I've been in my band about three and a half years now, playing small bars and clubs. As Cortex says it can be a drag to play when there's not many people there, but I always have a great time as long as whoever is there is into it. We have a pretty energetic show, so we can usually get people moving.

We played in a Staple's parking lot once, which was weird. I had a friend who thought it would be a good idea to do daytime shows for charity wherever he could get... [more]
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 9:40 AM on July 8, 2008

Good ideas Karlos. I did all these RPM Challenge tracks with drum loops, and I just didn't get a chance to add in any fills on this one. It's a little robotic without any variation, that's for sure.

I don't know if I'll do a rework of this version-- I mostly do these recordings as demos for the band, not as a final product. In fact, we were working on this song last night and it's turning out very different-- maybe I'l post it if the practice tape we did last night came out OK.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 2:02 PM on April 28, 2008

Really cool song, with some great melodic guitar work. You guys should come out of hibernation.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 10:30 PM on April 26, 2008

Thanks Karlos- good ideas. We got sidetracked working on other new songs last practice, but I'll be sure to post another version of this as we work on it more.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 12:28 PM on April 17, 2008

It would be really great to take the whistling you're doing with the vocal line at the end, and alternate it with the vocal lines at the beginning. So you'd go "Green traveling hat knit around my head"... "whistle melody" ... "One of these days gonna hitchhike my ways up out of this bed.""... "whistle melody", etc., through the first two verses.

I love the idea of some harmonies on this, I'd start adding them in slowly... [more]
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 1:55 PM on April 12, 2008

Now that's what I call synergy.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 11:43 AM on December 30, 2007

I'll admit I copped out on lyrics and a vocal track. It's happened to me a couple times trying to put together a music challenge entry, just didn't have the inspiration on the subject matter at hand. There's always next month...
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 8:43 AM on December 30, 2007

And a lovely present it was, one I expect to see round these parts soon. Funny thing is, I was going to suggest that Karlos expand on what he wrote here and record it, but ya beat him to it!
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 9:17 AM on December 30, 2007

This song doesn't seem to play-- you should check with the mods.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 8:50 AM on December 30, 2007

It has a sort of Television feel to it-- very nice.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 8:48 AM on December 30, 2007

Me too- lots of fun.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 8:40 AM on December 30, 2007

I thought this was lovely. Good Sunday morning music.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 8:40 AM on December 30, 2007

We need to do a show in San Diego. We're so unfocused, it's hard to get something like that together. Maybe in 2008...
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 6:10 PM on December 21, 2007

That's the plan. I'm thinking it stays pretty much guitar and vocals in the first verse, starts to build up the bass and drums in the second and into the chorus, then finishes strong with the more defiant third verse.

But it will be interesting to see what ideas the rest of the band brings, see how it evolves. I really want to give Yvonne a chance to shine on this one, so whatever supports her vocals best.

We're full at the moment, but side projects are always possible...
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 9:15 AM on December 14, 2007

You have a lovely voice- very smoky jazz. Nice groove too, though I wished the drum machine was a little lower.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 11:03 AM on September 22, 2007

I love it! Little instrumentals like this are always cool.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 11:02 AM on September 22, 2007

It is ironic that you reference him as a "kick ass drummer" in the lyrics when he plays so sloppy-- he needs to close up those hi hats. But it's not all him, the whole thing needs to be tighter before it will really work.

It's not a bad song, there's potential here if you re-record it. Lose the effects on the vocals and bring them up some in the mix, and try to get everyone on the same groove. You might want to try new lyrics too-- it's going to be hard to... [more]
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 10:52 AM on September 22, 2007

Flapjax- there's a lot of samey music on those other paths too. It's more about the personality you bring to it than the particular form.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 10:57 AM on September 22, 2007

Thanks guys. Mike (drums) and Steve (guitar) are both new additions to the band since the last time we recorded, and they have made an incredible difference in our sound. I'll post one of the re-recorded versions a song from the previous session later for comparison.

In all these raw tracks, my guitar is in the right channel and Steve's is in the left.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 10:10 AM on August 13, 2007

If you have a good melody, people won't generally notice similar chord progressions unless you are using the rythym from that same famous song. Ears follow the melody line.

It's a good pop song. I'd hit those accents harder in the second half of the lead, just to break it up some, but as snsranch says it is very solid.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 9:35 AM on August 12, 2007

We got all the tracks laid down that we wanted to do, but there wasn't a chance to mix much before we quit for the night. Some of the songs sound pretty good already, so I'll post a few while we work on the final mix.

Same Thing
It’s a great night
I drink it up and yell for more
Ya know I feel right
I run this joint and that’s for sure
But by the last light
When folks are headin’ for... [more]
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 9:03 PM on August 5, 2007

Thanks, snsranch. We were trying to capture our live sound as much as we could and we keep it pretty simple, so it doesn't take a lot of studio wizardry to get a good sound.

In this picture, I'm the guy on the far left.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 9:26 AM on August 7, 2007

I wanted to give the challenge a shot, but there's no way I could turn something around in two weeks with the band.

We've got studio time booked August 4th, so new ROS material will be coming soon.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 9:24 AM on July 7, 2007

*shakes fist at sky*

DAMN YOU CLOUDS!!! GIMME BACK MY WATER!!!!
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 11:07 PM on July 6, 2007

Fucking A right, man- that's a great song. I love hard partyin' country bands.

BTW- sound clips don't work on your website.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 11:03 PM on July 6, 2007

I really like how it starts very soothing, then becomes very tense and anxious in the middle third before it comes back to calm at the end. Very nice.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 10:56 PM on July 6, 2007

Sweet. The whole thing comes together beautifully.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 10:45 PM on July 6, 2007

Rock and fuckin roll!
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 9:51 AM on December 10, 2006

I like the rawness of it, the fun really comes through.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 10:03 AM on October 28, 2006

Double nickels on the tubes. :)
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 1:27 PM on October 20, 2006

Very Bowie, I like it a lot.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 1:21 PM on October 20, 2006

This would be great at a party, makes me want to down a beer a sing along.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 11:10 AM on October 15, 2006

I recognize that music from somewhere, but I can't quite place it. I think the vocals are too loud in the mix, it drowns out the music.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 11:07 AM on October 15, 2006

Cool song. Is it a rule that songs about Running don't have a chorus? :)
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 11:02 AM on October 15, 2006

That was very cool.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 10:09 AM on October 10, 2006

Cool song, kind of relaxing-- good background music for MeFi reading.

I'm a pretty straightforward rock & roll kind of guy, so I'm tempted to say keep it simple so you can play live. But there's a lot you can do with technology these days to cover for a lack of musicians, you should write what you like best.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 10:05 AM on October 10, 2006

Kinda hypnotic, but the background noise got to me after a while.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 11:20 AM on October 1, 2006

That's some serious rock & roll. You guys should play that song here.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 11:16 AM on October 1, 2006

Or Stepping Stone. : )
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 10:26 AM on September 26, 2006

Very sweet. First listen I agreed with Uncle Jimmy about adding vocals, but second time through I'm not so sure. It stands on its own pretty well. I think it would make a good opening number if you busted into a really catchy sing along on the next beat.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 10:16 AM on September 22, 2006

Nice song. Interesting imagery in the lyrics too.

The posting engine seems to strip those line breaks out, I've had the same thing happen to me. It's probably a good idea, or the front page of Music would be very long.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 10:07 AM on September 22, 2006

Big weekend coming up for us-- Friday at noon we're going to be performing live on Horror Kung Fu Theatre, which is a cable access TV show in Los Angeles. (If anyone is familiar with this show let me know, I haven't quite been able to figure out how people can tune in.)

Saturday we'll be back at the Stardust Lounge, 7643 E. Firestone Blvd, in Downey, CA. It's "Women Who Rock Night"-- we'll be raising money for NOW, so it's actually for a good cause. Like... [more]
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 9:14 PM on September 6, 2006

Thanks! I'm going to post more of this type of stuff when I get time. Before I got into my current band I was doing it a lot, just trying to get a feel for putting together songs. Rigth now everything's been going into the rock n' roll...
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 9:58 AM on August 23, 2006

The line breaks were there on preview, I swear!

Anyway, we'll be playing Saturday night with a bunch of cool bands at the Starudust Lounge, 7643 Firestone Blvd , in Downey, CA.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 10:58 PM on August 17, 2006

Thanks lupus-- always appreciate constructive criticism. We want to go into the studio again in October, so I'm trying to keep track of the various improvements people have sugested-- Mefi is a great resource.

Last time in we did 8 tracks in a single 16 hour day, and I think that was our biggest mistake. We were all brain dead by the time we got to the final mix.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 1:34 PM on August 22, 2006

Hesh on!
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 9:42 AM on August 5, 2006

Bad Brains were one of the most intense live bands I ever saw-- pure energy and raw talent.

This brought a smile to an old punk's lips.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 12:13 AM on August 5, 2006

Something about this just makes me smile.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 9:16 PM on July 30, 2006

Time to get out my skinny tie with the reindeer on it... fantastic!
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 9:12 PM on July 30, 2006

We'll be playing this song at the Old Towne Pub in Pasadena, Ca on Saturday July 29. ($5, 21+)
Our set starts at 8, but come early-- there's 8 bands, first one at 5, and a free BBQ.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 12:20 PM on July 28, 2006