Handyman

A little happy ditty. Janice sings and plays the percussion (no drums on the tune - all her on cajon and shaker). Bud played acoustic bass and our music partner Peter played all the guitars (acoustic, electric and slide).

The shaker is a gourd that Bud’s mother used to darn (repair) socks on years ago.

Comments are welcomed and thanks to Peter and PG Music.

Janice:
vocals > Rodes NT1 > Nectar 2
cajon & shaker > MXL mic > Waves JJP Percussion

Bud: acoustic bass > Wave Bass Rider > Neutron 3

Peter: guitar solos — acoustic & electric & slide

Piano fills: MIDI SuperTrack 1800 TexasBluesRockShuffle > Logic Grand Steinway > Waves Unplugged

Piano rhythm: RT 1591 TexasBluesRockShuffle > Waves Unplugged

Harmonica: RT 2855 CountrySwing > Logic ChromaVerb

Mastering Ozone Dynamic EQ > Ozone Vintage EQ > Ozone Imager > Ozone Limiter > Ozone Tonal Balance > Logic Loudness Meter

© 2022 J. Merritt, B. Merritt & P. Fulham
Bud: progression & lyric / Janice: melody

Janice & Bud, Catchy, good hook, very well put together. Thanks for sharing

A really great side effect this forum has for me is that I listen to music genres I normally wouldn't, and more often than not discover songs I really like.
The song here is one of those examples.

J&B...Happy little ditty is right...great tune and hook...everybody really shines on this one...Janice, I love the harmony...you have a great ear as well as voice...not every singer can sing harmony...I think harmony is about your ear not your voice but it sure helps to have a great voice as well...Peter, I love the slide...man you are versatile...very cool and Bud, way to walk that bass...kudos to everyone.

Great sounding band! Everybody's hittin' it! Sounds clean and I don't miss the drums in it! Great vocals! Thanks, Torrey

This is a cracker...up, moving and has a very human bottom end.
the human element really makes BIAB shine AND visa versa.
Bud...the thud could settled mud and is exactly what the song requires.
Peter, this is a great showcase for your many skills - you do a fab job.
Janice - solid rhythm, Good Gourd! Melody & harmonies that are ace.
A terrific piece from writing to mixing.

Double post sorry.

This is very nicely put together! A different approach this time it seems (I didn't know Bud played bass guitar :-)). But well succeeded.

Great vocals (and background vocals!) as always.

I really like Peter's slide guitar. No BIAB soloist is needed here ;-).

Rob

Sounds like a fun song to do.
The intro seemed a bit long to me
no big deal.
Very entertaining
made me smile.
Josie

Thanks. It was fun!

J&B

Janice, Bud & Peter,

Love the sound of this. Sounds like Janice was sitting in with Dylan and The Band on the Basement Tapes...

Great mix and top notch arrangement.

Loved it!

Bob

Thanks. Glad it worked for you!

J&B

Hello Janice, Bud and Peter
Very good sounding song with each of you giving a top performance
The song has really a great quality
Good job
Many greetings
Andi ;-)

Hey You Three ...

Ya'll make some dang fine music. Perfect example here. There's more talent here on one sound than should be legal. A great composition perfectly dressed and displayed. Hard not to like some Shuffle Blues played this good. Excellent work, folks!

Alan

Thanks, we really do appreciate ALL you said. Thanks too for the bass mention. I (Bud) am gonna brag on my wife for minute. We played in traditional bluegrass bands for years where harmony had to be car horn tight and never even a syllable of unison. So that's where a lot of this came from and almost always her harmony is one take all the way through. Ok here's hoping she might miss reading this as she is so modest and doesn't like for me to do this!

Thanks again for the kind words,

J&B

Thanks for all Torrey.
Glad the percussion worked for you!

J&B

Fun song to be sure!

as always 4T strikes again.
lovely vocs. like the bgv's.
great backing band.

yep my wife is looking for a handyman too..lol.

well done 'the total talent team'.

happiness

om

Two handy men, one equally talented woman and the best tool ever made have produced a great rocking blues that surely raises any lost soul Sounds great, the piano and the cajon/shaker work very well together. The mix is top quality, enjoyed the guitar solos very much and the singing is heavenly magic again.

Janne

What fun.
Love those melodic harmonies.

Vic

Great tune. Well written with a good hook and so well performed in all aspects by all participants. I had a lot of fun listening to this. I loved the fact that you used Bud's mothers gourd for the shaker!

This what happens when some of the forums best musicians, the Band-Not-in-a-Box, and the best accompaniment software, the Band-in-a-Box, join forces! The result an exceptionally well produced song.

As usual everything is spot on.
Bud should play more often.

Loved it.

We appreciate that Ray. We tried a few different things and are glad it all worked for you. And Bud thanks you for the bass mention.

Thanks for the support!

J&B

What a fun song!

Love the vocal of course, and especially the harmonies.
Peter's playing is top notch as per usual, and fun hearing you in the mix too, Bud, solid job on the bass!

Wasn't expecting the modulation, but it worked a treat.

Excellent track, very much enjoyed.

Ain't nothing better than a Janice, Bud & Peter song to start your day. Such a happy wakeup song. A wonderful vocal with just the perfect touch of harmony so well done by such a talented percussionist. The driving bass in the experienced hands of the best guy for the job. Then you bring in the best musicians like Peter to present such a delightful song in such a masterful mix. Thanks for all that!!!

Thanks Rob for all the kind words. Bud played bass for about 45 years in bluegrass bands but very rarely dusts it off nowadays.

J&B

This is SO good. Where do I start?

The writing. It's so well written, it could and should be right there with the classics of this genre.

The singing. Janice can sing anything, we all know that by now. But how does her voice improve with every new song? I wish I knew. There's a downward glissando on there that she does (I'm listening again to find where it is, in the song) ... wow.

EDIT: found the slide. At around 1:40, on the "just be good and stay a while". Ah :-)

The production, the mixing, Bud and Peter's contributions: seamless. They let Janice's voice shine, one doesn't even notice that they're there, but, without them, it of course wouldn't work.

Oh, and Janice's harmonies. Legendary, by now :-) - and so they should be.

Great job, really great job. For me, the writing stands out, but it's like saying which star (out of a constellation) shines brightest. It's all amazing, that's my point - even if, for me, the writing is that something extra. Congrats!

Ya gotta let the guitar man do his thang on the blues
Hey, bringing a smile makes it all worth it!

Thanks Josie,

J&B

Clever, compact lyric. Melody is super engaging.

Peter's guitar is a mighty big plus!!!

Impeccable vocals.

Percussionist is out of her gourd!

Great job from start to finish. You guys are a good fit and seem to influence each other in a really good way. Good song, performance, arrangement and production.

Charlie

Thanks Bob. Yeah man … Orange Juice Blues!

Appreciate it all.

J&B

J&B&P,

Peter is really at the top of his game here - nice acoustic! nice slide! nice lead.

Bud's Bass is the Boss.

Janice is her usual Awesome. Love those harmonies!

Beautiful mix. Crisp, clean, clear.

Fun write. Handy.

Y'all NEVER miss.

Stellar.

fj

Thanks Andi!

J&B

Thanks to all those who have commented on my guitar parts.

It was a fun project always made enjoyable by working with Bud & Janice.

Those vocal harmonies are incredible!

Peter

You are way too kind Al … but we’ll take it.

Glad it was!

J&B

Bouncy little tune. Classic Janice and Bud sound. Peter's guitar is magical and really establishes the style. Harmonies are spot on. Bud's mix is as good as it gets.

Charlie

Thank you! Hope she doesn't have to look any further than you.

J&B

Janne, we appreciate every word of your positive and supportive review.

Thank you very much!

J&B

A very happy snappy tune.

Really enjoyed it!

Janice, Bud & Peter,
Hard to keep still to this backwoodsy feel-good toe-tapper.
Fantastic guitar playing by Peter and Janice`s vocal captures the sly fun of the lyrics.

Great work!

Robert

Thank you Vic!

J&B

Excellent tune Janice, Bud and Peter. Loved the story on the shaker. Excellent vocal and loved the instrument choices. I swear I could see you sitting on the porch playing this song. Peters guitar work was perfect. Loved that slide. Really nice add to the song. The bass player got my toe tappin as well :-)..
Excellent production, mix and master. Well done

Thank you Brad and we appreciate you mentioning the gourd!

J&B

Thanks Mario. You are very generous with your supportive comments.
Appreciate the bass mention. Arthritis keeps it very simple!

J&B

Thank you David for you continued support of our endeavors.

The mod was Janice’s notion and I (Bud) thank you for the bass comment.

J&B

Thank you Marty. This was an all around fun project and your comments make us feel we met our goals of a happy song. And thank you for noting the vocals, percussion, guitar and bass - much appreciated!

J&B

Man, those are really nice comments! The kind that help make it all worth while. Thank you very much. And special thanks for commenting on Janice’s slippin’ and slidin’ notes around. I (Bud) never know what’s gonna happen until I turn the mic on

J&B

Percussionist is out of her gourd!


Thanks ... glad you enjoyed it!

J&B



Thank you Charlie. Janice and Bud have been a wonderful fit for 42 years and working with Peter has been a ton of fun!

J&B

Thank you from the three of us. You are a master of all the production components and that makes your remarks very special and much appreciated.

J&B

Hi Janice & Bud,

Beautiful integration of the harmonica in perfect symbiosis with Janice's voice. As usual, you offer us a superb composition, well put together and we like it. Well done.

Kindly regard
Derochette
alias JaniJackFlash

Thanks!

J&B

Hi guys excellent vocal, I believe you can sing in any song genre Jannice Peter , love the guitar work really tasty phrases bud great job always thanks for sharing guys Eric

Yeah, I'm way late for this.

Fun lyric! Bass moves it along, nice balance between the instruments - slide is great, harmonica only shows up enough to add color but not overstay its welcome.

Love the slowdown at 2:00.

And Janice brings her usual class and precision of the gig.

I liked the extended intro and of course, listening to Janice sing is a great treat. Good guitar work and nice thumping bass that anchored things well.

Your usual excellent work!

Thanks Robert! It was fun to create all the way around.

J&B





We three appreciate that Scott! Playing on the porch would be fun. Just have to get Peter on a 24 hour plane flight

J&B

Thank you and we appreciate you mentioning the harmonica!

J&B




Thank Eric. That is very kind of you!

J&B

Great to see you back! Thanks for all you said. Appreciate the mention of the bass and the sparse harp. And you made Janice smile.

J&B



Thanks and glad to hear from you. Glad it all worked for you. Thanks for the bass mention too.

J&B