A Brief Exposition on what the Heck Hairy Parrot is.

I have been asked a number questions since I began my solo Djent project known only as Hairy Parrot. Questions like "What do you want to do for lunch?", "Can you please go back and mow this one section of my yard?", and most notably, "Pardon me sir, but do you have a moment to talk about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?" 

Less frequently, I have also been asked questions about Hairy Parrot, what it is, why I created it, and why in the world did I name it Hairy Parrot. It is these latter questions that I will answer now. 

Hairy Parrot is my outlet for creating music that may not necessarily be in line with the sound of my primary band, S.I.Q. The way I have described it to people thus far is that whether I'm actually playing my bass or just out doing my day-to-day activities, I have rhythmic ideas bouncing around in my noggin. These are frequently very syncopated, complex Meshuggah-esque rhythms, and while we do utilize those in S.I.Q., they are not the sole staple of the music. So ultimately, there are a lot of such ideas that go unused, not because they are unwanted by my bandmates, but because they just don't fit. Having the ability to write and record songs myself, I decided I wanted to produce my own music that contained these various ideas in the most gratuitous way possible. Enter Hairy Parrot. 

The genre in which Hairy Parrot's music is written is Progressive Metal, or more accurately, the Prog Metal sub-genre known as Djent (yes, it is a genre, and I may present my case for that claim in a later post). What this means is that it is heavy, often syncopated, and contains a very strict relationship between the kick drum, the bass guitar, and the rhythm guitar. A few stereotypes have become associated with Djent, mostly that all it is is thwackage (technical term for very percussive pick attack) on the lowest string (pitch-wise) on a 7 string or 8 string guitar. Since such "thwackage" is part of what I enjoy about the sub-genre, I effectively (and gleefully) validate all those stereotypes. Also, since I own an 8 string guitar (nicknamed "The Hog") and since I thoroughly enjoy the music of Meshuggah, Hairy Parrot music shares many musical similarities with the Swedish Math Metal band. Which, in layman's terms, means that my response to the claim, "Your music sounds just like Meshuggah," is "Thank you!"

The name Hairy Parrot I can actually attribute to my parents. When S.I.Q. was first trying come up with a name, my parents suggested the name Hairy Parrot as a play on the words "Heir Apparent." At the time I dismissed it as being too silly for my band (and still kinda think that even now), but at the prospect of creating my own solo project that would not require the maintenance of a marketable image, the name became a lot more appealing. 

I will post another entry soon about some of the actual process of creating Hairy Parrot music, but until then, I hope this has answered questions that you had no intention to ask.

(P.S. - Good day from the Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina!)