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I Know

By orangedrink on October 18, 2020 9:52 pm

This all started as a quick drum recording test.  I bought some sound absorption panels from ATS Acoustics and surrounded my drum set with them.  I used one microphone to record the drums, the Rode NT-1A.  I used that mic for everything except for the bass, recorded with a SM57.  I did a quick beat and wanted to hit all the elements to check the sound.  The song ended up being written one element at a time.  I am REALLY happy with the drum recording!!


The other fun thing was I came up with an idea to make all the lyrics one gigantic run-on sentence, then closing with a repeated two-word sentence refrain.  I had a bit of asthma while singing, which added a fun rasp to the vocals.   This track is at 100bpm, which I think is rare for me.  It's in a too slow/too fast range for me, so I'm happy to have done it.  I think the bass might be a little too loud, but since the pandemic, I have not had the motivation to do multiple speaker checks.  My speaker system still shocks me with super loud power surge crackles, so I need to either buy a new setup or figure out how to get it repaired.


I celebrated my 4 year wedding anniversary last week, which was awesome.  I could not do any of this music without my husband's support.  Shoutouts to all the friends, spouses, and roommates of musicians - I can't imagine the patience require to listen to something on repeat for hours (that you have no control over!)


The big news for me is that I've stopped dieting and am trying to let go of judgement over my body.  I got this great book called "Fed Up!" written by a medical doctor who was a former bulimic, and she goes into great detail about how for a compulsive/abusive eater - a diet is just a milder version of anorexia/bulimia - but it comes from the same place.  So theoretically, I have to relearn listening to my body.  Dieting teaches you NOT to listen to your body when it is hungry or full, so you have to retrain yourself.  It's scary, but I'm very excited.  I'm still struggling to not "eat my loneliness" but I know I will eventually get there.


Lyrics:

I just want to trust myself after years of being told that I don’t know what I’m talking about, but in hindsight, why did I even listen to those people who don’t even matter, I bet if you asked anyone else what you should do, most people would want you to believe in yourself, so how is it that I want to believe things that work against me when I know I can be  gentle with myself?


I know.



Audio works licensed by author under:
CC Attribution Noncommercial Share Alike (BY-NC-SA)

Drums sounds great man. I really like those "acoustic" songs. Bass sits well in my opinion.

I should lose some weight, I think I did take maybe 10-15 pounds since the beginning of this year because I used to do 30km biking every day to commute to work and now I work from home... And I love to eat too much. Plus some stress... Boring stuff.

Thanks for the great song this week.

the recording sounds great! drums, guitar, vocals -- oh, a tamborine, too!!

happy anniversary, I'm a bit behind you, only at the one year mark, but the spousal patience is real big_smile

A really good indie classic rock song. I like that output that comes from your inner force from time to time.
Very well done. Best wishes from me to your husband and you. Stay healthy and happy.

great lyrics. the drums sound excellent. those ATS panels seem to have made a difference.

happy anniversary!

Nice man, the drums came out great for only using one mic.  I've never recorded and acoustic drum kit, but I'd totally be down for the one mic thing.  The thought of trying to mix like 10 different mics and worry about phase issues gives me anxiety.  Awesome vocals on this too man, you're voice reminds me of someone but I cant put my finger on it. 

djippy wrote:

Drums sounds great man. I really like those "acoustic" songs. Bass sits well in my opinion.

I should lose some weight, I think I did take maybe 10-15 pounds since the beginning of this year because I used to do 30km biking every day to commute to work and now I work from home... And I love to eat too much. Plus some stress... Boring stuff.

Thanks for the great song this week.

I guess who hasn't been stress-eating during these times?  All the more reason to take it easy on ourselves.  Thanks for the compliments on the drums, I love your drums too!!  That's great that you were biking everyday....I used to as well, before I moved!

codydjango wrote:

the recording sounds great! drums, guitar, vocals -- oh, a tamborine, too!!

happy anniversary, I'm a bit behind you, only at the one year mark, but the spousal patience is real big_smile

shout out to the one year mark!!!  tell your spouse I said hi.  Thanks for the kind words on the recording and YES the tambourine!  surprise tambo at the end is one of my favorite things to do smile

Q-Rosh wrote:

A really good indie classic rock song. I like that output that comes from your inner force from time to time.
Very well done. Best wishes from me to your husband and you. Stay healthy and happy.

Thanks, this song came straight from the heart out onto the page.  Health and happiness to you too! heart

zirafa wrote:

great lyrics. the drums sound excellent. those ATS panels seem to have made a difference.

happy anniversary!

Thanks, really did the "journal entry" thing as I'm known to do.  Thanks so much for your support on the panels.  I don't know why I have panic attacks about purchasing drum equipment, but I'm glad to have you as my "Drum Therapist!"

Me: "I have this reoccurring nightmare where I drop my sticks and then play the beat in 3/4 when the song is actually 4/4"
zirafa: "Looks like we're going to bump up your prescription to 50mg of FLAM a day."

Chrisfoo wrote:

Nice man, the drums came out great for only using one mic.  I've never recorded and acoustic drum kit, but I'd totally be down for the one mic thing.  The thought of trying to mix like 10 different mics and worry about phase issues gives me anxiety.  Awesome vocals on this too man, you're voice reminds me of someone but I cant put my finger on it.

Thanks!  You are exactly right about the phase anxiety.  I had this one session where I was trying to line the kick mic, because the over head got the sound of the initial hit, but the kick mic got this slightly late WOOMP of air, and it was then I knew I did not have the patience for multiple mics smile  zirafa has taught me about playing "to" the microphone - and adjusting your hits so everything mixes in the air.  but then of course, your room tone has got to sound good.  Thanks so much for the vocal remarks!  I have singing anxiety at times, and it's great to get a confidence boost from the WB homies.  Especially on this song, I haven't sung in months and didn't do warmup exercises, so I felt super rusty.

Devieus always says I have a grunge voice so hopefully you thought of Kurt Cobain or Layne Staley smile



heart HEY LOOK EVERYBODY I RESPONDED TO COMMENTS FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE heart

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!


Love the opening guitar sound.  Kinda took me back to Foo Fighters' first album.  The bass sounds great in the mix too.  The vocal harmonies toward the end are the icing on the anniversary cake!  Congrats to you and your husband!! 

The drums sound is good, organic drum sound is the best! The guitar as always has a nice tone and cool melodies. I like the vocals on this track.

Happy wedding anniversary!

Back to your Grunge ways, I see. Yea, it's definitely not too far away from Kurt.

A diet isn't something you suffer, it's something you incorporate.

Good one. Nice recording, cool that you got the space going, but that feels good. Love the lyrics and vocals. Organic drums are good! Happy anniversary! For sure cheers to the spouses and partners and fams for the support, crucial!

The single sentence vocal keeps building in intensity along with the instrumentation building in energy and anxiety. The bridge and guitars breaks in time for that sweet vocal refrain at the end and the song takes off like a hot air balloon! Great tone on the guitars and drums. You get a lot out of that single mic!

Instant classic!

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