Dear Tom
You asked the question; “do you like the newest version of our song”? My answer depends on what you mean by “like”? Like, as in “I really like it” or, “compared to suffocation, it was swell”! I tend towards the latter. As a demo tape it kind of works. As a finished product it aspires to mediocrity. Let me explain further with a story.
As I was driving home from taking my wife and son to work, I turned on the radio. That in itself could be viewed as a mistake, but, for the time being we’ll think of it as an act of god. The radio happened to be on that station out of West Palm Beach called the “Gator” their motto being “If we ever play anything that diverges further than an ant’s ball hair from the predictable, we’ll gladly kill ourselves”! As I drove along, the mellifluous sounds of Guns and Roses was playing what constitutes a thoughtful ballad, with lyrics so horrible I could see the hole in the ozone layer expanding. Then, came the guitar solo, a reworking of every cliché ever played by a long haired guitarist trying to figure out how to play, but, since he had cool hair, that was good enough. After that, came some more music that may have at one time been considered good, but now had been rendered a threat to national security by its mere existence. It was then that I had an epiphany. If subtlety is out of the question, maybe we should just go with it.
Here’s my suggestion. First, kill the piano. His playing is just there, it adds nothing but sound which takes up space. Second, I will rerecord a good old fashioned, strum-o-rific guitar part, one that locks in better with the bass and drums. They don’t really seem to be capable of a serious R&B groove, so let’s do it their way, better than fighting it. I will then plug directly into my POD and dial in a sound that will kill all life from at least a mile away. After that, comes the organ—and last, but not least, a grittier vocal, one that lacks any hint of understatement. That way we can please our new audience—the people who listen to the “Gator”—the ones whose motto is “If it doesn’t sound like rock from the 60’s, 70’s and possibly 80’s, we can’t hear it”. I mean, they literally can’t hear it, like a dog whistle to a human. But we will have a new and important fan base—one that looks like us, and maybe, just maybe, will like us. We can only hope.
Your friend
Mr. Sasquatch….just kidding, its Signor Sasquatch
You asked the question; “do you like the newest version of our song”? My answer depends on what you mean by “like”? Like, as in “I really like it” or, “compared to suffocation, it was swell”! I tend towards the latter. As a demo tape it kind of works. As a finished product it aspires to mediocrity. Let me explain further with a story.
As I was driving home from taking my wife and son to work, I turned on the radio. That in itself could be viewed as a mistake, but, for the time being we’ll think of it as an act of god. The radio happened to be on that station out of West Palm Beach called the “Gator” their motto being “If we ever play anything that diverges further than an ant’s ball hair from the predictable, we’ll gladly kill ourselves”! As I drove along, the mellifluous sounds of Guns and Roses was playing what constitutes a thoughtful ballad, with lyrics so horrible I could see the hole in the ozone layer expanding. Then, came the guitar solo, a reworking of every cliché ever played by a long haired guitarist trying to figure out how to play, but, since he had cool hair, that was good enough. After that, came some more music that may have at one time been considered good, but now had been rendered a threat to national security by its mere existence. It was then that I had an epiphany. If subtlety is out of the question, maybe we should just go with it.
Here’s my suggestion. First, kill the piano. His playing is just there, it adds nothing but sound which takes up space. Second, I will rerecord a good old fashioned, strum-o-rific guitar part, one that locks in better with the bass and drums. They don’t really seem to be capable of a serious R&B groove, so let’s do it their way, better than fighting it. I will then plug directly into my POD and dial in a sound that will kill all life from at least a mile away. After that, comes the organ—and last, but not least, a grittier vocal, one that lacks any hint of understatement. That way we can please our new audience—the people who listen to the “Gator”—the ones whose motto is “If it doesn’t sound like rock from the 60’s, 70’s and possibly 80’s, we can’t hear it”. I mean, they literally can’t hear it, like a dog whistle to a human. But we will have a new and important fan base—one that looks like us, and maybe, just maybe, will like us. We can only hope.
Your friend
Mr. Sasquatch….just kidding, its Signor Sasquatch
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