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Almost Forgot Her Name

This is a demo of two ideas.

First, BiaB CAN do pushes (despite my last song post), they're just not the pushes I normally hear in my head. So for this song I grabbed our latest lyrics and wrote a song using the type of held pushes that BiaB often does quite well. Have posted the BiaB chord sheet below.

Second, I used one of the new 2025 multistyles, and I like it a lot. There are six(!) guitars (five acoustic) in a perky acoustic rock style. Although this is a multistyle, I only used the A and B substyles, arranged the guitars in pairs (different pairs than the multistyle) and arrayed these pairs around the stereo field to create a pleasing (I think) soundscape. Have posted the Studio One track and console views below.

The production used a few fun techniques including a rear bus blended with the mix bus, vocal FX ducking, and bass EQ to cut mud and increase presence. Most of these can be seen in the pics. (THANKS RayC, David Snyder, and others)

Going for a gradual build to a big sound here...

Thanks in advance for any listens/input.

ANYWAY...

R.W. Davis: Lyrics
Me: Music, arrangement, mix, master, guitar fills on chorus, vocals(!)
AI: None

****** Song Summary *************
Title: Almost Forgot Her Name
File:Almost Forgot Her Name.SGU
Key=Am , Tempo 110, Length (m:s)=3:09
4 bar intro, 79 bar chorus, from bar 5 to bar 83. Repeat x1 chorus
Style is _STEELY.STY (Steely Layered Acoustic Rock)

RealTracks in style: ~683:Bass, Electric, PopHalfNotesPush Ev 120
RealTracks in style: 698:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm ElecRockDirty Ev 120 (A:muted)
RealTracks in style: 4700:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm AcRock8thsSteadySync ev 120
RealTracks in style: 4701:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm AcRock8thsSteadyLow ev 120
RealTracks in style: 4702:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm AcRock8thsHiArpPicking ev 120
RealTracks in style: 4830:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm AcRock8thsHiSteady ev 120
RealTracks in style: 4831:Guitar, Acoustic, Rhythm AcRock8thsHiStrum ev 120
RealDrums in style:FunkRock^01-a:Closed Hat , b:Open Hat
PRS SE Zach Myers guitar into Spider V 30 amp

I still have that picture
Her back to the camera
The smokes in her pocket
Standing like a Samurai

Her blonde hair hit the light
Shining off the canopy
I can almost hear her
Singing like Calliope

I would play my guitar
She would make up the lyrics
She’d get lost in the beat
Using pencils as drum sticks

The last time I saw her
She was getting on a bus
And she turned and smiled
And waved at all of us
She was going to the city
To seek fortune and fame
But we never heard anything
Almost forgot her name

I still have a feeling
That she’s somewhere on the road
Maybe riding a train
On some haunted old railroad

Perhaps she’s by herself
Reading some Henry Thoreau
Lost out by Walden Pond
Under the washed-out rainbow

I can hear her humming
If I close my eyes real tight
And I’ll lay there smiling
When I dream of her tonight
The last time I saw her
She was getting on a bus
And she turned and smiled
And waved at all of us
She was going to the city
To seek fortune and fame
But we never heard anything
Almost forgot her name

I don’t remember why we used to call her Ralph
I just remember that it used to make her laugh
And as she dragged on her Camel cigarette
I couldn’t help but laugh about it myself

The last time I saw her….

I Love it.

R.W. is Bernie to your Elton. This has That kind of dynamic.
The lyric is interesting and uniquely original - much like Bernie's lyrics were.

"I still have that picture
Her back to the camera
The smokes in her pocket
Standing like a Samurai"

Exquisite.

Like Elton's melody/music this constantly surprises. And adds to the lyric by doing so.

An Outstanding Production.
I listened several times to catch more and more.
Nice changing landscape of guitars.
Well placed drum flourishes.
Those pushes work! I don't think I've ever tried a push on a hold.
(I've always played a track with the push I hear and then move the BIAB push to match that. Mostly, I stopped doing pushes)

LOVE the added guitar in the chorus. A Man Who Understands A Hook.

The vocals and harmonies are a delight.

This is very well done.
Thanks for continuing to write and produce music. I fear the days are numbered. severely.

Damn. Good. Music.

fj

Innovative and very nice.

Great combination of the guitars.

Ron,

Wow! This is great! I love the write, vocals and production. This song sounds like it should be on the radio playing everywhere.

Your production notes are so interesting. Thanks for including them. The sounds you are getting here are pro-sounding.

A new favorite for me... EXCELLENT!

Bob

Very nice use of style and guitars. Nice mix. Bravo
Laurent

Very impressed with the ambition of this "demo"--and your experimentation with the different options available, in the new styles and with other BIAB features. Sounds like lots of work went into this, with a top-notch result. I esp liked the 'abrupt" ending--like losing a thought, or forgetting a name.

Geez, Floyd, this is the nicest post ever. Thank you!

We're both big fans of Bernie and Elton, so if a little influence shows, it is the sincerest form of flattery for sure.

I'm with you on pushes. This tune was just an experiment to start with what BiaB can do well and work backwards.

The guitar fills were the very last adds. Those spaces were screaming for...something, and the fills fit the requirement. I'm no shredder but I like a hook-ish lick.

Thanks for the kind words on the vocals. Definitely my weakest area, but I'm learning to compensate. Harmonies and bridges are my favorite songwriting puzzles to work.

Yes, I'm afraid that songwriting and production may soon be lost arts, sort of like calligraphy: Once MS Word and laser printers got so good, who can bother? Hope we're both wrong. At any rate, I'm pretty sure I'm going to keep doing this for the duration. I like to amuse myself.

Appreciate the listens and encouragement!

This is something really special! Bit different style and bit different vocals, but everything sounds so delicious that I would say this is your best. Some thoughts while listening:
-very interesting lyrics and the title is original, nostalgic feel with many nice lines like "Using pencils as drum sticks"
-didn't pay attention to pushes so they work seamlessly (and add tension unintrusively) without glitches I have had several times with them
-great chord progression
-what a catchy chorus
-love your warm voice and those sweet harmonies
-the arrangement contains excellent selection of interesting guitars
-I enjoyed how the bass & drums are mixed - the balance between low, mid & high frequencies is perfect!
-super ending

Janne

Dewey.
It sounds great to my ears. Punchy and clear as a bell.

Vic

Thanks, Herb! Yeah, those BiaB guitars are a lot of fun. Glad you enjoyed the tune!


Bob, thanks for the very nice review. I only have one question...what is this "radio" you refer to? I looked for it on a couple of streaming services but came up empty...

Ha!

Casey Kasem's Top 40 countdown was broadcast on our local, small town radio station once a week. It was a welcome window into the big wide world of music outside of our rather limited broadcast area. We stopped everything and listened to it religiously. Maybe better than some religions. Sirius rebroadcasts episodes Sunday mornings at 9, and I still enjoy listening to them when I remember to.

THANKS for the listen!

Great song, lyrics and production. I think the multiple acoustic guitars create a really soft but full backing for everything else to play over.

THANKS, Laurent!


THANKS! Glad you liked the demo. Though it turned out nice enough, it wasn't really LOTS of work, just the normal amount. I'd guess four hours over two days, most of that on the vocals. (I'm not a gifted vocalist, to put it kindly) Maybe another two hours listening to different versions while walking or driving, since that's where I plan my harmonies, guitar parts and final mix choices. Yeah, the ending is as unresolved as the narrator's lingering affection. Love these lyrics...

Wow, really well done, Ron!

Excellent lyric, and I really like your vocal too.

Question: does R.W. provide you with a lyric and you write the music around that? Or do you provide him with a bed and he comes up with the melody and lyric?

Enjoyed very much, just what I needed for my first coffee of the day

Wow, this is so unique! Great lyrics and well sung. The pushes work really well. A perfect choice of styles. Nicely done.

Never got her name, but didn't she work in accounting. R.W. Davis is one super lyricist. Man, this is such a good song on so many levels. Words, melody, harmony, and what a sensational mix. Excellent vocals. Everything in there is so well placed. Love it, Ron.

Hi, Janne. THANKS for sharing your thoughts on this tune. The lyrics are new ones by my lyricist. He spoils me with wicked cool stuff. The pushes show up as the held chord at the end of each verse and pre-chorus, and twice on each chorus. You're right, they are artifact free and very musical to my ears. The chord progression was written on a guitar in standard tuning, and I took advantage of an open high E string for chords like Fmaj7 and G6. It's a cool sound on guitar and BiaB did a decent job with it. Glad you like the chorus. I started getting goosebumps when I was singing it, always a good sign. Am blushing at any reference to my vocals, but...THANK YOU. The harmonies jumping around between the 3rd, the 5th and the octave were a lot of fun and helped develop the overall dynamic flow. I like harmonies that go somewhere, if that makes sense. Yes, those BiaB guitars are very rich and give an arranger a lot of options. The bass and drums are EQ'd, and the drumkit has a multiband compressor. Wanted the sound to be heavy but not a distraction, so encouraging to get your feedback. The unresolved final chord with the guitar fill's discordant bend seemed like a cute way to reflect the narrator's lack of closure. Glad you liked it! THANKS again!!!

Ron, you two really have a hit on your hands with this one.
Outstanding vocal
Great lyrics
Super backing band
This sounds like it was recorded in a professional studio.
Loved it

THANKS, Vic! Glad the sonic qualities worked for you. I use multiple sound sources to audition and tweak the masters so that most folks will have a distraction free listening experience.

FWIW, I've been thinking about changing my name from "Ron" to "Dewey". Such a cool name. Not yet though...

Ha!

Thanks, Dave! Glad you liked the tune. The lyrics are always provided up front and I take it from there. The lyrics I post on this forum are pasted from the original lyrics sheet, and I never change them, although I may reuse lyrics like choruses or title lines to fill out the song. I may also add BGVs that have related vocals, like a call and response. If I have a musical idea that I've been working on I'll sometimes browse the backlog of lyrics-that-aren't-yet-songs for a candidate. He's VERY prolific, though I've worked through the backlog a couple of times. We've done well over a thousand songs at this point, as crazy/absurd as that sounds...

Thanks, Chay. Very cool that BiaB provided so many guitar tracks in one style that combine in so many interesting ways. The one chugging electric guitar provides a nice edgy accent when needed. Glad you liked the tune!