Hi again Alex. Sorry to bother you again…
I think you sounded just as combative as I sounded rude! I apologize if you were offended by my comments. But when I have to give my opinion, I give it straight - without too much wrapping.
I can’t do that fancy quoting-thing…damnit, so I’ll just clarify and respond this way:
It seems we just have a different view on this singing business. See, if I were to raise my voice to a loud volume, it wouldn’t make me think of myself as being capable of singing. If I were to do this, I would call it ‘talking or yelling at a loud volume’. Of course you want to express yourself vocally, being a songwriter / lyricist, and I have no problem with that. But I can't tell you 'It sounds good' when I don't think it does. It has nothing to do with 'my yardstick' or that I am snobbish about singing in general, but my opinion of this is formed from what I think of the performance of other singers. I don’t like the singing; I would never buy an album with it or play in a band situation with it. I would actually leave the pub because of it. I can’t think of anyone I know who would like it…but OY! Remember the words of Dirty Harry: ‘Well, opinions are like assholes, everybody has one’, and that’s exactly how much my opinion should matter to you – none!
You should do what you think best for you and your group and not pay any attention to what people like me say! But I am telling you…whether you’re listening or not, getting a singer who ‘can sing’ by my standards or can ‘sing well’ by yours would vastly add to the credibility of the music.
It was the rhythmic structure of the bass lines I was talking about. If you don't see what I mean, it's probably because it's so much your style of writing lines (well - they are your lines!
) that you don't see anything in common between them. And this is all fine when you have as many songs in the set as you say. But as you say: I couldn't know that. I can only relate to the aural evidence.
I hear all you're saying about singing and playing at the same time - I understand completely! But when I listen to the music, I have to judge it for what it is and not why it is. I base my opinion on the sound of the whole thing (there’s that ol’ aural evidence-thingy again), and that could, in theory, be the sound of a singer being accompanied by a non-singing bass player + drums and guitar. It doesn't matter if the guitarist is playing drums with his elbows and feet at the same time...if it's not convincing. I'm sorry but I can't make those kinds of excuses when listening to music.
I am sure you have come a long way in the 9 years you have been playing - and you can't know that when I say 'your playing shows promise' that it actually means more than when some other random would say those words. I mean them and it was meant as a compliment.
Nine years is quite a while to have been playing, but I fail to see the relevance of this fact. I don’t make concessions when listening to music – it doesn’t matter if the player is male or female, young or old, missing an arm or on five legs, what colour he or she is – it is the playing I base my opinion on…and from.
I myself am a very groove oriented player and that also makes me generally attentive to the 'groove factor' of all music-from my own perspective, of course! I like your lines and your technique seems fine, but I think you would benefit from some attention to tightening up. That is no attack on your playing – it’s a piece of advice.
Okay, I'm off on a short holiday for the weekend and I will leave you alone (*cheers are heard*)
June
P.S. You sound like a nice guy!
