"Cult of Personality" - Tim Liu & Robert Lunte

[Timotheus]

Hey guys,

I just got back from the 35 hour TVS training intensive with Robert this past week.  We did a ton of work and it definitely has paid off in getting me stronger and growing as a singer. If you have the opportunity to do so, I highly recommend coming to Seattle and working with Robert.  He is a fantastic coach and you'll get your money's worth.  Here is Living Colour's Cult of Personality that we had worked on:

 

[Robert Lunte]

Tim, you have come a long way!  I think you did a great job and this is good team work... very strong belts and control over your tenor voice. Your growth in interpretation and working with making things sound emotional also leaped forward. 

As we already discussed, intonation is an issue that needs to raise the bar... but that is probably a statement we can make for everyone. Work with that keyboard like we did in your sessions in Seattle and really know what the notes are you are singing. Don't "stab in the dark", close enough will not work when it comes to the "constant" of frequency. It has to be perfect.

Other then that, I think you kicked ass in your 35 hours of training and this video is very cool. You should feel proud. Now, set your sights on the next step up. 

Great work brother, you have a lot of potential and aptitude for singing... keep going Tim!

 

[Musikman7002]

Great Job Tim, Corey Glover has got such soul and I would be nervous to tackle that monster! My only suggestion is it might help if you wore some Body Glove outfits to get into the vibe more LOL  Its nice to see somebody put up a song that is so much about the chatzput  of the voice,  power, soul and character. These are so hard to obtain as a singer and I feel I struggle with these areas the most. I think my voice to be on the bland side and have been training some songs lately by The Winery Dogs and Soundgarden to work the "soul" a bit instead of just notes and power etc. Very nice job my friend and this classic is a favorite of mine.

[ronws]

I love this song and this band and as great as the singer is, I want to say that Reid is one of the most under-appreciated guitarists, ever. When I first heard this song, I felt that someone cloned from DNA from Jimmy Page and Alex Lifeson to create that.

Anyway, good job, Timotheus. What also impressed me is that you were really good with breath management. You had a good and even volume across the whole song.

And, of course, kudos to a great teacher.

[Robert Lunte]

Thanks for listening guys and giving Tim your feedback... Ya, I think its pretty good.... we did good work together, but Tim gets most of the credit. However, my engineering and producer skills are getting better too... 

[Musikman7002]

The mix was very good. I struggle to get my vocals to sit in the mix loud enough to be heard but not so loud that they cover up the music

[Robert Lunte]

Thanks... agreed. I thought it was a good mix too... Click here for the DAW plugins post...

We Used:

• RODE K2 Tube Mic

and from waves...

• CLA
• Doubler

and from the focus rite plugins that come from their scarlette interfaces

• Compression (medium template with the threshold throttled to about "10:00".
• EQ

I also mastered the bed track to make it "pop" more with

• Vitamin

And had a good singer to work with!

 

[Timotheus]

Thanks for the feedback and the kind words Musik and ron!  If I ever come back down to Seattle to work with Rob I'll definitely rock a Body Glove outfit for our recording.  It's a tough song to do and I definitely feel pretty accomplished by the end of it.  Thanks Rob for also coaching me and helping record this sucker too, great mix!

[Robert Lunte]

If I ever come back down to Seattle to work with Rob I'll definitely rock a Body Glove outfit for our recording.

uhm... please don't?

 

[KillerKu]

This is good. It's a true live performance. Aure it's not it's not spot on perfection. But you sound poised for more polish naturally at this point. You've had great instruction.

The only thing I'll say, and this isn't a negative, is you remind me a bit of Rob in some of your vocal mannerisms. Now, I've heard quite a few of his students and this is not a post implying you go to Rob and sound like Rob, as a lot of them sound extremely different, but some of the vowel choices (ee to eh, ihyeah) and inflections remind me of him a bit. Maybe some kinship there.

The few parts where pitch isn't dialed in spot on, this is is live and it's training. You aren't going to find many singers who have dialed in perfection every time and you're on more than enough of the time for me to be convinced you're in a position in your training to just keep going and improving at whatever it is you want to achieve. Keep going, good song, good job.

[Robert Lunte]

The only thing I'll say, and this isn't a negative, is you remind me a bit of Rob in some of your vocal mannerisms.

Thanks Killer.. yes, I hear nuances too. For example... (Tim) on your offsets, there is the little grunty "uh!"... which is something I hear myself do from time to time when i sing. It is just a hold over from something that Maestro David Kyle used to remind his students to do. From time to time, he would make the point to end your phrases with confidence and "punctuation"... I am quite sure that is the legacy of where that habit came from. I don't mind it, I think it is kind of cool and has become something that might be considered to be a signature "ism" when I sing... HOWEVER, Killer is right, you want to be careful not to copy all my inflections, or better yet, just be aware of it.

The "offsets" on this performance are to heavy Tim. If you wanted to do a little grunty offset like that, I think it is cool... but soften a bit.

Having said all that... (Killer), I think it is a good indication that Tim is listening and trying different things that he has not only learned and trained, but what he has heard. There is not a damn thing wrong with picking up a few licks and riffs from your mentor, just means your an attentive and smart student. But as my story shows above, just be aware of where certain inflections come from. Sometimes they are all yours, but from time to time, it may be something you pick up subliminally. 

Killer, in regards to the vowel mods., I think we would be hard pressed to suggest that such a standard and common vowel modification is all my influence. Maybe its just a smart place to put a modification? 

Anyways, good ears Killer, thanks for chiming in!

 

[KillerKu]

Nah, I'm not saying there is anything wrong with influence or training and I'm not taking away anything from the originally of Timotheous's performance. He's not cloning you and he did a good job. Put a camera on me, spin it around I'd probably do worse.

It's inevitable, and all of my favorite singers had some kind of influence. I sang a snippet of this song (never sung it before) and see what kind of inflection would happen.

https://app.box.com/s/jll7z16i0utu5wiqkcufit2b97mnz6q7

Right at the end there,  Personalityeah! Either you're influencing me or, it's just something that we do man. It's pretty common in punk, with no training at all. Whatever is most expressive and functions in a singers voice, makes them believe in the song.

That's really interesting to hear that about your Maestro. I think I hear a little of it in Layne Staley. Aside from the stars, you're the only student of his I'm fairly are of. If it is part of you, it's part of you and you can and should take it with you. I could just hear those traces there. It's cool.

[ronws]

uhm... please don't?

 

No offense, Tim, but I agree with Robert. Please, step away from the body glove ....