PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase Hometown Refugee (feat. PeterF)

Hi folks, it’s been a while since we posted a J&B production. This one is a departure from the upbeat love song we last posted - perhaps somewhat reminiscent of some the dark southern writers or the song "Southern Gothic" by Tyminski.

As always we welcome comments and appreciate your time to listen.

Janice: vocal / light processing via Nectar 2
Peter: Guitar solo, turnaround, fills and rhythm

Bass: RT 2877 Americana / Waves Bass Rider / Neutron 2
Drums: RD Americana roots (toms - no kick) Waves CLA Drums / EMT 140 reverb
Guitar: RT 2878 electric rhythm
Pedal Steel: RT 2866 rhythm

Equipment: Rodes NT1A mic / Scarlett USB Interface
Mix: Logic Pro X
Mastering: Ozone 8 Adv / Ozone Tonal Balance

Thanks to PeterF for the cool smorgasbord of guitar parts to choose from and to PG Music for making all this possible.

Hometown Refugee

you can’t go back girl it’s a dead end
don’t know why the hell I ever tried
maybe I dreamed of the invitation
or it’s another memory that lied

should’ve headed on never slowed down
now I’m a refugee in my home town

my old friends have become strangers
they’ve grown cold, dark, bitter
i see them circling their wagons
trolling me to pull that trigger

should’ve headed on never slowed down
now I’m a refugee in my home town

a courthouse clock with the wrong time
store windows reflect ghosts of past
parking meters stand like rusty sentinels
nothing lasts nothing lasts

should’ve headed on never slowed down
now I’m a refugee in my home town

should’ve headed on never slowed down
now I’m a refugee in my home town

nothing lasts nothing lasts nothing lasts

Hi Janice & Bud,
I love this, nice feel with the slide guitar. Moves so gently, outstanding production. Great vocals & Lyrics. I tip my hat to you both!

Hi there J&B,

Not familiar with "Southern Gothic" but I think I might like it!

Certainly, I like this track. In fact I love it.

A beautiful vehicle for Janice's super vocal delivery, making me shiver at the emotion in it.

Some delightful guitar from Peter and an excellent mix top it off.

Wonderful.

ROG.

Janice, Bud & Peter,

Every once in a while a song comes along and I think, man, I wish I had written that - this is one of those times...

This song is an absolute gem from start to finish. Janice has laid down an incredibly sensitive, strong and moving vocal - none better! The write, production and arrangement is beautifully nuanced and pro all the way. It also sounds like it was recorded / produced in a high end studio.

And finally, Peter's guitar playing should be turned into Real Tracks...

Outstanding from every angle!

Bob

Janice, Bud & Peter,

I really like the form you chose for this song- the verses with a simple refrain keeps it simmering.One of your best writes, Bud-sensitive & real.
Janice sings with such feeling ( particularly that wonderful "nothing lasts" tag at the end).
The guitar fills are lovely & absolutely right for the song.
Very,very good!

Robert

Glad you liked it and thanks for mentioning the production. We do appreciate it.

J&B

Ok! Listened through once, now listening again so I can take notes.

Intro is perfect and sets the mood for the song before Janice starts doing her cool thing.
Her phrasing always makes me smile, the way she sings "pull that trigger" for example, and "nothing lasts nothing lasts". I also like the way she will often bend up to a note, like a guitarist would do.

Speaking of guitar, Peter plays the perfect solo for the song, and his guitar work throughout is stellar.

Good job on the mix, Bud, just the right amount of processing on the vocal, and everything else sounds nicely balanced too.

Enjoyed the listen!

It’s great to hear from you! Thanks for the very supportive comments. And, yes, Peter very much topped it off.

J&B

Not as Country Gothic as Psycho but a dark side of the Nashville carpark or the Brownsville honky tonk.
The melody takes a couple of lovely turns that give it a lovely noir sense - particularly against the pedal steel.
Excellent embellishments by Peter.
Top Shelf folks.

J&B...What a pleasurable listening experience! This song is just what music ought to be… Easy on the ears, gently meditative and inviting you to listen again. I agree with other posters that the production is very professional and you made some great choices—style, tempo, vocal approach. Thanks for posting

Wow, all the instrumenst sound so good, the mix is awesome, Janice your vocal is top notch, The best song I have heard in a long time.

This is one of the best things y'all have ever done.
Each of you.
That's saying a lot, since everything you do is good.

The write is excellent. Both lyrically and melodically.

The production is exquisite. The percussion, the bass, guitar and pedal - perfect.

Peter's guitar is a delight. Simple and Right. Perfect.

Janice's vocal is goose-bumpily. (That's a word I just made up. Just for this performance). Maybe her best of all time. That puts it in the stratosphere.

The mix is so good you don't even think about it.

This is BIG WOW kinda stuff.

fj

Wow, super smooth.
Apart from the beautiful vocals, superb guitar (Peter!) we also love the very subtle drum sound!

Great job guys!

Rob and Anne-Marie

I had the pleasure of adding some guitar to this lovely production.
Thanks for the comments.

Peter

Bob, we have both been positively influenced by your fine Americana writes and productions...to the extent that I really wanted to "steal" your signature band for this production. But I resisted temptation Given how much we have enjoyed your writing over the years your comments are very meaningful and supportive for us. We do appreciate it! And, ditto, regarding your comment about the guitar.

J&B

Hi Bud and Janice
Congrats on another great B&J production. Enjoyed it very much.

Thanks Robert. Comments like yours make it all worthwhile! We much appreciate it.

J&B

Nice work on this one That slide guitar almost gave me a surfer rock sort of vibe at the start. The vocal delivery here is so passionate and soulful - a well rounded tune no doubt but above all else, that is really what drew me in here.

You should be proud of this one - thanks for sharing!

Just a beautiful song. Loved the lyric and the feel of the backtrack. Was mixed just perfect for my headphones. Just a delight to listen to. Janice’s vocal was excellent. Just kept you engaged with the lyric. Just loved Peters guitar work. Solo was just perfect for the song. The fills and embellishments just added so much to the song

This is really super smooth y'all.

I loved the simple production. Guitar is really tasty.

The production and sound impeccable. Great vocals as always.

Loved it!

Rog
Thanks for those nice comments.

Peter

Bob
It's a privilege to play on a track like this. Thanks for the comments on the guitar.

Peter

Hey, we both smiled when we read that about Janice’s phrasing. She can scat sing great guitar riffs. She does a mean Duane Allman Statesboro Blues

Thanks for mentioning the mix also!

Bud

Thanks Ray for the positive and very thoughtful review. Glad it worked for you!

J&B

Beautiful simple arrangement. I like how the drums are so present and still not disturbing the overall laid back feel. And the solo is perfect. Great lyrics with 'ghosts of past' reflecting nicely the decaying hometown. And top of it all, excellent vocals.

Janne

We genuinely appreciate your supportive remarks. And extra thanks for mentioning the production!

J&B

Hello, Janice & Bud, Peter,

Really nice production!
Super vocal and guitar!
The melody and the chord progression are excellent.
It reminds me of John Lennon's melody a little bit.
I really like the chord progression.
C - E7 - Am - Ab - C - G7...
I like the usage of Ab.
And I also like the blue note(Eb) at the end of the melody.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Best regards.

Shigeki Adachi

Thank you for the great review! You are too kind - but we’ll take it

J&B

Robert
Thanks for the comments on the guitar. I loved the last line as well.

Peter

Your best I've heard. Janice just shines on this. What a perfect voice for the music. And the music is fantastic. And peter was spot on with his guitar. If I mentioned all the superlatives that apply, this would be an incredibly long post. Excellent!

Alan

Thanks Dave I kept it pretty simple on the final take. It was a nice chord progression to work with (as evidenced by the lovely melody Janice and Bud wrote).

Peter

Wow J&B another great tune! This has such great feel to it! There are so many little clever twists and turns in here! I was almost to the end of the song before I realized there was no vocal harmony backing up Janice's vocal but it's such an effective performance by her that it's not needed! You folks have produced a super song here! Almost forgot to mention, Peter's guitar work is so good in here! it sounds wonderful! Thanks, Torrey

All we can say mr jane is that you have served up some high praise and we are deeply appreciative!!!

I agree 1000%!

If I heard this at a record store I would have purchased it right then and there.

Thanks Ray

Peter

Thanks for the great comments and your observation about the guitar. Much appreciated.

Peter

Thanks y’all and extra thanks for mentioning the drums. We weren’t sure how well they would work. We appreciate you!

J&B




Thanks Joanne!

J&B

Thanks Deryk. Janice much appreciates your comment on the vocal.

Bud

Thanks you are too kind.

Peter

Scott thanks for those comments on the guitar work. Much appreciated.

Peter

You hit on all the areas we hoped would would work well. Thanks for noting them and the nice comments about them!

We appreciate the time to listen and write a thoughtful review.

J&B

This is such a beautiful tune. Janice’s vocals are pristine, as I often say. Really loved the lyric, as well. Very relatable. Dig the percussion, as well. So good,

Dave

Thanks David.

Peter

What a gorgeous song. The mix is excellent and I love the arrangement and the vocal. Great choice on those drums and the slide guitar is icing along with that cool echo on the ending. touching. Makes me want to hear it again.
Well done.

Josie

I know I tend to use the words "atmosphere" and "mood" a lot; but I feel they are under-expressed in importance to a song. After all the "tech talk" is done; it boils down to the feeling a song creates...and My God this song does that.
You know why and how, because you did it...so, I won't go into it...but I was blown away. Right down to the changing of effects on the vocal to emphasize both the lyric and meaning via sonic revelation was fantastic!

I love this song!

Top notch creating and capture of a feeling from ALL of you. Thank you for making and sharing this!

Hi, Bud, Janice and Peter !!


Sorry to be so late to
comment on this wonderful
tune but I just haven´t been
around ! It is absolutely
wonderful seen from any aspect:
write, mix, playing and Janice´s
superb vocals too !

what a fine collab !
My congrats to all involved !

Cheers
Dani

Thanks David. We are all about simple productions! Glad you liked it!

J&B

Thanks for the comments Janne. I agree Bud & Janice have written some very nice lyrics here.

Peter

Thank you for listening and offering the nice and supportive comments. We're glad you liked the drums as we were a bit ambivalent about them.

We appreciate it all.

J&B

Shigeki, thank you very much. I must confess that the chord progression came in part from one of BiaB's song demos. And, yes, Janice really loved that Ab. And she was so happy that you mentioned her melody!

J&B

Fantastic and well produced clean, clear sound.


I heard a strong resemblance to an early Cher .

Thank you Al. Peter did ice it! Great hearing from you and we appreciate the kind comments.

J&B



Thank you Torrey for noting Janice's vocal. We discussed harmony but decided to stay with the very sparse arrangement. We are delighted that you like it!

J&B

Thanks Mario! We have an album release coming up soon on Apple Music, Amazon, Pandora and Spotify. But, alas, nothing for the record store. They do still have them, don’t they?

Thanks Dave! Glad the lyric worked for also.

J&B




Jose,

Thank you for the very thoughtful and positive comments!

J&B



Reading this offers us affirmation that perhaps we are on the “right” track with our gradual shift to more Americana productions. And, yes, ultimately it is all about the feeling - sometimes we lose sight of that lost in the tech stuff. We appreciate your thoughts very much.

J&B

Thanks y'all for listening and commenting.

J&B

Regards,

Bob

Thanks Bob! And also for the window into the appreciative crowd

J&B

Lots to love here....Janice's Bonnie Raitt vocal!!! Peter's sweet licks!!!, and some great lyrics!!! I particularly like:

a courthouse clock with the wrong time
store windows reflect ghosts of past
parking meters stand like rusty sentinels
nothing lasts nothing lasts

Great stuff guys!! Take care. Greg

Bonnie Raitt is one of Janice’s favorite singers and putting the two of them in the same sentence made Janice’s day! And thanks for mentioning the llyric.

Bud