Melodies and Memories

It’s been several years since we’ve produced a western swing song. We encouraged Peter to put on a cowboy hat and join in And he was game…and we are glad he was. Also I (Bud) talked Janice into a bit of whistling which she does around the house…a lot!

We both played some western swing in our bands and more often with Randy Howard as a trio. Randy could play anything from gypsy jazz to bluegrass to rock to western swing and more (he was featured on several grammy nominated albums). Randy passed away 20 years ago this summer and we had him in mind and heart when we wrote this tune as he would love to have played on it. RIP, good friend, and we hope we did the genre a bit of justice!

For those not familiar with western swing there are several mentions in the song of some of the great artists who played or often played it...The Texas Playboys, Asleep At The Wheel and Merle Haggard. The bluebonnets in the SC photo are a shoutout to Texas where it all started.

Thanks for listening and for commenting if inclined!

“It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing!”

The techie stuff:

Janice: Lead vocal, harmony vocal, whistling, melody and arrangement
Rodes NT1 mic > Scarlett USB > Logic Pro > Nectar 2

Peter: Guitar solos, fills and arrangement

Bud: Lyric, arrangement, mix and mastering

Drums: RD NashvilleSwing8^5-a:Sidestick, HiHat , b:Snare, HiHat / Waves CLA Drums

Bass: RT 1390 Acoustic, Jazz BeBop Sw 190 (Very Simple) Plays 2’s on the verses/solos and walks on the chorus / Waves Bass Rider / Neutron 2

Piano Rhythm: MST Acoustic, Rhythm CountryBentNoteJohn Sw 165 / Grand Steinway Logic Pro X sound / Neutron 2 / 140 EMT Reverb sim

Piano Solo: MST Acoustic, Soloist WesternSwingJohn Sw 165 / Grand Steinway Logic Pro X sound / Neutron 2 / 140 EMT Reverb sim

Guitar Rhythm 1: RT 812 Electric, Rhythm Western Swing Sw 165

Guitar Rhythm 2: RT 1128 Electric, Rhythm WesternSwingWarmA-B Sw 165

Fiddle Rhythm: RT 1114 Countryswingmelodic / Waves CLA Unplugged

Fiddle Solo: RT 871: WesternSwingAndy Sw 165 // Waves CLA Unplugged

Mastering: Ozone 8 adv > Ozone Tonal Balance

Melodies and Memories
© 2019 B. Merritt, J. Merritt & P. Fulham

Verse 1
me ‘n the band keep that bus between the lines
snowcaps to bluebonnets I love all the sights
small or big crowd just tell us where ‘n when
give me my guitar and turn on those foot lights

Chorus
melodies and memories keep my spirit alive
they’re my traveling companions from town to town
wouldn’t trade them for a gold one on the wall
I may be up or down but they are always around

turnaround

Verse 2
We turn on good music ‘n watch the miles go by
from all night radio ’n on to streaming
I ain’t asleep at the wheel, can’t be a texas playboy
but I love it when that western swing’s a playing

Chorus

solo

Verse 3
I’ve met a few good men along the journey
but none could help me stay around for long
guess I’ve got a touch of Merle’s white line fever
more miles more gigs just keep playing our songs

Chorus

Outro

Excellent!

A copy and paste from my soundcloud review:

Nice one guys and gal! Nice lyrics, Bud, and pro job on the mix as always. And Janice sounds great as usual. Love the whistling! Great idea to do that. And trading whistling licks with Peters guitar licks at the end was fun. BTW, Peter is doing a decent job with the country licks too!

Good song, enjoyed!

Well done Janice & bud! Excellent progressions as usual and really dig the use of plugins. Great use of processing to make it just slightly more crispy. How do you like Neutron 2?

Hey Dave. Glad you liked the arrangement and whistling

This is just AWESOME! My new favorite of yours. Love everything about it.

Very clever nods to so many greats. Your arrangement is one of the best I've heard here. Masterful placement of instruments. Trading licks among RealTracks, Peter's Guitar, and Janice's whistling gives it a really nice "down-home" feeling. That down home feeling is what really makes Western Swing work.

Great job! Keep em coming! I think you should do more of these.

Steve

Top notch...
I love western swing...
The only thing missing was a "yee-haw" & I supplied that ...
All of you have done your usual great jobs...
And have set a goal for the rest of us to strive for!

Thanks Joe. We appreciate you listening and commenting. I've been pleased with Neutron 2 but lately I tend to lean a wee bit more toward Waves CLA Series.

J&B

Strong start on the violin. The lyrics hook in the story, not much wait for the chorus. All good!

Great mix, excellent singing and harmonies. Of course, the instrumentals are perfect.

Not gonna lie, I wish there were more rhymes, 'cause I'm a lazy listener. So I've got to take points off for note rhyming streaming with dreaming, but I'll add back bonus points for the whistling.

Altogether, a pleasant listen to a genre I don't hear enough of.

A great fun listen. Love the solo tradoffs--midi based fiddle and piano, organically based whistlin' and guitar pickin'. Very good road song with a happy and nostalgic vibe. Janice shows off her range here, and it's all good to me.

Just love that swing. Congrats to all involved.
Great tune and great lyrics. Rob

The swing is the thing.
Well done all concerned.
Toe tappin' terrific.

Steve, knowing your familiarity with the genre really makes your very nice comments meaningful to us. And extra thanks for mentioning the placement of the instruments as we did give that a lot of thought! Thanks so much!!!

J&B

PS Your thoughts on eg settings for bass are golden.

Thanks Jim! I came close to asking Janice to do a Bob Wills “ah ha” after the fiddle solo

J&B

Excellent work all, as per usual. Janice not only sings like an angel, she whistles like a bird!
Love that Western swing (the first time I heard Bob Wills say 'take it away, Leon' I was hooked).
I think I might encourage Peter to don the cowboy hat a little more often.

Leon

Janice & Bud + Peter,
Colorful and fun! Probably out of all Western styles, swing is my favorite. Excellent in all respects. From arrangement to mastering, solid A! I am sure your friend Randy would smile.
Whistling was a very cool touch! Not to give Bud any ideas, but makes me wonder if Janice can do yodeling?

P.S. This tune reminded of my all time favorite swing band Squirrel Nut Zippers.

Thank you for sharing!

Misha.

Swingin' PB&J!

Everything about this is Top-Notch.

A solid write. Cool references throughout.

The instrumentation is, needless to say (say it anyway) impeccable. The mix is mind-boggling good. EVERYTHING crisp. clear. cohesive. Man! that bass sounds good! Man! those drums sound goood, Man! that piano sounds gooood...well...etc.etc.etc. Peter's guitar fits in nicely.

Needless to say (say it anyway)...Gorgeous vocals. AND harmonies.

And, now....whistlin', too? Ain't you the Queen Of Enough Things Already?

A GREAT listen. Period.

fj


OH! and almost forgot!!...It seems this is SO good you dragged LEON out of the woodwork!! Could it be? Worth the price of admisssion....

Thanks! And extra thanks for adding those bonus points in

Glad you like the genre also.

We appreciate your comments as always.

J&B

Janice & Bud,
You`all sound so happily comfortable - writer,vocalist,the whole band...and of course the whistler.
This sounds darn close to those festival videos of you guys playing in your gigging days.With Peter fitting in perfectly.
The Bluebonnets would work for a band name?
Great toe tapping revival.

Robert

If it’s good to you then we are happy! Thank you.

J&B

Thanks for all the positive comments to date. It was an interesting learning experience playing on this one. Janice seems to be able to effortlessly pull off any genre she sets her mind (and talent) to, and how about that whistling!

Bud sent me some amazing stuff they did with Randy Howard - truly world class (and humbling) playing.


Peter

Hi Janice and Bud,

Another fine song. Does remind me of Charleston swing. It's another style than I use to hear from you both.Very cheerful.
I especially was impressed by the wistling. That never went well in my recordings. Got me only strange noises...

Thanks,
Hans

I don't know much 'bout this genre, but it sure sounds mighty good to me. Excellent mix, arrangement, and overall production. Vocal, as always, is Crown Velvet smooth.

Really nice done all of you! Love how upbeat and vibrant it is. A fantastic groove too. Makes for an engaging and really fun listen. I can't help but imagine how good this would sound live. And as always, Janice's vocals on this are phenomenal.

Thanks for sharing

Thanks Rob. Kinda thought you might like this swing!

J&B

Yeah man! Thanks...

J&B



We are honored to be the recipient of your first response Leon! Welcome aboard and thanks for the kind remarks.

"take it away, Leon"

It's special that you have a familiarity with Western Swing as we had mentioned you when recently listening to a Bob Wills compilation and he said that.

Thanks again.

J&B

WOW, that was fun!!! Always love to hear Janice sing, but never knew she could whistle too! This is a delightful song with a sweet, infectious melody, some great images in the lyric, and of course Peter's guitar makes everything better!! Great one guys!!! Take care. Greg

Hey, we were glad to hear you like the genre and we are familiar with the Zippers. Yodeling! Oh yeah, Janice used to yodel on several tunes back in our band days and five or so years ago we posted a Western Swing song with her yodeling

Thanks for listening!

J&B

Very cool song. Love this style of music. Feel cool music. Love the harmonies. Reminded me of the Andrews sisters. And the whistling wow.. Vocal and backtrack were just excellent. Peter's guitar was excellent as well.

Wow! Such a wonderful listen! Suburb vocals, lyrics and production!

A delightful treat to the ears!

The drums and vocals knock this song out of the park!

Well it’s a hot, humid blah day for hiking or cycling but reading this raised the spirits hugely. Thanks for everything you said and the time it took to listen and offer the thoughtful review. And glad you like the whistling - She can seriously get the birds going when she talks to them on the porch We always appreciate your support!

J&B

Appreciate the guitar mention Greg.

Peter

Thank you Robert. It’s always nice every now and then to “dance with the one that brung you,”

We much appreciate your support!

J&B

Hey this sounds really great y'all.

Love the tracks you used and the mix, and master. Quite stunning.

Awesome vox as usual.

Thanks Hans! Glad you like the whistling...and glad it didn’t sound strange

J&B

Absolutely love it!!!

It's like a great old movie about a traveling' band

from a great era gone by.

Everything is mixed beautifully.

wonderful vocals!!!

cool whistling too

Thanks. We love your description of the vocal!

J&B

I grew up going to Jam sessions with my dad, learning Western Swing, and "old country", and I thoroughly enjoyed the Melodies and Memories. However, you forgot a crucial part of western swing, the steel guitar!!

Thanks so much Deryk. We try to aim for a live feel. Janice much appreciates your kind words about her vocal!

J&B

Greg, thanks for the positive review and extra thanks for mentioning the write. We appreciate your support!

J&B

That was really great folks!! In the early 80's I used to play in the club scene around Houston-Pasadena and boy did this ever take me back, The cadence of the vocals in these songs is so important and Janice sure seems a natural for it! Enjoyed it! Thanks, Torrey

Nice feelgood song with catchy chorus and happy whistling Style may change but the quality in your production and vocals remains on the same top level. Just wondering what your next challenge is going to be

Janne

Thanks Scott and, yes, we like the Andrews Sisters tight harmony. Glad you like it!

J&B



Thank you Lawrence.

J&B

Dear Janice, dear Bud, dear Peter,

I hope you're not mad at me for being that late...

Well, I surely don't know much about Western swing, but I think, you don't have to to love this song. Maha just came into the room , not knowing what I was doing, stopped and said, "Wow, that's really nice". And a couple of seconds later she recognized your voice, Janice.

Yes, it's not only 'really nice'm it's marvellous. A great song (although I'm from another part of the world I do get the vibes of it), your singing (especially great when you add the harmony). Bud, I don't know how you get such a transparent sound - I'm amazed by every single one of your songs. And Peter: just great, too !

Love and enjoyed it all the way.

Cheers,

Stefan

Thanks Dave for the spin and nice comments!

J&B

hi j&b great collab you never disappoint guys love my listen eric

Thanks Kenny...we had really hoped you would like this one!

J&B

Thanks Ronnie. Didn't forget it...just decided we had filled all the spots!

J&B

Janice & Bud & Peter:

This is maybe . . . naw, I think pretty much . . . my favorite thing I’ve heard from you guys. So many layers that keep the ears tingling. The harmonies in that chorus are just so, so sweet. I have no idea how you make this magic, but please keep me spellbound! Terrific stuff!

My kindest regards (and a tip of a hat to the whistler),

Deej

Thanks Torrey and it’s cool that you are familiar with the genre. We used to play a bit of Western Swing during our bluegrass band years so Janice has some familiarity with it. We appreciate your comments!

J&B

I'm late to the party but glad that I came! Excellent Texas swing, you nailed it. You are extremely lucky in that Janice can sing anything!

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that Texas swing!

Excellent work all the way around.

Thanks Janne. Janice makes it all easy for me. I write a lyric, suggest a genre, and she quickly creates a melody. She’s so modest that I have to brag on her. When we left our bluegrass band years ago I never thought we’d have a chance to explore so many genres. It’s been fun.

We appreciate your kind comments!

Bud

Stefan, great to see you back around!

Thanks for your and Maha’s kind words. Janice was happy to read that you liked the harmony and extra thanks for mentioning the mix.

We appreciate your support!

J&B

Thanks Eric!

J&B

Thanks man! That is really nice of you to listen and offer such nice comments.

And we love your latest!

J&B

Thanks Mario. Glad you like the swing thing!

J&B

PS Regarding Janice I'm lucky in many, many ways!

Been wanting to listen to this for a few days. But been trying to nurse Di back to something similar to reasonable health. Can't tell you how many times I've played songs similar to this (but they weren't quite as good).

This is one of my very favorite genres ... Asleep At The Wheel (Ray Benson & company) my favorite group. Of course there was Bob Wills and Sons Of The Pioneers, plus others. And then Janice, Bud and Peter show up and put some icing on the cake.

And Janice whistles!!! Never could. And now that my teeth are falsies, there's no more hope! Peter, ya sound great! Bud, yuou're a knob-turning magician!

So danged good! Loved it from first note to last.

Alan

Al, sorry to be late in responding.

We thought from the get go that you would like this -- and we are happy that we were right!

Best to you both,

J&B

Here's another great song thats about to disappear from my 1st page...
So I just wanted to let you, Janice, & Peter how much I like this tune!