HOORAY!!! I am so happy the Bush-hole is GONE!!! Goodbye JERKOFF!!

January 2009 tracking drums for new Mastermind music!

Rich Berends hammers it out.

January 2009 studio update: a Bill Berends solo rock guitar album is about 50% completed and mixed with the rest well under way. I hope to have this finished soon and out in the first part of this year. This is really like nothing I’ve ever done before, it’s not a blues record (tho’ I do want to make one of those) nor is it prog-rock. It’s more a collection of driving rock tunes (with some lighter moments) that are platforms for just jamming out on the guitar… that thing that I do! I am very pleased with how this is shaping up.

The Mastermind update: we’ve chosen which new compositions will make up a new Mastermind album and work has begun in earnest. Although the infamous “Insomnia” album is still in the can, we’ve decided to get to work on a new project that is more akin to the earlier direction of the band. It may take a while, but it feels like we are back on track and I am devoting all my available time now to the process of recording. If all goes well we could have multiple new titles this year. We’ll get them out there one way or another.

Collaborations: I recently recorded some guitar tracks for Shawn Gordon of ProgRock Records slated for one of his upcoming projects. I would enjoy collaborating with more artists in the future and am open to considering projects that will be an actual release of some sort and may be something I will enjoy. Feel free to run it by me and see what we can work out.

That’s it for the moment… back to work!

~Bb