new CD project

[CocoTone]

Started a CD project, and thought you guys would be interested in hearing the progress.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=700599

CT.

[CocoTone]

Gee,,,thanks for listening, I think!!:zzz:

CT.

[iaresee]

I got through three tracks before I got too bored to continue on. The blues has just been done. To death. And then some. You get marks for good production value. Band is tight, clearly proficient musicians. The singer's approach to everything is very bland and flat. Yea, there's just nothing here that grabs my attention.

Aren't you glad you pushed for our opinions now?

[CocoTone]

Actually yes I am. You can't improve without criticism, right?? The only person I slam on TGP, is Carl. He deserves it though. No need to apologize. I got thick skin.

CT.

[CocoTone]

Thats not a slam, by any stretch, and there are a lot of guys that can do what he does, just as many as there are SRV clones, at least. I don't get it. You must be a WH fan.

CT.

[CocoTone]

Thats called stating an opinion. A slam is saying, `this guy sux`, or `his tone is like ice picks`. I think there is more behind your statement than meets the eye. Hey, but YOU are entitled to your opinion as well, and I thank you for your critique.
I don't get the SRV thing though, as I don't think I sound anything like him, (I only wish!!)

CT.

[CocoTone]

I got through three tracks before I got too bored to continue on. The blues has just been done. To death. And then some. You get marks for good production value. Band is tight, clearly proficient musicians. The singer's approach to everything is very bland and flat. Yea, there's just nothing here that grabs my attention.

Aren't you glad you pushed for our opinions now?

Hey, I didn't ask to be the singer. I was the only one left who could sing when our last vocalist left. I would much rather just play guitar, and be the backup singer.

CT.:wave:

[davetcan]

Well I liked most of it but then I'm a huge blues fan. Can't be done enough in my book. :smile: I thought the guitar work was very good, great playing and tone on most tracks. Vocals need work on a few of them. "Ain't no Sunshine" is a good example, loved the guitar and general feel of the song but the vocals were a bit off in a few places.

[CocoTone]

Whatever,,,I can live with the re-phrasal. I don't think, on an open disscussion board like TGP, that my opinions are any more negative than the next guys. At least I'm honest. You are too. That is a welcome trait these days.

CT.

[CocoTone]

Well I liked most of it but then I'm a huge blues fan. Can't be done enough in my book. :smile: I thought the guitar work was very good, great playing and tone on most tracks. Vocals need work on a few of them. "Ain't no Sunshine" is a good example, loved the guitar and general feel of the song but the vocals were a bit off in a few places.

Thanks for listening Dave. I agree al around. I too can't get enough blues, but these tracks, with the exception of Fool fer yer stockings, and Stay/Go, aren't what I call blues. They are more R&B. It si getting harder and harder to find blues played well, and that is what I strive to achieve. now I f i could just find a good vocal coach locally:smile:

CT.

[Paul]

I didn't get through any of the tracks, start to finish. They sound too mechanical to me. I prefer blues to have a looser sense of time. The rhythm section tempo/groove has to have consistency, but the lead "voice" of the moment should be working ahead or behind the beat as appropriate to deliver the message. If everything is on the beat it starts to sound like a marching band. I never got the sense that the singer believes every word sung, and is sincere in telling me the story.

I believe that a simple music form like blues lives or dies on the emotional honesty and commitment of the musicians. It can't be enough to like the song, or enjoy playing the song, you have to believe the song, you have to personalize the song, you have to internalize the song. That, to me, is the difference between playing notes and playing music.

You'll notice how I don't post clips of my own efforts. I know what I want to hear, I'm just not good enough to deliver. <sigh>.

[davetcan]

Thanks for listening Dave. I agree al around. I too can't get enough blues, but these tracks, with the exception of Fool fer yer stockings, and Stay/Go, aren't what I call blues. They are more R&B. It si getting harder and harder to find blues played well, and that is what I strive to achieve. now I f i could just find a good vocal coach locally:smile:

CT.

I hear you on the vocals. I do the vocals for our band but that's mainly because everyone else is really terrible while I'm just "bad". :smile: We have about a 50 song playlist and there are some in there that I should definitely not be singing. Nothing I'd like better than to find a good vocalist without attitude who likes the stuff we do. We've just started working with a new bass player while our regular guy is away (Lowtones) and the fact that he sings is a big relief. Also allows us to start adding some harmonies.

Remind me not to post anything, this is a tough crowd. :smile:

[Paul]

Remind me not to post anything, this is a tough crowd. :smile:


Constructive criticism, (as opposed to de-structive criticism), is much more useful than blowing smoke up someone's pooper.

The old joke is:

Q: How many guitarists does it take to cover "Pride and Joy"?

A: Apparently all of them.

Electric blues well performed is a beatiful thing. Electric blues typically played is a tiresome thing. Hound Dog Taylor is a great example. Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers are not slick or technically gifted musicians by most measures. But there is a passion, a joy, an absolute commitment to the message of the song. Never forget that music is both language, and art, and the best way to get the message to the audience is to believe it yourself.

I like to compare great music to great literature. "The Great Gatsby" is about as perfect a novel as anyone has written in the last century. Everything flows, the choice of words is perfect, the cadence of the language, the balance of sentences and paragrahs and chapters. "The Great Gatsby" is a beautiful piece of work.

Now.....there isn't one of us that would try to re-write "The Great Gatsby". But we all, (most of us anyway), take it upon ourselves to re-state, or recreate in our own way songs that have meaning to us. Covering a tune is a much more managable pie to eat. There are only 12 notes, and we only have to go at it for 3 to 5 minutes most of the time. There are millions of words in the English Language, and how many pages in Gatsby?

Coco Tone wants opinion, (and that's all I have to offer), he gets opinion. I'd be much more interested in hearing something new. Original material, or fresh new presentations of old material. The recordings he linked don't jump out as something new. The recordings are good for what they are, but there is nothing there that we can't find just about anywhere.

Musicians have more in common with actors than we typically realize. I'm not suggesting that everything is musical theatre. I am suggesting that in order create maximum impact with our work we have to be aware of every tool in the shed, and know when to use them. You can't build a house without a hammer, and you can't build a house with only a hammer.

From what I heard on Coco Tones linked tunes, he needs to take a few more tools out of the shed more often.

YMMV

[davetcan]

Constructive criticism, (as opposed to de-structive criticism), is much more useful than blowing smoke up someone's pooper.


Coco Tone wants opinion, (and that's all I have to offer), he gets opinion. I'd be much more interested in hearing something new. Original material, or fresh new presentations of old material. The recordings he linked don't jump out as something new. The recordings are good for what they are, but there is nothing there that we can't find just about anywhere.

I am suggesting that in order create maximum impact with our work we have to be aware of every tool in the shed, and know when to use them. You can't build a house without a hammer, and you can't build a house with only a hammer.

YMMV

Agreed, however there should always be some mention of the positives, hence the term "positive reinforcement"


I'm personally not trying to "create maximum impact" although I can't speak for CT. I play music because I love it and play in a band because it's a challenge and, when we get something right (not very often), it's extremely rewarding. I could care less if anyone else wants to listen but they're more than welcome to sit down and have a few laughs with us. I have a difficult and stressful job, and I'm sure I'm not alone, and music is just a great way to relieve that stress. I don't have the time or the energy to figure out how to use all those tools so I'll just stick with the couple I've figured out so far :smile: From what I've heard of CT he's a lot deeper in that toolbox than I'll ever likely get.
This btw is just an amateurs perspective, it's about love, not money, for me.

BTW - love your quotes and stole a couple for my sig on another site if that's OK with you :food-smiley-004:

I'm saying all of the above with a smile on my face, I really don't take this stuff seriously, hope it doesn't come across that way.

[davetcan]

If you posted something that I didn't care for and you asked for comments, I would either:

1. Keep my yap shut.

2. Say something positive about what aspects I did like.

3. Give constructive criticism if there was something about the song or the playing that I thought could actually be improved.

I generally try to be rather civil when discussing someone else's art. We're all guitarists and all in this together, trying to play the best we can and make the best music we can. That, in and of itself, deserves respect. If I feel that somebody is blunt and abrasive in their criticism of others, though, I will most likely be blunt and abrasive in my criticism of them. There's nothing wrong with expressing an opinion. Obviously there is wide latitude in choosing exactly how to express it, though.

Nothing wrong with that approach. :food-smiley-004:

[CocoTone]

If you posted something that I didn't care for and you asked for comments, I would either:

1. Keep my yap shut.

2. Say something positive about what aspects I did like.

3. Give constructive criticism if there was something about the song or the playing that I thought could actually be improved.

I generally try to be rather civil when discussing someone else's art. We're all guitarists and all in this together, trying to play the best we can and make the best music we can. That, in and of itself, deserves respect. If I feel that somebody is blunt and abrasive in their criticism of others, though, I will most likely be blunt and abrasive in my criticism of them. There's nothing wrong with expressing an opinion. Obviously there is wide latitude in choosing exactly how to express it, though.

Eye for an eye , I guess.

CT.

[CocoTone]

So, "He sounds like a million other guys" is merely an opinion, but "his tone is like ice picks" is a slam? I'm not sure I understand that distinction, but OK. Let me rephrase, then...

I'd be more diplomatic about this if I wasn't constantly reading posts by you on TGP expressing negative opinions about other musicians and their work.



Like what?

Just thought you might find this thread interesting.

http://thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=323453

CT.