Is Your Music Any Good? Find Out Here!!

[spigotsaol.com]

[quote]Originally posted by radiantrecording: [b]Frank, I really like your tunes and your recordings. What kind of compression are you using on your percussion? Waves/UAD/timeworks? Man, your percussion has a SSL compression sound IMO. I've never gotten to work on an SSL though but the perc. sounds like it was done on one. Also, do you build your own loops from the ground up or do you use sample CD's? Just curious. Kyle[/b][/quote] Thanks! Most all of the tunes were mixed in PT using Waves compressors (renn and c-1). The newest tune "Acinagro" was tracked a while back and I just remixed it on a Mackie D8B using the onboard compressors. Funny you mention SSL. My first "real" gig was at a complex that had an old E series. I mixed on it for 4 years. I guess the "sound" rubbed off? I get most all of my loops from CDs and from other guys. But I usually hack 'em up to suit my needs. Frank http://www.mp3.com/spigots

[Lee Flier]

Oh yeah you know, popmusic, I keep meaning to tell you that I listened to your song "North Star" like a LONG TIME AGO and never told you that I really enjoyed it! The harmonies and arrangements are way cool and I was very impressed with the quality of the recording. I really didn't have any criticisms but hey, I don't like to leave nice things unsaid, either! --Lee

[Chip McDonald]

[quote]Originally posted by Mr Darling: [b]Chip McDonald - Just checked massiveslack - sound warm and tight. Was this a spontaneous jam or a calculated - premeditated - slightly edited stuff. Whatever , I you lived in my area I would have hired you :D [/b][/quote] Thanks, that was spontaneously created in front of a crowd of people at a music festival. Goofing off. Your page: "Sugar Cane" - nice sounds, centered bass but with spread out harmonics, warm. Prince vibe (no surprise there I suppose, eh?); particularly stopping the pulse after the first line of the vocal. Cool dance hall bass line pulse without over stressing the ethnic origin of it, homogenized, which is cool I like the discrete wide stereo "do do do do da da do doo" bits... not my thing, but it's well done as anything. I like the subtle gamelan sounds, reminds me of a song off of the Police's _Synchronicity_, can't remember which.... I like the orgasmic vocal bits... as far as dance oriented vamp-themes this is as good as anything I've heard, the layering builds the song well, warm sound. A lot of stuff in this vein seems to get harsh sounding tonally and the blend here is sort of like a Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis sort of sound. "So Easy" - post-Depeche Mode modulated bass line, Reznor stereo sounds... Dry up front Prince vocal style; which is cool because some people try it and don't pull it off, this works... ah, I really like the held out "ahhhhh".... cool vocal line, the tight vibrato. She has a cool mix of R&B/Gospel sound, but also that rainy English house-style vocal approach... Nice use of stereo on the "high on you".... subdued... I'd want to hear a more elaborate arrangement on the "drives me crazy" harmony bit, I'd want to hear oblique movement in the bass voice so it wouldn't sound locked since the bass line is a constant theme. The bass line reminds me of a massive attack sort of thing. Cool blend of American R&B vocal stylings over "approachable" post Depeche industrial sounds (the hat and the "submarine" NIN sounds). It's easy when you have someone that can sing, isn't it? Hmm. When she sings "when I wake up from my sleep" that melody reminds me of... man, a specific massive attack tune... I like how that leads to the "it's easy to get high on you". The "hooooh" reminds me too much of Michael Jackson doing his James Brown impersonation, though. Nice orgasmic vocal bits again. Lords of Acid? Hmm. Yeah, I'd either want the harmony bits hyped up more in the approach, more exaggerated performance, OR the reverse (which I think would suit the laid back feel better) - a more whispery stacked approach, and an A/B sectional approach using oblique harmony to seperate it from the bass theme a bit. Love the stereo of the harmony at the end also. Nice sound, cool blend of styles. Sparse with thick texture done well. OH hey,... Just clicked on the "My Diary" - I love the "Myst" like book you click on. was that deliberate?

[Chip McDonald]

[url=http://www.mp3.com/lechedelpollo]www.mp3.com/lechedelpollo[/url] "8 to 30". Chip McDonald - guitar, Line6 delay modeler, Intellifex Eric Kinlaw - upright bass, Line6 delay modeler, sax, modular synths, kalimba, Casio SK1, Roland Groove Sampler Erik Hargrove - drums, percussion, SPD-11 pads Josh Boardman - misc. sounds Coco Rubio - turntables Just playing some spacey "stuff" spontaneously, sounds sort of like old Pink Floyd meets ... I dunno? Live at the Soul Bar a few weeks ago, just threw some mics around. You have to listen throughout - it's long, it's about 6 minutes from a 3 hour straight set with no break, just making up strange stuff. Some cool drum licks hiding in there. Spacey vibe, maybe too experimental. No fun guitar stuff I suppose, very little guitar (I'm actually trying to tie things together, you'll understand when you hear this). I did basically no mixing here (it was basically impossible for extraneous circumstances) and little eq, so caveat emptor... I'm not going to leave this page up for long, it's pretty careening and chaotic stuff, I'm just curious to hear comments. The funny thing is that a fairly large crowd sat and listened/watched the whole thing.... There's another excerpt on there as well, but it's maybe too far out and I can't remember what it mutated into at the end.

[Mr Darling]

[quote]Originally posted by Chip McDonald: [b] ... Prince vibe (no surprise there I suppose, eh?); [/b] Actually , She is not named after a Prince song. During the Lords of Acid tour , the tour manager started calling her that and it sort of stuck. Only way later when the press started to bring it up we realized that Prince had a song titled "Darling Nikkie" . We do appreciate Prince earlier music... but not more :D [b]OH hey,... Just clicked on the "My Diary" - I love the "Myst" like book you click on. was that deliberate?[/b][/quote] Well yes and no. We searched long and hard until we found the right feel for the Diary cover... Was it deliberate "Myst", not really ! Thanks Danny

[Lee Flier]

Why thanks, MisterMe! Both of the guitars on the track are my '65 Rickenbacker 420 12-string, through a DanElectro compressor stompbox and then into my '65 Fender Pro Reverb. The amp was facing out into the room, with no gobos or anything, and I used the amp's reverb, too. I miked the amp with a CAD E-100 about 6" off the speaker grille, if I recall right - I had a tough time getting the mic placement right. Definitely had to move it around a lot to find the "sweet spot". I don't remember for sure but I THINK the mic went straight into the internal pre on my Yamaha AW4416, either that or a Presonus BlueTube. Nothing fancy, at any rate! Glad you enjoy it. By the way, I just put up a new recording of ours called "For Love Or Money". It's up on the web site, or you can download it direct [url=http://www.what-the.com/For_Love_Or_Money.mp3]here[/url] . This is an original of mine, and if you do listen to it, for God's sake turn it UP! :D --Lee [ 02-06-2002: Message edited by: Lee Flier ]

[Chip McDonald]

[quote]Originally posted by Mr Darling: [b]During the Lords of Acid tour , the tour manager started calling her that and it sort of stuck. Only way later when [/b][/quote] Ahhhh, so she was in Lords of Acid? Funny/interesting stuff...

[halljams]

[quote]Originally posted by Chip McDonald: [b] [url=http://www.mp3.com/lechedelpollo]www.mp3.com/lechedelpollo[/url] "8 to 30". Chip McDonald - guitar, Line6 delay modeler, Intellifex Eric Kinlaw - upright bass, Line6 delay modeler, sax, modular synths, kalimba, Casio SK1, Roland Groove Sampler Erik Hargrove - drums, percussion, SPD-11 pads Josh Boardman - misc. sounds Coco Rubio - turntables Just playing some spacey "stuff" spontaneously, sounds sort of like old Pink Floyd meets ... I dunno? Live at the Soul Bar a few weeks ago, just threw some mics around. You have to listen throughout - it's long, it's about 6 minutes from a 3 hour straight set with no break, just making up strange stuff. Some cool drum licks hiding in there. Spacey vibe, maybe too experimental. No fun guitar stuff I suppose, very little guitar (I'm actually trying to tie things together, you'll understand when you hear this). I did basically no mixing here (it was basically impossible for extraneous circumstances) and little eq, so caveat emptor... I'm not going to leave this page up for long, it's pretty careening and chaotic stuff, I'm just curious to hear comments. The funny thing is that a fairly large crowd sat and listened/watched the whole thing.... There's another excerpt on there as well, but it's maybe too far out and I can't remember what it mutated into at the end.[/b][/quote] Great drummer! Great playing all round. While i really enjoy a "journey" (and i understand that this was a spontaneous thing),What i find really make these types of peices into something, is just one or two little signatures that get played or implied every now and then. A little melody or ensemble riff, anything. Miles had it happening in a pretty complex way in the late 70's /early 80's. You can groove forever, but take the people home(check in), now and then to let the Average listener feel apart of it, give them a handle to hang on to so to speak. Those are also the easiest tunes in the world to write and teach the band. "Ok, when i nod, play the riff. Start and end with the riff too, ok, everything in between is wide open". That is great that you had an audience who sat and listened. Doesn't seem to happen enough IMO.

[halljams]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Lee Flier: [QB]By the way, I just put up a new recording of ours called "For Love Or Money". It's up on the web site, or you can download it direct [url=http://www.what-the.com/For_Love_Or_Money.mp3]here[/url] . This is an original of mine, and if you do listen to it, for God's sake turn it UP! :D --Lee Hi Lee. I listened to your new tune. Thank you for taking the time as a writer to make it go somewhere. You may already know that i am not the biggest fan of strait ahead rock and roll. Usually it just sits in that boring I/Iv/V area and does all the predictable things that have been done a million times and then country rock takes it and claims it as it's own and the next thing you know you've got Travis Tritt and Garth Brooks using it as a formula for every song they write... You can feel my pain here I'm sure. So anyway, this song of yours kicks all that in the ass because it goes places, there are nice sections that have neat things that do stuff and go places. A very nice touch. Made me wanna listen 2x. Nice stuff. The band sounds really well rehearsed. Great guitar sounds too.

[Lee Flier]

Halljams, Thanks for listening and I'm really glad you enjoyed it, especially considering you're not normally a fan of that type of music! I agree that a lot of straight ahead rock'n'roll sounds formulaic but that isn't rock'n'roll's fault. As with blues, a lot of people diss the genre entirely because these days there are a lot of people who HAVE just formulized it and it's boring as hell. They figure if you can play three chords you've done your job, and apparently have forgotten all the important things that make rock'n'roll work: 1) Rhythm, tone, tension, energy and dynamics are what keep things interesting in a genre where the "technical" aspect is by design limited. 2) Good songwriting still counts, and bad/lazy songwriting is still bad/lazy songwriting no matter what genre it is. 3) (maybe the most important) Play it as if your life depends on it. If you forget about any of these things, it ain't rock'n'roll as far as I'm concerned. Your comments make me feel as though we've successfully done what we set out to do, at least to one person's ears. Thanks! :) --Lee [ 02-06-2002: Message edited by: Lee Flier ]

[jeBus]

here are couple songs i wrote dont be too harsh!!! SONG #1 (not real name of song) dreams never ending bombs always sending truth always bending with your love you're never lending i want, to see if your love for me is real-it seems iffy love cannot be this from you i earn, the wonderful feeling i always miss dying,crying,open my eyes i feel like sighing loving,hating,all these new feelings you're creating for me nightmares it's beginning peace,love,hate, my world for u is spinning lies, constant mending from your hate my wounds need tending i want, to be truely yours, - but i think u hate me hate cannot be this from u i yearn for that fimilair feeling of bliss living,smiling, close my eyes i feel like filing your love loving,hating,all these new feelings you're creating for me somewhere in a darkened hole, there ends a perfectly ruined soul you laugh,you hate, all these new feelings you create for me SONG #2 hopelesness maybe if the world wasnt a mess I could get through this Time maybe if i wasnt blind, i could walk that line anonymous maybe ill discover trust, i just want it to work otu for us if i could get it together, i'd feel so much better i try so hard for you, but i hope u you'll notice soon waste none of this is worth your grace jsut a dream i want to taste conufused my thoughts abused i really dotn wanna lose flowing your beauty to me u keep showing still my love for u is growing sometimes im sure you like me but as i look at the last pedal, it's kinda eerie, it says u have love for me, but i dont feel any well guys thats it......i dont really have anyone to show or talk to about these so i posted these here......jsut tell me what u think...

[Chip McDonald]

[quote]Originally posted by halljams: [b] Great drummer! Great playing all round. That is great that you had an audience who sat and listened. Doesn't seem to happen enough IMO.[/b][/quote] Thanks; I want to make sure everyone realizes this is just "whatever happens, happens". But the funny thing is, people actually do sit an listen, and it's a really "hip" crowd. It's almost like it's such a novel thing that we're all actually playing, and we don't know what's going to happen, that it's actually "cool" maybe. I dunno. Silly, out of tune and kilter, but I find it amusing regardless....

[jeBus]

no critique on the songs ? :(

[Mr Darling]

Two new songs uploaded to the site , which might be more in your genre : Immortal - Beautiful live orchestration on a beautiful love song. It's a must!! Lovers in the city - a bosaa nove with a jazzy twist http://www.DarlingNikkie.com/sounds PS Chip - She wasn't just in LOA - she was LOA. It was her baby, she came up with the idea and she made it work (since she left, it doesn't work as well and they keep re-releasing old stuff)

[Scott Jones]

Hey guys... I thought you might be interested in hearing these fusion compositions of mine... I composed these and did the sequencing and programming for all the other instruments back in 1993-1995, but I began the project of recording guitar parts to them three weeks ago, and these are the final results... [b]MP3[/b]-All in high quality MP3 files, download time will vary... [url=http://audio.scottjonesmusic.com/mp3/fusion/muldars-search.mp3]Muldar\'s Search[/url] -Hi energy fusion. [url=http://audio.scottjonesmusic.com/mp3/fusion/every-time.mp3]Every Time[/url] -a tribute to Weather Report with a Tribal Tech vibe. [url=http://audio.scottjonesmusic.com/mp3/fusion/s-corea.mp3]S\'Corea[/url] -a tribute to Chick's Elektric Band. [url=http://audio.scottjonesmusic.com/mp3/fusion/three-steps-from-the-sun.mp3]Three Steps From the Sun[/url] -some elements of Japanese and African music with a touch of Bill Frisell and Mike Brecker. [url=http://audio.scottjonesmusic.com/mp3/fusion/give-it-time.mp3]Give It Time[/url] -a fast-paced short little tune, quite fun. [url=http://audio.scottjonesmusic.com/mp3/fusion/heartland.mp3]Heartland[/url] -a laidback, Robben Ford style tune I wrote the day of the Oklahoma City Bombing back in 1995. [url=http://audio.scottjonesmusic.com/mp3/fusion/one.mp3]One[/url] -a percussive, dark tune in 7/4. [url=http://audio.scottjonesmusic.com/mp3/fusion/from-nothing.mp3]From Nothing[/url] -a busy, keyboard chops fest. [url=http://audio.scottjonesmusic.com/mp3/fusion/think-about-it.mp3]Think About It[/url] -a Yellowjackets kind of vibe. [url=http://audio.scottjonesmusic.com/mp3/fusion/titos-time.mp3]Tito\'s Time[/url] -a latin fusion tune I wrote back in 1995, and later renamed to dedicate it to the late Tito Puente. [url=http://audio.scottjonesmusic.com/mp3/fusion/rise-above.mp3]Rise Above[/url] -a kind of Steve Kahn/Anthony Jackson vibe. [url=http://audio.scottjonesmusic.com/mp3/fusion/beast-of-burton.mp3]Beast of Burton[/url] -a tribute to Gary Burton. [url=http://audio.scottjonesmusic.com/mp3/fusion/eek-a-mouse.mp3]Eek! A Mouse![/url] -one of my oldest compositions/sequences...very hard to read down when I did these guitar parts...but, the title says it all. [b]STREAMING[/b]-these will vary automatically according to your connection speed...doesn't do too well with dial-up. [url=http://www.scottjonesmusic.com/demos/fusion.htm]Fusion index Page[/url] -It's obvious which are the new ones with guitar... Anyway, enjoy...and thanks for listening! Peace, Scott [ 02-08-2002: Message edited by: Sjonesmusic ]

[Dan South]

[quote]Originally posted by jeBus!!: [b]no critique on the songs ? :( [/b][/quote] They would be easier to critique if we could hear them. ;) Your lyrics are nice. My only comment is that you tend to used rhymes in quick succession. You might want to spread them out a little more. Instead of... I'm usually a confident fellow Always smiling, feeling mellow But up on stage my heart turns yellow And sweaty hands respond like Jell-O Try... Confidence, I show with pride Every knock, I take in stride But on that stage I face a fear That shakes me, breaks me deep inside And underscores my foolish faux-bravado I'll face the fear I'll face the fear I'll wipe it clear... It's showtime And there's nowhere left to hide An unpredictable rhyme sequence creates drama and tension and adds a sense of pace to a poem or lyric. If the pace is strong enough, it will dictate the rhythm of the melody line. This adds to the cohesiveness of the song and the congruity of the listener's experience. One more thing. Please find a substitute for "iffy" - that word's got to go. :D [ 02-07-2002: Message edited by: Dan South ]

[jeBus]

hmm thx for the support and suggestions but im not too sure how i would do what u showed me in my songs...hmm...

[Dan South]

[quote]Originally posted by jeBus!!: [b]hmm thx for the support and suggestions but im not too sure how i would do what u showed me in my songs...hmm...[/b][/quote] I don't suggest that you change these particular songs. I was making a general observation that you might want to keep in mind as you develop more material. Just get rid of "iffy" - PLEASE. :D

[jasonperi]

Hey, this is one helluva long thread. I guess I'd better get in on the fun. If you want to hear some high-energy jazzy blues... --jp [url=http://www.javamusic.com/jasonperi]Raw Blue Energy[/url]

[Chip McDonald]

[quote]Originally posted by Sjonesmusic: [b]Hey guys... I thought you might be interested in hearing these fusion compositions of mine... [/b][/quote] Scott - I tried twice to download your mp3s (one is a ram/real audio file I presume?) and my browser crashed both times - the second time after I had typed out a detailed review of 3 already... So I'll recap what I remember: Nice mixes on all; I remember a triangle sticking out at one point; the weather report thing did sound like Tribal Tech, that was cool - although I'm not a fan of Zawinul's synth sounds; I liked the kalimba-sounding theme on the "3 Steps from the Sun" track, overall it struck me more like a Marcus Miller-era Miles sound, I'd want the bass louder/punchier... cool off-kilter Steve Hunt synth solo... uhmmm.. Well mixed and eq'ed I'd say overall.... I'm leaving out about a page , but those are now non-associated electrons..... "!"

[Scott Jones]

[quote]Originally posted by Chip McDonald: [b] Scott - I tried twice to download your mp3s (one is a ram/real audio file I presume?) and my browser crashed both times - [/b][/quote] Chip, Thanks for listening! I changed the .ram file song "S'Corea" to an .mp3, that was my mistake...if you still wanted to hear it... Anyway, thanks again... Peace, Scott

[Mr Darling]

Thanks for everyone who found time to listen to : [url=http://play.mp3.com/cgi-bin/play/play.cgi/AAICQvejIQDABG5vcm1QLAAAAFJpxQMAUQEAAABDxy9lPNlTSJTg7A3lbaCC.ghagU4-/Lovers_in_the_City.m3u]Lovers in the City[/url] . It recieved 450 playes in its first day and got into nr2 in the [url=http://genres.mp3.com/music/jazz/latin_jazz] Jazz charts.[/url] Couldn't do it without you guys... :D thanks Danny [ 02-09-2002: Message edited by: Mr Darling ] [ 02-10-2002: Message edited by: Mr Darling ]

[spigotsaol.com]

[quote]Originally posted by popmusic: [b]Howdy everybody -- I've got a new song online called [url=http://www.waterslideisland.com/music/full_mp3.htm]The Real You[/url] . I played all the instruments on it and, if you listen carefully to the middle section, you'll hear my very first multitracked violin part... :eek: :D [/b][/quote] Very interesting mix of instruments. The first thoughts that popped into my mind were "angst-ridden gypsy." (WTF?). Cool accordian. A little mono-ish, but that may be the mp3s fault. I love the vocal sound. Frank http://www.mp3.com/spigots

[halljams]

Nice piece POPMUSIC. Strong melody and chords. It's got character, something too much music is missing IMO. Thanks for sharing. :p

[WFTurner]

Very nice POP. Both on the page inspired a nastalgic rush that I don't get too often anymore. And it's always great to get to hear work from someone who's posts you've been reading for awhile.

[m2]

[quote]Originally posted by popmusic: [b]Howdy everybody -- I've got a new song online called [url=http://www.waterslideisland.com/music/full_mp3.htm]The Real You[/url] . I played all the instruments on it and, if you listen carefully to the middle section, you'll hear my very first multitracked violin part... :eek: :D [/b][/quote] Hi popmusic. Nice song! The different colors were cool, the accordian, and violin, etc....Good job! :) macle [ 02-12-2002: Message edited by: macle96@yahoo.com ]

[not coaster MODERATOR]

Good job Pop. Cool little swells and back to dry on the passage leading into "the real u" Like the Euro feel towards the end.

[Dak Lander]

This is real rough. Recorded live, outdoors, onto a stereo cassette deck & converted from there. I went line in's with a mic on the ambient blended into it. Discounting the fact that it needs work, What do you shit kickers/folkies think of it? [url=http://www.daklandermusic.com/songs/neverdonelive.mp3]I Never Done That Before[/url] I added another version [url=http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/253/dakota_night.html]HERE[/url] I know I have to redo the vocal... [ 02-15-2002: Message edited by: daklander ]

[AliAlexandre]

I personaly like it very much and I am a bit surprised on the sound, knowing that it was just recorded on a cassette deck.?. If it was my song, I would however leave it as it is, with its "rough" character that fits well the style IMO. The guitar sounds good too. my 2 cents. Alex [ 02-13-2002: Message edited by: AliAlexandre ]

[Dak Lander]

Thanks Alex, I appreciate it. The cassette deck is an old Akai GX-M50. I ran the stereo out from my Carvin powered mixer into the line in & mixed the ambient sound into the mic inputs on the deck using a Carvin CM90E condenser mic on a boom stand set as high as I could extend it about 10feet in front of the right hand loudspeaker & facing center stage. The vocal mic was a Carvin CM68 & I think I used an old Radio Shack Highball to mic the acoustic. (1971 Yamaha FG-150) I've since gone to Marshall Electronic's MXL1000 mics for vocals & mic'ing the guitar & I will also run with pickups. I'll have to relearn the settings. Most of the stuff I do is the same in that it's live, solo & rough. I think your evaluation is pretty much right on. Thanks again for the kind words.