|
Log in to post
|
Print Thread |
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 14,734
Veteran
|
OP
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 14,734 |
Many years before our current Americana days the two of us were members of several bluegrass bands. But when our friend Randy Howard would visit from Nashville we had loads of fun as a trio with me (Bud) on upright bass, Janice on guitar and Randy on anything that had strings  Randy was a prodigious talent who was grammy nominated and a 12 time national fiddle champion (he also won flat picking guitar contests, was a world class mandolin player and played a mean banjo). He played on many major projects including Garth Brooks “Seven.” Alison Krauss once told us that as a kid she and her mother chased Randy all over the country so she could learn from him (she dedicated an album to him). Sadly he passed away too young at 39. The first bluegrass band I (Bud) played in was with him and his dad in the 70’s. A little info on Randy can be read HERE on our website. We recorded a lot with Randy and released a trio album after his passing. I’ve often wanted to post one of our songs (with an RT added of course) but nearly everything we recorded was a bluegrass cover - common with traditional style BG bands! Janice and I did write one little ditty that we recorded live with him 25 years ago on a 4-track Tascam cassette recorder. This was a living room recording with us afterwards bouncing a few tracks to add some harmony, Randy’s mandolin and leaving a spot for a friend to play banjo. By the time you bounce a few tracks on a cassette recorder there’s not a whole lot of quality left…but, what the heck, we added a RT for the showcase and here it is — poor recording quality and all but a brief two minute glimpse into his talent. BTW, Randy was the first to encourage Janice to sing! So here’s her in the “high lonesome” bluegrass days. Hope you enjoy it and RIP Randy. Headin' West Randy: mandolin and fiddle Janice: guitar and vocals Bud: bass fiddle Bandmate friend: banjo RT 938: A guitar “chop” on the upbeat I added that pretty much doubles Randy’s mandolin rhythm chop.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 5,388
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 5,388 |
Yeah!!!!!
I don't know much about bluegrass and haven't listened to much of it, but I love this!
Janice sounds great, and man, Randy could play! And you sound pretty fine too, Bud! Not to late to get back into playing IMHO.
Quality of the song and the performance vastly overcomes any limitations with the quality of the recording, which actually doesn't sound too bad considering the source.
Thanks for posting, enjoyed the listen!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 7,878
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 7,878 |
Sounds terrific to these old ears! Based on what you said in your intro narrative, I was expecting a rather dull sound. But the tone is quite good. And the playing is excellent! This is Bluegrass as it was meant to be played. Excellent in all regards. Thanks for the couple minutes of listening pleasure! And yeah, Ransdy was quite the musician!
ALan
BIAB 2024 Ultra Plus-all StylePaks*Win11*32GB DDR5*Rhyzen 9745x*AT 2035 Mic*Peavey Nashville 112 Amp*Ibanez ART120* Acoustic/Electric/Washburn D200S Acoustic*Stromberg Monterey Jazz Guitar Loops: https://aldavidmusic.wixsite.com/bestmusicloops
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 3,314
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 3,314 |
Hi there J&B.
Fabulous! Nothing wrong with that recording at all. It's amazing the quality we used
to get from cassette back in the day.
Loved the song and the superb performances that shine through from all that time ago.
Thanks for digging this one out!
Cheers, ROG.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 3,357
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 3,357 |
J&B,
Wonderful, joyful sounds that are pretty clear for the cassette/living room method.
The fiddle chops of your friend shine and its cool to hear where you guys came from musically.Those old videos of your band are fun too - is Randy in them?
Nice work recovering this jem.
Robert
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 7,365
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 7,365 |
Janice & Bud,
Now that was a treat! Very cool the way you went back and resurrected this one.
Loved every minute of it...
Bob
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 7,146
Veteran
|
Veteran
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 7,146 |
Sounded awesome over my speakers! Whatever the deficiencies you heard in the recording, they never reached my ears. Ironically, one of the features is a sampled guitar library that was released recently is an option to use the version that was recorded through a Tascam tape recorder for a "vintage" vibe. So pulling it off an old recording probably actually adds to the quality. Also, I don't think there's a requirement that BiaB be used in every song you post. At the top of this forum it says: If Band-in-a-Box or RealBand have been used...Given that you frequently posts songs done in BiaB, I don't think occasionally posting something that doesn't have BiaB on it breaks any rules. Just let us know you didn't use BiaB, or we'll be thinking you ran across some cool RTs we hadn't heard yet! 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 4,049
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 4,049 |
Wow, we are impressed! Such smooth banjo picking, mandolin and fiddle. We were particularly struck by Janice's youthful vocals  with super tight backing. Thanks for posting this one!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 5,607
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 5,607 |
Bud & Janice,
The recording sounded great on my speakers (couldn't tell the RT was added the other day) - the performances by all absolutely stellar!
World class stuff there, a real treat for members of the forum!
We should get to hear more of that bass playing.
Peter
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 8,298
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 8,298 |
Authentic Bluegrass from top to bottom. Enjoyed my listen. Very nice job getting the cassette to play so nicely. I have a lot of fun playing with older recordings and it becomes so much more of a treat when you're able to work on a recording to preserve musicians no longer with us.
BIAB 2025:RB 2025, 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: Dec 2011
Posts: 14,734
Veteran
|
|
OP
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 14,734 |
Yeah!!!!!
I don't know much about bluegrass and haven't listened to much of it, but I love this!
Janice sounds great, and man, Randy could play! And you sound pretty fine too, Bud! Not to late to get back into playing IMHO.
Quality of the song and the performance vastly overcomes any limitations with the quality of the recording, which actually doesn't sound too bad considering the source.
Thanks for posting, enjoyed the listen!
Thanks Dave! I really wish I could post some of the songs where he really cuts loose. They were on our trio CD and we have licenses for them but I do respect the showcase policy on covers. Randy had a killer album called Survival of the Fiddlist.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 2,946
PG Music Staff
|
|
PG Music Staff
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 2,946 |
Wow, you weren't kidding when you said Randy could play. This song is lovely, and honestly, on the speakers I have at the office to listen to music, I can't hear an issue with the sound quality at all! I think it's a great tune.
Thanks for sharing!
Cheers,
Ember
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,749
PG Music Staff
|
|
PG Music Staff
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 15,749 |
Janice and Bud,
That was just beautiful! You all sounded great, and Randy's playing is spectacular.
Thanks for creating this.
Have Fun!
Peter Gannon
PG Music Inc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 21,883
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 21,883 |
Bluegrass at its absolute finest!
Randy was a hell of a player but you two ain't no slouches either.
That old recording sounded great on my near field monitors. Did you have to remove tape hiss or do anything to the tape to make it sound this good?
Have you ever noticed there are no lines to a bathroom at a water park?
64 bit Win 10 Pro, the latest BiaB/RB, Roland Octa-Capture audio interface, a ton of software/hardware
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 12,098
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 12,098 |
WOW!
I had that 4-track Tascam cassette recorder (still do). I can guarantee you...MY recordings NEVER sounded like THAT!
This is truly wonderful. Authentic. Would not be surprised if someone said this was a National Recording Registry recording. Or something from NPR when they are searching for "the real thing".
No question that Randy was a very talented man. But so is Bud Merritt. And as for talented women, few approach Janice Merritt.
A stunningly good recording.
Y'all are the Real Deal.
fj
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 19,302
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 19,302 |
Janice and Bud,
This was a really wonderful listen.
I was sitting here at my computer switching back and forth between reading an article on gravitational waves and scrolling through Users Showcase. I always find it best to have some distraction when I'm reading physics as I often find myself dozing off (not because it's boring but because physics does that to me -- I've never worked out why).
Anyway... When I started this song up, you added a whole new level of energy to my morning. Thank you for that. It was just what I needed.
Janice, your singing is super!!!! You have a serious knack for engaging the listener and pulling him/her into the song's journey.
Bud, your bass playing is excellent. I'm always pretty critical of bass because its melodic movement is something that I monitor in BIAB tracks because BIAB does not always make the best note-by-note choices. At the end of this recording, I just smiled.... not a milligram of critical thinking remained in my brain.
Randy (RIP), you were an incredibly talented man (and then some)!
Best regards to all,
Noel
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2024
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 14,734
Veteran
|
|
OP
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 14,734 |
Sounds terrific to these old ears! Based on what you said in your intro narrative, I was expecting a rather dull sound. But the tone is quite good. And the playing is excellent! This is Bluegrass as it was meant to be played. Excellent in all regards. Thanks for the couple minutes of listening pleasure! And yeah, Ransdy was quite the musician!
ALan Thanks Al. We were privileged to play with someone of his caliber. You would be amazed at the list of albums he played on. He left our little town, went to N'ville, and his dream was realized within a few months. A rare story. J&B
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 2,874
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 2,874 |
Hello, Janice & Bud
It is a truly historical recording!
I agree with ROG.
Fabulous! Nothing wrong with that recording at all. It's amazing the quality we used
to get from cassette back in the day.
Randy's playing is spectacular. And so are the others' playing.
I was using Teac's 4 track multi-channel tape recorder (The model number was A-3340S) when I was young, but I had never recorded such a wonderful performance.
Enjoyed my listen a lot.
Best regards.
Shigeki Adachi
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 3,414
PG Music Staff
|
|
PG Music Staff
Joined: Feb 2017
Posts: 3,414 |
What a tune! This is absolutely stunning. As other's have mentioned, Randy's playing is superb on this. He was obviously an incredibly talented guy. But truthfully, on this one the combination of what all 3 of you achieved is the impressive thing. There is so much chemistry between you all here, and it really shined through on the song. Not a thing I'd change - you guys absolutely crushed this one. Thanks for sharing
Cheers,
Deryk
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
User Showcase
|
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 6,995
Veteran
|
|
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 6,995 |
Gotta tap your foot to this one!! Great story, and a great blast from the past. THanks for posting guys!! Take care. Greg
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Generate Lyrics for your Band-in-a-Box songs with LyricLab!
Need some lyrics to complete your Band-in-a-Box song? LyricLab is here to help!
LyricLab (by Joanne Cooper) is an AI-powered tool designed to quickly create lyrics and chords to fit your music. Just enter a rough idea of your lyrics, and let the AI bring them to life. Once you're happy with the results, simply import the LyricLab file into Band-in-a-Box® 2024 or newer. From there, you can pick your style and generate melodies to match your song’s chords!
Learn more about LyricLab here!
Watch the video.
Band-in-a-Box 2024 Italian for Mac is Here!
Ci siamo dati da fare e abbiamo aggiunto oltre 50 nuove funzionalità e una straordinaria raccolta di nuovi contenuti, tra cui 222 RealTracks, nuovi RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, "Songs with Vocals" Artist Performance Sets, Playable RealTracks Set 3, Playable RealDrums Set 2, due nuovi set di "RealDrums Stems", XPro Styles PAK 6, Xtra Styles PAK 17 e altro ancora!
Tutti Pacchetti | Nuove Caratteristiche
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 German for Mac is Here!
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 für Mac Deutsch ist verfügbar!
Wir waren fleißig und haben über 50 neue Funktionen und eine erstaunliche Sammlung neuer Inhalte hinzugefügt, darunter 222 RealTracks, neue RealStyles, MIDI SuperTracks, Instrumental Studies, "Songs with Vocals" Artist Performance Sets, abspielbare RealTracks Set 3, abspielbare RealDrums Set 2, zwei neue Sets von "RealDrums Stems", XPro Styles PAK & 7, Xtra Styles PAK 17 & 18, und mehr!
Paket | Was ist Neu
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 French for Mac® is Here!
Band-in-a-Box® 2024 apporte plus de 50 fonctions nouvelles ainsi qu'une importante de contenus nouveaux à savoir : 222 RealTracks, des RealStyles nouveaux, des SuperTracks MIDI, des Etudes d'Instruments, des Prestations d'Artistes, des "Morceaux avec Choeurs", un Set 3 de Tracks Jouables, un Set 2 de RealDrums Jouables, deux nouveaux Sets de "RealDrums Stems", des Styles XPro PAK 6 & 7, des Xtra Styles PAK 17 & 18, et bien plus encore!
New! XPro Styles PAK 7 for Band-in-a-Box 2024 for Mac!
We've just released XPro Styles PAK 7 with 100 brand new RealStyles, plus 50 RealTracks and RealDrums that are sure to delight!
With XPro Styles PAK 7 you can expect 25 rock & pop, 25 jazz, and 25 country styles, as well as 25 of this year's wildcard genre: Celtic!
Here's a small sampling of what XPro Styles PAK 7 has to offer: energetic rock jigs, New Orleans funk, lilting jazz waltzes, fast Celtic punk, uptempo train beats, gritty grunge, intense jazz rock, groovy EDM, soulful R&B, soft singer-songwriter pop, country blues rock, and many more!
Special Pricing! Until September 30, 2024, all the XPro Styles PAKs 1 - 7 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea)! Supercharge your Band-in-a-Box 2024® with XPro Styles PAK 7! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of XPro Styles PAKs.
Watch the XPro Styles PAK 7 Overview & Styles Demos video.
XPro Styles PAKs require Band-in-a-Box® 2024 or higher and are compatible with ANY package, including the Pro, MegaPAK, UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, and Audiophile Edition.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 18 for Band-in-a-Box 2024 for Mac!
Xtra Styles PAK 18 for Band-in-a-Box version 2024 is here with 200 brand new styles to take for a spin!
Along with 50 new styles each for the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, we’ve put together a collection of styles using sounds from the SynthMaster plugin!
In this PAK you'll find: dubby reggae grooves, rootsy Americana, LA jazz pop, driving pop rock, mellow electronica, modern jazz fusion, spacey country ballads, Motown shuffles, energetic EDM, and plenty of synth heavy grooves! Xtra Style PAK 18 features these styles and many, many more!
Special Pricing! Until September 30, 2024, all the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 18 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea)! Expand your Band-in-a-Box 2024® library with Xtra Styles PAK 18! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 18 here.
Watch the Xtra Styles PAK 18 Overview & Styles Demos video.
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 18 requires the 2024 UltraPAK/UltraPAK+/Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
New! Xtra Styles PAK 18 for Band-in-a-Box 2024 for Windows!
Xtra Styles PAK 18 for Band-in-a-Box version 2024 is here with 200 brand new styles to take for a spin!
Along with 50 new styles each for the rock & pop, jazz, and country genres, we’ve put together a collection of styles using sounds from the SynthMaster plugin!
In this PAK you'll find: dubby reggae grooves, rootsy Americana, LA jazz pop, driving pop rock, mellow electronica, modern jazz fusion, spacey country ballads, Motown shuffles, energetic EDM, and plenty of synth heavy grooves! Xtra Style PAK 18 features these styles and many, many more!
Special Pricing! Until September 30, 2024, all the Xtra Styles PAKs 1 - 18 are on sale for only $29 ea (Reg. $49 ea)! Expand your Band-in-a-Box 2024® library with Xtra Styles PAK 18! Order now!
Learn more and listen to demos of the Xtra Styles PAK 18 here.
Watch the Xtra Styles PAK 18 Overview & Styles Demos video.
Note: The Xtra Styles require the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition of Band-in-a-Box®. (Xtra Styles PAK 18 requires the 2024 UltraPAK/UltraPAK+/Audiophile Edition. They will not work with the Pro or MegaPAK version because they need the RealTracks from the UltraPAK, UltraPAK+, or Audiophile Edition.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forums65
Topics83,144
Posts754,764
Members39,054
| |
Most Online3,932
Nov 19th, 2024
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dansk
Deutsch - Windows
Español
Français - Windows
Italiano - Windows
Nederlands
Polski
Português
Svenskt
русский
Japanese
Simplified Chinese
Traditional Chinese
Korean