"Samaanya" by The Stan Laurels

Bosko Schwartz · May 28, 2009, 12:26:37 AM

Wow, everyone, I am just floored by the wealth of positive comments, many of which are not deserved. I hope I didn't seem too whiny or like I was begging for praise, because that wasn't it.

48, you are too kind! A different league? I highly doubt it. Some of the guitar players in here would shred me to death. Literally!

Greeny, thanks for all the kind words. To hear that there is even a hint of Beatles or Blunstone in anything I do is about as great a compliment as I can hope for! True, I think TomH86 and I have similar tastes. I think he mentioned something about "Odessey & Oracle" a while back -- it's in my top 5 greatest albums of all-time, without a doubt! Again, the different league thing does not apply. I spent 1000s of hours working on this shit, maybe that's all it is. See, I haven't posted any rough mixes or early drafts yet (well, except for "Nieve Azul"). There is definitely a rough side to my work, and you'll hear it when I post some newer stuff. I have evolved a bit over the years, it's just that you didn't hear how shitty my stuff sounded in the beginning. If you did, you'd never say I was in a "different league," I assure you! Again, though, thanks for taking the time to write out such thoughtful words. I couldn't get that YouTube link to play or work -- what is it?

Thanks, 0Jimi0! The drums are live drums, mic'ed up and played the old-fashioned way. I was a drummer before anything else, and that's why I needed a BR-1600 -- for the 8 simultaneous inputs so I could mic my drums!

indierik, I don't know what to say other than THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. These are the kinds of compliments that really keep me going, keep me inspired to keep pushing forward, despite the fact that I know I will never get rich and famous with this music. Hell, I don't want to; I would settle for just being able to somehow quit my day-job! These are the types of things you don't just say to be nice, and that makes me really excited about the fact that my music may be somewhat appealing to people other than just my wife and myself. The feeling is mutual, by the way, as I hope you have seen my posts about your two latest songs. By the way, I am FAR from being classically trained in anything. On the contrary, I am completely self-taught in all instruments and do not read a lick of music. I have played on stage in numerous bands as the drummer, but never achieved what I would call "professional" status. Thank you again so much for all of the incredibly kind words!

ORH, thanks a lot! Glad to hear you've checked out the myspace as well. I am kind of behind on the page. Glad you heard a bit of prog in it -- it's my dream to be able to say I am a "prog" band, but I don't even have remotely the skills of any prog artist, so I have to sort of "fake it" when I can.

Thanks, Satchwood, that means a lot coming from a guitar god like you!

Satchwood · May 28, 2009, 10:08:47 AM

I just had to take another listen - excellent is all I can think of!!

All the instruments fit together so perfectly with your voice - I'm doubly impressed!

You must have a cool home studio for sure.

OsCKilO · May 28, 2009, 10:18:07 AM

Quote from: Satchwood on May 28, 2009, 10:08:47 AMI just had to take another listen - excellent is all I can think of!!

All the instruments fit together so perfectly with your voice - I'm doubly impressed!

You must have a cool home studio for sure.

The satch man said it!!!!!!

Cool as Fuck! (I'll swear because no-one seems to look at this board! Will do from now on though!)

Bluesberry · May 28, 2009, 02:11:53 PM

Well Bosko I just got to this one, I was off the site (off the computer) for a week, so now I can finally listen. You have done it again, even better. What the hell can I say here, this is one of the best songs posted on here. the middle piano part is handled to perfection. The mix sounds pretty darn perfect. I love the instrument mix. I am inspired by this song. I am blown away by this song. I am going to listen to this song at least 100 times and see if I can learn anything here. This reminds me of early ELO in its scope and instrumentation and production. Very cool, very inspired. I am a fan big time. What the hell else could you do here (other than a monster guitar solo - just kidding, I am guitar fanatical, but it is not needed here). Your songs sound too English for you to to be a Texan!!!

Kody · May 28, 2009, 02:45:21 PM

What can I say?! Everyone's already said it! I seriously don't think it's possible to get much better than this without stepping into a professional studio.....great job!! You inspire me to elevate my level of home recording for sure!

Geir · May 28, 2009, 05:49:28 PM

Bosko Bosko .... ! You are the perfect example of the music me and my former band would like to play : "Progpop" !! Don't know if it's a category used before but that's what this is !!

And if we where to get halfway to what you are giving us here we would be very happy !!

This could have been a Lennon/McCartney song !!

Bosko Schwartz · May 29, 2009, 02:57:22 PM

You guys are going to make my head so big, I won't be able to walk through my front door. Thanks, Satch, osckilo, Bluesberry, Kody, and Geir! Now I feel like a fool for crying about the lack of comments in this one. I guess I should probably wait a couple of days before I start freaking out that everyone thinks I suck. I let my true insecurity shine through, and it's a little embarrassing. But fuck it, we are who we are.

Satchwood, my home studio isn't all that cool, although the walls are awesome because my wife (an amazing interior designer) painted them with a smooth chocolate brown and sky blue rectangular design. It's just a little room consisting of the following:

A red sparkle Jackson Drums custom drum kit next to the window in one corner (hand-crafted drums made by my dad, who owns his own drum company); the kick drum is a ridiculous 28".
A midnight blue Rickenbacker 620, aqua-blue sparkle Danelectro DC-3, and a black Schecter Model-T Diamond Series bass in another corner.
An antique burst Art & Lutherie acoustic guitar next to the door.
A Roland Juno-D synthesizer against the wall, next to the acoustic.
On a small, sad little cramped desk facing the painted wall, between the drums and the synth, there sits the massive, hulking, ultra-non-portable, super-badass alien-robot music recording machine from the planet BOSS, an ART Tube MP pre-amp, and a pair of M-Audio Studiophile BX8a monitors.
In the remaining corner, you can find my sanity curled up into the fetal position, weeping.

I would LOVE to see the equipment everyone else is using. Is there already a thread for this?

Bluesberry, you again flatter me with overt use of the word "perfect," which I do not deserve. I love ELO! As for adding a guitar solo, you sometimes forget that not everyone is a crazy guitar god like you who can just rip off shredding leads that would kill a herd of wildabeest. The "lead" guitar during the entire outro of the song is as much of a guitar "solo" as you're going to get from me!! By the way, I am a Texan, but I'm English at heart (and by ancestral descent, as a matter of fact).

Kody, you are too kind! That is a BIG compliment to me, as I struggle to try and make my sound as "professional" as I can within my limitations.

Geir, you're right, that's exactly what I'm going for! Prog-Pop! Thank you so much! As you know, any comparison, even remotely, to The Beatles blows me away. If my songs include even half of a percent as much talent as one of Ringo's turds, I am happy.