Members Lee Flier Posted March 8, 2006 Members Posted March 8, 2006 All right, this is the inaugural "Spotlight On Your Band" thread! THB has graciously volunteered to be put on the torture rack... erhh... I mean helped out by all you kind sensitive people. The band's web site is at http://www.taylorharveyband.com THB, please feel free to post links to anything in particular for which you'd like commentary from our esteemed community. You might want to describe your band and what your goals are so that if anybody has advice, recommendations for places to play or what have you, it can be appropriate to your goals. Remember folks, constructive criticism only. If you just hate this style of music and can't be objective about it, please refrain from comment. What we're trying to accomplish here is 1) To help the band develop (both musically and career-wise) in ways they may not have thought of, and 2) for others to learn from said comments and maybe apply it to our own bands. So things like "You suck!" are not going to help. In fact, even if you say "You rule!" it would be more helpful to be specific in what you like about the band. So have at it! I will offer my own comments very soon, and thanks Taylor & gang for being the first.
Moderators BATCAT Posted March 9, 2006 Moderators Posted March 9, 2006 Hi. Your clips sound very well-produced and the quality of the MP3s seems quite high. I'm guessing you have a good mastering guy... very nice. If I were you I'd include at least a few downloadable songs in their entirety... I think this tactic can be very useful. The photos are very well done. I like that in your calendar you say something about the individual venues you play at... seems like a good trick to lodge your shows in peoples memories. Your site is easy to navigate, which is great. However, your logo looks all weird and pixelated/blotchy, which I think is a BIG no-no... it can make an otherwise snazzy site look ameteurish.
Members fastplant Posted March 9, 2006 Members Posted March 9, 2006 Great sounding clips. I have to admit, they do sound geared toward an older audience. Not that it's a bad thing. I agree that you should have longer clips. I'd only go to samples when you have too many people downloading instead of buying your music. And you really don't get that problem till you go national. But you guys sound really good. I also like your press section, looks like I'm definitely not alone in liking your stuff.
Members Marlin in Minn Posted March 9, 2006 Members Posted March 9, 2006 Originally posted by THBv2.0 * leaves the house * Getcher ass back in here! You can't leave till we're done criticizing. ***hands THB a beer*** I haven't downloaded any of the the Taylor Harvey Band clips, because I'm on a very slow dialup connection. But I did purchase his Beauty in the Eye album, and I just listened to it again today going back and forth to work. I've already posted some comments about this record in this thread: http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1181675 These are very well written songs with a lot of variety. There's some songs that'll tug on your heart strings, some songs that'll make you laugh, and some songs that'll make you do both. You'll hear some kick ass musicians that can go the gambit of just show casing the singer's voice, to rockin' the house down! I highly recommend this album! :thu: -Jeff
Members BlueStrat Posted March 9, 2006 Members Posted March 9, 2006 Originally posted by Marlin in Minn Getcher ass back in here! You can't leave till we're done criticizing. ***hands THB a beer*** I haven't downloaded any of the the Taylor Harvey Band clips, because I'm on a very slow dialup connection. But I did purchase his Beauty in the Eye album, and I just listened to it again today going back and forth to work. I've already posted some comments about this record in this thread: http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1181675 These are very well written songs with a lot of variety. There's some songs that'll tug on your heart strings, some songs that'll make you laugh, and some songs that'll make you do both. You'll hear some kick ass musicians that can go the gambit of just show casing the singer's voice, to rockin' the house down! I highly recommend this album! :thu: -Jeff Well, I'm biased, since I've actually had the pleasure of meeting Taylor and having lunch with him on my last motorcycle trip to California. We swapped CDs, so I have all of his work (so far) and I really dig it. The guy has steadily progressed as a songwriter from record to record, with wrting becoming a more sharply honed craft, as well as the production value getting better, and certainly getting Tim to play lead guitar was a major score and step up. If I could change one thing, I'd bring the vocals out front just a bit more in the more high energy songs (Tay is a humble guy, and maybe isn't comfortable standing out , but with his talent, he better get used to it!) but other than that, I the THB! Maybe someday I'll get to sit in, that would be a blast.
Members elbow Posted March 9, 2006 Members Posted March 9, 2006 Overall I have to say it is good stuff. The styles of the clips I heard are diverse but complimentary. I'm not an engineer, but the production sounds good to me, at least for the lo-fi clips that were available. I'm sure the real recordings sound much better. The mix sounds pretty good to me. The songs are well written and can hold me to hear the rest. The website is put together well and is easy to navigate. Good job
Members ThumpThumpTwang Posted March 9, 2006 Members Posted March 9, 2006 Solid songwriting, great full guitar mix. It seemed like the two albums were mixed differently? I thought the vocals primarily, and the guitars to a lesser extent, stood out more on the Place To Call album. You guys sound like you've been jamming together forever. Good group vision. I liked it. I would go see a show.
Members THBv2.0 Posted March 9, 2006 Members Posted March 9, 2006 Okay, let me answer to a few of the points that have been brought up. First, thanks to all for the kind comments re: songwriting. I was a young fan of such songwriting phenoms as Paul Simon, James Taylor and Neil Young, so lyrics are important to me. To hear that you guys think I do that well is very encouraging. Actionsquid, I agree with both of your comments that there should be some full downloads available on the website and that the logo looks bad. I find myself somewhat at the mercy of my lack of computer savvy. We use a website template available from CDBaby and I'm not sure if we are able to fix either of those issues, but I'll be looking into it a.s.a.p. Fastplant, we're old! I could try to sugarcoat that for you, but at 43 I'm the youngest member of the band. The 21-30 crowd likes us okay, but they don't really "get" us. Folks over 30 tend to like us a lot. I'm okay with that. Marlin, your comments both here and on the other thread are greatly appreciated, and I'll put that signed insert in the mail for you in the next day or two. I also threw in a few THB guitar picks. BS, look for some production changes (read improvements) on the next CD, and you're welcome to sit in any time we're in the same place. Elbow, good comment re: the diversity present on the last two efforts, especially. Care is being taken now, in the writing and arranging stages, to ensure a more consistent style throughout. It depends who you talk to as to whether that diversity is a good thing of not, but I'm listening to the guys who've been around a while and I'm going to stick more to the Southern/Country Rock genre next time around. TTT, I found your question re: the mixing interesting. All three CDs were produced by the same guy and mastered in the same place. In the last two CDs, the consistency has been with the guitars and vocals, since both were recorded using different rhythm sections. I'll have to go back and listen closely to the two and see what I think. And we hope to see you at a show someday. So far, so good, gentlemen. I'm hoping for a good year in '06 with this music and what's on tap for the next project. Any insight into marketing, publishing and the like would be appreciated. Thanks for your comments so far and I look forward to listening to your stuff in the coming weeks.
Members Blackwatch Posted March 9, 2006 Members Posted March 9, 2006 I really enjoy THB's music, and although I'm as far physically away as I can be in the Pacific North West, I've always liked the Southern Rock sounds. I think ThB's songs are well crafted and accessable, The website is well put together and easy to navigate. Great bio pictures and it's easy to find out where thry are playing. Everything else has been said, but all in all, a great effort by the THB.......
Members fastplant Posted March 9, 2006 Members Posted March 9, 2006 Originally posted by THBv2.0 Fastplant, we're old! I could try to sugarcoat that for you, but at 43 I'm the youngest member of the band. The 21-30 crowd likes us okay, but they don't really "get" us. Folks over 30 tend to like us a lot. I'm okay with that. Haha, like I said, there's nothing wrong with it. I just wasn't sure what demographic you were targeting. It's still good music.
Members SunRaFan Posted March 9, 2006 Members Posted March 9, 2006 I only listened to one song "Place to Call" because it didn't real seem to be my kind of thing. My one bit of constructive criticism would have to do with the production. I felt the drums and guitars were processed in a very different style than the vocals. They seemed to have a lot of reverb whereas the vocals seemed to be fairly dry. Comparing the sound of the snare drum to the vocals it seems to me like they are coming from different places. It makes the mix not feel as cohesive as it could in my opinion. Personally, I'd probably prefer to hear a more "natural" drum sound by cutting the reverb tails down some. Other people might prefer to hear a more processed vocal. Hope that was helpful and wasn't too harsh. It's a really minor quibble.
Members THBv2.0 Posted March 9, 2006 Members Posted March 9, 2006 No worries, SunRa. Drum tones have been a thorn in our side thanks mainly to personnel. Three CDs, three drummers. I just forwarded your comment and the link to this thread to my producer. You may think it's a minor quibble, amigo, but it's been the subject of many late night conversations!
Members jackcheez Posted March 9, 2006 Members Posted March 9, 2006 Good job. I like the sound of your band.The only thing, and it could be just me, there's something about the recordings that sounds like over compressed or something. Not natural. Like almost (and I didn't think I'd ever say this) too punchy ? Overall it's good enough that I feel like I'm taking a bit of a risk here by being critical. That's pretty good on ya. Lots of bands should sound that good.
Members cherri Posted March 9, 2006 Members Posted March 9, 2006 The web site itself is excellent. Unfortunately I can't comment on the recording quality because I'm hiding in my cubicle, listening at low volume on crap speakers on my lunch hour. I focused my attention on the song writing. Honestly, I was delighted! I listened to all the clips. I would also have liked to hear a couple of complete songs, but you included enough material to get a good feel for the tunes. Roadhousin is an ass-shakin tune, as well as Tease. I also very much enjoyed Place to Call My Own. It gave me an Allman Brothers vibe, although I didn't find it deriviative. A lyric sheet would have been very helpful. I was focused on making out the words, and had to re-listen to focus on the instrumentation. I could hear the vocals, they weren't buried in the mix. (PS - I'm a sucker for slide guitar, I really dug those tunes especially). The stories in the songs hooked me, and I found plenty in your lyrics to keep my attention. Nice descriptive phrasing, good dynamics, too, in the performances. The only criticisms I came up with were: 1. in the chord progressions of some of the songs. I found myself waiting for a chord progression to surprise me. I could predict where the songs were going on the first listen. 2. The vocalists stay well within their pitch safety zone, which possibly limits the vocal window in which you can write.
Members Mr. Botch Posted March 9, 2006 Members Posted March 9, 2006 Great site! I too liked the short descriptions of both the venues, and the past shows, that's something we should put more work into. Good southern/roots rock sound, I really enjoyed listening to them, and this is the kind of band I love to run across in a club. I really couldn't suggest anything to improve. Your lead guitarist, Tim: had he ever played in South Dakota? He looks REALLY familiar to me...
Members THBv2.0 Posted March 9, 2006 Members Posted March 9, 2006 Originally posted by cherri The only criticisms I came up with were: 1. in the chord progressions of some of the songs. I found myself waiting for a chord progression to surprise me. I could predict where the songs were going on the first listen. I agree on some and not on others. I'm a self-taught musician, and I skipped a lot of classes, so some of my stuff admittedly is I-IV-V and the relative minor.2. The vocalists stay well within their pitch safety zone, which possibly limits the vocal window in which you can write. Don't we all write within our safety zones? That's one of the luxuries of writing your own stuff. There are songs we aren't doing much anymore because they push that limit and I just can't sing like that three nights in a row, which I often have to do.
Members THBv2.0 Posted March 9, 2006 Members Posted March 9, 2006 Originally posted by Mr. Botch Your lead guitarist, Tim: had he ever played in South Dakota? He looks REALLY familiar to me... Tim's a SoCal guy who was born in NoCal. I'm pretty sure he's never been to the Dakotas, but I'll ask him. He does have that wild n wooly look about him!
Moderators daddymack Posted March 10, 2006 Moderators Posted March 10, 2006 but...Tay, what's with the shoes...? THB is a very guy, aside from being a good songwriter and performer...he drove 600 miles through a blizzard just to see my band play...well, okay, not 600 miles...and, well, not a blizzard...but he braved the SoCal freeway system...which is almost the same thing! He was also gracius enough to trade CDs with me, and I made out :3 of his for one of ours...and I enjoyed all three...my review was posted in Cool Jam a while back.
Members THBv2.0 Posted March 10, 2006 Members Posted March 10, 2006 Originally posted by daddymack but...Tay, what's with the shoes...? It's not quite a fetish. :-) THB is a very guy, aside from being a good songwriter and performer...he drove 600 miles through a blizzard just to see my band play...well, okay, not 600 miles...and, well, not a blizzard...but he braved the SoCal freeway system...which is almost the same thing! He was also gracius enough to trade CDs with me, and I made out :3 of his for one of ours...and I enjoyed all three...my review was posted in Cool Jam a while back. I'm writing an adventure documentary of my trip called "North! To Pasadena!"
Members NewAroundHere Posted March 11, 2006 Members Posted March 11, 2006 I listened to the provided songs and thought the overall quality was pretty good. Not quite radio ready, but very good demo quality. The website is easy to navigate and the three CDs available shows me that this is a committed project. It's good music, I wish them luck.
Members THBv2.0 Posted March 12, 2006 Members Posted March 12, 2006 Hey Actionsquid, I made some changes to the website on the music page. Full length downloads now available (with more to come) and the logo looks like it's supposed to. See whatcha think.
Members Guitar Centaur Posted March 12, 2006 Members Posted March 12, 2006 While I don't have any technical critique to add, I'll just say that Taylor sent me a CD and PM'd me some comforting thoughts to help ease the pain of losing my canine best friend (who was almost like another child to us) last fall. His passion for his muse, and his compassion for his fellow man make him someone to be admired by all. I 's me some THB!
Members Mathew Posted March 12, 2006 Members Posted March 12, 2006 i wouldn't bother putting the low fi clips up. It will give a bad representation of your sound, and most people have high speed connections anyways.
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