I recently had a batch of 10 songs professionally mastered by AC Mastering.
This is one of the songs:
1 2016-03-12 00:10:41
Topic: Distance & Time (2 replies, posted in My local band and me)
2 2016-02-26 23:54:47
Topic: Album Review: The Nothing Kings (2 replies, posted in My local band and me)
This is a collaboration between me and lyricist Jim Clarke ... Jim would send me these incredible lyrics and I would make them into songs.... our album was just reviewed and here is that review... We call ourselves The Nothing Kings. The review draws comparisons to Neil Young & Pink Floyd .... We are honored to be compared to those artists:
3 2016-02-12 20:09:31
Topic: can't take my eyes off you (0 replies, posted in My local band and me)
Most all my cover song performances are done in the moment when I have the feeling for the song.
For this one I watched the movie Jersey Boys and was so taken with the scene where this song is debuted
to a live audience that I went to my studio, downloaded chords/lyrics, turned on my recorder and just played how I felt it.
For me rehearsal diminishes feeling so I try and just play in the moment when emotions are at the peak.
Not thinking about the guitar or the way i play it is key to getting a good first take for me.
I let my fingers just move themselves. This is why TAB doesn't work for me. Too paint by numbers for me.
I like chord diagrams and then I take it from there.
The vocal is very flawed here but IMO it captures the human quality of the feeling I had.
Perfect imperfection:
4 2016-02-11 21:57:54
Topic: Roxy music cover: avalon (0 replies, posted in My local band and me)
Solo acoustic cover of the song Avalon from the Roxy Music album of same name. This video was once featured in a birthday message to Bryan Ferry alongside covers by Norah Jones and Morrissey. The person that posted it for Bryan ferry commented that they liked the female vocal harmonies LOL. The harmony vocals were recorded by me separately after the basic solo performance then mixed in.
5 2016-02-10 21:08:11
Topic: Buffalo Springfield hit song: For What It's Worth (6 replies, posted in My local band and me)
AKA "Stop! Hey What's That Sound? Everybody Look What's Goin' Down"
This is a collaboration with Sonya and Shuie Philips and I am blown away by what they did to my solo acoustic cover. They did a beautiful job on this!
I sent them my raw microphone recording and they upholstered it with their Buffalo magic as follows:
Sonya did the 'morse' electric dub on her Les Paul copy, the handclaps and the high harmony.
Shuie played the Fenderbass, lead guitar and sang low harmony. He also put an extra high harmony on the final chorus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFPfWitkAB0
.
6 2016-02-10 03:28:25
Topic: expecting to fly (0 replies, posted in My local band and me)
Cover of a Buffalo Springfield song written by Neil Young.
Basic Recording/Video is a solo acoustic performance. Then two additional vocal layers were recorded as harmony and mixed in. Finally a Gretsch 6120 electric guitar was used for the accents and Bigsby tailpiece provided the tremolo.
Gretsch was plugged direct to computer soundcard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNQXV_an5ps
.
7 2016-02-10 03:25:03
Topic: do i have to come right out & say it? (0 replies, posted in My local band and me)
Here's an old Buffalo Springfield song written by Neil Young.
My friends Sonya and Shuie sing background voclas and Shuie palys the lead guitar part and provided me with a video of him playing it as well.
8 2016-02-06 20:25:39
Topic: I'm So Tired I Haven't Slept A Wink.... (0 replies, posted in My local band and me)
I'm So Tired My Mind Is On The Blink
I Wonder SHould I Get Up and Fix Myself a Drink No! No! No!
9 2016-02-03 22:41:08
Topic: My Little Red Book (1 replies, posted in My local band and me)
This song is sentimental to me. When I was 7 years old I got a KTEL vinyl LP compilation and this song was on it and I rocked out to it as a child. This song was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David but was radically reworked by the L.A. rock band Love. Burt Bacharach did not like Love's version but nevertheless Love's garage punk treatment of the song had moderate chart success and was a hit for them.
10 2016-02-03 22:39:22
Topic: Fading Into The Distance (Hippie Anthem) (3 replies, posted in My local band and me)
This is my back to naked audio remaster of this song.
Using the original raw mic recording.
I archive all my original microphone recordings (Glad I did).
Now I'm going through my catalog of recorded songs and fixing all of them.
No more compression on my recordings.
11 2016-02-03 22:26:18
Topic: Back To Your Heart, Your Beautiful Heart (0 replies, posted in My local band and me)
My whole approach to mastering my audio has changed.
I used to think that using compression and reverb and messing with EQ levels made it sound better and louder.
But I have learned from my mistakes. I now realize that my music has no place in the Loudness wars at all.
Leave the loudness wars to the mainstream artists... I'm not a part of that world and don't have any need to try and be.
So I am going back through past recordings and starting over with the raw microphone recording (which I always archive).
Now I use no compression and just normalize the audio. I may do subtle EQ adjustments if too much bass or treble but other than that I leave it alone.
It's been a real ear opener for me. I can hear all the subtlety now in the quiet guitar strums and my voice is natural, not made harsh by compression.
I am really liking this organic approach. Yes it throws away years of effort trying to compete in loudness wars.
But sometimes you just have to throw it all away and start over.
The original dynamic range is preserved. Quiet parts are quiet and loud loud as they were recorded.
Here's an example of the naked approach:
12 2016-02-03 10:18:02
Topic: Cowgirl In The Sand (1 replies, posted in My local band and me)
Solo acoustic rendition of the Neil young classic.
Tuned down 2 whole steps:
13 2016-02-03 09:58:26
Topic: Time & Space (1 replies, posted in My local band and me)
Here's a song inspired by a movie that I saw about time travel:
14 2016-01-18 08:44:42
Topic: And The Way I Feel, It's Only Real, I Know It's Only Real For Me (3 replies, posted in My local band and me)
A song I wrote and recorded last night:
15 2016-01-18 08:43:19
Re: an Ode to First Love (3 replies, posted in My local band and me)
TIGLJK wrote:
not to be nosey, but did you come away with her too ???
Nice song Gil !!
No but still friends and on a trajectory back.
16 2016-01-13 22:05:42
Topic: an Ode to First Love (3 replies, posted in My local band and me)
I recently visited with my beautiful First Love and it was wonderful.
Unforgettable visit and we felt comfortable being open and honest.
I also told her she has been my muse that lives in my heart all these years.
I came away from that visit a changed man.
This is a song I wrote about First Love.
17 2016-01-06 23:25:45
Topic: The Future's Filled With Promise, But It's Also Filled With Doubt (New (2 replies, posted in My local band and me)
This is a song about yearning to feel Lost Love again.
The "She" in my song is not a woman. The "She I sing about is the kind of
open hearted vulnerability that we experience in a First Love.
"First love is beautiful in its vulnerability. Our innocence allows us to feel without the hesitation of fear.
With no cautionary memories to bind us, we advance toward all that is new and unlimited.
We are, perhaps, at our finest when with our first love. We are pure." - Susan Winters
The last 2 lines refer to an angel sent from Heaven and given another chance
I want to spend my whole life with "Her", meaning true pure Love in my heart.
But then again it's the fact that I have experienced heartbreak that has
enabled me to have the feeling to create this song. For me I'm realizing the deep connection between
Love and the inspiration to create these types of songs. Thanks for listening:
18 2016-01-04 19:15:11
Topic: Brand New Song: Don't Know What Else (1 replies, posted in My local band and me)
A song I wrote after I poured y heart out to my first Love.
She was real receptive and I had about a week of pure happiness...but then
she thought about it all for a week and told me she couldn't just be friends with me.
As long as there was a spark there she felt uncomfortable with friendship.
Sadness and loss......
19 2015-12-29 02:44:46
Re: David Crosby liked the brand new release! (2 replies, posted in My local band and me)
dino48 wrote:
Gil that was good thank you for sharing.
Thank YOU for listening!
20 2015-12-16 19:57:07
Topic: David Crosby liked the brand new release! (2 replies, posted in My local band and me)
I do a lot of my own song writing but I have also collaborated with some lyricists.
I hooked up with lyricist Jim Clarke through our mutual love of Paul Westerberg songs.
He has an incredible YouTube channel that I was finding some great and inspiring videos on.
One day I sent him a message of thanks for all the videos because I know what
hard work it is.
Jim checked out my channel and said he liked my music and told me
he is a song writer of lyrics and used to write for a rock band. That experience left him
empty because the people he got involved with were not good.
He sent me some lyrics and when i read them I thought they were fantastic!
I made music for them, then another and another until we had 11 songs.
I spent countless hours doing audio mastering on each song because I wanted to
present the songs in the best way possible.
Best of all is I shared the songs with David Crosby and he likes them.
This is encouraging. Here's the song playlist on Soundcloud created yesterday.
21 2015-12-10 17:15:07
Topic: New Original: Tonight (5 replies, posted in Songwriting)
Yesterday these lyrics came fast so I wrote them down.
Then worked out some music and recorded it ASAP.
22 2015-12-09 00:30:40
Topic: My favorite Westerberg song: Born For Me (1 replies, posted in My local band and me)
Hard to pick a favorite because Paul Westerberg has so many great songs.
But this one is right up there for sure.
Used my new Tascam DR100-mkII and Rode NT4 stereo mic to record this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SboH62bV5U
.
23 2015-12-09 00:27:29
Re: Castles Made of Sand (5 replies, posted in My local band and me)
Nice guitar caver! I was singing along. This song was going through my head the other day.
I do a cover of Bold As Love in a dumbed down acoustic version.
24 2015-12-09 00:23:34
Topic: Leavin' Soon: Original song from 1978 (0 replies, posted in Songwriting)
Maybe I shouldn't date the song but I will anyway.
It's one of my earliest attempts at songwriting when I was a teenager in 1978.
I've recorded it many times over the years and decided to make a new video recording
using my new Rode NT4 stereo mic.
25 2015-12-04 19:06:12
Topic: Testing a new Rode NT4 Stereo mic w/ a Bob Dylan song (1 replies, posted in My local band and me)
Dashed this off quickly last night just to test my new Rode NT4 stereo mic.
I found the sound to be much fuller than my Sony mic with more frequencies
picked up (looking at waveform). Usually I would master the audio from my
Sony stereo mic to get it where I wanted it to sound.... With this test I didn't
have to do anything to the audio. Sounded fine just raw. I have always just
plugged mics direct into the recording source with nothing in between.