Hi all,
First post here....I'm a Country Artist. Here is one I wrote recently & I decided to go all out on....I sing the lead VOX & lend a hand to the female background vocalist in spots I felt needed beefing up.
Here is the Final Studio version.
First Love, Last Love
© 2019 Steve Altonian
Moonlight dances upon your hair
Your eyes light up the sky
I slip your hand inside of mine
You hold me tight and smile a little smile
I feel your heart beating underneath my skin
I kiss your tender lips and whisper in your ear
First love, last love
Sharing dreams and memories
First love, last love
Sometimes baby, love is meant to be
I've come to call you my best friend
You're a candle to my soul
A yellow rose in the desert snow
I have grown from the seeds you've sown
Girl you know me a bit better than myself
You gently show me exactly who I am
First love, last love
Sharing dreams and memories
First love, last love
Sometimes baby, love is meant to be
BRIDGE
Still can taste that first kiss
It gets sweeter and sweeter all the time
You're my favorite song
My love keeps burning strong.......for you
First love, last love
Sharing dreams and memories
First love, last love
Sometimes baby, love is meant to be
Sometimes baby, love is meant to be...
Welcome to Songcrafters, Steve!
(That's kinda fun for me to say as I'm really a newbie here too (around a month now) but I've been made to feel right at home; comfortable enough to say 'Welcome' like it's MY site.. :) Hopefully you'll find the positivity here as uplifting and inspiring as I have!)
You may be new here, but you seem like a seasoned performer and your recording is crisp, clean; very professional.
I'm envious of those that can write love songs; find an angle that sets their song apart from the other love songs being played.. In your song, the juxtaposition of 'First Love' / 'Last Love' really works like that as a hope that there really is that one 'True Love' out there for the listener. That thought is supported by the last line of the chorus "Sometimes baby, love is meant to be.." Very nice!!
I love your vocals too, which could easily cross the bridge from 'Country' to just about any genre you'd care to sing! And they blend perfectly with your female vocalist! :)
Great first post!! (Much better than my no-frills recording first post..) :o
I hope you enjoy the company here and I look forward to your next song release!
romidon.
Pro sounding stuff in every way Steve.
People here are always very interested to know some details of recording equipment and instruments used, if you would care to share. After all, most of us are at least a little bit nerdy in that respect.
Well - I am.... :)
Paul Chapman
Firstly welcome to the forum. Boy that is some great first post, an extremely professional sound to go with a top class song. Willie
I felt sure I'd commented on this one - Stunning, congrats!
Quote from: Hilary on September 22, 2019, 04:49:28 AMStunning, congrats!
Yep, this is great, sounds radio ready to me... looking forward to hearing more!
Mike
Wellcome on board from Finland! What a nice first post...
So enjoyable and peaceful performance. Professional job on every way; top class singing and playing. I loved the harmonies. Perfect production!
Quote from: Romidon on September 21, 2019, 12:43:29 AMYou seem like a seasoned performer and your recording is crisp, clean; very professional.
I'm envious of those that can write love songs; find an angle that sets their song apart from the other love songs being played.. In your song, the juxtaposition of 'First Love' / 'Last Love' really works like that as a hope that there really is that one 'True Love' out there for the listener. That thought is supported by the last line of the chorus "Sometimes baby, love is meant to be.." Very nice!!
I love your vocals too, which could easily cross the bridge from 'Country' to just about any genre you'd care to sing! And they blend perfectly with your female vocalist! :)
:o
I hope you enjoy the company here and I look forward to your next song release!
romidon.
Hey Romiden,
I appreciate the feedback. Believe it or not this was birthed as a "love lost" song out of my life experience. But I quickly realized no one would "get it" but me. So I went into Character mode & wrote about how love is meant to be.
Quote from: chapperz66 on September 21, 2019, 09:38:06 AMPro sounding stuff in every way Steve.
People here are always very interested to know some details of recording equipment and instruments used, if you would care to share. After all, most of us are at least a little bit nerdy in that respect.
Well - I am.... :)
Paul Chapman
Thanks for listening....I'm an Artist & a Songwriter, play acoustic guitar & keys but I learned a long time ago where to put my energy; singing & writing. I have a home studio but I simply do demos there. Once I do my recording I send it off to my producer in Nashville I have worked with for over 10 years when I want to get my critical recordings done. He knows my style & knows how picky I am. We bring in top flight Nashville session players...I will cut the lead VOX in a Studio in Burbank California. I did add some BGV's at home. The female BGV's were cut in Nashville
I learned a long time ago: Surround yourself with brilliant people, who make you look brilliant.
So it sounds great and welcome. I'm curious, knowing now this is professionally done with session musicians, what was price tag. For the most part everyone here records with home studio gear. Some stand alone machines and others DAW but I dont think any one here pays for any our recordings. This isnt a knock or dig at you im just curious what a recording of this caliber costs?
Rock on!
Welcome to Songcrafters! You really are brilliant! A great singer and this beautiful song sounds so pro!
Hello and welcome from Mississippi A good hook is always a good hook well done
Tim
Quote from: The Castrati Brothers on September 21, 2019, 09:56:30 AMFirstly welcome to the forum. Boy that is some great first post, an extremely professional sound to go with a top class song. Willie
Thank you my friend....
Quote from: Hilary on September 22, 2019, 04:49:28 AMI felt sure I'd commented on this one - Stunning, congrats!
Hi Hilary, I appreciate you stopping by and listening & commenting
Quote from: Redler on September 22, 2019, 11:54:36 PMWellcome on board from Finland! What a nice first post...
So enjoyable and peaceful performance. Professional job on every way; top class singing and playing. I loved the harmonies. Perfect production!
I am glad the song moved you....Funny how those harmonies worked out...Was going in a different direction, but quickly put the brakes on it and went this route....
fantastic song put together superbly . love your vocals and the backing vocals brilliant recording so clear , and superb musicianship , love it ......ps a bit late but welcome to songcrafters .....cheers tony cee
Quote from: Hook on September 25, 2019, 06:21:12 PMSo it sounds great and welcome. I'm curious, knowing now this is professionally done with session musicians, what was price tag. For the most part everyone here records with home studio gear. Some stand alone machines and others DAW but I dont think any one here pays for any our recordings. This isnt a knock or dig at you im just curious what a recording of this caliber costs?
Rock on!
Not a knock at all, I know what I am trying to accomplish here. It's not cheap, believe me. These guys work on all the Nashville Records, I mean all of them....I did pay them a little below scale, but with the agreement that if this gets airplay my producer & session players would be compensated further...
I am a solid, very good player, acoustic guitar & keyboard, & I do very good home demos. But it will sound like a demo. While I am not a "Pro" player, I have written some really special songs & I am a "Pro" Singer. So when I feel a song stands out from my catalog, I will invest in it, & I spare no expense. I wanted this tune to be radio ready.
great song...and yes...it should be on the radio for the world to hear...perfect as is and of course it is because not only are you a great singer but these pro's know how to make you sound pro.... and behind every great musician is a great producer/engineer etc..... and behind every great live band is a great sound crew.... this points that out once again....
I have a friend who does gospel music and he spent thousands on his cd using studio musicians to play almost all his stuff that he sang with...and it is really good... I am happy for anyone that can figure out a way to be able to do music for a living....or part of one.... etc....
I think it would be cool to record in a studio again... I did it one time a long time ago.... I can do some really good recordings...but you are right this is so much better....especially the vox.....
This is great.
I have been inside a real Nashville studio (Darkhorse, in Franklin TN, I believe they did Taylor Swift's breakout release), but not as an Artist, I was there as a Fan, as a perk on a kickstarter backer thing, for a band I love based out of the Nashville Area, "The Choir" (Derri Daugherty, Steve Hindalong, Dan Michaels, Tim Chandler).
I got to see how the Big Boys do it. The bass player (Tim Chandler, now sadly deceased) played bass direct into a DI box and they did his bass rig as plugins in ProTools, but the guitarist and lead singer (Derri) played into a Vox AC 15 which was in an isolation room, and of course the drummer/songwriter Steve played a full acoustic kit mic'd up with more money in microphones than I could believe, and also a funny looking gadget that looked like a modified snare drum, and which had a speaker coil in it. It was basically a drum mic, a homebrew drum "sensor/pickup" that grabs things with its huge snare-head attached to the voice-coil of a big subwoofer. It functioned as a task-specific bass drum mic. There were two techs working the mics, there was a producer, a protools rig operator, and the band, and there was us tourists sitting around eating snacks and listening to the takes. The vocals were done the usual way with several full takes, and then a lot of comps. The guitars were tracked with primary and secondary parts with lots of takes, and lots of flourishes. Another member of the band, Dan Michaels, played Sax and a bit of synth via a wind-controller (we Choir fans call them Lyricons), so he's like the keys player for the band, but he doesn't play keys. The vocal takes and comps easily took a lot of the day.
It was eye opening. I'm sure it costs quite a bit to book an A level studio in Nashville, and even more to book a producer and session players. Anyways this sounds radio ready, and your vocals are bitching good, Sir.
Quote from: WarpCanada on January 04, 2021, 12:12:34 AMThis is great.
I have been inside a real Nashville studio (Darkhorse, in Franklin TN, I believe they did Taylor Swift's breakout release), but not as an Artist, I was there as a Fan, as a perk on a kickstarter backer thing, for a band I love based out of the Nashville Area, "The Choir" (Derri Daugherty, Steve Hindalong, Dan Michaels, Tim Chandler).
I got to see how the Big Boys do it. The bass player (Tim Chandler, now sadly deceased) played bass direct into a DI box and they did his bass rig as plugins in ProTools, but the guitarist and lead singer (Derri) played into a Vox AC 15 which was in an isolation room, and of course the drummer/songwriter Steve played a full acoustic kit mic'd up with more money in microphones than I could believe, and also a funny looking gadget that looked like a modified snare drum, and which had a speaker coil in it. It was basically a drum mic, a homebrew drum "sensor/pickup" that grabs things with its huge snare-head attached to the voice-coil of a big subwoofer. It functioned as a task-specific bass drum mic. There were two techs working the mics, there was a producer, a protools rig operator, and the band, and there was us tourists sitting around eating snacks and listening to the takes. The vocals were done the usual way with several full takes, and then a lot of comps. The guitars were tracked with primary and secondary parts with lots of takes, and lots of flourishes. Another member of the band, Dan Michaels, played Sax and a bit of synth via a wind-controller (we Choir fans call them Lyricons), so he's like the keys player for the band, but he doesn't play keys. The vocal takes and comps easily took a lot of the day.
It was eye opening. I'm sure it costs quite a bit to book an A level studio in Nashville, and even more to book a producer and session players. Anyways this sounds radio ready, and your vocals are bitching good, Sir.
good stuff Warren....enjoyed reading it...