Debut album: The Time Zone Zombies - Zomb Zomb Zoom

davidrfinn99165
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Tue Jan 05, 2016 8:27 pm

Thx so much Daryl, Craig, Jay, Ness, Sandy, John, Dermot, Willem, ... Your encouragement has meant so much to us these last few months...

Sandy - I'll leave Michele to answer questions like how you can buy the album.. I think it is free and our gift ( :woohoo: ) to the world, and somewhere there are sound files on Dropbox...but Shel knows I am sure...

Willem.. Well I guess I have learned so many things.. As it is late here I'll go with a couple which are top of mind...

- the first is that the hardest part for me in writing a song is simply making a start. I'm so grateful to Neil for his songwriting challenges in the spring of 2015 which prompted me to write my first set of lyrics for And Winter Glows. Everything followed in some way from the simple fact of doing that and the feedback received on the forum. I'd barely written a single song in 40 years of playing the guitar and suddenly I'm writing 3 or 4 in a week (don't worry, most of them get chucked away, though some may yet turn up on the Zombies second album !!)..

- the second is never to be jealous of your partner's creativity... Shel is a fantastic singer, player, songwriter, arranger, multi-instrumentalist, video-maker etc...as you know , we work remotely and only spoke on Skype for the first time after we had 4 or 5 songs out there.... There's like a thousand emails with comments between on us on what we have been doing, what might work to make it better, which parts work and which don't, when to start again, what to keep, what to build on, which instrument to add next , what might work in the video etc....for my part there's not a single word or a note which would have existed without Shel there too to make it happen.

.. Never sleeping helps too !! :) :) :woohoo: :woohoo:
/ David


Rbinding
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Tue Jan 05, 2016 8:40 pm

Michele and David,

You guys really rock!! I am blown away at what you have put together in such a short time! I don't know how many people are on TG, but I think we are all impressed and a little jealous. Many of us would love to write and perform songs, and even beyond our dreams, put together an album. You actually did it! It has been a privilege to be able to watch you put this together in real time on the site. Thanks for sharing this experience and process with us. It's been one of the true highlights of TG this year.

Ron


michelew
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Tue Jan 05, 2016 9:31 pm

just testing something here. The video boxes aren't turning up hen you're not logged in. I'm seeing if a different approach works.'



Zomb Zomb Zoom - videos

1. Perception



2. When



3. A spool of thread




4. My father's hat



5. Give me a sign (Emoji song)



6. Low road blues



7. Northern town



8. The other side of the wall



9. Mr Teflon




10. Goat grazing / Whispering grass



11. Demo: Bad hair day



12. Demo: Christmas wrap - Christmas I Know / Silent Night



michelew
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Tue Jan 05, 2016 10:28 pm

Daryl, Craig, Jay, Ness, Sandy, John, Dermot, Willem and Ron,

Thanks so much for all of your generous feedback. Words are failing me at the moment. But, please know that I've loved reading each and every one of your comments.

Sandy - as far as David and I are concerned, you've already paid for your copy of the album through the love and support you've shown us both while we've developed this album of songs. I've sent you an invitation to the Dropbox folder. You can view it and you should be able to download all of the songs. You may need to register or download the Dropbox app if you don't have it. If you have any troubles let me know.

Willem - what did I learn?....So many things... But here's some that come to mind:

- collaborating with someone (especially if they're as sweet and talented as David) is wonderful. I already knew that of course. But, David and I have been working together so much that it's really become apparent to me just how important it is, especially for me. David has picked me up when I've been doubting my own abilities, helped me to filter out the stuff that didn't work very well, allowed me to try new things that were a bit crazy with good humour and a sense of adventure and more. I think most people would have laughed their head off if I'd told them I might try doing a rap song. :) he might have been secretly laughing himself silly, but he went with it anyway. :) it's been fun just being stupid with someone too.

- continuing the collaboration theme - I've learned that it's much easier to build on something than start from scratch; David is a song-writing machine. :) I think he may dream them too. :) and once there is a backbone, it's much easier and heaps of fun filling out the song. In a way, the challenges have been like that too; having some parameters to work to can help in a crazy way as it focuses your thinking.

- I'm limited by my own insecurities; there are so many ways in which I wish I was more .... skilled, talented, informed, a better muso. Maybe top of the list is that I wish I could sing better. I cringe a little when I listen to some of the songs... But, I know on the whole I'm getting better and I'm trying to just put myself out there even though I'm not the singer I'd like to be .... yet. :) David has given me heaps of 'therapy' on the subject as has Ness. I love them both dearly for it. :)

- I've learned that I often approach songwriting .... upside down, and that's OK. I often start with a melody or a bass-line with no idea what the progression is. I (sometimes with David's help) then need to find a progression that works. I had to do that for at least a couple of the songs that I started; Perception, Mr Teflon, Low Road Blues.

- I've learned a bit more about different genres because I wanted to produce a specific type of sound; a little bit more about the blues for example.

- I've learned that I want to improve my skills in a bunch of areas; playing guitar, bass, piano, singing; how to record good quality sound; how to do audio engineering in a way that produces better sounding tracks; lots of other technical stuff, music generally.

- I've learned that I don't know what I can do until I try; I've surprised myself a couple of times by what I've been able to achieve. Sometimes it took many attempts to get a result I liked but that's OK. It doesn't always feel good in truth, but it's been great getting past the "I suck at that" barrier on a couple of things. :)

- I learned that I LOVE the creative process of writing songs with someone who is equally as passionate about that whole thing.

- inspiration can come from anywhere; Perception started from a few rhyming words that then became the chorus. :)

And I've learned I can survive on too little sleep for a while but it eventually catches up with me. :)

One last thing, you have to find your own motivation. In reality this album has been as much work as it's been fun. But it's definitely been worth it.

I'd like to echo David sentiment too. Neil's song-writing challenges absolutely kicked off this song-writing adventure. That's one of the many reasons we've put him on the back cover of the album. :) Thanks Neil!




Shel


willem
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Wed Jan 06, 2016 5:26 am

Thanks Michele,it was really fun listen to all the songs and they were all diffrent, I think most song writers stay in the same style, I do like watching and listen to them in contests and they perform there song in a very little way (acompanny them self with one instrument) and enjoy that very much.

don't worry a bout your singin' but you can train that muscles also and devolop a muscle memorie, your speaking voice is the basis and work from there going to sing in the chest/belt/head voice (or a sort of mix), it is making reasonans in diffrent places in your head, most people stay in there chest voice and belt a lot (calling) i think,doing exercises (looks silly) trains the muscle
memorie for certain things, ( not that I claim something :laugh: )., it is fun searching you tube for that kind of lessons and find someone you like.

Willem


lueders
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Wed Jan 06, 2016 5:10 pm

I was AND am COMPLETELY blown away by this... :woohoo:

Like Vanessa, Arnold, and MacArthur...I'll be Back/I Shall return return...
when I can give this the proper attention that it it deserves...later tonight or tomorrow.

I would SO, SO, SO buy this album. Like someone else said...So inspirational. :) :) :)
This is so the kind of thing I want and hope to be able to do sometime.
I DID make you some cheezy fan art today during my prep period...might be T.Z.Z's first
fan art?

So COOL! Image


michelew
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Wed Jan 06, 2016 5:21 pm

OMG Cori!!!!! That's BRILLIIANT! I LOVE it!


You've absolutely made my day.


Thank you!!!! :kiss: :kiss: :kiss: :kiss:

Shel


lueders
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Wed Jan 06, 2016 9:04 pm

Well, when I saw Michele & David's initial post/upload of The Time Zone Zombie album: Zomb Zomb Zoom!...the chronological order of thoughts that went through my mind went something like this:

1.HOLY sh_t they made an album?!?!?! An entire album!?! woohoo:
2.I am SO jealous! :angry:
3. The first 3 tracks I listened to are damn near perfect!!
I am SO happy for them!! :)
4. The next 3 tracks were just as good! :cheer: :angry:
5. I got more jealous. :angry: :laugh:
6. Listened intently and was hooked...
The more I have sat this evening...zoned out/ruminated with the tunes(like
you're supposed to do with good music) the more I like, appreciate, and admire the craftsmanship.

So, did they REALLY put out an entire album??
SPOILER ALERT:They DiD! Boy, did they! Not a single track is slack either.

Track, after track though varied has just the right amount of everything...like the perfectly proportioned ingredients in a perfect meal in a 4-star restaurant.

The lyrics were thought provoking without being pretentious. They were also down to earth and relatable without being trite/mundane.
No small feat...John Prine/Greg Brown territory

Warm, welcoming soothing leads and harmonies that compliment each other really really well.

Listening to David, a time or two I was recalling an album called Rag Picker's Dream by Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris.
Your delivery and timbre reminds me of Marks...but you've definitely got your own thing too. Keep writing, Sir...you tell a great story. (I bought in right away and stayed there) You have a great delivery at the same time. Your tasteful electric playing on the low road blues was VERY tasteful tonally to my ears. (You do do many things well!)

Michele...(you're such renaissance woman!) Your vocals were so hauntingly beautiful in song after song! Everything you did whether it was bass, electric lead fill, uke...was economical and tasteful...and it accommodated the song so Very, Very nicely! Teflon Man, showed off your wry sardonic lyrical wit...which I enjoyed as well!

You two are a lethal combination!

PS: glad you liked my fan art!!
Maybe we should get t-shirts made/posters printed?


lueders
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Wed Jan 06, 2016 9:48 pm

I forgot two more things I wanted to say:

1.)I definitely want a CD or a download, or Dropbox file or whatever...I would be happy to pay $$

2.)I hope this doesn't end up sounding like a weird back-handed compliment...I mean this in the best possible way...ZOMB ZOMB ZOOM (as is, without any fancy studio label trickery/wizardry)sounds more tasteful and professional than SO MANY of the albums that get produced these days.

Lol. Heck, Michele maybe you and David should just start your own record label while you're at it.


tombo1230
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Wed Jan 06, 2016 10:03 pm

Congratulations Shel and David, this is a brilliant achievement through great effort and collaboration. You are an inspiration to us all. :) well done. I hear Jason Mraz is worried. B) :)


Tom N.


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