Musical Demo Submission thread

[Troels Pleimert]

*snippetysnip*

That's what I thought anyway, how much you choose to care or let that influence what you do is entirely up to you.

Thank you for your insights!

I think what I take away from your comments mostly is to have more confidence in my vocals. Because I have zero confidence in it (I always fancied a Greg Puciato-style vocal for my songs, and my voice is far too nasal and whiny for that), I tend to mix it quite low and use about a quantzillion overdubs and distortion effects.

The other thing I take away from it is the one point everyone brings up when they listen to my stuff, which is that it tends to be somewhat schizophrenic, style-wise. And this probably has a lot to do with my reluctance to show it around to people, more than my high-flying "fuck the biz" talk. Usually when people say they refuse to compromise, it's because they're arrogant numbnuts, so I guess that puts me in that category as well - the fun in it for me is to treat music like a playground. But unless you're Mr. Bungle and awesomely talented, no one really goes for that and there's even less money in it.

Anyway, I really had promised myself not to wax on about it. Really, I just wanted to thank you for your comments. Your wisdom is well appreciated.

 

[oooooooooooooooooooooooooo]

http://www.myspace.com/russell_kuhl

Trying my hand at some more rock styled songs, this is the one I'm most proud of so far.

 

[Treefingers]

snip

Back again... http://outrunthebuffalo.bandcamp.com/album/but-now-they-live-in-a-zoo

This is my new band's debut EP. Looking forward to seeing what you think.

 

[BonsaiK]

http://www.myspace.com/russell_kuhl

Trying my hand at some more rock styled songs, this is the one I'm most proud of so far.

That's not bad, a bit Radioheadish. Biggest problem is it's rhythmically sloppy. You seem to have problems strumming along to the drum machine. Not sure why that is, maybe something wrong with your strumming technique or perhaps you just struggle to work with machines, either way it's offputting. Double-tracking is great of you can do it but sounds particularly bad when the two tracks are not in time. Also more confidence in the vocals wouldn't hurt. I don't mind the melodies at all, some good stuff there but the muttery bits where you drift off while perhaps intended to add atmosphere just make the recording sound like you're unsure of yourself vocally. If you compare your vocal to something like Thom Yorke, the difference is that he's projecting more and never sounds unconfident.

 

[BonsaiK]

snip

Back again... http://outrunthebuffalo.bandcamp.com/album/but-now-they-live-in-a-zoo

This is my new band's debut EP. Looking forward to seeing what you think.

Hey this is really good. Great production, nice and clear, good playing. Nothing wrong with it at all. However I couldn't help but get the feeling that the entire EP would be enhanced greatly by the removal of most of the guitar parts! The best parts of it are the parts where there's no guitar and it sounds almost electronic, as soon as that chikka-chikka-chikka guitar noise comes in that wrecks it for me. Just personal taste mind you, certainly this is streets ahead of the last thing you posted here and certainly worthy of label consideration if you wanted to go down that path.

 

[TheLaofKazi]

Oh dear, I don't have a Myspace (yet) and my Youtube doesn't have my new, better songs on it. Oh well, if you decide to listen, here you go. If not, that's alright.

Here is one of my solo works:

http://soundcloud.com/thelaofkazi/qwnop

And here is a band I play the drums for (although here it's only programmed drums. We plan to record newer stuff with me). We've only played one live show, and it went really well and it was a lot of fun.

http://soundcloud.com/my-killer-my-master/proteus-complex

And here is an improvised song that me and a friend made that we might try to turn into something more. I played the drums:

http://soundcloud.com/alex-brockmiller/instrumental

 

[TheLaofKazi]

Back again... http://outrunthebuffalo.bandcamp.com/album/but-now-they-live-in-a-zoo

This is my new band's debut EP. Looking forward to seeing what you think.

Ooooo, I really, really like this. Good jorb, my friend.

 

[Treefingers]

snip

Back again... http://outrunthebuffalo.bandcamp.com/album/but-now-they-live-in-a-zoo

This is my new band's debut EP. Looking forward to seeing what you think.

Hey this is really good. Great production, nice and clear, good playing. Nothing wrong with it at all. However I couldn't help but get the feeling that the entire EP would be enhanced greatly by the removal of most of the guitar parts! The best parts of it are the parts where there's no guitar and it sounds almost electronic, as soon as that chikka-chikka-chikka guitar noise comes in that wrecks it for me. Just personal taste mind you, certainly this is streets ahead of the last thing you posted here and certainly worthy of label consideration if you wanted to go down that path.

Wow excellent, thanks for the feedback.

Working with a label is definitely something we're aiming for. It's early days for us at the moment though and at present we are trying to network as much as we can, beginning to build up a fanbase, tighten up our live performance etc. I don't suppose you could offer any pearls of wisdom for us? We're based in Auckland, NZ if that helps. We're currently doing everything on our own backs, though are considering looking for a manager and stuff etc. because to be honest, we're unfamiliar with the industry and aren't too sure where to start.

It's with guys i've known for a while and played with in bands before, but this time around we are taking it seriously and trying it do it right.

Also, in relation to the point in your first post about myspace and youtube, is it worth setting up a myspace page? It could just be my impression I get being in NZ, but it seems to me like myspace is becoming much less relevant. Bandcamp is much better for hosting music while our facebook covers the networking side of things at present. Does myspace carry any serious weight these days? We'll definitely set up a youtube account once we have something of worth to put there though.

 

[Treefingers]

Back again... http://outrunthebuffalo.bandcamp.com/album/but-now-they-live-in-a-zoo

This is my new band's debut EP. Looking forward to seeing what you think.

Ooooo, I really, really like this. Good jorb, my friend.

Cheers mate!

 

[Rob Morrisby]

Hey man,

Been checking out this thread and your other music industry Q+A almost all evening now. Its a great read - thank you very much for the effort.

I'd be much obliged if you took a look at my band if you had a spare couple of minutes. We recently finished recording a new EP and had it mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen. We're pretty proud of it, but its nice to get the opinion of someone in-the-know!

www.nonpology.com

There's an MP3 player on the homepage, just to the right. I think my favourite track is Day of Reckoning, but takes a little longer to get going than the others, so maybe you'd prefer Someone, The Betrayal or Reminiscence.

Any feedback is warmly welcomed!

Thanks again dude!

 

[BonsaiK]

Hey man,

Been checking out this thread and your other music industry Q+A almost all evening now. Its a great read - thank you very much for the effort.

I'd be much obliged if you took a look at my band if you had a spare couple of minutes. We recently finished recording a new EP and had it mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen. We're pretty proud of it, but its nice to get the opinion of someone in-the-know!

www.nonpology.com

There's an MP3 player on the homepage, just to the right. I think my favourite track is Day of Reckoning, but takes a little longer to get going than the others, so maybe you'd prefer Someone, The Betrayal or Reminiscence.

Any feedback is warmly welcomed!

Thanks again dude!

Glad you liked them. Please read the first post in this thread again.

 

[Rob Morrisby]

Hey man,

Been checking out this thread and your other music industry Q+A almost all evening now. Its a great read - thank you very much for the effort...

Glad you liked them. Please read the first post in this thread again.

Haha, whoops - sorry! I did mean to point you to our myspace. My bad.

http://www.myspace.com/nonpology

 

[BonsaiK]

Hey man,

Been checking out this thread and your other music industry Q+A almost all evening now. Its a great read - thank you very much for the effort...

Glad you liked them. Please read the first post in this thread again.

Haha, whoops - sorry! I did mean to point you to our myspace. My bad.

http://www.myspace.com/nonpology

Thanks.

Sounds pretty good, the guy who mixed and mastered it did a great job. It's also very well played and the songs aren't bad. The only criticism I can think of is that there's nothing particularly different about it compared to the glut of bands who sound exactly like this out there currently. If you want to succeed beyond the local level with this type of music in 2011 you're going to have to do something a little differently to stand out. Even your promotional images are very generic and samey. Something a little different in the presentation might be all that it takes, but right now, good as it is, there's no reason for anybody to listen to this instead of all the other stuff out there that sounds just like it.

 

[bigwon]

hiya Bonzaik! I just really want someone to give it to me straight...I'm afraid i've only had the feedback of yes men.


thank you so much!

 

[kds]

Hi advice guy, I don't know if you remember me, I directed you to my myspace www.myspace.com.karendesilva - it was quite a while ago?? Anyway, you gave me pretty good feedback in terms of my songs and approaching labels, etc. I did approach a few labels and didn't really get a response apart from EMI who sent me sort of an encouragment letter saying something along the lines of 'keep up the good work and keep us posted'.

To cut a long story short, I've really boosted up my internet prescence with new sites like reverbnation, r and r world, etc. And I've been gigging with a guitarist about once a month- some of them gigs and some open mics. And I just wanted to know if a&r reps are looking for;

a) artists with a finished product i.e. good production and a fairly polished song (the new songs I've put up on myspace are demos and I'm debating whether to spend the money and go back to the studio and get them produced)
b) a large network of fans on the various profiles (can this be a deal-breaker?)
c) are labels still looking at people who gig alot or is that less important now?

Basically I feel like i'm ramming my head into a brick wall but if I'm on the right track, i'll keep on ramming- that's where you come in, hopefully

Thanks!

 

[BonsaiK]

hiya Bonzaik! I just really want someone to give it to me straight...I'm afraid i've only had the feedback of yes men.


thank you so much!

Pretty much the same things I've said about your other tracks also apply to this, although I do think you're improving, especially vocally - shaky start in this track but by about the 1 minute mark you're sounding really fine and a lot smoother, not so disjointed. Something I should really mention though:

Whenever you're working with delayed sounds, especially in any kind of strongly rhythmic music (rap, heavy metal, dance) make sure that those delayed sounds match or reinforce the rhythm that already exists, because in these styles, rhythm is everything and it has to be strong. Don't just wind the delay to something that sounds kind of okay - match it exactly with whatever else is going on rhythmically. If that means you have to sit there and mathematically count out milliseconds, do it. Do whatever it takes. Your delayed keyboard noises in this song sound great - texturally. However, they don't sound great rhythmically - they rub against the existing rhythm because they don't match the beat. There's already a bit of pre-existing tension in the rhythm here between the beat and the vocals which are (as usual with your stuff) doing two slightly different versions of "swing", having that third layer of "stuff" is just too much, it gives me a kind of seasick feeling when I listen to this. No ambience at all is still better than an ambience that doesn't fit rhythmically.

 

[bigwon]

snip

thanks for the input on this! i definately see my error there (like a sloppy ambient loop...hehehe) I really just love a swingin' vibe, so that point is really good for me to look into.

i really wanna start nailing that vocal delivery to, glad you mentioned the difference between the 2 sections of the track.

time to see what i can get cooking.....
thanks!

 

[Raven's Nest]

Hey BonsaiK,

Been meaning to post in this thread for years but I have finally found that spare five mins.

This is an older band of mine, I'm playing bass accompanied by the usual suspects. The band is debating reforming as the reception we had at the time '07, was a little lukewarm. It'd be great to hear some opinions of someone who has kept in the industry loop all this time to offer an opinion on whether we should plug away with some of these tracks or write some entirely new material.

To kickstart the criticism, I have always felt that our singer's voice isn't quite suited to some of the music we are aspiring to. As a group we evolved from a sleazy 80's metal outfit where his hard-edged snarl gave an authentic twang to the lyrics. Here I think he is struggling to find a balance between a softer voice and a powerful delivery, "Time Away" being the notable exception...

The tracks are hosted on soundcloud (a streaming file host) so I hope thats not an issue. Otherwise i'll have to put together some youtube clips as we don't have a functional myspace/facebook anymore.

Thanks in advance.


http://soundcloud.com/user2974244/time-away
http://soundcloud.com/user2974244/star-for-a-day
http://soundcloud.com/user2974244/someone-wanted

 

[Raven's Nest]

snip

double post sorry

 

[BonsaiK]

Thanks in advance.

It's not bad, kind of like a poppier QOTSA during its better moments, both vocally and in some of the rhythms. I don't mind the guy's voice but it's a little hard to hear the words in the heavier moments. If you want to ditch the pop side and go for that whole stoner rock thing than that doesn't matter, most of that music has simply awful vocals technically. On the other hand if you want to be more pop I'd suggest smoothing out the voice and making it more prominent. I don't have a problem with the actual tone of the voice though, giving it a little more oomph wouldn't hurt but I wouldn't suggest trying to emulate 80s rock specifically...

Biggest problem I see with your music has nothing to do with the quality of your songs (which is fine) or your playing (also fine) or the production (frankly pretty good for a demo). The problem here is that pop fans and stoner rock fans tend to hate each other's music taste, so a group falling in between the two stools is going to have a very hard time making anything of it. I think you guys should choose one solid musical direction and stick to that and try to make it as good as you can, rather than trying to do some hybrid of things that doesn't really fit together that well. Your hybrid is quite well-executed but it's hard to imagine that many people genuinely being interested in it.

Oh and if you guys do reform, choose a different band name, "Raven's Nest" is very cliche!