Eric VB

Neato. Not sure it would work with my round-back Ovation, though.

"This one was harder." You think? Wow, Paul, you took on a monster song here! I have a few like this in my solo singer/guitarist repertoire. My wife usually deals the reality blow that I'm reaching just a little too far. That doesn't keep me from continuing to work on them, especially if it is just a vocal range thing. The more I sing the more usable range I develop, especially by reaching for "the impossible". So I keep a "one of these days" mentality. I see in your notes that your "Linda" was the limiting factor on how far you could take this song in your recording session. So I'll take that into account. I, too, approach solos by just strumming the accompaniment. Not ideal, but I personally don't like when others play a naked solo on an acoustic that was recorded on a screaming electric. One guy I know will vocalize the solo while strumming; that can work pretty well depending on the song. One of these days I want to come up with arrangements but that takes a lot of time. Changing keys from the original can be tricky, too. I've used my karaoke machine to record a reference of a cover in a different key. Still, it can be hard at performance time when the "recording in my head" is still in the original key!

The 12 string sounds good! I like this John Mayer song but, as with a lot of his material, I've crossed it off of my "list of songs to work on" because of his high vocal range and/or guitar complexity. Paul, I like that you kept the vox in a comfortable range for you and made some slight changes to make this cover your own. John Mayer purists may object but I think your version will go over well with the general audience. Good job!

I blame it on playing it with another band prior, but I used to play the intro to "My Girl" too slowly for the current band. Now I take a moment to "play the recording in my head of the guitarist playing his opening riff" to set my tempo and that helps get me up to speed.

I can see you -- on stage having fun -- and that's a good thing. Keep up the good work, Nancy!

Hey Zach! Nobody's commented yet? Please allow me. First off, kudos for composing on bass! That's not an easy step to take. Also, nice display of two-hand technique. Maybe there were a couple of notes that didn't ring out as expected but the song was pretty demanding and sounds good overall so no worries. Personally I think you could do a little more. For example, although you are sustaining chord tones while playing melody on top (homophony), I think you could take another step and play true polyphony (e.g. Stu Hamm's "Linus and Lucy", where the LH bass and RH melody are like two independent performers). Another thing to consider is employing another technique to add variety. See for example Vic Wooten's "Amazing Grace". [Note: after writing I see that you cover this Vic solo, so you know what I'm talking about.] If you want to stick with two-hand tap I wonder if you wouldn't be better served with a tap instrument (Chapman Stick, Warr Guitar)? I think you would have more freedom with one of those. What challenges me most for composing solo bass songs is coming up with a good melody. Melody is what audiences listen for. When composing solo bass "by arrangement" (as opposed to, say, using a looper or backing tracks) it's trickier to drive the melody. Again I'll point to Vic and how he never loses the "Amazing Grace" melody even when he goes off on harmonic tangents. It's a great exercise to take a cover song and try to play it as a solo bass arrangement without losing the melody. Having said that, with a little polish I can see "A Journey" being used in film or maybe even a video game. It definitely sets a mood with the starting minor chord which descends. (Sounds like a vi V IV iii to me.) And there is plenty of expressivity with the tempo changes and the sparse to dense note playing. Thanks for sharing!

Jeremy, yes, now that all the other live music venues are smoke-free the smoke in the casino is the worst part.

b5pilot, the first time I played Greektown was this year. I believe you are correct that this is a new thing, or at least new to Greektown.

JustDan, the criminal background check is part of the license application. The final step is getting fingerprinted.

Anybody else playing casinos? One project I'm working with plays a casino regularly. The casino treats the entertainment agency as a vendor. As an employee of the agency I have to have a vendor gaming license for the casino. How do things work in your neck of the woods?

Just caught the solo. Nicely done. Tasteful. Glad to hear you're enjoying the new band!

Solid and classy bassing there.

Good stuff, Paul.

Looks like you were having fun with this one. Was that two cameras or two takes?

Pernax - I really enjoyed this. Like, a lot. I'm replaying it again right now. You can tell just how much preparation went into the whole thing! Thanks for posting it. Well done. Nice production. Good musicianship.

Well, I did go back and read all 24 (based on my settings) pages in this topic, and I listened to at least one recording by everyone. Maybe when I have more time I can comment on each and every recording individually? I liked everything I heard! I don't know if I posted this one here before or not; my apologies if I did. (Can you name that tune before the vocals start? ) http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=10325199 Usually when I record I'm in a hurry just to get an idea down. I picked up this habit when I used to keep a cassette recorder and an acoustic guitar next to the bed. So a lot of my stuff isn't as polished as the stuff you guys are posting. This is the "honest feedback" thread, but I do know there are plenty of flaws here. The arrangement itself goes over pretty well live so I'm happy with that. Whatever. I just don't want lug calling me names anymore.

Not bad. I'm sure BNL has some gems tucked away, too. Two Days Till I Say I'm Sorry Watch the Hoodwink Looking at Aquaman Never Touched (the Frying Pan) Hot Like Wasabe Match Wits Stinkin' Achin' Shake Vanilla (It's the Finest of the Flavors) Sign a Waiver Funny When You're Mad Trying Hard Not to Smile Laughs at a Funeral Mind on My Sleeve Taking Off My Shirt You're Crazy You Tackled Me Rug Burns It's Not My Fault Not a Moment Too Soon Yesterday You'd Forgiven Me Chickity China Brain Stops Tickin' Getting Frantic Guaranteed to Satisfy Have a Samurai Tiny Nubs In Tune with Sailor Moon Boom Anime Babes The Wrong Thing I Think You're Funny When You're Mad Hard Not to Smile I Feel Bad I'm Sorry I Laughed at You Just What I Thought You Were Gonna Do We're Both to Blame You Just Smiled Yeah, some of these would be better for an emo band, but some are a little more universal. [edit: and really, Boom Anime Babes rocks just as hard as Pussycat Dolls.]

For B'n'B: donovan's delight mellow yellow electrical banana mad about saffron divinyl touch cyndi bop wanna go south danger zone chaperone

Your example of the pronunciation -- Liv Dunn -- looks nice. (Reminiscent of Liv Tyler, I guess.)

This one actually did cross my mind but I couldn't justify it for this band. And could you really stand every drunk guy telling you, "That's a spicy meatball!" with a bad accent every night?

I'd drop "project" if you're using initials. Make them all initials. You know, like E.L.O or R.E.M. And really, how do you pronouce the current name?

Long-time advice from the GP forum is that the name doesn't matter, so don't obsess over it. OTOH I was once told by venue that we were selected for a show because of our name. Or rather that other bands were passed over because their names didn't fit the venue. (Hypothetically imagine the finest restaurant in town hosting Projectile Vomit with opening act Food Poisoning! ) Anything But Standard -- a play on the way you perform standards Raindrops On Roses -- from "My Favorite Things" (wouldn't be the first time a band swiped a lyric for their name ) Funkingham Palace -- a stretch, but could spur better ideas [Paint The] Town Red -- another stretch, but trying to find something that conveys the mood or setting your music sets Unforgetable [Fusion] -- and be sure to include the Nat King Cole standard! The Lived In Project, The Live Eden Project, The La Vida [Jazz|Fusion|Funk] Project -- all plays on the current name

It's human nature to feel that way but you really have to let it go. You don't want to burn any bridges. That band could break up, or one of the members might want to start a side project, and you might be the best fit for that. I'm sure you've been on the other side of the table as well and had to pass over a good player because someone else fit your band better. It's never easy telling someone they didn't make the cut; it'd be even harder to have to explain in detail why they didn't. It sounds like you've figured out what the difference was in this case: vocals. At least if you can identify your weaknesses it makes it easier to address them. Or you can accept yourself as you are and also accept that some bands may pass you over as you are. I was passed over for a solo in marching band (don't laugh too hard) because on the day of the quickie audition -- just going down the line and taking turns -- my spit valve malfunctioned, I missed the entrance, and I was not given a second chance. To this day I believe I had the best prepared solo but if I hold it against the guest conductor that held the auditions it does me no good. It just makes me bitter. So I have to let it go and move on.

Hey Moe! Thanks for sharing! That was a pretty inspirational intro, especially for a fellow bassist. Would love to pick your brain on songwriting. I still have one foot in the door with NSAI-Detroit; I've come to one event as a guest but haven't signed up yet. I think I get one more before I have to "piss or get off the pot". Feel free to start a topic. I'll see if I can come up with something, too.

Well, I've been avoiding this forum in favor of the other MP forums because I don't consider myself a keyboard guy. However, I just finished taking a music technology class in which we used an Alesis QS7 along with Digital Performer and Finale. So I still don't consider myself proficient on keys, but I have been smitten with the whole MIDI/sample library setup. I've been using computers to synthesize my original compositions since the early '80s, before standards like MIDI were widespread. It's much more fun for me to use the modern technology. My idols on keys are mostly jazz and fusion players, like Chick Corea, Ahmad Jamal, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Scott Joplin (ok, he's ragtime, you got me ), etc. I'm also a fan of "classical music" , used in the broad, common sense. Of course Mozart and Beethoven, but also Liszt. (I can't say I'm an expert on all of the composers and their works, but I'm still learning.) I grew up with what is now classic rock, so I'm also your typical Billy Joel, Elton John and Gregg Allman fan. I like what I've heard so far from the newer players, too, like Alicia Keys and Norah Jones. Unfortunately I don't play or compose nearly as well as they do (or did). I've seen at least a few of you KC-ers around the other forums and you seem like decent enough folk. My primary instrument is electric bass guitar, but I consider myself more of a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter/composer these days.