PG Music Home Forums General Discussion User Showcase My Comfort Zone (w/ Drums by HearToLearn)

The story...
While doing the production for this song, there was one measure of the drum track that I could NOT get to work the way I wanted.

So I asked Caaron (HearToLearn) if he would play drums for me.
He said "Sure!".
Cool.
There are few things better than having a drum track played specifically for your song!!!
(Headphones or earbuds to hear all the nuances of the performance)
Kind of neat to have the drum set on 8 separate tracks to work with...
...and, at times, a lot to handle...
A bit out of my comfort zone, you might say...

I also asked Janice Merritt to join in.
Singing. Not drumming.
She is always in her comfort zone.

MY COMFORT ZONE

i might have a beer or two
but i don't ever get too wild
the party scene unsettles me
gettin' crazy ain't my style
but all of that began to change
when i met Debra Ann
she makes me question everything
including who i am

   she takes me out
   of my comfort zone
   scares me little
   if the truth be known
   punk and proud
   loose and loud
   always speaks her mind
   making waves
   never plays it safe
   she's gotta cross that line
   she ain't happy
   until i'm thrown
   out of my comfort zone

i'm guarded, i'm careful
steady on my feet
gotten where i just don't trust
when my heart skips that beat
but she hit me hard
like some runaway train
her kiss, her touch
driving me insane


The BAND:

RealTracks in style: 1255:Bass, Electric, PopShiningA-B Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 1253:Bass, Electric, PopShiningHeld Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 388:Bass, Electric, Metal Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 632:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm PopAmericanMuted Ev 120
RealTracks in style: 1259:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm PopShiningRockA-B Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 698:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm ElecRockDirty Ev 120 (A:muted)
RealTracks in song: 2688:Guitar, Electric, Soloist RockBrentSimple Ev 120
RealTracks in song: 2690:Guitar, Electric, Soloist Slow16thsPopBrentSimple Ev16 075
BIAB Cowbell Loop
Held guitar loops from Studio One

Drums: Forum member HearToLearn (Caaron)

Harmonies: the janettes (Janice Merritt and fj)
(Janice's harmony is, of course, recorded by Bud Merritt - his comfort zone)


Big, Big Thanks to HTL & J&B!!

We all hope that you enjoy this.
(At least I think we all do).
Comments welcome (and encouraged).



Have at it.

fj

Floyd and Caaron,

This is really cool. Great momentum and drive--and great driving song. Really fun. Super backing by Janice as usual.

The drum mix in the right and left channels, with all of that separation, is awesome. True ear candy.

Great job guys.

Happy July.

I agree 100% about nothing like having a real drummer on your track! Man, what a great sound! You can do some amazing things with realdrums/ezdrummer2, etc., but nothing beats the real thing, assuming the drummer is a good player, and Caaron is great in my book. Not to mention they are very well recorded, not easy to do.

Great song too of course! Nice dynamics and production. Wasn't sure if I liked that hard left panned guitar at first, but it grew on me.

Vocals are great, and the janettes always deliver the goods.

Great stuff, listened a couple of times.

Man...
You guys really deliver on the goods...
Congratulations to all of you for a job well done!

floyd, Caaron, Janice

This belongs on the PG Music Greatest Hits Album - or perhaps their Hall of Fame.

Amazing how adding real performances to the Real Tracks can create such a vibrant engaging sound.
Regarding those performances, firstly it's a strong song expertly written with wonderful vocals from you and Janice (no surprise there) and it's the first time I've heard real drums mixed in on the user forum - and Caaron sounds great.

Excellent.

Peter

What a tune! You really delivered on this one. Incredibly catchy, vocals that are stunning and concise, and some fantastic chord progressions. The mix job is stunning as well. The little guitar licks that come in and out in the background add a ton of character.

You should be proud of this one - thanks for sharing

Floyd,
Snappy well written song with absolutely clear high energy vocals to match.
Yeah, those 8 drum tracks are spectacular.
Excellent job to all on this.

Robert

Working with tracks from a full and well recorded drum kit is intimidating BUT a great learning curve. I found going from eight track, full kit of specially recorded drums to RealDrums very challenging as well. The flexibility of multitrack drums is hard to beat and you did a sterling job with a very well played and recorded kit.
Cool song, cool harmonies and a well judged set of bass parts to work with the kit.
Excellent!

Well if it was enough to drag you outta wherever you been hidin'...that's good enough for me And we Thank you!

I'm no sound engineer. You might have had a little too much fun with them (don't know), but I didn't have that feeling of being a little man in the middle of a drum kit on the phones.

Like the song. The band moves things along well and your impeccable phrasing delivers a fun lyric. Mine definitely took me out of mine, but I return the favor sometimes too. Vocals and harmonies top-notch. Hats off the the Janettes. Much enjoyed.

WOW, what a tune, and some great thumpin' drums!!! Great sounding track, and a very crafted, fun write by a forum master! You know, it has become clear that our own FJ, an apparently mild-mannered, soft-spoken, wizard tunesmith must have known a lot of wild women, since that is one of his favorite writing themes.....good for you Floyd!! No, seriously, this is another wonderful song, done right in every aspect, and Caaron (never knew his name until now) did some great drumming!!! Nice one guys!!! Take care. Greg

Hey Floyd, wowzers! I found this very easy to listen and very soothing to hear. Great tone with the guitar too. Looking forward to hear more!

Top notch country rocker, Floyd.

The drums sound great and Janice's harmony vocal is of her usual lofty standard.

By the way, Peter's been nagging me for quite a while to make comments on the forum, but the truth is I don't spend much time on-line (and I mostly agree with his posts anyhow). There are some hugely talented people on here whose songs I do try to make a point of listening to whenever I can, and that certainly includes you. Always enjoy your stuff.

Kind regards,
Leon

I keep hearing the lyric as "Pumpkin proud", which is certainly an interesting image.

Lots of interesting percussion in addition to the drums. And cowbell!

Janice is subtle in the mix - I didn't even notice her the first time. Of course, the second time through I sort of wondered how I missed them. (Yes, I know - what happens in the background stays in the background).

Expertly done from start to finish, fun listen.

Dave - I KNEW you would really appreciate these drums!! (I know I do!)
The hard pan on the guitar came about because I originally had the guitar that balances that out (on the other side) playing from the beginning. When I decided to bring it in later, I considered less pan on the single guitar, but decided to just leave it as it was. Like you said, you do "get used to it" after a few listens...

Thanks, Jim. We appreciate that...

Sweet! Hats off to all and another wonderful song by Floyd.

As always your production really shines.
Great lyrics that are very catchy.
Great job on this Floyd. Rob

That is very cool to have a live drummer playing on your track. Sounds excellent. Super vocal and lyric Floyd. Loved the guitar as well. Well done

Very nice.... I'll have to listen on my buds to get the "full effect" of the 8 tracks of drums....

I like the song.... a nice country rocker.


EDIT: I listened on my buds to hear the nuances. You know, you really have to hand it to PG Music for the realism of their Real Tracks. Heck, they have fooled people who are native players of a given instrument. That said.... you really can appreciate the sound of the "real thing" when it's recorded correctly and those drums sound good.

To my ears, the vox and guitars sounded a bit too dry for my taste, but all in all you have a nice sounding, clean mix, going on.