the first song needs more cowbell. :D i like the second song the best. the rest are mehhhh ...(n)

the mixes are fine. liked some of the guitar tones. really nothing wrong with this effort. put it out. move on .......NEXT!

If your attempt was about recording a garage band, you succeeded quite nicely.
It takes time to train our ears and build our skills. The more you do it the better you'll become.
Feel free to post specific questions if you get stuck on something ;)

Kurt Foster, post: 425422, member: 7836 wrote: the first song needs more cowbell. :D i like the second song the best. the rest are mehhhh ...(n)

the mixes are fine. liked some of the guitar tones. really nothing wrong with this effort. put it out. move on .......NEXT!

Thanks Kurt the other songs were more experimental for us, we are trying to not have just one sound and are trying to dip our toe in as many genres as we can.

Westboro Madness, post: 425452, member: 48905 wrote: Thanks Kurt the other songs were more experimental for us, we are trying to not have just one sound and are trying to dip our toe in as many genres as we can.

Performance:
I understand the temptation to diversify in styles, and it can be fun to kick around different genres and ideas - but it can be a double edged sword, too... in that your fan base - if you have one - may not be able to ever grasp what the band is "about".

Your band is pretty loose... you've got everyone kinda just doing their own thing, -drifting in tempos, with the players never really locking down into any kind of pocket or groove... but - this may be just the sound you are after.
It is possible to lock down as a band and still remain "raw". For example, The Ramones were great at doing that.

It sounds to me as if everyone is just kinda playing to - and for - themselves, and that the players aren't really listening to what the others are doing.

The result is that there isn't any gel or "glue". It just sounds like 4 guys jamming and playing their own thing, and not really following any kind of direction.
That doesn't mean that there are people who wouldn't dig it. It's just not my thing.

Recording:

The recording itself is, well, I'm not gonna lie - it's pretty bad... and this has no reflection on whether or not I dig the music. I'm strictly talking about the recording quality here...

You'd be better off to stick to concentrating on being musicians, and go to a real studio where a real engineer can take care of capturing your sound and vibe with the best quality - and with as much accuracy - as possible.

IMHO of course.

d.

Your challenges at this point are all groove and band cohesion and performance related. Recording wise you should continue to record - but really only to critique your progress at this point.

First Song: - Suggestion -Homework: Listen to Soundgarden's Louder than Love album. Particularly "Loud Love" . Second Homework for first Song - the band The Heavy and the song "How You Like Me Now?"

Pay real attention to how the groove is established and maintained for these songs - what are the accents? Where is the syncopation? Pay Particular attention to the vocal performance that Chris Cornell gives on Loud Love. Hear that commitment? That's what your girl singer needs to deliver. She's singing notes but communicating nothing. She needs to really commit to the vocal with fearlessness. There's a difference between a stylistic choice of holding back and being scared to be forward - she's scared here and needs to be pushed out of her comfort zone. This isn't style - it's a commitment issue. But the band isn't giving her much of a foundation to stay confident on - she can't punctuate and accent the groove because you've not given her one.

As a band - you all need to be practicing in a circle playing to each other's bodies. You should be bobbing on every beat and really landing on the 1 (where appropriate) -- you need to practice playing to each other's physical cues -- lock in with the eyes and with the body. Move together. This just takes time. The groove is a sacred fire that you all have to create and tend to to protect and secure.

The intro is cool -- I like the guitar figure (you use it also in the chorus) but it's totally missing the feel when the band is playing. I'm waiting for the band to lock in on the 1. On the verses where you've got this climbing rhythm going you should be accenting the 2 & 4 -- almost reggae feel - then in the chorus when you return to the guitar figure you should be hitting the one hard in unison to establish the rock groove and continue on in the bridge and coda with balls out rock--That clip by the Heavy is awesome -- and if you want to see it live check out their performance of it on David Letterman -- Legendary!!!!!!!!

Some more homework for this song: DJ Champion: No Heaven

See how he establishes the groove? Totally different approach but it's still there ------

Let me know what you think and I can continue.

OK - here's the Heavy Live David Letterman performance with the encore!!!!!

And one more -- watch how they communicate - see their bodies establish the groove and communication?