Ok, folks - I mentioned before that I was trying to go through old 4-track tapes of my former band and trying to make them listenable with minimal overdubs. Well, I've finally mixed down most of them and put them on their own soundclick page. Let me know what you think. If you think I did a bad job with the overdubs I may have to send them to Phil Spector. I had to go with what I had so there's a few flubs here or there. Here's the link:


http://www.soundclick.com...hmusic.htm


Dig it!

Here's the link to the main page. I like to say dumb stuff for those interview questions.

http://www.soundclick.com...ecouch.htm

i've only listened to dancing round the truth cau'se i'm late and í have to go to university now, i liked, especially he chorus, but i think the vocals are mixed too low, i liked very much the tone (tone?) (timbre) of your voice on the chorus, on the verses i almost cant hear. but it's cool, peace.

Thanks. I mixed it very quickly yesterday. Anyone else dare to take a listen?

I tried a few songs but it keeps buffering for 10 to 30 seconds every 5 seconds into each song.

It's storming here, so maybe that's why. I'll try again tomorrow. I usually never have a problem with soundclick and I'm on a T-1 connection.

I'm by far not the best opinion here but here's my

I'm listening to "dance around the truth" and I love everything about it except the drum sound. It's not the drummer because he's kickin some ass but the overall sound.

Same thing with the other songs. Really cool changes and talent all over it but that drum sound is not working.

How are you mic-ing them?

Have you read that mic thread?
http://www.prince.org/msg/15/69330

Velvet Couch?

These are from my old 4-track cassette tapes and shitty mikes. How did I mic them? I don't even remember, but I only had 3 I think. So I probably just put one in the vicinity of the drums. I don't really know what else to do with this stuff.

I like the songs but that drum sound makes it sound like a garage band.

Just re-record them, the music/ideas are there.

I posted this on my recording studio thread but I think it fits here also.

I have 2 or 3 SM57's. I use them for a fair amount of things... mic guitar, mic snare... or use it as a hammer. :+) I used it as a kick mic too for fun on a song. I actually have recorded vocals with it too now that I think about it. I like trying my mics for various things. I just make sure that the type of mic I use can handle it for things like frequency range and of course SPL.

Anybody have any 3 or 4 drum mic set up they like to use? I like doing the typical kick mic, one for the snare, crash and tom and another mic for the ride, tom 2 and floor tom. (Usually a large diaphram condensor) Then I put an overhead mic right above the drummers head to get the "sitting at the kit" sound. You just have to make sure you have proper spacing and placement when you do that so you don't get phasing and all that fun stuff. That's one of the few different ways I like to mic my drums. If I want a nice punchy kick I usually use EQ AFTER I record to suck out the 300hz frequency.

Ahhh... now I sound like such a huge nerd! hehe :+P

There are TONS of other ways to mic drums, if you have any questions about it, just let me know. I will try to go check out the sample and hope my computer doesn't crash. (My new computer is in the shop so to speak) Take care and good luck!
[This message was edited Thu Nov 20 0:20:32 PST 2003 by Bootsinox]

Dancing 'round the Truth - has a great groove. You should re-record that one. good concepts in there.

Listen to Mama - something there says Pearl Jam, not sure what. Was it recorded around that time? Early 90's that is.

Testify - I dig this one a lot. Nice changes. I always apprecieate live drums. Good use of dynamics in this one.

Givin' it up - Has potential if re-recorded. So much sounds burried in the background. Still, good changes.

Ultragoose - My favorite of the bunch. Nice hook and synth use. Vocals are much clearer here. Live drums make it rock! Guitar effects are used tastefully and compliment the song nicely. I recommend continuing working on this one. It's got the hook and power. Guitar solo could be brought up and such. Drums slow down at a few points in the song and throws the song out of time. This one is the keeper I tell ya!

Thanks for everyone's comments. I'd love to re-record all of those songs, however, the drummer has moved to Arizona I think. We haven't played together as a group for years. This stuff is from the late '90's and I really can't go back and do anything with what I have. These songs are actually the best sounding of the recordings that I have. On Ultragoose I redid the vox and added another guitar and synth. If you listen to Givin' it up you can hear us become confused before that bridge part and someone gets a verbal cue. I still play with the bass player now so maybe some of these tunes can be resurrected.

artist08 said:

LOL, moved to Arizona? That's where I am! hehe Mind if I borrow your drummer? j/k Technically I could record him playing the bare drum tracks to a click track and send them to you. hehe It's so hard finding reliable musicians to work with. That's why I have had my focus on studio recording for the last year or so. My last live show was about 6 months ago. It has always pretty much been my cousin and I. He jumps back and forth between bass and drums and I play whatever else is needed in the song. If I do solo stuff, I play all the instruments myself. =^) Currently we would like to find a bassist but if we found a drummer, that would work too. Honestly, it's extremely hard to find somebody versatile enough or opened minded enough musically. K...end of rant... take care everybody!

Well, thanks to you four who actually listened and commented. For the rest of you - you make me feel like Rupert from Survivor last night. I guess I'll just never fit in...*sniff*. Hehehehee.

artist08 said:

I know you're joking but just return the favor when I post new music.

Slave2daGroove said:

I have a doctor's excuse!!! I have a full-on ear infection. Feels like somebody poured a cup of warm pudding into my right ear. Enjoy your lunch.

I'm gonna give it a listen as soon as the bugs get out of my eyes and the fire in my ear goes out. Honest. I'm going to go take some nyquil and get a great afternoon's sleep.

Slave2daGroove said:

that's true...I am sort of a hypocrite, aren't I? LOL!

Aha! 'Dancing 'round the truth' #18 on the Alt - Indie charts!

okay. here you go. my opines. I'm half deaf in one ear, but I'll give you a go.

Dancing Round the Truth:
The drummer stands out as the weakest link right away. The mix on the thing is too empty... crank the vox during the verses - it's just too buried. Maybe it's the mp3 compression, I dunno. The vocals during the chorus is pretty good tho... did you ever hear of a band called the Goodies? This reminds me of them... a LOT. (they're a local Atlanta band, so, you probably never heard em.)

Overall - EVERYBODY sounds afraid to play - the bass player sounds hesitant to hit the notes, I'm not sure why it sounds that way. Maybe crank the bottom end on the bass?

---

Listen to Mama:
You are the strongest link in the band. That's the best thing I can say, man. No offense... I like the ideas in this song, but, it just sounds empty and unfinished to me... more like an extended jam over an idea.
---

Skippin round to GIVIN IT UP
I like thissun. It's got a funky vibe to it, but the drummer is just killing you man. I bet you could turn this into something great using the Zoom drum machine - do you do much drum programming? You could do something here.

I gotta get back to werk.

And MAYBE one day I'll write or record another song.

Thanks, Otan, for the reviews. Yeah, we criticized the drummer for never playing the same beat twice (it was true!). As for drum programming, I usually never bother because I want to get an idea down so quick before I forget it. And I think you all know how that can be!

this is thee best song i have ever heard u record.
I got ta giv the props man! I almost wanna put up a post telling every1 2 listen 2 this jam! I was bangin my head and dancin! Got damn man, pick up on this and keep it! It is damn funky and cool!

Hey, thanks, PP4 - I wish you would...hehehee. Ummm...which jam were you talkin' about?

"Dancing Round" fuckin hot ass jam. i shoulod dl it now!

check out ma new cut tell me ha ya likes it!

http://www.soundclick.com...zmusic.htm "Night Of The Club"