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Old 10-17-2012, 06:53 AM   #1
Bearcub
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Default Comical World (George Harison /Jeff Lynne inspired pop song)

Here is one I wrote with Donna Devine..she did most of the lyrics and I did the music.

I wanted a sunny kind of jeff Lynne-ish feel and production for this. All in reaper of course.

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11949192

LMK

UPDATED MIX In WAV, 16 Bit:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4s63dx84ps...9_LMK.wav?dl=0

Last edited by Bearcub; 11-30-2015 at 02:25 PM.
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Old 10-17-2012, 09:52 AM   #2
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That's just a well-crafted pop song there! Well-performed, well-mixed, and there are some really nice touches throughout. If anything, the vocal is a little far forward for my taste, but overall there's not much to say but "good job."
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Old 10-18-2012, 12:50 PM   #3
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That's just a well-crafted pop song there! Well-performed, well-mixed, and there are some really nice touches throughout. If anything, the vocal is a little far forward for my taste, but overall there's not much to say but "good job."
Thank you very much
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Old 10-18-2012, 02:59 PM   #4
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You pretty much nailed it. If the voice was a little different, I'd think it was a previous unreleased Harrison tune.

Nice job!
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Old 10-18-2012, 04:06 PM   #5
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If anything, the vocal is a little far forward for my taste
The main vocals stuck out to me too. But, it might not be a levels issue so much as a context thing. By which, I mean that the vox sound much less processed and pop-slick than the rest of the tracks, and therefore seemed to stand out a bit too much. But, that's just my personal taste and not to take away from the excellent work here. Sounds like you were channeling George! Arrangement, execution, mix - all very well done. Thanks for sharing!

Kyle
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Old 10-19-2012, 08:55 AM   #6
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Thanks for the comments!

Aste, that's a really nice compliment. I was going for some of that...I've recently watched Scorsese's Harrison documentary and also been listening to some Jeff Lynne productions. Aside from that I just wanted to write a good pop song.


I have re-eq'ed the vocals and rerecorded the first part of the guitar solo because the first tone didn't really fit the style too well.
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Old 10-19-2012, 09:31 AM   #7
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yep, nailed that sound...all the way down to Harrison's love of 'dim' chords. and catchy as hell.
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Old 10-21-2012, 02:02 AM   #8
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yep, nailed that sound...all the way down to Harrison's love of 'dim' chords. and catchy as hell.
Thank you very much Sammy, yeah I noticed both him and Lynne like diminished chords..and not just used in the usual way, which is as quick transition chords, but they will actually hold the chord shamelessly. I like that.
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Old 10-23-2012, 08:22 AM   #9
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Love it, even down to the vocal tag at the very end

Only thing that would make it better would be some vocal harmonies.

regards, Jack
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Old 10-24-2012, 12:03 PM   #10
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Love it, even down to the vocal tag at the very end

Only thing that would make it better would be some vocal harmonies.

regards, Jack
I appreciate it Jacko, thanks for listening!

Actually I did try out several backing vocals at some point, but decided not to use them in the end as I somehow liked it better without them. So there's just one or two harmonies, low in the mix in addition to the vocoder stuff. If I wanted to get as close to the ELO sound as humanly possible I probably should have left all those backing vocals in though.
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Old 10-24-2012, 03:22 PM   #11
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Liked this a lot. Nice recording and mix and the quality and tone of the voice is very clear with a very "human" quality.

I'm glad you didn't put harmonies in -- imo, it would've taken away from the clarity.

I thought the lyrics were good --- deceptively simple. Nice arrangement --- bit of thought gone in there.

Good job

PS: Enjoyed your piano composition.
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Old 10-25-2012, 01:08 PM   #12
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Liked this a lot. Nice recording and mix and the quality and tone of the voice is very clear with a very "human" quality.

I'm glad you didn't put harmonies in -- imo, it would've taken away from the clarity.

I thought the lyrics were good --- deceptively simple. Nice arrangement --- bit of thought gone in there.

Good job

PS: Enjoyed your piano composition.
Thanks a lot for the nice feedback! Yeah that's *exactly* what happened when I tried more backing vocals...it took away the clarity and it didn't really serve the song itself, I wanted the melody to be extremely well defined.

This pop song and the piano piece are actually very related..not in terms of musical influences but in terms of the reason why I wrote them. I really appreciate you taking the time to listen to the piano composition too.
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Old 12-21-2012, 06:38 AM   #13
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Default Very nice George like tune :-)

This song sounds very catchy, great melody and steady rythm!

Is there a way of sending me a zipfile of your project for learning purposes?
I'm always struggling to get a stereophonic image of my demo, but you did this great.

kind regards,

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Old 12-21-2012, 06:47 AM   #14
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Default Also curious of recoding proces of Still a mystery and In Regret

Also curious of recodingproces of Still a mystery and In Regret
great guitar sounds!!!


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Originally Posted by bramvd View Post
This song sounds very catchy, great melody and steady rythm!

Is there a way of sending me a zipfile of your project for learning purposes?
I'm always struggling to get a stereophonic image of my demo, but you did this great.

kind regards,

Bram

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Old 12-21-2012, 01:32 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by bramvd View Post

This song sounds very catchy, great melody and steady rythm!

Is there a way of sending me a zipfile of your project for learning purposes?
I'm always struggling to get a stereophonic image of my demo, but you did this great.

Also curious of recodingproces of Still a mystery and In Regret
great guitar sounds!!!
Thank you very much bramvd! You requested the project files, but there are so many files, plus I used a lot of vst's and I guess you would need the same for it to make sense.

BUT...I will attempt to explain for you what I did for these songs...
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Old 12-21-2012, 01:50 PM   #16
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Comical world:

You say it has a very "steady rythm". A lot of that is due to the acoustic guitars. They are also responsible for a lot of the stereo-feel.

When I heard some Jeff Lynne stuff (which this is a tribute to) I notice how steady and rudimentary the acoustic guitar was. It's almost caveman-like strumming, tight as hell and incredibly simple, strummed on "1-and-2-and-3-and-4" without any variations.

I think the key for me was just to keep doing acoustic guitar takes, until the point where I could solo the tracks and they would sound really tight on their own, soloed, even after critical listening.

There are 4 acoustic tracks. 2 panned left, 2 panned right. Hard panned. I used 2 different microphones; sm57 and a condenser. 3 of these tracks are playing the chords in an identical fashion, but track number 4 is playing the same chords, only higher up on the guitar neck to get a bit more fullness.

I processed them by putting a bit of eq on (mostly cutting the lows that you don't need) and a compressor so they would behave nicely.

I rendered a clip of the guitar tracks soloed:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wwwhan20l...al%20World.wav

Last edited by Bearcub; 12-21-2012 at 03:02 PM.
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Old 12-21-2012, 02:12 PM   #17
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Snare: The snare had a lot of processing until it sounded like it should.
For the snare I used ReaEq, followed by Satson bus, renaissance axe, roundtone 3, GClip (not constantly clipping, but just to catch the odd "out of control" peak) and DDMF 6144.

Bass: The bass is a Yamaha bass directly through the Great River preamp. I used that preamp for everything. No amp simulation on the bass, but the processing was a bit of RubyTube, EQ, TheGlue + Stripbus with a tiny amount of sidechaining with the kick drum (using the StripBus' "ducking"-feature lightly), so that the kick comes through better.

Keyboard: I did not process the keyboard sounds much. I used a roland stage piano for those (mostly just some pad/string things, playing underneath the guitar chords throughout most of the song, to fill out the image).

Vocal: The mic was a handheld AT4054, again through the Great River. This mic (although condenser) has great rejection, so it allows me to sing with the speakers blasting, as I don't like using headphones.
They are processed with my favorite compressor ArtsAcoustic CL1, some stardard lowcut EQ, Waves Rvox and a tiny bit of Waves Doubler.

The main reverb is Sandford reverb. It's used sparingly.

Electric guitars: The electric rhythm guitar is a Fender strat, and the first solo guitar and some of the slide things are Aria pro II.
All the electric guitar tones were done by placing an Sm57 mic very close to the speaker of my Yamaha thr10 amp. Not a lot of effects used there.

The vocoder stuff is the free Pif Media Vocoder. I've wanted to use a vocoder for other songs in the past, but I couldn't figure out how to set it up right away so I gave up. But this song needed it so I forced myself to learn it...it wasn't that bad .


Masterbus: Tube emulation followed by Waves Rencomp (using a setting similar to the Charles Dye SSL simulation) compressing only about 1-2 db, followed by Satson Buss (fat mode on, loudness on).

Here is a link to the completed song in better sound quality than the soundclick version: (this is the finished wav file)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0tdm0alvsf...ean_Master.wav

LMK

Last edited by Bearcub; 12-21-2012 at 06:05 PM.
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Old 12-21-2012, 02:28 PM   #18
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Still a Mystery:

(These are from my own project notes):

Guitar Aria Pro II through the Yamaha THR10. Mic'ed with Sm57, DavBG1 preamp.

BASS: Yamaha bass through Yamaha THR10 (bass setting), Mic'ed with sm57 through DavBG1 preamp.

Vocals: SM7B foam off, Great river pre, impedance on, gain 40.
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Old 12-21-2012, 05:27 PM   #19
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great!!! I love it!!!! Great!!!! sounds perfect???

chords of this song???

amazing
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Old 12-21-2012, 05:54 PM   #20
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great!!! I love it!!!! Great!!!! sounds perfect???

chords of this song???

amazing

Thank you very much for the kind words


The chords are pretty simple actually:

Mellotron intro:
D __ D7/c __ Gmaj7 __ Bb __ Gm7 __ D/a

Verse:
D __ F#dim __ Em __ Gm __ D __ F#m __ Em __ A
D __ F#dim __ Em __ Gm __ Em __ A

Chorus:
D __ F#7 __ Bm __ Gm6
D __ Bm __ Bb __ C __ D

Last edited by Bearcub; 12-21-2012 at 09:07 PM.
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Old 12-22-2012, 10:41 AM   #21
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thanks!!!
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Old 12-22-2012, 11:47 PM   #22
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great song and great musical and recording skills
keep them comming
D'arcy
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Old 12-23-2012, 06:21 PM   #23
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great song and great musical and recording skills
keep them comming
D'arcy
Thank you very much D, and thanks for listening
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Old 12-25-2012, 06:39 PM   #24
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Default geoff lynn/george harrison

Loved it ! you certainly nailed that geoff lynn/ELO style..

if i were george harrison/geoff lynn i`d be extremely happy to hear this as a tribute song...

Well done


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Old 12-26-2012, 05:28 AM   #25
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Loved it ! you certainly nailed that geoff lynn/ELO style..

if i were george harrison/geoff lynn i`d be extremely happy to hear this as a tribute song...

That's a really nice compliment, thank you.
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Old 12-26-2012, 02:33 PM   #26
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Uh...Jeff...is that you

Nicely done. The slide guitar is spot on. You even got the vocoder deal in there. Wow. That's great.

You like Jellyfish? I bet you'd like them.
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Old 12-26-2012, 02:56 PM   #27
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Haha, thank you very much

No I don't know Jellyfish, never heard of them, but I will check them out


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Uh...Jeff...is that you

Nicely done. The slide guitar is spot on. You even got the vocoder deal in there. Wow. That's great.

You like Jellyfish? I bet you'd like them.

Last edited by Bearcub; 12-26-2012 at 03:04 PM.
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Old 01-31-2013, 03:34 PM   #28
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Just found this thread, but I love the song. The mix is great, and thank you for sharing some of your production notes.

Makes me want to get back to recording some of my stuff...
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Old 01-31-2013, 06:47 PM   #29
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Awesome job mate ! Sounds great!!

My only criticism is that there could be more backup Vocals!! and maybe the lead singer could've been a bit more tighter, I mean it sounds like he ran through the song the same day he recorded it instead of letting it get into his blood.

But that is microscopic criticism, you done an awesome job!!
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Old 01-31-2013, 11:08 PM   #30
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I have to second CrankyChris's recommendation of The Jellyfish, I think it'd be right up your alley.
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Old 02-01-2013, 04:35 AM   #31
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Didn't expect this thread to pop up again, I really appreciate everyone taking the time to listen to this and the kind comments.

Peppercorn, I did let the song "Get into my blood" believe me. I also wrote it, and did rough takes over several days before recording it. By the time I did the vocal, I could hear every little part of it in my sleep and this is as tight and polished as I can get. But the unfortunate fact is, I'm a writer of melodies, and not a singer in any way. I just happen to demo my own stuff as I can get it across okay for demo purposes. If I fool people into thinking that I'm a decent singer, who just happen to do a rough take that day, then that's more than I could ever hope for.
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Old 02-01-2013, 04:41 AM   #32
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I have to second CrankyChris's recommendation of The Jellyfish, I think it'd be right up your alley.
Haha you'd think so because they are also Beatles inspired, but actually I did get their two albums and listened a lot over the past couple of weeks, it's not really my thing. I can't seem to connect to it.

I can appreciate the production though, which is fantastic and also I thought the lyrics were nicely done. Flawless performances too.

But even after many listens, I'm not connecting to the material. There are other Beatles inspired bands, whose material speaks to me way more and did from the first minute, like pretty much anything by Crowded House (especially "Together Alone", which along with "Pet Sounds" is my fav album of all time).
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Old 02-01-2013, 04:15 PM   #33
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Didn't expect this thread to pop up again, I really appreciate everyone taking the time to listen to this and the kind comments.

Peppercorn, I did let the song "Get into my blood" believe me. I also wrote it, and did rough takes over several days before recording it. By the time I did the vocal, I could hear every little part of it in my sleep and this is as tight and polished as I can get. But the unfortunate fact is, I'm a writer of melodies, and not a singer in any way. I just happen to demo my own stuff as I can get it across okay for demo purposes. If I fool people into thinking that I'm a decent singer, who just happen to do a rough take that day, then that's more than I could ever hope for.
Sorry mate I didn't mean any hurt!! I understand totally about your limitations as I have them as well especially on guitar and other instruments!!
Sorry if I offended! You did an admirable job!
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Old 02-01-2013, 04:41 PM   #34
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Sorry mate I didn't mean any hurt!! I understand totally about your limitations as I have them as well especially on guitar and other instruments!!
Sorry if I offended! You did an admirable job!
Offended??! Hell no, in fact you did the opposite, you overrated me as a singer! So I just had to set the record straight. I appreciate your entire post a lot
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Old 02-12-2013, 03:39 AM   #35
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Quote:
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Haha you'd think so because they are also Beatles inspired
I never really thought they sounded much like the Beatles, though. Their first album may have a bit, come to think of it, but their second album was much more Queen-ish to my ears. It's the catchiness of the tunes, playfulness in the lyrics, and the way the instruments are layered that made me think you might enjoy them. Even if it didn't work out, I'm glad you at least gave them a listen!
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Old 02-12-2013, 12:21 PM   #36
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I wish I could contribute with something here, but it's obvious that you know what you're doing.

This sounds like a radio tune or, at worst, something that could be in contention for EuroVision - and if it were, I would think to myself: "Well, at least they have one good song in there this year".

Den er fedt nok, mand...
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Old 02-12-2013, 12:41 PM   #37
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Beautifully rich and clear. The first few seconds made me think I had stumbled into a mislabeled version of Strawberry Fields, heh.
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Old 02-12-2013, 03:12 PM   #38
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... you overrated me as a singer!
you've got a recognizable voice, you sing on pitch, and your voice doesnt have any ugly spikes anywhere that i can hear, your phrasing is good...

you're probably gonna be pushed into singing your own songs



unless you come up with that magic song that somebody falls in love with
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Old 02-13-2013, 08:04 AM   #39
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I used to think there was a formula, perhaps too complex to be deciphered by humans, but a formula for a great song, a magical song everyone would like. But I've gotten wiser through the years.

The other day I played the classic "God only knows" from Pet Sounds to this woman who has a pretty broad, yet very sophisticated taste in music. And her reaction to that song, I wont even repeat here for politeness reasons, but let's just say was not kind. And to me that song is as close to perfection and magic as you can get, so...it goes to show you can't please all.

It's odd with "Comical World", I've gotten emails about the production and writing of it, and requests from singers who want to do it, which is great and flattering. I didn't expect it, since it's a song called "In Regret" that seems to completely overshadow everything else from the people who have the actual demo cd. But "In Regret" came and went fast on the reaper forums.

It's very hard to second guess people's tastes. Different people, different tastes. You just have to do your best work, and hope it connects with the right people.





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you've got a recognizable voice, you sing on pitch, and your voice doesnt have any ugly spikes anywhere that i can hear, your phrasing is good...

you're probably gonna be pushed into singing your own songs



unless you come up with that magic song that somebody falls in love with
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Old 02-13-2013, 08:11 AM   #40
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I used to think there was a formula...
there's a lot of luck involved, i guess... but what i was driving at, mostly, is that your voice is plenty good enough...

depends on what you want to do... i'm glad other singers are showing interest in the song... and it's gonna be tough on their poor little egos if it turns out they cant sing it as well as you can.

anyhow, best hopes for avoiding the worst traps

Last edited by wadosy; 02-13-2013 at 08:16 AM.
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