Y.E.S.S. fest participants/Chavez High Jazz Band/Stockton, CA wrote: Rhondda, we posted a review on your website. We know a video was made at the festival & we thought it would be posted on youtube.com.What happened? Why is it not there?Can you tell us why it's not there?We thought the song went well & we would like to see the video.Can you respond ASAP?
Energy wise the song went great. I liked the visuals on it too.
But the sound was a different matter. Usually at festivals, all the instruments are miked thru the P.A. I only had 5 channels offered to me, so 1 for the lead vocal, 2 for the backups, & 1 for the drum machine & 1 for the piano.
There was no miking for the Leslie("wah" organ part you hear on the original demo)
& no miking for my guitarist or ba$$ist so you don't hear those parts on the videotape. let's just say the guys in the band aren't jiggy to that.
My ba$$ist:"Do you want to realease that?I don't think it does the sound of your song credit"
So I'm gonna send the tape into TAXI (an agency down South that helped me score my film score)& see what they say. if they say it's a go-go, we'll go -go.Maybe. After all, TAXI is in...uhmmmm....Lo cal.'Nuff said.
yeah?then they're gonna hate it; why even ask?Release the damn thing anyway.release something; we're all tired of waiting.They say atheletes are lazy, but i think musicians are the reall lazy a$$es...you hear that musician girl?
uhmmmmm.....yeah, you're a fine one to talk. So you got ythat gig on TNT ONCE A WEEK.Big frickin' deal!
I have 30 private music students a week, practices & recording sessions at night + gigs on Friday & saturday night most weeks. I work 6, sometimes 7 days a week!Lazy, I'm not. overworked, probably. I've got a few hours of mixing ahead of me tonight. & tomorrow, I have a recording session while I'm gonna be watching the game. You try my schedule, mound of rebound. It's a hell-of-alot-easier to show up to your gig & talk about women making coffee in the kitchen.Hell, I could do your gig. But i bet you couldn't do mine.
& speaking of mine, A new cd will be coming out of my film music & other "pop" songs that don't fit into the jazzy-bluesy-norah-jones-on-'roids-thang. keep your eyes out for it.....
& the guys from TAXI could surprise you!.....true....they're down in la-la-land, but consider the examples of my musical friends Ron Meza & Daniel Bejarano that also live in L.A....they don't like the lakers or want to work for them, so what's the diff?
I had coffee coming out of my nose when chuck said that about women!That's a pretty big challenge, rhondda, what do ya think, chuck?
& you're right, it is an easy gig, that's why we like it. Though sometimes I wished chuck didn't smell so bad since i sit next to him.
LOL, 'Kenny!!'But the mound of Chuck redeemed himself last thurday night. he was almost governator-like.
I did get a response from TAXI, but it's lengthy & the Kings game is on pretty sone & i wanna see what kingsfan wrote on the 'gotta love' thread, so..
So what did they say?Enquiring minds wanna know!!
let me give you all the short version of the review. They will say:
1)They like the sound:it straddles the fence between contemporary hip-hop & old-school r n' b' & funk,
2) They'll like your voice, because it's good.
3)They'll like the form & the production.
They WILL NOT like:
1)The 'idea' of the hook. it may be marketable to King's fans, but most people aren't kingsfans or even basketball fans.
2)It's a little lacking dynamically since you used a drum machine. Next time, call me.
You know Daniel; I'd love to call you, but you're a little outta my budget right now. But you're right on about the review. Is one of the screeners for TAXI a friend of yours?But let me gice the complete review, especially since I already mentionad at sactownroyalty that I would:
Title:"the Kings are breakin' my heart & holding back music". by Rhondda Nunes...
So, here's the review. Any snarky comments by moi` are in (brackets like this).
Song:gotta Love Your sacramento Kings.
artist: Rhondda Nunes
Style:Straddles the fence between contemporary hip-hop and old school funk and blues.
Melody:despite the fact that the song is based on a rap, it still has a very melodic sensibility. The vocal tag line"gotta Love Your sacramento Kings" ties the entire lyric together nicely in the chorus, but unfortunately sounds a bit distorted whenever it appears.
(Damn. I knew i shouldn't have had the guys from my cover band do the hook with me. it figures that that's the part that doesn't work.)
Structure:the structure flows smoothly from start to finish. There is not a whole lot of dynamic variation throughout the arrangement, which means the song doesn't go through any emeotional peaks and valleys, but the vocal rap diverts attention away from that nicely.
(Well...I'm glad my vocal diverts, b/c daniel's right:not much dynamic variation capable with a drum machine.)
Lyric:The vocal performance sounds incredibly expressive, although I'm not sure I hear the Norah Jones or jerry lee lewis influnce you speak of in your bio. The lyrical theme and imagery seem very distinctive, unfortunately, the probably only has limited appeal to people who live in sacramento or love the sacramento kings. I'd love to hear what you could do with a lyrical sentiment that has slightly more universal appeal.
(You know, it's a funny thing about the comparsison to Norah jones. the norah Jones on 'Roids comment came at a gig:[male fan]"You're norah jones on 'roids!" After a cover of Mustang sally at that. Go figure. a student of mine said:"No..it's norah jones on acid, though I know that's not p.c. "that prompted the talk, of course.Another student said:"it's a diss to compare you to her. She's boring."of course, this talented young man likes to play lead guitar with his teeth, it should be pointed out....back to the review)
Title:Distinctive and it wotks well within the context of the arrangement although, like the lyric, it holds limited appeal.
(I'm getting tired of this 'limited appeal' aspect...how 'bout you?but wait , there's more)
Overall comments:
Rhonda-This is a very interesting song and performance. As I mentioned, I think the song has somewhat limited appeal, however, as a "niche" song aimed directly at the Kings and their fans, it works beautifully.(Whoa....now THAT surprised me, if it's not marketable, anyway). The performance itself is very compelling. (That's flattering!). Your vocal delivery sounds expressive, and the band provides very solid musical support.(Also flattering since "the band" is just me over-tracked). I like very much the way you've mixed a variety of different stylistic influences to create something that sounds both old and new at the same time. I'm also impressed by your ability to deliver a rap that sounds authentic and not overly forced or contrived. I do wish that i also had the opportunity to hear a song that is a little more universal(coming right up!The new soundtrack album is almost ready to drop!)as far as the lyrical content is concerned. not being a huge basketball fan, the subtle nuances are lost on me, and this in fact, is why i think the song has limited appeal. If I knew or cared more about what you were singing about I think I'd be able to invest more emotion in the overall erpformance. None the less, this is a complex & compelling piece of music and I commend you on your effort.