Check out the track I recorded recently!

[willyz]

I think she sounds good/fairly original/interesting. She's a Tori Amos, Bjork, Feist, Florence and the Machine type singer playing with cliche rock musicians. Whoever is in charge of the music doesn't get it. She's needs to work with musicians that think outside of the box not people that try to put her in one.

and the mix is horrible. Someone is either dumb, lazy or deaf.

I've always wanted to be a cliche rock musician. Thanks for being constructive. Should I send you the track without drums so you can record something less inside the box?

Did you read any of the thread and how uninvolved I am with this?

[Julián Fernández]

Don´t take it personal if you asked for feedback... Just sayin´

[willyz]

Don´t take it personal if you asked for feedback... Just sayin´

Not taking it personal, it's the Internet of course!

If its a cliche tune with cliche parts played by cliche musicians (yours truly), what should I have played to make it better?

[Jim Richman]

I am checking it out again. And now I am going to do some minor tweezing.

The vocals are actually the best part of the tune. They are not as bad as i thought, just not good to wake up to. The guitar, when it goes up to the root chord at :35 is plain horrible. The snare roll at :33 loses everything---the next go around you did a tom tom beat that worked a little better. The snare fills are too fusiony, rolls with rimshot hits, this is not funk, it's rock. The verse section Little feat drum beat kinda loses the whole groove of the tune. I would rock out the main groove with a power ride quarter note bell. But then maybe I would Keith Moon it and play tom fills all over the place cause the section sounds so random, I really would be scratching my head on what to play.

The fill at :54 is sloppy. 1:18 messy fill and the hit on one is off. 1:27 one is off. 2:34 fill is pretty self indulgent and is off on one. 2:45 one is off one.

This song is a mess. The first verse sounds like it is a different song. If I am not mistaken, there is a different drum beat on each verse?

I think the biggest problem with this song is the GUITAR. It is horrible. Major power chords with a rancid tone. Play some 9th chords, that will make it more indie. This song needs a Tori Amos treatment, with acoutsic sounds. The structure of the song is odd, but the music is so even---like it is trying to make everything OK in a major key, when it should be something else.

I am sorry you had to do this session. The song was nowhere near done. This should have been a live band stereo work tape, not a full recording session.

[Julián Fernández]

I´m not gonna dissect your playing on that tune, but I do believe that the track could benefit from a stronger, simpler, groove. Left hand sound kinda weak ( not talking about how hard you were hitting)...

The mix has several problems (guitar tone aside), the bottom end being the worst to me. (btw Jim, both 1.27 and 2.45 are equally late. Maybe it was a edit thing)

I think she (or the band) aspires to a sound similar to The Memorials or even J. Lewis (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOK4QIqG6Js)

Every session is a learnig experience. It´s done, so there´s nothing you can do about it but learn something from it and move on... Good for you for posting the music anyways!

[littlegrooves]

She has a powerful voice-- I dig. I admit, she has a voice that would inspire me to want to come up with something left field unique as that is the treatment it needs and deserves, along the lines of what everyone else is saying-- what that would be totally escapes me. I know that sounds dumb-- play something unique, hehe, yeah... you know what I mean, though.

If I were playing with her, I'd be OD-ing on Matt Chamberlain for ideas for this gig, based on her catalog of material that I've heard.

In general, if I were you, I would steal her and form a new band that can serve her better

Plus, from the other tracks, she sounds as if she has at least two different stylistic directions she could go... she has a really good indie quality, a la Feist/Florence and the Machine/Fiona Apple or someone of that ilk. I think it could be a fun gig if you could get some more *inspired* musicians in on it.

Plus, I dig the MILFY, pissed off soccer mom vibe from her pics

[bstocky]

It's funny how guys will tear apart random dudes on Youtube but when someone from here actually asks for critique no one wants to say anything.
It's bad. The whole concept is wrong. She's different and the BAND isn't. I'm not blaming you as a drummer and I'm definitely not saying I can do better. I'm saying whoever is in charge of the overall vibe of the music doesn't get it.
As far as the drums go - I think you sound like a funk drummer trying to bash out a rock groove and failing. It sounds like you're forcing ideas you want to play into a song that doesn't need it. There are little timing issues all over the place, your backbeat isn't consistent and your internal dynamics are off. It sounds kinda wimpy and out of time.

[langmick]

It needs a Phil Rudd or Mickey Curry solid groove. you can never go wrong with playing like those guys.

Good for you getting the chance to play a tune like this, seriously. Its a prime opportunity. Everyone could use more things like this.

What about all the hod dudes getting a chance to play this track? Id go for it.

[bstocky]

I think uploading a drum less track and letting everyone have a go at it is a great idea. Set a submission deadline so no one is working off of another person's ideas. It's easy to take something and add ideas to it. It's hard to start from nothing, sit there and think "so, what the hell do I play?". Once you hear what the other guys have played that starts to mess with your interpretation of song. Just a song with a click would be great.

and Mickey Curry is awesome.

[sejuba]

Willy,

I think the song itself is really lame BUT with a different arrangement (and played better) it could turn out
fine. Yes, there are some timing issues but you know that already.

She's a good singer. There's definitely potential in her voice although I couldn't take the screaming . The guitar parts are very weak. The way I see it is that your drum parts don't suit the music. although I admire
the fact that you tried to come up with interesting beats and fills (one of the fills with the rimshot kinda reminded me of Jimmy Chamberlin) but I see two different scenarios here:

A) If the song is not gonna change, meaning, if its done, than you did a poor job because cliché drum parts would've suited the song better.

B) If they we're to try out different arrangments, than your drumming ideas would've turned out really nice (given you'd fix the timing issues ).

I appreciate you sent us the song. HOD is a tough crowd, that's why we like it

Cheers