[Music] New York Blues

[foolomon]

This track has been in the making for a bit, but it is finally ready. I feel like I gave birth, and I still have another bun in the oven that I hope to release in a week or so. Heh.

Vocals by Glyn. Organ by Peter. These guys gave this song the personality that it needed, and I am so happy to have had them collaborate with me on this.

Both the rhythm and lead guitar tracks were played pick-less. This is the first time I’ve tried lead without a pick, and it was definitely an interesting experience in a good way. I have no idea how I managed to get those artificial harmonics in the solo, but I’m not complaining.

I’ve got the Chelsea Blues
Don’t know what to do
Because I lost my job now

I said I got the blues
Don’t know what to do
Because I lost my job now

When I came to work yesterday my boss let me go
I’m in a bad spot now don’t you know
And now I’ve got no money to spend now

When they find me tomorrow
After I’ve left this world behind
How will they find me?

I’ve got the Brooklyn Blues
Don’t know what to do
I got no place to live now

I said I got the blues
Don’t know what to do
I got no place to live now

‘Cause I’m way behind, far behind, behind on my rent
Don’t you know I need some heaven sent
Or someone to give me some money now

When they find me tomorrow
After I’ve left this world behind
How will they find me?

Solo

I’ve got the Soho Blues
Don’t know what to do
Because my baby left me

I said I got the blues
Don’t know what to do
Because my baby left me

She said she’s leaving, she’s going, leaving me behind
What will I do? I’m going out of my mind
I need to find me some loving now

When they find me tomorrow
After I’ve left this world behind
How will they find me?

New York Blues

Gear:
Guitar: Strat > EnVoice MK II > Guitar Rig Pro 5 > Cubase
Bass: Fender Jazz > EnVoice MK II > Cubase
Drums: Jamstix 3 > Battery 4 > Cubase
Horns: Kontakt 5 stock horns, arranged by me

I don’t recall exactly Glyn or Peter’s equipment, so I’ll leave that to them to reveal.

[shadowfax]

This sounded great really loud on my system, loved the guitar solo…real pro sound, drums a bit far away for me but, hey…just great…how do you sing like that ? Kevin

[foolomon]

@shadowfax

This sounded great really loud on my system, loved the guitar solo…real pro sound, drums a bit far away for me but, hey…just great…how do you sing like that ? Kevin

I don’t. That was Glyn Powell singing. Thanks for the compliment on the guitar solo - it was my first time doing it without a pick so I was in new territory. My pride and joy, however, is the bass tone I was able to get.

I understand your point about the drums. Here’s my mixing “philosophy” regarding drums: because there are a lot of high frequency components to a drum kit (snare, hi-hat, cymbals) they can easily take over the entire mix since higher frequencies = higher energy = draws your focus to them. However, you need the snare to keep the beat at least since that’s what gives people the sense of timing more than anything. So, I keep the kick and snare up a bit and push everything back a bit to keep the mix “clean” (subjective term, I realize).

[foolomon]

@shadowfax

This sounded great really loud on my system, loved the guitar solo…real pro sound, drums a bit far away for me but, hey…just great…how do you sing like that ? Kevin

I’ll have to double check, but I can swear I kept it near +0-+2 in the K-14 scale. I hope I didn’t screw that up.

[shadowfax]

I’ll have to double check, but I can swear I kept it near +0-+2 in the K-14 scale. I hope I didn’t screw that up.[/quote]


you just lost me with that there techno speak…

how come when i try to do a quote I always get it wrong ?

[foolomon]

K-14 is one of a family of specifications that attempted to deal with inconsistencies in perceived loudness of audio material. The -14 refers to the reference upon which 0 is based. It was developed by Bob Katz, and has since been superseded by EBU-R128, which was developed in the U.K. (if memory serves me correctly).

Basically, if you keep the weighted RMS (calculated using the Katz algorithm) near +0 then your music will appear to be at a consistent volume from track to track.

K-12 is used for radio broadcast material
K-14 for most musical genres
K-20 for orchestral work

You’ll find the paper that spawned all of this here: http://www.aes.org/technical/documentDownloads.cfm?docID=65

There are several VSTs available that show you the “loudness” of your mix. I use Blue Cat Audio’s Peak Meter Pro and insert it in one of the post fader slots on the master bus. Change the display settings to K-14 and pow! Note that this VST doesn’t support EBU-R128.

[shadowfax]

Ok thanks for the info…will look into it…Kevin

[Bane]

Hey Larry,

Like the song and the mix works really well. I think the lyric rhymes were “out there” a bit but the vocalist is certainly a keeper.

[foolomon]

@Bane

Hey Larry,

Like the song and the mix works really well. I think the lyric rhymes were “out there” a bit but the vocalist is certainly a keeper.

Heh. At least I’ll never be accused of being a conformist with my lyrics. Hahaha

Thanks for listening!

[Desert]

well done Larry, enjoyed the collab

I recorded my 40 year A100 hammond with a 145 Leslie using 2 AKG 414 mic’s in a X/Y config.
I am using 2 bellari RP 533 pre amps into a MOTU 24/IO

regards peter

[foolomon]

@desert

well done Larry, enjoyed the collab

I recorded my 40 year A100 hammond with a 145 Leslie using 2 AKG 414 mic’s in a X/Y config.
I am using 2 bellari RP 533 pre amps into a MOTU 24/IO

regards peter

Awesome! Thanks for the information!