So with the heat, and the corona..... beer of course.... and just how I think.... Here's a song that is a bit of a play on words about the corona.... beer of course....

I just had fun with this...

Roll up some of your favorite herbal cure, get a case of the corona....beer of course, and have a listen

Tropical Sky

There was over 20 tracks in this but I put several of them into isolation before I quarantined them to the dust bin of digital oblivion. So, here's the 17 that were left in.

The Band

Bass 3464 Island Groove
Drums Island groove 16 with percussion
Steel drums 3522 Island groove
Djembe even 8
B3 2619 Funk groove

Vocals are 3 tracks of lead & doubling
BGV are 3 tracks of harmony and utter nonsense

Guitars in 6 tracks.... are 2 tracks of acoustic guitar for stereo bed, 2 tracks of rhythm chunky funky island feel, thin bright groove, and 2 tracks of bright, cleanish lead tracks.... all played by me.


EdiT: New Mix new mix has the following changes. both acoustic guitars are dropped out. This cleaned up the sound nicely. Better enveloping on the steel drums for volume. B3 is up a bit. Dejembe is gone. It was as useless as, well, it's gone. Vocals rounded off related to EQ and reverb on the electric. Realized I had no verb and they were dry as an empty corona bottle on a tropical beach.

Hi Guitarhacker,

That is some song! I liked it very much, starting with the intro (and outro) talks. You really had some corona holiday!
The lyrics are very funny ('She got the corona, I got the lime. We're gonna get it together and have a real hot time.').
Yes man, a few(?) bottles of Corona can do wonders these days and your band played very well on it!

Have a nice day,
Hans

Excellent groove - clever write, and a lot of fun!

Wow, that track just made my day... such a happy and fun tone... very nicely done!

I think we all need more music and songs like this in these challenging times. Yes, let us remember that Corona is actually a beer we can drink and that it still will be possible to have fun in the future... we just have to be patient with this god damn virus.

Thanks for sharing,
Will

Sheer brilliance. So much fun goin on in this song. What's NOT to love about it. From the first to the last bar I was grinning from ear to ear. One of the best fun songs for a long time !

I needed this !!
Everything is so damn depressing lately and suddenly your song turns up and all is well again.
Loved it.

After I recorded the vast majority of the tracks, I was working on the BGV tracks and for some reason.... might have been the heat, or the corona, (beer of course) I just started throwing in a few ad-libs and it sounded good so I decided to make this sound like a bunch of guys in the studio... or on the beach.... with some herbals and corona.... beer of course in a sort of live jam session that happened to get recorded. All is well here in the woods of NC.... thanks for listening and commenting. Glad you liked it.

And again, this was one of those songs that had been percolating in the back of my mind since this whole C-19 thing started. It took a while for it to mellow out.... it started with some radical ideas.... time cures a lot of things... including the corona stuff... so I finally started working on it. Yes, it was a lot of fun writing and recording.

Sounds like you liked it.

Herb,

A fun song. The chorus flows well.

You've assembled the right BAND for it. Nice to see someone use the BIAB steel drums (just seen a couple of songs on the Showcase use 'em). That bass is certainly nice.

The guitars are mixed kind of hot and high (eq) and on my speakers they dominate the mix, not allowing the other elements of your well-chosen band share the spotlight. The vocal (well sung) is slightly higher-eq, as well. The steel drums and the organ get a bit lost. Not sure I ever heard the Djembe. It might not matter on cheap speakers, I suppose. I listened several times (trying to pick out the instruments) and my ears got fatigued quickly from the high-end.

Nice to see a good-natured song come out of the chaos of corona. A good, positive use of the situation.

I agree, we need more happy songs in this day and time. I am so glad to hear you say that this track made your day. I generally like dark beers, and when I saw Corona Dark.... I had to try it. Not bad.

Glad it made you happy

Thanks

Fantastic cut. Well played and well done. This is one you could hear on the radio. Good one.

HI Herb ...

David nailed it for me ... almost a congruent thought to his as I listened. And having fun with your music is one of the best feelings. And this one gave me a a good vibe ... Lots of fun and carefree attitude.

Loved it! Cool song and delivery. Maybe a slight bit strong on the higher vocal EQ? Probably just these old ears.

wishing you the best. Be safe ...

Alan

It's impossible not to smile listening to this song.
The infectious beat, clever lyrics, mischievous vocals, "ad lib" asides and the great "band" and production (new mix) combine to lift spirits and give a new (old?) meaning to "a case of Corona".
Great work Herb.
Cheers,
Mike

Hi Herb,

You seem to be on a creative roll at the moment.

What can I say about this one, except that it's simply great fun.
I'm guessing that you had as much fun putting this together as I've
had listening to it.

It's a bit cool and cloudy for July, here in England, so it was great
to get transported to somewhere nice and sunny.

Great track.

ROG.

Sheer brilliance.... It didn't seem that way when I was writing it. Thank you for such kind words.

Glad you enjoyed it.

NEW MIX


So... I realized it when I listened a few times on the cloud.... And... yep, I rushed it a bit to get it out the door.

I went back...dropped out the acoustic guitars to clean it up, removed the less than useless Dejimbe, pulled the EQ down a bit..... enveloped the steel drums, bumped the B3, flattened the curve and dropped the highs a bit on the guitars.... and fixed a few vocal things .....

Yep... it was fun putting this together. Regarding the bass.... I had a bass player ask me ... Man, who is playing that Bass? It's pretty dang hot huh? Give me your take on the new mix. And thanks as always for listening and your sharp ears on the mix. As usual, you hit it on the head just about every time. Thanks

We've only heard this mix and it sure works for us.

An island groove mashup with enough of that reggae touch to make it all the more fun.

The guitars are cool especially adding that overlay of what seems like a TexMex feel.

And the vocals...all of them are creative and obviously well done.

FUN!

J&B

Herb, this is a fine summer song. Well written and performed. Loved the twinned leads. Lotsa fun, Tom

That is significantly better. Your vocal is much warmer and the instruments are "getting their space" - the steel drums are getting the attention they deserve... the guitars aren't pushing everyone else out of the way. Good job with the re-do.

Great job, Herb! The chattering and background vocals really work well on this. Great groove, and mix. Like Floyd said, you picked the right band.

Fun song!

Steve

Hey mon, this song is Maad (Awesome).

Love the groove and the band, it took me back to the Caribbean! The reminded me of Jimmy Buffet, then you mentioned him in these great lines "
I hear the music on the radio
Jimmy Buffet just seems to know
How to throw a party and do it right
Rum drinks in coconut shells,
today that sun was hot as hell
This party will be going....
all through the night".

This is an excellent produced fun song!

Thanks for listening. I agree... It should be on every radio station in the world...

Hey mon, glad you enjoyed it. My ears don't hear the crispy highs well so I tend to run them a few dB hot. I need to EQ my room and reset my ARC for this room. That should help.

Thanks for listening

It sounds like you liked the song. I'm glad. I've done my job when people are captivated by the music.

Thanks for listening and commenting

It's good to be on a creative roll. Sure beats staring at the screen and coming up blank.

England and rain.... Didn't the Beatles sing about getting a tan sitting in the English rain?

Yeah.... A sunny beach sure sounds like a better place.
Thanks for listening. And really glad I could carry you to the tropics in song.

Both mixes are posted in the original post. Yeah, I didn't want to go full Marley mode....more along the line of trop rock. Thanks.... yes indeed, it was fun working on this. Remember that I had the chorus floating in my head for close to 3 months or so..... talk about an ear worm.... she got thee corona.... I got the lime...

Thanks

The twins came along as kind of an afterthought. I was intending just a nice tasty solo.... but one thing lead to another.... Thanks, glad you like it

Thanks

Thanks Steve. Those background vox were kind of an afterthought. Then I said.... why not? I do have the greatest studio band ever...





Jimmy is my musical trop rock hero. Been loving his music for a long time. I'm glad you like this song. THanks

Great job, lot of fun and pro job all the way. I loved Mr. Ad Lib throughout the song. Excellent work!

I just wanted to say thanks for dropping in on the jam session.... glad you liked it.

Well-paced and very elaborate composition. It puts us right in the mood.
I appreciated.

Dero 13 alias JaniJackFlash

I appreciate you taking the time to listen and comment. Thanks

FUN SONG!!! I could use a little island break! Was scheduled to go to Hawaii but Covid wrecked it.....:(. This is really well done.......you can hear the fun you were having in the track....love the back and forth on the vocal. Thanks for the 3 minute vacation Herb!! Take care. Greg