Happy birthday to one of my babies
posted on 29 Dec 2004 under category History
Yep, it turned five today.
“It”, of course, being Rampage’s album Bellum Infinitum. Now, I know it’s been a while, but it sure as shit doesn’t feel like five years. I can still recall the thrill of being able to do the whole album with my brand new guitar (the Jackson V), recall working out the harmony parts before recording, recall having to hook up the 20-foot cables to the stereo in the other room to mix down from my PC to a cassette… it’s almost like it was yesterday.
And it’s not like I’ve done nothing in between - I’ve released one more full album, two splits, an EP, did sessions for two bands… had a kid, took a great trip to Grand Cayman, sold the house Bellum was recorded in to buy a new, bigger house, totalled a car and got a new one, got ANOTHER new guitar…
Still, it sure as hell doesn’t feel like five years. I mean, I’m 32 now - 5/32 is between 1/6 and 1/7, or in decimal/percent terms, about 15.6% - that’s not exactly an insignificant portion of one’s lifetime. It’s just kinda freaky to realize that something I always thought of as being ‘some time ago’ is THAT damn long ago.
I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun. :)
(And this was before we conceived trying to rerecord it. Strangely, as time has gone on, I more appreciate aspects of the original mix compared to the 2006 version I rerecorded, but I’ve become less sanguine about the album itself thanks to the vocals. I wonder sometimes about giving it another crack myself, but I’d have to rewrite some lyrics as well… it’s strange how much enthusiasm can override a more dispassionate judgement. Still, better to take a chance than to NOT take a chance.
And enough people have told me they dug it over the years that I take my own self-criticism in stride.
The age thing still freaks me out. As I write this now, the album is now almost 15 years old, and I’m almost 42, which makes it well over one-third of my life to date since I released it. And STILL I can remember many things about recording it like it was yesterday…)