The Fanzines - My Sharona

PaulBrewer · 17-11-2011 9:04am #1

Here's a wee track my pub band recorded to get gigs - it's rough and ready but has a good oul buzz to it I think, flat bends and all ...

http://soundcloud.com/paulbrewer/my-sharona-the-fanzines

It was recorded in such a hurry that the vocals were the first thing to go down with the singer singing along to the original CD track of The Knack before any music was recorded ! He sang it twice and all of it (bar one line) I used as a double track.

The bass recorded next, then guitars, then drums - which, for a bit of crack, we recorded out in a stairwell in the shopping mall (where my studio is) one evening after the shops closed.

Who says recording can't be fun !

We're playing in Cassidy's Bar Westmoreland Street Dublin on Dec 2nd

www.facebook.com/thefanzines

maccored · 17-11-2011 1:07pm

singers got a great voice

PaulBrewer · 17-11-2011 1:33pm

maccored wrote: »

singers got a great voice

Don't mind all that, what about the bass playing ?;)

Alan, the singer, used be in 90s metallers 'My Little Funhouse' ... he's some man to sing along with a CD.

krd · 17-11-2011 11:17pm

PaulBrewer wrote: »

We're playing in Cassidy's Bar Westmoreland Street Dublin on Dec 2nd

"We're"...................Does that mean, like, you!!!!

Paul, what'll you be playing ---- and of course I'll come....wouldn't miss it for the world.

PaulBrewer · 18-11-2011 9:55am

krd wrote: »

"We're"...................Does that mean, like, you!!!!

Paul, what'll you be playing ---- and of course I'll come....wouldn't miss it for the world.

I'll have a four string bass guitar around my neck and a steely expression that won't flinch no matter what note I play, wrong or right ...

i57dwun4yb1pt8 · 18-11-2011 12:52pm

its great ,

great vibe and sounds a billion times better than any of the crap you hear on radio

bit of a time glich at 3.15 though

great band

i must try to get to the gig .

trackmixstudio · 23-11-2011 10:16pm

Good performances but for me the track is way too quiet behind the vocal and lead guitar. I understand that the demo is to get gigs so the vocal is on the track rather than in the mix but I think it would have better energy if the drums/bass/guitar were louder. Sounds a bit karaoke as is IMO.

PaulBrewer · 24-11-2011 12:32pm

trackmixstudio wrote: »

Good performances but for me the track is way too quiet behind the vocal and lead guitar. I understand that the demo is to get gigs so the vocal is on the track rather than in the mix but I think it would have better energy if the drums/bass/guitar were louder. Sounds a bit karaoke as is IMO.

Fair points Trackmix - we're going to do a couple more tunes (Going Underground and London Calling) so we'll see can we polish things up a bit more, without things getting too shiny.

krd · 27-11-2011 7:00pm

That tom - you know the one I'm taking about.

It's pitched wrong and it's too ringy and booming.

I heard this on the radio recently - I was struck by how loud the hi-hats and symbols were on the original - and I think they doubled or more the guitar riff.

Of course I'm not going to tell you the good stuff.

The voice is good. But the drums could be tighter, louder, and dryer. Pitching a real drum head could be a biatch.

I heard this on the radio - and I swear the radio are using some kind of pulse compression - something that makes the sound bounce a little.

And Paul.........Don't forget to cheat....God can't see ya.....

PaulBrewer · 28-11-2011 9:50am

Fair comments too KRD.

We did the drums on two tracks from opening the studio to closing it in 2 hours 20 mins so it's a long way from perfect.

I agree it could be dryer but I wanted to see what the shopping centre was like to record in. The drums are actually as recorded - no samples.

We used 2 different snares - I think a 5 inch one on Sharona and a deeper Pearl Sensitone on the other track we recorded, Brass in Pocket.

Regarding the guitars we basically played it as we do live so yes there are bits/doubling missing.

It was fun to just record stuff as played - clearly the very first guitar notes played are early for example - but so what ?

Same with the bass - second take and I moved two early notes.

It's got a bit of a stink to it which I like.

God knows I usually cheat ... a lot. But, in tune with the genre, we just thrashed it down.

krd · 01-12-2011 7:35pm

PaulBrewer wrote: »

It was fun to just record stuff as played - clearly the very first guitar notes played are early for example - but so what ?

So what....it's not a maths exam....it's rock and roll. The only subject, where if all your answers are wrong, you can still get an A. I really like the way, nearly all of that sounds.

The idea of recording live drums - or worse; having to contribute financially to the recording of live drums, fills me with terror.

Experiments are worth doing. .....And actually could you do one for me

?

Since you're more skilled and have stuff at your disposal. I have a theory: The bounce curve. I'm listening to more radio recently and I swear they're doing it.
My theory: the bounce curve is a level curve. On a 4/4 beat, the the low of the curve hitting each beat - so you get a pulse.

Like a rectified sine wave

I'm listening to the radio now - and It think they may be doing the curve even in 8th or 16ths - or I could be losing my ******** mind.

PaulBrewer · 01-12-2011 8:52pm

Anyone around tomorrow night for our wee show in Cassidy's Westmoreland Street ?
Ambassador Sean Hurley of this parish was going to nick in and keep an ear on the sound for us but he can't make it.

The pay will be a pint ...

krd · 01-12-2011 10:32pm

PaulBrewer wrote: »

Anyone around tomorrow night for our wee show in Cassidy's Westmoreland Street ?
Ambassador Sean Hurley of this parish was going to nick in and keep an ear on the sound for us but he can't make it.

The pay will be a pint ...

I want to go, but I'm wary. One of the bouncers there, recently, kicked out one of my friends, when she was stone cold sober, in the middle of the day - picked her up and roughly threw her outside the door. Then she took out her phone to take a photo of him - and he smashed her onto the ground, twisted her arm behind her back, and picked up her phone and smashed it into pieces on the ground - could be a court case. So, I'm wary about going there.

And no, I couldn't do your sound for you either - just set the levels and rock

PaulBrewer · 02-12-2011 9:38am

krd wrote: »

I want to go, but I'm wary. One of the bouncers there, recently, kicked out one of my friends, when she was stone cold sober, in the middle of the day - picked her up and roughly threw her outside the door. Then she took out her phone to take a photo of him - and he smashed her onto the ground, twisted her arm behind her back, and picked up her phone and smashed it into pieces on the ground - could be a court case. So, I'm wary about going there.

And no, I couldn't do your sound for you either - just set the levels and rock

It's actually under new management.
When I was there there were no bouncers !

PaulBrewer · 04-12-2011 9:19pm

Thanks to all that came Friday night last - great ol' sport had by all .... Well at least us !

maccored · 06-12-2011 3:57pm

what kind of setlist did you have? was it late 70s/early 80s new wave/punk? (just going bu the tunes you mentioned so far). Ive always wanted to start a covers band that was like the alternative nightclubs of the 80s.

krd · 06-12-2011 6:16pm

PaulBrewer wrote: »

Thanks to all that came Friday night last - great ol' sport had by all .... Well at least us !

Well, I was broke. I didn't want to get **** at the door.

And.....I didn't have a stitch to wear.

But I promise I'll go next time ......when are you playing next?

PaulBrewer · 06-12-2011 8:00pm

maccored wrote: »

what kind of setlist did you have? was it late 70s/early 80s new wave/punk? (just going bu the tunes you mentioned so far). Ive always wanted to start a covers band that was like the alternative nightclubs of the 80s.

That's exactly it .

We have our set list as a photo at www.facebook.com/thefanzines

PaulBrewer · 06-12-2011 8:02pm

krd wrote: »

Well, I was broke. I didn't want to get **** at the door.

And.....I didn't have a stitch to wear.

But I promise I'll go next time ......when are you playing next?

We played This Charming Man too.

We'll have a gig per month there for 2012.

krd · 06-12-2011 8:53pm

PaulBrewer wrote: »

We played This Charming Man too.

We'll have a gig per month there for 2012.

You had me at This

I'll be there next time.

maccored · 08-12-2011 10:41am

i might see if I can check out the square bar gig in feb

PaulBrewer · 07-02-2012 12:25pm

There's a remixed version of My Sharona here -

http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/artist_songs/2042918

I just spent a little more time on the mix and tidied up a few things while, hopefully, keeping the live band feel.

krd · 07-02-2012 6:42pm

PaulBrewer wrote: »

I just spent a little more time on the mix and tidied up a few things while, hopefully, keeping the live band feel.

That's some impressive tidying. It's amazing what a little dusting and rearranging a few cushions will do for a place.

GTE · 21-03-2012 1:54pm

Im a stickler for snares, its a bit on the soft side and the beginning of the solo guitar track jumps out a bit much but its quite good all the same.

What snare is it?

The sensitone on Brass In Pocket sounds like it has more body to it but I am not a fan of the sound in that song either (that's just musical preference from a quick listen). I wonder would sticking an EL8 Distressor plugin in parallel add some edge or actually just tuning the batter head up a bit. I am having great fun doing that with the Liquid Mix I picked up from a member here.

The Fanzines - My Sharona

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