General Music Chat

Hello Eddy,
Thanks for listening to and passing thoughts on my songs... your, 'Songs of Simpler Times' idea, has a nice ring to it for a record I think!
That can be the name of my next CD when it happens. My first was all recorded on the dining room table, but I am setting up a recording studio at one end of my workshop here in Sussex, and this spring will start again playing and recording out there.

I listened to your music again last night Eddy, and it continues to grow on me... keep writing!
Best wishes from across the pond,
Mark.................

Eddy, it's time (long overdue) for you to find a REAL drummer and REAL bass player and get into a REAL studio. You're way beyond ths stage where you need to do everything by yourself. You've got some SERIOUS chops and inventive ideas. Surround yourself with some ADVANCED players and really good things are bound to occur. Later...

Hello Bob,
Just been through your very fine collection of blues tracks, and all nicely arranged and recorded.
I have just written one blues inspired song, it is called 'Submerged' and can be found on my profile; it might not be an mp3 so not be straight forward to listen to... someone else made these mp3s for me and I think this got overlooked.
Best wishes from Mark in Sussex England.

Thanks alot bob, That realy means somthing coming from some one other than famly and freinds. Thanks for the confidence boost. One thing I get alot of greif for, but it inspired me to copletly rethink the way I play is steve vai wispering a prayer. If you have never herd it, check it out

Eddy, I heard a story about Tal Farlow, a legendary jazz guitarist decades ago. I believe Tal was self taught. For the longest time he just played in his own house, never in public. Tal was a painter who painted boats and the names on boats I believe. Anyway one day friends talked him into going into New York City (Tal lived in New Jersey?) and going to a jazz jam that featured some world famous jazz musicians. I mean people like Dizzy Gillespie played at this place. Tal was very tall and could form chords most guitar players could only dream about. Anyway he gets up on stage and nobody ever heard him before and the first chord he plays they sh*t in their pants. He's playing the most unbelievable stuff anybody ever heard. I'm not saying you're another Tal Farlow, but you've got a style that should be accompanied by talented people. Drum machines and home recording doesn't do justice to what you can accomplish. If you can especially find a good bass player and somebody that can write lyrics, but your material is almost good enough to just do instrumentals. Just needs that band around you to complete the sound.

Hey Mark from England, thanks for the compliments. I got to get my butt back in the studio, that's where I belong. I've got too many originals that need to be on a CD. Believe it or not the six songs you heard took only 13 hours of recording time. Most of that music was ONE TAKE, a few solos overdubbed and the vocals overdubbed, but basically just getting the songs VERY TIGHT before going to the studio and an excellent technician who understood exactly the way I wanted the material to sound (sort of like the way AC/DC sounded on their early recordings, little or no reverb on the vocals, everything sounding equal). We moved some of the individual parts around a little (ending on Mojo in particular) in the final mixdown. Recording is a lot easier if you have a gameplan in advance. Thanks again.

Hello from Sussex Bob,
When I first aquired this Tascam nearly two years ago, I just sat at the dining room table pressed record for each song and strummed and sang at the same time.
I was so new to it that I couldn't see how to know where I had got to in the song unless I sang my words too... and with the acoustic guitar which was all I played at the time, it was just voice and guitar going in together.
Often if I got through the song okay on that first take, that became the first and only take of that track, though mostly I then added a bass track and a track of hand drumming on the back of the afformentioned acoustic guitar!
If a track used piano, which is a 1890s Belgian job tuned a quarter tone below concert pitch, then I had to tune the guitar and bass down a bit for that track.

I had played electric in the rock bands of my youth, then just over a year ago my wife came home from our local market with a Yamaha Pacifica and small Marshall combo for $100 in your money, and I fell in love again straight away.
This second CD I will start in the spring will probably be all on the electric, unless a song crops up that seems to demand the acoustic.
My wide-necked Strat has slighlty wider string spacing in the picking hand than even my classical acoustic, so it gets used for everything now, both lead and acompaniament.

Half an hour ago I got home from running my five year old girl to school in the motorbike and sidecar, and as I drove back into my workshop I climbed off the bike and straight onto the drums... put a foot through a tomtom! No seriously, I had a thump around for ten minutes, but my arms and legs felt like the flapping fins of a sealion asking for fish!
I had all these sounds pulsing through my head of kickdrum now, and rim-shots here and a running tick on the high hat... the body was on another planet; but that is fine and just as you would expect, but I can see it will be a very long time till I start playing on my own songs.

Now I have three hours to play and surf till I go back for Roseanne.
Seasons greetings from Mark.................

ps. Those few songs on my profile are songs written in the last 18 months; the fully acoustic songs from 35 years back I mentioned, are together in one CD collection and even more ropey!

Thanks for all the kind words, bob. I did some looking last knight for other musicians and bands. I am finding that alot of the bands put age requirements on there opinings. and some arnt bands at all, some are people who claim to play evry thing. And there posted music is not verry, I dont wont to say bad cause I dont wont to bash anyone, most times its not ledgable, if that makes sence. After xmass Im going to pay the fee and start contacting people. There are moore in my area without adio than with, so it could be verry interesting. I realy do want to work with other people, I miss it. Havent done it since the 80s. thanks again bob. HEY mdphillips, I realy look forward to hearing your new stuff.Keep jaming EDDY

Hello Eddy,
The guy I stole the electric drums off called me this morning as he drove round London on the M25 heading to work; he is going to come and fix and set up the Trapps drums later this week then we will start a re recording of my new song with a bit more pace and and some more driven guitar lines.

When I record alone I find the technical side almost too much hassle, so things like metronome are just a bridge too far, and I convince myself it will be okay without.
To a certain extent that is true as who ever uses a metronome when they play live? What happens is that subsequent tracks being laid may be fused not with the first track, but with something more ear catching, though less in time... from there on it's downhill all the way!

If we make a half decent recording of this song I wrote a couple of weeks ago, I will put it on my profile Eddy for you to give it the once over!
Thanks,
Mark......................