I have been out of circulation for a couple months due to health/work situations. As a result, I haven't had much time or energy to write and produce new songs. In the meantime, when I do have some spare time (and strength), I am revisiting some of the songs of the past, to put some more final touches to mix/production.

This is a song I wrote almost 3 years ago, called Party In The Woods Tonight. I wrote it for my grandkids (and kids of all ages) to rock out to. After redoing the mix, and adding some final flourishes to it, I thought I would share it. All the instrumentation is RealTracks/RealDrums, along with some percussion I added. I hope you enjoy it!

Party In The Woods Tonight

Here are the lyrics...

Party In The Woods Tonight
Music and Lyrics Copyright Stephen W. Young

In the evening when the sun goes down
Tom the cat starts making his rounds
Checking every yard in his domain
He's the coolest cat for miles around
Throws the biggest parties in town
if you listen close, you can hear it all begin

When the sun goes down
When the sun goes down
When the sun goes down
There's a party in the woods tonight

That Jack the rabbit sure can dance
If Sly, the fox will just give him a chance
Hoppin and boppin to the latest nocturnal sound
Hal the owl has found his groove
His body still, but his head can move
And everybody knows his favorite band

When the sun goes down
When the sun goes down
When the sun goes down
There's a party in the woods tonight

When the sun goes down
When the sun goes down
When the sun goes down
There's a party in the woods tonight

===

Here are the RealTracks/RealDrums used...

RealTracks in song: 1583:Bass, Electric, TexasBluesRockShuffle Sw 130
RealTracks in song: 1566:Piano, Acoustic, Rhythm SouthernRockJohn Sw 120
RealTracks in song: 963:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm CountryBoogieCleanSync Sw 140
RealTracks in song: 1015:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm BluesRockCrispSteady Sw 140
RealTracks in song: 425:Organ, B3, Background Blues Sw 120
RealTracks in song: 1588:Guitar, Electric, Soloist TexasBluesRockShuffleSol Sw 130
RealDrums in Song: BluesRockShuffle^1-a:HHt, b:OpnHHt
*******************

Have a great day!

Steve

As usual, excellent work. Great "live" feel, and you've got an expressive voice that really gives life to the song. The arrangement smoothly moves between sections, and everything fits and feels organic - quite a feat! The mix is nicely balanced.

His body still, but his head can move

Clever line.

Thanks for posting, I always look forward to something by you and this was stellar as usual.

Enjoyed this from start to finish. Excellent production. Thanks for posting and glad you're back on the forum.

Charlie

Hi Steve ...

Great Country Rock tune! That distortion lead guitar is smoking! And your vocals are spot on. When I lived in San Antonio we used to do a lot fo this stuff ... the people loved it! Lots of line dancing and swing dancing.

Loved the break before the ending and that guitar again! Totally loved it! Great song and production! Best to ya ..


Alan & Di

Hi Steve,

This is another very professional production.
We like your music and especially your voice.
We're sure your grandkids will enjoy this as we did!

Regards,
Rob and Anne-Marie

Hi Steve,
I'm sure your grandsons like it.

Guenter

Sounds great, Steve!

One of the best tests for me is to see how far I can crank the computer speakers before a mix starts to fall apart. Not many can get really loud before that happens. This mix goes all the way to "louder than you can stand it"... That's impressive.

Love what you did with the drums at the stops... and the reverb you are using on your vocal.

A real rocking number!

Hope you are doing well.

floyd

Nice retro rocker... jamming for sure.

I like the BGV echoing "when the sun goes down..."

the lead guitar is smoking.


EDIT: I wanted to listen on my cans before I commented...

Nice. I got it cranked and just the slightest hint of distortion on the mix. I heard more on the speakers but didn't want to blame the mix.

The one thing that I don't like is the fairly hard panning R&L on the tracks. In verse one.... on the R all I hear is bass, drums and vox..... on the L the mix is the same but also has a hard panned guitar. If you're gonna hard pan you really need something over on the other side to balance the mix. Another guitar, keys, something....

Nice job.

Hi Steve, this one had my feet tappin all the way through. Everything is great. While I was listening I could picture a bunch of cartoon animals in the forest just getting down and dancing away. As they say if a song paints a picture your there. Good job

Nels

Steve,

I like the stops 1:53 onwards.
A fun song .... I can imagine a bunch of actors dressed as animals rocking this out on Childrens TV,
I also likes the false ending and outro solo.

GREAT SONG

good to hear you back
Take care with the health issues

Alyn

Steve, This one rocks. Nice write. Another great mix. Your vocal is outstanding. Hope you are doing well. Tom

Catchy tune, good overall sound and creative use of the tools you got (maybe I should rephrase that last bit!). Comes together very well and hard to guess this isn't a live performance unless you're told or in the knowhow

David,

Always so good to hear from you! Thanks so much for the encouraging words.

Charlie,

Thanks for your kind words. Really appreciate your post!

Alan & DI,

Thanks so much! Yes, the Rockabilly style is still going pretty strong down here in Texas. So glad you took the time to listen and comment!

Rob and Anne-Marie,

Your comments are very appreciated! Glad you like this one. And yes, the grandkids get to hopping when they hear this one.

---

Steve

Good to see - hear you Steve. Hope you're doing well. I remember this song. Love the lyrics they are so clever and fun. Makes me feel like a kid too. Love the arrangement.

Great sound.

Josie

Fun song!! The whole thing fits perfectly-you have achieved "oneness with the box". Great job all the way around! Take care. Greg

Hi Steve,

It's great to see you back in the forum. This is one of the most creative arrangements I have heard in Users Showcase. It's brilliant. Your consistent ability to maximise a song's emotional impact through arrangement and production is an inspiration.

This is such a great song!

All the best,
Noel

Guenter,

Thanks so much for your comments! Always good to hear from you. Yes, the grandkids do like it, but they may be just a little bit biased!

Floyd,

Always so good to hear from you! I did just a little more tweaking to the final mix (when I listened to my other reference sources, the bass seemed to overwhelm the mix). Also, I stumbled across a UserTrack created by this guy named Floyd of some hand claps. Hopefully he won't mind that I borrowed them and used them in the outro of this song! Thanks so much for your time and input!

Herb,

Thanks very much for your input. I did revisit the panning issue in the first verse, and moved the single guitar more to the center until the other instruments joined in. Hopefully it sounds more balanced now. Thanks again.

Nels,

Really appreciate your kind words! Glad you like it!

Alyn,

Thanks so much! Always good to hear from you! Glad you like it.

===

Steve

Tommy,

Thank you very much! I have to do a rockin' one every now and then. Glad you like it.

Icelander,

Glad you enjoyed it. I really appreciate you taking the time to listen and comment!

Josie,

Really good to hear from you! Hope you are doing well. Glad you enjoyed this one. It's good for us to be kids every now and then!

Greg,

Thanks so much! Appreciate your kind comments.

Noel,

It's always good to hear from you, my friend! Glad you enjoyed this one. I had a lot of fun doing it. In our rural area, we have a LOT of ferrel cats, and there are some dogs (and just about any other animal native to Central Texas) that live close by. The cats manage to keep them stirred up pretty much 24 hours a day, and at night, there is CONSTANT barking/howling taking place. (I have to sleep with a white noise app on my phone running, or it drives me crazy.) So I turned my frustrations into a fun song.

===

Steve

Wow, Steve, this does sound like a live band that's really cooking. What a great feel to this track, and I love the multiple "teases" from the break around 2:00 when everything thins down to guitar/drums to the "wait, not-quite-done yet!" false ending around 2:46 (oh cool, there's more!). A really fun and rocking song with cool vocals and great use of RealTracks & drums. So many great players and riffs lurking in those files.

My ears and feet thank you for sharing!

Bruce

Hi, Steve !


Wow !! What else is there to say ?
Just great, what a rockin´tune indeed
and so pro performed and produced !!:))
Enjoyed listening really much even
after dark (when the sun goes down) !!! (LOL) !!


Cheers
Dani

Super rocker! I love those specific RT's and, man, did you put them to great use.

Perfect write and voice for the groove. And, the arrangement is very
cool. The stops works very well. Sounds like a live band that
has been playing together for a LONG time.

We much enjoyed it.

Best to you,

J&B

I'm late to the party in the woods but I sure am glad that I came!

Everything that I wanted to say has been said!

Two thumbs up!

Steve,
You are such a great talent! Good to hear you back in the swing again. Take care and best wishes.
SD