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The Archive - '2'
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Serious Writers Guild' at MAKEHITS.COM
Written by Dec Cluskey with a little bit of help from his friends.
This Email first mailed to all Members of 'The Serious Writers Guild' and subscribers to 'One Minute With Dec' on
03 SEPTEMBER 04
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"Where the lil' guy gets the same chance as the big guy" Latest Music News Quality Information TechniquesCutting Edge Advice for TodayRun by real, successful, active, performing and music making human beings - not 'faceless' businessmen. ================================= 'One Minute With Dec' "My Emails Are Written With Good Humour And Should Be Read With A Smile" [-The views of any contributor to 'One Minute with Dec' are not necessarily the views of Dec Cluskey-] "Truth -
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"There is so much complexity in the simplicity" dec cluskey The Festival Season in the UK?I love the Festival season here in the UK. Because of the atrocious weather sometimes it has become part of the fun to spend a few days just covered in mud! Reading Festival has taken all this a stage further. If a band is even slightly out of sync with the idea of the Festival [Indie and alternative] then the younger members of the audience delight in slinging mud/bottles/anything not screwed down, at the performers. The Rasmus: At Reading Festival, The Rasmus were booed off three quarter way through their first song [they were meant to play 45 minutes]
50
Cents got 15 mins in [supposed to be 50 minutes]
Black Eyed Peas had the worst sound mix ever at Glastonbury....awful or what?
When I look at anything live or on Telly it is always with a critical eye. I have long since lost the ability to just sit back and enjoy. 'Black Eyed Peas' must be one of the hottest properties in the world, but how could they get it so wrong at Glastonbury with so much money behind them? My thoughts? The basic problem was the level of voices/back track. We simply could not hear the vocals. I would suggest that what happened was this: The sound for the festival was done by Radio One Road Show Team....excellent and quite the best overall mix I have heard for a Festival. Normally a big band would have their own sound guy, but only as an 'advisor'....usually to set up particular bits of the mix and sort out the effects patches. The smart cookies leave it to the resident guys who are there all day long [provided the mix has been good so far!] With 'Black Eyed Peas' I would almost guarantee that they brought their own guy and he muscled in and took over...result? Disaster. The resident guys would delight in seeing him squirm. Foldback: The foldback/monitors must have had ear splitting track level blasting at the band. Thus, it was impossible to hear the voices in a 'today', out front of the mix, way. The days of inaudible vocals are well gone. There must have been a side stage monitor mix desk....this is where it went wrong big time. But maybe that is what the band like...ear splitting track. Warning: Always perform with the 'correct' level of track in the monitors. That way the front of house engineer has a fighting chance to give you a gobsmacking mix out front where it is important. Microphones: Every band guy had an open mic. Thus the track was leaking into every mic. when not being sung into.... Warning: Try to operate with the least number of mics. if there are a lot of vocalists on stage. Swapping mics......just looks so good. Makes for a great looking routine...especially if you can perfect the art of throwing mics. about. [My band do....looks stunning] Warning: Have the mics. well I.D.'ed...meaning identified with colour tape...or better still have your mics spray painted....or have special enamelled or chromium plated bodies [Sinatra had this - and in the UK Frankie Vaughan]...I haven't seen any 'today' artists do that but it looks stunning. Our mics. are well identified with coloured insulating tape. That way the sound boy can mute the mics not being used and concentrate his mix efforts on the mic. being used....so easy to spot when the colour is obvious? Warning: It is simple for the sound boy to set up a system of gating ...so that any mic. not being used is effectively 'off'. Most major sound rigs today use banks of Behringer Composers for that purpose. Stage costumes: Note the word 'costume'...meaning it is so over the top that you would not walk down the street in it. 'Black Eyed Peas' made the disastrous mistake of wearing 'busy' costumes with little 'colour' against a 'busy' background of similar colour to the costumes. When one of them went into the audience to sing, he 'disappeared'. Warning: Always bring two sets of differing costumes...check out the background to ensure the costumes of the band / artist will stick out. In a Festival situation where you have no control over the background, then plain striking colours look 'the business'....if you go into an audience make sure you have a striking colour on to make you 'stand out from the crowd'....white is always best....mainly because the lighting guys can throw a light on the costume and it instantly changes colour .... why do you think Boyzone, Westlife use it so much? Think about The Olympics just gone.... all the main costumes, in the opening and closing ceremonies, were white and looked brilliant. Finally: One of the girl singers was using that dreadful 'cabaret' technique of pulling the microphone away from her mouth for the high/loud notes.....DON'T ever do that! It drives sound engineers barmy....and drives me barmy! There is no need with today's limiting equipment. And with a dynamic mic., once you move the mic. more that two inches the voice totally disappears! And in a case where the monitors have ear splitting track, then the track will spill like mad into the mic. Where can you learn all this stuff? 'The Art Of Live Performing' ten month program of two downloaded CD's per month, plus program notes and lots of goodies, has proved to be a 'career making' program for so many guys....Marcell in Germany started performing 7 months ago and last week played with the biggest Pop band in Germany...Wow! Check out his web site to see what a top class site should look like http://www.marcelbrell.de/ ....he even has the pics. of recent gigs....just like I advise. He is picking up fanbase/database like mad and just destined for massive stuff....watch him fly. Check out www.liveperforming.com for the program that will lift you to the proper 'big time'.....that's what Marcell did! A big chance to attend a proper record 'launch'
"The only writing guaranteed to make money is ransom notes" DW - Newcastle A Winning Critique from last week....good stuff! www.cherry.uk.com
Critique for this week? Win a nice prezzie from Dec - listen and send me a short, honest, critique:
=========================== The last time I made contact I was
assisting Matt Johnson who went on to be in 'One True Voice' (shame my
contact wasn't in Girls Aloud). =========================== =========================== =========================== Charts:UK 1) NATASHA
BEDINGFIELD - 'THESE WORDS' 2) 3 OF A KIND ..... 'BABYCAKES' ..... 3) THE
411 - 'DUMB' USA 1) "Goodies".....Ciara Featuring Petey Pablo Sho'nuff/LaFace " ......... 2 ) "Lean Back" ..... Terror Squad3) "Sunshine"...... Lil' Flip Featuring Lea Sucka Free Chart Comments: Singles
New Entries in the UK: My
favourite band Sugababes are in there again....they just get it 'so
right'. "If you like rainbows, you gotta put up with the rain" dolly parton Subscribers Section: "Hi Dec! I need your help.on my b.tec college course tomorrow (in music technology & sound design), we are required to mic up, arrange and produce in the studio, including mixing & effects etc, of a piece of music. I am going to produce a performance of 'Ironic' (A. Morrisette) with my daughter C***** on vocals (it's a song she's done many times live). On the track i also want to use electric & acoustic guitar, bass, drums & cherry will also do backing vocals. On the original there is also an organ & bongos which i regard as optional at the moment. Dec, i need your help in the best order to lay these tracks down, bearing in mind i have the same musician playing drums & guitar (a genius of a lad called J***** who's also grade 8 piano & brilliant on guitar) & the same person on acoustic & bass. I really want to do this professionally, Dec, and pin everyone's ears back. That's why i've come to you. I hope you have the time to reply, would really appreciate it.
My Reply First postpone the session.....waste of time without the written arrangement and the proper music. Never start the session without proper music arranged from the original sheet music. [from a shop or the Publishers]. Then everyone should have copies. Spend a few days listening to sample CD's and pick 6 samples that you feel will be sensational on the track. Start with click track and write the complete drum part into the computer precisely as the record [if you are doing an exact copy...which you shouldn't be! What good will it do? You should be doing a 2004 cover of the song]. Under no circumstances work without a computer click track and NEVER rely on a drummer's tempo. Use the latest drum sample and loop CD's....call me on the phone I'll advise you. All members of 'Serious Writers Guild' have my private number to my studio desk.
Now - start work on the samples...have the 6 available on a keyboard....use them....see what excitement they can add. Replace the H.H. with that weird descending sound for two bars? Live drums [only to be used if they ADD to the jump and excitement. Rarely do!] Preferably record the live drums through triggers into the computer sequencer. Then use an Akai sampler or similar to play drum samples [far superior to live drum sounds] or my current favourite - Alesis DM5 drum module or Yamaha Motif. Possibly the only live element you will end up using is the High Hat.
Live bass, to replace the keyboard bass. Again check to see does he/she 'add to the occasion'....a good bass player usually can. Talk to me on the phone about how to record the bass....it is important. Clean up all the tracks and quantise and/or humanise for best excitement. Usually takes about a week......sorry! Replace original guide vocal. By this time he/she should be so 'into' the production that they can give a stunning 'familiar' performance....and this is the most important part...the performance of the vocalist....that is where the 'hit' is. Every word exciting and clear....C.T.F. [compressed to F....]. Clean out the silences between the vocal phrases....this is important. Solo the voice and make sure it is 'spotless'. You will also have to make the choice on whether to leave 'breaths' in or take 'em out? I always leave the important ones in. Sounds great with huge compression. Check everything is sitting in it's own particular frequency range uncluttered. Less is always more, so be prepared to delete offending passages. Pay particular attention to compression. Mix [ensure
you have Roland RSS available as an effect for the vocal arrangement] B**.... All this,
and tons more, is in my releases
in much more detail. The teachers [who have never had a hit in
their lives and will totally disagree with the above] never actually
teach at those establishments
you attend, they merely let the students
'get on with it' and therefore just practice the 'mistakes' over
and over again. All the correct Hit making techniques are in 'How To
Make A £Million From Your Music' and 'The Master Class'. Regards "Too old for the record industry? Mae West made her first film at 40! Fact!" Regards Dec You may use any part of this 'One Minute' in your own publications...we simply require you to add: Start ============ 'One Minute With Dec' is written each week by Dec Cluskey. Dec's advice? Get in touch personally to discuss what you want to achieve in music dec@makehits.comweb: www.makehits.com or call +44 (0)1323.728005Finish=========== ============================================ The gags [A long one....but the funniest I have ever had...from Willie Foux] "One evening last week, my wife and I were getting into bed. Well, the passion starts to heat up, and she eventually says "I don't feel like it, I just want you to hold me." I said "WHAT???? What was that?" So she says the words that every husband on the planet dreads to hear..."You're just not in touch with my emotional needs as a woman enough for me to satisfy your physical needs as a man." She responded to my puzzled look by saying, "Can't you just love me for who I am and not what I do for you in the bedroom?" Realizing that nothing was going to happen that night I went to sleep. The very next day I opted to take the day off of work to spend time with her. We went out to a nice lunch and then went shopping at a big, big unnamed dept. store. I walked around with her while she tried on several different very expensive outfits. She couldn't decide which one to take so I told her we'll just buy them all. She wanted new shoes to compliment her new clothes, so I said lets get a pair for each outfit. We went on to the jewellery dept. where she picked out a pair of diamond earrings. Let me tell you...she was so excited. She must have thought I was one wave short of a shipwreck. I started to think she was testing me because she asked for a tennis bracelet when she doesn't even know how to play tennis. I think I threw her for a loop when I said, "That's fine, honey." She was almost nearing sexual satisfaction from all of the excitement. Smiling with excited anticipation she finally said, "I think this is all dear, let's go to the cashier". I could hardly contain myself when I blurted out, "No honey, I don't feel like it." Her face just went completely blank as her jaw dropped with a baffled WHAT???!!!" I then said, "Really honey! I just want you to HOLD this stuff for awhile..... You're just not in touch with my financial needs as a man enough for me to satisfy your shopping needs as a woman." And just when she had this look like she was going to kill me I added, "Why can't you just love me for who I am and not for the things I buy you?" Apparently I'm not having sex tonight either..... ============================================
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