New song - 'Forecast'

Check it out here:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=595643

Thanks for listening!

this tune had a good groove in it. i like th guitar line, don't like the guitar tone. a bit too nasally for me. (it's taste) it's a good rock song, for me. i like the dynamic drop on 'won't be long' and all of the dynamic places the song goes to throughout. it's cool stuff.

also, is that drum programming? if so, it's better than most i've ever heard before. you have a nice snap to the bass drum and the snare has good resonance. in fact, the only thing that 'gives away' the program is the cymbals sound. (if it indeed is programming. if it's not, get some better cymbals/overhead mics!) also, on the drums, pan a bit better. the hi-hat shouldn't be in the middle and the ride should be off to the opposite. the mix has a 'big mono' thing going on. that needs to be fixed.

as far as the negative things i have to say, well, the tune got really long and the solo didn't say much of anything original to me. it was a blues-rocker solo - and a long one....long ones, actually. also, the guitar break was too long. the song lost the groove at that point and the fills cut the momentum of the break.

I agree with bluesway that the groove is really good. I do like the guitar tone and attitude. For me the guitar work after the first verse ends and the second verse begins is the hook. I really dug it. Lyrically I think it works for the style and the vocal is OK. I keep hearing a B3 track in my mind that builds as the song progresses but that's just my incurably compulsive arranger personality raising its ugly head.

I like it!

Yeah, I don't use that guitar tone often (it's the drive channel on my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe), but I thought this tune could use something more brittle and nasty.

And Bluesway, you're right. That is in fact drum programming...a Finale 2006 file saved as a .wav and dropped into Audition. For some reason with this particular file, though, I couldn't get the panning to work. As far as the entire mix, I was going for a raw, retro sort of 70's feel; hence, the 'mono thing' you referred to.

Same with the tune structure as well. It's sort of "jammy" - not usually what I do, but I felt it would work for this one. I don't know what to tell you about the solos...I wasn't really going for being original as much as pushing the dynamics and tension up and down...purely a structural thing. It doesn't feel too long to me - the song's only 4 1/2 minutes - but different strokes, etc.

At any rate, thanks a lot for your comments...and for listening to my stuff!

Really like the song. It rocks. The combination of the wah guitar solos and the alterno chord progression kind of reminded me of Dinosaur Jr.

I dug the verse riff quite a bit. When it came back after the first guitar solo/breakdown I smiled. My only quibble is with the amp tone on the verse riff - I think a cleaner sound (and the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe has some great clean sounds) would serve the riff better.

Dinosaur Jr...huh. I wouldn't have made that connection, but cool. Thanks for the comments!

Man, I have absolutely nothing negative to say or to critique. I am totally diggin' on this. You do what you do damn well.

Good song!

The riff is really good, and the Chorus is memorable.

The whole thing seems to break down and loose continuity in the first solo section, though.....

It's going along real nice, then goes away. the playing there is nice, it just doesn't fit the song, IMO. Other than that, I love it. Very cool!!

Well, like I stated earlier, that section is sort of a structural experiment/nod to 70's extended rocking. Did I actually state that earlier? Hmm...I need coffee.

I'm glad you guys are digging it, though - it fills my morning with happy happy joy joy. Now if I could just find a millionaire that wants to pay me a phat sum to write more...

For some reason I was immediately thinking of Mark Farner/Grand Funk with this. So retro 70's is on the money. I don't think the long unaccompanied solo works well. Perhaps one measure of it would suffice before returning the backing instruments? Anyway, it is a good tune and I like it. I'm in Texas too, about 120 miles from you.

Ryan... You any kin to Randy Beavers? He is a GREAT Tn pedal steeler.

Well, I don't know about just one measure of the unaccompanied stuff, but making it a bit shorter certainly isn't out of the question. I do really like it the way it is now (taking it to a quieter level for a while to create a "new space"), but I wonder if you guys would feel the same if there were a steady hi-hat on the quarter beat throughout that section. That's how it was originally, but I felt there would be a more dramatic return if everything dropped out. Maybe the current long version of that section is better suited for a live situation...maybe not.

BTW - I don't know Randy Beavers, but what a name. HA! And I thought my name was bad. Funny...I didn't get the perverted jokes throughout middle school that you would expect...just a bunch of lame "Leave it to Beaver" crap. At least the perverted stuff would have been interesting.

From a songwriter's perspective, I think the verse/chorus sections are very good and the solos only dilute/distract from the song (with or without a hi-hat). If you cut the breakdown and the outro, you would have a really nice, tight pop/rock song. From a guitarist's perspective I think your chops are really good and the solos show that off which is usually good in a live setting. Maybe this is not the best analogy, but do you want Satisfaction or do you want Whole Lotta Love?

Ah HA! A good point that I failed to bring up...I was definitely not concerned with this being an economic, radio-friendly package. If I were writing in the "hit" style, I would have naturally cut out some extra footage to make it a tight little song, but that's not the case with this particular one.

I can see your argument, though...if looking at it from a purely songwriter perspective, it does contain unnecessary material. But this one goes in the "Whole Lotta Love" category for me.

Fair enough! I still think it's a great song - even with the extra stuff!

I listened to it again, and the guitar tone on the chorded verse riff is ok - I don't think it should be cleaner; you definitely need some crunch for the riff to work. But the tone on the bluesy single-note lead going in to the first breakdown (I think it is the same tone) sounds great - and why have something that's just ok when you could have something great?

Well, the lead tone is a TS-9 - on top of the Hot Rod drive channel - used as both a boost and to add some smoothness...so in one aspect, it is the same tone. I really like the gritty, dirty tone for the rhythm. It's different than what I would usually use, which is smooth yet crunchy (hmm - sounds like I'm describing peanut butter)...and I wanted this to be a little different.

I have nothing to complain about..I liked it...a lot