Mr. Liszt's indie rock band!

[Mr. Liszt]

Curious as to what people might think of my indie rock efforts.

This is a band I put together. I work on it as a fun break from my commercial endeavors. I write and arrange the tunes and direct the recordings. We play around town and have fun at our shows. I don't have a goal for the project other than to have fun and write some cool music. I try to make creative, loose, raw sounding recordings. Some people say we remind them of Talking heads and Roxy Music and that's cool. I am working on 20 tracks for a little album for us. Only three demos of that album are on the page. The first one, sorry, has fake drums for the moment. I would love to know what all of you guys think of the bands music, the performances, the productions, what little of an image we have and especially what you think I might be able to do better as far as preparing the recordings on the page for an ME. As I said I do it for fun but I do want to have a commercial sounding album from a sonic perspective when it's all said and done. I'm doing all the tracking and everything myself but I have set aside a budget of a couple grand (confusing I know) for mastering the final recordings.

LINK

[Timothy Lawler]

I listened to Why Don't You Say. Nice... even with the crap Myspace resolution it sounds good. Very rich and conveys energy. Only crit I have is that the rhythmic complexity of the lead guitar's arpeggio figures in relation to the percussion during the chorus gives the impression of sloppy guitar playing there. A simpler figure in the guitar might give you the sonority you want and avoid that.

[Audio Hombre]

i hear what tim's saying here. it just gets to busy for it's own good at times.

my 2� cents, i don't think the sound or level of the hard panned rhy guitars works, especially for the genre. you'd rarely hear guitars with this close mic'd sound, so in your face,on say a talking heads album from what i can recall.something with a more natural room sound with like a ribbon 1-2' back with maybe an ldc would work well and not be so overraught. i'd also be shocked if they were mic'd as they have that d.i. fuzziness. the song composition and vocals were very good though.

[Mr. Liszt]

Thanks for the thoughts guys!

Originally Posted by Timothy Lawler

I listened to Why Don't You Say. Nice... even with the crap Myspace resolution it sounds good. Very rich and conveys energy. Only crit I have is that the rhythmic complexity of the lead guitar's arpeggio figures in relation to the percussion during the chorus gives the impression of sloppy guitar playing there. A simpler figure in the guitar might give you the sonority you want and avoid that.

That's totally fair. Other people have made the same comment. Even some people who know nothing about critiquing music composition/performance. On top of the sloppy playing there are moments of 4 against 6 with the ride cymbal which add to the perceived sloppiness. I know this sounds weird but sloppiness was actually my intention for that riff exactly from the beginning. I really made an effort in tracking that portion of the song sloppy. I wanted a tight and powerful rhythm section and a unique and wild lead guitar and vocal performance. And I think that I got that but as you guys echoed, it is a little strange. An indulgence of the vision of the piece on my part. There are several diplomatic resolutions including the only that you mentioned, Tim. I considered removing the sextuplet figure and replacing it with straight 16ths but in my mind it kills the sporadicness that I want. And playing the 16ths sloppy sounds even more amateur. I am going to retrack the guitars and the vocals before the final album version and I will see if I can find the correct compromise for that guitar solo. It's in there somewhere and it be will be a challenge finding it and fulfilling and fun if I do.

Originally Posted by Audio Hombre

my 2� cents, i don't think the sound or level of the hard panned rhy guitars works, especially for the genre. you'd rarely hear guitars with this close mic'd sound, so in your face,on say a talking heads album from what i can recall.something with a more natural room sound with like a ribbon 1-2' back with maybe an ldc would work well and not be so overraught. i'd also be shocked if they were mic'd as they have that d.i. fuzziness. the song composition and vocals were very good though.

Good ear.

What kind of ideas do you have about panning? I always do a lot of overdubs for almost every part (save for vox usually and bass rarely) and it is so tempting to not pan them all over the pace. Do you think straight up the middle or somewhere in between. Leaning to either end?

Regarding distance micing, that is something I really need to try more. I have always close miced my guitar cabinet. And I bet that you are right on stylistically. I feel silly I never really even thought about it . I will try and LDC a few feet back and see what kind of sound I get. Problem with that is that my "studio" room has a giant area rug on the hardwood floor. Nothing sounds good in this room really with that rug in here. It is a decent room without it I feel but it is such a pain in the ass to remove and replace all the time. But I will try it and see what happens.

On those three tracks, about half of the guitars were DI'ed and the other half were close miced. I was in between guitars during some of the tracking of these songs. My first setup that I found that I liked was an Gibson SG '61 reissue with 57 classics through my Gibson GA-5 Les Paul Jr. amp. Amazing sound. Then I divorced the SG (irreconcilable differences) and was stuck with only a '90s Danelectro. The Danelectro, while having a unique tone and look, has a horrible tone through the GA-5. Really woeful. The GA-5 is the amp for this band. I can have no other. It sounds decent through some solid state amps but I don;t tlike that sound for this project unfortunately. Anyway, it sounded much better DI'ed so that's how I did ALOT of tracking on on alot of stuff for about a two months. Eventually, thank whatever, I was seriously possessed by another guitar a few weeks ago - 2008 Goldtop Les Paul Standard with a '60s neck! Sounds even more amazing than the SG through the GA-5! So I have been tempted to retrack those songs I have done with the Danelectro but there are so many I don't know where to start. I won't do them all. Maybe a few.

The guitars for "Why Don't You Say" were entirely tracked miced. SG GA-5 combo.

For "Let's Get Together" everything was DI'ed. I did reamp the chorus rhythm guitars only though through the GA-5. Danelectro all the way on this one.

For "Ooo Ahh" about half was DI'ed and half was miced. SG GA-5 combo and Danelectro.

Again, good call.


What do you guys think of the percussion for "Oooo Ahhh?" I worked with my drummer for like 12 hours straight tracking just the drums on this one in a seriously giant, cold, empty warehouse. I think we did 7 overdubs of the perc part after it was over with. Miced from many different distances and with a few different mics. My drummer graduated with a Bachelor's in Jazz Performance in my year at university. He has done many local jazz recordings and makes most of his money gigging and has a pretty major fusion band that tours regionally. He has done two professional studio albums with them. BUT he says his performance and my directing of the drum recording and subsequent production for this song is his favorite recording he has done out of everything. I was shocked and happy to hear him say this. Has has done so much semi-pro/pro shit and he likes the sound of this weird song that I wrote the best! Go figure.

[Timothy Lawler]

I considered removing the sextuplet figure and replacing it with straight 16ths but in my mind it kills the sporadicness that I want.

I think that the vocal has a good crazed-drive to it, , and that you might not really need the guitar to add to that, but more to just add a sonority to the chorus for variety. Straight 8th note alternating octaves, palm muted, might even work for that.

I didn't mind the hard panned close-up rhythm guitars myself, even though they don't sound like they're in the same room as the drumset. I thought what they lost in realism (of sounding like they're in the same room as the drumset) they gained in intensity. But I'm no expert in the genre, so take that FWIW.

Hot drum and vocal sound.

[Funkster]

Cool stuff Mr. listz!

Very Fun. "Why don't you say" is definitely my favorite. I love the song and the sound. drums, guitars, vox, all of it.


I bet the stuff is great live. Seems like from the picture the band image is perfect for that sound. You have any plans for a roadtrip to nashville in the near future?

well done!

[Mr. Liszt]

Originally Posted by Funkster

Cool stuff Mr. listz!

Very Fun. "Why don't you say" is definitely my favorite. I love the song and the sound. drums, guitars, vox, all of it.


I bet the stuff is great live. Seems like from the picture the band image is perfect for that sound. You have any plans for a roadtrip to nashville in the near future?

well done!

Don't have any connections in Nashville at the moment. I would set something up if I knew what places to contact. But we would totally be willing to come down there and open for you if you ever are looking for bands to fill out a bill. We'd actually LOVE to do it so let me know if you can use us!!!

Originally Posted by TroyTempest

Not to be off subject, but I was on your page and I saw d.w.box and one long song, And I figured if you like that, you might like this... MySpace.com - Dax Riggs - HOUMA, Louisiana - Rock / Blues / Experimental - www.myspace.com/daxriggs

This guy is a bit insane and I view him more as a poet, but I am bias.

Definitely sounds worth checking out from your description, Troy. I give him a listen when I get a moment.

[Funkster]

The people I'm playing for right now are real mellow so it probably would make for a pretty weird bill. I think you guys would go over well at The Basment, The End, and The Rutledge. All fun, vibey places. Bluesboro in nearby Murfressboro would be cool for you guys too during the normal college season.

If you ever get a show booked around here let me know and I'll try and bring out as many people as I can find.

[Timothy Lawler]

Re Why Don't You Say... Curious about the dynamic processing done in tracking and mixing as you've got a loud mix but lively transient detail also. Specifics appreciated.

[Mr. Liszt]

Originally Posted by Timothy Lawler

Re Why Don't You Say... Curious about the dynamic processing done in tracking and mixing as you've got a loud mix but lively transient detail also. Specifics appreciated.

Hey, Timothy,

I'll soon get you a report on that track. It's been 6 months since I have looked at that file. The mix that is on MySpace is mine though I did have it locally, professionally mixed by a pro studio and my mix smashed the pros somehow (I have no idea how, btw) so I never used it. What DAWs are you familiar with?

[Timothy Lawler]

Originally Posted by Mr. Liszt

...I'll soon get you a report on that track. ... What DAWs are you familiar with?

Don't know if it's really a DAW-specific thing... but I use Cubase, Reaper and Wavelab on a windows machine. I did listen to the older version of Why Don't You Say in your other thread where you compare your initial mix with a hired mixer's. His was an example, I think, of over-processing, especially over-compression, that really sucks the life out of a mix.

[scram_chops]

as for the quote of sloppy guitar playing.
Theres alot of bands like this in charlotte.. the kind of dance rock/indie.
I just couldnt see one having a balls out tight guitar player ha, I think it
gives it it's character.

Nice tunes man, dig it.

[Mr. Liszt]

Originally Posted by Timothy Lawler

Don't know if it's really a DAW-specific thing... but I use Cubase, Reaper and Wavelab on a windows machine. I did listen to the older version of Why Don't You Say in your other thread where you compare your initial mix with a hired mixer's. His was an example, I think, of over-processing, especially over-compression, that really sucks the life out of a mix.

Timothy,

I promise I will get back to you on this soon. I asked about what DAWs you are familiar with because I was going to just send you the project file for you to see for yourself what was going on. "Why Don't You Say" was done entirely in Garageband 3. But it looks like you are running a different platform. Get back to you soon.

Originally Posted by scram_chops

as for the quote of sloppy guitar playing.
Theres alot of bands like this in charlotte.. the kind of dance rock/indie.
I just couldnt see one having a balls out tight guitar player ha, I think it
gives it it's character.

Nice tunes man, dig it.

Hey thanks for listening and I am glad that you liked the music. Sounds like we might do okay with a live show in Charlotte. My brother in law just moved there to teach painting at a university. He says it's pretty nice. Is it easy to set up a show in Charlotte?