Upbeat Blues Songs (feedback, please?)

[jazzstan]

I just submitted three 60-second tunes for the listing looking for "upbeat blues songs" (Yeah, I know it sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it?). "....looking for songs that can 'sell' a product - upbeat, compelling, unique enought to 'grab' but familiar enough to be accessible." The listing was OK for instrumentals, so .. here are links:http://www.capizon.com/music/DangBlingB ... y_Rag.mp3I was aiming for a typical TV commercial sound, but these are probably not "mainstream blues' enough for the listing, - and yeah - I know - it's really hard for me to NOT be a jazz player. Just Like I can stop being bald-headed. Anyway, in addition to any feedback y'all'd like to share, I'd be interested in any feed back on the technical aspects of the mix, other production issues, etc.

[garrettmiller]

Hi Jazzstan,I am by no means a blues expert, but just wanted to say I think it sounds great, and upbeat! I could hear these in a commercial...........Good luck,Garrett

[optronix001]

I am by no means a blues expert either, but I wanted to say that your production sound very good, and the songs are upbeat.Up all night: I thought the tambourine in the right channel was either to hot, and need to be set back and put in both channels, or just dump it all together, it was intrusive to the rest of the song in my humble opinionRoxbury Rag: Great tune upbeat, but I wonder what the little electric piano chord in the right channel would sound like like if it were a clavichord sound??? hmmmmm???

[wignelson]

Nice playing, Stan. I think the third one is the most universal and will be easiest to place. It almost sounds like the viagra theme already.

[jazzstan]

Thanks all. Good points.The 3rd one ("Roxbury Rag") is something I wrote for solo guitar in 1998, which is when those ED meds were probably just coming out of clinical trials!! I'm re-recording it with a 3-minute version with my new Fender (custom shop) Telecaster and my beloved D'Angelico for another blues listing. Doing all the drum loops at 24 bits inside Sonar7, which should mitigate the 'phasey' cymbals.

[hummingbird]

DangBlingBlues - I can imagine hearing this in a blues club. It could just be me (my ears don't like high hats/cymbals), I felt like that was too forward in the mix - I found it distracting. My preference would be to drop it back. But I dug the guitar playing & the piece is fine.Up_All_Night - I thought the high hat/cymbal was better on this, further back in the mix. Nice groove. I'd mix it a little differently but that's personal taste.Roxbury_Rag - really like this one. The mix is great, the balance is good, it has a nice uplifting kind of blues feel... like I'd want to listen to this group for an evening. Sounds like a fit for the listing! Good job.Let us know how you do with the listing

[sgs4u]

DangBlingBlues sounds like walking jazz blues. So if that's what the listing is looking for you'll get forwarded. Your bass line walks, the piano is jazzy shots, so I'm hearing a jazz 12 bar. The piano is mixed a little bit too far to the left to me, and when the piano starts to fill towards the end, the guitar could back off more. It does sound a lot more jazz, than blues IMO. But it might well make the cut man.Up_All_Night Might not need 3 guitar parts. the tambourine playing the downbeat at the beginning of each bar, doesn't sound really authentic. I would make it land on the snare beats, or turf it. Then when the tambourine comes in full time about 2/3rds thru, it's playing a swing pattern. The rest of the band is playing straight 1/8ths. Those don't work together well, to me. The guitar playing is more blues in this one than the first piece. I would also suggest trying a mix of this with nothing but drums, bass and your lead playing, so it really sounds more like a guitar trio. Roxbury_Rag - too many guitars going on. The hi-hats are definitely too loud. The piano could be a Wurly instead of the chorusy elec piano vibe. The wurly (or grand) would sound more authentic. The tune has a bit of a Steely Dan vibe, which might pull it too far away from "blues." I'd suggest going for more of a call and answer vibe, using only 2 guitar parts. I think I hear 4 different guitar performances melded together. I like your more cowboy sounding licks myself, for this groove. The parts that sound like they came from "Miles" All Blues, sound too jazz to me. You know, the 9 chords, or 6+9 chords. But heck, I'm not gonna tell you I really know for sure whether any of these selections will get forwarded or not. I can tell you I dig your playing. If you really want to nail the blues thing, check out some more guitar players like BB that really play one note, and hold it, and bend micro tones. Albert King, Muddy, Hook, Albert Collins are some of my favs. I just know the difference between jazz and blues, because I've gotten fired for playing too jazzy in a blues band. Like Vikki says, let us know how you do with the listing.

[billg]

Well, I don't know a thing about "upbeat blues" but I like these. Funny, I was going to mention that they may be too "jazzy" & then when I got to the third (roxbury) I could hear it in an ed spot & things started to make sense. If I were a betting man I would bet that your Roxbury Rag is the sorta thing they're looking for.

[jazzstan]

All ... thank you SO much for the constructive feedback and positive comments. This was exactly the kind of stuff I needed to know. I've got decent gear, my chops are ok, and I'm starting to make progress with the technical aspects of recording with Sonar7 ... but MIXING is the current mountain range to traverse -- I mean the current bump in the road. (Maybe my dad was right: my hearing is good, but I just don't listen well.) ha ha haAnyway, this is why I'm part of Taxi and this forum -- so that my learning curve is no longer that insurmountable Sisyphian task -- with a little help from my friends!!