Any of you who have given your undivided attention to Ms. Belladonna's posts to the User's Forum should already know that she writes lyrics you can see, taste, feel, hear, and smell. She conjures up a sense a place, of time, and reveals character with an economy of poetic expression that I personally find stunning.

The lyrics she dreamed up for "Bottom Dollar Blues" were so electrifying to me that the music came to me almost immediately upon reading them. This is my second collaboration with a User's Forum member, and it was absolutely, positively, e-x-h-i-l-a-r-a-t-i-n-g .

Ms. Belladonna, you are an artist. Thank you for allowing me to keep the ad-libs!

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=1321235&songID=13686052

Style is _BCJO110.STY (Boom Chick Joe Train Guitars 110)
Key = Ab, Tempo @ 120, Meter = 4/4
8 bar intro.

RealTracks in style: 2421:Bass, Acoustic, RockabillySlapBoomChicka Ev16 100 (Dave Roe)
RealTracks in style: 2514:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking BoomChickJoe Ev16 110 (Joe Robinson)
RealTracks in style: 2513:Guitar, Acoustic, Fingerpicking BoomChickHighJoe Ev16 110 (Joe Robinson)
RealTracks in song: 433:Banjo, Bluegrass Ev 130 ( Scott Vestal, Soloist)
RealTracks in song: 601, Fiddle, Soloist, Train, Country, Ev 130 (Wanda Vicks, Soloist)
RealDrums in style: Country Train: a: Brushes Soft b: Brushes Hard (Shawn Soucy)

Thank you for listening, folks!

LOREN

Verse 1
She’s a candy, red hot
Fire whiskey, tequila shots
She’s waitin’ for me at the bar
Spends my money like a wild fire
Think I’m scorin’ but I lose
Got the bottom-dollar blues

Verse 2
Hopin’ she’s my Lucky Star
She plays me like a lotto jar
We cruise and smooze around
My ticker tape’s a-runnin’ down
Then, some final rounds of pool
Goes my bottom-dollar blues

(16-bar instrumental fiddle and banjo solos)

Refrain
Sunday church I’m confessin’
Can’t seem to learn my lesson
Party girls and booze
Give me the bottom-dollar blues

Verse 3
She always revs my engine
Sparing an intervention
I’m addicted to the night life
We live the weekends right
For her I’ll be the fool
With the bottom-dollar blues…

“Ain’t got no shoes…‘cause I got those bottom-dollar blues..”

“No gas in the tank…’cause I ain’t got no bank..”

“Folks lookin’ at me strange…’cause I’m begging for their change…”

“Think I better make like Dolly, and git t’ Parton from this hear woman, know whut a’ mean?”

Hey Loren, nice version of the song on Donna's lyrics. Really loved the brush percussion. Your vocal blended with the song greatly. Keep 'em coming!

Loren,
I like the way your vocal gives the train sound a jazzy feel... and the ad-libs at the end are nicely done.
Enjoyed!

Robert

Love this version. Really dig the acoustic jazz feel of this.

Nice!

LOREN,

Really nice job on that.

A very engaging vocal - a lot of feeling.

Nice musical bed for this. All well mixed. I liked how you brought the fiddle and banjo in the raise the heat a bit.

(I'm hearing the vocal panned to the left. Is that intentional?)

Well done. Enjoyed.

fj

Loren what a great take on the song. Really brought my lyrics to life. Music and vocal style adds so much to the story of lyrics. Thank you so much for putting your personal touch on these lyrics. I have been pleased and impressed by all the talent on this site.

Very enjoyable Loren.

Had the feel to me of something I might hear in a speakeasy in the 1920's.
You make the backing sound more jazzy. Good one.

Cheers.

Loren,

This is excellent! You've got a great voice - love what you did with Donna's lyrics. I really enjoyed this.

Bob

Super vocal and backtrack Loren. Excellent version of Donna's excellent lyrics..

Hello, Mr. Sslechta...

Yeah, that brush percussion really kept that country train rhythm chugging on down the track, didn't it ?

Thank you for listening, and thank you for your comments.

Sincerely,

LOREN

Dear "robertkc"...

Well, you can take the boy out of jazz, but you can't take the jazz out of the boy, eh ???

I wasn't trying to do that intentionally, but I'm pleased that it pleased you.

Truly,

LOREN

Mr, Snyder...

You're the second person who felt the song has a "jazz" feel to it . But...but I was trying to sing a country song (sniff, blubber, wail) !!!

But then, come to think of it, those "country train" RealTracks and Real Drums could be said truly to raise some jazz dust, huh?

Thank you, Mr. Snyder!

LOREN

Mr. Jane...

I'm particularly grateful for your comment about the "mix" because whatever I did to earn your approval I learned entirely from User's Forum members such as yourself.

The fiddle and banjo solos did "raise the heat a bit", didn't they? Had me clapping my hands to all that joyful noise. Should have recorded it.

That left-panned vocal wasn't intentional. In the recording audio track I selected "stereo" output, but the sound came out of the left speaker. Was going to correct it, hopefully, by playing around with the "audio in" options, and then re-record the vocal, but the first take exhausted me because I am not used to singing notes that high and --truth be told -- I'm as lazy as all get-out !!!

Thanks for your close listening, Mr. Jane. I appreciate it!

Sincerely,

LOREN

My dear Ms. Belladonna...

Well, thank YOU for allowing me to live in the world -- if only for three minutes and twenty seconds -- that your lively, finely realized lyrics for "Bottom Dollar Blues" created. Because of them, I discovered that I have another musical soul inside of me.

Most sincerely and respectfully,

LOREN

Hi, there, "RichMac"...

And yet another listener who likened what they heard to jazz!

Glad it sounded that way to you, "RichMac"!

I'm grateful to you for listening to it.

LOREN

Mr. "rsdean"...

Believe me when I tell you that Ms. Belladonna's lyrics inspired me to sing. They tell a story...that had to be told!

Thank you, "rsdean"!

LOREN

Dear "Scott C"...

Interpreting Ms. Belladonna's lyrics was a pleasure and a treasure without measure. What you heard out of me was what she inspired in me.

Thanks a whole lot, "Scott C"!

LOREN

Wow - I thoroughly enjoyed this! I love how you kept it minimalist, and gave the voice room to breathe. Not to mention, the groove on this is wild! I was tapping my foot the whole way through. I would have never thought something could be a little jazzy and country-ish at the same time, and come out this well!

Great work, and thanks so much for sharing

Thank you for sharing this - I LOVE IT!

NICE, Not usually my scene, but I enjoyed this one.

awesome s
ong so well arranged

Wonderful interpretation! Comforting and hot, country and jazzy and moving all the while.

As to the hard panned vocals, it is reminiscent of many classic recordings where elements were panned much differently than today. And I thought it added to the mystic of it all.

So much fun!!!

Dear Deryk...

I wouldn't have ever thought that, either, but other listeners posted that they thought the song was "jazzy", too. Who knew ???

It's tickling me to death. I've posted to this User's Forum compositions that are 99.9999% rooted in the "jazz" genre, and with "Bottom Dollar Blues" I was hell-bent on producing something that I hoped would sound like anything but jazz.

Nonetheless, music is about bringing pleasure to people, isn't it? And if the "people" say they hear jazz in what was supposed to be a "Country" song, then, by golly, you kin butter muh buns and call me a biscuit !!! Like the young(er) folks say these days, "It's a-l-l-l-l good !!!"

Them RealTracks were really chuggin', weren't they? Excited me as much as they did you...

Thank you, Deryk.

Sincerely,

LOREN

Hello, "gruverider", my fellow collaborator !!!

Concerning the "hard-panned" vocals you referred to, as I explained to Floyd Jane, it was an accident. I thought I had selected the "stereo" output option for the microphone's audio track, but somehow it came out the left speaker. That makes me either blind, stupid, or both!

Another vote for the "jazzy" side of the song, eh? So be it, "gruverider"! I think it highlights how well Band-in-a-Box continues to evolve in the way the developers refine the vast number of styles so that they lend themselves increasingly to blending, mixing and merging musically with each other. What the world (and us songwriters) need more of, right?

I hope you read my comments on your version of "Bottom Dollar Blues", sir. You created something incredibly unique, and unexpected, even, as Al-David commented.

The best to you, "gruverider".

LOREN

Hello, "cliftond"...

Welcome to the forum !!!

Glad you liked the arrangement. As I've explained to other listeners who posted comments on "Bottom Dollar Blues", Ms. Belladonna's lyrics were so incredibly evocative that it would be oh-so-easy to believe that they actually had the music coded deep inside them already, just waiting for someone to break that code and extract the music out of them. That's how striking and inspirational they were.

"cliftond", thank you for listening and leaving your thoughts about what you heard. Have you posted anything to the User's Forum that I could listen to?

Sincerely,

LOREN

How-do, Ms. Callie !!!

Hey, sharing is caring...about music, so I'm ultra-glad that you experienced the same amount of fun listening to it as I experienced producing it. Ms. Belladonna may end up turning all of us into her (willing) collaborators.

"Music is what feelings sound like!"

Truly-ooly,

LOREN

Sir "Furry" of BIAB-land...

How art thou, kind sir? Welly-welly-welly, hope I. Being as how thou art a man of many musical "scenes" thyself, 'tis no small pleasure for your 'umble servant to receive thy words of praise on the small and lowly offering of music I brought into thy kingdom to soothe the ears and make the feet move merrily to the rhythm !!!

Many thanks I shower upon thee, Sir "Furry" of BIAB-land!

Forever your most ardent well-wisher,

Loren, the Lowly

Deleted - double post. DUH!

Hi Loren,

Love it! The Train style * Rockabilly touch make a great combination. This song has what I call "laid-back energy". Nice vocal, too!

This is a real sweet listen - totally loved my listen! I'm sure Belladonna is real happy with this!

Alan

That was a cool one – well done! Great vocals, performance and lyrics! Blending the different styles was a really nice touch.

Dear Loren,

What a great take on the lyrics of Belladonna.
Really nice song with much jazz feeling!
You are undoubtedly a chameleon musician.
One time jazz, one time Bossa, one time with country blues.
Every one of them is wonderful and genuine.
Your vocal completely fits this tune.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.

Sincerely,

Shigeki Adachi

Bluage, what a cool sound you’ve captured here! I always love your vocals and there is really good lyric content here. Energetic and entertaining! Thanks, Torrey

Good morning, Alan and Ms. Diane...

Apologize for the late response. Yes, those "Country train" style RealTracks are a rush! The energy is there from the first note. I had hoped to make some music that took the listeners for a ride, so I'm happy you felt you got your ticket's worth!

Ms. Diane, I've gotten so used to thinking about you and appealing to the higher powers for your continued well-being that I enjoy it!

Sincerely,

LOREN

'Morning, Mr. Bliss...

Yessiree, the lyric content certainly set the song in motion! It was a hoot to sing Ms. Belladonna's well-told story of the song's hard-livin' subjects. Strange, but how much fun it was to sing about someone else's blues!

Thank you!

LOREN

Hello, Mr. Adachi!

Your comments are truly appreciated. The more I participate in making music, the more I listen to music of different genres, and the more I do that, the more inspired I become to "try my hand" at creating music in those other genres.

Ms. Belladonna's lyrics gave me everything I needed to compose music for them!

Thank you, Shigeki.

LOREN

Hello, there, "molsenhouse"...

For some reason, your User's Forum "handle" vaguely reminds of a brand of beer !!!

Concerning the blending of "different styles" you spoke of, if you were referring to the fiddle and banjo RealTrack solos, then I'm in solidarity with you. I wanted music for the bridge that would run that "Country train" right off its tracks!

I can barely wait to see how Band-in-a-Box evolves as far as the way the user could interact with the music-creation process. This may sound silly, but I imagine that in the future, the software could increasingly request more information from the composer.

Now, this is a fantasy, or course, but wouldn't it be the ultimate experience if BIAB's A.I. component became sophisticated enough to ask for answers to pertinent questions related to style and performance?

"Good evening, Loren! You have an incomplete chord progression in verse two. Would you like me to make some suggestions?"

Or:

"Loren, I think the drummer really is too busy from bars 25 through 30. Shall I instruct her to replace the sticks with brushes?"

Any old way, thank you telling me what your ears told you when you listened to Ms. Belladonna's "Bottom Dollar Blues."

Sincerely,

LOREN

Loren,

This is a very interesting combination of rockabilly and blue grass.
May I say that the tone of your voice slightly reminds me of Seal.

Interesting!

Rob

hi loren great energy on this peace and great use of biab vocal everything fit perfect thanks eric

Dear Eric (a.k.a. "F.M.M.")

I appreciate the comment you made about the "great energy" you perceived in the song. The RealTracks/Drums recorded by their respective artists make it fabulously clear -- in my opinion -- that the artists themselves play their instruments with "great energy" for the pleasure of us Band-in-a-Box users!

Thanks for droppin' by and givin' it a listen.

Sincerely,

LOREN

Dear Rob...

Ahhh, yes, what a distinct pleasure it is to know listeners who "know" music!

Yes, sir, you did hear "rockabilly" blended with "bluegrass", and, yes, again, 'twas an interesting combination, I agree.

When I attempt to create a song in BIAB, my ears are open to whatever RealTracks/Drums will make the song sound GOOD to as many listeners as possible, no matter what the genre.

I would have selected a RealTrack flute solo for the song instead of those spectacular fiddle and banjo solos, if my ears had convinced me that a flute solo added to the listening pleasure of the song.

Thank you for taking the time to audition and comment on Ms. Belladonna's "Bottom Dollar Blues".

Truly,

LOREN

Cool tune!! Some great lyrics! The live vibe is great-feels like an old live LP. Very well done by both of you! Take care. Greg

Greg Johnson...

Why, that was very nice of you to comment on what you heard as the "live" LP sound.

I grew up amongst vinyl records and remember how fascinating it was to put on the turntable an album that advertised on the cover that the performance recorded on the album was "live"! Made us feel like we were a part of the audience.

Yup, Mizz Belladonna's lyrics was a composer's dee-light, wasn't they !!!

Thank you, sir!

LOREN

Loren

A really strong composition with a good band (nice choices) and a good vocal performance. Interesting panning of the vocal. Liked the ad libs at the end.
Very nicely done.

Peter

“...music I brought into thy kingdom to soothe the ears and make the feet move merrily to the rhythm laugh !!!”

Well, make the feet move it does. Had Janice’s moving from the first note.

Along with the aforementioned influences we’ll toss in some early Maria Muldaur.

You took her write to a wonderful place with this interpretation. The arrangement and RT choices offer very effective support to your vocal. A vocal that is both rich and weaves the melody around the lyric in a manner that always appeals to us. We are always engaged by a vocal that doesn’t “follow the bouncing ball”

Well done!

Don’t wait so long for the next one.

Yep, we much enjoyed it.

J&B

Hello, "PeterF"...

Thank you for your specific comments, sir! However, the panning thing was only a mistake that I didn't know how to correct.

Listening to it again, however, I could make the case that by having the vocal track "on the side" like that, it somehow opened up more room for the music to be heard without increasing its volume relative to the vocal.

Any old way, I appreciate your focused comments on Ms. Belladonna's song, "Bottom Dollar Blues".

Sincerely,

LOREN

Dear Ms. Janice and "Bud"

Ha-ha !!! That was funny, quoting my response to comments "furry" made about "Bottom Dollar Blues".

My dear Ms. Janice, what could be better than receiving a compliment about a musical composition you listened to that made you want to move your body??? Ain't that what the pleasure of music is all about??? I believe so, and strongly. Personally, that fiddle and banjo solo made me want to jump out of my chair n' start to hoofin' -- problem is, I ain't such a good hoofer!

The Maria Muldaur comparison took me by surprise. My brother was/is a big fan of her music, but I haven't listened to much of it, so I'll try to catch up.

"Don't wait so long for the next one" Man, I wish I could pop 'em out like you and other User's Forum contributors. Really, I wish I could, because I hear music in my head (and heart) virutally every minute of every day. But aside from being lazy sometimes, and my sometimes highly busy job, it is difficult for me to let a composition go unless I get extraordinarily inspired, as I was by Ms. Belladonna's fantastically provocative lyrics. It just takes me a l-o-n-g time to be certain that the music I hear in my head is coming out of my speakers/headphones as I work on it.

I'm really happy that you two said that you enjoyed "Bottom Dollar Blues". It was the most fun composition I've produced since I started contributing to the User's Forum.

Always sincerely,

LOREN

Loren, What a great vocal performance! The panning was a bit distracting but you sang the heck out of it. Nicely arranged and definitely one of my favorite interpretations on Donna's fine lyric. I hope you continue to keep posting, Tom

Hello, there, "tommyad"...

Yeah, seems that the panning distracted a whole bunch'a listeners !!! It was mistake.

Thank you for your enthusiasm about by singing. Hate to sound like a broken record/broken record/broken record, but, Ms. Belladonna's lyrics MADE me want to sing them, 'cause they told such a complete and entertaining story.

I'm grateful for your support, "tommyad" !!!

Truly-ooly,

LOREN

LOREN,

This is exquisite!

I was totally captivated by the arrangement. It's amazing. That groove is as toe-tapping as anything I've ever heard. From beginning to end, my feet just wouldn't sit still and my ears just wouldn't turn away from the speakers.

Then there are your vocals.... wow!!!!

You're an incredibly talented musician on so many levels! I marvel at your expertise

All the best,
Noel

Very nice one; great performance.
Very enjoyable.

Sergio

Dear Mr. Sergio Guarneri:

It was created for you, and other listeners, to enjoy, so I am glad to read that you did !!! Ms. Belladonna's lyrics were hot, weren't they?

Thank you for tuning in, Sergio!

Sincerely,

LOREN

Dear "Noel96"...

I ever there was a toe-tappin' groove to be heard, it surely would be Country "train" style accompanied by Bluegrass instruments. And with lyrics as double-barreled as Ms. Belladonna's, the "fuse was lit"!

"Noel96", thanks for your enthusiastic comments, sir. If you're toes are still tapping, lie down for about twenty or thirty minutes and it will go away...

Sincerely-erely,

LOREN

Loren this is fantastic! I liked the dynamics and the mix very much. Super vocal!

Two thumbs up!