The Absentee Drummer Track

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powderfinger

powderfinger

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Me and my compadres got together to record a track only to have our drummer be a no-how...........instead of playing to loops, we decided we'd just record and add our own hack percusion (ie, shakers, tamborines, finger snaps, etc.).......do you think we should retrack this w/ real drums, or does it stand ok with the minimalist percusion? also, any other mix or song comments would be great........

the song is called 'Swallow My Pride"..........

http://www.nowhereradio.com/artists/album.php?aid=1642&alid=154
 
i'm typically not one to bump my own posts, but i got back tonight and i still haven't got shiiiiiiiiiiii.....almost at the end of the first page w/ nothing........any feedback? por favor.........
 
HEY get off my back!!!!

lol
first line is awesome.....i dont thinh it needs more drums....this is about the cool lyrics...why not let them take center stage??...i wouldnt ..vox on the higher end a little bit flat in some spots...
ilike the little (wooo-hooo-hooo) part.....cool....i dunno why noone else replied....im sure as soon as they see my name there will be a flood......lmao....


i like it
fix some of the vox
re-post
i'll buy it

jamal<-------------(REALLY knows what he is talkin about)
 
Hey Powder........
I dont think that drums are necessary, but a little more than just some weak finger snapping might do your fine song a little more justice. I like the tamborine though.... maybe some brushes on a snare.....? There are a couple of flatties in there on the backing vocals, but you know that. I like the lead vocs. The vocalist reminds me of someone...... and it escapes me. It'll come to me when im eating dinner or mowing the lawn or something.

Incidently, the only reason im here is 'cause i saw Jamal's name:D

G
 
jamal, thanks for the listen.......i'm going to try and re-track the vocals later today.

guernica, i like the idea of the snare brushes.......maybe as soon as our lazy ass drummer makes it to a practice we can get that in......heck maybe we'll even try and do it without him....

the vocals obviously have some flat parts........do you think this is mainly in the lead or the backing?........or both?
 
I kinda agree... this doesn't "need" drums... (and this coming from a drummer??!?! :eek: ) :p It's a laid back song, so it's not bad without drums, but a little more "substantial" percussion might help.

My suggestion would be to pan that primary electric a little more towards center.. (the one that's all the way off on the right). Maybe later in the song (when the second electric comes in) you can pan it off right, but in the beginning, when it's just the elec and th acoustic, the middle sounds kinda "empty". (but that's just my inexperienced opinion. :p )

I agree aboot the vocals being flat, but I'd say it's primarily a BGV problem.. I didn't hear too many lead parts go sour, but those backgrounds were off quite a bit.

But over-all.. really good mix. Nice and clean.

WATYF
 
Yea........ the flatties are in the bg's. With that style of singing, a few slips almost sounds nice. .......does that make sense? It's a very human, laid back vocal style....... and the occasional slip sometimes lends to that IMO. "Sometimes"

cools stuff powder

Im gonna think of who it is that the vocalist reminds me of......damnit...... It's........................ damn.......
 
guernica........i agree with the notion that some background slips almost sound nice........

that's kinda why i tried to get the vocal so far back in the mix....not cause the backing vocals were bad (which they were), but just to have sound like someone in the room was kinda just singing a half-assed backing vocal.............i'm in the process of redoing some of them though

also, i can't wait to hear the vocal comparison.........think of it already dammit............hah.........i've heard comparisons on my writing style and guitar playing, but never on my voice, so this should be interesting.....
 
i agree, fine without drum's. and good song!!! this is just me, but......your vox kinda sound's like the guy from third eye blind. im sure G has someone totally different in mind.

thanks man

peace

rick
 
fenderlickin'-- thanks for the listen........third eye blind singer?? i never would have guessed it

guernica-- have you come up w/ your comparison yet?
 
this sounds like something I would hear at an Applebee's...or someplace like that. Mainly because it is a strumming acoustic song with 'coffeehouse' sounding vocals. The singing sounds like it's trying tooo hard to have some "hipness' to it. The percussion IS too sparce, and not inventive enough to hold a rhythm. You need more.
whoa !!!!! ...the lead player showed up (@ 3:00)!!! kinda showed up a little late...eh? the gig started 3 minutes ago!:p

nice tune...but sounds like a Sunday afternoon jam (and having a lot of fun...)
 
You'll Hate Me...

Okay man, you know I'm a huge fan, so please take the following with that in mind.

It's a pretty cool tune, not my favorite of yours, but so what.

Redo ALL the vocals yesterday. From the first "Seee," it's flat (and actually sharp) in a ton of places. The bg vox bring out the severity of the problem even more in places. I like your vocal style a ton, but (for me personally), it works much better to sound like you're only half-assed trying when you're in pitch. The difference in this tune is the difference between sounding cool/fresh and sounding totally amateurish. (*ouch*).

Now, I wouldn't even THINK about saying that if I thought you couldn't sing better, but you made the fatal mistake of posting "Just A Day In Your Life," where you totally kicked ass on the vocals...so I know you can do better.

MY PERSONAL OPINION HAS BEEN STATED IN FULL.

(Oh yeah, and I dig all your tunes, but you know that).

:D
-chris
 
mixmkr- thank you for the listen and the honesty.....i have to say the Applebee's comment was at first was like a swift kick to the nuts, but....i know exactly what you're saying, and quite frankly i think you're right........i think this is one of those songs that i enjoy playing by myself, but i think this one is destined to stay out of the song rotation......too much of a departure in a bad way

chris- thanks for the listen....i think i've found out what i didn't want to admit to myself before......this song has no edge....and my singing is most effective w/ songs w/ an edge......i think i'm going to scrap this one..........me and my band have gone through a slight acoustic phase as of late, but my Marshall is starting to call my name again, hopefully the next track will be lound and obnoxious....and good
 
R U NUTS???

Hey man, Mixmkr's kick to the nuts must have shoved them up into your brain.

Now, if you're saying you're gonna' give this tune a rest for awhile, that's cool...but I distinctly read the word "scrap," in there somewhere, and I don't think ya' oughtta' do that at all. Hell, if anything, (and this'll sound funny if you're not hearing it in your head this way), but I'd throw up some fuzzy gits and drums behind THIS one.

And another thing...if you're really gonna' scrap it, I'm gonna' record it...(I won't post it, I promise)...But I'd sure like your permission.

Thanks...(if nothing else, my threat of recording it should make you at least TELL me you're not gonna' ditch the tune).

:D
chris
 
chris-

you're always too kind...........i do like the idea of try to rock this one out a bit more.......but i'm still not sure how it's gonna sound though...i might give that a shot in a few weeks. for now i've got to sit on this one, though.....trying to get more tunes down rather than 'polish turds' for lack of a better term..........it's a song that i don't want to scrap (as the lyrics actually mean something to me), i've got to find another way to make it work better........maybe a slowed down solo acoustic thing.......i don't know

"And another thing...if you're really gonna' scrap it, I'm gonna' record it...(I won't post it, I promise)...But I'd sure like your permission. "

if you ever have way too much time on your hands and no songs to record, i'd love to hear you record this song....i've never heard somone else record (or perform) one of my songs.....that would be interesting.......you have permission
 
hey man...

... I want some Tic-Tacs! :(

Cool line... the swallowin' pride line. All your stuff is cool lyric-wise... The cool thing about not having the drummer is the inventiveness you have to use... it forces you to be more creative. The no-drums thing is cool for the first 1:30 or so, and it may work for the whole song... but, if you ever get the chance for drums, yea go ahead without them for the first verse or something. Would be a cool dynamic.

Yea if you get a drummer try 'em after about 2 mins... some change-ups in panning might be nice, too (move the guits around, the voice too...)

This isn't a turd BTW... just a little chocolatey... with little beady eyes, but it's a keeper ;)


Chad
 
Like Guernica, it'll come to me while I'm mowing dinner or eating the lawn.
What a very cool song... percussion is almost enough, maybe a little more would help, but not too much more.
Strong writing, my friend.

Mark
 
im thinking of percussion that would make this sound really complete.

a woodblock with a hi-hat style "shuffle" pattern would be perfect. alternate between that and the hat by sections and add a really weak snare sound and you'd be there.

it has a nice old homestyle sound to it. kinda like from the hills and far away.

its nice.

:)
 
participant- thanks for listening......i like the idea of waiting for the drums to come in until around 2 min........'no rain' by blind melon does that......good idea, maybe that's what it needs

mkg- thanks for the listen

jeap- i like that idea.......the drummer i play w/ doesn't even have a woodblock, maybe i should go make him buy one
 
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