jonobacon@home

Back in May 2002, my band Seraphidian went into the studio for the first time. We went to Magic Garden Studios in Wolverhampton and worked with Gavin Monahan, our producer to record our first EP. It was called Silent Aggression, had three tracks plus a bonus radio interview and it was recorded and mixed within [...]

I recently heard the abomination that is Amarillo by Brainstorm. I had forgotten how truly awful a cover it is. Then, on the flip side, take The Sound Of Silence by Nevermore. Stunning. I have noticed that metal bands seem to love doing cover songs, some taking particular pleasure in Brittney Spears and Christmas songs. [...]

Yes! As has been rumoured for a while, Iron Maiden’s next world tour will see them playing material from their 80s albums Powerslave and Somewhere In Time. I will never forget being a wee child and hearing Somewhere In Time for the first time and pestering my mum to buy the tape for me. It [...]

My band, Seraphidian, are looking for a singer. We have recently had a shift around in roles, and we are looking for a good, reliable, guttural singer. Ideally we are looking for someone with a similar growl to George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher from Cannibal Corpse – deep and rhythmic, but clear and distinguishable. You will need [...]

I just bought new drums. I am a happy, although poorer man. Mapex M-Series Birch kit in Transparent Black, with 22″ bass, 10″, 12″, 14″ and 16″ toms, Mapex Black Panther Steel Snare, 16″ crash, 14″ hats, 20″ ride, 18″ china and 10″ splash. Bring it on. My neighbors are going to hate me.

Wow, long time no update. Well, things have been insanely busy recently, on all fronts, and I have just been too busy to sit back and write some stuff down. So, here comes another burst of bullet points: I have recently moved over to the Ubuntu distro team formally inside Canonical and I am now [...]

Recently I have been thinking of my next charity stunt to do. Well, this weekend it came to me. I am going to keep it under wraps for now. I don’t even know if it is possible and over ambitious. Quite possibly, the stupidest idea I have had. In any case, it needs to wait [...]

As many of you know, I rather like heavy music. In addition to being an avid listener, I am also a musician and take a number of influences in crafting my own music. One of the key musicians that has inspired me has been Chuck Billy from Testament – his combination of melodic singing ability [...]

Short bursts of stuff: This week Ubuntu Open Week kicks off. Be there or be square – it is your chance to be a part of the Ubuntu community and learn from the masters. A bunch of new speaking slots are confirmed for me including LinuxTag, OSCON, Ubuntu Live and others. I will be updating [...]

J5, I would love to jam in Brazil, and maybe something at GUADEC. I would love to perform some music live with some of my fellow Open Source musicians.