's what I would expect…

(May the letters to your local reps begin.)

First and foremost free lunch. For everyone on the pike. Traffic is so much easier to deal with when you're not hungry.

Secondly Cheaper gas like Tax free gas. Cause your already paying a toll. And aren't gas taxes supposed to go towards things like road maintenance anyway?

Third make tunnels and bridges everywhere! Even when you don't need them! Just make them because it makes the ride more interesting. How cool are tunnels?! Maybe throw in a fake king kong or Goddzilla like at Universal studios.

You know for the kids.

Also every highway patrol officer should be a hot female model… Maybe a few charming dudes for the female drivers. And they should only pull you over for one thing and that's to tell you if you won a free ride on the pike tomorrow.
Other then that take the rest of the money and put it in R&D for things like hover cars that run on love laughter.

You know for the environment.

That would be where the rest of the money could go.

But yeah that is pretty much the only way that I would be happy if I lived in the Northeast and had to endure the tolls, high taxes and higher then average gas prices everyday.

Besides the roads the people of the Northeast are killer.

Some of the best shows we have been able to play have been up here. From the
Edgefest in Albany infront of thousands to this killer club called Croc rock in Allentown PA.

Oh yes and the weather has been amazing as well.
Besides that I hope everyone is doing well in their endeavors and I'm sure we'll cross
paths soon.

Your friend,

Curtis-

PS what's up with Batmans voice? Man that was annoying. Did anyone else notice how lame it was? Wow I'm sorry I guess I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning this whole blog is rather whiney.

Lesson 1…

Apparently the more you play the better you get.

I'm not trying to brag here but it feels like we are really becoming monsters on the stage out on the road.

My friends if you thought Vayden was good before we left Phoenix wait till we get back. Armin can do a double back flip, Jason can moonwalk, Bruce can breath fire and I… Well I can levitate. Who knew what a little more practice would do?

Lesson 2…

Sleeping in a moving van gets easier and easier.

When we first started I could only sleep in the back seat with 4 pillows and a camping mattress in 15 minute intervals as long as the road wasn't bumpy.

Now I can sleep 8 hours straight, upside down, in a tornado, while my boys are blasting death metal on the stereo. Who knew how well the body could adjust?

Lesson 3…

None of my boys really smells bad.

I was sure that on this trip some one would emerge as the smelly one that gave no thought to his personal hygiene or the effects it had on the people around him. But fortunately enough everyone one of us enjoys being sanitary.

Lesson 4…

Hand Sanitizer is no substitute for a good ole soap and water.

Lesson 5…

Baby wipes are amazingly versatile

Lesson 6…

Vibrating tooth brushes are sold to 30% more women then men and two of us in the band have vibrating tooth brushes. Interesting hmmm? Wouldn't you like to know who…?

Lesson 7…

Drunk people love us!

The more alcohol the average person consumes the more likely they are to rock out. Alternately they are less likely to buy a CD or even remember the name of the band that was making them rock so hard.

So what we do to combat this is take our stickers and slap them on the backs of the really drunk dudes. That way when they sober up it's like a clue left behind for them to remember how much they loved us.

Lesson 8…

I can't perform affected.

And by affected I mean influenced by any outside substance. I have tried it and it really does take away from the natural high you get from being on stage.

The natural high Formula:

Bang your head around as much as you can while singing at the top of your lungs you'll get a nice euphoric dizziness.

Now add a cup of nervousness that at any moment you could mess up and look quite ridiculous in front of a crowd full of strangers that are all staring at you.

Then add a pinch of hormones
A shot of adrenaline
A dash of confidence
And there you have it. The recipe for stage fright.

Lesson 9

The cure to every ail on the road is a good crowd…

No matter how down you feel. (And believe me on the road there is plenty of time to feel down. ) Everything always seems to get better as soon as you hit the stage and play in front of a good crowd.

So remember next time you are at a rock show that you truly do have the ability to cheer some weary musicians up. All you have to do is cheer… (but only if they deserve it)

Curtis-