Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread
Print Thread
Go To
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3
#329767 01/06/16 05:07 AM
User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 13,978
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 13,978
Foes Of Happiness

Happy New Year All!

Four years ago BiaB allowed us to leave our decades of traditional bluegrass and settle into our current comfort zone of Americana, blues and bluesy country. But every now and then we like to experiment with something a wee bit on the rock side so here is this year's effort :-)

During 2015 I ran into several folks I had not seen in years. They were overwhelmingly bitter about, well, seemingly everything. Most of their experiences seemed to be wrapped up in some form of negativity and they insisted on keeping the conversation there. I reflected a lot on this and ended up writing this lyric. It's obviously nothing profound but as I turn 70 this week it is an attempt to express my feelings on how to deal with negative folks. Don't engage - just run!

Thanks to Tom for his input on the write, arrangement and solo/rhythm guitar, to floyd for critiquing the mix and to my better half Janice for putting up with me by singing/creating melodies for whatever I throw her way.

As always we are very appreciative of your time to listen and comment.

Bass: RT 387 Electric Metal
Drums: RD Nashville Southern
Drums: RD Snare (grabbed from BiaB respective drum kit file)
Shaker: Apple Loop
Mandolin: RT 1755 Rhythm Pop 8ths
Guitar Rhythm: Tom Adams
Guitar Lead: Tom Adams
Lead Vocal: Janice, Rodes NT mic, Blue Icicle USB
Effects: Ozone 6, Ozone 5 and Nectar 2
Mixing/mastering stuff: Bud

Foes of Happiness
© 2016 B. Merritt/J. Merritt/T. Adams

Verse 1

I’ve never been told taking the high road would be easy
tolls, dead ends, wrecks along the way, nothing's ever free
pulling me back all the time, girl you ain't gotta prayer
well it may look like I'm still here, but I'm getting there

Ref

I've gotta get away, run from the foes of happiness.
I won't fall in their world of hatred and bitterness.

Verse 2

they're all around me, trying to put out my flame
chokin’ me like weeds in their garden of shame
get too close and they sprout up all around my soul
hang around too long, and they pull me down their hole

Ref

I've gotta get away, run from the foes of happiness.
I won't fall in their world of hatred and bitterness.

Solo

Verse 3

people that are stained by anger that'll never cease
I can't let them in, I won't let them poison my peace
give in and they'll steal everything that I value
stay on the high road, I can feel my spirit renew

Ref

I've gotta get away, run from the foes of happiness.
I won't fall in their world of hatred and bitterness.

I won't fall in their world of hatred and bitterness.

Outro

Our Website

User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 3,311
ROG Offline
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 3,311
Hi there J&B, plus Floyd and Tom.

Fabulous. Loved it from the first chord to the last.

Super backing track that really rocks and great guitar work from Tom.

Janice, what can I say that I haven't said before. You have a voice which is immediately recognisable. There are lots of good singers, but only a rare few who are this distinctive. It's SO good to hear you turning your talents to something with a rock feel for a change. The key which you're in does something to the timbre of your voice which brings me out in goosebumps. This really was a treat.

Congrats to you all.

ROG.

User Showcase
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 4,476
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 4,476
Hi, Bud ,Janice, Tom and Floyd !

A super track and super doing by all
involved !:))

Just the right music to start
up this new year !:))

Cheers
Dani

User Showcase
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,888
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 2,888
Hi Janice & Bud, Tom and Floyd,

what a great collab again.
I enjoyed everything about it.

Guenter

User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 7,522
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 7,522
Awesome tune. Loved it Excellent collaboration


Scott Collingwood
https://soundcloud.com/scottt709
https://soundcloud.com/spiritlevel-ca
https://www.youtube.com/@SpiritLevel-ge3hm/
ROG #329834 01/06/16 12:04 PM
User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 13,978
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 13,978
Originally Posted By: ROG
Hi there J&B, plus Floyd and Tom.

Fabulous. Loved it from the first chord to the last.

Super backing track that really rocks and great guitar work from Tom.

Janice, what can I say that I haven't said before. You have a voice which is immediately recognisable. There are lots of good singers, but only a rare few who are this distinctive. It's SO good to hear you turning your talents to something with a rock feel for a change. The key which you're in does something to the timbre of your voice which brings me out in goosebumps. This really was a treat.

Congrats to you all.

ROG.


ROG, you have made our week. Given both the always high quality of your productions and your rock foundation we feel our effort is validated! It's always fun (tempered with a little apprehension) to explore new territory but when the "forum man" of that territory is kind enough to make the above remarks it really means a lot. I (Bud) have encouraged Janice to explore the lower end of her range. She spent so many years in bluegrass which demanded singing lead and harmony at the upper end that I don't think she was initially aware that she had a voice in the lower end -- she's nodding in agreement smile Thank you!!

J&B

User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 7,399
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 7,399
Hey You Four...

Some super talent shining here. Great song and terrific performance by all. Janice's voice is as sweet as a truck load of sugar and Tom's guitar is as edgy as ever. The lyric is refreshing and well done. Of course, Floyd's mixing skills are second to none.

Great job ... we loved it!

Alan & Di


BIAB 2022 Ultra Plus-all StylePaks*Win10*8GB DDR4*I5-6th Gen*AT 2035 Mic*Peavey Nashville 112 Amp*Ibanez ART120 Electric/Washburn D200S Acoustic*Stromberg Monterey Jazz Guitar

Loops: https://aldavidmusic.wixsite.com/bestmusicloops

boehm #329860 01/06/16 02:21 PM
User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 13,978
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 13,978
Originally Posted By: dani48
Hi, Bud ,Janice, Tom and Floyd !

A super track and super doing by all
involved !:))

Just the right music to start
up this new year !:))

Cheers
Dani


Thanks Dani. Have a great year!

Originally Posted By: boehm
Hi Janice & Bud, Tom and Floyd,

what a great collab again.
I enjoyed everything about it.

Guenter


We are happy that you like it Guenter. Thanks!

J&B

Last edited by Janice & Bud; 01/06/16 02:22 PM.
User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 6,892
G
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
G
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 6,892
people that are stained by anger that'll never cease
I can't let them in, I won't let them poison my peace
give in and they'll steal everything that I value
stay on the high road, I can feel my spirit renew

Great verse!! I also love the refrain-just tells it straight. Very cool song all the way around. Vocals are great and mix excellent. The guitar......it's got me thinking there should be some Tom Adams RTs in 2017!! Great job guys! Take care. Greg

User Showcase
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 8,056
C
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
C
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 8,056
Good write, arrangement, mix and production. Stellar start to the new year. Enjoyed my listen.


BIAB Ultra Pak+ 2024:RB 2024, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.
User Showcase
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 532
SRP Offline
Journeyman
Offline
Journeyman
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 532
Hi guys, another great collaboration. Super job on all aspects from vocals, mix, writing to great overall sound with Tom adding his magic on guitar. Thanks Janice, Bud, Floyd and Tom for working so good together and bringing us a super song.
Sonny

User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 5,474
Veteran
Online Content
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 5,474
Janice, Bud & Tom
Seriously when is the album coming out!

User Showcase
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,426
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,426
Great stuff guys. Super song superbly put together. Wow, I love that vocal delivery!
cool blush
John


Songs web site
YouTube Channel
BIAB 2019
Cakewalk by BandLab
Studio One 4
User Showcase
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,815
Expert
Offline
Expert
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,815
You folks can do it all. You are surely right -- keep negativity at bay the best you can. good message and good tune.

One suggestion, if you want to do rock, study someone like the lead singer from Counting Crows. He really pushes his vocal to the limit during the verses -- and then cranks it up during the chorus (ha, ha). Janice is mighty close, but I think she can even dig deeper. Hmmm, easy for me to say.

Still an excellent performance, though. Good write and arrangement, too.


Now at bandcamp: Crows Say Vee-Eh @ bandcamp or soundcloud: Kevin @ soundcloud
User Showcase
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 9,301
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 9,301
It's good to see you break out of the confines of your "normal" style that you had cast for yourselves. I like this.

Everything sounds good. One thing that stuck out to me was the snare. It sounds really nice but it's a bit too loud in the mix.

Negative folks are all over the place and it's easy to commiserate with them, but you can't afford to do that if you want to be happy and get things done. I don't like hanging with or having discussions with folks who are always going to the negative side of things. The sun is shining in my world.


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: Dec 2011
Posts: 13,978
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 13,978
Originally Posted By: Scottt709
Awesome tune. Loved it Excellent collaboration


Thank you very much Scott for listening and commenting...

J&B

Originally Posted By: Al-David
Hey You Four...

Some super talent shining here. Great song and terrific performance by all. Janice's voice is as sweet as a truck load of sugar and Tom's guitar is as edgy as ever. The lyric is refreshing and well done. Of course, Floyd's mixing skills are second to none.

Great job ... we loved it!

Alan & Di


Thanks y'all....Janice smiled when she read that!

Bud

User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 13,978
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 13,978
Originally Posted By: Greg Johnson
people that are stained by anger that'll never cease
I can't let them in, I won't let them poison my peace
give in and they'll steal everything that I value
stay on the high road, I can feel my spirit renew

Great verse!! I also love the refrain-just tells it straight. Very cool song all the way around. Vocals are great and mix excellent. The guitar......it's got me thinking there should be some Tom Adams RTs in 2017!! Great job guys! Take care. Greg


Thank you very much for those kind words Greg. From a writer like you it means even more to have the lyric mentioned. Hey, we agree with Tom and the RT!

J&B

User Showcase
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 18,838
Veteran
Offline
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 18,838
Hi Janice and Bud.

First off.... and most importantly....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Bud!


I really enjoyed listening to Janice sing this. The change of style took me by surprise.... but it was a good surprise. As always, Tom's contribution is like co-icing on the cake.

I also found myself thinking, "What a great use of connotation!" and "What a great use of metaphor!" on a number of occasions. Phrases such as "foes of happiness", "stained by anger", "sprout up around my soul", "garden of shame", "poison my peace" are so very visual and add a huge emotional punch. The rhyming of Happiness with Bitterness is also a masterstroke -- minor stress rhyme and using words that have opposite meanings.... very effective!

Really excellent work from everyone!

Regards,
Noel


MY SONGS...
Audiophile BIAB 2024
User Showcase
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 13,978
Veteran
OP Offline
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 13,978
Originally Posted By: Charlie Fogle
Good write, arrangement, mix and production. Stellar start to the new year. Enjoyed my listen.




Glad you enjoyed the spin Charlie. Thanks.

J&B

User Showcase
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,040
Expert
Offline
Expert
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,040
J&B,
Excellent vocals on this. Thx for posting.
SD

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Go To
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3

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
Convenient Ways to Listen to Band-in-a-Box® Songs Created by Program Users!

The User Showcase Forum is an excellent place to share your Band-in-a-Box® songs and listen to songs other program users are creating!

There are other places you can listen to these songs too! Visit our User Showcase page to sort by genre, artist (forum name), song title, and date - each listing will direct you to the forum post for that song.

If you'd rather listen to these songs in one place, head to our Band-in-a-Box® Radio, where you'll have the option to select the genre playlist for your listening pleasure. This page has SoundCloud built in, so it won't redirect you. We've also added the link to the Artists SoundCloud page here, and a link to their forum post.

We hope you find some inspiration from this amazing collection of User Showcase Songs!

Congratulations to the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!

We've just announced the 2023 User Showcase Award Winners!

There are 45 winners, each receiving a Band-in-a-Box 2024 UltraPAK! Read the official announcement to see if you've won.

Our User Showcase Forum receives more than 50 posts per day, with people sharing their Band-in-a-Box songs and providing feedback for other songs posted.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed!

Video: Volume Automation in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®

We've created a video to help you learn more about the Volume Automation options in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows.

Band-in-a-Box® 2024: Volume Automation

www.pgmusic.com/manuals/bbw2024full/chapter11.htm#volume-automation

Video: Audio Input Monitoring with Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®

We've created this short video to explain Audio Input Monitoring within Band-in-a-Box® 2024, and included some tips & troubleshooting details too!

Band-in-a-Box® 2024: Audio Input Monitoring

3:17: Tips
5:10: Troubleshooting

www.pgmusic.com/manuals/bbw2024full/chapter11.htm#audio-input-monitoring

Video: Enhanced Melodists in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®!

We've enhanced the Melodists feature included in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows!

Access the Melodist feature by pressing F7 in the program to open the new MultiPicker Library and locate the [Melodist] tab.

You can now generate a melody on any track in the program - very handy! Plus, you select how much of the melody you want generated - specify a range, or apply it to the whole track.

See the Melodist in action with our video, Band-in-a-Box® 2024: The Melodist Window.

Learn even more about the enhancements to the Melodist feature in Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows at www.pgmusic.com/manuals/bbw2024upgrade/chapter3.htm#enhanced-melodist

Band-in-a-Box® 2024 DAW Plugin Version 6: New Features Specifically for Reaper®

New with the DAW Plugin Version 6.0, released with Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows: the Reaper® Panel!

This new panel offers built-in specific support for the Reaper® DAW API allowing direct transfer of Band-in-a-Box® files to/from Reaper® tracks!

When you run the Plugin from Reaper®, there is a panel to set the following options:
-BB Track(s) to send: This allows you to select the Plugin tracks that will be sent Reaper.
-Destination Reaper Track: This lets you select the destination Reaper track to receive media content from the Plugin.
-At Bar: You can select a bar in Reaper where the Plugin tracks should be placed.
-Start Below Selected Track: This allows you to place the Plugin tracks below the destination Reaper track.
-Overwrite Reaper Track: You can overwrite previous content on the destination Reaper track.
-Move to Project Folder: With this option, you can move the Plugin tracks to the Reaper project folder.
-Send Reaper Instructions Enable this option to send the Reaper Instructions instead of rendering audio tracks, which is faster.
-Render Audio & Instructions: Enable this option to generate audio files and the Reaper instructions.
-Send Tracks After Generating: This allows the Plugin to automatically send tracks to Reaper after generating.
-Send Audio for MIDI Track: Enable this option to send rendered audio for MIDI tracks.
-Send RealCharts with Audio: If this option is enabled, Enable this option to send RealCharts with audio.

Check out this video highlighting the new Reaper®-specific features: Band-in-a-Box® DAW Plugin Version 6: New Features Specifically for Reaper®

Band-in-a-Box® 2024 DAW Plugin Version 6: New Features Video

The new Band-in-a-Box VST DAW Plugin Verion 6 adds over 20 new features!

Watch the new features video to learn more: Video: Band-in-a-Box® 2024 - DAW Plugin Version 6 New Features

We also list these new features at www.pgmusic.com/bbwin.plugin.htm.

Forum Statistics
Forums66
Topics81,395
Posts732,500
Members38,441
Most Online2,537
Jan 19th, 2020
Newest Members
zagrajbarke, Ernest J, Izzy, BenChaz, Csofi
38,440 Registered Users
Top Posters(30 Days)
MarioD 195
Al-David 124
DC Ron 116
dcuny 87
rsdean 82
Today's Birthdays
CeeDee, SethMould
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5