Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread
Print Thread
Go To
Page 1 of 2 1 2
#215409 09/18/13 04:24 PM
User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 15,386
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 15,386
THE OUTSKIRTS OF FUN

Janice has been wanting to record a honky tonk country tune for quite a while. We thought about doing a cover but decided to see if we could write our own. For the uninitiated, the father of the genre is Ernest Tubb who recorded the classic “Walking The Floor Over You” in the 40’s. The songs featured prominent bass, drums and some of the first country electric guitar -- all to cut through the din for the dance beat.

In the south honky tonks were usually small clapboard or cinder block buildings with cheap beer/wine, a jukebox (and the occasional band), sawdust on the floor to facilitate dancing, a pool table, lots of neon and a working class clientele who knew how to party. Good history here:
http://www.texasfolklife.org/touring_honkytonk.html

When I was in undergrad school in the late 60’s I used to head to the outskirts of town where a honky tonk lay just across the county line. I’d have a draft, watch the locals two step and clear out the head after a tedious day . Yeah man, I was listening to the Grateful Dead and Ernest Tubb then!

A few weeks ago while Janice and I were mountain biking I thought of that old place and the “outskirts of town” became the “outskirts of fun....”

A big thanks to Floyd Jane for the harmony and comments are welcome -- even if old school country ain't to your liking.

Lead Vocal: Janice via Rodes mic and Blue Icicle USB interface
Harmony Vocal: Floyd Jane
Mixing: GarageBand interfaced with BIAB
Bass: RT 1848 composite of multiple regenerations
Drums: RD N’ville swing
Guitar R: 964
Guitar R: 959
Guitar L: 1279 composite of multiple regenerations
Steel R: 612
Steel L: 1504 composite of multiple regenerations
Piano R: 1855
Fiddle R:1114 composite of multiple regenerations




Last edited by Janice & Bud; 09/18/13 04:35 PM.

Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more.
If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks!
Our Videos are here on our website.
User Showcase
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 4,335
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 4,335
Janice & Bud, I really enjoyed this even though I have never been in one. Yeah right. I love this genre and you guys do this well. Janice, your vocals just kill me. So bluesy and yet so pitch perfect. Just beautiful. Floyd, nice job on the low harmony. I think it is much easier to sing a higher harmony and much harder to nail the low part. Great production. Thanks for posting. You guys rock! Tom

User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 225
Apprentice
Offline
Apprentice
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 225
Totally not my musical cup of tea at all and I found my toe tapping by the first chorus and totally hooked soon after. I am in awe of the talent on this board, this is a great song and it was recorded and mixed with love of that there is no doubt.
BIB is amazing isn't it? And in the hands of musical magicians as most you all are it gets even more awesome.
Thank you for posting this and taking me out of my box for a few min, I really enjoyed it.

Rick

Last edited by rickey2005; 09/18/13 05:56 PM.

It needs more cowbell!

https://therickhansenband.com
User Showcase
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 506
Journeyman
Offline
Journeyman
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 506
Very nice mix. Great job on the vocs. Your breaks sounded natural and I know that can be a lot of work.

User Showcase
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 3,079
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 3,079
YEH, that's the sorta country that I like.

It reminds me of a gig we did years back in the Rhonda valley of Mid Wales but with less blood, bottle throwing and fighting and that was just to get a drink LOL!!

Thoroughly enjoyed that; all kudos to you both and also Floyd Jane for harmonies.

Alyn

User Showcase
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 2,931
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 2,931
Janice, Bud and Floyd
Great work. I love this type of country music. Love the concept of the "outskirts of fun". I think I am on my way there too.


LyricLab – Where words become music https://www.lyriclab.net/
User Showcase
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,303
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,303
Cool tune.... swinging honky tonk music in a dive with sawdust on the floor.

BTW: the sawdust on the floor is to keep the dust down. Ever see a herd of cows running?

We played a place one time where the bar keep actually had to add more sawdust because in spite of there being sawdust on the floor, the dancers managed to apparently wear it out and the dust in the air was thicker than the cigarette smoke.

What a dive, but what a fun time we had there.

I like the song.


You can find my music at:
www.herbhartley.com
Add nothing that adds nothing to the music.
You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both.

The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
User Showcase
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,987
Expert
Offline
Expert
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,987
Bud and Janice,

Excellent! (As always!) This is the kind of country I grew up listening to. As expected, Janice, you nailed to vocals! You guys keep raising the bar. Good job!

Steve


Steve Young
Music
"In order to compose, all you need to do is remember a tune that nobody else has thought of." - Robert Schumann
User Showcase
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,888
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,888
Hi Janice and Bud,
Originally Posted By: rickey2005
Totally not my musical cup of tea at all and I found my toe tapping by the first chorus and totally hooked soon after.

Not necessary to add that Janice's voice is awesome.
Floyd's harmonies are a nice touch.

Guenter

User Showcase
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2,275
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 2,275
Hey Janice & Bud, like many other people Country is not my first choice, I'm a Jazz guy, however I know how to appreciate any musical genre (no rap please!)when well played. Love Janice voice!

Mike B.


Music should be part of your life
http://www.soundclick.com/blackcatjazzcafeband
User Showcase
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,075
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 8,075
expressed mathematically:
Bud + Janice + Floyd = excellent
(or maybe fantastic ^3)

I grew up listening to Ernest Tubb and "Walkin' the Floor Over You", so this was like an old friend. I'd say you did a great job of capturing the feel of the genre (if your ability to make the listener's foot tap involuntarily is any indication)

One thing that really intrigues me about Janice's voice is the way it slides like an eel dancing on butter... yet it always sounds perfectly in tune! The only way I can justify that seeming inconsistency is that she nails the key notes, and everything in between passes as transition. Interesting.

I am also intrigued that so many of your songs fall outside the realm of experience... for example, you've got this rock-solid long standing marriage, but a lot of your songs explore the lives of people who have made very bad relationship decisions. Oddly, that makes perfect sense to me, for the following reason:

Those with wisdom learn by observing the mistakes of others...
the average person learns after making his/her own mistakes...
and the fool repeats the same mistakes for a lifetime without ever learning

My take-away is that your long standing marriage comes from your ability to see where others have gone wrong, and avoid making the same mistakes. And your ability to vicariously examine life's possibilities without actually going there gives you an endless supply of human drama from which to draw for your songs.

Or not. Another attribute of fools is that they just make stuff up then believe it because it pleases them to do so. wink

Whether any of this is true or not, one thing is definitely true: all 3 of you have an uncommonly well-developed feel for what makes a song interesting, and you know how to actualize your ideas into real songs that knock everybody's socks off.

Which is why I'm sitting here without socks, wiggling my toes and listening to your song over and over because it strikes some chord that I never knew needed to be struck.

PS: have you seen any of Kevin Emmrich's posts about Streetjelly.com? I would really like to see you there. You've got all these awesome original songs with backing tracks... your presence there would raise the bar for everybody

User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 15,386
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 15,386
Tom, thanks! This kind of singing comes very natural to Janice -- we've listened to it for decades. And yep, Floyd nailed the harmony. I've seen a lot of folks struggle with that part over the years. A great baritone part harmony singer can always find a place in a bluegrass band.

Rick, thank you very much. Good to hear that you got outa the box for a bit. I crawl out every now and then and realize how much I like most other genres.

Rob, thanks for the comment on the song and particularly on the breaks. Yeah they do take time. Even short ones like these take a lot of cut and pasting to get the right sound.

Thanks Alyn, Hey some of the old tonks had chicken wire to protect the band from the bottles!

Thank you Joanne -- I think in one way or another at some time or another we've all been there. Glad you liked it!

Herb, thanks! I played in one such place and it was a mix up in the booking. Fortunately they liked our bluegrass band and we had a lead singer who could sing country classics so we survived....

Steven, thank you very much. Glad to run into folks here who came along with that kind of music. Janice's father exposed her to a good amount of it when she was a kid.

Guenter, thanks! I'm glad that we can enjoy each other's productions!

Mike, we appreciate that. BTW, Billie Holiday and Lester Young is about as good as it gets!

Pat, thank you for your insightful remarks. I call what Janice does "bent note" singing. When she first started singing I'd encourage her to bend the notes. Listen to Ralph Stanley sing "Oh Death" sometime and you can hear what influenced me. Some of those mournful bluegrass singers could get four notes from the word "of." Most folks when they listen to bluegrass don't get past the high singing or the banjo smile long enough to hear what those singers can do. And, yes, vicariously living out those songs may be the key and Lord knows, like all of us there has been enough drama with family and friends to develop some feel for the pain that can exist in relationships. I'm blessed to not have to live the songs out! Thanks again and I'll never forget the slippery eel on butter!!


Last edited by Janice & Bud; 09/19/13 06:40 PM.

Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more.
If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks!
Our Videos are here on our website.
User Showcase
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 4,494
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 4,494
Hi, Janice & Bud & Floyd !

I am out of superlatives for
this great performance and production
so I simply say: I liked it very much !:)

Cheers
Dani

Last edited by dani48; 09/19/13 12:29 PM.
User Showcase
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 5,085
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 5,085
Bud and Janice,

Other than Walking The Floor, ET has never been my taste. When I think of Honky Tonk, I think of Hank Williams Honky Tonkin' or his Honky Tonk blues,etc.

I didn't read your link, sorry, I'm from the south so grew up "initiated" with family stories. They were also called "juke joints" because there was usually a jukebox. I think the rest of the country just called them beer joints or dives. But I digress. smile

I like this song. The lyrics are clever in an almost tongue in cheek way and interesting. The tune and chord progression fit it well. Suits Janice's style to a T. I think it's one of your best writes.

User Showcase
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 12,437
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 12,437
Y'all are just flat-out good.

User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 15,386
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 15,386
Thanks Dani! Glad you liked it.

Thanks Josie, we appreciate the comments! Glad you like the write...it was fun.

Floyd, "flat-out" is good southern speak for "very" and we thank you for the compliment!

Last edited by Janice & Bud; 09/21/13 06:51 PM.

Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more.
If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks!
Our Videos are here on our website.
User Showcase
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 6,706
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 6,706
Well I'll throw mine in . . . Ya'll sure can play!

I loved this tune, production and of course performance.

Later,

User Showcase
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,831
Expert
Offline
Expert
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,831
love the mix, glad that you had the chance to explore your musical fancy

User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 15,386
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 15,386
Hey Danny and Gruve, thanks for checking in and listening. Writing and recording this song was a lot of fun. Glad y'all enjoyed it.


Our albums and singles are on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Pandora and more.
If interested search on Janice Merritt. Thanks!
Our Videos are here on our website.
User Showcase
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 19,831
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 19,831
Hey Janice, Bud and Floyd,

My feet and fingers are still settling down after tapping their way through the song. This sort of music sure makes a fella feel good. I loved the metaphor of the hook. The concept of "outskirts of fun" creates a hundred images in my head. It's very clever use of language.

I've got to say that your compositions continue to leave me wanting more smile

I'm heading back for another listen!

Bye for now,
Noel


MY SONGS...
Audiophile BIAB 2025
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Go To
Page 1 of 2 1 2

Link Copied to Clipboard
ChatPG

Ask sales and support questions about Band-in-a-Box using natural language.

ChatPG's knowledge base includes the full Band-in-a-Box User Manual and sales information from the website.

PG Music News
Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: VST3 Plugin Support

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac® now includes support for VST3 plugins, alongside VST and AU. Use them with MIDI or audio tracks for even more creative possibilities in your music production.

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Macs®: VST3 Plugin Support

Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac®: Using VST3 Plugins

Join the conversation on our forum.

Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Mac Videos

With the release of Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac, we’re rolling out a collection of brand-new videos on our YouTube channel. We’ll also keep this forum post updated so you can easily find all the latest videos in one convenient spot.

From overviews of new features and walkthroughs of the 202 new RealTracks, to highlights of XPro Styles PAK 8, Xtra Styles PAKs 18, the 2025 49-PAK, and in-depth tutorials — you’ll find everything you need to explore what’s new in Band-in-a-Box® 2025.

Reference this forum post for One-Stop Shopping of our Band-in-a-Box® 2025 Mac Videos — we’ll be adding more videos as they’re released!

Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Mac is Here!

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac is here, packed with major new features and an incredible collection of available new content! This includes 202 RealTracks (in Sets 449-467), plus 20 bonus Unreleased RealTracks in the 2025 49-PAK. There are new RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, “Songs with Vocals” Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 4, two new sets of “RealDrums Stems,” XPro Styles PAK 8, Xtra Styles PAK 19, and more!

Special Offers
Upgrade to Band-in-a-Box® 2025 for Mac with savings of up to 50% on most upgrade packages during our special—available until July 31, 2025! Visit our Band-in-a-Box® packages page for all the purchase options available.

2025 Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK Add-ons
We've packed our Free Bonus PAK & 49-PAK with some incredible Add-ons! The Free Bonus PAK is automatically included with most Band-in-a-Box® for Mac 2025 packages, but for even more Add-ons (including 20 Unreleased RealTracks!) upgrade to the 2025 49-PAK for only $49. You can see the full lists of items in each package, and listen to demos here.

If you have any questions, feel free to connect with us directly—we’re here to help!

Band-in-a-Box 2025 Italian Version is Here!

Cari amici
È stata aggerate la versione in Italiano del programma più amato dagli appassionati di musica, il nostro Band-in-a-Box.
Questo è il link alla nuova versione 2025.

Di seguito i link per scaricare il pacchetti di lingua italiana aggiornati per Band-in-a-Box e RealBand, anche per chi avesse già comprato la nuova versione in inglese.

Band-in-a-Box 2025 - Italiano
RealBand 2025 - Italiano

Band-in-a-Box 2025 French Version is Here!

Bonjour à tous,

Band-in-a-Box® 2025 pour Windows est disponible en Français.
Le téléchargement se fait à partir du site PG Music

Pour ceux qui auraient déjà acheté la version 2025 de Band-in-a-Box (et qui donc ont une version anglaise), il est possible de "franciser" cette version avec les patchs suivants:

BIAB 2025 - francisation
RealBand 2025 - francisation

Voilà, enjoy!

Band-in-a-Box 2025 German Version is Here!

Band-in-a-Box 2025 für Windows Deutsch ist verfügbar!

Die deutsche Version Band-in-a-Box® 2025 für Windows ist ab sofort verfügbar!

Alle die bereits die englische Version von Band-in-a-Box und RealBand 2024 installiert haben, finden hier die Installationsdateien für das Sprachenupdate:

https://nn.pgmusic.com/pgfiles/languagesupport/deutsch2025.exe
https://nn.pgmusic.com/pgfiles/languagesupport/deutsch2025RB.exe

Update Your Band-in-a-Box® 2025 to Build 1128 for Windows Today!

Already using Band-in-a-Box 2025 for Windows®? Download Build 1128 now from our Support Page to enjoy the latest enhancements and improvements from our team.

Stay up to date—get the latest update now!

Forum Statistics
Forums58
Topics84,269
Posts777,081
Members39,607
Most Online25,754
Jan 24th, 2025
Newest Members
Mtbowe, emorrison1962, mariaedinson3, raniking2025, Antonio Sotomayor
39,607 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
MarioD 150
zedd 119
DC Ron 104
WaoBand 102
nonchai 99
rsdean 91
Today's Birthdays
There are no members with birthdays on this day.
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5