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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
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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.
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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
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Hi Janice & Bud, Tom and Floyd,
what a great collab again. I enjoyed everything about it.
Guenter
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Awesome tune. Loved it Excellent collaboration
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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 Thank you!! J&B
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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
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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! 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.
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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
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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.
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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
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Janice, Bud & Tom Seriously when is the album coming out!
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Great stuff guys. Super song superbly put together. Wow, I love that vocal delivery! John
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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.
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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.comAdd 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.
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Awesome tune. Loved it Excellent collaboration Thank you very much Scott for listening and commenting... J&B 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
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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
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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
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Good write, arrangement, mix and production. Stellar start to the new year. Enjoyed my listen.
Glad you enjoyed the spin Charlie. Thanks. J&B
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J&B, Excellent vocals on this. Thx for posting. SD
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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.
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Band-in-a-Box® 2024 Review: 4.75 out of 5 Stars!
If you're looking for a in-depth review of the newest Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows version, you'll definitely find it with Sound-Guy's latest review, Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows Review: Incredible new capabilities to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs.
A few excerpts:
"The Tracks view is possibly the single most powerful addition in 2024 and opens up a new way to edit and generate accompaniments. Combined with the new MultiPicker Library Window, it makes BIAB nearly perfect as an 'intelligent' composer/arranger program."
"MIDI SuperTracks partial generation showing six variations – each time the section is generated it can be instantly auditioned, re-generated or backed out to a previous generation – and you can do this with any track type. This is MAJOR! This takes musical experimentation and honing an arrangement to a new level, and faster than ever."
"Band in a Box continues to be an expansive musical tool-set for both novice and experienced musicians to experiment, compose, arrange and mix songs, as well as an extensive educational resource. It is huge, with hundreds of functions, more than any one person is likely to ever use. Yet, so is any DAW that I have used. BIAB can do some things that no DAW does, and this year BIAB has more DAW-like functions than ever."
Happy Easter! Holiday Hours...
2024 is well underway - it's already Easter Weekend!
Our Customer Service hours this weekend are:
Friday, March 29: 8-4
Saturday, March 30: 8-4
Sunday, March 31: closed
Regular hours resume Monday, April 1st - no joke!
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®
Video: Audio Input Monitoring with Band-in-a-Box® 2024 for Windows®
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
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