3-24-10, Well I guess I will take a shot at this one next. The tune has a really cool bluesy Mardi Gras vibe, and the lyrics are excellent (voodoo, crystal balls, lucky charm's, etc) ! The song structure is a bit odd in that it only contains 2 main parts and 4 verses with no chorus ! I am very anxious to see how it turns out ! The guitar parts are very catchy. If I get everything right, the people of New Orleans are going to love me. My birthday is coming up in one week. If all goes well I will have the drums recorded by then. My goal for April is to finish 3 songs ("Same Old Troubles", "Doppelganger Blues" and Where's The Sun" (a trio of folklore songs). This would give me a total of 10 songs with just 3 more left to do. Even with a slow month of March, I am still ahead of schedule !
3-24-10, I visited my dentist today and finally got my permanent bridge put in. It's such a relief to have that finished. I'm going to have to have another one done on the same tooth on the other side of my mouth, but that will have to wait until this one is paid off. I'm going to mess around with some drum lines before I go to bed. May the mystics guide me on my way !
3-26-10 (3:00 a.m.) ... I did it ! The drum line is worked out and it is absolutely perfect. I will probably record it sometime tomorrow. Believe it or not, I actually used tom tom's in this one. "Same Old Troubles" is going to be a very unique, fun and danceable song. I will even go out on a limb and say that I think it has the potential to be hit. The acoustic guitar is going to be finger plucked throughout, there are no chords (another first for me). (11:00 p.m.) I got the drums recorded. I think everything will be alright. I've been spending the last 1 1/2 hrs figuring out what key the song is in. It looks like the main groove part is in G, C and D Major Blues. The verses are in C Major. There is also a regular C Blues reference in the groove part (2nd half of C Major Blues part) and also in the section right before verse 1, and after verse 3.
3-27-10, Rolling right along ... the bass track is finished ! I am really happy with how it turned out. Actually, for lack of a better word, I'd have to say that parts of it are a bit funky. An interesting aside ... I used a Rick Nielsen pick that I got at a Cheap Trick show about 10 years ago (he threw out a bunch of them at the end of their show).
3-28-10, You ever have one of those days where you just want to take your guitar and smash it through a fu@king wall ! Well that's me today. Trying like hell to get the acoustic recorded, but it just isn't working out. I decided to put it aside and walk away for a while. I already have the part worked out, it's just a matter of getting my fingers to cooperate after I hit record. Sometimes being a perfectionist is a pain in the ass !
3-29-10, Thank you Officer Friendly ... I got a $256 speeding ticket today. What ever happened to being issued a warning ? Oh well, I'll survive !
3-30-10, I'm going to wait until after my BD to lay down the guitar track, because I am musically burned out. Sometimes I get ahead of myself and press too hard to get things done quickly. That seems to be the case with the guitar track for this tune. I did a great job getting the drum and bass tracks recorded, now I need to just sit back and relax for a few days.
4-1-10, I had an excellent Birthday ! My family and friends all rock !
4-2-10, I worked on a trumpet/trombone track today. I still have to fine tune a few things, but all in all the track is awesome. It added a bit of a New Orleans Jazz flavoring to the tune. I am still considering doing another track, or 2, with either a piano, banjo, or glockenspiel. So far 6 tracks are already spoken for (2 drums, bass, trumpet/trombone, guitar and vocals). The way I'm going now, the final guitar track will be one of the last ones I record ... go figure ?
4-3-10, I had a good recording day. I got the trumpet/trombone track finished. I also recorded 2 other tracks. On the first track I used an effect called Hollow Release, which worked well as a mellower version of the Glockenspiel (it also has an eerie chanting effect). The other track I recorded was a Tango Accordion. I played around with a ton of different tones, but the accordion won out. All that is left now is the guitar track, which will have a Touch Wah effect. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would write a song that featured trumpet, trombone and accordion tracks. Nope ... I didn't see that one coming.
4-4-10, Yes ... I did it ! The guitar turned out excellent ! I cleaned up all the tracks, protected the song and backed up the data. I am very happy with how this tune turned out. I did a good job of capturing the New Orleans vibe. This song could very well end up being a hit ! It is an absolute wall of sound. Starting out, I was worried because the tune only had 4 verses and no chorus. Well, that's not going to matter anymore. The song rocks just fine the way it is !
5-13-10, Things are going real well with the studio, and I am in a zone. I think this song will be the next one that I work on. I will probably wait a couple more days until Friday. Vocals are just too grueling to do on back to back days. This will be the 9th song (out of 12) that I will work on. The other 3 are "Doppelganger Blues", "Where's The Sun" and "Won't Be Home Again". This tune shouldn't be all that difficult, since there are only 4 verses to deal with. If I get it right, this song will be a hit !
5-15-10, I ended up redoing "Best Days Of Your Life" and "Doppelganger Blues". I only have 3 left to work on, this one "Where's The Sun" and "Won't Be Home Again". This song is definitely the next one on my hit list. I should have all 3 of them done within a week, or so.
5-18-10 (3:45 a.m.) It's a hit ! Another hot grueling session at the studio. The results are excellent ! The trick to the vocals on this tune was to capture the right approach, which I did. There aren't a whole lot of songs out there that can carry their own without a chorus, well ... this one does. I am very proud of this song. I think it will earn me a lot of respect and credibility. This gives me 10 songs completed with vocals (2 may still have to be redone). I only have "Won't Be Home Again" and "Where's The Sun" left to work on. (3:00 p.m.) I listened back to the vocal track and everything is good to go. I did a very good job ! I cleaned the track, saved/protected the song and backed up the data.
UPDATE (2-16-14): When it comes to Foxman Music, there is no song that is bigger than "Same Old Troubles". This song has become a massive hit with everyone who has heard it. Do to its popularity it appears on both my "Crazy Like A Fox" and "Folklore & Superstitions" Cd's. All songs from my "Crazy Like A Fox" Cd can be heard in their entirety through the tune player below. Please make sure to also check out my home website at: www.foxmanmusic.com
About Me
- Foxman Music
- Tampa Bay, Florida, United States
- My name is Brian Fox (aka Foxman) & I am an Independent artist, songwriter, photographer & actor from the Tampa Bay area. In 2001, I founded Foxman Music & began writing/releasing my own albums. I currently have 6 albums to my credit & am working on the 7th, titled 'Hit List'. I am best known for being a creative writer & a witty lyricist who employs a bit of a Hollywood approach, which means that I don't always write through my own eyes. I'm the primary musician (bass, guitars, keys and percussion) and vocalist on all of my releases. Outside of the music, I'm a semi-accomplished artist and I've also had background acting roles in 2 Netflix movies (Bloodline & The Last Thing He Wanted).