The Official Unauthorized Blog of John Vucinich

National Spring Tour

2009-12-26T17:04:00.000-08:00

Big Big News,

We, the people of Still Time, are planning a FULL national tour from March through June. I think we will be hitting around 40 states so we have a LOT of planning to do. If anybody has a specific venue we should play at, band we should play with, or place we can crash, please email me at john@stilltimemusic.com and hopefully we'll be out your way in a couple months. Thanks!

Soon to be Still Time's seventh member

2009-10-20T15:33:00.000-07:00

Even if they're technically great I'm not always impressed by musical wunderkids on youtube. However, I think a drum and accordian duo would be amazing and if I ever meet this kid it will happen. Holy crap.

Succesful B-day

2009-10-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

The ancient Mr. Daniel Curcio had his 26th birthday on Monday, and apparently Jameson got the memo and decided to stage an open-bar promotional thing the same day. Realizing we couldn't just go out as the slobs we usually are for such an auspicious occasion, we dressed up a bit. Two days later I believe my hangover is finally gone.

"Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You may think you are a better drummer, but I know somsing you don' know. I'm not left handed."

If we were a band that exclusively played swing covers of AC/DC songs, we would dress exactly like this.

West Beach

2009-09-28T13:18:00.000-07:00

Just over a week ago we played the West Beach Music Festival in Santa Barbara and it was amazing. Huge stage, great sound, looking at the Pacific Ocean as we play, getting the full treatment of backline (stage was already set up for us), artist trailer (taste of things soon to come?), and hanging with friends watching other acts like G. Love and Special Sauce and Ben Harper and Relentless 7 for the rest of the day. Thanks to Jordan for these pics by the way:

The widest shot I could find of the stage. Still missing about half of it, but it also shows everyone that helped us get ready before our set.

Rocking out during The Fortune. Look how happy Paul is

Standing up during my drum solo on 9 to 5. I'm pretty sure there was a reason I did that, I'm just not sure what it was. Take a look at that drumming focus/O-face too.

And this is why giving bands free beer is a bad idea. At least it was after our set.

Liam and his incredible henna tattoo.

Ben Harper and Relentless 7 rocking to close out the night.

Motivation

2009-09-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

Occasionally after one of our longer shows someone will ask me "playing drums must be really tiring. How to you keep playing the whole time?" Usually just feeding off the energy from the audience is enough, but for those rare cases when it's not I always make sure that I have the proper motivation on my Set List:

Risky Business

2009-06-30T13:41:00.001-07:00

I am supreme ruler of the world. Last night was an epic battle. Paul tried to take Asia but could never hold it. T-Bone and Nick began battling immediately for North America, and I consolidated Australia and South America before moving into Africa and by that time it was too late for everyone else. Even their combined desperation could not withstand my awesome might. It ended with the climactic battle in the foothills of the Sierras.

I may, however, have irreparably damaged my and Nick's friendship.

Loads of Work

2009-06-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

It has been a crazy couple of months. I feel like we're always working, and this candid footage proves it...

The Still Time Party Pack

2009-05-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

So we have been joking for a long time about offering a party-pack: pretty much everything you need for a sweet party + Still Time playing. Then Josh Freese went and one upped us with all the deals you get with his new CD. Check it out. Some of them are hilarious.

Since we guarantee that no one oversells us on random and ridiculous things, I offer you the Still Time Sweet Deals:

Get a Haircut from Chris "Haircut" Arntzen: $25. He is not a trained barber, so we are not responsible for how it looks, but he can do some amazing things. Check out his work below and the amazing response it is getting from the ladies.

Date with Nick Bilich: $50. Voted #1 most sought-after Croatian/Italian-American in Baltic Biweekly, this connoisseur of the coffee been, this handsome heartthrob and gigantically generous gentleman will take you out for a personal caffinated escapade anywhere in San Luis Obispo or elsewhere if it is on our tour schedule.
Personalized John and Paul Jam: $100. Are you planning a special evening with someone, but don't just want to play the same old Marvin Gaye song everyone else already has. John and Paul will set up and play for your special evening. From romantic jazz for your dinner to some funky tunes for dancing to whatever your heart desires, your actions will be the third performer and our music will match the mood. Are you going to break up? We'll match the mood with an ominous chord and a drum roll. Professing your love? Paul's bow on his strings will match every nuance of your longing.
Personal Theme Music: $150. Two or more band members will follow you around for an hour with guitars and cowbells and sing/play about your life. Whatever you are doing (teethbrushing, working, etc) we will commit it to song while you're doing it and then send the best to you afterwards.
Still Time Party Pack: $1500. 2 Kegs, 1 Bouncehouse rental, Red Cups, 1 Beer-Pong/Flip-Cup Table rental, and Still Time playing. Fines and Travel Expenses not included.

Not sure if we're serious? We probably are. Email John@stilltimemusic.com for reservations.

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T19:57:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my Mother's Day Blog.

Here is a list of five awesome things about my mom. It is not a top 5 list, because narrowing down the five would be like deciding between slurpees, slow motion, and David Hasselhoff; they're all equally awesome.

Despite a strict no R movie law at the time, let me watch "My Cousin Vinny" when I was eight simply because it was hilarious
Current attendance record of 514 soccer games, 47 concerts, and 5 emergency rooms
Gave me recipes for fried chicken, spare ribs, swedish meatballs, and chocolate cookies that usually require level 7 access
Bought me a drum set for christmas in seventh grade and let me practice in the house even after hearing me play
Managed the very difficult trick of helping me with anything I needed growing up while making sure I appreciated what I had.

Thanks for these and the other 5678 reasons. I love you.

Fun with Toys and Baby Carrots

2009-05-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

Just got word yesterday that our new CD, 'See America,' is in the mail on the way to us. Pretty soon we'll be able to get it to everyone else, so I wanted to show us mixing one of my favorite parts of the album. In the middle of the song 'Rising From The Ashes,' I recorded a percussion solo. We didn't really have a plan for that part, so I just brought in a bag of toys and would go "let's record cowbell. Ok now let's record bongos. Ok, how about me munching on a carrot?" and start to layer it up from there. Check out the video below of mixing the part in Ocean Way Studio:

Some of the toys I got to use were:

2 Shakers, 2 Cowbells, Woodblock, Triangle, Bongos, Rwandan Hand Drum, Guiro, Baby Carrots, Claves, Vibraslap, Suspended Cymbal, and Djembe. We tried using some garbage cans but it turned out to be a different sound than we were looking for. Go figure.

Mix n Match

2009-02-12T15:20:00.000-08:00

Now that I have a camera, be prepared for a lot of completely unecessary blogs. Case in point: Match the Still Time Member to their respective crotch

1. Dan

2. Paul
3. Chris

4. John

5. Nick

6. T-Bone

Answers: 1.c 2.a 3.d 4.b 5.e 6.f

Recording Update

2009-02-11T18:16:00.000-08:00

Recording has continued to be awesome, especially now that I am done tracking drums and generally sit on the couch and tell other people what they should be doing. My much-dreaded back-up vocals still need to be recorded, but I’m trying not to think about that yet.

Favorite part of recording so far had to be recording the percussion solo for Rising from the Ashes. A list of instruments played by me during that part: Large cowbell, medium cowbell, woodblock, suspended cymbal, VIBRASLAP, triangle, Rwandan hand drum, bongos, djembe, toy cap gun, carrot (I bit it as loudly as possible), shakers, guiro, and a pot with a chain in it. A close second for favorite recording moment was recording the fifth take of Day Will Come with no pants. Of course it was the one we ended up using.

Lastly, my girlfriend just got me an amazing camera for my birthday so I can now share some pictures:

Kevin throwing down on Grand Piano. He showed up and recording for 'The Fortune' took a turn

TBone and Chris listening to the playback at Blue Universe.

Our producer, J. Blaze, obtained at no small cost, keeping us focused at Avalon Studios.

TBone getting warmed up in San Francisco.

Hooligans and such

2009-01-21T15:36:00.000-08:00

Some of my favorite words of all time: Scalawag, Hooligan, Miscreant, and Ruffian. I try to use them as often as possible so that I'm well-practiced by the time I have to chase some kids off my lawn in 40 years or so. Today I actually looked one of them up.

Scalawag: Joseph E. Worcester's 1860 Dictionary of the English Language defined scalawag as "A low worthless fellow; a scapegrace." Scalawag was also a word for low-grade farm animals. In early 1868 a Mississippi editor observed that scalawag "has been used from time immemorial to designate inferior milch cows in the cattle markets of Virginia and Kentucky." (Historian Ted Tunnel via Wikipedia) It was also used to describe white southerners who supported the US government during Reconstruction.

Now you know. And knowing is half the battle.

Recording Phase II

2009-01-13T23:30:00.000-08:00

Today was our second day in a row of recording the album officially in Downtown Brew. We did some pre-recording there to get a feel for it and we have almost finished the three acoustic songs for the album. However, these last two days were the first two I got to really throw down on full drum set. We have really good starts now (drum, bass, and electric guitar tracks) for 4 songs.

I love the live recording style. Even though it is a little frustrating to play a great drum take if someone else messes up, it is massively worth it because I know every fill and flourish and beat I play is in response to something someone else is doing. I can't wait to hear that energy and interplay on the album. Too bad I had to be sick while we recorded what are easily the 4 heaviest songs on the album, but no worries. I just coughed up a lung between each take and drank 10-15 gallons of water.

P.S. Has anyone else noticed that Abbey Road is a good album? Like ridiculously good? Oh, you did? Because I just noticed that pretty recently, around 40 years after the rest of the world.

Drum Lessons

2008-12-24T21:27:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let everyone know I am now giving drum lessons, so anyone who is interested should call 707-888-0080 or email John.Vucinich@gmail.com. All levels welcome.

The Perfect Movie

2008-12-04T12:59:00.000-08:00

Directed by Zack Snyder with an appropriate level of slo-mo (50-70% of the movie). The main character (Bruce Willis) is having a shitty day; especially when an evil criminal mastermind (Gary Oldman) and his main henchman (Schwarzenegger and Van Damme) reincarnate Nazis as zombies to supplement their already plentiful army of ninja warriors. Even though that life is behind him, he recruits the help of his former partners (Bruce Campbell and Ving Rhames, whose respective specialties are demolitions and demolitions). Someone delivers the line “he’s not so dangerous without his head attached to the rest of em” after a fight breaks out at a nudist all-female massage parlor (Megan Fox, Adriana Lima, Jessica Alba, Eliza Dushku, Marisa Miller, Salma Hayek, Elisha Cuthbert...). Before they are ready they must first learn to get spiritual (Segal cameo) and then finally defeat evil while somehow employing stealth bombers retrofitted with gatling guns. Soundtrack by Still Time.

Ode to a Transmission

2008-10-17T14:56:00.000-07:00

For my first blog, I would like to pen an ode to the transmission in our van which recently broke:

O Fickle hand of fate, so rough
Why make this fragile metal beast?
Why not make it of sterner stuff
Like adamantium at least

While driving up 154
My ear attuned to T-Bone's babble
Our van said "pop"
We had to stop
For forward it refused to dabble

Our vaunted steed no longer baller
We needed fixing of our hauler
There was no need to feel blue
Rizzoli would know what to do

His next advice was fairly brief
Our engine must procure the beef
A better tranny was required
Or else our ride would be retired

The new transmission was obtained
Its gears possessed of godly might
And with its saga now explained
It transports us into the night