So here we are, Thanksgiving Eve…what are we thankful for? The obvious answers are family, friends, our pets, and life’s little whims.

My music is one of them 😉

Had rehearsal this morning as shown in the pictures above. Even the dumpster wanted in on the action. And you gotta enjoy a studio with a Ms. Pac-Man/Galaga machine. No we didn’t play any games but Mike and I played loud progressive funky metal for sure! The vibes are flowin’ and it feels great.

Now you might recall that I had a sixth song that we worked on two weeks ago. We skipped a week because Mike was recording a band. Which bought me time to rethink things. I was not happy with the sixth tune, so I asked Mike via email “Do you think I should drop it and re-write something?” To which he responded yes, so there you go.

I kept one part of the song, the 5/8 breakdown but changed it a little so there was more of a groove to it. The other parts are completely new, very reminiscent of Satriani’s early work (without even trying) as well as Steve Vai (well I admit I wanted to touch on that). How it came about though is an interesting story.

And since you didn’t ask…I’m gonna tell you anyway.

A clean intro fell out of my head and into my hands (yes I was holding the guitar at said juncture). Very spacey chordal work, and since I mentioned Satriani, it unintentionally came out like something from NOT OF THIS EARTH, his debut album. Then the song pretty much came alive. Sent the guitar demo to Mike. He said it was a better tune, and so today we jammed on it.

I tell you what, it’s a very straight-up tune but since I can’t write anything normal (you know, 5/8 stuff), I will still say it has a lot of commercial potential. And now to confuse you even further…

I had a title from a song we worked on that suddenly didn’t fit the music. It was the one that came out sounding like Rush-meets-5150 VH, so the title for that song is now the title of this sixth tune. And the original title for the new piece is now the title for the other one. Got all that?

This is how my mind works. Get used to it.

As of today, we have six songs. Possibly might work on a seventh one next week and then Mike is recording with another band the following week. Which leaves us one more rehearsal in December before Xmas Eve/New Years Eve. Can we get eight songs in by then? One never knows.

But wait…now how many songs are going on this damn album?!

Nine.

Eight as a full “band”, and one will be a solo clean guitar piece from something that was part of a long-ish song. Figured with all the metal and funky prog grooves being tossed around, why not end the album with something really chill? Jeff Loomis did it with his album ZERO ORDER PHASE so I will take a leaf out of his book there. The outro will most likely be 1-2 minutes long, tops.

That’s almost like Ramones length!

Now I am going to send this blog off for you all to read. And with that, I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

Already?!

Last night was one for the books. First time playing Thirsty Farmer in Sussex, NJ with Supernova, and to my surprise it was THEIR first time playing there. I thought they played there with their guitarist Frank but what do I know? It’s a nice place, very lively, and the crowd…

Oh Lord that crowd was wild!

When it all comes together, it’s the most magical feeling in the world. I’m talking about when the band sounds “on” and the crowd reacts in kind by dancing, singing along and of course copious amounts of alcohol consumed. From the first note to the last, the place was jumpin’! Moments like that we all want to trap in a bottle and save for a rainy day. We played two long sets instead of three short ones, as the crowd kept egging us on for MORE MORE MORE! Even had to pull songs out that hadn’t been touched in a while.

Glad my memory still works.

But that picture above…do tell, Steve!

I knew that my friend Wendy (DJ Metal Mistress) was coming to the show, and her fiance Bill was with her. Always great to see them! However, I didn’t have members of the metal band Scarlet King on my bingo card. Now I do. I looked out into the audience and saw singer Mike and bassist Kevin, standing there thinking “Bello’s playing Bryan Adams?!” But hey, even the most die-hard metal fans will sing along to these kinds of songs. (I still don’t get the big deal about “Mr. Brightside” though!)

Was nice seeing them and talking shop about music and such. I admit that a part of me thought “Wow these guys must think I’m lame now” but they said I played well and nailed the material down. They asked me about working on new music with drummer Mike Sabatini, and I mentioned that things are going extremely well, better than expected…

One snag though: I was ready to talk about “Hey we worked on a sixth song” but Mike and I both agreed that it didn’t fit with the rest of the music, so I tossed it. That’s okay, as I have plenty of other ideas to lobby at him. The tune was cool but felt more like a chore to play than something fun. And when I think my music is a bit too much, we’re in trouble!

Still, I couldn’t be more pleased with how things are turning out in pre-production. Mike is definitely laying down some grooves and cool fills, and my riffs are even making me stare at my hands in disbelief. There’s no deadline, no release date, nothing. We’re relaxed, focused and when the songs are where they should be, then we will say “Time to record!”

Right now it’s time to nap.

You sang the Bay City Rollers in your head, didn’t you? DIDN’T YOU?! 🙂

Yes, it’s Saturday November 8th, and you’d think I’d be gigging, or at least seeing a band. Nope. I don’t have a gig until Friday November 14th with Supernova. And since I will be out until all hours next Friday, the trade-off is that I stay home.

Aren’t I sweet?

So what am I doing while others are most likely galivanting around various towns? I’m working on guitar melodies for the new songs, also coming up with album cover ideas and listening to Loudness’ 1992 album.

I can’t do anything normal.

Let’s start with the guitar stuff. Today was a good day to iron out some ideas, and while I won’t get myself too attached to the melodies, they are coming out nicely. I always start with random notes, jumble them up and see where they land. I also play them dry, no amp or effects. And then when I work on them in the studio, I play with sounds. Maybe wah works best on one, a flanger on another. That’s the beauty of my music: it can go anywhere (or nowhere…yikes!) One thing is certain: the riffs and chord progressions are so strong, that the melodies might be more like soundscapes than actual “singing” type lines. Whatever gets the job done, right?

Album cover ideas…ah I had one, then threw it away. Well not really. I saved it for another day. But while I had a clear vision of a cover, things can change in a nanosecond. I played with visuals, lettering, colors; felt like I was back in art class from my high school days. One exception: I am not being told “Mr. Bello, you can’t do that!” (The arts in general love the words “no” and “you can’t” for some reason…) Right now I have something that could be really cool, definitely 80s-inspired but also in the present. After all, people want familiarity so why not split the difference between what I want and what the public wants?

I still don’t believe in total compromise though!

As for this Loudness album I mentioned…my friend Ko would burn me cds and when time would allow, I would listen to them. He and I are both Loudness fans, and we both vibe to the amazing guitar work of Akira Takasaki! One cd really surprised me years ago, which is their self-titled that came out in 1992. After trying to appease the Western market with more commercial-sounding vocal melodies and even hiring an American singer in Michael Vescera, they took back their dignity and released this SUPER HEAVY album that sounds like Pantera meets hints of early Metallica/Anthrax.

Oh the band is from Japan, if you couldn’t tell.

It’s funny: the whole point of being a musician is to express yourself, whether it’s through heavy metal, jazz, folk, whatever. But when the suits get involved, they try to mold you to what THEY want, which means it’s all about the bottom line. I wanted to be signed like everyone else back in the day. Looking back, it would have been the worst thing for me. I hate being told what to do, can take direction but never dictation. Watching bands like Loudness who were doing their own trip get molded into sounding like Poison or whatever…no dice. Just didn’t work at all. So when Loudness lost their American deal, they replaced the singer and bassist with the vocalist from EZO and bassist from X-Japan. Let me tell you, this 1992 album SMOKES!!!!

Which leads me to my new album: some parts of it will be super-melodic, but overall I think it will be quite heavy. That might turn some people off but whatever. I have to do what’s right. The last cd was heavy but fell flat in a lot of ways. This time, I had two years of depression to deal with, as well as coming up with material that would make my arm hairs stand up over and over. If I listened to a rough demo more than four times, it was a keeper. The rest were shown the door.

I will mention this: one song was re-written about four times since 2023. I loved the song title (and no I won’t say it here), and the chord changes but I was puzzled about something. What is it missing? Or do I need to totally throw the song out and start over? Thankfully, no. I re-wrote the song with the same chords but did one stupid human trick: put it in 5/8 time. And here’s the kicker…shh…no distortion at all. As Roger Glover of Deep Purple once said, “Heavy isn’t about volume, it’s about attitude.” I can write clean stuff that packs a punch too.

Watch me.

This is 56.

Let’s get one thing squared away: I am proud to advance in age. Some people think I’m complaining but that’s the farthest from the truth. If you miss your youth, that’s cool. I don’t miss mine one bit. I’m better now in many ways than way back when.

Last Friday, I sat in with Rubber Duckie Riot at Mason Jar and it was a total blast! Seeing people dressed in various costumes, dancing up a storm, the vibes were right. Even got to play another Metallica song besides “Enter Sandman”!

The next day was a very last-minute gig with Crash, this time at Garnerville Arts Center in New York. Way different vibes, some good, some not to my liking, but the place itself was very cool! This was for a friend’s 50th birthday bash and it was good seeing him again. He was even surprised that I was playing (me too!) Played with different musicians than the last Crash gig back in July and made some new friends on top of that. So all was not lost.

And of course, Sunday was my 56th birthday! It was really relaxing, weather was great, and decompressed after a weekend of pretending to be a guitar god. True to form, I treated myself to a piece of gear that should be arriving at my doorstep today: a Strich wah pedal. A what?! I saw it and had to order because it’s orange!! (“Okay, Bello, back to bed you go!”) Here’s a screenshot of it from Amazon:

One other thing struck me yesterday: Am I still endorsed with Lock-It Straps? I went on their website and…I’m still there? Cool! I’ve not heard from anyone there since they were bought out a few years ago but saw a strap that I had to order. It wasn’t on Amazon but rather on Sweetwater. Check this out:

How could I not own this strap?! For someone who wears black all the time, my gear and accessories are neon and showy. I should be receiving this on Friday.

One serious matter I will bring up: A lot of people have distanced themselves from me over this past year. At first it bothered me, and then realized that I’ve been experiencing various enlightenments and awakenings since the winter time. Ever since June, things started to open up and by August, my soul aligned with the universe. But let’s be fair here: I have chosen to walk away from various people too. No harm, no foul, I wish them well. Just leave me alone. I learned to protect my peace finally. I thought I needed a lot of friends but learned that a lot of people truly never liked me.

They wanted me around though, huh?

Have I found my tribe? Perhaps. I am now aligned with some people who enjoy my presence. I don’t seek validation anymore, and as a result, things seem to be coming to me. The old version of me would people-please, and that’s gone. Am I a good person? Yes. Am I a nice person? I don’t want to be anymore. I now know where I belong, even if it means being in solitude on a bike trail, or sitting here on my laptop in the basement.

I do go out sometimes!

Back to more fun things: I have a gig with Supernova on Friday November 14th at The Thirsty Farmer (Sussex, NJ) so that’s cool! I have to learn some more country tunes as this place caters to that market, fine with me. We can still do harder rock, a tiny bit of metal and some pop. Being a sub for cover bands is perfect for me. No commitments, no drama, just give me the set list, tell me where to plug in, and pay me at the end of the night.

Oh and the 10th album that I’m finally working on with drummer Michael Sabatini. We have four demos, five more to go. I’m not putting a definite time stamp on when we will record and release this. It feels great to just be in the moment, work on heavy riffing and enjoy the feel-good energy that was missing from the last cd. The past is where it belongs; I have harnessed being in the present, and it shows in the music.

And yes, it’s still “fucking weird shit” 🙂

Last night I went up to DJ Metal Mistress’ studio to do another live radio show. While we did the usual witty banter back and forth, cracked lots of bad jokes, and talked about the usual topics, I kept something under my imaginary hat for a month. Wasn’t easy but when I said it, I thought Metal Mistress was going to burst into tears.

I announced working on my 10th album.

When the words “I started pre-production on my 10th album, and Mike Sabatini is on drums again”, I thought to myself, “Did I just utter that out loud?!” Even I was taken by surprise. This was on par with when I announced last September about the TM Stevens benefit show with Living Colour. I am very good at keeping secrets but some almost made feel like I was about to explode (spot the reference).

As some of you know, I had been brooding about the last album for various reasons. Instead of hanging onto grudges and disappointments, it was time to let go and say “Shit happens, move on!” And while it took some time to move forward, it happened. I had been writing demos since 2023, and up until very recently, I narrowed down the songs that I felt worked best. But what about musicians? I honestly debated using drum programs like I did on LAYERS OF TIME but that was so tedious. I reached out to some people but nothing happened.

One phone call changed things.

Mike and I talked on the phone about how our lives seemed to have transformed in various ways. I won’t speak for him but I can tell all of you that I’ve seriously leveled up over time rather quickly. And he sounded like he moved into a new realm as well. So I asked him up-front, “May I send you two demos to check out?” and he responded with “Yes definitely!” He is also busy playing drums with a couple of other bands on their albums so I said “Take your time with my stuff, as you’re busy with other projects.” The next day or so, he told me that the tunes were really good and that if my schedule allowed it, that we can get together and try them out.

We met up on October 1st (how fitting!) and it’s like we never stopped playing together. Musically, it works. Period. He told me that he loves the challenges and that he can be creative with my music. I am all for freedom of expression and that we agreed that this album needs to have “layers of guitar” and “never mind the live shows”. Well, thankfully for him and a lot of other people, I have NO desire to perform my own songs live anymore. That ship sailed. I only want to make a new album, with nine new songs (that can change, who knows?) and say that I finally made a tenth album. I’ve said this before but I didn’t expect to make two albums, let alone ten. And while it’s too early to tell, if this truly is going to be my final opus, I want it to be a grand statement, one that speaks louder than anything before.

We have worked on four demos so far and the tunes range from full-on heavy metal to funky stuff to one tune that I admit was supposed to channel Rush but it came out more like 5150-era Van Halen. It works, so I got out of the way. I write what feels good, and will continue to say that forever.

And now that I announced album 10 is in the baby stages, it’s time to roll our sleeves up and really put the pedal to the metal. There’s no deadline, no rushing things, but at the same time, everything has been so relaxed that things are flowing amazingly. This is how my last album should have been, but the gods decided “Nah, this one will be more of a joy to make.”

Got that right!

Yes, that’s a corn maze.

I did a gig with Supernova at Lentini Farms last night, and I learned two things: I can play guitar with one glove on my fretting hand and with a leather jacket on.

My Judas Priest fantasies have come full circle.

This time the weather was windy which made things much chillier. I purposely practiced the songs at home with the glove on but then realized “Maybe I need the jacket too?” It was a bit constricting at first but learned to deal with things. That’s what it means to be professional.

And battling a runny nose too!

But the show was a success! Good crowd, lots of clapping and dancing, which made things go smoother. And a first for the band, as well as myself, we played for FIVE hours! Of course, we had breaks in between sets, but once more people started coming to the stage and dancing, why stop now?! Kept going, pulling out song after song, whether or not I knew the tunes.

My fingers were cold anyway so what did it matter?! HAHA!

I tell you what though: standing in the open field, looking up at the stars and finding the planets on the Sky Map app…it was all so breathtaking! A nice way to wind down after playing an endless stream of songs. I’m one of the luckiest bastards alive. My life is music 24/7/365, whether I’m playing, writing, rehearsing, or teaching it. Once the car was packed, I stood on the field, soaking in the night vibes. THIS is what it means to be alive!!

Now I need a nap.

All three of you are most likely wondering “What’s the deal? You haven’t blogged since October 4th!”

I can dream, right?

Truth is, I have been super busy with a lot. That’s not an excuse at all. Lessons are packed to the gills and that’s a good problem to have. Feels nice to keep busy with teaching, inspiring young minds and a few adults as well. One of my students asked me “How do you remember so many songs?” and I said “I just do, wish I had a proper answer.”

Which leads to the next topic: cover band gigs coming up soon. Between the two shows approaching, I will be doing about 90 songs total. WHEW! So if you want to ask me “How do you remember so many songs?”, again I say “I just do.” Do I blank out at times? Of course! I learned little tricks from the pros on what to do when you have a brain fart. I won’t say them here because a magician never reveals his tricks 😉

The first gig will be with Supernova at Lentini Farms (Newton, NJ) on Friday October 24. Last year we were told “You can stop early because there’s nobody here” but that was because it got darker earlier and colder too! I doubt people will mill around a corn maze in the dark. We even had space heaters on the stage; I better learn how to play guitar with fingerless gloves like TM Stevens did. I might look cool too.

Might.

The second gig will be at Mason Jar (Mahwah, NJ) with Rubber Duckie Riot. And this gig will be 11 minutes from my house THANK GOD! A CLOSE SHOW!! Been eons since I played in my backyard. This will be on Halloween and yes I’m in costume, as a has-been guitar god. I dress like that every day anyway.

And I was asked recently by DJ Metal Mistress to be on her Metal Meltdown show for Wednesday October 29. She said it will be my pre-birthday bash (it’s on November 2) and that I will be in charge of the songs. You know what I’ll pick! But will also throw some curveballs. It’s how I roll. True to form, we will talk about anything and everything on her show because when the two of us get together, it’s pure comedy with some seriousness thrown in.

“Anything else, Steve?”

In my world, you never know.

And I never know either…

The double-header gigs were fun but glad they’re behind me. With exactly one hour to schlep from one show to the next…yeah it was rough. I’m not complaining at all; in fact, I am grateful that Bob Lamb asked me (he could have asked any guitarist) to pitch in.

I’m a road warrior now!

First gig with Rubber Duckie Riot was a lot of fun, lots of energy, good crowd, but wow it went really fast. Forty minutes felt like ten, which means it was a lot of fun. I will say this though: not to sound negative, but my guitar tone was muddy, which was weird. Turns out, it was the Morpheus Drop pedal that I borrowed that mucked up the sound. The guitar sounded lifeless, no balls but the crowd loved everything, and that’s the tale of the tape.

Second show with Spare Parts was almost cancelled on account of the singer having a fever yesterday. Not one but two singers were found and they both took turns to sing various songs, and it was very loose and low-pressure. “You know this one?” “Yeah” “Okay we’re doing it.” I didn’t need the Drop pedal and wouldn’t you know it…MY TONE CAME BACK!! Tight, focused, crisp and ME!!! Not a great turnout, but the people who were there were dancing and shouting the words back. No two gigs are going to be alike, right?

I am happier playing guitar more than ever before. Despite the crap tone at the first gig, I loved being on a big stage (that’s been a few years) and going for the throat. What I lacked in tone, I made up for in stage presence and connecting eyes with the crowd. And as an added bonus, it was great seeing Tammy Moore (from Tammy & The Others) after a couple of years. She had been battling breast cancer but thankfully knocked it out of the park!

Now I’m a small hiatus until the two October shows w/Supernova and RDR. And boy do I need it!

Holy shit, where’s the Tylenol?!

I asked for one gig a month. For the most part, I get that. But here’s a twist in my matrix…a double header!?

There isn’t enough coffee in the world.

Bob Lamb, bassist with many cover bands, asked me today if I could possibly do two shows on the same day September 27th. HUH?! I’m a pro so I said yes of course. It will be a long day but a good one.

The first show will be with his band Rubber Duckie Riot at Hawthorne Day in Hawthorne, NJ (of course!) But wait, was I supposed to debut with them on Halloween? Now that will be the second show so this will be the NEW debut. Their guitarist can’t make it so I got the nod. We will only play a one-hour set, in and out.

But then…two hours later (said in French voice ala SpongeBob)…

Bob and I will jackass up to Airport Pub in Sussex, NJ for another gig that starts at 9! I am already tired for next Saturday! This band is called Spare Parts, and it’s basically guys from other bands, hence the name. And it’s more or less a “wing it” thing. Should be a lot of fun but wow I hope to summon up the strength for this.

I am not complaining at all. In fact, I am super grateful for these opportunities. The first half of this year was really slow but since June, it’s been gradually picking up steam. Now this…ZOOM!! Oh, and I got more private students, so all slots are booked. I am back to teaching six days a week, three in the store, three private lessons. I will have Saturdays off and that’s fine with me. My schedule is busy again but relaxed just the same.

In my world, that makes sense somehow.