"Gone" by The Stan Laurels (Final Mix and Original 2002 Shit-Mix)

[Bosko Schwartz]

LESTG, thank you for taking the time to listen and to write everything you wrote.  Mostly, thank you for the very kind words.   No apology necessary, but please allow me to retort ...

I have seen a lot of comments on my work come through mentioning how I "beat myself up," or that I am "indecisive and self-doubting," or now that I "don't believe in myself."   I can somewhat understand how one might come to that conclusion based on some of my comments, but when I read everyone else's self-deprecating words all over the forum, it puzzles me as to why I am the only one labeled as not having confidence in myself.   Perhaps this exchange with my old friend Pinedog will clear the air a bit and give you some insight into my mindset and word choice:

https://songcrafters.org/community/br-1600-b69/'if-i-walked-with-the-dead'/45/

I think that perhaps people are confusing humility with a lack of self-confidence.   In my case, that couldn't be further from the truth.  I just think it's in poor taste to go around saying I think my music is awesome or that I am an incredibly talented musician.  Perhaps I believe that, perhaps I don't.   But confidence, that is one thing I definitely do have.  If I have shown otherwise, I apologize, and it is only because I do not want to come off as an egomaniac.  But when backed into a corner and accused of having no self-confidence, I will tell you straight-up that I know I am a pretty damned good songwriter.   Of course you must realize that to hear things like I "have more talent in my pinky finger than the majority of us on the forum" is not going to deflate my head at all.  So certainly these kinds of comments give me even more confidence than I already had.  So I try not to let any of that ego spill out when writing about my own work.  But as I said to Pinedog, I am a big fan of my own music because I write it for no one other than myself.  I think everyone should be a fan of their own music – if not, what the hell are they doing??

I agree about making music for a living being just a dream.   But I think one thing that sets me apart from many in the forum is that I do have some aspirations to at least try to make this more than a hobby.  I have no delusions of grandeur, and I do not put too much pressure on myself to succeed.  But I am damned sure going to try.  He who does not try will never know the pains of failure ... nor the joys of success.  But don't get me wrong – I won't be quitting my day-job anytime soon.

As for allowing anyone to influence me negatively, I can honestly say that I have never once added or subtracted any element of a song based on another person's critique.  So I will have to kindly disagree with you that I "second guess" my work or that I have "limited my creativity" based on other people's comments.  I will admit I do get a little frustrated during the mixing process as I am such a perfectionist and know exactly how I want the music to sound in my head, and it's sometimes a tedious process to get to that point.  But when it comes to pure creativity, I can't think of any way in which I have been limited; on the contrary, I think I have done a remarkable job on my soon-to-be-released debut album.   There's that ego rearing its ugly head again, but I am defending myself, you understand.  This album is a true concept album from start to finish – a story about alien abduction, of all things, that also happens to go into deeper levels and serves as a metaphor for some of the ups and downs in my life over the past decade or so.  This full-length 13-song album contains everything from poppy/mushy love songs to prog-esque storytellers to experimental noise to psychedelic pop to sound effects to straight-ahead rock to lullabies to classical interludes, and just about everything in between.  I have created every single element of the album myself, from each lyric to each note, beat, and chord written, sung, played, and recorded.  I have created the cover and liner art myself.  I have produced it completely myself.  And I will release the album myself.  To say I have limited myself in the creativity department would just be a lie.  I have poured myself, heart and soul, into this album for 3 straight years, during which time I have worked my day-job 50 – 60 hours a week and have also been raising my son with my wife. 

So although I can see where you could come to the conclusion that I lack self confidence or do not believe in myself, I hope this has set the record straight.   Perhaps I have said too much and now you have gone from thinking I am a meek little lamb to believing that I am a pompous asshole.   I certainly hope that is not the case.  Truth be told, I am probably somewhere smack dab in between the two.

Again, I do thank you for the kind words and your genuine honesty.  I hope my frankness has not caused any rifts.  I would love to hear your take on my other songs, so please feel free to comment!

[Bluesberry]

Hey Bosko, I for one am eagerly awaiting the release of this album of yours.  I will certainly be in line to purcahase a copy and in my small way help you realize your very noble dream of becoming a professional singer/songwriter/musician/one-man-band.  Keep us informed as to its official release.  Hell, lets have a release party on here!!!!  Will it be on I-tunes (that is my #1 music store these days).  I for one find your super critical attention to your music to be very inspiring.  I often think about Pete Townshend during the time that he was creating Quadrophenia.  From what I have read (I find Pete Townshend to be a very facinating dude) I guess he was a raging lunatic of creativity, self-doubt, depression, alchoholic, visionary mystic, marriage falling apart, egotistical asshole, saintly man.  This is what it takes to create art, not just songs but art.  I am of the impression that your music is also art of the highest order.  If that is what it takes, keep at it, don't let your energy flag, tweak those mixes until you are cross-eyed with bleeding ears.  It is the only way.

[Bosko Schwartz]

Thanks, Bluesberry!   Your encouraging words in particular have really helped me get to the point of having the confidence to actually attempt to sell my music.  You and the other amazing musicians in here that tell me such wonderful things about my music help me realize that maybe it IS pretty good!  And maybe people DO like it and WOULD purchase it if given the chance.  You see, a lot of the confidence I have that I talked about in response to LESTG's comments is actually because of you.  This forum has done a lot more for me than anyone here realizes.  Myspace is one thing -- I've gotten plenty of nice comments, and they are always good to hear.  But they are usually like, "I love your music!"  Really generic stuff like that.  Not to discount those compliments, but here, I am surrounded by incredible musicians and songwriters, all of whom take a lot of their own time to listen and provide really in-depth reviews.  And to hear these kinds of compliments from you and the rest of the forum just makes it all worthwhile.

Thanks for keeping me energized, BB!!!

PS: Yes, it will be available on iTunes and other digital sites, and most likely in the form of physical CDs as well.

[Ferryman]

Wow, this is pretty majestic Bosko. Driving rhythm, some really compelling harmonies that pull you right in. I'm liking that vocal sound you have on your work, gives a strong identity to your material. I certainly get quite a lot of piano from this and it works well. Great songwriting and construction - you avoid the old cliches.

I think it's album ready, to answer your original question.

Cheers,

Nigel

[indierik]

I am no expert, but I like your "3rd and hopefully final mix" The drums are at a perfect level; they don't drown out the other instruments or your voice. And btw, your vocal mix is stunning, perfectly balanced. Did you "stack" your voice or use a different technique?

Oh and btw, I too get "accused" (for lack of a better term) of having no confidence. I think you said it best when you wrote "I think people are confusing humility with a lack of self-confidence." Shit half the people I work with don't even know I'm a musician or artist, why? Because I don't go around bragging or boasting about it. Besides I think we set standards for ourselves as arts/musician, and usually those standards are set high for people like us, perhaps too high for me sometimes, and I'd imagine pretty high for yourself.... for I want to impress myself and other musicians I respect not just the person who just started playing guitar three weeks ago. It's okay to be proud, it's okay to like your own music -if you didn't you wouldn't bother- but to go around boasting about how "brilliant" you are only gives cause for people to dislike you and nit-pick your flaws rather than congratulate your talents. I remember back in the 90's when the British group Oasis said they were "the greatest band in the world", well, that was enough for me to stop buying and listening to there music. But that's just me.

Not all talented people -such as yourself- have to be conceded, self-righteous dicks, IMO. Tony G, a renown jazz musician who has played with many of the greats in the business, lives and plays in Vail and is one of the nicest, most humble guy's you'll ever meet.


eRiK   

 

[Bosko Schwartz]

Thanks, Nigel!

Glad to hear you liked the vox effects, because a lot of people get turned off by that and want the vox to be a lot more "up front" and in your face and more clear.  But I love psychedelia, and vocal effects are crucial if one is attempting to create any sort of psychedelic sound.

I do try to avoid the standard verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus song structure whenever I can; I guess that's some of the prog influence creeping in there.  I only wish I had more of the "prog" musician prowess!

Erik, thanks again!  I have actually slightly remixed this song yet again but didn't bother posting it.  I will e-mail it to you.  For the vox, I just double-tracked the lead vocal all the way through.  For the harmonies, no stacking, just a single vocal track for each of the two harmony parts.

I agree with what you said, as you saw my response to LESTG's comments (by the way, I think he's pissed because he never wrote back ), but to play devil's advocate, I don't think people are wanting us to be boastful or to actually brag about our skills.  But at the same time, many others in the forum are just as self-deprecating as I am, so I am not sure why I in particular get accused of having no self-confidence while most others don't.  You said you get that as well -- was this in this forum, or in other venues?

[Ferryman]

I do try to avoid the standard verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus song structure whenever I can; I guess that's some of the prog influence creeping in there.  I only wish I had more of the "prog" musician prowess!

It's a trap I fall into all the time. You've really made me think about challenging the normal song structure.

I wouldn't want you to have too much prog prowess, The problem with prog is that too much musical prowess generally leads to too much self-indulgent claptrap. Six Wives of Henry VIIIth anyone? That kind of stuff is why I embraced punk wholeheartedly in 77 and it's taken me a long while to get back to enjoying prog, albeit in limited doses.

Cheers,

Nigel

[guitarron]

the drums are cool-i like this song-vox are a little tough to make out tho-top shelf bosko

[Bosko Schwartz]

Thanks, guitarron!   Sorry about the vox -- too low in volume or not enunciated enough?

[Oldrottenhead]

bump