Crisis of confidence-patient ones please open

  • Thread starter Thread starter Alanfc
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Alanfc

Alanfc

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I'm having a crisis of confidence here-
patient ones out there please get tough with me-
I'm having these serious doubts about my work and I was wondering if anyone could give a listen.

here are four of my latest songs:

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=2962&alid=-1


I've worked and re-worked these to in terms of arrangement, instrumentation, vocal melody, beats, etc. and they just seem really terribly boring to me. I don't know what is missing. I got so sick of them I had to let them go, maybe come back to them later.

but please be as hard as you can, why are these so Blah ?

my equipment and mixing skills leave alot to be desired, but the Song is the thing.

I'm trying to find a bass player and drummer to play out for fun (not multiplatinum stardom). I don't want to scare them off or bore them ! I am hoping that the bassist or drummer could share lead vocal duties with me, as I have done them on these recordings myself only out of necessity.

please give me your toughest
thanks
 
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link doesn't work.

I'm ready for listening but I can't get through!:(
 
Hey Alan,

I said I would be back and I am.

First off, I listened to 'Battle,' 'Rolling,' and 'Scoundrel.'

In terms of a singer, I think you need a vocalist who only sings to match the intensity of the playing here.

Currently, it sounds like Perry Farrell singing for LA Guns or something. :D

Now, In terms of songwriting:

'Rolling' is way too long... I like the intro riff but I heard no chorus! 1;47.....still no chorus.... where is it? what is it?

'Battle' has a big skip between intro and verse. The singing sounds a little like Brak from Space Ghost or David Byrne. What's with the change of motif around 2:20?

Overall, you're a talented guy who can do a lot of things but I don't hear a hook written into any of these. What needs work to my ears is the songwriting stage of the game. You've got good songs that are each missing something. There's a void where the hook should be.

The best advice I can give, and this should work w/ any genre, is to play the song w/ just an acoustic guitar and a voice and see if it's still interesting to you. See if you like the song "naked," as it were. Are there arrangement aspects that don't work? Is the current arrangement (hint hint) burying the hook that really does exist? Rewrite your hook at this stage.

I hope I helped a little. Don't waste your talent. Just even out the great guitar playing w/ more songwriting practice.
 
thank you !

just what I suspected, nothing to grasp on to or remember. This must be that "something" I was missing too

I am considering these songs now "old Catalog". These songs were created from guitar orgy with vocals added, because I had to have vocals in there somewhere....

I have recently started new ones with vocal melody and hook first, with the AMP Off.

thanks alot for the reality check
 
Alan

I just listened to Scoundrel. Heard bits of the Gary Moore take on the blues in there, before you wandered off:)

Just to add to the excellent advice from stonep, I think that you'll find it easier once you've recruited a bass player and a drummer (which with your talent I don't think you'll find hard to do). Having others in the room to bounce things off is a huge help.

Really liked your guitar playing:)
 
Thanks for the listen Garry

Now, I'm getting down to basics now on something new, with an unplugged guitar and one sheet of stave paper and a pencil. I'm restricting myself to a grand total of 8 bars to work with, for the vocal melody and vocal/instrumental hooks. The new tune itself slow and really corny but its a good study for me.

I'm seeing a trend with those 4 songs I have up now, they do go off on tangents don't they? I guess they're fun to play but hard to listen to...

I'm having trouble finding players because everybody that want to play rock down here is going for multiplatinum world domination. I can't do that now. I 'll find some people eventually. I just want to get out and play once a month or so and have a good work ethic/practice schedule.

thanks again
 
I just want to get out and play once a month or so and have a good work ethic/practice schedule
Click to expand...

Well, if you removed that "work ethic" phrase (fuck it, we do this for fun), that's exactly where we are, about a gig a month and we rehearse Sunday afternoons and an evening most weeks. We'd play together even if we didn't gig, just for its own sake, but it's nice to play out.

I've been through putting a band together, and you have to work your way through the commercially motivated dreamers to find the real music lovers. I interviewed a dozen guitarists on the phone, before finding the one I thought would be right even before I'd heard him play (and he was). Just get used to kissing frogs - it'll be worth it in the end.
 
Thats funny, I agree. Us Americans, all work and no play. kinda sick but true.

yes I guess by work ethic I mean I want people that will care about what they're doing and not blow off practice, etc.. I mean I'm doing it for fun but I don't want it to suck.
Sounds like you have a good thing going and I'm glad for you. I'm working on a new classified ad right now as a matter of fact. I'll keep renewing it until I get some people however long it takes.
 
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