PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase (Leave the Bed) Untried - Building a song with BIAB

Hello Folks,
I recently finished a new song with a couple of collaborators - one in Wales and another in the US.
I decided, in early December 17, to build the song's structure, style and so forth with BIAB as a compositional tool I suppose as I'd not done that previously.
I had the chord progressions, an intro, some arrangement thoughts etc and the proposed structure in my head so selected a style and built the song from those ideas & was able to yay/nay as I went thanks to BIAB.
I used a pop rock base then added Texas boogie guitars.
Here's that bedrock...
BIAB Building
I only exported the drums to Reaper and set my self to record the rhythm guitars and bass.
I then found a guitarist collaborator who recorded and supplied a solo & some noodling which traversed the Indian Ocean.
Finally a singer decided to join the party. I had the lyrics and he did a little editing to make the words fit his mouth and created a melody which he recorded and sent across the Pacific.
A bit of mixing, some too & fro commentary between the collaborators and here we have it...
The Completed Song
(Leave the Bed) Untried
Andrulonis/cochrane
I‘m not going to ride
This train wreck anymore
I'll step away when fried
Yet wake up on the floor
I can’t rinse the past away
Nor erase where inclined
I’ll take comfort from mundane things
At least those I find.

Just coffee and old memories
For the bad old days aren’t gone
I’ll drink a toast to those who boast
Of sex lives almost [*****]
It's a long, cold time until sunrise
Lies wasted on the lawn
I'll not believe another lie
My heart’s already torn.

When the mood arrives
I walk around my room
I'll make my eyes dilate
And gaze into the gloom
Well I know that I’m quite mad
Lost now and long ago
When you and I were one
So far as I could know.

Just coffee and old memories
For the bad old days aren’t gone
I’ll drink a toast to those who boast
Success in Babylon
It's a long, cold time until moonrise
Lies cold upon the lawn
I'll not believe the tears I cry
My heart’s already torn.

When I have nightmares
I can’t see through anymore
I’ll light a fire inside
And open every door
I will throw my words away
Invite darkness in to stay
I lay me down but I cannot sleep
No matter what you say.

SOLO

I‘m not going to ride
This train wreck anymore
I'll leave the bed untried
And wake up by the door
I will eat my heart alive
Now that I’m inclined
Comforted by mundane things
At least those I can find.

Just coffee and old memories
For the bad old days I’ve read
I’ll drink a toast to those who boast
Survival thought they’re dead
It's a long, long way from sanity
So prepare for the ride
As of now I will not sleep
Not ever, by your side x 2

Ray,

The making of this song sounds like an adventure in its own right! Wales.... USA.... up and down over the equator... back and forth over the International Date Line... Wow!!!

The line, "Just coffee and old memories", really resonated with me. What a great hook for the opening line of the chorus. The minute I heard it, you took me back to the many times I've sat down with a cup of coffee in-hand and simply thought about the past (good and bad).

Some say that the proof of the pudding is in the eating. That seems to be true in this case. What you've accomplished by using BIAB as a compositional tool shows that this approach is worthwhile trying again.

Thanks for taking the time to explain the background and for posting the beginning and the end results. I always enjoy reading about how a song grew. It fascinates me to find out how others go about the craft of songwriting.

I enjoyed the journey you and your collaborators took me on!

All the best,
Noel

Thanks Noel,
The internet is a wonderful thing for a non melodic, non singing person like me.
James Dodd is a Welshman who has played on a couple of songs for me. This is the only one complete at present. The other couple are awaiting the singers to finsih their parts.
This is the 1st time I've worked with Tony Andrulonis. He's a chalkie in the US so we have something in common.
I've usually worked backward with BIAB - getting a rough draft into Reaper & them trying to get a Real Drum track to match etc. That ends up being hard yakka as my ancient Roland 505 drum machine has a slight wandering tempo issue which REALLY makes hard work for the Chord Wizard to lock in when I import the basic ideas.
That is evident in another track I'll upload in a while.
Well, working out & building the block in BIAB means I'll have a solid and locked in drum track and anything else I need to lift from the arrangement the program generates.
The song was inspired by a Janis Ian song - I'm a long time fan &, whilst this song is a million miles away stylistcally, I hope that some melancholy break through.
Thanks for your kind words.

Wow, this tune has changed so much, and it sounds fantastic! The punchy beginning really demands your attention. Awesome job, and thanks for sharing the journey with us! The vocalist also sounds like they were the perfect fit.

Cool rocker!



Are you familiar with stretch markers in Reaper? You can set markers on the drum track where the beat is falling, and then stretch and snap the part to the grid. There's a quantize feature that will auto-snap for you. Make sure you choose the appropriate stretch algorithm.

Very cool tune. Just loved the intro and horns. And when you brought the guitar in you had me. Super vocal and lyric. Well done

Ember,
thank you.
It did change a bit but that's cool. I had a solid base to start from with the BIAB drum track et al.

dcuny,
Thank you very much. I'll look into the tricks & tweaks you mentioned for Reaper. I was able to set bar lines in Chord Wizard but it didn't end up an accurate fit for the other project. I'm using the 2011 Pro version - I'm not sure if it's equipped with those features but will investigate.

Scott C,
You're a generous fellow.
The singer did a fab job on this. I had to do some extra guitar tracks to adjust the song to his phrasing but that's cool. It worked!

Good rockin' song man.

Ray,

An interesting story of how you go there.

The end result is quite nice. Has an early 70's rock sound - a little Youngbloods, little The Band and little Dead...

Really nice mix. Sounds like a classic track. I like your vocalist!

Enjoyed.

fj

Ray

Sounding good - I like how you have mixed this one - and it's a really solid rocker.
Probably my favourite of yours.

Peter

Thanks David,
I'll take that compliment & have it bronzed.

Peter,
Thank you very much.
It was a pretty simple mix for a change - perhaps that wa sthe key!
I appreciate your kindness.

Well thank you FJ.
I'll blend those influences into Young Dead Band.

Wow - what a tune! You absolutely nailed this. It is very reminiscent of the 70`s to me. I'm definitely getting those classic rock vibes here. It is perfectly catchy, and the vocal performance is stunning. The whole thing has so much power behind it - it almost forces you to listen!

Absolutely great job here - thanks so much for sharing

Like floyd said it sounds like a classic track.

This would fit in perfectly with some of the classic rock playlists we listen to. Great a bit of a Cream vibe on the intro.

We enjoyed the backstory...thanks for taking the time to share that.

Great write, performances, and the production sounds huge on the monitors. Excellent mix.

Kudos!

J&B

Deryk,
Thank you very much for your generous appraisal. It was, possibly, the fastest process from chord progression to mastering I've been involved in. Thanks to BIAB and my collaborators I suspect.
Tony did a grand job - it's the 1st "rock" song I've heard him sing - he did a marvelous job with melody & performance.

J&B,
Thank you, thank you. Most of the BIGNESS is multi tracked Fender Squire Mustang into a Marshall Superbass converted to Superlead. Each track double mic'd. I'm constantly amazed at how well the RealDrums come through in mixes. This stereo drum track has a tiny bit of ReaComp Master Bus Glue compression, a smidge of Wide Chamber in ReaVerb, (same verb & settings for any instance in the mix), and just a little tinkering with ReaEQ to reduce the high hats I think. Oh, special secret ingredient - SPS Vintage Warmer 2 - the free version - set to light driven tape.

Ray, sounds great with an excellent mix! Torrey