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This is a fast write... a couple of hours in the writing stage. A bit longer this time to record it. The band is: the boys in the box, Steel.. 3 tracks comped. Bass, drums, fiddle, and that's about it. All guitars ( 5 total ) are by me. 2 acoustics, 2 grunge rhythms, and one less grungy, but delightfully crunchy and brighter. 3 vox tracks for doubling. Yeah one lead and the other 2 are laying low. The Road To Cheyenne I was thinking about some guys I used to know back in my early band playing days. We played a number of cowboy joints and some of those guys were the real thing. The "Road to Cheyenne" is a big rodeo event..... It's a tour for the cowboys culminating in.... yep you guessed it...Cheyenne. Lyrics: He was driving down the road in his pickup truck Almost out of gas and fresh outta luck Chasing the dream that he loves, called rodeo It'll be another night in a cheap hotel There ain't no hot water but it's just as well A couple hours sleep and he's back on the road again The road to Cheyenne is long and lean
The horses and bulls can be ornery and mean
They can change your life in the blink of an eye
The night is so cold it cuts like a knife
Eight seconds to glory it's the ride of your life
That's all that really matters ,,,, on the road to CheyenneThey say the ride isn't all that long Till you're up in the saddle then you gotta be strong When they pull that gate ... you're out there on your own On the back of a bull almost killed two men You wonder why you'd risk your life again There isn't much money and it damn sure ain't for the fame The road to Cheyenne is long and lean
The horses and bulls can be ornery and mean
They can change your life in the blink of an eye
The night is so cold it cuts like a knife
Eight seconds to glory it's the ride of your life
That's all that really matters ,,,, on the road to CheyenneThoughts, comments, as always are appreciated.
Last edited by Guitarhacker; 05/10/18 08:28 AM.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Sounding very modern and up to date.Really enjoyed this upbeat tune that carries well and is easy to listen to. Good one GH.Rob
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I definitely wouldn't have been able to tell that this was a fast write if you hadn't mentioned it! All of the guitars, by the way, sound really phenomenal! Great job.
Cheers,
Ember
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Herb, Superb slowdown ending. Guitars sound great. There is a quality to your voice that I find very easy to listen to. Your vocal here is fantastic. Good write and super production. Reminds me of playing the rodeos. At the Florida State Rodeo one year some jacked up cowboy rode his horse into the lobby of the hotel we were staying at. We didn't get much sleep that night! Great song and I'm heading back for another listen, Tom
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Journeyman
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Enjoyed the imagery in the lyrics. Really good stuff!!! Great upbeat melody. You nailed it and a quick write? Can't believe it was, so good.
Last edited by Belladonna; 05/11/18 01:24 AM.
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Thanks to everyone who listened and commented. Rob, Ember, Tom, & Belladonna...
I just reposted the song with a new version. Essentially, I forgot I had pulled the guitars down in the solo section to check something out and forgot to return them to normal before I did the export. To my ears the solo kinda sounded empty or sparse and seemed to lose some of it's energy and drive... so, I put some happy little guitars back in.
For me, I love to tell a good story in a song. And hanging around with a few cowboys back in my club band days provided plenty of songwriting grist. This isn't in a song yet, but one of the guys, a big black cowboy who could have been an NFL Linebacker in another life was in the saddle bronk competition. They score both the cowboy's ride and the horse's bucking. Well, his horse came out of the chute and didn't hit the first buck.... just ran around the ring. Of course that put him way down on the list with the guys that were bucked off right out of the gate. He got off and punched the horse, from the way the story was told in the bar, the horse fell down. I wasn't there so..... could be a fish tale too.
I've always had a thing for rodeo songs. I mean, really, what kid growing up didn't dream of being a cowboy riding the rodeo? Writing songs about it is as close as I want to be these days to anything that's trying to throw me off it's back.
The writing.... I think it was maybe 2 hrs of work.... and then a few inspired changes of a line or a word here and there. "Killed two men" became "crippled two men" because I think they retire a bull if it kills the rider. The more guys it hurts, especially seriously, the badder the bull's reputation becomes. When things flow smoothly, the writing is an amazing experience to be a part of and this was one of those times.
Again, thanks to everyone who listened.
Last edited by Guitarhacker; 05/11/18 02:01 AM.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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The fact you wrote this as quickly as you did is unreal - it definitely doesn't sound like it! I really liked the story behind this too. It made the words hit even harder. Really strong chord progressions, and a really solid vocal delivery too. And the kind of chorus that gets stuck in your head on the first listen. Great work here - thanks for sharing 
Cheers,
Deryk
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Herb, good one. Makes me want to jump in my truck and head up to Cheyenne Frontier Days, about forty-five minutes north of here. Nice playing and a strong mix of traditional cowboy country sounds. Excellent job. Keep 'em coming, Bob 
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Excellent write Herb, and performance as well!! Really a lot of craft in the lyrics. Should be a theme song for the rodeo crowd. Really great in every way!! Take care. Greg
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Herb,
Awesome song and mix. One of your best vocals - sounds great!
Bob
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Apprentice
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Very nice. Road songs. Road metaphor songs. Always liked 'em. And ye can't get more "western" than Wyoming.
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Herb,
A good story song and your vocal carries the energy. I like thoe grungy guitars and the ending is well done.
Robert
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Hi Herb,
Cool song!
The mix, in general, could use a little bit less high frequencies, but that's just my opinion.
I detect an Autotune effect, did you use it on the vocals? Because I'm looking for that specific effect myself for one of my songs.
Rob
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Thanks to all the new folks coming along for the ride and the listen.
RnAM Your ears are good but they fooled you... well kind of. Melodyne was used to correct the minor tuning issues on the lead vocal only. It is totally transparent. So you didn't hear that. What you did hear however, is the result of the comb filtering on the notes... I'm guessing on the word Cheyenne in the first line of the chorus. There are 3 vocal tracks there... one is up front and the other 2 are down in the mix, panned 50% L/R. And I believe I copied the tracks and nudged them 2 clicks L/R from the main. That gives a slight phasing or what you heard as AT sound. I don't use AT and didn't actually go for that effect either. I heard it in the mix but opted top leave it in there.
Interestingly, if you listen to George Strait's country version of Stars on The Water, there is a very definable use of AT in that song.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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Love the tune Herb. I personally like the mix except maybe the drum sound. The drums kinda sound a bit separate from the rest of the mix. But they're not bad either.
Very impressive in terms of sounding authentically Country.
Peace,
Ian
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Wow!!!, the production here is so well done, the guitars so well done, vocal is great, lyrics, top notch here!!!!
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Nice song. I like the lyrics and the story. The band is good. I think the vocals could be a little louder and maybe a little less fx on them but overall a very nice song.
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Herb, I was hoping to respond sooner but have had REALLY limited time to do so. I can't comment too specifically on certain things because I was only able to listen while I was driving. I gave it a few listens at different points and really like this song. I guess, sometimes, there is something cool that happens when we can't over listen...we get to just listen. To me, this seems like a song that I would believe I would have heard before. Not like it's not original, but as in, it just has that familiar feel and sound to it. I like that in a song. It feels like home. There is just something about your melodies that capture with surprise; but not in a beat you over the head kind of way. You are really good at creating interest. It's well played, well produced, and sounds great driving down the road. Sorry I can't give more specifics, but I get the feeling they aren't needed. You can bet I'm not done listening. Great job!
Chad (Hope that makes it easier)
TEMPO TANTRUM: What a lead singer has when they can't stay in time.
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Herb, This is by far by favorite mix of yours and my favorite vocal performance by you. The mix is really, really solid, and a great job with the dynamic range distribution. Really warm, but punchy as well which is hard to pull off. Kudos. My only suggestion is to bring the vocals up. You did such a good job with them that I think I wouldn't mind hearing them sitting a little bit higher up on top in the mix. There is nothing to "fix" in them--the sound is great. I think it is just a question of grouping them and pushing the fader knob on the vocal bus up a little. I say this as a huge compliment by the way. Crank those vocals man!
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Herb,
It's incredible to me that you wrote this lyric so fast (wish I could do that-usually takes me a couple of weeks to put together a good lyric). Great job with the guitars panning/mixing/playing! You always produce high quality songs and here is another! Thank, Torrey
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