Tag: Recording

My Eyes Play Better Than My Hands

Have you heard the expression, “my eyes are bigger than my stomach”? Meaning I put more food on my plate than I could actually eat? I have coined a guitar playing version of that statement. My eyes play better than my hands. Let me explain.

I am up to seven songs this month. Three of them were written in the dead of night using the built in instrument sounds in the iPad version of Garageband. Today I replaced the fake, software guitar parts with an actual real live guitar. On one song I was almost forced to stick with the crappy fake software. I came up with a funky little riff that was standing out above most of the others in my little head. I thought it was pretty snazzy. When I tried to play it today I couldn’t. It was beyond my abilities at this time. I’ve no doubt that back in 1995 of 2004 I could have nailed the sucker over and over again, but today? With my playing chops as weak as they are? Nope. I couldn’t do it.

I did find a work around though. It was in two parts. First, and most importantly, I practiced the little bastard over and over again for almost an hour. Over and over again. I got to the point where I could play it, but I couldn’t quite play it cleanly four times in a row as the song required. That’s where the second work around came in. It is a huge cheat. An epic cheat. A cheat for all ages. It’s also standard practice in a recording environment. I played the riff once then stopped. I then started the recording on the second measure of the phrase and played it again. I repeated until I had the whole thing comped together. I now have a complete recording of the entire phrase that is, while not perfect, good enough for my needs.

Am I a cheater? Oh you bet your sweet ass I am. In this respect, me and everyone else on the planet.

Overdoing It

I’ve got three songs left to finish. Almost there. I might even have time on Tuesday morning to finish up the vocals. Nice, right?

Well…

I felt like playing the guitar today and I didn’t have any parts to record so I… Well… I added another song. Urgh.

Even worse, it’s a cover. Urgh indeed.

Question for guitarists and guitar playing aficionados. When you think of Fender Stratocasters, who do you think of? Jimi Hendrix, post 1970 Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Ritchie Blackmore, David Gilmour, about 100 others. All good choices.

Me? Despite a lifetime of being obsessed with both Clapton and Beck, to me the first name that comes to mind when I think of Strats is Robin Trower. Not the biggest name, and probably not the best player, but something about his style always spoke to me. There is soul, there is passion, there is class, there is fire. Lots of slow bends, legato phrasing, well… Just a lot of things I have always tried to do. The difference being that he does it all while I futz around like a wannabe.

Back in high school I had heard of him without ever actually hearing him. One night I listened to a recording of a Procol Harem concert on the King Biscuit Flower Hour. The host was singing Trower’s praises and rightly so. The guitar playing in the show was fantastic. First chance I got I went out and bought a couple of records. BLT and Bridge of Sighs. I didn’t find out until later that despite the commentary, it wasn’t actually Robin Trower playing in that Procol Harem show. That was okay though, Bridge of Sighs won me over big time.

There is a song on his first record that I’ve always loved. “I Can’t Wait Much Longer.” Great song. Back in high school I tried to get my band to play it, but no one else was feeling it the way I was. The first time I ever borrowed a 4-track recorder I recorded that song. I used the cheesy little drum sounds on my dinky little Casio keyboard. It was basically the same goofiness I’ve been boring the universe with lately, it just didn’t sound as clean.

Anyway, I recorded a cover of “I Can’t Wait Much Longer” today. It’s all done except for the vocals. Once I bought a Strat it was pretty much inevitable. The whole thing is on my iPad right now. After I finish the vocal I’ll port it to the MacBook. I’ll have to clean up a little bass here and there, but other than that I’ll just mix it as is.

I’ll leave it until the last three March songs are done though.

Maybe.

More Music and an Oversight

Damn it!

I just finished the April music project. All 10 songs mixed. Now I just have to figure out a running order (I’ll probably just use the order in which they were written) and make a playlist on bandcamp. should I make an April playlist and a March playlist, or should I make one for both of them and mix them all up in the running order. I waffle back and forth on that one.

So I only have three songs left from March right? That’s what I said last night when I finished playing the gitter for the night, right?

No. Idiot marked one song as finished when it still needs to be mixed. Idiot. I have four songs that aren’t finished yet. I should get the un-mixed oversight mixed tonight though. I think.

A Little Cheating

I finished the last lead guitar part from April. Now all that’s left for the month is to mix the last two songs.

March still has three that aren’t finished. Two have lyrics written but only have a guide track. The third has nuttin.

I broke one of my rules tonight. Twice. I have a rule that states when I record bad rock songs the lead guitars cannot be recorded until after all the vocals are complete. That is the law. I broke the law. I recorded leads for the two songs that only have guide vocals. That means March now has two vocals to record, one to write and record, and one lead guitar to record. Then those three songs need mixin’. That’s all that’s left.

One other note. I am having a really tough time playing the Stratocaster. I’m just having a tough time getting the feel of it. The neck is so different from the Gibsons. I knew it would take a while, but I’m getting frustrated. A little. Not much. Just a little.

I also need to put lighter strings on it, and soon. Ouch.

Minor Music Nerd Moment

I didn’t have time to record a vocal this morning.  I did manage to write a lyric and a melody though.  I used my Apple Ear Pods.  I listened through the headphones while recording a guide track with the built in mic. 

It wasn’t much of a nerd moment, but it sufficed for the day.

80’s Flavored Cheese

Tempest Fero Lives again!

My first real band was called Tempest Fero. We shoulda rethought that name. Anyway, this was one of the first four or five songs we wrote. There should be keyboard, but I don’t have the skill or the patience to try and pull it off.

Recordingly speaking, there are things to note about this turkey. First, it is the first time I ever used the tempo track in Garageband. There is a bonafide tempo change in this one that I didn’t cheat my way through by recording two separate files and then editing them together.

Second, all three of my electric guitars make an appearance. The rhythm guitar is my Les Paul Custom. The first half of the guitar solo during the slow section is my Stratocaster. The second half is the Les Paul Custom again. The two solo breaks toward the end should have been keyboards, but instead they are my ES 335 Pro. The guitarmonies at the very end are actually all three guitars. They weren’t part of the Tempest Fero arrangement, but I thought it would be fun to have all three gitters in harmony.

As for the old days in T.F., this song was monkeyed with often. I believe this is the arrangement (sans keys) we stuck with the most, but there were others. I remember at one point the slow section opened the song. I only found one old (ancient) tape of the song and I could not for the life of me figure out the lyrics in the last verse. What I have here is close, but probably not 100% right.

As for the lyrics, well… we never had a chance. It was 1987 or 88. I was really into Deep Purple. Our drummer was into White Snake and Iron Maiden. We all loved Led Zeppelin. At some point we were going to write a hooker song. None of us would have known a hooker if we had one sitting on our lap, but there was no way around it. We were going to write a hooker song.

I clearly recall three, maybe four, of us sitting in a fast food joint working on the lyrics. We created the character and threw the lyrics together while snaking on McD’s, or Burger King. I’m also pretty sure we got there on a high school band bus. It was a stop along the way on some competition or trip or something. I also seem to remember thinking it was pretty funny. Really, it was just kinda sad.

Ah, the 80’s.

Where the Music Projects Stand

I haven’t been pushing the recording very much so far this month. I have one full week left to get stuff done before I take a week off from work. When I take that week off, I’m not going to want to do anything but relax.

There are a total of 20 songs. All of the basic tracks (drums, bass, rhythm guitar) are finished. What’s left?

Three songs still need lyrics, vocals, melody, and lead guitar. They are all from March.
Three more songs have vocals but still need lead guitars. Two from March and one from April.
Two more songs are fully recorded, but still need to be mixed. Both are from April.
The remaining 12 songs are all completely finished. Five from March and seven from April.

And that, dear friends, is where it stands. I suspect it will probably trickle into June. I still haven’t decided if June will get it’s own music month project. July won’t, as 50/90 starts on July 4th and I am planning on failing that one once again.

Two Songs

I mixed two songs last night. Let’s start with the bad news. This song is from April. You’d think it would be bad enough that after finishing the recording I realized that it’s awfully similar to a 2013 RPM song, but I had to go and put together this crap fest of a mix. I expect to be doing this one again.

http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/its-not-easy.mp3%20

On a slightly better note, I also mixed one from March. This is the first of the RPMarch songs, and one of the Christmas vacation things. All that’s left from the original iPad file is the bass, and even that is using a different sound. I like this one… sort of. The vocals were sung in the car while sitting in a parking lot waiting for the kids to get out of karate. The lyrics are about how weird it is that so many people get so wound up about RPM, and about how dumb the idea of doing a second RPM right away felt.

I’ll probably end up remixing this one too. I have no confidence in any of the mixing I’ve done. I’ve already redone two of these things. I have been using more plug in effects and some how I just get bogged down with the individual tracks and I lose the sense of the complete song. When I go back and listen a few days later, everything is swimming in reverb, or the bass is buried, or the lead is buried, or the drums are too loud. It’s always something. I might end up remixing everything.

http://alonetone.com/robertjames1971/tracks/overkill-1.mp3%20