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Hey DC,
This is by far one of my favorite songs of yours.
The production on this is outstanding.
It's just so professional and so well done on all levels. The sound is great, vocals are great, lyrics are great, everything.
I'm truly impressed by this big time.
More like this please. Just wonderful.
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DC & RW,
Very Cool Song.
Excellent arrangement. Nice use of in-and-outs.
Super vocals. Super BGVs.
Good mix. Love that Bass sound. Vocals are So Clear.
Very much enjoyed the listen.
Good Music.
fj Thank you, Floyd. That's a cool bass for sure. Glad the vocals survived close contact. They always take the most work...
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Slightly different sounding arrangement, although not that "soul" in my ears, and not "hip-hop & rap" like it says in SoundCloud, but pleasantly calm pop that describes well that small town boy in the middle of the crowded sidewalk asking "what am I doing here?". The americana band, the lovely melody and your calming voice merge into an enjoyable whole, your voice beautifully expresses the longing desire to get away, sounds quite like a Barenaked Ladies style of song, meant to be a big compliment. Not too long, keeps interest to the end, definitely radio-friendly in my ears  Janne Thanks, Janne. I'd have to agree that the song is not really "soul" despite the BiaB category grouping for the RealStyle. Truthfully, every RealStyle I use tends to sound like me when I'm done with it anyway. Ha! Love Barenaked Ladies. So YES, BIG complement! THANKS for that, too.
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Hi Ron - very listenable!
Your 2026 RealStyle choice and tempo has a laid-back feel to it, which I thought illustrated the contrast of small-town-boy from a slower pace in a big city - one can never take the slower pace (or desire for it) out of a small-town-boy.
Andrew Thanks, Andrew. I do tend to race the tempo along more often than not. Sometimes because I have a LOT of lyrics to fit in and I don't want to do any five minute songs. Ha!
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Hi Ron,
Love the pan on those guitars! Great intro. Excellent arrangement! Bringing the instruments in and out works a treat.
Really good vocal, and I really like the BGVs, the oohs and aahs, and especially like the outro part "running out in traffic".
Excellent mix too. Loved it! Thank you, Dave! Yeah, this was a fun song to put together, nice to hear when the results are enjoyable.
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Ron, this small town boy who very rarely goes into a city loves this song.
Your arrangement and vocals are your best to date IMHO.
The backing vocals and band are perfect for this song and your mix is spot on.
Like I said I loved it.
PS - Don't worry about the length for the radio plays; it should be on the radio right now. Alice's Restaurant was 15 minutes long, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida was 17 minutes long. Thanks, Mario! Sadly, I don't know anyone who listens to the radio for music anymore... Well done. As others have said, the vox are really nice. I like that play back and forth at the ending.
I don't hardly like to go to the small cities around here let alone find myself in a metropolis. I can handle the small towns just fine. People know you there. Thank you, Herb. Big cities are impersonal for sure. Not judging, they just are. Small towns are my thing, too. Traveled for work to a small town once, and one of my co-workers asked me "Why are all these people being so NICE to me?! It's WEIRD!" I replied that they were nice people, and genuinely wanted to be friends, and that WE were the one that were weird if we felt uncomfortable. Not sure it landed...
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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This is a great song and reminds of the 26 years I lived in London, my 20s to mid-40s. It's the usual brilliant production, but I wouldn't cut verse 3 as it come in just at the right place. An alternative would be to cut your least favourite non-chorus verse and play a solo over the following chorus, though that wouldn't shorten it a lot. Thanks, Chay! London is quite a lovely place to visit, but I'm not sure I could have done 26 years there. Thanks as well for the thoughts on shortening or extending the song. We've done a couple of songs lately that feature solos, maybe I'll post one of those soon...
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Ron...I was immediately attracted to the title (I wrote a song a few years back https://soundclick.com/song/13940038 with the same title) so I love the title...your concept is entirely different and I loved the lyric of the struggle of a small town boy out of his element...your tunes are always very sweet to my ears...love the mellow arrangement and acoustic feel...great vocals!
www.soundclick.com/firesongBiaB 2024, Steinberg Cubase Pro 13, Wavelab 11.2, SpetraLayers Pro 10, Audacity, Steinberg UR44 Interface, Yamaha Genos, Roland FP60 and FP10, Windows 10 You are who you are because you do what you do because of what you believe.
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Bud mentioned that when he drove through NY City in 1968 at a stop light somebody looked over and called him a “cracker.” Guess it was the GA tag but, hey, it was a VW van! Peace bro. The soul band works a charm, especially the bass. Your vocals sound great and you always have a wonderful arrangement with bgv’s. They are extra special here. As always you called in a great group of BiaB session players. And you mixed them to perfection. Cool write. We know family and friends who dig the big city but us? Heck we live in the woods … not even a small town. Well done! J&B
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
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Hey, DC. It has a really comfortable folk style like Kent LaVoie (Lobo). I lived in cities all my life...Los Angeles, Boise, Denver, Phoenix, and now on the edge of Los Angeles metropolitan in a small city of 58,000. Being anonymous has always been comfortable for me. Oh, and I don't trust food carts.
John Thanks, John. Cool trivia about Lobo, who I loved as a kid: When he was 18, he joined his first band, which also included Gram Parsons and Jim Stafford. Now THAT was a power trio. I'm with you on food carts! Another quality production Ron,
Really loved those “Running out in traffic” harmonies at the end. Superb.
Kind regards. Thank you, Lee. Though I recorded the outro last, it was the first element of the song I wrote. I just had to make sure the rest of the music led to there. Glad you liked it!
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Hey DC,
This is by far one of my favorite songs of yours.
The production on this is outstanding.
It's just so professional and so well done on all levels. The sound is great, vocals are great, lyrics are great, everything.
I'm truly impressed by this big time.
More like this please. Just wonderful. Gee, David...THANKS much! Your support means a lot. As I wrap up replies on this one, it appears it will be the least listened to song we've ever posted. Sigh. Funny how things work out sometimes...
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Hi Ron,
A beautiful subject, good rhythm, and great vocals. I thought the backing vocals were very good too!
The subject you touched upon reminded me of a situation I experienced in my country that gave me—somewhat—that same unsettling feeling you sang about: I was involved in politics in my country. I lived in a relatively large city near Amsterdam (our capitol). And there I had a meeting with fellow party members from that city. That should have been a home game for me, but within a few seconds I really felt like a schoolboy again. Awkward, I didn't understand their way of speaking, their greedy behaviour and so on. Very uncomfortable. I have never forgotten that feeling, although I was able to handle it much better later on.
Your lyrics brought this back to the surface for a moment, while listening to it. And I consider that a fine achievement of yours, to articulate it so well, in a somewhat understated way.
Compliments!
Hans
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NOT Bronksi Beat then?
That acoustic bass is really good.
A really good package.
Nice mix too.
Cheers
rayc
"What's so funny about peace, love & understanding?" - N.Lowe
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Bud mentioned that when he drove through NY City in 1968 at a stop light somebody looked over and called him a “cracker.” Guess it was the GA tag but, hey, it was a VW van! Peace bro. The soul band works a charm, especially the bass. Your vocals sound great and you always have a wonderful arrangement with bgv’s. They are extra special here. As always you called in a great group of BiaB session players. And you mixed them to perfection. Cool write. We know family and friends who dig the big city but us? Heck we live in the woods … not even a small town. Well done! J&B THANKS, J&B! Funny story from 1968. Them was the days! Ron...I was immediately attracted to the title (I wrote a song a few years back https://soundclick.com/song/13940038 with the same title) so I love the title...your concept is entirely different and I loved the lyric of the struggle of a small town boy out of his element...your tunes are always very sweet to my ears...love the mellow arrangement and acoustic feel...great vocals! Hi, Dan! Great minds think alike, I guess. (Full disclosure, the lyricist wrote the song title, too) THANKS for the listen. Hope ya'll are well.
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Hi Ron,
A beautiful subject, good rhythm, and great vocals. I thought the backing vocals were very good too!
The subject you touched upon reminded me of a situation I experienced in my country that gave me—somewhat—that same unsettling feeling you sang about: I was involved in politics in my country. I lived in a relatively large city near Amsterdam (our capitol). And there I had a meeting with fellow party members from that city. That should have been a home game for me, but within a few seconds I really felt like a schoolboy again. Awkward, I didn't understand their way of speaking, their greedy behaviour and so on. Very uncomfortable. I have never forgotten that feeling, although I was able to handle it much better later on.
Your lyrics brought this back to the surface for a moment, while listening to it. And I consider that a fine achievement of yours, to articulate it so well, in a somewhat understated way.
Compliments!
Hans Hans, thank you! Glad you enjoyed the song even though it brought back an uncomfortable memory. Songs that make the listener FEEL are the best songs of all, and we're humbled. NOT Bronksi Beat then?
That acoustic bass is really good.
A really good package.
Nice mix too. Thank you, Ray. No, though I did relisten to the BB song of the same title after reading your post. Very cool tune. Glad you enjoyed the tune. I often think of your previous comments, and try to ensure that the bass is cutting through the mix (am still using your EQ tip) and that vocal sibilance is minimal.
DC Ron
BiaB Audiophile
Presonus Studio One
ASUS I9-12900K DAW, 32 GB RAM
Presonus Faderport 16
Too many guitars (is that a thing?)
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Great song. Great production. The slow acoustic groove is perfect. You still have retained a bit of power pop flavor. I love that bass part.
I'm a small town boy, too.
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