Two very funky guitar tunes -- LISTEN!!

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spweedah

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There are two new tunes on the link at the bottom.

The first tune, Prima Zaleskus, is another one of my funk instrumentals, written and recorded in the style of some of my other tunes.

The second, After Burn, is a jazz tune that was recorded as a whim. I felt like doing something spontaneous without all the usual composing and arranging which seems to take forever.

So, I found some cool factory patches on my Boss DR-770 -- two of them had synth bass on them, one in the key of E, the other in G. I recorded these on the fly combining them with two different fills, and some other latin things at the beginning and end.

With that done, I just started blowing on the guitar, kind of in the vein of Mike Stern. There's no real theme or melody, just improvisation. The results are by no means perfect but I did achieve the spontaneous result I was seeking. I resisted all temptation to 'fix' anything and just let it be, warts and all. Apologies since it kind of goes on a bit long than it needs to.

Have a listen and let me know what you think. Thanks!

spwee

http://granthambleton.iuma.com
 
I liked After Burn the best of the two. Funky and Jazzy for sure. I like all the modulation too. Really fine tune.

Ray J
 
(Spwee, I'm flying to KC tomorrow, haven't had a chance to hear these yet, just wanted to encorage anyone else that sees this thread to check your stuff out.)

Hey, everyone, this guy Spweedah is a really good, musical guitarist and a terrifc recording engineer-- check these out!

-AlChuck
 
Hey AlChuck!

Thanks man, great to hear from you again. Drop me a line when you get back into town -- let me know what you're up to.

spwee
 
Wow. Very cool tune. I liked how everything interacted together.

Basically, it has great balance, great tone, I just think it need bigness. I think some limiting will work to achieve this. I think panning stuff more aggresively will help too.

Very good work. I like it alot.
 
Ray J --

Thanks for listening and for your comments!


CyanJaguar --

Thanks to you too, but which tune are you referring to with your comments? If you mean the jazz tune, After Burn, you're right I didn't use any limiting like I usually do (on my Masterlink), and the sound wasn't as big and punchy as the others. Good ears!

spwee
 
Spweedah,

I'm finally back from KC and NY (I flew back to California Sunday night, thank God) and starting to get over the numbness a bit, so I finally listened to your two latest tunes. Here's my input:

"After Burn" -- I like the basic idea, but it doesn't quite gel for me. Reading your post over again I see you noted that "there's no real theme or melody, just improvisation." In that case, what I have to say is consistent with that -- I thought I heard the germ of a good Sternish (Sternesque? Sternian? Sternlike?) tune but there was no hook to hang my ears on. The thing about angular lines is they sound angular when they are not put into relief against something more "tuneful," for the lack of a better word. I love it when some gnarled, twisted lines open up like a flower at the end or somewhere along the way, and what seemed to me to be your head on these tunes never did that. (Listen to Stern's "Chromazone" if you have it for an example that's not unlike this but does have a sense of form and completeness overall). Now I realize that you were deliberately seeking to not go there with this tune, so forget what I say!

The good thing is you do have the seed of a terrific piece (or a couple, perhaps) inside some of those twisty bits, if and when you do decide to do "all the usual composing and arranging which seems to take forever."

Re the recording itself, I have basically the same comments as CyanJaguar.

"Prima Zaleskus" -- this one is a gem. I really like the unusual chord progression and the flavor of the theme -- strong and beautiful! Jack Bruce would be proud. The recording is further along on this one, too. I love the Holdsworthesque flurries at the top of the solo. What does the title mean?

One more overall comment after having listened to all your pieces multiple times -- in the context of these being a collection of numbers, as in a CD, they are mostly consistent -- which is a good thing -- but maybe too consistent. Many of them begin in nearly the same way, with 4 bars or so of the establishing drum part... if you are considering sequencing these all as a whole CD, I think just a little variation in the way the tunes begin would help...

-AlChuck
 
What a relief that you are back!

I knew you were traveling and I was hoping that you had returned before all this senseless horror unfolded. Looks like you just made it in time, thank heaven.

Thanks for taking the time to listen to my tunes. I definitely agree with your comments, particular the critical ones.

I was very reluctant to even post the After Burn tune -- the reason I did was just to have an example of jazz style playing on my website, since I'm trying to find some playing work. It's not even a tune, just a bunch of guitar blowing over a drum track.

Yes, I realize I've fallen into a formula -- that was somewhat by design, but it's become kind of a downfall or even a trap. I'm trying to express myself within a certain context -- something that I've been feeling inside myself for a long time. In a way, I'm kind of writing the same tune over and over again to try and whittle away the stone to get to the center or soul of what I'm hearing. But, in that quest, I'm guilty of redundancy which wouldn't be so egregious if there were other types of tunes to break things up.

All the aforementioned is pretty much a function of the fact that I'm doing everything by myself, with no other players or pairs of critical ears to steer me away from my pursuit. On one hand, that's what I wanted to do, since I'm always the first one to say "okay, let's do it your way" in the interest of collaboration, but in doing it all alone I'm at the mercy of my own tendencies and limitations.

I don't even think of these tunes as a 'CD' per se. If I did, I would need to break these all up with other tunes to make more contrast and variety.

Again, thanks for your sharp ears and excellent comments, and most importantly, welcome home -- everything else falls into trivial insignifance in comparison.

spwee
 
Listened to all your tunes....I really enjoyed your playing on "After Burn" ....I'd say stick with the spontaneity...the playing had lots more feeling and was more fluid..."warts"?....what "warts"?

BTW on the polished tracks my favorite was "Dead Reckoning"
 
MAC2

Hey, thanks for taking the time to listen and for the positive comments.

Yeah, spontaneity has it's rewards, although many times I just end up with a bunch of nothing.

The 'warts' I was referring to are the momentary lapses of concentration that make for musical glitches -- always frustrating.

Thanks again,

spwee
 
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