Hi Everyone.

Pressure of work and a few weeks in France has kept me away from the forum for a while, but I'm back now though suffering from ferry-lag. (Like jet-lag but slower.)

This is a song by one of my more "mature" students Peter, who asked if I would post the link as he hates computers! It's unusual for the forum in that it's all recorded into Powertracks without using any form of click track or metronome. Peter came to us to see if he could sing, but he's also sharpening up his guitar work whilst he's here. This is his first song and he's playing the Dobro rhythm guitar and singing. After that, we played in kick drum and hi-hat samples live from the keyboard to match his timing fluctuations. Next, the bass was added by Jack, who at 11 is at the other end of our student age range. Not an easy task, matching the tempo without a full drum track. Finally, I added a bit of lead guitar. Because there was no click track, nothing could be copied-pasted and everything had to be played from start to finish, just like the old days.

So here it is - very few tracks used and very little in the way of effects. The whole project was completed from start to finish in Powertracks.

Optimistic Blues
Well I met a little lady, lordy lordy she's so fine
If it's the last thing that I do boys
I'm gonna make that lady mine

She's got starlight in her eyes, she's got sunshine in her smile
If she said - Boy come on over
You know I'd walk a million miles

She makes all the flowers bloom boys, she makes all the birdies sing
And if she put her hand in my hand
Don't you know I would be king

When I stand next to that lady, you know my heart beats like a train
And if she told me that she loved me
Why, I'd be dancing in the rain

Thanks in advance to anyone who has time to listen.

ROG.

It has an authentic feel to it. Click tracks are over-rated. Well done. Sounds like you have all the age groups covered. Nice lead and vocals sound mighty fine for this genre.

With a title like that, I had to give it a listen. Tracks sound great!! You guys don't need the click track. Cute lyric, and I really like the vocal style. Really nice tasty guitar licks you put it too. Enjoyed it! Take care. Greg

ROG,

Like Kevin said, this has a great authentic feel to it. The "old days" produced some pretty good stuff! Tell Peter I really enjoyed it!

Steve

Last weekend I went to a local blues preservation society blues contest. This song would have fit in perfectly with the rest of the acts! Very traditional blues, played and sung with grass roots conviction! Much more believable than blues that is performed and marketed by people who live in penthouses. What do THEY know about blues?

In the 70s I was really a blues enthusiast... then I got underwhelmed by the genre for a variety of reasons. But lately I'm really enjoying the blues all over again! I enjoyed this quite a bit!

Pass along my kudos to all of your students who participated in this project! And...

it's good to see you back in the forum again! Lots of people noticed the empty space where ROG used to be. We like full spaces MUCH better! Welcome back!

Hurts my throat Excellent old time blues.
Congrats. Rob

I always look forward to your posts and learning a bit about the students behind the songs.

Very authentic 'live' sound to this production. There have been a few similar what I'll call a more organic sound from a few posters recently.

We could be seeing the start of a new trend.


Charlie

ROG

good stuff as usual from your neck of the woods.
It's nice to hear a song "done the old way"

A good age difference also, Jack sure has a future if he can hold a bass line at 11.

Hope you didn't bring any extras back from the ferry

best wishes

Alyn

Kudos on pulling it all together. It sounds like a great old time live blues jam where you were all jamming in the same room - not like it was tracked separately.

ROG, I think a click track would have hurt the feel on this one. Sounds like everyone caught the groove. Nicely sung and good reso part. The bass man laid it right in the pocket. Tasty slide playing. What you are accomplishing with these young people is to be commended. Keep on Rockin!!! Tom

Hey I loved it Rog! You are talking my language and I hope to hear more of this style of music. Great job especially the way that you did the recording. All you played super!
Sonny

ROG,
Great blues tune and performance. Supercool vocal!
SD

How could you not like this?

Terrific playing all around. Cool vocal!

Tasty lead. Nice tone. Excellent mix.

floyd

I remember reading that Johnny winter used to sing REALLY loud and hard into a pillow when he was a kid so his mother wouldn't hear him. Gotta grab that blues voice one way or the other. Janice and I have listened to the blues on a regular basis for decades and, hey, you got it going here - playing and vocals!

We enjoyed it and like mr jane said "tasty lead, nice tone and excellent mix."

Kudos!

J&B

ROG,

What a terrific listen! Traditional-styled 12 bar blues ALWAYS grabs my attention. This was a really great listen. Peter's voice is a perfect fit for this genre. Tell him that he had me tapping my feet on the floor!

Regards,
Noel

Hi All.

Peter was in for his lesson last night and said how amazed he was by all the encouraging remarks.

He's asked me to pass on his heartfelt thanks to all those who took the time to listen and and comment.

Young Jack was also thrilled by the positives about his bass playing - his first bit of session work!

I thought it was a great song for Peter's first attempt and I'm waiting to see what else he brings in.

Cheers, ROG.

I just saw the word "Blues" in the title and I knew I had to listen!
As for the subject of click-tracks, I'll just say I don't recall spotting them being used in proper blues band concert, so from my perspective you're doing blues the way it should be!

A couple of questions though - What are Powertracks and where does the prerequisite BBox (or their products) come into the equation here?

Hi Icelander.

First of all, PowerTracks is a PG Music program, so that's why tracks recorded with it are eligible here. It's basically a DAW and the same as Realband, but it can't generate RealTracks, only RealDrums. Other than that, it is a fully fledged and powerful DAW with a wonderfully flexible mixer which is the equal, in my opinion, of anything on the market.

We use RealBand if we need to generate Realtracks, but PowerTracks at other times, simply because it boots quicker.

Hope that answers your questions.

ROG.

Absolutely. I guess I've overlooked the PT section of PG Music since it's a PC-only thing and my platform is Mac. Not the most prime excuse for the ignorance, but that's all I got