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Hi Floyd.
Well, that's another place on my list of where to visit when I eventually get to do my tour of the US.
What a splendid track - a sort of rock salsa. (The dance, not the spicy tomato dip.)
I was waiting for Herb Alpert trumpets to perform the solo but got Jimi Hendrix instead. Cool.
A terrific mix in which everything rocks from start to finish and which nearly brought the Tannoys off the stands. Maybe more cowbell?
ROG. Thanks, ROG! Never considered Mr. Albert's trumpet (one horn song a year is enough - HA!)... was actually thinking more Bruce than Jimi on the solo... Always appreciate you having a listen...
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Floyd,
Having been a Tampa Bay resident for three years, the title grabbed my attention. Yep, you nailed it! I've been to all the places you mentioned but never in the bad ole days. It must have been wild! People still routinely get into trouble there but it's such a cool place and the cigars a still great.
Excellent song. I really enjoyed it.
SD SD - It's a great area (Tampa Bay) as long as the polar ice caps don't melt and drown us all... Ybor has had quite a transformation over the last 40 years. It's now block after block of clubs, restaurants, pizza places, tattoo parlors... mostly a young crowd - sort of Tampa's SOHO.. Thanks for stopping in for a listen...
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floyd, The real drums salsa choice says bongo fills, but to me it sounds like timbales. Kind of like Tito Puente or Sheila E dropped by Ybor to sit in with The floyd jane Band. I've traveled throughout the Carribean and Mexico and been exposed to the many forms Latin Musica. This is the real deal. Good job bringing in the Praise and worship kick drum later in the song. Many good lyric choices and you sing the heck out of it. Nice editing on the guitar solo. Excellent job on everything. Keep on rollin your R's and smokin cigars. Tom
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Excellent vocal and lyrics. Latin music has such a cool rhythm to it. Guitar was superb. Thanks, Scott....
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floyd, your song writes often remind me of my favorite novelists, i.e., the ability to write well about disparate subjects. This song is a perfect example of that. The location and it's ambience is unknown to many listeners but suddenly one is grabbed and shown this world via the lyric, the mood, and your vocal. Everything is spectacular. World class. If I created something like this I'd be insufferable! For you it's a gracious thanks and then on to the next one. J&B PS I like the drums/percussion 
Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more. If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks! Our Videos
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Really well done song, and interesting background story Floyd!! The Latin beat is infectious. The mix is superb. And, the lyrics are wonderfully descriptive and poetic. You traverse many styles with great skill and apparent comfort. Great job!! Take care. Greg Thanks, Greg. Floyd,
In my opinion this is your best song/arrangement/composition and vocal, so far.
First: the vocal volume levels are beautifully weaved in the songs arrangement. They are pitch perfect especially in the chorus.
Second: The (gritty) electric guitars work perfectly to roughen up the mix a little.
Third: The mix/arrangement itself has a very distinct atmosphere, also due to the percussion and the accordion.
The song gives the exact feeling of what you've been describing in your post.
It's a little bit different from what you usually do, but very, very cool!
Rob
Thanks, Rob... I really appreciate that...
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As you know I moved to Tampa in 1977 and although ours paths never crossed, we did have one thing in common and that was our experiences with Ybor City. Yours was playing music there and mine delivering Krispy Kreme donuts. I had thought many times of writing about Ybor City but you have done such a perfect job with this song that there would be no need of it. You have captured everything that needs to be told with such precision and musical talent that if a person had never been there they now have a great understanding of what it was like in those days. Great job Floyd! I love what you did with the Latin sound and it really brought back some old memories for me. Thanks for writing this one.
Sonny Thanks, Sonny. I appreciate the nice comments. I had a great time re-visiting this time and place. We left Tampa in '79 - then came back in '09... if you haven't been back to Ybor you would enjoy seeing what it has become since those days... Floyd
I liked everything about that one - the story the vocal the guitars and of course the drums.
You continue to push the envelope. Peter - I appreciate your continued support... you and Leon are pushing that envelope yourself...
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Wow, good song! Love the lyrics and performance, very much enjoyed the listen!
Couldn't agree more about realdrums. I've been using BIAB for almost 15 years now, first thing I would do with a BIAB song is scrap the midi drums and build a new drum track using loops. Very time consuming, sometimes would take a couple of days to build a decent drum track. RealDrums sound great out of the box to these ears, great time saver.
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Nice! The percussion introduction is very ear-catching, as in the guitar at the end (and your vocal with the reverb).
I'd been eyeing <BRAND NAME REDACTED> Blues Drumkit, but I keep reminding myself what you pointed out: BiaB has some really nice drumkits, and it's really easy to forget how much we've already got.
Anyway, fun listen, especially with the guitars playing off against the latin drums. Thanks, David. I have been playing around lately with a bunch of different drums "things". I have MIDI files from BeatBoy of Eddie Bayers and Nigel Olsen (a couple of the best "commercial" drummers ever) I have 5 or 6 CDs of "drums scores". I bought one of the Drums On Demand packages - because Tom is doing very impressive things with it... But they are ALL so time consuming... I then go back to the list of BIAB RealDrums and think WHY am I wasting my time on that other stuff???? There are times that I build a drum track to get something very specific (usually to open a song), but 95% of the time RealDrums are the way to go...
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Hey floyd, I haven't listened to the song yet nor read any of the comments. I've just finished reading the lyrics and I wanted to pass on some thoughts regarding those before being influenced by anything else. I LOVE the opening. What a fantastic initial image and metaphor... a very lyrical play on the word 'heart'... in the heart of the city
veins of red cobblestone ... after reading that, I was fully committed to finish! The next thing that came my way was just how outstanding your rhyme scheme is. It's very sophisticated indeed. (The phrase "floyd is a lyricist supremo" just sprang to mind. I pass it on for what it's worth ). (x) in the heart of the city
(a) veins of red cobblestone
(b) between summer heat
(b) and a spanish beat
(a) where many a pirate's been known
(c) laughing senoritas
(c) and colored piñatas
(d) twirl to the tourists delight
(e) latin girls so pretty
(e) but deep in this city
(d) plans are being made for the night
The rhythm of the rhyme is fantastic. I hope that people who listen to this song take the time to read the lyric aloud. It's well worth the journey. A great lyric! Ok... off to listen now... I'm curious to see where this goes. Back now... What an incredible creation! Not only is this a write of the highest calibre, it's also a masterpiece arrangement and production. In addition, your performance is spectacular. I'm heading back for another listen. This is music at its very best! Regards Noel Hi, Noel! Happy Noël ... I always appreciate your in-depth discussion of lyrics. Thanks for noting these... you brought up a very important note - the "...rhythm of the rhyme...". It is an aspect of writing that many writers never find (or have a sense of, for that matter). I think a big part of that is the amount of writing that one does... a few songs a year (typically) won't pull that out... writing with others who write all the time helps, too (again, a situation that few will ever find themselves in)... though often - as with many other aspects of writing well - the realization of that aspect is the most important step... I often talk about "how it falls on the ear..." - that is a big part of it... Thanks for dropping by - and the nice, in-depth review....
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Good one Thanks, JEL... appreciate the listen...
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Ay! Ser suave como la seda. ¡Bien hecho! Hiciste un excelente trabajo. Perfect companion for my Cuba Libre!  Regards, Bob Gracias , Robert ... siempre agradezco que tener una escucha
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Hi, dear Floyd !
This is one of your absolute best !
I love everything about this tune,
background, vocals, solos and mixing !:))
Cheers
Dani
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floyd, The real drums salsa choice says bongo fills, but to me it sounds like timbales. Kind of like Tito Puente or Sheila E dropped by Ybor to sit in with The floyd jane Band. I've traveled throughout the Carribean and Mexico and been exposed to the many forms Latin Musica. This is the real deal. Good job bringing in the Praise and worship kick drum later in the song. Many good lyric choices and you sing the heck out of it. Nice editing on the guitar solo. Excellent job on everything. Keep on rollin your R's and smokin cigars. Tom Gracias, Tom... Most of the credit for the sound goes to BIAB... Even an old Country songwriter can "do Latin Rock" with a few click... floyd, your song writes often remind me of my favorite novelists, i.e., the ability to write well about disparate subjects. This song is a perfect example of that. The location and it's ambience is unknown to many listeners but suddenly one is grabbed and shown this world via the lyric, the mood, and your vocal. Everything is spectacular. World class. If I created something like this I'd be insufferable! For you it's a gracious thanks and then on to the next one. J&B PS I like the drums/percussion Bud - what a nice thing to say... I really do appreciate it...
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Wow, good song! Love the lyrics and performance, very much enjoyed the listen!
Couldn't agree more about realdrums. I've been using BIAB for almost 15 years now, first thing I would do with a BIAB song is scrap the midi drums and build a new drum track using loops. Very time consuming, sometimes would take a couple of days to build a decent drum track. RealDrums sound great out of the box to these ears, great time saver. Dave - thanks for dropping by....and the nice comments... I was going through the RealDrums again yesterday - and, again, being amazed at all that is available - that we so easily seem to overlook... gonna have to give a try to some of those... Hi, dear Floyd !
This is one of your absolute best !
I love everything about this tune,
background, vocals, solos and mixing !:))
Cheers
Dani Thanks, as always, Dani!...
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