seeking suggestions for submissions

[angealero]

Hey everyone,

I am BRAND NEW to Taxi and finally took the plunge after staring at listings for a couple years. I'm a little stuck though...I suffer from the dreaded "V" word (versatile) and I'm usually lost at pinpointing my music down to single genre.

I'm hoping a couple of you will check out my music (www.angealero.com) and make a suggestion or two on some current listings that you think I might fit the bill on. The two songs I'm considering submitting are "Lay Down" and "Strides".

Also, if you have some suggestions on how I should adjust my mixes to make them more "broadcast friendly", that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!!

- Angelo

[monteverdejon]

hey angelo!

your stuff sounds suitable for any current modern rock listing to my ears - good singing too! i could see this working for an artist listing in that genre.

one thing though, i can hear pretty harsh high-end distortion on both songs, and i can't tell if it's your mix or myspace's horrible mp3-compression thing going on. are your songs up in higher quality on your TAXI hosting page? link?

also, good pixies cover love them pixies
jon

[angealero]

Thanks for the comments, Jon.

I think what was some awful compression I had on the output causing the harshness combined with myspace *covers tail*, haha.

Check out my Taxi profile, I posted a higher quality version there with a new mix I did tonight to try and calm the harshness. I'm a young pup (turning 23 in a few weeks) so I lack some experience that some folks around here probably have. I'm eager to learn and very appreciative of the comments and criticism.

www.taxi.com/angealero

[Len911]

Hello Angelo, I really thought the song Lay Down was great, I listened to the 3 versions. I think you should probably go for the labels and publisher listings, I don't think anyone could sing your songs any better than yourself! I don't think I heard enough songs to comment on what genre to choose, I mean it sounded better than Keith Urban imo, so country is even a possibility. The Taxi version was clearer than the myspace. As far as my nits on the recording, it seemed a little overcompressed, vocals were a little more in my face than necessary and dynamics seemed a little squashed. I think your singing is really the star of the show here, excellent!

[bwd]

Hi Angelo. Great voice! I listened to the version on your Taxi page. Cool song too. Nice contrast between the verse and chorus. Sounds perfect for modern rock listings. The guitar solo jumps out a little bit and could perhaps end a little better. Otherwise perfect. Cheers, Doug

[ottlukk]

Angelo:
Listened to "Lay Down", really fine. Will add that you have a fantastic voice, really enjoyed the way you do your vocals. Welcome to the forums!
Ott

[heckxx]

I'm listening to "Lay Down" from your myspace, it certainly has alot of elements of a great modern pop song. You got a great voice with emotion. The instrument arrangements are great, very modern and not amateur-sounding. Aside from the bridge (solo sounded too loud or something), I would really not worry about the instrument arrangement/mix at all.

One thing I'm missing is a great memorable hook, I don't really remember any amazing melodies after listening to the song. But you certainly have alot of the pieces put together here! I would just suggest really refining your vocal lines so they are even better. They are pretty good now, but you can definitely shoot higher.

Hope this helps!

-Jeff

[angealero]

Thanks again for the comments everyone! This is the friendliest forum I have ever witnessed. I'm usually running for cover when asking for critiques in other forums.

I'm going to lower the solo in the mix, I think the first note that it slides in on kind of crashes in which at first I liked but probably got a bit fader happy.

As for crafting more of a hook, based on your comment it seems like your suggestion is more melody oriented? I suppose hook here is mostly the lyric rather than the melody but I definitely see the opportunity for improvement, I'm just a bit lost on the execution. I still need to add some harmonies and possibly a vocal double (I usually do this but for some reason haven't yet). Do you think that will be sonically sufficient to provide that extra ear candy you're finding it currently lacks?

I can definitely see myself banging out a better take on the vocals to capture more of that emotion throughout every line and refining the phrasing even more-so.

I'll stop now before this becomes a full on tangent...keep the comments rolling. This is fantastic!!!

[fret17]

Hi Angealero....I'm with the rest of the forum...You should do whatever it takes to promote yourself and do your own material...especially if you've got more of the same. You have great vocal chops for this type of music so why not you?....I'd be sending promos to management in your area that can support a push towards exposure to the right ears. In my opinion your voice blows away most of the male rock and alternative rock vocals I hear on the radio by miles....to bad I haven't the power because I believe in you....(and I don't throw that around to just anybody)....You are that good!

[heckxx]

As for crafting more of a hook, based on your comment it seems like your suggestion is more melody oriented? I suppose hook here is mostly the lyric rather than the melody but I definitely see the opportunity for improvement, I'm just a bit lost on the execution. I still need to add some harmonies and possibly a vocal double (I usually do this but for some reason haven't yet). Do you think that will be sonically sufficient to provide that extra ear candy you're finding it currently lacks?

I can definitely see myself banging out a better take on the vocals to capture more of that emotion throughout every line and refining the phrasing even more-so.

A good hook is a combination of a great melody that also has great lyrics that fit the melody. It should be some phrase that just sticks in the listener's minds. IMO, many musicians can write a descent hook, but few can write an amazing one. For a singer, if it becomes too tricky or difficult to sing or record a certain phrase, it probably needs to be changed.

More vocals layers and harmonies will make it sound more full, but sometimes they just over-complicate the song. A lot of times, I try putting 4-5 vocal layers in the chorus, only to realize that I want to change some of the lyrics or phrasing, and then I'd have to re-record all those layers again...personally, for me, that's frustrating. I usually record a single harmony at most, just to keep it simple and focused.

-Jeff