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I Was Almost Famous I am way out of my comfort zone with this one. This song took longer than any other song that I have done. Constant changes prior to selecting a style and constant changes after! But here it is. It was suggested that I hold off on my commentary and let people describe what their visions are so I will tell you mine in the next message. An interesting note that after I chose a style and after I got done playing my instruments the only thing left was the chord track, but I did put that to good use. BiaB Style = Rickety Fingerpicking Indie Folk Tempo = 85 BPM Chord track = EZKeys - upright piano - preset saloon Drum track - various Groovemonkee MIDI drum loops and various Steven Slate's SSD-5 drums. Me = Squire P-Bass Samick acoustic guitar Via my MIDI keyboard controller the UVI B-5 Organ My good friend BobH - Danelectro 12 electric guitar As always all comments welcomed.
I arrived early to a restaurant.
The manager asks, "do you mind waiting a bit?"
I said no.
"Good", he said. "Take these drinks to table 3"
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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No story - just lyrics:
I Was Almost Famous
v- I've played in every redneck bar in this town
My name has really gotten around
My fingers really really burned
Playing licks of off records that I've learned
v-I ventured farther from my home
Me and my guitar started to roam
Playing in towns far away
Playing my leads and getting good pay
c-I was going to be a big star
Playing my blues guitar
But one thing wasn't up to par
There was no man
With a big cigar
I was almost famous
I was almost famous
v-So I went on tour
I knew I was gonna score
A huge contract, maybe more
A guitar king, being adored
v-Now I am home
No more do I roam
Playing with a band that really rocks
That band is in a box
c-Chorus repeated
I arrived early to a restaurant.
The manager asks, "do you mind waiting a bit?"
I said no.
"Good", he said. "Take these drinks to table 3"
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Journeyman
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Journeyman
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Sounds like old rock and roll, which I like. The instruments almost overpowered the vocals in some spots, but overall a good recording!!
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Nice one Mario.
The vocal needs to be at least as loud as the snare - with a little more compression to even it, (VOLA2 is a cool plug in for evening a vocal track).
The band is spot on for the genre.
Interesting coincidence of the last line of the last verse given you played everything.
BIAB as a song writing tool is hard to beat though.
Almost Famous is a good film too!
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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Nice to hear you sing, Mario! Should be a tad louder in the mix IMHO, other than that, your vocal sounds good to me.
Good song, enjoyed.
Interesting to read that you used the chord track to trigger EZKeys, it never occurred to me that you could do that. Going to give that a try!
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Great job Mario. But "almost famous" ? You are famous (in this forum) 
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
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Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,825
Expert
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Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,825 |
Hi Mario,
This is a promising song.
I would love to hear it, as other have mentioned, with your voice up 2Db plus a much shorter vocal style reverb so the voice sits out in front of the band and not behind it.
Best Regards
Nigel
Nigel Spiers
Christchurch, New Zealand
info@nzacoustics.com
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Hi Mario.
Yes, definitely up the vocal as others have commented.
Maybe you could experiment with the phrasing here and there as it has a slightly regimental feel to it.
Vic
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Howdy Mario.... Mario does sing! This is good effort but I agree with Nigel and few others regarding your vox. Seems awash in reverb....is the reverb I'm hearing just the room reflections? Were you too far from the mic? Ha...."That band is in a box"....good line for our stellar backup band. I certainly don't have to worry about being famous. Carry on....
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I know you seldom sing on your posted recordings, but I sure have enjoyed the two that I've heard (this one and the math equation song). I really liked your drum intro and the groove to this song. That last verse was cool, clever writing. Bring that vocal up! This was fun.
Brad
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Mario,
You are famous here in the Showcase!!!
Fun song
Good tracks, good mix
Always enjoy hearing you sing....
Fj
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Hey he sings! I sure hope you consider doing more lyric writing and singing. You're really good at both. Glad you posted this, Tom
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Sounds like old rock and roll, which I like. The instruments almost overpowered the vocals in some spots, but overall a good recording!! Thanx Ronnie for listening and commenting. I appreciate it. Nice one Mario.
The vocal needs to be at least as loud as the snare - with a little more compression to even it, (VOLA2 is a cool plug in for evening a vocal track).
The band is spot on for the genre.
Interesting coincidence of the last line of the last verse given you played everything.
BIAB as a song writing tool is hard to beat though.
Almost Famous is a good film too! Thanx Ray for listening and the constructive comment. My weak spot in mixing is vocals; I really don't do enough of them. I never thought about that last line like that, good catch. In reality about 95% of my song start in BiaB. This one started on a guitar and pencil and paper for the lyrics. I have never heard of the film Almost Famous. I'll have to check it out.
I arrived early to a restaurant.
The manager asks, "do you mind waiting a bit?"
I said no.
"Good", he said. "Take these drinks to table 3"
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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User Showcase
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,727
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Nice to hear you sing, Mario! Should be a tad louder in the mix IMHO, other than that, your vocal sounds good to me.
Good song, enjoyed.
Interesting to read that you used the chord track to trigger EZKeys, it never occurred to me that you could do that. Going to give that a try!
Thanx Dave. I'll have to work on recording vocals. I have used the chord track many times. Sometimes for string parts. Sometimes for piano or EP. Just think of it as another MIDI track that you can use for anything. Great job Mario. But "almost famous" ? You are famous (in this forum) Thanx so much for that ultra kind review.
I arrived early to a restaurant.
The manager asks, "do you mind waiting a bit?"
I said no.
"Good", he said. "Take these drinks to table 3"
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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User Showcase
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,727
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OP
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Posts: 24,727 |
Hi Mario,
This is a promising song.
I would love to hear it, as other have mentioned, with your voice up 2Db plus a much shorter vocal style reverb so the voice sits out in front of the band and not behind it.
Best Regards
Nigel Thanx Nigel for listening and those constructive comments. Mixing vocals is my weak spot and comments like this help a lot. Hi Mario.
Yes, definitely up the vocal as others have commented.
Maybe you could experiment with the phrasing here and there as it has a slightly regimental feel to it.
Vic Thanx Vic. As you detected I need a lot of help with my vocals. Thanx for the help in that area.
I arrived early to a restaurant.
The manager asks, "do you mind waiting a bit?"
I said no.
"Good", he said. "Take these drinks to table 3"
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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User Showcase
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,727
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OP
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,727 |
Howdy Mario.... Mario does sing! This is good effort but I agree with Nigel and few others regarding your vox. Seems awash in reverb....is the reverb I'm hearing just the room reflections? Were you too far from the mic? Ha...."That band is in a box"....good line for our stellar backup band. I certainly don't have to worry about being famous. Carry on.... Thanx for those great suggestions. The reverb was an add on and not related to my room or my vocal recording technique. I guess I just added to much reverb so I'll make a note of that for the next time, if there is a next time. I know you seldom sing on your posted recordings, but I sure have enjoyed the two that I've heard (this one and the math equation song). I really liked your drum intro and the groove to this song. That last verse was cool, clever writing. Bring that vocal up! This was fun.
Brad Thanx so much Brad for the very kind review.
I arrived early to a restaurant.
The manager asks, "do you mind waiting a bit?"
I said no.
"Good", he said. "Take these drinks to table 3"
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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User Showcase
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 24,727
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OP
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Posts: 24,727 |
Mario,
You are famous here in the Showcase!!!
Fun song
Good tracks, good mix
Always enjoy hearing you sing....
Fj Thanx so much for listening and commenting Floyd. I greatly appreciate your input. Hey he sings! I sure hope you consider doing more lyric writing and singing. You're really good at both. Glad you posted this, Tom Thanx Tom for this very kind review.
I arrived early to a restaurant.
The manager asks, "do you mind waiting a bit?"
I said no.
"Good", he said. "Take these drinks to table 3"
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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Hey Mario ...
Agree with the dcomments about vocal volume & placement. That said ... what a great song. Your vocal is much better than you allude to! And it doesn;'t sound all that for from your comfort song. But, if so, you hide it well.
Liked my listen very much! Take care and try to stay warm!
Alan
BIAB 2024 Ultra Plus-all StylePaks*Win11*32GB DDR5*Rhyzen 9745x*AT 2035 Mic*Peavey Nashville 112 Amp*Ibanez ART120* Acoustic/Electric/Washburn D200S Acoustic*Stromberg Monterey Jazz Guitar Loops: https://aldavidmusic.wixsite.com/bestmusicloops
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Hi Mario,
I wanted to start my post with "Mario! You can sing!!!', but I read chulaivet1966 was first.
Still I think you did an amazing job. Far away from your comfort zone as you said, but doing th job. Very nice.
In a former post on another of your recent song I wrote you have so many genres you make music in, well now we have to add you as a professional singer and lyric writer.
I agree with Floyd you are famous in the forum. Maybe not the world, but for a start...?
I hope you'll do more with the vocals.
Oh, I agree the vocals can use some more volume.
Hans
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Hey Mario ...
Agree with the dcomments about vocal volume & placement. That said ... what a great song. Your vocal is much better than you allude to! And it doesn;'t sound all that for from your comfort song. But, if so, you hide it well.
Liked my listen very much! Take care and try to stay warm!
Alan Thanx Alan, but singing is way out of my comfort zone. I tried to stay warm but it was -2°F (-18.9C) when I went out to get the paper this morning. Hi Mario,
I wanted to start my post with "Mario! You can sing!!!', but I read chulaivet1966 was first.
Still I think you did an amazing job. Far away from your comfort zone as you said, but doing th job. Very nice.
In a former post on another of your recent song I wrote you have so many genres you make music in, well now we have to add you as a professional singer and lyric writer.
I agree with Floyd you are famous in the forum. Maybe not the world, but for a start...?
I hope you'll do more with the vocals.
Oh, I agree the vocals can use some more volume.
Hans Thanx Han but a professional sing and lyricist? I don't think so but thanx for the compliment.
I arrived early to a restaurant.
The manager asks, "do you mind waiting a bit?"
I said no.
"Good", he said. "Take these drinks to table 3"
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
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