I have a new song, if you wanna hear it...
This is a Blues/Rock kinda thing, with a taste of country or maybe bluegrass.
I wrote it with the intention of playing it at one of Juice's Songpull things. I wrote it in one day, but I never got to the songpull.
Then the next thing you know, I started adding stuff to it.
It is what it is now, whatever it is... I'm not nuts about the mix.
I might go back and remix it, but right now I'll just let it stand.
I need to get away from it for a while.
You be the judge.
kennyhogan.com/everythinginee...
8/11/2008 4:43:34 PM
Ken, once again you hit a home run. It's fun and has a great beat. Nice piece of work!
8/11/2008 4:50:32 PM
Nice one, Ken!
8/11/2008 4:53:39 PM
Don't you ever write anything but masterpieces?
Another classic old buddy! Keep 'em coming.
8/11/2008 4:58:02 PM
Thanks, but don't you think the mix is kinda mushy?
I really had a tough time getting things shelved, mainly because the dobro vocals and guitar are all in the same tonal range. (Something a good producer would probably not do)
I'm at the point where I need to not listen to it for a while. I can't really hear it anymore, and I'm sick to death of it.
Funny how that happens.
Thanks anyways. You're all very kind as usual.
8/11/2008 5:04:26 PM
Bearing in mind that I know nothing about music, I...not that I know exactly what "mushy" means, but I was wanting to hear a crispyly-toned guitar solo and I wanted to hear your voice more clearly; not so layered. You've got a great clear voice that was sort of lost in all that's going on there.
Aside from that, the song is a lot of fun and has a great vibe.
8/11/2008 5:08:09 PM
take out the "I..." in the first line.
I wish this thing had an edit feature.
8/11/2008 5:09:06 PM
You know a lot more about music than most people, and much more than you give yourself credit for.
I agree with you about the vocals being buried. That's what I meant by "Mushy."
I may take another whack at it tomorrow. Maybe? If I can bear it...
Bear in mind I've heard the song about a thousand times by now. That's the worst part about recording all the parts yourself- you gotta hear it so much, you start hating the song. Ha!
I've got another one almost finished. It's really weird. It's about the people on my block. So I wanna get into that one now and come back to this one later.
8/11/2008 5:20:57 PM
Sounds good to me!! Nice Ry Cooderesque slide work!
Good job Ken!
8/11/2008 5:43:26 PM
Good. I need one more before I burn a CD, since I currently have 13 of your tunes...
I still like "What The Heck..."
8/11/2008 6:01:02 PM
dagnabit it's darn tootin' I tell ya
8/11/2008 6:12:01 PM
Thank-you Jerry Lundegaard! :-)
8/11/2008 6:16:13 PM
Nice Ken.
My only production critique at all, is in regard to the mushiness you've been talking about. It sounds like the vocals are being treated the same way the slide guitar is. Like they've got a "lo-fi" effect or something. Even though it's a swampy kind of bayou song, I think the vocals would benefit from a high polished sheen.
8/11/2008 6:22:19 PM
Yeah, I think Carl's right. The lead vocals could benefit from coming up front a bit more, and perhaps some delay or compression. Your voice is really good and should be front and center.
8/11/2008 6:24:26 PM
I agree.
And I appreciate the input.
Back to the drawing board...
8/11/2008 6:24:50 PM
since we'e being critical let me add that I hear this "sizzle" on all the tracks as if they are all eq'd identically. When you add them all up you probably have a peak somewhere between 4-6k
maybe. The mix sounds perty darn good but some judicious eq could help the mushiness a bit.
8/11/2008 6:28:53 PM
But, I totally LOVE the song, and I completely agree with the lyrics. The one thing you can't ever buy is time -- the most precious commodity of all.
8/11/2008 6:33:22 PM
It Sucks Man...........
Naaaah Just kidding...
I just listened to it without a mix critique and I love it.
BTW ..many Mornings on the way to my day gig I'm singing "Real Good Day" "everythin's goin my way".
great stuff as always Kenny.
Senor
8/11/2008 7:05:41 PM
kenny,,,u could be singing out of a garbage can and i would still like the song.
8/11/2008 7:10:24 PM
Good harp playin' too!
8/11/2008 7:15:34 PM
Sounds great Ken!! I thought it cool how you sounded so young, how'd you do that? ;- )
Seriously, good job. Nice and up-tempo and the harmonica sounds AWESOME!!
8/11/2008 7:17:43 PM
Dude! That's killin'. Nice job man.
8/11/2008 8:33:37 PM
nice tune,
Im kinda hearin John Hiatt,
stronger vocal in the Mix would definatley improve the sound
wtg
8/11/2008 8:58:42 PM
Ken great tune! I find that after doing a recording and mixing and mixing till you are so saturated by the song it's hard to hear a lot of whats going on. I find if I step away from it for a few days, I come back with fresh ears so to speak, and find things I need to change and so on. Just my 2 cents...
8/11/2008 9:31:21 PM
I will take that advice. i agree.
Thanks so much for the kind consideration and support from everyone who posted here.
When i remix it, I'll post the new version.
Tomorrow I'm going to work on something completely different and get away from this one for a while.
You guys are great. Thanks.
8/11/2008 10:19:49 PM
ken,,one question. what happened to yur head in yur pic? reminds me of the aliens in,,"The Day the Earth Stood Still"! circa 1961.
8/11/2008 10:27:44 PM
Congrats to you ski!
You noticed it first. I shrunk my head.
It's to keep my ego in check.
8/11/2008 10:43:23 PM
I had fun listening to your tune....That has can't help but tap my foot all over it!!!!
Thanks for sharing Ken
-suaman
8/11/2008 10:48:44 PM
Glad you liked it my friend.
The beat is all from the Emperor Bolo. (drums) He did it in 3 takes, no overdubs, no punch ins.
8/11/2008 10:51:47 PM
I liked it-
I'm terrible at mixing AND detecting things mixwise- pretty much a tin ear in that department, but I think you layer vocals really well- if there is a mushiness, I don't hear it (the olympics are on in here tho too)
It's a good song, I don't see how you would songpull it,. but that's the beauty of the songpull reckon
Your songs seem very happy
8/11/2008 11:08:24 PM
That's so good to hear.
That this song is seen as a happy song.
I can post the songpull version, if U want.
It's raw. Just me and the Frankendobro. I sat on my porch and said.OK. One day. Write it now,
I could hear it in my head, and I just came out with it.
It's not that good. But I did that.
I wanted to see if I could.
There was a song Pull coming up, but Bruce got in some argument with somebody and I never showed up. I don't want to get involved in that shit.
I also hate to join things, so I just mutated the song inot whatev the hell it is now.''
I said good stuff that I meant to say,
I recorded it the way i wanted, but the mix is like a brook of fudge running down my leg.
It ain't no big thing.
Just one more song.
I'll fix it someday. Or I won't, there's other songs.
It's no masterpiece. Just another song.
I'll fix it up...later.
8/12/2008 12:23:40 AM
I don't really see it as joining something ...I guess that is a part of it I like, no real commitment. Although, It could not go on with out us coming out and doing a tune once a month either.
Life is funny.
I enjoy seeing all the awesome tunes that folks come up with. There are lots of tunes I have heard and said to myself "self...why didn't you write that?" I love it...stuff we would not other wise have had a chance to enjoy...
Thanks Juice and to all those that have posted tunes on the song pull Thanks for sharing...
-suaman
8/12/2008 8:07:28 AM
That was NOT a put-down about the songpull or anyone!
I think the songpulls are great. I just have my own quirky ways.
Songpull is the very reason this song exists. I just never made it down there to sing it. Please don't get me wrong. I'd like to go to another one some day.
8/12/2008 9:08:36 AM
i knew what u meant, ken.
8/13/2008 10:06:28 AM
FKN love it. LOVE it. I have it blaring off my computers and am bopping along at work. I'm also hoping to piss off my boss but I think she'll just like the song. lol!!
8/13/2008 11:44:14 AM
ken, another great song....you have definitely let some good stuff out in 2008...
there is so much good slide, guitar work, harp and drums going on in the tune....my comment is similar to what some of the others have said....
bring out your great vocals more so that it is more "crisp"...other than that, i can't stop listening to it!!!
:-)
8/13/2008 2:54:47 PM
Thanks very much, all of you, and I'm glad you like the song, even though the mix is off.
It's a good feeling to hear nice comments from you guys, but it's also a bit embarrassing too.
I do believe in the philosophy of being grateful for what you have, and that family friends and music are the most important things. (at least to me)
I'm working on a funny weird song now, (about my neighborhood) and I'm pretty excited about it.
I'll let this song sit for a while and fix it after it gets a little vacation.
Pretty soon the summer will be over, and I'll have to go back to work, (Taking the summer off again this year) ...soon I won't have much time to tinker with my songs, and I'll be traveling again. Damn. Why does summer have to end?
I love the summer.
8/13/2008 4:12:02 PM
Excellent Song Ken. You inspire many. Keep it up.
8/13/2008 5:15:03 PM
will your neighborhood song have windchimes in it???
and angry birds???
;-)
8/14/2008 10:11:11 AM
It will be called "Angry Chinese Baby Music".
8/14/2008 10:22:00 AM
Great song Ken, I listened to it earlier this week and it got me thinking; have you ever considered selling your songs to established musicians?
You write hit songs and there are guys out there making a very lucrative living doing just that.
Serious question.
8/14/2008 10:36:23 AM
Swanee, I have, and I will consider it in the future, but frankly and honestly, my songs aren't good enough and I know it.
I'd have to get a lot better before anyone would hear any of my songs as potential hit records.
I'll keep working and learning. I'm trying, but I don't wanna try too hard.
If I had a "DO OVER," switch for life. I'd go back and take all those years I wasted playing to drunks in bars, and I would use all that youthful energy to write and record.
That train has left the station though.
I'm just doing this because I like doing it.
It's not a commercial venture.
I really do feel like I have everything I need.
Look, it's a summer day, I had a nice breakfast out on the patio, I'm going for a walk in the woods now, then I'll come back and record all afternoon. Tonight I'll go see Bruce Hornsby to celebrate our 17th anniversary with my wife...what the hell else could a guy want?
3 things matter: Family Friends and music.
The rest is just scenery.
8/14/2008 11:00:35 AM
...and to answer the other question - YES there are chimes and angry birds, the dog that barks in E flat, and angry Chinese baby music, and even a touch of chainsaw murder in the new song...I'm having a lot of fun with it.
I'm even recording the sounds of the neighborhood and putting them in the song. (little do they know)
8/14/2008 11:04:40 AM
Kenny, if I haven't told you before, I will now...I love your outlook on life, and you're a helluva guy.
8/14/2008 11:10:37 AM
and,,,,,,,,,,,u must have the patience of JOB to lay all those harmonies down. what a pain in the azz!
8/14/2008 11:41:22 AM
Been on your site listening and re-listening to your songs since yesterday. LOVING IT
8/14/2008 12:36:31 PM
Agreed!
8/14/2008 6:11:32 PM
i can't WAIT to hear the neighborhood symphony in D for Delightful!!
:-)
8/15/2008 12:17:10 PM
how's angry chinese baby chainsaw bird music??
8/18/2008 8:12:50 AM
« Back to Musician Talk or All Forum Discussions
Login or Register to Post a Reply

All messages are the express view of the author of the message and not those of LowellRocks.com or its affiliates, advertisers, or sponsors. Neither the owners of LowellRocks.com nor its affiliates will be held responsible for the content of any message. LowellRocks.com does not guarantee or warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any message.