Great lyrics! Great job! I hope you win!...I really enjoyed that. A tune is all about the lyrics for me, and you have some great lyrics there! ( Its definitely about something deeper without beating you over the head...plenty of room for the listener to make associations.)
The lively upbeat feel, & (the almost- orchestral richness and density of it) reminds me of some Travis and Blur tunes I've heard before. I dug it! I lost rack of Crowded House, I guess I wasn't aware of the diversity of the band's overall sound.
Anyways Awesome, Dude!
Cori
Crowded House "Intriguer" lyrics/vocal competition entry
Thanks for the kind words Cori. I'm a "lyrics freak" too!!! And we seem to be in agreement about the role of lyrics in a song... I really like the way you put it. A great tune can get your attention, but then, at least for me, I want to hear some interesting lyrics that start me thinking about the story behind the song. For me, writing good lyrics is a balancing act between the literal and the abstract... like you said! 
Unfortunately, I didn't win the competition (or even make top five runners-up for that matter). Here is a link to the winner's submission as well as the top five runners up:
http://www.crowdedhouse.com/mediaplayer ... layer.html
Some of these I liked, some not. But hey, that's how it is with music. The winner, Sarah McCullum (an Aussie), will get to perform her lyrics on stage with the band in Sydney, the final concert of the tour.
This was my first time writing/singing a song to somebody else's music so it was an interesting and challenging experience. I enjoyed it.
John
Unfortunately, I didn't win the competition (or even make top five runners-up for that matter). Here is a link to the winner's submission as well as the top five runners up:
http://www.crowdedhouse.com/mediaplayer ... layer.html
Some of these I liked, some not. But hey, that's how it is with music. The winner, Sarah McCullum (an Aussie), will get to perform her lyrics on stage with the band in Sydney, the final concert of the tour.
This was my first time writing/singing a song to somebody else's music so it was an interesting and challenging experience. I enjoyed it.
John
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AcousticAl
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- Status: Offline
John, I'm glad this thread got bumped up- as I missed it the first time around.
Great job both with your competition entry and with the live club performance!
Sorry to hear you didn't win- I really liked your song and lyrics. And don't get me started on your setup there! Toys galore!! Love it!
What was the voice processor you were using, and what audio program did you use?
Re. the club performance- you got a great round of applause at the end, so that must have felt good. How nervous were you before getting up there??
Thanks for sharing.
Great job both with your competition entry and with the live club performance!
Sorry to hear you didn't win- I really liked your song and lyrics. And don't get me started on your setup there! Toys galore!! Love it!
What was the voice processor you were using, and what audio program did you use?
Re. the club performance- you got a great round of applause at the end, so that must have felt good. How nervous were you before getting up there??
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Al. Yes, I'm a toy hound as well! I'm using a TC Helicon VoiceLive 2 for the vocal harmonies and effects. The software is Propellerhead's Record 1.0 running on a MacBook Pro. I also have Reason 4.0... they make a great all-around music production/recording solution. I now have both a Line6 Variax guitar and Variax Bass along with a Line6 POD X3 Live. With this combination one can simulate just about ANY vintage guitar or bass sound out there. And Line6 stuff is tightly integrated into Reason/Record so they work great together and the support is there.
Yes, the crowd at the club, mostly musicians themselves, is very supportive and always makes the performers feel welcome and appreciated. It's a great environment to work on one's performance skills.
I was VERY nervous leading up to my time on stage. It's my biggest hurdle to overcome when it comes to performing live, period. I know I can play and sing the songs correctly because I've done it many times at home, alone in practice... but it's a whole other world when everybody is watching and listening to just YOU. I say it that way because I've noticed that I'm not as nervous when playing with a band as I am when playing solo. At least then you've got the other players with you and each carries their share of the burden of the expectations. I'm talking about physical challenges... shaky hands, voice, etc. For me, it's harder to fret chords cleanly, harder to pluck the right strings, harder to sing a long note in key without shaking, etc. But all this anxiety seems to drop away significantly after a few minutes of performing. Especially if I can get through those first nerve-wracking moments successfully. Here is an example of NOT making it through to that point: my first song of the set was an original song that I WROTE, and I actually mixed up the lyrics in the first verse... totally nerves:
[video][/video]
I started over because I was actually angry with myself for screwing up a song that I've played and sang a zillion times with no problem and I wanted to get it RIGHT! So, a minute or so after restarting the song I started to loosen up. Here is my recorded version of that song recorded like 10 years ago, hokey backing vocals and all!:
http://corridor-inc.com/music.htm
So, I have only the utmost respect for those players who appear to be able to calmly perform their music in front of any audience... and can definitely relate to those, like me, who are working toward that goal with all the joys and disappointments that journey provides. It's cool to be able share some of that journey here on TG... didn't think of that when I joined... or even when I started this thread.
Thanks,
John
Yes, the crowd at the club, mostly musicians themselves, is very supportive and always makes the performers feel welcome and appreciated. It's a great environment to work on one's performance skills.
I was VERY nervous leading up to my time on stage. It's my biggest hurdle to overcome when it comes to performing live, period. I know I can play and sing the songs correctly because I've done it many times at home, alone in practice... but it's a whole other world when everybody is watching and listening to just YOU. I say it that way because I've noticed that I'm not as nervous when playing with a band as I am when playing solo. At least then you've got the other players with you and each carries their share of the burden of the expectations. I'm talking about physical challenges... shaky hands, voice, etc. For me, it's harder to fret chords cleanly, harder to pluck the right strings, harder to sing a long note in key without shaking, etc. But all this anxiety seems to drop away significantly after a few minutes of performing. Especially if I can get through those first nerve-wracking moments successfully. Here is an example of NOT making it through to that point: my first song of the set was an original song that I WROTE, and I actually mixed up the lyrics in the first verse... totally nerves:
[video][/video]
I started over because I was actually angry with myself for screwing up a song that I've played and sang a zillion times with no problem and I wanted to get it RIGHT! So, a minute or so after restarting the song I started to loosen up. Here is my recorded version of that song recorded like 10 years ago, hokey backing vocals and all!:
http://corridor-inc.com/music.htm
So, I have only the utmost respect for those players who appear to be able to calmly perform their music in front of any audience... and can definitely relate to those, like me, who are working toward that goal with all the joys and disappointments that journey provides. It's cool to be able share some of that journey here on TG... didn't think of that when I joined... or even when I started this thread.
Thanks,
John
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AcousticAl
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- Joined: Wed Mar 25, 2009 3:10 pm
- Status: Offline
Nice song- and good on you for starting over.
This is a Finn Brothers song called "Angels Heap". They do such a great harmony on this song that I just HAD to use my harmonizer to do it justice. The first verse is done with vocal doubling since they sing it in unison but then harmonize on the rest of the song. I'm going to try to do this one live this Wed. night at the open mic show... I better get practicing!
[video][/video]
John
[video][/video]
John