Be My Medicine Man I recently wrote a lyric built roughly around the age old theme of lost love with a twist as the lady is influenced by Native American spirituality. Janice and I wanted the arrangement to reflect the NA feeling but I was stuck trying to develop it. I had first thought about a blues feel (home turf) but I contacted Tom to see what he thought about suggesting an arrangement (of course I was hoping he might be interested in playing guitar on it).
Well, in short order he sent us an idea for the rhythmic groove and melody. One thing lead to another and Tom suggested a much better second verse along with some other tweaks and the cool idea of using a flute sample -- just can't say flute loop
Janice riffed off his melody and this is what came out. I mostly sat back and watched and listened.
Janice: vocal
Tom: acoustic guitar, lead guitar, flute sample, RT/RD selection, mixing and mastering
RealTracks in style: ~388:Bass, Electric, Metal Ev 120
RealTracks in style: 694:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm ElecRockArp Ev 120
RealTracks in style: 697:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm ElecRockDirty Ev 120
RealDrums: RealDrums in Song: UrbanPopEv8UrbaFolk^3-a,b:cycling
Thanks for taking time to listen and, on behalf of the three of us, comments are most welcome.
Wow another awesome song. Lyrics, singing and playing were excellent. Love the tone of the guitar...
Bartender, whadeve' med'cine Janice and Bud be drinkin', yeah, gimme some o' that.
In walks Clint Eastwood.
Place goes dead quiet.
Except for the noise of me and my bar stool collapsing to the floor after taking a sip. Sure was a fine taste, tho'
Dean
Janice / Bud / Tom,
Excellent! Loved it! Great song and vocal. I also think the guitar & arrangement is outstanding.
Bob
Very cool song! Love the native American musical vibe, and the echoing sound of the guitar after the chorus lines. Very beautiful and hypnotic. You guys never cease to impress. Keep it up. Take care. Greg
Beautiful song and great mix/production.
This is the first song I've heard from you guys & won't be the last!
Jools
Wow another awesome song. Lyrics, singing and playing were excellent. Love the tone of the guitar...
We appreciate that Scott and, yep, Tom found a great tone for the mood.
Bartender, whadeve' med'cine Janice and Bud be drinkin', yeah, gimme some o' that.
In walks Clint Eastwood.
Place goes dead quiet.
Except for the noise of me and my bar stool collapsing to the floor after taking a sip. Sure was a fine taste, tho'
Dean
Thanks Dean!! Your spaghetti western vignette is, well, dead on
Hi Janice, Bud and Tom,
outstanding production.
Love the NA musical vibe, the sound of the flute and the guitar and of course Janice's voice.
Guenter
I like it.... not one of my favorites from you guys but still a respectably decent song and recording.
Good job.
Hi, Bud & Janice and Tommy !:))
This is just superb music superbly
performed !:)) You have really
got the right feel for "Medicine Man"
at least to me it sounds a bit
indian ? :))
I have to say WOW !! :))
Cheers
Dani
Ah yes! Sit back and take a swig in the ears of some good old fashion music scoring.
When's the movie coming out!
Anytime you can sit back and have a Bud just watching and listening, you ought get the Dr. over and check for a pulse:)
DA...
Janice / Bud / Tom,
Excellent! Loved it! Great song and vocal. I also think the guitar & arrangement is outstanding.
Bob
Thanks Bob, yep, Tom did a heckuva job playing on and arranging the tune.
Very cool song! Love the native American musical vibe, and the echoing sound of the guitar after the chorus lines. Very beautiful and hypnotic. You guys never cease to impress. Keep it up. Take care. Greg
Thank you so much Greg. That's exactly the sound we were looking for!
Good song and quite unique. This is a good collaborative effort with Tom.
wow, I liked this one quite a bit!
Here's what I liked:
1) the overall flow of the song just worked for me in a mysterious way that's hard to pin down> Maybe it was the way the mix flowed so smoothly and fused with Janice's voice so tightly that it didn't sound like separate entities at all, but rather as one cohesive unit.
2) I liked the recurring guitar riff... to me that sort of thing really goes a long way toward making a song recognizable and unique
3) the native flute was good call.. IMO, it totally worked (and usually I don't like that sort of thing... all too often it sounds contrived to me)
4) The beat was consistent with a tribal dance, but I kept expecting native drums rather than the more electric hand-clap kit. Maybe the introduction of such drums would have pushed the native theme into "contrived" territory, but my gut feeling is that it wouldn't have.
5) If you are familiar with the book/movie WHALE RIDER, this song took my mind there. Although that story is not about native Americans, it is about New Zealand Maori, which would be their equivalent. The line "Grandfather said I was a chosen one " is what stirred the association.
Very nice in every way! Hats off to all the participants in this project!
Beautiful song and great mix/production.
This is the first song I've heard from you guys & won't be the last!
Jools
Thanks! We appreciate that.
Hi Janice, Bud and Tom,
outstanding production.
Love the NA musical vibe, the sound of the flute and the guitar and of course Janice's voice.
Guenter
Thank you Guenter. This was definitely on the experimental side for us!
This is really cool. I like it.
Great job Tom, Janice and Bud.
Two thumbs up!
Josie
Scott and Bob, thanks for checking in and commenting. We appreciate it.
Aleck and Greg, we were looking for that Clint Eastwood spaghetti western feel. We're glad you two liked it. Thanks for listening.
Jools, Guenter, Herb and Dani, thanks for listening and the kind words. Your comments are appreciated.
Tom
DA, thank you for taking the time to listen and comment.
Pat, your comments are always enlightening. We are very glad that you took the time to listen and to be be very specific in your comments. I actually deleted a few guitar riffs as I felt they were too repetitious. The flute had to be pitch corrected but it seemed to fit. I was lucky to find that. Oddly enough there aren't that many NA loops out there. The drums were a little tricky to get sounding right because the low end was muddying up the whole track. But I think it is pretty close. This was an unusual project for all of us but we work well together as a team. Thanks again, glad you checked in.
Josie, We're happy you liked it. If we get 2 thumbs up from you, I feel we did pretty good. Thanks, Tom
Sorry Charlie, I almost missed thanking you. Thanks for stopping by. Tom
Janice, Bud and Tommy,
That was a lovely song, great spiritual, native american vibe. Well according to my Welsh ears!!
Love the NA musical vibe, the sound of the flute and the guitar and of course Janice's voice.
I echo that quote from Guenter.
enjoyed
Alyn
The performances are outstanding, as is the mix.
I love the 2-line chorus. This is one of those unique songs that grow on 'ya. After I listen a few more times I'll prolly be back with more to say:)
I like it.... not one of my favorites from you guys but still a respectably decent song and recording.
Good job.
Thanks Herb
Hi, Bud & Janice and Tommy !:))
This is just superb music superbly
performed !:)) You have really
got the right feel for "Medicine Man"
at least to me it sounds a bit
indian ? :))
I have to say WOW !! :))
Cheers
Dani
Hey Dani, thank you! Glad you felt the Indian thing....
Ah yes! Sit back and take a swig in the ears of some good old fashion music scoring.
When's the movie coming out!
Anytime you can sit back and have a Bud just watching and listening, you ought get the Dr. over and check for a pulse:)
DA...
Thanks DA! Casting will begin soon
Good song and quite unique. This is a good collaborative effort with Tom.
Thanks! Glad you liked it.
wow, I liked this one quite a bit!
Here's what I liked:
1) the overall flow of the song just worked for me in a mysterious way that's hard to pin down> Maybe it was the way the mix flowed so smoothly and fused with Janice's voice so tightly that it didn't sound like separate entities at all, but rather as one cohesive unit.
2) I liked the recurring guitar riff... to me that sort of thing really goes a long way toward making a song recognizable and unique
3) the native flute was good call.. IMO, it totally worked (and usually I don't like that sort of thing... all too often it sounds contrived to me)
4) The beat was consistent with a tribal dance, but I kept expecting native drums rather than the more electric hand-clap kit. Maybe the introduction of such drums would have pushed the native theme into "contrived" territory, but my gut feeling is that it wouldn't have.
5) If you are familiar with the book/movie WHALE RIDER, this song took my mind there. Although that story is not about native Americans, it is about New Zealand Maori, which would be their equivalent. The line "Grandfather said I was a chosen one " is what stirred the association.
Very nice in every way! Hats off to all the participants in this project!
Pat it's great to see you back on the forum. Your insight and thought provoking contributions have been missed. We are delighted that you like the tune. It as an interesting departure for the three of us and we weren't sure how it would be received. Tom did a great job with the production and the flute was his idea. At one point I considered purchasing a NA flutes and having Janice play the part but Tom found a loop and got it to work well. And he used just enough to keep it, as you, mentioned from sounding contrived. I understand your thoughts re the drums -- I think it would have worked either way.
No, I haven't read that book but intend to now - I have read extensively on NA history.
Thanks again!
Hi Bud, Janice and Tommy
AWESOME! What else can I possibly say about this. The production, the instrumentation, the vocal. Everything. Great! Definitely my new favourite of yours.
Janice, Bud, Tom...
Now, that's interesting stuff happening in a production!
And an interesting lyric - and melody, too...
And very cool guitar playing.
And beautiful vocal.
There's so much going on it's hard to know where to start....
I assume the tambourine is the BIAB loop? (you didn't mention it). Good use of that. The flute is cool, of course..
Tom - nice job recording the acoustics.
The bass comes in nicely.
Nice use of the electrics - which is very interesting to me, because I just finished using the same guitars and bass in a big, loud, flat-out rock'n'roll song - you would never know they are the same tracks...kudos for using them in such a subtle manner...
The lead guitar is something to be proud of. Simple, repetitive, signature. With a tone that makes you forget that you are listen to a guitar - it just becomes in integral part of the song.
The "back off" of instruments in the bridge is masterfully done.
The mix is top shelf. So good you don't notice it. That's as it should be.
A solid write. Flowing, visual, memorable. When you walk away from it, it stays with you. Memorable.
Janice - once again... you sound like you were born to this.
Excellent from every angle.
floyd
Alyn and Scott, thanks for listening and commenting. We appreciate the feedback.
Josie, Glad you liked it. It is a bit unusual but we all enjoyed the process. Thanks!
floyd, For some reason the tambourine loop didn't show up in the song memo and I didn't catch the omission. It is an important part of the song and is present
throughout. Thanks very much for all the nice comments. We appreciate your remarks and always look forward to your reviews.
Tom
This is really cool. I like it.
Great job Tom, Janice and Bud.
Two thumbs up!
Josie
Thank you Josie. I'm happy that you liked it!
Janice
Janice, Bud and Tommy,
That was a lovely song, great spiritual, native american vibe. Well according to my Welsh ears!!
Love the NA musical vibe, the sound of the flute and the guitar and of course Janice's voice.
I echo that quote from Guenter.
enjoyed
Alyn
Thank you Alyn. It's really nice that you liked the feel we tried to put into the tune. We appreciate it!
Janice
The performances are outstanding, as is the mix.
I love the 2-line chorus. This is one of those unique songs that grow on 'ya. After I listen a few more times I'll prolly be back with more to say:)
Thank you. Yes, we had hoped those two lines would stick!
Janice
Hi Bud, Janice and Tommy
AWESOME! What else can I possibly say about this. The production, the instrumentation, the vocal. Everything. Great! Definitely my new favourite of yours.
Thank you so much. We are enjoying your series!
Janice
Janice, Bud, Tom...
Now, that's interesting stuff happening in a production!
And an interesting lyric - and melody, too...
And very cool guitar playing.
And beautiful vocal.
There's so much going on it's hard to know where to start....
I assume the tambourine is the BIAB loop? (you didn't mention it). Good use of that. The flute is cool, of course..
Tom - nice job recording the acoustics.
The bass comes in nicely.
Nice use of the electrics - which is very interesting to me, because I just finished using the same guitars and bass in a big, loud, flat-out rock'n'roll song - you would never know they are the same tracks...kudos for using them in such a subtle manner...
The lead guitar is something to be proud of. Simple, repetitive, signature. With a tone that makes you forget that you are listen to a guitar - it just becomes in integral part of the song.
The "back off" of instruments in the bridge is masterfully done.
The mix is top shelf. So good you don't notice it. That's as it should be.
A solid write. Flowing, visual, memorable. When you walk away from it, it stays with you. Memorable.
Janice - once again... you sound like you were born to this.
Excellent from every angle.
floyd
floyd, thanks for taking the time to make these comments. Praise from you regarding the production of this song is hugely appreciated. Janice and I both feel that Tom did a masterful job of taking just a lyric and creating this production. And your comments about the vocal and the lyric means more than I can express to Janice and me. Saying that it stuck with you is all we could have hoped for!
Delightful! A bit spooky and hypnotic. Nicely restrained vocal and tasteful backing. All a bit different. Very professional. Loved it. Cheers.
Hi Tom, Janice & Bud ...
So, what's left to say that hasn't yet been said? Not much! So, can we simply say we agree with everything everyone else has said? Yes, it has that spaghetti western feel but I think it would work in a contemporary NA-Western production too.
Loved the originality of this and the production was terrific. That haunting flute and guitar work was special, indeed! All three of you went above and beyond. A tip of the hat and a smile from both of us!
Al & Di
I love everything in this song but above all your voice. Apart from having a marvellous voice I guess you must be using a good mic and vocal processor like TC-Helicon or a Boss or ....
Will you please tell me what you are using to record your voice?
I'm really impressed.
Delightful! A bit spooky and hypnotic. Nicely restrained vocal and tasteful backing. All a bit different. Very professional. Loved it. Cheers.
Rich, thanks a lot. We were looking for the exact sound you described.
Hi Tom, Janice & Bud ...
So, what's left to say that hasn't yet been said? Not much! So, can we simply say we agree with everything everyone else has said? Yes, it has that spaghetti western feel but I think it would work in a contemporary NA-Western production too.
Loved the originality of this and the production was terrific. That haunting flute and guitar work was special, indeed! All three of you went above and beyond. A tip of the hat and a smile from both of us!
Al & Di
Thanks you guys. I was amazed that Tom got the flute to work since it had to be pitch shifted. We appreciate it!
I love everything in this song but above all your voice. Apart from having a marvellous voice I guess you must be using a good mic and vocal processor like TC-Helicon or a Boss or ....
Will you please tell me what you are using to record your voice?
I'm really impressed.
Thanks! All I used is a 10 year old Rodes NT1 with a USB interface directly into my iMac DAW (Logic Pro X). On this song Tom put some lower end EQ boost and a small amount of compression via a Nectar Elements preset. That and variations of it are essentially all I've ever used on her vocals. Never used a pitch corrector or any of the other stuff. She always sings on key and has a natural resonance to her voice. Most of her vocals are the first and only take once we get ready to record.
Really late to this party. Mea culpa.
Love this one. You guys make a great team.
Regards,
Bob
I’m late to the party but man am I glad I came!
It’s all been said: great beat, super vocals, outstanding backing tracks with one fantastic guitar leads all in an outstanding mix.
As I have said before it amazes me that you all aren’t under contract with some record company.
Really late to this party. Mea culpa.
Love this one. You guys make a great team.
Regards,
Bob
Thanks Bob -- it was fun working together on this one.
Excellent job. Everything came together quite nicely!
Thanks Jessie -- glad it worked for you.
I’m late to the party but man am I glad I came!
It’s all been said: great beat, super vocals, outstanding backing tracks with one fantastic guitar leads all in an outstanding mix.
As I have said before it amazes me that you all aren’t under contract with some record company.
That's might kind of you! We most appreciate it.
what a great, mesmerizing tune!
the tambourine, flute and electric guitars, the repeating electric guitar riff, and the wonderful vocal!
what a great, mesmerizing tune!
the tambourine, flute and electric guitars, the repeating electric guitar riff, and the wonderful vocal!
Thanks man. It's very cool to hear to you mention "mesmerizing" as that was exactly what we had in mind.
J&B