I've worked on a lot of music, in the 1st part of this year, new backtracks, CD tracks and C64 covers. Shadowfire was a game I spent a lot of time playing and many more hours just listening to the 'Title Screen' music. Fred Gray wrote something here that has got to be, one of the most recognisable, C64 Anthems and one of my personal favourites.
Quite weirdly, this cover/remix ended up being totally different than I expected when I sat down to write it.
I began by writing the string lines, my thoughts on 'Epic Orchestra' but realised, very quickly that orchestral percussion wasn't going to cut it and it would need a conventional drum kit and growly bass guitar to drive the main theme. From that point, it rapidly turned into a more conventional 'band' number. I substituted the strings with analog synths, added the guitars and 'Hey Presto'!Just so it's out there... The life-changing thing I've been dealing with is 'Multiple Myeloma', (I know! I'd never heard of it either!). It's bone-marrow cancer which is treatable but not curable at this time. The particular strain I have, causes kidney failure if left unchecked and, prior to being diagnosed, last October, it took my kidney-function down to just 4% with no symptoms at all, (I actually went out and did a gig with the band on 4% kidneys with no clue that anything was wrong). To cut a long story short, I had a very new type of chemotherapy which manipulates the immune system and the myeloma was in remission by January this year. I had stem-cell replacement done at Easter, (April) and am currently cancer-free. It will come back at some point but is treatable many times and there are people out there who have been in remission for 8, 10 and 15 years. Even though my kidneys went down to 4%, I managed to dodge the 'dialysis' bullet and they've recovered to around 25% functionality. I've been really lucky, the NHS have been superstars and I'll be back out 'on the road again' shortly, (once I get most of my immune system back which the stem-cell procedure destroyed). Oh! and once I get my Rock'n'Roll hairstyle back, LOL.
There are around 15,000 people in the UK with Multiple Myeloma, (according to Macmillan) and my strain of it represents about 2% of all myelomas, (about 300 people). It's twice as prevalent in black people vs white people, so, that makes me 1 in 100, if the numbers stack up... I'm Special! LOL.
That said, I've not written the above for any kind of sympathy or reaction. It's just so it isn't a mystery. There have been others from within this community who haven't been as lucky as me and who are no longer with us and I can't thank the people within the NHS enough for giving me back my life. I've got through this by treating it with the contempt it deserves and making sure that my life is always about something other than myeloma. That's where music has been a massive part of my treatment. You need a passion & a purpose to make life about something other than cancer and I firmly believe it's a big part of why I've responded so well!
Okay, point made!
As always.. All comments welcome on my remix!
