Original Heavy Metal song "Cannabis Economy"

[napoleonboot]

As usual, constructive criticism is welcome

It makes a change for me do something which isn't prog rock or just silly (e.g. Lizard men).

I find some songs spring into life much easier than others, this fell into place quickly, with end results we are very pleased with. I did all the singing, including harmonies and rap!.

George

[ronws]

For some reason, I can't make it play. Probably a problem with Frankenstein. Frankenstein is my computer, built from spare parts back in 2005. Hand crank on the back, like a Model A Ford to start it up.

[napoleonboot]

Thanks Ron

it was broken for me too - gremlins!. :| that probably explains why I got no feedback

I think its' one of my best efforts, even though it contain a short rap (a first for me)

I have re-uploaded it and updated the above link to this new on:

[EDITED TO REMOVE THE LINK WHICH IS OBSOLETE - SEE OPENING POST FOR LINK TO FINAL VERSION]

George

[ronws]

Still not playing for me. That's why I use box. They don't use gargantuan loads of "content" to basically load and save sound files. But I am sure they'll catch up with others. Everyone's just got to have Megs of "content" of superfluous "stuff" to chew up memory.

Then, again, box is general file storage and not a specialty or niche site like reverbnation. Speaking of which, has anyone ever lined up more gigs or visibility using reverbnation, and the like? Most working bands I have seen on there were working before starting a page. The page was more advertisment for them than anything else.

[napoleonboot]

Try it this way Ron, I uploaded it to a plain file sharing site.

[EDITED TO REMOVE THE LINK WHICH IS OBSOLETE - SEE OPENING POST FOR LINK TO FINAL VERSION]

I susect that the mp3 player embedded in reverb nation web page is probably incompatible with your browser. Perhaps do a browser ugrade?

George

[ronws]

The 4 shared link is asking to me to sign up and join ( I don't have an account there.)

As I wrote before, but not clearly enough,

"Probably a problem with Frankenstein. Frankenstein is my computer, built from spare parts back in 2005. "

That's 7 years ago. With parts that were spare parts back then, not new stuff fresh off the shelf. It was all that I could afford. I knew I should have chosen to be born in a family with money.

I have Windows XP for an OS. The hd was 40G but I had to partition off a bad sector. I think the cpu is 300 MHz, which was fast at the turn of the century.

Sorry, I just don't have the $400 USD (is that right now, 235 pounds, give or take a quid, british?) to go buy a low level modern rig that is 10 times faster and more memory than what I have.

But my computer seems to hand box, dropbox, and soundcloud okay. It's just not handling the stuff at reverbnation so well. Oh well, all of your other stuff is great and I expect that this is, too.

[napoleonboot]

Hi Ron

try this. It is still marked as demo, the mix isn't final.

[EDITED TO REMOVE THE LINK WHICH IS OBSOLETE - SEE OPENING POST FOR LINK TO FINAL VERSION]

I now have accounts on loads of file sharing services!

George

[ronws]

It was good, as I expected. Lyrics always poignant, delivered with your "Crazy World of Arthur Brown" voice. Nice, crunchy riff. And it sounded like a fairly elemental mix on the recording. I like that choice.

Telling the plain jane, or is that mary jane, truth and doing so, relatively unadorned.

[napoleonboot]

LOL! Ron ..."It was good, as I expected." I guess I'll have to critique myself to improve.

I hope I am improving over the months. I am definitely getting better at writing vocal melodies which suit my voice. I don't write the backing music, others do the backing music and lyrics and I have to create the vocal melody myself to glue it all together. Sometimes the lyricst creates a guide vocal track, which I listen once to get the rough timing, then mostly ignore what he sang and do it all differently.

I felt this came out more relaxed than I normally manage. I changed my recording approach and sat down to sing this, I usually stand up. I often sing while reading the lyrics which I hold in one hand in the eye-line beyond the mic, so I think that sitting down made me feel safer, as I was less likely to bump into the pop shield by accident. When I concentrate on singing/performing and also reading lyrics, I dont think my brain can manage much else. I also managed to put more expression into the performance this way.

I struggled with accent on this one. I am English, but I think I always benchmark my singing against the prevalent sounds in the genre, which are American. I don't try to do an American accent when I sing, but I have to rework things whenever I find I sound too English. I found some lines of the chorus "Let's put an end.." and "The stupid war's .." came out very English sounding and I had to rework it several times to sound more acceptable to my own ears. Mind you the other guys in my (virtual) band are all American and quite like it when I sound English, they say it make me sound more intelligent. MMMmm...

In the last verse I wasn't happy with the line 'They caught him with a bag and a set of scales', I seem to linger too long on "They" at the start of the line, but I couldn't find another way of doing it.

George

[napoleonboot]

Ron

just a thought on how to get a cheaper PC, I replaced my the system unit on my Dad's PC a couple of months back with a refurbished from a retailer on eBay, it had 3 months warranty on it and he had good feedback. This is the spec:

INTEL P4 2.8GHZ

2GB DDR2 MEMORY

80 GB HDD

16 X DVD REWRITER

WINDOWS XP HOME

It cost only 90 British pounds = 140 U.S. dollars, including delivery.

It plugged in and worked right away, and has been great ever since.

You might be able to find something similar on eBay over your way?

George

[Dr.Evil]

Well, as for a computer upgrade, if i were you i'd go to localcomputer store and ask them to assemble system unit with their cheapest parts, i think it would cost about 250 USD, it would be 20 times faster then Ron's current computer and ypu will have full warranty and it would be compatible for later upgrade if needed, because the main problem of bying an old used computer, that you can't upgrade it, you'l have to sell it and buy a new one and it is possible, that noone will want to buy such an old computer you'l have.

[ronws]

And, for $400 USD, Walmart has a rig with a 500G hd and fast processor.

But others tell me I should spend my money on singing lessons or singing systems. So, should I buy a computer from this decade or spend money for someone to tell me how to sing like David Coverdale or Axl Rose or someone else with a lot of rasp and a baritonic bottom end that I just don't have?

Decisions, decisions ....

Evidently, I don't sing well enough and need lots of instruction.

But thanks for the tips, Evil and George.

George, I didn't know that you were not writing the majority of the lyrics. You certainly sing it like you wrote it, which is aces in my book.

I happen to like the british accents, as well. Here's a funny for you. Not too long ago, I covered "No Stranger To Love" as sung by Glenn Hughes, proudly from the Black Country. In fact, that is why his current band, built very much similar to Trapeze, is called Black Country Communion. Anyway, I ended with a spoken bit with me using a british accent, trying to mimick his. But I think, instead, I sound like the gekko lizard in the Geico commercials.

:lol:

[slstone]

A little info for your question, bro. Reverbnation, like many of its counterparts, i.e. myspace, unsigned, purevolume, soundcloud, etc..., there are many, are mainly there for advertising and marketing. As you mentioned, not necessarily a gig getter, but a means for others to hear your stuff with links to buy finished products when you have them ready. I have many of these accounts. We self starters and self artist developers need a way to market ourselves without major label muscle and these are they. When used correctly, they can really help find fans for one's music. Again, consider me the class expert or even professor here on the DIY part of music making, producing and marketing. Ask me anything. Chances are if I haven't already done it or know about it, it doesn't exist yet, lol.

Anywho, just offering my $0.02.

[Anders]

You have a nice voice but to sing this stuff you really have to work on power and projection. I know you have all that it takes. Go for it!

For me at this stage it sounds a little bland.

[napoleonboot]

Ron

The area where Glenn Hughes comes from is about 25 miles away from where I grew up.

Actually, over the years his talking voice has altered and is now mid-Atlantic, somewhere around the Azores.

George

[ronws]

Thanks for the info, George. Plus, he's around 60 or so. And during his Trapeze years, he spent a lot of time playing south Texas, mostly around Houston. Every tour he did with Trapeze as a 3 man band, they would play more than one gig in Houston.

And, perhaps, he speaks differently now, being sober. I've seen him on "That Metal Show" with host Eddie Trunk.

For those who don't know the Black Country is in an area generally known as the Midlands, if I am not mistaken.

And George, if you happen to get to see Glenn around here and there, tell him he has a big fan in north Texas.

[napoleonboot]

We just finished the final mix today, now including a real drummer, and some of the vocals re-tracked.

I will update the links in the earlier posts to point to this final version.