"Best Days Of Your Life"

Alright, so here we go ! Originally this song was going to be called "Pack Of Luckies", then "Criminal" and now "Best Days Of Your Life". I came up with the song idea about 4 months ago, so the lyrics and rhythm guitar are already worked out. The style is going to be somewhere between Punk and Rockabilly. I am very excited about this tune !! I really think that it has the potential to be a hit. The lyrics are nostalgic and it has a very catchy chorus.

2-1-10, I've got the drums ready to roll. I will probably start recording them tomorrow night. I have a dental appointment in the morning (bridge work), which has me feeling a bit nervous ... dental work sucks ! It's definitely a good thing that I'm getting it out of the way before I do my vocals, the fewer distractions the better.

2-2-10, Ouch !!! I survived the dentist, but I sure am sore. Unfortunately this isn't the worst dilemma of the day. I tried to save my digital recorder data last night and encountered a lot of trouble. To cut to the quick, I had to backup all my songs to my PC. The CD-RW I was originally trying to save the data to was faulty, causing the HDD to back up. I was forced to unplug the recorder, which is definitely not recommended. I am currently doing a surface scan on the BR-1600, and I am hopeful that I will be able to reload the data saved on the PC back to the recorder with no problems. As a worse case scenario, I will have to re-record the first 3 songs. I've got my fingers crossed that won't be the scenario !! Nothing like on the job training !

2-3-10, Whew !!! I did it ... everything is alright ! I finally got the data loaded back into the BR 1600 from my PC. The only casualty of the whole ordeal was my "Won't Be Home Again" song. I am currently using a good CD-RW to backup my songs. The lesson learned is to backup song data often, you never know what might happen. Now where was I ? Oh yeah ... the drums for "Criminal" are ready to roll, and I WILL record them tonight !!!

2-5-10, The drums and bass are finished !! I went out and bought some new Ernie Ball strings (45,65,80,100) for my bass guitar. It was absolutely vital to get a nice punchy bass tone ... the results are awesome !

2-7-10, I had an awesome lead guitar session last night ! I didn't know I had it in me !! I came up with a really cool rhythm lead for the intro and solo section. I also found a catchy lead part for the choruses. I still need to work out the verses, but that will be a bit easier once I lay down a scratch vocal track. The last thing left to do is the acoustic guitar, and maybe some background effects. The acoustic is pretty much a straight forward strum. The rhythm section and lead guitar rock, so I need the acoustic to hold it all together. This is a 5 minute song, with no breaks, so it won't be easy. I'm anxious to get back to the tune, but it will have to wait until the Superbowl is over(10-6, Colts over the Saints at halftime).

* The Saints had their lucky New Orleans voodoo working, because Manning threw a late game interception just like Favre 2 weeks ago. (Saints won 31-17)

2-9-10, Well that should be it !!! After 2 days of failed attempts, I finally got the acoustic recorded. I also finished the rest of the lead work. I have a real good feeling about this song. The R'Billy Crunch effect I used on the lead guitar worked perfectly. The song is very upbeat and rocks from start to finish. If everything goes well with the vocals, it could very well end up being a hit.

* I had kind of a surreal experience while working on this song. While I was laying down the lead guitar, I looked out the window from my 2nd floor apartment and happened to notice the mailman pulling up. Of course the poor fellow was in a mad rush and looked really stressed out. I'm very happy that my life no longer revolves around that suffocating stress pit of a job.

5-6-10, I just got my storage/studio unit 2 days ago (see "Miscellaneous" post). I finished "Coming For You" and "Downtown" on the first night. I am a little bit burned out right now (Cinco de Mayo) yesterday, and my voice is still hoarse. I am excited about doing the vocals on this tune and I have been driving around singing it in my jeep. When the voice gets back to normal, this will the next song I work on. If I get it right, this song will be a hit ! The lead guitar is so freakin' cool. I am actually bending some of the notes up out of key, but it's alright because it rocks !

5-7-10, I couldn't wait any longer. I spent a hot grueling night working out the vocals for this tune. It was an exhausting experience, but well worth the effort. Everything turned out very well. The only thing I may have to redo is the first 2 lines of the song. Other than that, the rest should be alright. I'll use the monitors tomorrow (today, its 5:00 a.m.) and see how it sounds outside of the headphones.

5-8-10, The majority of the song sounds really good. I am going to have to redo some parts of the first verse, though. I had also recorded backup vocals for the chorus on two other tracks. I have decided that I am going to redo at least one of them, using my other microphone (maybe with some effects). This should make the chorus sound bigger (using the same mic, and settings, just doesn't work well). For the last 3 songs "Coming For You", "Downtown" and this one I have been using the C3000 with no effects. It worked out well for these 3 songs, I just don't want to become predictable. I listened back to "Sweet Adelaide" today and the vocal effect and laid back approach were perfect (very eerie). I like for each song to be unique and have its own sound. If I get in the habit of using the same vocal approach with each one I will lose that edge. One other thing that I am aware of right now is that I don't want to get in a hurry. I have to fight my Aries urge to do everything quickly. It worked out fine with the music, but things are different now. This is the best vocal opportunity I have ever had, so I might as well take full advantage of the situation ... and get it right ! If that means doubling back and fine tuning things, then so be it. If I don't get things to where they are acceptable now, it will drive me crazy forever.

5-9-10, I made it to the storage/studio tonight but I didn't get a chance to work on this tune. I ended up working on "Horrible End" instead. It was an awesome session, and I am proud to say that song should be finished ! At some point I will get back to this tune. (later in the day) I am actual contemplating redoing all the vocals. There's something that's just not hitting me right (it needs a vocal effect/delay). I have the 2 tracks that I used for backups. I will probably redo the entire lead vocal track using one of them, that way I can still keep this track preserved (just in case I decide that I like it). My brother Tim, suggested that I need vocals in the chorus background that don't sound like me. The BR 1600 does have a vocal tool box for vocal accompaniments. I'll have to spend a little time reading the owners manual. There are so many more options with the BR 1600, than the BR 8. I usually go into things head first and learn as I go. This would probably a good time to change that approach a bit. I want to get it right !

5-11-10, I am ecstatic ! The BR 1600 has so many vocal tools available. I'm not going to give away all my secrets, but I will so I was able to fix the track. I still need to do a backup track for the chorus. There are some real cool harmony effects in the recorder. It will be a lot of fun to experiment with them.

5-15-10 (5:00 a.m.) What else can I say ... I am a perfectionist. I ended up redoing the vocals for this song tonight and everything went very well. I know it has the potential to be a hit so I wanted to to give it one more shot. I used a bit more of a mid range voice for the vocals. On my prior tracks I was trying to yell it out too much. While driving around in my jeep, I would often sing this song using a mid range voice and it sounded great. So, I decided to bring that approach to the studio. I'll have to listen back to it tomorrow to see how it turned out. After I finished working on this song, I also laid down the lead vocals for "Doppelganger Blues". It was another awesome night at the studio !

5-16-10, I find myself being so fickle with this tune. I now have 3 tracks with lead vocals. Ultimately 1 or 2 of them will be used for chorus backups. I cleaned the track, saved/protected the song and backed up the data. I decided to put the song aside until I finish the last 3. Then I will listen back to all of them through the monitors and decide which, if any, need to be redone. I am also eying "Coming For You" as a possible redo. Then again, I may be over thinking everything and they will both be alright as is. We'll see ....

6-20-10, This is one of the 2 songs that I am considering redoing the lead vocals for ("Coming For You" is the other). I know this tune has the potential to be hit and I want to get it right. My past efforts have been pretty good, but I am positive I can do it better. I am going to try using the small AKG mic instead of the C3000. I will also try using some different vocal effects. I just got done recording the lead vocals for "Wilderness Of Mirrors", which was my last song. I have the storage unit rented for 2 more weeks, so I have more than enough time to spend on this tune.

6-25-10 (2:30 a.m.) This song is a hit !!! I just got home from redoing the lead vocals. As far as studio vocal sessions go, this is an early return for me. Everything went perfectly ! I did use the small AKG mic, and the results were excellent. I needed to get a bit of a laid back, yet upbeat, approach to make it happen ... and I did. The funny part about the song is that the lead guitar actually bends up out of key. The out of key notes are intentional and they give the tune its upbeat character. Still ... it was a bit challenging. I am not an accomplished vocalist, so my tendency was to bend up with the lead guitar. To get it right I ended turning down the Lead guitar and concentrating on the acoustic and bass. I am ecstatic right now ! I knew this song had a ton of potential if I did it right. For me, it was a make or break moment for the Cd. Nothing against the other songs, I just knew that this one needed to happen to make it all work. YES !!!!! (4:30 p.m.) Yes !! It is a hit !!! I cleaned up the track, saved/protected the song and backed up the data. I am so happy that I went back and redid the vocals for this song. It might end up being a historical moment.

UPDATE (2-16-14): All of the songs from my "Crazy Like A Fox" Cd can be heard in their entirety through the tune player below. Please make sure to also visit my home website at: www.foxmanmusic.com 

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