Nothing Ever Changes (Rock)

[stoman]

This song has a sad story. Marc Traynor, the bassist, died early this year. We continued with the song after he had passed away. The mix is not exactly brilliant ... but I wanted to finish it quickly to give the song to his wife.

I'll re-mix it from scratch (don't know when yet), as I have learned a lot about mixing in the meantime - and I have a couple of new toys that help me get a much better sound.

Here is the link to the song. I cannot upload it as the file is too big for this site:
Nothing Ever Changes

Lyrics: Katherine Wong
Vocals: Mark Lee Fletcher
Guitars: Andrew Doherty
Bass: Marc Traynor (1962 - 2010)
Drums: Gerald Langenfeld
Composed, arranged & mixed by Steffen Offermann

Nothing Ever Changes
(Katherine Wong 2008)

I will lie beside you, like I would lie in death
And when my eyes are closed, is it just another test
Of the hand that rocks the cradle and the baby who would fall
For when I get to heaven, there is nothing there at all

Sitting in my corner I will contemplate my life
Thinking of tomorrow as I'm pulling out my knife
To cut away the demons running through my head
For when my eyes are open I find I'm still in bed

Nothing ever changes...nothing ever does
Nothing ever, ever changes

When you're lying at my feet looking up at me
I will barely remember how we came to be
For love is nothing more than a blur of space and time
And my wicked heart will not forsake its crime

I light a cigarette to get me through the day
And as the ashes burn they melt my words away
For I've become a sinner with a naked soul
All my words unspoken have nowhere left to go

Nothing ever changes...nothing ever does
Nothing ever, ever changes

As the morning passess, I slowly walk away
My mind tell's me it's over; I have nothing left to say
The darkness of the day has forgotten that it's blue
And when I'm all alone will I ever think of you

As I turn the corner there are faces passing by
Begging for a quarter but I only have a dime
Their dreams are washed away, sleepless in the night
And now I am among them for I forgot to fight

Nothing ever changes...nothing ever does
Nothing ever, ever changes

Regards,
  Steffen

[Kenneth]

Steffen, i've heard recordings from artists that get paid big $ on the airwaves that dont sound anywhere as well mixed as this.
Sorry for the loss of your bassist, that is terrible to hear.

[Satchwood]

Yes, so sorry to hear about the loss of your bass player....   This sounds great, and i'm glad that you got er finished!!  The mix sounds great to me ~ i really dig the section 'changes' in this tune lol!   Very cool.... a song with cool changes about nothing that ever changes :~)

[Redler]

Sorry for the loss, he was born in same year than I...

In my opinion, the mix and everything else is real well done. It is very demanding put all this together, so many spots and changes in tempo etc. Loved the prog rock feeling. Fantastic work...

Kari

[stoman]

Thanks, guys. I may be too picky, and I admit that I'm NEVER actually satisfied with any of my own mixes (so be warned, if we ever collaborate! ). But I listened again yesterday (in bed with my MP3 player), and IMO it's obvious that it lacks depth and dynamics, and the volume levels aren't balanced well.

It was indeed a lot of tracks to work with - 49 (plus a lot of group channels and effects), to be precise. But I have songs with 120 tracks or more, so that's no excuse.

I'm not sure if I could have done it better then, but I'm pretty confident that I can do - at least a little - better NOW. I just need a little bit of time ...

Regards,
  Steffen

[Gritter]

Wow! WOW! exceptional...love the textures...love the vocals...love the fx. Top shelf production...what a sound!

Holy Bumpinolli!

[SwanSong]

stoman GREAT SONG. very unique and a great story
very imaging. with the lyric.s great mix, thumbs up NEIL

[dasilvasings]

Sorry for the loss.

Agree with the above - your production is so ahead of so many "professional" stuff we hear!

BTW_  your "strangers" is now a favorite back home - terrific singer you have there!

[stoman]

Thanks for the bump, guys! You remind me that I wanted to do a better mix of this song. But it is a big project, and it needs a lot of time and motivation to do it right ...

Maybe I should rather wait until my room has been improved acoustically ...

Anyway, glad you like it! I wish Marc (the bassist) could hear the song.

Regards,
  Steffen

[The Gobi Desert Canoe Club]

Hi Steffen, although late I still offer my condolences. Again this is a high quality piece of work that is far more to my taste than Black Crow. I'm in awe of you guys that produce to this standard................Willie