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Greetings!

After the last couple of more serious tunes I did, I decided to try for something a little more light hearted this time.

"It Feels Good When I Stop" uses a style called _TXBLZPN.STY. TexasBluesRck Piano wBand[120RS], which consists of the following Real Tracks:

RD: BLUESROCKEV^1-a:Snare, HiHat , b:Snare, Open HiHat :Shannon Forrest
RT1717: Bass, Electric, TexasBluesRockStraight Ev 120 , Craig Young
RT1718: Guitar, Electric, Rhythm TexasBluesRockStraightBrent Ev 120 , Brent Mason
RT1719: Guitar, Electric, Rhythm TexasBluesRockStraightSol Ev 120 , Sol Philcox

I subbed in "Real Track Organ, B3, Background Blues Ev 120" in place of the piano.

The horns were done with my EWIUSB, and the sax solo was played on a real saxophone (something I don't do much of anymore). The harmonies were done with my PSR-3000's harmonizer.

It Feels Good When I Stop

It Feels Good When I Stop

I was watching a man the other day
Who he was I could not say
He was running so fast in the blazing summer sun
I asked him why this thing he did
Because I feared he'd flipped his lid
He shook his head
And this is what he said

It feels good when I stop
This routine I can't drop
I can't help myself it's got a hold on me
It's like a bad habit waddaya do
The day I started is a day that I rue
It's one of those things I do
It feels good when I stop

A friend of mine lives with his wife
Two souls united sharin' a life
It's far from wedded bliss if you know what I mean
I asked my pal why he did fight
With his beloved both day and night
He shook his head
And this is what he said



Thanks for listening,
Dan

Dan,

This is excellent - really swings. Great vocal, mix and cool sax solo. Nice job.

Bob

Hey Dan,

This is fantastic. It really pulled me in. Before I knew it, my feet were tapping along and I was swaying to and fro in my chair (in a subdued kind of way in case people were watching)!

I completely agree with Bob when he said,



You've definitely got a gift for melody and harmony.

All the best,
Noel

• latest song: Walk With Me

Hi Dan,

there's so much to praise in this song I don't know where to start: clever lyrics, nice arrangement, outstanding brass fills, good vocals, nice sounding harmonies, stunning sax solo.
A groovy foot tapping song which makes you fancy listening
again.

Guenter

P.S. You should play your sax more often.

A huge +1 to everything Guenter said!!!

This is spectacular. The horn work is stunning!

Super vocals. Excellent mix!

... and those horns! OMG!

Is the brass ensemble a patch (an ensemble) that you played with your EWIUSB? or did you play several tracks? You have a great feel for horn arrangement - I can't even begin to imagine doing that...

Nice work, Dan!

floyd

You've definitely got it all going here.
The write is fun and the vocals nail
the feel. Great sax, horns and a mix
that to my ears is spot on.

Kudos!

J&B

Cool song!! Fun and clever. Horns sound great. What samples do you control with the EWIUSB? Really good vocal and mix. Very much enjoyed it all!! Take care. Greg

Thanks, Bob. I really appreciate it.



Thanks you very much, Noel. It probably helped a bit that I spent three years in a big band with some really good brass players lined up behind me. I think it helped me with things like phrasing, and just horn lines in general.

I usually do my listening in the basement where people can't see me dancing.


Thanks, Guenter. I'm very pleased that you liked it, and even more pleased that you would consider listening to it more than once.

I agree about the saxophone playing. My 84 year old mother was giving me a hard time about not playing it, so this solo is for her. I think (hope) there will be more sax in my future.


Thanks, floyd.

The brass parts were originally just a trumpet and trombone part which I played separately to give it more of a ensemble sound as opposed to just using the same track with multiple patches. I did multiple (many! lol) takes so when I was mixing, I took some of the other takes and transposed them an octave down. The result was 2 trumpets and 2 trombones playing octaves. It really fattened up the sound, imo.
This song was a bit of an experiment for me as I had never really tried to incorporate the EWI into this style of music. I wish I could remember more of the basic arranging skills I learned when I was younger. Makes me wish I'd paid more attention and drank a little less beer in college.


Thanks, J&B. I'm especially pleased that you liked the mix. I tried to spend a little more time on it than I usually do. This tune was a bit of a challenge for me to mix (well, more than usual, lol) because I'm not used to so many parts going on.



Thanks, Greg.
The VST I used for this song is called WIVI Band by a company called Wallander Instruments. It's a (very) EWI friendly VST which doesn't take a ton of horsepower to run. I think it's actually a combination of samples and physical modeling technology although I'm not 100% certain about that. It was definitely one of the better $90.00 I have spent on music software, at any rate. Incidentally, WIVI Band can also be made to sound quite convincing using a keyboard and a breath controller instead of an EWI.

Thanks for listening,
Dan

Hello Dan,

this is really well done!
Swinging, tight and steady. Professional arrangement too.

Rob & Anne-Marie

Hi Dan. Love this bluesy rocker.
Enjoyed the vocal, the lyrics and the backing is superb. Cheers.

Thanks, Rob & Anne-Marie.

Your kind words are appreciated.

Thanks for listening,
Dan



Thanks, Rich.

Enjoyed listening to It Feels Good When I Stop. You have a good feel for arrangement. Very much enjoyed the sax and horn work. Not much has been said about your singing but I enjoy hearing your voice and really like the way you mix your harmony backing tracks. VERY tasteful. The harmonies augment your vocal without over powering the vocals or intruding into your song.

Well constructed and performed.
Only one small thing.
I would cut back the brass over the vocal.
Good work.
Rob.

Dan,

THOSE HORNS!!!knocked me sideways in a good way, brilliant!!
Then the sax solo.

Oh my a wonderful almost Motown sound

WELL DONE!!
Thoroughly enjoyed that

Alyn

This is one that is over the top. Horns can be such a challenge but when done right they make such a difference. In this case you nailed it. All your hard work really paid off. I hope your mother stays on your case about playing the sax more. (Mother's Day coming soon, so maybe another one on the way?????)

Good vocals too. This was a good write, performance, arrangement and mix. Very enjoyable. I'll be going back for more listens.


Charlie

Thanks, Jim. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

I don't know if I should admit this , but part of the reason the harmonies are back in the mix is the fact that I'm using a harmonizer and not singing my own harmonies. Experience has taught me that if the harmonizer is too up front it sounds more like a robot and less like a human voice, so I tend to mix the harmony quieter than I perhaps would if it was an actual human voice.



Thanks, Rob. This tune was a bit of a pain to mix because of all that is going in. Perhaps the horns tend to bury the vocal in some spots.


Thanks, Alyn. I'm pleased that you found it enjoyable.



Thanks, Charlie. Perhaps a Mother's Day song with some saxophone would be in order. I know Mom would sure like it.

Dan, fun song. Great job on the horns. It adds a lot to the song and they were quite tastefully done. Patrick

Thanks, Patrick.

Much appreciated!

Thanks for listening,
Dan