Do you think we are there yet?

[beerhunter]

Hello everyone. A while ago I posted a song of ours and quickly realized from your feedback that we were simply not ready to start shopping our music. This made us step back a bit and take a look at what we were really trying to do. For this I thank those that have commented on our work previously.We have written a few new songs recently and hopefully we are getting closer to reaching the quality that is expected by TAXI and that of the general public.Our latest song "I Know She Understands" is probably our most definitive song and I would be grateful to hear some feedback. We are hoping to pitch our music for film/tv. I'm very curious to hear any feedback regarding this new song. Is there a place in film/tv for this type of song? Is our style too outdated? Is the content limiting the amount of listings that we could pitch it to?The song "I Know She Understands" can be found here " target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.guitaristworks.com/the%20lon ... /audio.php Thank you for your time.Lonnie

[sgs4u]

Welcome back! You weren't gone very long. That's a good sign all by itself.Steve, from East Van

[beerhunter]

Quote:Welcome back! You weren't gone very long. That's a good sign all by itself.Steve, from East VanThanks for the welcome Steve. Ya only took a short time to re-tool so to speak. Gotta try and keep forging ahead. Oh ya, my daughter has joined us now which has helped in the inspiration dept. It's nice to have some youth to inject energy.Hope all is well. When are we going to get our nice weather back? At least its not raining to much I guess.Take care Steve,Lonnie

[ddusty]

Hi Lonnie,Just gave a quick listen to "I know she understands". I don't think you can worry about the content being limited to a certain number of listings as far as TV/film is concerned. TV/Film requires many different sounds and feels, so i wouldn't worry about having a piece that can be submitted to every movie.Some people may disagree, but I am not concerned about the "outdated style" as there are many different uses for music in TV/Film. This can limit the other kinds of listings you may pitch (the "hit" song listings).I am curious what some of the other more experienced members think, but you may want to have a copy of just the heavier instrumental break to submit to some listings. It all depends on what the listing is asking for, it may be a good idea to post a listing you were thinking of submitting to. I could see that as a good high energy hard rock film placing. I only got a chance to listen through a couple of times, and i was listening on my work computer (crappy speakers), but my least favorite part of the track was when the female voice came in. May jsut be me, but i felt the song slowed down a little there, before really kicking in. Sometimes that can be a good effect, but I felt like i wanted the song to build up a little more at that spot.Just my $.02Keep up the good work,Rob

[beerhunter]

Thanks Rob for the feedback. It is encouraging to hear that our recent style is not really limiting our options.In regards to the female vocals, our intent was actually intended to be as you described so i guess we have accomplished that. This song is written about a co-worker whose hunsband ran out on her and their young daughter. The female vocals were suppose to come across as dark and almost haunting. You had mentioned about chopping out a chunk to submit as an instrumental. Can these instrumental "snipits" literally be chopped out or should they be re-tracked and treated like a 1 minute long song? Which brings another question. What should the length of something like that be? Thanks again... oh and btw I checked out you myspace page and really enjoyed Rebekah's vox.

[dgolding]

Hi beerhunter. I had a listen to 'I know she understands'. Cool song with some nice touches. A couple of things that sprang to mind as I was listening.. the kit seems to be panned slightly left, which I found a tad distracting. The vocals, both the male and female need to be a bit better defined. They get kinda lost in the mix at times. I liked the infusion of the female voice, it added detail. Great guitar sounds and playing. Not totally convinced about the acoustic, almost mandolin-type solo parts after the 3min mark.Enjoyable piece though, and it wouldn't sound out of place in a movie, either as a complete song or various snippets from it. Good job

[mazz]

I listened to this yesterday and enjoyed it.I have a few comments regarding production:The lead guitar counter-melody in the first verse is too loud or bright and as a result is taking away from the lead vocal. In the second verse this is less the case. I would suggest holding off on the lead guitar in the first verse, this may help build the piece a bit.There are some timing issues in the guitars, particularly in some fills between phrases. These need to be tightened up and it would be pretty easy to do in your DAW. While these would be pretty inocuous years ago, the modern ear is used to, for better or worse, very tightly edited performances. In order to compete these days, your parts have to groove, but be tight at the same time. It's a delicate balance that I struggle with also.I wanted to hear more chorus before the middle instrumental section.As far as an instrumental goes, remember to mix a no vocal version in case producers want to cut from one to another. This is in contrast to an instrumental version of the song with an instrument playing the melody. It might be worth doing one of those if you want to but a no vocal version is pretty much required these days. That's one theme you'll hear at the Road Rally over and over from Library people.Your sounds are good, just tighten things up and get ready for the right listing!Mazz

[beerhunter]

Wow, thanks a lot all! Lots of really great feedback. I'm a little short on time right now or I would reply to each poster individually. I just wanted to drop a quick line to express my appreciation. I will make the changes/enchancements that many of you mentioned. It is very encouraging to hear that we are getting closer to having marketable material and I will apply your suggestions hopefully this weekend (Monday). Oh and btw if anyone feels I should focus on any other specific areas I will be checking this thread prior to making any changes.Have a great weekend everyone and thanks again.Lonnie

[unastronaut]

I just took a listen and I've gotta say, I'm shocked I liked it so much. It's not at all a genre or sound I typically gravitate to, but I found myself listening to the entire song. Not like that's some huge compliment, just pointing out that it's not my style and I still loved the track.I don't have anything specific to point out but I agree that this fits well in many situations.Keep up the rockin'Matt

[emusic]

Just hooked up my gear in my new studio here and listened on my monitors. I find the production spot on and very good. You got great vocals there. A slick production in my ears. If it shoud have been improved I would guess small nifty details here and there, showing up for some secs, to never be heared again is what this tune is missing. I heared 1 such detail in a weird percussion sound (glass?)All an all a very high "bar" speaking in terms of production. I didnt read the lyrics but the mood here will surely fit for the correct user, whoever that might be.Hookwise this tune doesnt deliver in my ears, but thats different table. I still like the mood that this tune is presenting.Very good production - keep it up.