Again just a question born from curiosity. I have seen a good number of collaborations on these forums and I wonder how many of them actually happen in one place with people in the same room. Rog and I have done a ton of stuff over the last 5 or 6-ish years, more often with him lending support to me than USA toward England, but I have done a few things in support of his music. Most notable was when his student group did a surf song and I wrote lyrics and sang it. Then his more recent song Take The Time I did vocals and wrote lyrics for one bridge. He has provided amazing engineering for me many times. I'd actually fly him over here for a visit as a gesture of thanks if I wasn't poor!!
Janice lends her vocals to a lot of songs but with telecommunications being what it is now days things are most often done at each participant's home studio. I'll never forget the cuteness of the video of her bopping around doing vocals for Floyd!
I did the one song with Mario, David and Herb lending guitar support, and none of us have ever met. I was hoping to get Notes to give me 16 bars of sax solo but it happened to be at his busiest time of year. Same with Jazzmammal. My piano part was a little sloppy and could be replaced by someone who plays better....
So while the software itself provides backing tracks, so do some the people here!! I'd love to hear stories of your favorite collaborative efforts.
Some of my favorites have been on this forum, about 10 or more I guess, one with you Eddie.
The way technology works, especially with poor little Band in a Box that never was really cut out for serious work [sarcasm intended, for the first time in my career, honestly] you don't really have to go into a studio together unless you want to give a bro hug, or a sis hug.
Which is always nice though, come to think of it.
Eddie, do you need a hug, man??
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
I believe that pizza you showed may be at a place called Talayna's in St Louis. If it isn't, that place has one. The deal is that if you can eat it in an hour it's free. If not it's $30. My pal and I went in about 2004 to try it. We were both competitive eaters then and they recognized us when we walked in, so they stacked the deck and made the crust thicker than usual. 24 inches in diameter, so think about taking on a pizza the size of spare tire on the back of a Jeep.
If you look down from above on the pizza, I ate from noon to 5 in 22 minutes, and then my brain said I was done. Good pizza. I had black olive and onion. My pal had pineapple and ham. So we ended up with most of the pizza left. We couldn't exactly bring it home on the plane, right? Se we went out that night to hang out on LaClede's Landing. On the way back we got White Castle burgers because the last thing we wanted was pizza. So we were buying soft drinks from the machine and a couple of kids came out of a room to do the same and when they saw the bags one laughed and said "And the food delivery is here!" And I looked at him and said "You want food? You want food? Come here." and took him into the room and we gave them the leftover pizzas.
I actually went to do a story on the place for a local newspaper. I did that one and later that summer I did one about Wrigley Field. The same friend came with me so I could say I saw a game at Wrigley. It was that day we learned that a true Chicago hot dog means mustard and onion. I ate one every half inning! (I LOVE being on expenses!)
There are steakhouses with offers like that all across Texas. Some even have a wall with 8" X 10" photographs of past winners.
When I was stationed near Lubbock, Texas one of the various things to do was try and guess which steakhouse the Texas Tech Red Raider (American) football linemen would visit to try and eat their way to a free steak.
Over two football seasons my friends and I guessed correctly five times and saw one lineman win one time.
Not on these forums, but on Reddit I've collaborated on a fair number of tracks by adding guitar and/or bass on a variety of projects from adding live bass to hip-hop, prog, and alternative rock songs, and I've recorded live acoustic and electric guitars from scores produced for indie films and video games.
I live in Israel and the folks I collaborated with were from the US or UK, and in one instance, Russia. All stems (and, if the other person uses Reaper, RPP files), are sent through Dropbox.
The world is indeed flat these days!
Band-in-a-Box 2024. Custom Build Desktop PC W/ Windows 10 Home 64-bit. CPU: Intel Core i5-9600k @ 3.7GHz (6 core x 6 threads) RAM: 16GB DDR4. Storage 238GB SSD + 2.7 TB HDD. GPU: ZOTAC NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB
Back in the early 2000's I was on a site called acidplanet.com, created by Sonic Foundry to give users of their software an outlet to post their music. It wasn't limited to people creating music using loops though, anyone could post music there. I did many collaborations through that site, probably close to 100, adding guitar to other peoples tracks situated all across the globe. And had people contribute parts for my songs, there was a percussionist in Brazil that used to do percussion tracks for me. At that point probably the most fun I had had in music for a very long time. Of course all good things must come to and end, and that site went down the tubes when Sonic Foundry was bought out by Sony.
From this site I have collaborated with PeterF, and also ScottC, and had lots of fun doing so.
And of course for the last few years I've been working with a singer/songwriter from Germany, she heard my music over on soundcloud and asked if I would like to do a song with her, and we have been working together ever since, 30 songs so far.
I couldn't help but "lol" at how this thread turned into food. Steaks are good, but I'm a seafood guy myself, having grown on up on the west coast it makes sense. Give me a plate of oysters and I'm happy as a clam (pun intended).
But yes, on the actual topic I'm very intrigued about people's experiences with collaborating on the forums too! Would love to hear some more stories
We've done over 100 collabs since joining the forum seven years ago. This includes co-writes, a track from a user created for us and us creating a track for a user. What is not included are the countless times that we asked for and received what I call "mix counsel." This has been invaluable as I've tried to transition from my years of playing only bluegrass and recording/mixing analog. From the get go floyd and a bit later Tom have generously shared knowledge with us. They've forgotten more than I'll ever know but it's been and continues to be a fun journey.
For any user of the Showcase forum it obvious that 90% of our collabs have been with floyd (our first and a man of infinite patience ), Tom and Peter. We've had the pleasure of meeting Tom and floyd. Peter is "only" about 9,000 miles away so we haven't met...yet. We have many things in common with these folks beyond just music collabs (as we do with the great folks with whom we've collaborated only a few times).
We've never worked on a song other than via net communications although Janice and Tom have sung together - most recently in a lovely National Park campground.
Bud
PS: Janice and I are vegetarians and have little to add to the food discussion But i will say that she can cook meatless dishes that would please about anybody.
PPS: The video Eddie mentioned (got a big smile) was a spontaneous candid I shot when Janice and I came in after a round of Hurricane Irma cleanup and decided it was a good time to record a track...work clothes and all! Little did we know...
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 are here on our website.
Janice and I are vegetarians and have little to add to the food discussion But i will say that she can cook meatless dishes that would please about anybody.
Note that the pizza pic I posted was meatless.... and that dinner here is usually either green pea or lentil soup, with a whole Vidalia onion chopped up in it, or a baked vegetable. Recently discovered farro, which I cook in veggie broth, and add red onion and split cherry tomatoes, mixed with a splash of olive oil and balsamic. It is awesome. $1.76 for a bag of farro at Trader Joe's! 1 bag is to servings.
Just a little menu tip from your ol' Uncle eddie!!
With the advent of the internet, collaborating via long distance is the way I have done it. Heck, if I had to rely on songwriting talent from this area, I'd have nothing.... well, except for David Snyder who lives about 20 miles or so up the road in Raleigh. And there's a few others in our NSAI Raleigh chapter who write well and in the same genres.
But even the collab David and I did, Whiskey For Breakfast, was done across the digital wires. I've done collabs with folks from various parts of the world and it just seems to work well.
I can't deny there's a certain electricity when you're writing in the same room, like jamming and playing live, but really, who here has the time and money to meet up with others on this forum? Just like in a real room, you either click or you don't. I've approached several here to do collabs and ...well, let's just say for the sake of civility, whatever the excuse, it didn't work for one reason or another. It is what it is. Imagine now if they or I, had to travel to Michigan or Florida or California only to find out that things weren't going to work out.
Long distance collabs are good. There's little to no pressure or deadline requirements. You have plenty of time to think about the song melody or the lyric lines, and you can bounce things back and forth easily.
In another forum site, I was in a virtual band where the other guys were in Texas (2) and California (1)...and we wrote, edited, recorded our parts, and sent them to the person handling the mixing chores. It came with all the drama of a real band, without having to hear the people actually whine about this or that. After that first song, I resigned virtually as well, from that virtual band. It was real and it was fun but it wasn't real fun.
So...yeah.... I'm a big fan of long distance collabs.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.com Add 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.
XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!
XPro & Xtra Styles PAKs Special Extended Until August 31st!
The XPro Styles PAKs and Xtra Styles PAKs special offers are now available until August 31st at 11:59pm PDT!
Ready to take your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 experience to the next level? Now’s the perfect time! Expand your style library with XPro and Xtra Styles PAKs—packed with a wide variety of genres to inspire your next musical creation.
What are XPro Styles and Xtra Styles PAKs?
XPro Styles PAKs are styles that work with any version (Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition) of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). XPro Styles PAKS 1-9 includes 900 styles!
Xtra Styles PAKs are styles that work with the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 (or higher). With over 3,500 styles (and 35 MIDI styles) included in Xtra Styles PAKs 1-20, the possibilities are endless!
Get the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Listen to demos and order now! For Windows or for Mac.
Note: XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
Get Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 19 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Listen to demos and order now! For Windows or for Mac.
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 19 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
Don’t miss this chance to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box setup—at a great price!
Mac 2025 Special Upgrade Offers Extended Until August 15th!
It's not too late to upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® and save! We've extended our special until August 15, 2025!
We've added many major new features to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®, including advanced AI tools like the amazing BB Stem Splitter and AI Lyrics Generator, as well as VST3 plugin support, and Equalize Temp. Plus, there’s a new one-stop MIDI Patches Picker with over 1,100 MIDI patches to choose from, all neatly categorized by GM numbers. The MultiPicker Library is enhanced with tabs for the SongPicker, MIDI Patch Picker, Chord Builder, AI Lyrics Generator, and Song Titles Browser, and the tabs are organized into logical groups. The Audiophile Edition is enhanced with FLAC files , which are 60% smaller than AIFF files while maintaining identical audio quality, and now ships on a fast 1TB SSD, and much more!
Check out all the new features in Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® here:
Purchase your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac during our special to save up to 50% off your upgrade purchase and receive a FREE BONUS PAK of amazing new Add-ons. These include the 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK, Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana, Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes, MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano, Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7, Playable RealTracks Set 4, RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark, and more!
Upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and add 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and 20 RealStyles, FLAC Files for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks, Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster, MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster, Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8, and RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe.
Learn more about the Bonus PAKs!
We’ve expanded the Band-in-a-Box® RealTracks library with 202 incredible new RealTracks (in sets 449-467) across Jazz, Blues, Funk, World, Pop, Rock, Country, Americana, and Praise & Worship—featuring your most requested styles!
Jazz, Blues & World (Sets 449–455):
These RealTracks includes “Soul Jazz” with Neil Swainson (bass), Mike Clark (drums), Charles Treadway (organ), Miles Black (piano), and Brent Mason (guitar). Enjoy “Requested ’60s” jazz, classic acoustic blues with Colin Linden, and more of our popular 2-handed piano soloing. Plus, a RealTracks first—Tango with bandoneon, recorded in Argentina!
Rock & Pop (Sets 456–461):
This collection includes Disco, slap bass ‘70s/‘80s pop, modern and ‘80s metal with Andy Wood, and a unique “Songwriter Potpourri” featuring Chinese folk instruments, piano, banjo, and more. You’ll also find a muted electric guitar style (a RealTracks first!) and “Producer Layered Guitar” styles for slick "produced" sound.
Country, Americana & Praise (Sets 462–467):
We’ve added new RealTracks across bro country, Americana, praise & worship, vintage country, and songwriter piano. Highlights include Brent Mason (electric guitar), Eddie Bayers (drums), Doug Jernigan (pedal steel), John Jarvis (piano), Glen Duncan (banjo, mandolin & fiddle), Mike Harrison (electric bass) and more—offering everything from modern sounds to heartfelt Americana styles
And, if you are looking for more, the 2025 49-PAK (for $49) includes an additional 20 RealTracks with exciting new sounds and genre-spanning styles. Enjoy RealTracks firsts like Chinese instruments (guzheng & dizi), the bandoneon in an authentic Argentine tango trio, and the classic “tic-tac” baritone guitar for vintage country.
You’ll also get slick ’80s metal guitar from Andy Wood, modern metal with guitarist Nico Santora, bass player Nick Schendzielos, and drummer Aaron Stechauner, more praise & worship, indie-folk, modern/bro country with Brent Mason, and “Songwriter Americana” with Johnny Hiland.
Plus, enjoy user-requested styles like Soul Jazz RealDrums, fast Celtic Strathspey guitar, and Chill Hop piano & drums!
With your version 2025 for Mac Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, Audiophile Edition or PlusPAK purchase, we'll include a Bonus PAK full of great new Add-ons FREE! Or upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49 to receive even more NEW Add-ons including 20 additional RealTracks!
These PAKs are loaded with additional add-ons to supercharge your Band-in-a-Box®!
This Free Bonus PAK includes:
The 2025 RealCombos Booster PAK:
-For Pro customers, this includes 33 new RealTracks and 65+ new RealStyles.
-For MegaPAK customers, this includes 29 new RealTracks and 45+ new RealStyles.
-For UltraPAK customers, this includes 20 new RealStyles.
Look Ma! More MIDI 13: Country & Americana
Instrumental Studies Set 22: 2-Hand Piano Soloing - Rhythm Changes
MIDI SuperTracks Set 44: Jazz Piano
Artist Performance Set 17: Songs with Vocals 7
Playable RealTracks Set 4
RealDrums Stems Set 7: Jazz with Mike Clark
SynthMaster Sounds and Styles (with audio demos)
128 GM MIDI Patch Audio Demos.
Looking for more great add-ons, then upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for just $49 and you'll get:
20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums with 20 RealStyles,
FLAC Files (lossless audio files) for the 20 Bonus Unreleased RealTracks and RealDrums
Look Ma! More MIDI 14: SynthMaster,
Instrumental Studies Set 23: More '80s Hard Rock Soloing,
MIDI SuperTracks Set 45: More SynthMaster
Artist Performance Set 18: Songs with Vocals 8
RealDrums Stems Set 8: Pop, Funk & More with Jerry Roe
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Mac!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! XPro Styles PAK 9 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and higher for Mac!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 9 for Mac & Windows Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 29 RealTracks/RealDrums!
We've been hard at it to bring you the latest and greatest in this 9th installment of our popular XPro Styles PAK series! Included are 75 styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres (25 styles each) that fans have come to expect, as well as 25 styles in this volume's wildcard genre: funk & R&B!
If you're itching to get a sneak peek at what's included in XPro Styles PAK 9, here is a small helping of what you can look forward to: Funky R&B Horns, Upbeat Celtic Rock, Jazz Fusion Salsa, Gentle Indie Folk, Cool '60s Soul, Funky '70s R&B, Smooth Jazz Hip Hop, Acoustic Rockabilly Swing, Funky Reggae Dub, Dreamy Retro Latin Jazz, Retro Soul-Rock Fusion, and much more!
Special Pricing! Until July 31, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 9 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea), or get them all in the XPro Styles PAK Bundle for only $149 (reg. $299)! Order now!
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2025 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box 2025 and Higher for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Windows & Mac Band-in-a-Box version 2025 (and higher) is here with 200 brand new RealStyles!
We're excited to bring you our latest and greatest in the all new Xtra Styles PAK 20 for Band-in-a-Box! This fresh installment is packed with 200 all-new styles spanning the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres you've come to expect, as well as the exciting inclusion of electronic styles!
In this PAK you’ll discover: Minimalist Modern Funk, New Wave Synth Pop, Hard Bop Latin Groove, Gospel Country Shuffle, Cinematic Synthwave, '60s Motown, Funky Lo-Fi Bossa, Heavy 1980s Metal, Soft Muted 12-8 Folk, J-Pop Jazz Fusion, and many more!
All the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 20 are on special for only $29 each (reg $49), or get all 209 PAKs for $199 (reg $399)! Order now!
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 20 requires the 2025 or higher UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
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