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Well ... a bluegrass number plus a drummer. I told the drummer that bluegrass doesn't have drums, but he said his contract was to play on all the songs. I guess everyone was union, because they all started singing "Joe Hill", so I had to relent and let him play. The other problem was the guitar solos. I wanted to play the solo even though the band's picker was way above me. However, he knew that I had "creative license" here -- it was my CD and if I wanted to play guitar, I could. To make things smoother, though, I gave him the second solo. In any case, I thought it turned out OK. Seriously, I need some more work on my solo -- this tune is at 115 bpm and most fast bluegrass tunes clip along at a much higher rate. I couldn't keep up. I probably took 2 hours of playing to come up with my 15 seconds -- and I'm still not happy with it. I do have until the end of February to keep trying though!. Probably will try and re-do a couple of vocal parts that are off. MP3: http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6137590Kevin ****************************************************** Won and Lost(c) Kevin Emmrich, Paul T Wentworth 2009The Band: Kevin Emmrich: vocals, acoustic guitar *Andy Leftwich: fiddles and mandolin PG Music: acoustic guitars and drums *Dow Tomlin: bass *Scott Vestal: banjos *Wanda Vick: banjo Wasting our lives singing all these crazy songs but it makes me laugh and I feel I belong Telling stories of the times we have had but I guess you know it's never, ever been that bad (Chorus) but now I have won and I have lost And I've gotten this far now at such a little cost and we're laughing all the way, making up these things we say and I hope that they portray, this magic we call our lives (Hot Break 1) Well sometimes life doesn’t go as you've planned And you're left dealing with these things that you just don't understand But it's such a great day and it's such a great way that it's worth all the dues that you might have to pay (Chorus) but now I have won and I have lost And I've gotten this far at such a little cost We’re laughing all the way, making up these things we say and I hope that they portray, this magic we call our lives (Hot Break 2) Now I’m sitting here writing, just like yesterday My wife she’s laughing but she loves me anyway I don’t worry about what tomorrow will bring ‘cause I’m in love and I’ve got my songs to sing (Chorus) Now, I have won and now I have lost And I've gotten this far at such a little cost We’re laughing all the way, making up these things we say and I hope that they portray, this magic we call our lives ... and I will always love you * Andy Leftwich, Dow Tomlin, Scott Vestal and Wanda Vick courtesy of PG Music.
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Needs more cowbell.
Seriously, datsa nice stuff!
--Mac
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Journeyman
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Great effort! That was some good pickin'. You did a great mix on the instruments and vocals. More!!! I will need a place to post some of mine soon, is that Soundclick the way to go? Is it free? I'm not too nuts about Myspace.
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Years ago there was a music store in an old building with big front porch outside a little town in Tennessee. On Sat nights in the summer it was lawn chairs in the parking lot and good bluegrass pickin' and grinnin' on that big ole porch.
Your song brought back nice memories. Good job.
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Wow Kevin, I'd love to come to a party at your place....it'd be a hoot if that 's the sort of music you play!
Cheers,
Keith
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Kevin, this is a real toe-tapper!
Good one – it’s a keeper.
Life is short so make sure you spend as much time as possible on the Internet arguing with strangers.
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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 Good energy feel, Kevin. Even after two hours work your guitar solo sounds pretty spontaneous - I wouldn't tweak it to death. Good production, mix but what I might be tempted to suggest would be to pull down your instrumentation during the verses and ride 'em up again for each chorus and solo. All RT's, eh? Except where noted? If so, then I'm impressed and maybe I'll start to get me some of those RTs after all. Cheers
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Wonderful effort, re: the drums . . . Like you I have been schooled not to have a drummer in a "real" bluegrass band but my audiences love a beat, a pronounced beat, so that is a rule I break quite often.
Nice Work!
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Mac: Thanks, I somehow stumbled upon slash chords to get that moving bass. I enjoy all your answers to all the various threads. I often find myself saying ... "What did Mac say about that?" and go searching. Thanks for your ongoing contributions. Luvs3rds: Soundclick is great for putting songs up so that folks can listen and download. You can put unlimited songs up there and it's free (if you can live with 128kbs quality). I'm doing the www.rpmchallenge.com thing this year again and 10/12 songs on the CD will be predominately BIAB backings with vocals and guitar added. I won't drown this board with all the tunes, but I'll post a hardcore country song, a blues song and a rockish song up when they are done. Sundance : Bluegrass picking is fun -- when it's done right! I have a few Steve Kaufman books/CDs, but I am too lazy to get really good at it. Bluegrass is technically challenging -- wild scale pattern runs while keeping the melody in mind, all at a breakneck speed. I need to practice (LOL!). Keith: Thanks for the kind words. It's fun -- even though this one is a little "slow" for fast bluegrass! Mario: Thanks for stopping by and listening. I am definitely enjoying BIAB and Realtracks. Ian: Good idea on the volume levels. I can split those files, drop the section during the verse by a couple of db's and voila! Yes, it it all RT's except for my one short guitar break. The RT guitar solo sounded better than me, but I wanted to be a part of the fun, even if the music suffered (ha, ha). Danny: Percussion is as much a part of bluegrass as anything else: foot stomps, hand claps, knee slaps, sticks/spoons, washboards... No reason for drums not to be in there! I think that the "tradition" of no drums is misguided, but I don't get to make the rules -- except on my stuff! Thanks to all for listening and commenting. Kevin
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Kevin, very, very nice liked it a lot.
Yeah, I've heard that "no drums in bluegrass" thing before. (Like "no crying in baseball.")
I've also personally been told "no 12-string guitars in bluegrass." 
To me, there are no rules in music (other than does it sound good).
There's one thing about the cut that's just a little off and I can't quite exactly put my finger on it. It seems maybe that the vocal doesn't quite sit in the mix if you know what I mean. The instruments seem a little too pushed into the background during the vocals and kinda blend together instead of each being distinct.
Hope that helps. - Mark
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FirstBassman: Thanks for coming by. That's good feedback. I'm beginning to think that the vocals might a slightly too out-front (or loud) compared to the backing instruments. As too clearing up the instruments -- I am probably at my limit of expertise here (LOL!), so I'll just tweak the vocals to make them part of the band a little better.
Thanks,
Kevin
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Gotta say............
I like it. wouldn't change too much if anything.
toucher
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kevin,
shades of ricky skaggs in the vox. nice effort over all. please keep 'em comin'
if you and keith from oz ever collaborate on one that would really be awesome.
good on yah, mate!
don
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Hi Kevin,
I think the outstanding thing on this is the lyrics and the sweet sentiments you have put down. Don't let the music cover them up, in my opinion. My thought on the drums was I wanted to hear them less in the beginning and as the song went on it seemed like they did fade back a bit. All around good job!
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Howard
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Hi Kevin
You have shown what can be done with realtracks and your own playing the whole tune sounds excellent as this is your first don`t spend to much time tring to make it perfect go on to the next and use your knowledge to make the next one a little better( it does not need vast amounts of changes anyway) otherwise you get bogged down
In all the music i do i try to do it in one go as i found that trying to get things right you end up making mistakes closer and closer to the begining and in the finish you make a bummer on the first note you play,after a few dozen you find you get it right every time and then all you have to do is mix it
sounds really good and we exspect loads more like this, keep at it
regards Dave Hoskins
I always play the right notes but not always in the right order
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OK, I've got another one to post -- but I am waiting for "Poplar Drive" to drop off page 1 -- I don't want to have more than 2 songs on Page 1 at any given time (LOL!).
Toucher: Thanks for the listen and comments.
Don: I'll have to Keith From Oz's stuff and see what he's up to. Thanks for stopping by.
PeteG: I still have a final mixing session before I send the CD out at the end of the month. I'll check that drum volume then. Maybe it would be a good idea to "slip" it in a little more.
Howard: Thanks for listening!
jazzband: Advice sounds good. Thanks for coming by and commenting.
Kevin
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A good song, like they say, a real foot tapper.
Could you tell me a little about how you arranged your Mic(s) when you recorded the song?
Best regards
Tono
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Kevin - this is a really cool BG tune! nice work from all involved!
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Tono: I used a MXL V63M condenser mic through a Art TubeMP pre-amp. For vocals, I just set it up with a handmade pop filter and I am 6-8 inches away. Sometime I stand, but I have noticed that I am more consistent (volume-wise) sitting down. The acoustic guitar uses the same mic and I have the mic about 10-12 inches away, trying to point at around the 12th fret -- although I am not that consistent, there. Glad you liked it.
Beagle: PG's BIAB is a lot of fun. I've had BIAB for a long time -- but I never used until the real tracks came along (BIAB 2009 for me).
Kevin
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Last Chance! The Band-in-a-Box® 2026 for Mac® Special Ends Today (May 31, 2026) at 11:59pm PDT!
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