Four Tops Cant Help Myself

[KillerKu]

Some found me covering a quintet of lead singers a bit much, so rather than compete with 5 lead singers, I grabbed some Four Tops:

 

 

Levi Stubbs and the Four Tops are still a lot to compete with, but I put a lot of passion into it and have been trying to work on letting my emotions steer my voice now that I can do this again.

[gno]

Sounds really good.  I like the energy you put into your singing.  Lots of style and rhythmic phrasing.  And a range of dynamics - distortions.  Good stuff!

[KillerKu]

Thanks Gno. Means a lot. You were already quite good last time I was here, but you sound great on your Soundclick there. It sounds professional to me and your voice fits perfectly into a prog genre.

 

I think you should do whatever you can to market your skills at this point if you aren't already. The prog scene is pretty open minded, so even if you aren't a 20 something year old, you might be able to find or form a band to collaborate with. I know Mike Portnoy seems to have like 40 side projects as an example of how some of those prog artists do things.

 

If you could get some exposure in that scene, you're more than good enough to hold your own. I hope you think seriously about it. Even if you weren't immediately a lead singer, you could be a guitar player which miraculously sings extremely skilled backup. If it's at all a dream of yours, don't let go of it. Think about how you might take it to the next level if possible.

[gno]

Thanks for your words of encouragement Killer.  Its fun to dream.  I have a producer friend that wants me to put out an album.  Maybe some day.

[KillerKu]

Thanks for your words of encouragement Killer.  Its fun to dream.  I have a producer friend that wants me to put out an album.  Maybe some day.

 

I was interested in that aspect too. I think your production is amongst the most polished of anyone I've heard of here. Things are fitting really great into the mix, no frequency battling, lots of clarity, volumes are mixed very well, and there aren't any glaring, or muddy elements. 

 

I think your limitations have got to be more lifestyle at this moment. If you have a family and all that hitting the road and making an outreach effort can be out of reach for some folks. I have a vague memory of a Journey cover that was a bit 'pressed' up there. It wasn't terrible, but you sound more relaxed and like you can use that range more freely.

 

In theory someone could release one of the greatest albums ever made on Soundclick, and without the 'noise' surrounding the artist (live shows, radio play, promo material) it could fade into obscurity. If you ever find that time in your life you can shift gears, you're more than ready, even for a challenging genre that requires a lot of skill. Just make sure maybe one day, is based on reality and isn't put off until it's too late. As soon as possible is the best time.

[ronws]

Thanks for your words of encouragement Killer.  Its fun to dream.  I have a producer friend that wants me to put out an album.  Maybe some day.

Not some day, needs to be now, dude. It has been a while since I heard your Kansas stuff. Totally love what you did with "Song for America." It is as good as the original.

 

And the collab between you and Mr. Vannelli for "Dust in the Wind," pure inspiration. Do it, man, do it now. Trust me. Time flies ..

 

Anyway, Killer, I like what you did with some of this song. That warmth you get with the oo sound is great.

[GrammCummingsfan]

Good job! Levi Stubbs and David Ruffin have always been favorites of mine, too. I remember when I first started "seriously" singing, I used to try to sing this song and "I Wish It Would Rain". To say it didn't sound as good as your version would be an understatement. I had no idea how to sing those notes around the high G so I would just yell and sounded awful. I don't know how old you are, but you've got very good control of that area.

[gno]

I think your limitations have got to be more lifestyle at this moment. If you have a family and all that hitting the road and making an outreach effort can be out of reach for some folks. I have a vague memory of a Journey cover that was a bit 'pressed' up there. It wasn't terrible, but you sound more relaxed and like you can use that range more freely.

 

 

Exactly.  2 kids and my "day job".  And you're right about Don't Stop Believin' it was my first Journey cover and I couldn't sing that high stuff without pressing.  I've been working the last couple years on a more balanced approach.  

 

How about you - you mentioned you are a drummer.  Is that how you first got into music?  Were you always a singer?

[KillerKu]

Hey Bzean, been missing your voice. I almost PMed you the other day just to see if we could get you singing again.

 

Yeah, Ronws, I seem to have found a pretty good 'ooh' vowel. I don't know where it came from, but I've been liking it.  

 

GrammCummingsfan, yeah David Ruffin is a huge hero of mine, but I still flub Wish it Would Rain. It's one of my favorite songs of all time, so maybe it's good to have something that is just a little out of our reach. It's such an emotional song for me, maybe it's better to just revere it?

 

Gno, I started with bass as a teen, playing with my brother, mostly to support him then I realized I couldn't stand the lack of harmony and picked up guitar, drums, and a bit of piano. I then had a realization at some point listening to the Beatles, that I wasn't making music the same way they were. Something they were doing was fundamentally different than what I was doing.

 

To me, my playing sounded phoned in and calculated, my phrasing was random. It sounded like my music was coming from my fingers, and it sounded like their music was coming from somewhere else even when playing instruments.

 

They convinced singing was the only way. Once I started singing, the sound was within my body, it was very emotional, the sound 'was' me. I was not a natural singer at all. I could barely hold a tune and strained immediately at bridge. But once the sound was within me, music was a lot more intuitive and emotional. Over time my playing on other instruments improved. I could write melodies and phrasing that had meaning.

 

Then I got some kind of nerve problem losing my voice years. It felt like the death of music to me. I tried to imagine the voice in my head, but it grew more and more faint. 

 

With meds now I can get the sounds out of my body again. It's still a challenge and I'll likely never be a live performer, but meaning is back. I'm pretty excited about music as a hobby. I had dreams too, but I had to reframe things. I don't think you need to throw your dreams away yet though. You've got your health, family is a big obligation, but kids grow up and become more independent. Life changes.

[gno]

Great story Killer.  You can hear the passion in your performances.  The ability to convey emotion.  Music is a great medium to express emotion.  Glad it is bringing you happiness.

[Jeremy Mohler]

Awesome cover man, good production as well.  This song is a personal favorite of mine.  Some of the phrasing could be refined a bit more but I'm not really in a place to give vocal criticism so I'll just leave it that for now heh.  Keep up the good work bro, looking forward to hearing more.  

[Marcus]

I really like this one! Lots of heart put into this, and I like how you're playing with dynamics and some distortion. I would maybe like it to be just a little, little more polished. But I'm damaged when it comes to listening also. Do you have any video of live performances? I would imagine you are great on stage, at least it's the feeling I get when hearing you.

[Bono]

Really good job, killer!! I like your voice and singing! although the mix sounds very good and clear, I hear your voice kind of separated from the backing track, to solve this I think you should add a little more of reverb to your voice

 

I guess the troubles in your throat you mention in other posts have been left behind, since I don´t hear anything strange in your voice, all the contrary

 

Keep on recording, I would love to hear more from you!

[KillerKu]

Hey, thanks everyone.  Jeremy, my phrasing can be pretty unusual. I sang to Frank Sinatra for a lot of years and do jazz drumming. So in simpler pop songs sometimes it stands out as weird. Bzean called it the Tom Waits phrasing effect. It's always nice to hear people's take. 

 

Bono, my voice problem isn't gone but reduced. It's more nerve pain so it doesn't have to affect the sound when the pain is reduced. I saw a pain specialist and he pretty much diagnosed me with glossopharyngeal neuralgia: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001636.htm

 

It's basically a malfunctioning in the nerves of the tongue where it can send enormous amounts of pain. Mine is often triggered by speaking. On my current meds I've been able to sing (and speak) more and more.

 

Marcus, I haven't been able to sing live on stage, as I had no voice for over half a decade. Due to the above mentioned health problem, singing live is pretty intense, as it can trigger one of those pain blasts and send me out of commission. The idea that 'the show must go on' is pretty scary. I have taken your words to heart though, and I gave singing live 'at home' a shot yesterday, of David Bowie's Rock N Roll Suicide:

 

https://app.box.com/s/uv7c1hc6fbh3jxru0u3biew2k8pa7xyj

 

 

 

Good news. No horrible pain blasts. Bad news, very wobbly singing and playing at the same time after so many years of dormancy. I have to retrain those skills as there are things both in the voice and guitar that would be done differently if I had the brain space to focus on them.