Members Vito Corleone Posted July 8, 2012 Members Share Posted July 8, 2012 Inspired by the "regrets" and "post your original music" threads, I thought I'd give you all some samples of what I've done in the past. I played in 3 bands during my original music career between 1979 and 1992. Here's some samples of that and a quick background on each. 1980: First band we were quite young. I was the old man of the group at 18. We had no idea what we wanted to do. In 1979 we were wearing dashikis because we thought we were going to be a white Earth Wind and Fire. (We had two horn players.) Our main common inspirations were stuff like Toto and Doobie Brothers. In 1980 the Devo "Freedom of Choice" album comes out and we were all blown away. A couple of us were goofing around in the studio and came up with this. I mentioned in the "regrets" thread that this band would have been better off pursing a more synth-pop route. This track here is what I was talking about. Kind of Devo meets Zappa. However we also made our living playing covers at the time and this was just so left field from what we did it got dismissed as a novelty and certainly didn't fit in with our coverband stuff. I departed from this band in 1982 and they eventually went on to take a more synth-pop route, but by that time it was more trend-following than trend-setting, I think. They had some major label interest and landed a song on a movie soundtrack, but that was about it. Too bad. They deserved more. http://www.fileswap.com/dl/XZHtHaAxgS/ 1987: Big hair 80s rock band. Played with this band for most of the decade. This is the band I mentioned I wish had taken a more simplistic style with our writing. Again, we lived off of playing covers and we got to be quite good and could play just about anything. Problem was our songwriting chops didn't match our playing chops. This is probably where having good management would be a good idea so as to give the band some direction. Here's a pop-ish thing we came up with that to me sounds like we were trying to be Van Hagar with a chick singer maybe? Please excuse the amateurish attempt at Def-Leppard style production that muddys up an otherwise decent arrangement. http://www.fileswap.com/dl/PayA8Z9abc/ 1991: This band was short-lived with a specific agenda. Mainly that the bass player had grown up as a childhood friend of Mark Kendall and had played in an early version of what became Great White. I think he never quite got over the fact that had he not left the band because he didn't want to do the starving musician thing, he'd likely have been the bass player for Great White. So this band was put together with great assistance from Mark to help his friend have a shot at it. Mark had a big hand in arranging and producing the demos. Can you tell? Unfortunately, by 1991 the music scene already had a Great White and that band was already an album or two past their peak. A couple of showcases and meetings with label guys made that clear to us. Good band though. We briefly tried to re-tool and update our sound, but it wasn't a good fit and sounded forced. So at that point I decided it was time to pursue other careers besides rock star. http://www.fileswap.com/dl/YjORakGFPF/ Thanks for letting me indulge myself and what's YOUR musical history look/sound like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bish0p34 Posted July 8, 2012 Members Share Posted July 8, 2012 I like the songs, especially the first and third. Then again, I'm an 80's child lol. I didn't start playing til I was older, and only have one real original band that I recorded with (despite the fact that I'm always writing at home). I'll have to dig that CD out and upload it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MusicalSchizo Posted July 8, 2012 Members Share Posted July 8, 2012 That second band sounded like Scandal to me... I don't have anything like this, unfortunately...just about all of my early projects left the earth without anything committed to tape...I know there's videotape floating around of a battle of the bands I was in in 1995 with a cover band I played guitar in, but I'm not even sure I want to see that. I have a couple of complete shows of my current band - one from 2006 when I first joined (I believe it was my third gig with the group or so) when we were a four-piece and I wasn't even the singer, and another I've posted some stuff from before that was recorded in 2008 or 2009. It's like naked baby photos, the music version. Thanks for sharing, David! Brian V. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted July 8, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 8, 2012 That second band sounded like Scandal to me... Yeah, there was some of that there for sure. Too bad Scandal was about 3 years earlier. One of the problems (at least for me) with trying to be a successful cover band and do originals at the same time is that you get really good at copying current trends but fall short of being on the cutting edge of anything. And, back then at least, the business was so fast-moving. Sounding like 1984 in 1987 wasn't going to get anybody anywhere. I think with that band my main hope at the time was that we'd catch somebody's attention who would see some potential in the band and give us some solid songwriting assistance. We didn't have anyone in the band cranking out great songs left and right. But good band and fun, fun times. Wouldn't have missed any of those times for the world. Just mostly glad I lived through that decade. I know a lot of musicians who didn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J.Paul Posted July 9, 2012 Members Share Posted July 9, 2012 Thanks for sharing. All that stuff is really well made and pretty genre specific (easier to market too).Nothing to be ashamed of for sure. A lot of clarity went into your nutshell descriptions.... Think I'll learn that "Here We Go Again" solo this week for an exercise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted July 9, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 9, 2012 All that stuff is really well made and pretty genre specific (easier to market too).Nothing to be ashamed of for sure. Yeah, I actually like most of the old stuff I did better now that I did at the time. A lot of work went into everything we did, and you get too close to it sometimes and focus too much on the weaknesses. I remember actually despising a lot of that stuff at the time. Then 20 years later I run across the old tapes and think "hmmm, that wasn't half-bad, actually..." Now I can revisit it and feel good about how it sits in with my life history. And that's a good thing. Think I'll learn that "Here We Go Again" solo this week for an exercise! LOL. Yeah, a bit of 80s excess-madness there to be sure! I've had the good fortune to work with some very skilled players over the years. He was certainly one of them. Very skilled and versatile guitarist. I think that was written during his George Lynch period.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpaceNorman Posted July 9, 2012 Members Share Posted July 9, 2012 Yeah, I actually like most of the old stuff I did better now that I did at the time. A lot of work went into everything we did, and you get too close to it sometimes and focus too much on the weaknesses. I remember actually despising a lot of that stuff at the time. Then 20 years later I run across the old tapes and think "hmmm, that wasn't half-bad, actually..." Now I can revisit it and feel good about how it sits in with my life history. And that's a good thing. I have this same sentiment about some of the old stuff myself. I suspect that many of the tunes that I used to despise back then were despised simply because they didn't fit the then firmly held convictions I had about what constituted "cool". I've mellowed alot with age (... and I'd like to think - matured as well). I can now play pretty much anything, and be happy playing it as long as the quality of execution is there - without stressing about it not fitting the childish notions of what constitutes "cool" that I used to judge everything by. Getting past that phase were everything had to fit my arbitrary, preconceived notions about what was "cool" has vastly increased my level of satisfaction for music that I listen to and play. I think each of us is a "slave to fashion" in one sense or another (musical styles, wardrobe, etc.) early on in life. If we're lucky, we get past that - and realize there's enjoyment to be had in exploring things that our sense of "cool" would have arbitrarily put off limits to us during our misguided youth. I think that explains why we see so many artists come out with material that is radically different from the material that initially made them famous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kmart Posted July 9, 2012 Members Share Posted July 9, 2012 I think that was written during his George Lynch period.... Your guitarist went through a phase where he totally neglected his playing, started doing massive amounts of steroids, fed that habit by ripping off money owed to the rest of the band until it self-destructed, and then eventually went back out on the road under the same band name, with new hired gun players (so he could still take almost all the $) as well? :poke: (I mean...that's maybe what I've heard... ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted July 9, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 9, 2012 Your guitarist went through a phase where he totally neglected his playing, started doing massive amounts of steroids, fed that habit by ripping off money owed to the rest of the band until it self-destructed, and then eventually went back out on the road under the same band name, with new hired gun players (so he could still take almost all the $) as well? :poke: (I mean...that's maybe what I've heard... ) Didn't know all that. Shows you how much I know about Lynch. All I know is the guitar playing on some Dokken albums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kmart Posted July 9, 2012 Members Share Posted July 9, 2012 Didn't know all that. Shows you how much I know about Lynch. All I know is the guitar playing on some Dokken albums. Yeah, he had a 'second-act' band after that...a good friend was...let's just say very involved in that, and leave it at that. Said friend MAY have asked me and a bandmate to go pay George a visit and make some 'suggestions' to him about making good on his sizeable debts at some point. Of course, he was playing out in the sticks (at least for we who lived in the city, it was hella far) and we were like "Collect your money your own damn self!" That band reunited for a tour a while back, so if things aren't totally copascetic after that, he was at least willing to get back into business again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted July 9, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 9, 2012 Yeah, he had a 'second-act' band after that... Lynch Mob? I remember when he did that, but {censored} if I could name you a song from them. Possible I never even heard one. But I remember it was moderately successful at the time. Good guitarist though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tim_7string Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 The single "Wicked Sensation" from the first album of the same name is probably the most well-known song, although "River of Love" (also from the first album) and "Tangled In The Web" from the second album (different lead singer) were also on the radio a lot back in the early '90s... ...until "Smells Like Teen Spirit" put a stop to all that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MusicalSchizo Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 I had the second, self-titled album. I preferred that one to Wicked Sensation. I liked the vocalist (Robert Mason - who is now lead singer for Warrant) better. Never was a Dokken fan. I could never fully get into Lynch because he always seemed like a preening butthole to me (confirmed by his bodybuilding years)...and his rhythm playing was BORING. His leads were unique and awesome, though...I will say that.Brian V. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted July 10, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 I don't have anything like this, unfortunately...just about all of my early projects left the earth without anything committed to tape... Yeah, that's often the problem with old stuff. Not everyone was running around taping everything on their phone and uploading it to YouTube, for sure. 12 years/3 bands and all I've got is degraded cassette copies of the original songs we bothered to record (a couple dozen in total maybe) and one 4-set night of a gig with the 2nd band. I dubbed all that stuff to my computer a couple of years back before it all completely went to {censored}. I've got a video tape of a live broadcast we did for a TV show here that I need to figure out how to dub before it completely disappears. But IIRC, it wasn't very good anyway. But whatever you have, you need to get it off of tape and onto a digital format. Those old cassettes don't last forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kmart Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 The single "Wicked Sensation" from the first album of the same name is probably the most well-known song, although "River of Love" (also from the first album) and "Tangled In The Web" from the second album (different lead singer) were also on the radio a lot back in the early '90s... ...until "Smells Like Teen Spirit" put a stop to all that. Too funny...it was somewhere in late '98/early '99 when we were in this guys studio recording; keep in mind, he had been involved with a band featuring George Lynch, had that total background, etc. He had just started dating a girl who was turning him on too a bunch of new (to him) music. He gets all excited going through a bunch of CDs she'd burned for him, and starts telling us [in heavy NY accent] "You've GOT to hear this band. They're awesome. The album is "13 Songs" and the band is called [foo-gay-zee]..." We fell on the floor laughing so hard. He didn't get it. Umm...hairspray dude; that album is a decade old at this point. Welcome to the present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted July 10, 2012 Members Share Posted July 10, 2012 Dave, I don't have much time to write, just wanted to say thanks for sharing this. This brings me back to youth, playing in original bands, trying to record a demo and hopefully score and indie or major label. The first song is pretty cool synth pop. But the 2nd and 3rd songs really hit home for me. The singer on your 2nd track reminds me of Sandi Sayara a NJ singer who broke out with a major label around 88-89 and then faded away after the grunge invasion. The 3rd track sounds totally like Mark Kendall produced it. It has that reverb soaked bluesy production. Gated drums, swaths of reverb, wall of backing vocals. About the time that you had cut that track I had moved on from the cookie-cutter commercial hard rock and was listening more to Faith No More and Dream Theater (largely because they incorporated keyboards). Then Nirvana killed electronics for almost a decade. Good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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