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Thanks for your review of Guitar on the Open Road. It was originally just an instrumental I wanted to pitch for some commercials. I will check out some of your stuff soon. Best - Mitchell P
Well, spank you very much!!!
Thanks! We try to not get a blister... sometimes.
Hey Robert, thanks for the incredible review on Dress. It is so nice to get a review with actual feedback in it rather than just some scores. I have been working on remixing this one here and there - I thought it was bit muddy to begin with. Will definitely take your notes to heart, and ears hopefully. All the best to you! - Mitchell P
My pleasure, Mitchell. I agree, there's not much point in reviews without feedback. Most the reviews I do end up with the "Constructive" comments box being about twice as full as the "Positive" comments box, but in the case of your song I didn't hear a lot that could be better, from my perspective. One thing I mentioned in the review and in a comment on your page about a month ago, that I think is really important: I notice that you guys really seem to "feel" it and get so deep in the groove that it takes it all to another level. That's rare.
Hello and thanks for your review of Ezy Money. Best of Luck to you guys - Mitchell P
Great song...
Great 'spankin' stuff
Bite me is a really cool song - I have one with a similar theme which is currently in production - but really like yours. Ad
Thanks much, and let me know when you get your tune tweaked and up on your page. Happy to give a listen. Perhaps we can start an inappropriately funny playlist.
Will do, like the idea ;o)
Dear BSM, thanks for your review of Downtime. You should have heard it before I produced it! It sounded like really C movie quality cop music. At one time I had produced a more FOTF dance beat, but we changed it again, this time to real drums. I thought it made it sound more 80's again too. But that is that song, so leave it at that. I might talk to Lucius about doing another mix with the dance beat back in, because it did sound more modern. Cheers - Mitchell P
Thaenks for your more than gracious review and comments on "Stay With Me",they are very appreciated.By the way,"Bite Me"..kickin' tune!! all the best, D-day
Thanks for the review of May As Well Be Me. I see you in the top 10 rock with a great song btw. Thanks so much for your time and thoughts!
Thanks to you as well. You have a great sound. Love the Album cover too.
Thank you kindly. Wishing you a kick-ass weekend.
Laurence, I love your sound man! Very Cool stuff! Thanks for all you recent reviews of my stuff (Flavor Spanks and Douglas/Parsons). I apologize for not thanking you sooner. Had a baby girl two months ago which has slowed down my Broadjam traffic. Keep it coming! Mitchell P
Hey Mitchell, Big big congratulations..... ! Your music totally rocks.....absolutely awesome. Inspiring us all to be better ! Keep it turned on.... Cheers Laurence
Robert, thanks for you review of 30K. Our friend Jean who sang that song has agoraphobia (or aerophobia). She really has a fear of flying. I will be sure to pass on your comments. I like how you do your reviews. Thanks for connecting. I really like your stuff. I love guitar instrumental stuff, and you sure go mental with your jams! Best - Mitchell P
My pleasure. Jean did a truly great vocal on that song. Really liked her singing on "Dress" also. I listened to several of your tunes; which demonstrated just how well you have it all covered. Great concepts, themes, lyrics, performance and production. And maybe most importantly, you seriously know how to find the groove where that magic really happens.
Bite Me rocks!!! Have you guys ever heard the (defunct) band Jellyfish? This sounds like them a bit. And of course Ben Folds comparison is very apt (but yours is more sophisticated ala Steely Dan).
Thanks Jeff! I have heard of them and they were pretty fun. Some others have compared it to XTC, which I think was an influence on Jellyfish. Thanks for the props!
DearTanya, Thanks for the amazing review of Jamey Buddy. It is a name that means little to the lyrics other than our friend Jamey who used to try and play bass with us. He tried to play something one night that was so far off from what he had intended, but it helped me come up with this guitar riff while I was just jamming over his mistakes, so we left the name in his honor. I played the bass on this one though :-) Still, I was thinking about re-mixing it. Now tell me who shredded that guitar solo on Angels! That is talent! Best - Mitchell P
Hey there Flavor Spanks! I loved that story! I guess this is how the best songs are born..from an unexpected jam, mistake or just a good guitar riff ;) I love the fact when musicians do collaborate together & their talents come together & they honor each other too, very noble! Mario Agostine would be the guitar player in my band, thank you for your kind comment I will tell him that. He also has his own instrumentals on his FB page & You Tube! I really wish you the best with your music, that song James Buddy rocks! \m/on!
Hi Janet, Thanks for doing a review of If You Want Me To. It was a song I did with my recording mentor Lee Douglas before he died of Cancer. It is not really a Flavor Spanks song, but because I am playing a lot of the the instruments on it and own half the rights I keep it up as a memento to Lee. I noticed you are a Gospel musician. I have one Faith inspired song up on my page that is a solo effort called Believe Somehow. It is very raw and not finished... I want to change the opening line, but it might be a bit more up your alley for lyrical content. If you have some time let me know if you think it holds up in the Contemporary Christian market. i know it needs some better production, so I guess I am asking for a songwriter perspective. Best of Luck with your tunes - I have been spinning them in the background while reading your reviewMaybe I'll Write a Song was easy to pick up with as a listener. it has a nice "reminds me of home" feel to it. Peace!
HAAA! This is too funny! Thanks for the review on Guitars on the Open Road. Technically I wrote it as a solo effort to pitch for some car and motorcycle licensing opportunities on Broadjam. I appreciate your insight into the mix. I wish I understood Eq-ing a bit more, but I have a sophomore ear at this point. If you come up with a melody and want to sing on it let me know. I have never been able to come up with anything that moved me or flowed well for this one, possibly because it started out instrumental. Curious if you had heard this one previously when visiting my profile too. Thanks for a great review with much more detail. Best to you and ELH. - Mitchell P
Haha, man you know what was funny is I knew i had heard this song somewhere before, but i couldn't think of it until your name popped up after. I got a good chuckle out of that myself, man. Also, I have been spending even more time on reviews since your (let's just refer to it as 'The Outburst,' haha) so in hindsight, thanks for that, too. Good tune, man. Also i think i liked this mix much more because of the lack of vocals. Your instrumentals flow well together in this mix, but as you know, vocals are harder to incorporate. Ah well, keep chipping at it, man! Glad i could get another review your way.
Yes, I have those once in a while. Let's hope this is the only Outburst of 2012! Life is too short, and the world is coming to an end in December anyway.
Arthur, please tell me how you recorded those gorgeous string sounds on Allegro Moderato! Sounds fantastic man! Very visual listening. Is that a group? Vienna Instruments? I am struggling to ever get anything to sounds that nice. Great job!
No Vienna Instruments here; sorry to say it's real people (!) and there is a bit of a story behind it. It's surprisingly difficult to find musicians in Boston! Write to me at incrediblygoodmusic@gmail.com and I'd be happy to tell you what happened.
http://www.broadjam.com/player/player.php?play_files=582847,582846,582845,582844 1
Hi, Thanks for you outstanding review of "Desolation", agree with your comments and grateful for the excellent feedback. Thanks Tommy
Just want to say it feels wicked good to make the top 10 here in my home state! Maybe I'll have some lobsta to celebrate . . .
Thank you for connecting with us Arthur! We are trying to get more stuff recorded, but it is a process when you already work more than 2 jobs. Congratulations on your Top Ten! Looking forward to checking out your stuff later tonight after I am done teaching - Mitchell P
Dear Jeff, Thank you for your excellent review of Downtime. I am proud to have musicians of your caliber give us a nod. I love your tracks. Radiation Mountain is such a cool groove. All the best The Flavor Spanks - Mitchell P
Dear Roy, Broadjam staff and community, We just want to say thank you for helping us reach the #1 spot on Broadjam Earth. It is an honor to be recognized amongst such real musicians. Cheers to you all and best of luck with your music! Sincerely, The Flavor Spanks - Mitchell P
Hey Mitchell, sorry you took the review so personal. I would never even think about giving a song a percentage (62% = F?). I guess I just don't think that way and I didn't think that was a crappy review. Jeez, now I think if i went through my song reviews, I'd have some F's myself (killing my self-esteem here man!). But I don't know why you think 3's are bad? It's not a 1. I think of 3 as an average score.Maybe I'm a harder reviewer than I thought? The only 2 was on the recording, which I mentioned in the comments. I didn't leave any constructive comments because I didn't have any technical advice on how to improve the recording. I felt there was nothing wrong with the rest of the song, it just didn't float my boat. I complimented the arrangement because i thought it was the nicest part of the song, but I still labeled it as a 3. Who knows, maybe someone else thinks it's a 5? It's just my lowly opinion on one song. Don't be so hard on yourself. I DO NOT think it's a bad song. Well anyway, good luck with everything and I hope you don't take this one review as a knock, because it wasn't. Rock on! :)
Cool, understood. Sometimes I am too mathematical. I think your production sounds great though. What rig did you use to record? I am learning this stuff somewhat on my own. Been running on fumes a bit too much lately and read your review minus some sleep, so my bad. You did give me a great wake up call to re-mix some of those songs with my "newer" ears. I think having good production in today's world makes all the difference. Did you mix all that stuff yourself? I noticed you were on all the production credits on your songs that I checked out. Nice job
Hey Mitchell, no problem man. You're totally right and it kind of sucks that really good production is necessary in today's market (some a bit overproduced if you ask me!). And sometimes people can't see past the production to actually hear the guts of the song, which I may have even been guilty of here. We had messed around w/ Logic, but Pro Tools is still our go-to. My co-writer does a lot of the hands on mixing and like you, I've been trying to learn more from him as we go! But anyway, glad we could straighten this out man. That's cool.
I am using Pro tools as well. Just an 003, but I recorded a lot of that stuff with an Mbox. Your co-writer knows his EQ and Compression. I hope I can get that good soon. I am going to work on some of those older mixes and see if I can clean them up. If you don't mind I would love to get your second ear to it to see if it improves your perception whne i get time to finish and re-upload. Those songs are an older version of our group where we were partnering with a friend named Jean, but she is no longer with us. The Flavor Spanks is now myself and my co-writer and singer Lucius Stone. If you haven't heard it, check out our song Bite Me. It has a lot less instruments to fit in, and I did all the engineering rather than letting them record some stuff at their houses, like Serene. There are less parts so it was easier to mix together. It is #1 on Broadjam Earth right now. Again, sorry for the blow up. Your review has helped me. My wife and I just had a baby a few weeks ago and I am sometimes a bit cranky! Peace and Best of Luck - Mitchell P
Hell yeah man, I'd love to hear the new mixes! I actually have listened to "Bite Me" - that's a fun jam and it sounds like it fits on a TV show or something. When I think of what show it reminds me of, I'll let you know. "Bite Me - You suck a lot" ha, that was a pretty hilarious line once I figured out that's what was being said. My fave after listening to these though is probably "Downtime." I'd say lyrically I connect, but the music for that is the $#!* man. I'm not just saying that either - the instrumentation and arrangement for that is a 5 IMO. I should've reviewed that song and then we could have avoided this mess!!! ha :P Congrats on the baby btw!
Dear Jeff, The Weatherman was my first review on Broadjam. I was just a rookie. Looking back I should have given this song much higher ratings. My apologies. I don't know if i was in a bad mood that day, but I listened to it again and it is a very cool song. It has a sound like the Shins. If it is any consolation, I rated it 5 stars on the player. Best, Mitchell P
Dude...amazing return to old business. Man there are lots of reviews I've done that later I thought "Wow I really undersold that one." I'm so flattered that you listened again, and saying that it's like The Shins??? I could go a month on that high. Thanks Mitchell
Hey Mitchell, thanks for a stellar review(and the first) of 'Stealing Innocence'. I know exactly what you mean on the ending. I have some other alternate endings with harmonies but i'm away from the studio for awhile. I'm at that mode where i'm trying to do the best I can getting out my song ideas at my current skill level before I die. I know deep down that when I put something out, i'll have to eventually come back and do a more professional presentation of it. 80's style metal ballads will never die as long as i'm alive. I put a little more info on the song that you normally wouldn't see in a review to try and explain what I was doing. Mobile is cool, but I can't deal with the humidity. Dude, i'll go apeshit wild. I went through the next day after Katrina. I was a little further down the road at Bay St. John. I'll never forget that shit. Anyways, thank you and stay inland! Mike
Wow Roy, thanks for the wonderful review. We are working to add more songs of this nature soon. That is my friend Lucius singing and playing piano, and he is a natural. We have been working together the past couple years to come up with these songs, and it is my first stab at being the producer and engineer on a project. I have been very doubtful of my skills, and have often wanted to just hang it up, but I kept at it. Having Broadjam has really helped me keep going. There are a lot of different things on the site now. I originally started the site as my own, but have recently decided it should be about my most recent project, the Flavor Spanks! If you checked out any of the other material it could have been just myself, or a number of other projects I have done since joining Broadjam in 2006. I have been sharing my pursuits with other musicians in the Atlanta area and hope to increase your numbers soon! Best and thanks for all that you do!
Thanks for your thoughts....Your stuff is very good and keep at it. If this is one of your first production projects, you definitely have a future in it. This is great work! Keep me posted on your new stuff.....Best, Roy
Dear Roy, I like the new layout! Nice job! Would you ind listening to my song Bite Me and let me know your thoughts? Thanks!
TFS, Thanks for your nice comment. More improvements are on their way....Here is my review of Bite Me. One of the most interesting songs I've heard in a while. Obviously, the writer is pissed off at a friend and has decided to vent in song. A great groove with lots of breaks, this is very hard to do so hats off to the arranger of this. Great work. When I first heard this it reminded of an 80s sitcom. After I listened closely a few times, my opinion changed. This is one of the best written songs and best productions I have heard in a while. Great harmonies at 1:26, 2:21 and numerous places throughout the song. Instrumentation is excellent, especially the drum work. Little things like the keyboard slide at 1:20 are well done. The mix is near perfect. Vocal phrasing and pitch are right on. Little things like stretching to his falsetto at 19 seconds for just a second or two and going a little nasally at 29 seconds make this very unique. Lots of quirky innate feeling went into this vocal performance. My guess is this singer has done a lot of recording. If he hasn't, he is a natural. From a lyric perspective, it's to the point. "Bite me, you suck a lot" is the hook and they clearly have nailed it. Every line in the verses support the hook and overall it's a pretty good lyric. If I have to be critical at all, I would say the lines in the chorus(after the first one) aren't quite as strong as the verses. Maybe slight tweaking here, but no major changes are necessary because the first line of the chorus really carries it. Although there are no offensive words in the lyric, I'm not sure it will get radio play because of the nature...but I'm not sure the writer cares. I could go on and on about this. But simply, it's well written, with a great arrangement, excellent instrumentation and a near perfect mix. There is not much more to say other than I will listen to your entire list this afternoon. I know you've been on Bjam for awhile, thanks so much for being a member. http://www.broadjam.com/player/player.php?artistID=67506 1
Roy, when will the winners of the June 12' songwriter of the month contest be announced?
Hey Patrick - thanks for the heads up, the winner wasn't showing up but it's there now if you want to check the winners page again.
Dear Mitchell,Hey thanks for the review on" Wanna Be Like That", I also love" Bite Me" great tune. Who is Sheryl Crow? It's a nice change to see the Humor in your Bios,well done .After all, all we want to do is have some fun. Thanks again Tom Curious Grace
HAHAH! Thanks for checking out Bite Me as well. My musical partner Lucius and I love some comic wit to one's lyrics. Love your song man! If you check out the pictures to the bios you will find that our bass player and drummer are just myself with awful Photoshop hair and mustaches, hence the bios. Looking forward to checking out some more of your tunes, but for now off to work. All the best to you and something about Mary, who has a nice voice.
BTW, I dig Ghost in the City... it reminds me of Traffic, who I love. One thing, I noticed it ends abruptly on the fade out. Need to tail that out a bit longer for my tastes. Best of Luck!
Hi Mitchel, Thanks for the compliment, agree about the ending. Always mean to back and fix it but never seem to get there, just lazy I guess! Tommy
Hi Tommy, thanks for your review of Afterbite. If you have any suggestions for the mix I gladly welcome them. I had a lot of trouble with this one and do plan to update the mix a bit. Cheers! - Mitchell P
Hi Mitchell, I'm no expert by any means and it's just my opinion, there are plenty of guys on this site who can give you better advice than me if you need it. Best of luck with your music. Tommy