Old 04-20-2017, 01:55 PM   #1
sammydix
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Default Funk Rock Reunion

Didn't expect this to happen after about 15 years, but I found my old guitarist band mate on FB. When I wrote this, I had Shawn in mind and had to contact him. Back in the late 90s we were an all black punk/prog/rock band, this time we took a different direction...

Where I may have slacked off some, Shawn still has a whooooooole lotta rock in him--as you will hear. All this did was make me miss him (and the other guys too), but I'm still glad he took the the time to do this for his old songwriter/singer (we all wrote; I just had the bigger share).
Shawn gigs professionally with a group called Gypsy Rose these days and pays the bills just nicely.

What do you guys think? I heard this far too many times now.

Me: AD2 and Sampletank proggin, the palm-muted auto wah, and the no-name pawnshop bass. All vocs. The horns are Ueberschall Horns.
D. Johnston: the better, manual wah guitar.
Steve Caustrita: Latin piano and percussions
Shawn Tarver: Spanish and lead guitars

https://app.box.com/s/1jcyh65eq3x01vi5r62g5i0sza3ho865

Version 2: https://app.box.com/s/07mfcxpoklipuookxhx9w29uqaeniz38
Made the horns a bit brighter. Pulled in the bg vocals some, but still panned far because I like it. Brought Shawn down a notch. Other minor tweaks. Thanks for the suggestions guys.

Thanks for doing this for your old friend, Shawn!

Last edited by sammydix; 04-29-2017 at 06:14 AM.
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Old 04-20-2017, 02:53 PM   #2
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DL'ed, wave file so will transfer it to main rig later to play, cheers Sammy.
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Old 04-21-2017, 06:57 AM   #3
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Hey Morg. I'll await.
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Old 04-21-2017, 09:56 AM   #4
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Funky!!!

Nice arrangement and mix.
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Old 04-21-2017, 02:20 PM   #5
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Freak Power meets Santana, and slaps him upside the head with the funk.
Awesome job guys, loved it.
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Old 04-21-2017, 02:48 PM   #6
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Great band, the harmonies too, way cool all around, well done.
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Old 04-21-2017, 04:27 PM   #7
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Haha really cool sammy. Love the vocal.
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Old 04-21-2017, 06:44 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by Sambo Rouge View Post
Funky!!!

Nice arrangement and mix.
Thanks SR. I was screwing around on bass one eve and started playing that simple descending bass line. Then I started singing the first thing that came out and opened Reaper while it was still fresh in my mind. Went on from there...

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Freak Power meets Santana, and slaps him upside the head with the funk.
Awesome job guys, loved it.
Hey Bass. Glad you gave a listened.
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Old 04-22-2017, 01:16 AM   #9
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That's a good call -- gotta DO it. You record at home? I do, and I sometimes feel that I could do a little more with the singing and playing -- some more "push" and "force"... if it wasn't for the neighbors. This particular song, with its "urgent" message, could do with a little bit more energy in the vocals. IMO.

(I listened to Prince yesterday, some tracks from "Around the world in a day". Like "Tamborine". Amazing vocal work. He really goes all the way with it.)
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Old 04-22-2017, 03:31 AM   #10
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Ima use more wah, one of the best gtr fx ever, imo
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Old 04-22-2017, 06:06 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by morgon View Post
Great band, the harmonies too, way cool all around, well done.
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Haha really cool sammy. Love the vocal.
Thanks guys!
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Old 04-22-2017, 06:26 AM   #12
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That's a good call -- gotta DO it. You record at home? I do, and I sometimes feel that I could do a little more with the singing and playing -- some more "push" and "force"... if it wasn't for the neighbors. This particular song, with its "urgent" message, could do with a little bit more energy in the vocals. IMO.

(I listened to Prince yesterday, some tracks from "Around the world in a day". Like "Tamborine". Amazing vocal work. He really goes all the way with it.)
Yep you're right in both case: I sing at home and the vocs could use more push. I pretty much always have to hold back because of neighbors and forced into Michael Franks style vocal. A complete turnaround from when I used to sing in my band (with the same guy that's playing guitar in this). The first row would move back some when I started belting at shows. Now I have to sing like a timid jazz man.
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Old 04-22-2017, 08:17 AM   #13
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Heh heh, some funky fun, good performance, I enjoyed that. There were hints of "Tower of Power" in there.
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Old 04-22-2017, 08:28 AM   #14
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Ima use more wah, one of the best gtr fx ever, imo
Yeah, when this started coming together, all I could think of was, "this needs some serious wah." I'm too uncoordinated to do the manual thing, so I did some muted palms with an autowah effect. Got in touch with D.J. and he provided the good stuff.
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Old 04-22-2017, 01:22 PM   #15
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Heh heh, some funky fun, good performance, I enjoyed that. There were hints of "Tower of Power" in there.
Hey Tod. I'm glad the "fun" came across because I really enjoyed mixing this. Both because I experimented with old-style techniques (like the panned mono harmonies), and jamming with an old band mate. Thanks for checking it out.
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Old 04-22-2017, 02:02 PM   #16
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Mr Harmonies is back!
Nice song and great arrangement. Cruel guitar player!

You played around with the pan quite heavily this time (I'm on headphones).
I didn't like what you did to the panning of the harmonies.
Either in the same spot as the lead vox and narrow or way out in the corners.

in the 'santana moment' i felt the keys too dry compared to the guitar.

I agree with Jorgen about the singing. Not only power, but e.g. the spanish 'half spoken' part could have more emphasis.
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Old 04-23-2017, 08:47 AM   #17
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Originally Posted by msundh View Post
Mr Harmonies is back!
Nice song and great arrangement. Cruel guitar player!

You played around with the pan quite heavily this time (I'm on headphones).
I didn't like what you did to the panning of the harmonies.
Either in the same spot as the lead vox and narrow or way out in the corners.

in the 'santana moment' i felt the keys too dry compared to the guitar.

I agree with Jorgen about the singing. Not only power, but e.g. the spanish 'half spoken' part could have more emphasis.
I listened again and, yes, I could hear the imbalance of the guitar/piano space. I can level that out. Thanks for noticing that, Msundh.
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Old 04-23-2017, 10:44 AM   #18
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Hey Sammy,

Like the song says, "Everything sounds the same". Keep it unique and do whatever the hell you want with this tune because it is bad ass even with some mixing imperfection. Your vocals just kill me man. Judging by his playing, it's sounds like your old pal is glad to play with you again also.
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Old 04-23-2017, 11:13 AM   #19
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Hey Sammy,

Like the song says, "Everything sounds the same". Keep it unique and do whatever the hell you want with this tune because it is bad ass even with some mixing imperfection. Your vocals just kill me man. Judging by his playing, it's sounds like your old pal is glad to play with you again also.
Appreciated Azimuth.
I do believe it was a mutual thing. Hell, after hearing us, even our old bass player got in contact. Everybody seems up for a virtual reunion since we all live in different places now. Our old drummer just seemed to have vanished. My guess is he's moved back to NY.

Mixing imperfections: do share!
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Old 04-24-2017, 04:59 AM   #20
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Quote:
Mixing imperfections: do share!
Nothing major really Sammy and take this with a grain of salt because I'm listening on phones since my main rig is tied up right now. The "change your.....funky stuff" BV are panned too far left, totally different location than the rest of the BV. The horns sound like they're fighting for space and are kind of swamped by everything else going on during the Guitar solo. I feel they should be a lot brighter than they are. I'd probably cut the solo a few db also. It just feels too crowded in the solo section.
Great tune though Sammy, I really like it.
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Old 04-24-2017, 03:42 PM   #21
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Some nice fusion between funk and latin. Great work Sammy.
Also props for the guitar solo. Excellent playing.

cheers
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Old 04-24-2017, 06:52 PM   #22
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Nothing major really Sammy and take this with a grain of salt because I'm listening on phones since my main rig is tied up right now. The "change your.....funky stuff" BV are panned too far left, totally different location than the rest of the BV. The horns sound like they're fighting for space and are kind of swamped by everything else going on during the Guitar solo. I feel they should be a lot brighter than they are. I'd probably cut the solo a few db also. It just feels too crowded in the solo section.
Great tune though Sammy, I really like it.
Thanks Az, I'll see what I can do about that.
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Old 04-24-2017, 06:56 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by HugoRibeiroDotCom View Post
Some nice fusion between funk and latin. Great work Sammy.
Also props for the guitar solo. Excellent playing.

cheers
I'll let Shawn know that, Hugo. Thx!
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Old 04-28-2017, 04:38 PM   #24
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Version 2: https://app.box.com/s/07mfcxpoklipuookxhx9w29uqaeniz38
Made the horns a bit brighter. Pulled in the bg vocals some, but still panned far because I like it. Brought Shawn down a notch. Other minor tweaks. Thanks for the suggestions guys.

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Old 04-28-2017, 04:52 PM   #25
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Bloody AWESOME just .......... Yeah, Bloody AWESOME
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Old 04-28-2017, 06:28 PM   #26
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I'm away from my studio so won't offer any mix criticisms. Songwriting, arrangement and playing is really awesome and sounds fun. The 'Santana' bit is classic
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Old 04-29-2017, 02:18 AM   #27
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smoooooooooth....man u guyz on a whole other level

and love the opening ...coz i was, just now
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Old 04-29-2017, 06:02 AM   #28
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Bloody AWESOME just .......... Yeah, Bloody AWESOME
Thanks Wolf! I think everybody did their best and I'm thankful to all that contributed. I gave everyone the link here to see comments, so that should make them feel good about their efforts.
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Old 04-29-2017, 06:06 AM   #29
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I'm away from my studio so won't offer any mix criticisms. Songwriting, arrangement and playing is really awesome and sounds fun. The 'Santana' bit is classic
...I still don't even know where that Latin section came from. Just "popped" in there. I do remember it coming before the lyrics, so I actually wrote the words around a reason for being there. Thanks Ham.
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Old 04-29-2017, 06:11 AM   #30
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smoooooooooth....man u guyz on a whole other level

and love the opening ...coz i was, just now
...so was I when I wrote it. lol. Thanks guy!
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Old 04-29-2017, 12:46 PM   #31
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Version 2: https://app.box.com/s/07mfcxpoklipuookxhx9w29uqaeniz38
Pulled in the bg vocals some, but still panned far because I like it
I knew it

The bg vox is less 'narrow' though. I didn't get disturbed by the panning this time
I liked the beginning.
The v2 was a big step up in my opinion.
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Old 04-29-2017, 01:44 PM   #32
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Wise counseling...and I listen.

The biggest change is I swapped out my main eq. I tried a trial of Pink (eq only) from Acustica in mix one, then went back to my old freeware 3-band Ochre for version two. Marketing kills me.

...or I know how to use Ochre a helluva lot better than Pink...or I love the 3-band limitation.

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Old 04-29-2017, 02:05 PM   #33
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Wise counseling...and I listen.
Not wise, only opinions

And yes, too much choices is not good, but a new toy is soooo enjoyable
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Old 04-30-2017, 10:48 AM   #34
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Love this Sammy !!!!!!!!!

Excellent in every way !!!!!!!

Cranking this up while preparing to do some yard work......

Like the California Herbs...this baby is Smokin !!
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Old 04-30-2017, 12:21 PM   #35
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Not wise, only opinions

And yes, too much choices is not good, but a new toy is soooo enjoyable
For me, the fewer the better wo going to a ridiculous extreme. I try to mix by ear and instinct (anti-Izotope Neutron) and too many choices is just not conducive to that state of mind. I never "agonize" over tracks, I just try to make them sound good in a mix. Hardly at all 'technical.'

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Old 04-30-2017, 12:25 PM   #36
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Love this Sammy !!!!!!!!!

Excellent in every way !!!!!!!

Cranking this up while preparing to do some yard work......

Like the California Herbs...this baby is Smokin !!
Thanks man.
This is the guy you saw in my sound-sux-ass videos. Then and now...
He wants to do another (and so do I), but I haven't been writing much.
Me and our old bass player have been talking too.
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Old 05-02-2017, 06:17 PM   #37
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Nice vibes! I'd like to mix this song for your. Contact me at PM if you're interested in
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Old 05-03-2017, 06:32 PM   #38
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Thanks Erafoos. Not so sure I need this mixed "for me," but I'll be glad to PM you the raw stems to hear your take on it. Let me get it together and I'll upload.
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Old 05-05-2017, 01:51 AM   #39
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Hey sammy, if you go to all the trouble of making a stems pack, why not also submit it to Mike Senior? ms(at)cambridge-mt.com

Then a whole stack more people may be able to enjoy your song, and create new angles on it.

The world needs more FUNK!
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Old 05-06-2017, 08:22 AM   #40
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I've practiced on a bunch of those files, but it never occurred to me that I could submit. I'll go to Cambridge and see what the 'rules' are. Thanks for the suggestion.
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