Magic, Creativity, and the Great World Beyond

Hello! I hope you are enjoying yourself, wherever you are. I am currently a nasty mix of tired and really pumped. I'm tired because it's 1am, but I am pumped because I just came back from a great gig. In the nice long 90 minute drive home (which started with me realizing I was tickling the E-bar, so I drove probably 20 miles praying there would be a gas station around the corner. somewhere) I spent a lot of time thinking, and I realized that the way I approach music (I'm a drummer for those not in the know) is the same way I approach Magic, school, and all other parts of my life. It is all about leaving yourself open creativity. In terms of the music I play with my band, Altar the World (check us out on facebook)*, I always try to stretch my drumming into something visibly different every single time we write a new song. As a result the music I play becomes very technical and difficult (and yes, can lead to a lot of mistakes in rehearsal, but it's definitely worth it when it all comes out live). I really don't like it when I just hear someone smashing on cymbals with a snare hit on every 2nd or 4th beat with no creativity in the mix. It feels like I have already heard the song and groove before, so it is a waste of my time to listen some more.

*(check us out on facebook) is not a part of the band name

These same things also apply to how I play Magic. I feel many people net deck instead of innovate. All too often I am asked whose version of said deck I am playing, and I simply respond that it is my own brew (and it almost always is). I may or may nor have mentioned that Patrick Chapin recently posted a Reanimator decklist on his column with was only a handful of cards different from mine (he didn't splash green). Honestly, I find Reanimator to be a deck that is still incredibly good, but just less good than it was when Mystical Tutor was legal. The challenge after Mystical Tutor was banned is to find cards that could still make the deck incredibly consistant, which I have found in Lim-Dul's Vault and Personal Tutor. Chapin did have some other different cards like Careful Study (which I don't like) to solve that problem. If we don't have competeing ideas to solve the same problem and we don't keep on innovating, decks and Magic as a whole will become stale.

Another thing that I have found with music and drumming is that whenever I go to a show, whether it is small bands or big names like Skillet, Family Force 5, Manic Drive, Group 1 Crew, or Fireflight, I always find myself watching the drummer the majority of the show. Maybe it is because drummers are simply cooler, but I think it is because I try to learn from everyone I see (although drummers are simply cooler). Tonight/Last night, however you measure, there were 3 bands besides mine:

1st - Finding North. They were 3 guys playing much heavier music wit the lead singer being the drummer. While there was a lot of basic bashing while the guitars break down, I still really enjoyed watching a singing drummer, as it is something I have always wanted to try (it is insanely hard when you're holding down a funky groove by the way)

2nd - Altar the World. This drummer is one that I can see a lot of my own personal traits in. Oh wait... let's just skip this one (although I really want to video record myself so I can work on same stage presence. Even if the music is perfect, it's the stage presence that makes your shows worthwhile)

3rd - Glenridge. These guys are actually recording an album with Paul Coleman right now which they plan on giving to record lables in the hope of being officialy signed. Their drummer was a stand in for the night, and while he was very night, he didn't push any borders or really ever go nuts.

4th - Scarlet White. Their drummer was a robot, I actually didn't watch him much because the bassist was doing almost every move from Attack Attack's Stick Stickly off in the corner from the Crabcore to the running in place.

I got 3 slightly different styles to watch over the night, although all 3 of them didn't draw me in overwhelmingly (although the first one was definitely the best). In particular Glenridge's drummer showed what it is to be the rock that is reliable. All of these different styles are things I try to absorb to make mylself the best drummer possible. In terms of Magic, there are a ton of different ways to talk about making decks and different styles. I talked in the past about the 4 perspectives: Top-Down, Bottom-Up, Front-Back, Back-Front, and how they affect deck building and playing Dominion. All 4 of these can be amplified with practice. Zvi Marshowitz, the man behind Mythic, explained in the original deck tech how it all started with the mana, and he said that same comment again when he made Beastmaster. With Beastmaster especially, BDM commented on how Zvi was set on working with all the ramp cards without even knowing what he was going to be ramping into yet. But, that's less important because Zvi build the deck with a Front-Back perspective.

By looking at great deckbuilders like Zvi who amplify a certain perspective of the 4 we can further improve ourselves in our deckbuilding capabilities until we are perfect (which never comes. Sorry to bust my own bubble there, but we always strive for perfection because true perfection can never be attained).

In other news, I am really loving legacy! I have a desire to make a ton of decks, which I have none of the cards for any of them. Decks like UW Countertop and BR Land Destruction which attack the game from very atypical angles by being incredbly controlling and incredibly tempo based respectively. Legacy isn't big at all at Toys, but they just acquired a ton of Revised and Unlimited duals, most in M/NM condition! I plan on slowing working on getting at least 1 each of all 10 because they are so awesome! Worst comes to worst I can use them in EDH or as epic trade fodder. Also, Legacy Magic has really exploded in the past couple years, and I wouldn't be suprised if its popularity continues to grow. I have noticed a significant increase in the density of articles for Extended and Legacy across all Magic websites, from the Mothership to the great beyond. If it does get more popular, duals will only get more expensive, so it is a very safe long term investment as well.

That is all for me tonight, I need some sleep! Until next time, stay classy! (and like ATW on facebook =D)