A Cover of DAKOTA- Please critique my performance

[gjm]

I have been asked to do a regular outdoor gig at a weekly market. Its been 12 years since I have performed and I have been spending time over the past few weeks breaking out my vocals and building a proposed set list. The gig is just a covers one (probably shit music for most of you), playing stuff that people know to help with the atmosphere. I need to play 5x 45-50 min sets, with some repeats acceptable. It will at first be just me and my guitar, but I will eventually bring Live into it with simple and uncluttered backing tracks.

I have made a simple recording of just me singing and playing guitar to get some feed back NOT on my recording skills because they are pretty poor, but on the current state of my performance skills. I made 3 tracks, two guitar (one panned left and one panned right) and 1 vocal. I did one pass for each. No editing. I wanted it to be as accurate as possible to being in a Live setting. This is how I would sound if you came to the market, bought a coffee and a piece of pie and sat for a while to listen. The vocals are a bit pitchy, I am having to brush away a lot of cobwebs, and the guitar is well, just my old Yamaha.

First question is, is it passable as a public performance?

Second question, how do I get Live more involved with the performance? Setting myself up to play solo with simple and tasteful backing is my quest.

All constructive comments and recommendations are welcome.

Cheers. Greg.

http://soundcloud.com/gjm/dakota


Edit: Link Fixed.

[kristoffer1989]

sounds good. the voice is sometimes a bit to hard i think but other than that cool.

imo be careful how you use live. don't make your performance to karaoke if you get me?

[ikeaboy]

Hi Man. Yeah totally get back into it no bullshit. I hate the stereophonics btw ha ha but you've a nice whiskey/tobacco stained voice although personally i think you could give it a bit less welly. The 'feel like the one' part was a bit too hard, I bet you're voice would be fine without the passion turned up to 11. Just observations from somebody who's not even into that style at all i.e. quiet similar to joe puplic. Guitar playing did the job I can't comment really there except I thought it was grand. Why not get looper going and build your backing tracks live? I bet you could do it your using this stuff long enough, maybe a litle research and practise. A footpedal and Live and you've got a whole 'Ooooo look what hes doing' factor going on that'll elevate you above the backing track crowd. Instead of drums hammer out the rythm on the guitar body- Loop move onto the rythm section on do a bass part then run it down an octave on the clip pitch or with frequency shifter using a controller. Just some morning coffee ideas

[gjm]

Thanks, and yes, vox is rough. I am having to pay attention to things long forgotten from vocal teachers. I tried too hard as well I think. But I just wanted to do one cut and leave it at that. And THATS the exact type of feed back I need. Being out of it for so long I have forgotten how to relax. First impressions are huge. A few more weeks and I think I will get some better level of control.

Yeah, steriophonics... I am having to amass all sorts of songs like that for this opportunity.

With the guitar, my main concern is jumping into such a long gig from nothing. I might need a click track or strobe or something. I have run through a dozen of the other tunes and I am starting to fast or slow on alot of them. I might invest in some in ear gear and feed some tempo info until I get back into the groove.

Sorry about the quality of the recording as well. Its not a strong point. I will fiddle with it tomorrow and get some volume limiting on some of those harsh bits and repost, maybe also try some bass.

Your comments are very much appreciated kristoffer1989 and ikeaboy

Cheers.

[8O]

First question is, is it passable as a public performance?

Absolutely.

Criticism:
- guitar could do with more variation and more sparkle in the production
- some of the chords tails (resonances?) were harsh to my ears e.g at 00:26
- I don't know the original version, but I know lots of other Stereophonics songs and I'm not sure how much your version brings to it. Your rough voice edge has similarities to Kelly Jones' voice, which doesn't help differentiate it, I think.
- Kelly Jones is also guilty of singing in a fake American accent, rather than his South Wales valleys accent Dunno if you want to be different to other NZ singers, but I'd rather hear a singer with a kiwi accent any day
- I think someone else commented something similar, the emotion is a bit full on for the whole song, maybe more of a slow build up over the song would be more interesting to the audience

Don't want to come across as overly critical though. I could easily imagine listening to and enjoying this as it is. I find your voice really good and your musicality in this song spot on. Hope the comments help a bit anyway...

[evolwizard]

I'd like to hear this song done with a slight loftiness of Goo era Sonic Youth, vocals could sound somewhat detached..airy if you will, guitar tempo not quite so singer songwriteresque..a bit more chuggy..maybe a bit arrogant..make sense? Nice job though.

[UKRuss]

I think it's spot on mate, If I saw that with just you and your guitar I'd be pretty happy with that! Good job Greg.

[Jekblad]

sounds fine dude. Just keep living in it, it'll get better.

Are there effects on the guitars? if it's an acoustic thing i prefer no for that.

interesting voices are better than better voices. The modern singer use less to no vibrato, so be careful with that. don't use it as an effect to spruce things up. it make my generation want to punch someone in the face. of course, lots of people love it, too! there is barely a hint there, i find your voice pretty cool actually. I'm 23.


as far as the emotion, make sure there are dynamics. take some time to build up to that growl.

great job man!

[gjm]

Don't want to come across as overly critical though.

Nah... All excellent points, Accent included. After living in Canada for nearly a decade, its funny where the accent comes to the surface, singing and talking to friends from Canada on the phone

Thanks for taking the time.

Cheers.

[gjm]

I'd like to hear this song done with a slight loftiness of Goo era Sonic Youth, vocals could sound somewhat detached..airy if you will, guitar tempo not quite so singer songwriteresque..a bit more chuggy..maybe a bit arrogant..make sense? Nice job though.

Thank you for giving me your time. Definitely food for thought re giving covers a slight twist.

Cheers

[gjm]

I think it's spot on mate, If I saw that with just you and your guitar I'd be pretty happy with that! Good job Greg.

Thanks.

[gjm]

Are there effects on the guitars? if it's an acoustic thing i prefer no for that.

Yeah, bit chorus/verb. Good point for doing it on the day. I will have some amplification, but I have to be tasteful about the sound I arrive at. Got some work to do there.

interesting voices are better than better voices. The modern singer use less to no vibrato, so be careful with that. don't use it as an effect to spruce things up. it make my generation want to punch someone in the face. of course, lots of people love it, too! there is barely a hint there, i find your voice pretty cool actually. I'm 23.

Ahhhh... vibrato, subconscious habit. Funny, i remember working very hard to be able to do it, now I have to work hard not to.

as far as the emotion, make sure there are dynamics. take some time to build up to that growl.

Thanks. Finding a groove again is the key, feeling comfortable in my skin.

Thanks for taking the time. Very much appreciated.

Cheers.

[Hidden Driveways]

As far as a live performance goes, I would keep the computer's involvement minimal. I don't think you would be doing yourself any favors by dropping in a trip-hop beat, etc. Anything too out of context would take away the live feeling.

I think you could have some fun experimenting with live looping. In the setting you're talking about, playing live in a relaxed market with people sipping coffee and eating pie, I think you should keep things in scale. In other words, a massive drum kit kicking in to back you up might come off as too over the top, whereas, if you patted out a little beat on your Yamaha guitar, recorded it into Live, then made the beat stop, started playing a song, then half way through the song you bring the beat in --- I think that kind of stuff would do well in that setting. Create things on the spot, in that space, pique the curiosity of the audience, and make a show of it. Let them see you're using new & interesting technology to add to your music, but don't let it be your gimmick. Let it back you up. The real engine of your show must be the emotion of the music.

I feel like you have made a good cover here. I don't know the Sterophonics version of the song, but I don't have to because I know your version. I really love covers. I think they are wonderful, and if you play them with enough passion and heart, they are just as good as original songs. A live performer must be committed to emotion. Any audience anywhere in the world is thirsty for emotion. If you get on stage with a lot of emotion to share, you can put on one hell of a show.

I hear emotion in your voice, and in your guitar, and that's good. However, I wasn't totally convinced that as you were singing that you were putting your full heart into the song. In the lyrics, about half way through, the person you were in love with leaves. After that was established, I didn't hear the emotion fully in your voice. Whenever I sing and play guitar, and I'm playing one of my songs, or a cover, I always try to live a tiny life in that song. Whatever happens to the person in the song, I try to emote and bring it out in my voice and my instrument, as if it were my life, as if the song was really happening. I see the faces of the people in the song, and they're not made-up faces. I draw from my life, and I try my hardest to bring it all to life in my music. Do a little more of that, and you'll be on the right track.

And don't let the fact that you had to raise kids and pay a mortgage bring you regret. You're alive and you can do whatever you want. Play your music with love and emotion and what happens will happen.

[gjm]

As far as a live performance goes, I would keep the computer's involvement minimal. I don't think you would be doing yourself any favors by dropping in a trip-hop beat, etc. Anything too out of context would take away the live feeling.

I think you could have some fun experimenting with live looping. In the setting you're talking about, playing live in a relaxed market with people sipping coffee and eating pie, I think you should keep things in scale. In other words, a massive drum kit kicking in to back you up might come off as too over the top, whereas, if you patted out a little beat on your Yamaha guitar, recorded it into Live, then made the beat stop, started playing a song, then half way through the song you bring the beat in --- I think that kind of stuff would do well in that setting. Create things on the spot, in that space, pique the curiosity of the audience, and make a show of it. Let them see you're using new & interesting technology to add to your music, but don't let it be your gimmick. Let it back you up. The real engine of your show must be the emotion of the music.

I feel like you have made a good cover here. I don't know the Sterophonics version of the song, but I don't have to because I know your version. I really love covers. I think they are wonderful, and if you play them with enough passion and heart, they are just as good as original songs. A live performer must be committed to emotion. Any audience anywhere in the world is thirsty for emotion. If you get on stage with a lot of emotion to share, you can put on one hell of a show.

I hear emotion in your voice, and in your guitar, and that's good. However, I wasn't totally convinced that as you were singing that you were putting your full heart into the song. In the lyrics, about half way through, the person you were in love with leaves. After that was established, I didn't hear the emotion fully in your voice. Whenever I sing and play guitar, and I'm playing one of my songs, or a cover, I always try to live a tiny life in that song. Whatever happens to the person in the song, I try to emote and bring it out in my voice and my instrument, as if it were my life, as if the song was really happening. I see the faces of the people in the song, and they're not made-up faces. I draw from my life, and I try my hardest to bring it all to life in my music. Do a little more of that, and you'll be on the right track.

And don't let the fact that you had to raise kids and pay a mortgage bring you regret. You're alive and you can do whatever you want. Play your music with love and emotion and what happens will happen.

Thank you HD for taking the time to say this. There are so many facets to a believable performance, especially when it is stripped back to you and your guitar. Its not as simple as it appears. Never the less, I am willing to stick my neck out and learn from experience.

As an aside, I hope it does not come across that I have regrets for choosing my family focus. It gets tiring at times and is full of curve balls, but I would not swap it out for anything. I have just come in from the studio where I did a set of songs with my 15 yr old son playing acoustic percussion oriented beats (HiHat, snare, splash cymbal, floor tom and bongo's all with brushes) for nearly an hour. I think we will do this gig together

[vlantis]

As far as using Ableton goes, I think you might benefit from a really simple bleepy beat to back you up. Something that sounds obviously electronic. If you put in more "real" sounding drums, it could come off as a bit forced ("Uh, why doesn't this guy just go get a drummer?"), but something a bit more "cute" could add a little flare. Just something really simple, you know what I mean?