JakeDobner
I'll give you $399 for the liner notes.

I'll do it for $50 and a six pack of Blue Moon.

-Warren

That was excessively violent and completely unnecessary. I loved it.

That is a very "Seattle" beer. Can do! And if this is what it feels like to whore yourself(or sell a Senate seat) then I think I'm in the wrong line of work. I should become a pop star.

zak
Remember months ago in IRC I told you it was a big mistake to mix immediately after tracking and spend so little time on mixing?

What is the ratio of slow to fast songs on this recording? This is where knowing the exact bpm of a tune comes in real handy...be very careful with the track order if you have a lot of slower/mellower material.
The biggest mistake bands make when selecting a track order is "front loading" the track listing. Avoid the temptation to put the "best/catchiest" material first, or you end up with a CD that runs out of steam midway.
You'll also notice that on most mainstream pop or rock records the "hit" tune is never first on a record. It is usually 3d or 4th in the track listing.

Yes, I remember that. And I knew it at the time... I wish circumstances were a little different financially at the moment and we could go back in and fine tune things. We did for two tracks, but we couldn't afford another day or two.

I'd say the album has 7 high temp, 5 mid temp, 3 low tempo. I'm actually a pretty big fan of the track listing. I think we put our heavy hitters at the bottom. Not to say the front half is bad. There is a still good stuff, but it works better at the front anyways. One of my big concerns is understand how we process sets of songs. I'm a very particular set list maker, and I spent a long time thinking about the track listing. I whittled it down to about 20 or so tracklisting(about half had the same bottom 5 songs) and let the guys peel over them looking for what they liked or picking certain portions they liked.

My two-word review? Sh*t sandwich.

Oh, and thanks for mentioning that you could not play guitar on your first LP. Wish you had said something back then, or I wouldn't have wasted my hard-earned dollars.

SSIV

Thanks, Scott - I appreciate it. Anyway ...

JakeDobner
And same with classical music, we have parts that are going to repeat, but you aren't going to hear them the same as the first time you heard them. There is going to be another melody on top of the existing theme or the dynamics will be serious upped with new accompaniment. ... And whenever I listen to classical, be it Bach, Vivaldi, Brahms, Mozart, Mendelssohn, or even Messiaen every piece has repetition.

I could have been more clear, I suppose - it's not that you guys repeat individual parts too much. (Minus that #$%@ing trumpet.) It's that all the parts of the songs sound so much alike that the song as a whole feels repetitive, which isn't something that's going to change merely by adding extra ornamentation on repeats.

Add layers all you want - if the main feel of the song doesn't change from part A to part B, or part B to part C, D, F, X, whatever ... I may not have liked "Love Theme ..." but structurally I thought it was the most solid and interesting of the tracks because it was the only one that - for me - did that successfully.

Oh, and Shostakovich FTW.

-Warren

That was excessively violent and completely unnecessary. I loved it.

This post has been removed by the author.

cirecc
even if i recorded almost all of the lead parts on my 57 RI duojet on a 64 tremolux.

eric

EDITED TO ADD: I just read where Jake says the Duo ISN'T on the track I mention below.

Believe me this isn't a criticism. There are times, especially on the youtube videos (crappy audio quality obviously, due to file size limitations, and the fact that I'm listening through the stock 5 year old Sony vaio speakers that came with my computer ) i've seen of you guys where the duojet sounds almost like steel drum to me. I get the same thing on Last Stand of the Mercenary. Obviously the tremolo picking on that song accentuates the steel drum feel. I guess the word I'm looking for is "metalic". Did you play it on that tune?

Ruhar

zak

CaptainSpringfield
Oh, and Shostakovich FTW.

Edgar Varèse.

Antonio Lauro

Jean Sibelius

Will

"You're done, once you're a surfer you're done. You're in. It's like the mob or something. You're not getting out." - Kelly Slater

The Luau Cinders

Are you serious? Sh*t Sandwich? That is harsh, I think. The tunes are not really my thing - but regardless, are well done.

I feel it is straying a bit from surf music (I guess that is the intent though). It lacks a little bit of raw energy, presence and atmosphere that many bands of the genre have. I find the tracks to be a bit monotonous and monotone - not enough dynamics - it does not capture my attention or imagination.

On the other side of the coin, I think the song writing is aspirational and unique. There are some good ideas expressed and the music is conducive to an easy going listening experience. This would be great music to "chill" to. (Whatever that means)

Not trying to be harsh, this is an honest opinion. I think The Verb is a really good band and could be great pending further fine tuning. Now - if you will all brace yourselves for the real Sh*t sandwich I will be posting online soon, you can all really lay in to me and make me feel like crap for my song writing.

surferXmatt
Are you serious? Sh*t Sandwich?.

             ![Wink](/media/smiley/images/icon_wink.gif "Wink")

I should have been more forthright. Sorry. So here we go:

RE: The 'Verb's latest.

The musical growth of this band cannot even be charted. They are treading water in a sea of retarded sexuality and bad poetry.

SSIV