CAIN KONG

Headquarters for composer, sound designer, musician, and future ruler of the world, Cain Kong. Some may even know him by his mortal name, Cain German.

[cainkong]

After reading yesterdays damage toll of super nachos, funnel cake, bacon donut, fried zucchini, beef brisket (thanks Chacha), shots of don julio, popcorn, giant western sausage, and deep fried oreos, a bike ride is the least I could do. #fatass #gordo #

[cainkong]

Morning hike.

[cainkong]

I laughed harder at this than I should have.

[cainkong]

Sent out a mix, awaiting approval. Now changing gears to some personal projects. Ive been listening to too much animals as leaders. #djent #metal #aal #7string #tapping #shred

[cainkong]

How I wish you were here.

[cainkong]

Takin' care of some parts for Critical Hit, whom will be performing at E3. Transcribed all by ear. Thank you ear training gods. #sibelius #notation #musician

[cainkong]

Listening to this album when I was 16 always left me feeling physically beaten. Everything about it is still kick ass and continues to inspire me to practice, not just guitar, but composition too. They ran the gamut in progressive metal and did it with ease. Such musicianship, man. #symphonyx #odyssey #iamthekingofterrors

[cainkong]

Some serious creativity going on right now. Using #maschine strictly in midi mode to control CC data. #launchpad to control some stuff in #ableton . #reaktor #musicproduction #padsonpads #mybae

[cainkong]

Is that what "feelings" are?! See, I'm human afterall.

[cainkong]

You want me to dig here? Ok. #ditc #musicproduction #chopping #maschine #flipping #triphop #sampling #sounddesign #heresy

[cainkong]

View this post on Instagram

Practice when I can. #guitar #betweenlessons #shitistough #animalsasleaders

[cainkong]

#Soundtrack to Rogue Republic is coming along splendidly. #vgm #videogamemusic #empire

[cainkong]

View this post on Instagram

#practice #guitar #bolerosentrio #lostresases #delirio

[cainkong]

An Open Letter to My Family and Friends:

I've never done anything as cheesy as this, but fuck it.  I do what I want.

Here it is: Thank you. Thank you all for taking the time, the most valuable and precious resource, to read this.

Most of you know that I am an incredibly introspective person.  Perhaps too introspective; and as the year of me being 27 years old quickly draws to an end, the habit intensifies.

"Ever wonder the uniqueness of your life?"

"Everything is temporary. Hell, you know it's temporary."

These two phrases have been recited in my head thousands of times.  That is not an exaggeration.

All of our lives run their course, every course being different; and every single soul has its own trajectory.  Then, our lives align for short periods of time.  Some longer than others.  During those times, we become friends, significant others, acquaintances, or whatever the fuck.  We aim toward a different visions but somehow our arcs share highways.  Where that road ends is sometimes definite.  Other times the paving of a new road seeps in and we just exited the old highway without even noticing to continue the trek to wherever. 

I am surrounded by such kick ass, genuine, and well-hearted friends.  Balls of good energy that are quick to illuminate any dark room.  Some new friends as fresh as two months and a couple I've known since Kindergarten.  We celebrate our triumphs together and am continuously surprised whenever they become enthused for me.  Their excitement always catches me off guard.

A lot of my friends are like brothers, sisters, mentors, and displays of what I would like to see in myself.  That's no joke.  There is something to admire in all of my friends, and I do.  I keep a tight circle, and they are as loyal as they come; and I to them. Any time spent in the company of friends is always treasured.  Again, we all have our own lives.  For us to stop what we're doing to simply "catch up" is rad. Time is not the unlimited resource we always make it out to be. 

No one gets to choose their family.  No one.  I don't believe in luck, but shit, I seriously lucked out.

I have a father who hugs and kisses me as if he hasn't seen me in years, even if I had seen him the day before.  A real affectionate man, who loves his wife of 32 years as if it were still day one.  He is not a stranger to putting in hard work, and how he balanced a rigorous work schedule and still raised a family defeats me to this day.  My mother.  Shit my mother.  I remember as a child she would touch my cheeks and her hands were just so smooth and calming.  She would scratch my back until I fell asleep. She worked her ass of during the day as my dad worked graveyard shifts, so she would get the wrath of three boys.  But fuck man, she did it proudly, and gracefully.  She is a walking body of love. She even makes standard bologna and cheese sandwiches taste better than I have ever had.  It should be illegal. My brothers. Well, they're my brothers.  We fought, teased, smacked each other around every once in a while, but we would laugh like morons after.  I vividly remember when my brother and I would fight, my mom would step into the room and "hit" us.  We would begin releasing these cries of agony. When she left the room, we looked at each other and asked:

"hey, that didn't hurt huh?"

"no"

...and we would begin chuckling like some a pair of kids from the Little Rascals. We would tell each other to stop laughing and start our "crying" again.

We told my Mom this story a couple years ago and we all exploded in laughter.

My Godparents are so good at being Godparents, that they are everyones Godparents.  Such an amazing duo Good Cop/ Bad Cop.  Upsetting them whenever I fucked up in school sucked.  My nino is a man of very few words, but when he spoke, you better be listening.  I always admired his silent intelligence.  He was and still is calming spirit.  Loves to indulge in the better of tastes.  Somehow, he always manages to save me a piece of the best cut.  My nina, a mirror of my grandma.  Brings the entire family to the table, but can make everyone run for cover.  We call her Joe Pesci. "You muddafucka you."  She always kept the boys of the family in check, and still has hands like my grandma.  She won't ever admit to it, but she's a softy. (don't tell her. she wont read this, I dont think she has a FB) My cousins.  I always say I'm the black sheep of the family. Everyone watches sports religiously and that shit just bores me.  I'd rather practice, surf, or read. But I wouldn't replace any of them.  Our family is huge and with a huge family, comes a huge heart.  Growing up and seeing other families, I knew that my family was unique.

Is it me, or are all Aunts and Uncles always the nicest people you've ever met?  Not just blood related, but friends parents become like family.  I'm always greeted with open arms and smiles.  Pretty rad. "DUUUUUUDDE!"

Fuck, I'm digressing. (Time to keep it simple)

Where am I going with all this shit? Thank you.  I am grateful that our trajectories have aligned for as long as they do, or did. 

The phrase "everything is temporary" makes me appreciate every second, every event, every smile, blah blah you get the picture. 

I think I summed it up best in a post ages ago on instagram.  (seriously? He's leaving with something from instagram? what a bitch.)

"I think about my death all too often. I often get asked "What's up with your infatuation with death and macabre?" I'm not infatuated; but death is the constant and firm reminder that all of our woes and problems are petty and transient. Our time is borrowed. Everything is temporary. The good. The bad. We take nothing with us. The only evidence of our existence live as memories in peoples hearts and minds."

Well. There you have it. I'm a musician, not a writer. 

[cainkong]

Stoked to be writing the in-game music for the game, Rogue Republic. Big thanks to @autodream_sound (one of my fave sound designers) for putting my name in contention. ;) I cant wait to share the music with everyone. #gameaudio #vgm #music #pcgaming #composer #sounddesign #orchestra #epic #ihatethewordepic

[cainkong]

#manicalmonday #faceless #thechocolatebunny

[cainkong]

#lines #guitar #jazz #improv #cainkongneedstopractice #slopfest2014