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#856752 07/05/25 04:12 PM
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Epiphany (updated to incorporate RayC's excellent suggestion)

Y'know when you're having a bad dream, and you KNOW it's only a dream, BUT...you can't wake up? Then you suddenly wake up, but realize after a few minutes you're only dreaming that you're awake, and you're really right back in the bad dream? Huh. Maybe that's just me...

Lyrics: R.W. Davis
Music, vocals, guitars fills/outro: Me
AI: None. Very little "I" at all though.

This is a seldom-seen 3-instrument RealStyle. That guitarist is RIPPING it up.
Style is _FLEE.STY (Flee LA Hard Rock)
RealTracks in style: 4683:Bass, Electric, RockSteady8ths Ev 110
RealTracks in style: 4492:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm Metal80sPopFast8ths Ev 130
RealDrums in style:RockHardLA^7-a:Snare, Bell Ride , b:Snare, Crash Ride
Guitar: Peavey Predator AX (Strat style), Spider V30 amp

THANKS in advance for any listens/comments!

She slowly set down the glass and said
“Honey, what are we doing here?
We’ve been together for so very long
We’re getting stale just like this beer”

I opened my eyes and stared at her
I didn’t recognize her face
I looked in the mirror and had a thought
I better get out of this place

Cuz the walls were moving
Closer together
Old habits are so hard to break
With nothing left to prove
It’s now or never
Am I asleep or am I awake?

I stumbled out of the living room
Like I was having a bad dream
I wandered out into the front yard
And I really wanted to scream

She was not too far away from me
And she kept on talking away
I put my hands up to both my ears
I didn’t care what she had to say

And the walls kept moving
Closer together
Old habits are so hard to break
With nothing left to prove
It’s now or never
Am I asleep or am I awake?

I can see the insides of my eyelids
Or is that the blackness in her soul
I can’t forget all the things that she did
It’s a story that needs to be told
And I guess it’s about to unfold
Just give me that smelly old blindfold
…and a cigarette

Cuz the walls are moving
Closer together
Old habits are so hard to break
With nothing left to prove
It’s now or never
Am I asleep or am I awake?

Cuz the walls are moving...

Last edited by DC Ron; 07/09/25 12:44 AM.

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DC Ron #856753 07/05/25 04:20 PM
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Well, that was a great listen Ron, it bounced along and had me tapping my desk. Great lyrics as well, well performed all round. Much enjoyed.

Pete


Sometimes you just have to say f### it and do it anyway!

Proud Scotsman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 now residing in England
DC Ron #856755 07/05/25 04:41 PM
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Ron,

Excellent! Love the song, vocals and that wonderful production.

This sounds like it could be a long-lost just discovered Barenaked Ladies song. Killer band!

Loved it all!

Bob

DC Ron #856766 07/05/25 07:07 PM
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Nice one Ron...cool beginning and it keeps keeping on muscular pop.
If I had a druther it'd be that you track
"We’re getting stale just like this beer
with a bit of sustain on the beer so that it overlaps
"I opened my eyes and stared at her" a little - sep takes obviously but that's what my head expected and you wonderfully subverted my expectations...a worthy task.


Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
DC Ron #856782 07/06/25 01:56 AM
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Such a great sound! Love the way this moves, very pop.

Great band too, I keep on thinking it might be nice to try a three piece thing but I like the crutch of having a rhythm guitar or a keyboard in the mix too much.

Excellent lyric and I like your vocal too. Nice job of the fills and outro guitar, you should play more!

Good stuff, Ron, enjoyed!

DC Ron #856785 07/06/25 03:32 AM
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Really enjoyed this, so well put together. One thing I esp liked was that the chorus kicked in immediately at the end of the verse--it's so typical to hear an extra bar in there for "spacing", but the way you did it kept me hooked in. Also--that line "And I guess it’s about to unfold...Just give me that smelly old blindfold…and a cigarette" where you introduced a different chord sequence--I liked that alot. Great work!


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DC Ron #856803 07/06/25 06:54 AM
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Another royal gem of catchy pop. Creative lyrics, great subject - dreams are weird, I usually steal songs from my dreams wink Enjoyable instrumentation, cool intro and that solo guitar fits perfectly well. Sort of punk pop, not for teenagers, but with enough intelligence for us old geezers wink Loved the vocals, those harmonies are excellent and there are those small details like "honey".

The band sounds bit distant or hazy, but maybe that's part of the bad dream smile

Janne


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DC Ron #856804 07/06/25 06:57 AM
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Ron, this is fantastic
Super backing tracks
Your vocal is spot on, great lyrics also
Super mix
Loved it


I'm in a fitness protection program. I'm been hiding from exercise.

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DC Ron #856819 07/06/25 07:51 AM
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Another Interesting Write.

I like your vocals. (I wanted a bit more reverb/delay).

An absolutely Heavenly combination of Bass and Drums - carrying everything, as should be.
That is not an easy combination to master (like this).

I like your fills.

A terrific, cohesive sound. Well mixed.

Artists.
Thanks for keeping it real.

fj

PeteMcN #856822 07/06/25 08:11 AM
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Originally Posted by PeteMcN
Well, that was a great listen Ron, it bounced along and had me tapping my desk. Great lyrics as well, well performed all round. Much enjoyed.

Pete

THANKS, Pete! "Tapability" is exactly the reaction we were looking for. Glad you enjoyed your listen!

Last edited by DC Ron; 07/06/25 08:11 AM.

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rayc #856843 07/06/25 03:50 PM
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Originally Posted by rsdean
Ron,

Excellent! Love the song, vocals and that wonderful production.

This sounds like it could be a long-lost just discovered Barenaked Ladies song. Killer band!

Loved it all!

Bob

Thanks, Bob! Barenaked Ladies are WAY cooler than we are, but it feels good anyway. Just listened to them when Brian Wilson passed, for obvious reasons...

Originally Posted by rayc
Nice one Ron...cool beginning and it keeps keeping on muscular pop.
If I had a druther it'd be that you track
"We’re getting stale just like this beer
with a bit of sustain on the beer so that it overlaps
"I opened my eyes and stared at her" a little - sep takes obviously but that's what my head expected and you wonderfully subverted my expectations...a worthy task.

Thank you, Ray! That's a brilliant suggestion, and I've updated the SoundCloud file to reflect the change. (Actually did that hours ago now) I was going to do it that way originally, but sang it the way I did first and thought, "Hey, that's not bad". But it wasn't as good as your way, either. Appreciate the listen and thoughtful input.


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DC Ron #856900 07/07/25 10:54 AM
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Wow, I loved this! Great guitar, great song, great vocals. Played it several times and I'm sure I will come back to it later for more. Great work.

Last edited by TuneMonger; 07/07/25 10:54 AM.

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BlueAttitude #856923 07/07/25 01:38 PM
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Originally Posted by BlueAttitude
Such a great sound! Love the way this moves, very pop.

Great band too, I keep on thinking it might be nice to try a three piece thing but I like the crutch of having a rhythm guitar or a keyboard in the mix too much.

Excellent lyric and I like your vocal too. Nice job of the fills and outro guitar, you should play more!

Good stuff, Ron, enjoyed!

Thanks, Dave! That guitar RT has a nice stereo image, so when placed slightly off center in the mix, it still has a cool 3d ambience. Funny thing about that RT, it doesn't sound that great by itself. Too many tiny gaps and glitches. But mixed in with the bass and drums, it sounds quite nice. Thanks for the compliments on the organic guitar adds, I'm e-blushing for sure. smile


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DC Ron #856928 07/07/25 04:26 PM
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Hi Ron!
This is pumping! I like the bass focus in the intro, and those guitar fills of yours - the fills reminded me a little of 60s surf guitar sound, so in my head, the song became a surfin' / pop metal fusion.

I noticed you played a Peavey Predator Plus - I'm not sure what the 'plus' is, but I still own my Peavey Predator strat - a wonderfully versatile guitar that was ideal for me as I made the transition from bedroom acoustic strummer to playing in a band. I mostly use my Gretsch hollow body nowadays - as you say in your signature - one can never have enough!
Andrew D

DC Ron #856966 07/08/25 03:50 AM
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You guys are consistently sensational with your musical presentations. I like that guitar reacting to lines of lyrics. Good vocals and I like your choice of harmony. I like the melody surrounded by that driving band. That guitar keeps reminding me of the old surfer songs of the 60s. You know, the Frankie & Annette stuff. Much enjoyed, Ron.


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DC Ron #856967 07/08/25 04:09 AM
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Well, that's like nothing I've heard before. Original, progressive, alternative but, most importantly, very cool.
Well thought out and woven together. Not a genre I'm naturally drawn to but I admire the creative genius.


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DC Ron #856998 07/08/25 10:27 AM
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Hi, Ron.

Fun pop. Great vocals, excellent backing.

Not much to say, because the quality of the work speaks for itself. smile


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Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?

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DC Ron #857004 07/08/25 12:00 PM
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Ron...great write on this one...love the concept...your vocals are super and the track was really nice (though I'm not much of a clanging cymbal lover)... you always do such a stellar job as a producer and arranger of your music...I always enjoy your tunes and clever lyrics!


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Tano Music #857025 07/08/25 04:06 PM
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Originally Posted by Tano Music
Really enjoyed this, so well put together. One thing I esp liked was that the chorus kicked in immediately at the end of the verse--it's so typical to hear an extra bar in there for "spacing", but the way you did it kept me hooked in. Also--that line "And I guess it’s about to unfold...Just give me that smelly old blindfold…and a cigarette" where you introduced a different chord sequence--I liked that alot. Great work!

THANKS, Tom! Yeah, tried to imagine the dream as a runaway train, so it seemed to me the poor narrator would be too busy for a bar of anticipation. That different chord sequence you refer to is a B to C to D walking the bridge back from C#m key center to the original G (and Em) for the final choruses and outro. Love the subtle and unsettling modulation as a dynamic device, maybe too much. smile

Last edited by DC Ron; 07/08/25 04:12 PM.

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jannesan #857089 07/09/25 01:32 PM
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Originally Posted by jannesan
Another royal gem of catchy pop. Creative lyrics, great subject - dreams are weird, I usually steal songs from my dreams wink Enjoyable instrumentation, cool intro and that solo guitar fits perfectly well. Sort of punk pop, not for teenagers, but with enough intelligence for us old geezers wink Loved the vocals, those harmonies are excellent and there are those small details like "honey".

The band sounds bit distant or hazy, but maybe that's part of the bad dream smile

Janne

THANKS, Janne! Dreams are weird for sure. "Punk pop"? I like the sound of that!

Met a 30-ish kid the other day who told me he was in a Black Flag-style punk band. Blew my mind that the stuff from 1977 was a thing for people not in my generation. Never dreamed back then it would have staying power...

If the band is distant and hazy, it's probably because THIS "old geezer" told them to keep the noise down. Ha! Truthfully, my ears are still ringing...


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