New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light

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stevec
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2015/08/05 14:55:28 (permalink)

New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light

As opposed to my last few tunes, this one is very diatonic using a simple I V (and occasional IV) structure in the friendly key of C.  I'm referring to it as semi-country rock since I'm not very good at defining genres.
 
And inspired by Tim's (Starise) consistent use of real acoustic instruments, I actually recorded two tracks of acoustic guitar.  With a mic!  
 
https://soundcloud.com/steve-cocchi/traveling-light
 

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    emeraldsoul
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/06 00:41:26 (permalink)
    Yea! The early Joe Walsh treatment!!! Love the style here. Full marks for giving it some quirkiness, nice non-standard, non-boring touches, particularly the rhythm, which is great for me to listen to, but that old drunk couple dancing in the corner are gonna blow out an ACL.
     
    Mix-wise, to make the electric guitar + its harmony partner more the feature, I wonder if a little high end eq might brighten it up just a bit? Help it shine more?
     
    Your bass player has a run in there that's very ambitious - I used to be in a band and when I did that stuff, I got dirty looks. But it works here I reckon.
     
    You have very tight coordinated rhythym for the guitars, bass, drums - but the piano kind of slides around a bit and slops it up a little. Should have cut him off at the fourth beer. ? Wait, that was another band I was in.
     
    Enough digressions - cool tune! Will there be lyrics?
     
    cheers,
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    #2
    Bob Oister
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/06 02:03:45 (permalink)
    Sounds great, Steve!
     
    I love the clean guitar melodies and Allman Brothers/Dickey Betts style harmonies, and the piano and organ fills are like icing on a very tasty instrumental cake!
     
    You've got a nice clean, classic southern rock style mix that sounds perfect for the genre, too.  This really reminds me of one of my old favorites from the Allman's "Eat a Peach" record which I always loved.
     
    I really enjoyed that, good stuff, buddy!
    Bob
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    synkrotron
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/06 03:45:10 (permalink)
    That was a nice tune Steve... A really clean mix, to my ears at least (I have to bow down to Tom's skills in this area )
     
    I'm not sure about the country reference, but I'm crap at genres too hahaha, unless it's blatantly obvious 

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    ohgrant
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/06 05:16:32 (permalink)
    Really cool instrumental, I enjoyed.

    Me
     
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    evadianepug
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/06 10:17:12 (permalink)
    Really liked that little piano run at about .30.  Nice bass sound, well nice everything sound.  I don't know what genre I place it in but who cares?  The bass has a real nice sound but ist loud in spots. Could just be me.  I like the guitar harmonies.  The ending chords are very cool.

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    stevec
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/06 14:18:26 (permalink)
    - Thanks for the input, Tom.  I would consider the rhythm fairly straightforward but then again I really hadn't taken ACLs into consideration.        I originally had a slightly rounder/jazzier tone on the guitars and later added some grit/brightness, but I'll give that another listen.   As far as the bass lines go, the song began life with the bass lines so I just let "him" do whatever he wants.  As for the piano, I'm guessing you're referring mainly to the solo?  I hem'd and haw'd on how much to edit the lines but in the end left it mostly as played.  OK, so maybe it was after a beer or two...
     
    - Thanks, Bob.  I appreciate the Allman Bros reference!  It's hard for me to do clean-ish guitar harmonies and not hear that distinctive sound in my head.  Perhaps this is more southern rock vs. country, hadn't thought about that.  Either way I'm glad it's coming across that way. 
     
    - Thanks, Andy, it's good to know the mix is translating well.  This is most "organic" thing I've done in a while, but I didn't see organic as a genre on SoundCloud so...  
     
    - Thanks, Grant.   I'm glad you enjoyed the tune!
     
    - Thanks, Warren.   Much of the piano was an after-thought but I am glad I added it.   Regarding the bass... since the tune started as a series of bass lines I had no choice but to let them stand out just a bit.  And the bassist agrees (we talk all the time ).   Adding those diminished chords at the end was also a last minute thing, but the idea wouldn't let go so I just went with it.    Overall it was one of the quickest songs I've done from idea to completion. 
     

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    Beagle
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/06 15:27:05 (permalink)
    Hey Steve - this does remind me of Allman bros on that electric.
     
    nicely done all around - great performances mix sounds pretty well balanced to me.  what did you use for that organ?

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    stevec
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/06 17:08:40 (permalink)
    Thanks, Reece!   Appreciate the comments.
     
    The organ is a slightly tweaked version from Kontakt 5 Vintage Organs (one with a French name).  Going from memory I believe there's some Quad Curve EQ, Blue Tubes valve, and sends to reverb and delay, most of which are automated to some degree.
     

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    Beagle
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/06 17:42:06 (permalink)
    I like the K5 Vintage Organs - I have them!  but I haven't used them since I bought my XK3c!
     
    it sounds good, Steve!

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    Venus
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/06 17:50:53 (permalink)
    I like it! The kind of song you play after you've just put your car in cruise control on the interstate. Sweet.

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    Starise
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/06 18:17:06 (permalink)
    I really enjoyed the listen on this one Steve. I am honored that you referenced  using and recording real instruments. I think you did an excellent job on this one. It's a nice clean mix. You are getting a great tone on that guitar. Nice traditional vibe that borrows from several persuasions... a great track. I can picture you and the guys playing this somewhere in Chester county.

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    stevec
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/06 22:06:54 (permalink)
    Thanks, Dana.   And yes, that's exactly the idea!
     
    Thanks, Tim.  Your use of acoustic instruments did give me that little push I needed.   The electric guitar tone is (once again) courtesy of Craig's FX Chains; I find them to be simple but effective.   Glad to know the vibe is coming across, though I'm not sure the band would ever play something like this. 
     

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    JulianRay
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/06 23:24:35 (permalink)
    It was an enjoyable listening..
    Title says it all !
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    stevec
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/07 17:38:11 (permalink)
    Thanks, Julian!   I'm glad you enjoyed my little trip down the open road. 
     

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    CreatingNoise
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/08 12:45:10 (permalink)
    Steve,
      Great instrumental with lots of good instrumentation.  Loved the melodies and everything sat well in the mix in my speakers.  Nice guitar work!
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    bapu
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/08 16:40:57 (permalink)
    Me likey.
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    Rimshot
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/08 19:36:19 (permalink)
    Sounds well produced and the mix is BIG and wide. Liked it!

    Rimshot 

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    Sixfinger
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/08 22:35:04 (permalink)
    Glad I stopped in for a listen. Really nice clean work :)

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    stevec
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/10 15:13:37 (permalink)
    Tony - Thanks!  It's nice to hear the melodies and mix are coming through. 
     
    Bapu-du - Y, thanky u kindly. 
     
    Jimmy - Thanks.  I did work to give the mix some width and depth so appreciate the comments. 
     
    Wayne - thank you very much for stopping by.  
     

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    jamesg1213
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/10 15:14:27 (permalink)
    This is very nice Steve, you're a versatile musician and arranger. Would make a great theme tune for TV. Deceptively simple, but with plenty of arrangement details to keep things moving along.

     
    Jyemz
     
     
     



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    philz
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/10 17:54:46 (permalink)
    Great tune, Steve... I really liked this.  Well played and produced... just excellent I thought.
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    stevec
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    Re: New semi-country rock instrumental - Traveling Light 2015/08/10 19:03:49 (permalink)
    James - Thanks!   A TV theme, huh...    I do enjoy arranging, even if it is my own stuff.  But one of these days I'd like to create something that sounds good but actually is fairly simple - that's an art I just haven't figured out yet, and something I hear in Nettlesmith songs.
     
    Phil - Thanks for listening!   It was a fun tune to play and mix.
     

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