Looking for someone to review my album

[Artifice]

I dont have much cred around here, but FWIW - I'm diggin it. I really like Two Rings - that keyboard twirl may be a tad bit too much, but it's a really catchy tune.

 

Plus you guys are right down 85 from me. If you get a show in Charlotte, please do post it. I'd like to come see you.

 

PS - Do I hear a little Robert Pollard? No?

[lamradio]

I dont have much cred around here, but FWIW - I'm diggin it. I really like Two Rings - that keyboard twirl may be a tad bit too much, but it's a really catchy tune.

 

Plus you guys are right down 85 from me. If you get a show in Charlotte, please do post it. I'd like to come see you.

 

PS - Do I hear a little Robert Pollard? No?

 

Thanks for listening Artifice. Not digging the keyboard twirl? hehe.. Yeah, our bass player (my wife) hates it too.. But the rest of the members liked it, so majority rules.. I guess we were going for the over-the-top, cheesy sound. But I'm sure you're not alone disliking it.

 

We've been wanting to play out of state more. We've played several shows around the upstate of SC, but plan to venture out a little more. It's just tough to get into places when you are a newer band. Got any connections in Charlotte?

 

Robert Pollard? You know, I've never really listened to him or Guided By Voices much.. But I probably will now. It's not the first time we've been compared to a musician that I've never heard. Thanks again for listening!

[dunnright00]

Well, I've been wanting to add something to my nearly defunct/attempting a revival website.

I have a Music page that I have never added anything to.

 

This and the fact that I have been wanting to work on writing more.

 

And I love listening to/playing music.

 

And the comments so far(I haven't read any of the reviews, I'd rather start with my own opinion).

 

I'd like to give it a shot!

 

It must be known that I am usually too busy to do anything that I really want to do, because of family/work responsibilities.

But I will get to it eventually.

 

With that winning bit of self-promotion, let me know if you'd like me to give it a listen.

[lamradio]

Well, I've been wanting to add something to my nearly defunct/attempting a revival website.

I have a Music page that I have never added anything to.

 

This and the fact that I have been wanting to work on writing more.

 

And I love listening to/playing music.

 

And the comments so far(I haven't read any of the reviews, I'd rather start with my own opinion).

 

I'd like to give it a shot!

 

It must be known that I am usually too busy to do anything that I really want to do, because of family/work responsibilities.

But I will get to it eventually.

 

With that winning bit of self-promotion, let me know if you'd like me to give it a listen.

 

I would love for you to give it a listen. And if you like, we'd be grateful if you could add a review to your Music page.

 

Shoot me an email to socalledstar@yahoo.com, and I'll send you the link.

[The High Heat]

Hey Man, I told you about a month ago that I liked your music when I checked out your MySpace page, but now that I've been able to sit with your album ~ I can honestly say I love it. I get to know music in the car and I swear I've listen to this thing twenty times this week (I've done alot of extended driving this week). (Note: It's not unusual for me to play a cd on repeat in the car for a week, but usually it's Wilco, etc. and I don't usually log the miles I've had to this week; so you guys got an extreme extension on play-time.)

 

Unlike many VC members (apparently), I'm not a guitar bitch ~ mostly I'm a drum/percussion bitch (if not an ordinary, generic bitch), so the music of a band with alot of guitar has to be truly good for me not to get sick of being blitzed out of my ears. I've listened to your album all week and I never wanted to turn it off or replace it with my normal need for mid-tempo kind of jams. The more I listen, the more I like.

 

I don't like critical writing, so I'm not about to critique the album with a review; and I'm not a musician, so I can't make commentary on instrumentation and the like. I do believe I have a good set of ears, though (Hell, I found Wilco on my own!). Your band does have a great sound with strong song structures and arrangements. In moments it reminds me of The Foo Fighters back ten years ago when they were rising and fun to listen to (say There is Nothing Left to Lose from '99 ~ that's another album that got a week-long overdose in the car). Overall, I'd rather listen to what you're doing than what the FFers are doing ~ then or (esp.) now.

 

Other posters have brought up criticism on the production. It's valid criticism, but I'd imagine it has more to do with budget (instuments, equipment, studio prices, studio choices in your area, etc. ~ all very expensive, therefore limiting what you guys can do) than effort. It's understandable that a completely independent band would have production issues, but for a first album done on your own dime, this album is tremendous and you all should be very proud of what you've accomplished. I feel sorry for any VC member who by-passed this thread thinking this was a typical cheesy demo. It most certainly is not amateur at all. I'm sure you all learned alot from your first production as well, so second time around you'll have a better map. As far as that synth-swirl in "Two Rings," it would only be annoying if you leaned on that thing for the whole song. If it is to be used, you executed it in the best possible manner - accentuating in spots for effect. You've done no harm to a great tune there.

 

My favorites are: Solar Ray; Another Day in Paradise; Two Rings; Silver Lining; Azin & Aimless; with Azin probably being my favorite. (I love how you guys hold back on guitar on "Silver Lining" to bring the drums to forefront ~ told ya ~ drum bitch here. It's nothing fancy, but it's nice to have a guitar-heavy band know when to calm those things down in spots for great effect.

 

You all are very talented in songwriting, musicianship and arrangements. What are your goals? Do you want to be able to do this for a living? Do you want to get signed to a label, or in this era, is that even a good idea anymore? If you do want to do this full-time, do you know a good divorce lawyer? Ha-Ha. Seriously: Stay away from female, Oriental gurus and small airplanes. They are death-knells for any band!

 

Maybe if you sent clubs outside your area a copy of this album, they'd want you to come play. If they'd give a good listen to what you've done, they'd know that So Called Star is a Damn Good Band!

[lamradio]

Thanks for listening Auther13! I'm glad you enjoy our music, especially enough to have it on repeat in your car. That means a lot to us.

 

About the production; we actually recorded the whole thing in my spare bedroom. We used a great Pro Tools rig with some decent mics. There are a couple places on the record that bug me a little, but overall I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. The only downside of recording at your house, I lost a lot of sleep staying up late mixing it..

 

Our goals; we basically just want to continue to write/record albums and gig as much as we can. Except for the other guitarist, we are all married with children (my wife is actually the bass player) so we don't really have plans to do this full-time. However we do have the attitude; "if we start making enough money to quit our day jobs, then so be it."

 

Thanks again for listening!

[The High Heat]

So long as you guys keep making albums, I think the rest of us will be happy. In the future, make us pay for it, though. The first one's free, right? You pushers are all the same.

 

Maybe the VC crowd here can muster up a campaign to petition Wilco to let you be their opening act at a SC/NC show. I'd be so there dude!

[lamradio]

 

Maybe the VC crowd here can muster up a campaign to petition Wilco to let you be their opening act at a SC/NC show. I'd be so there dude!

 

Now that's a campaign the band and I would fully support!

[twigboyjoe]

This looks like a thread I'd love to get involved in! I'll be looking for the same in a few week's time, lamrod, fancy exchanging reviews? I'll chuck you a PM..

[PopTodd]

This looks like a thread I'd love to get involved in! I'll be looking for the same in a few week's time, lamrod, fancy exchanging reviews? I'll chuck you a PM..

 

Pretty much the same here, as I'm nearing the completion of my 2nd album.

[Ghost of Electricity]

Me too, at least theoretically: my band just broke up. Oh, well, I'd like to give it a listen anyway.

[a.miller]

This is a really catchy record. Period. I'm impressed by all the aspects of it.

 

Sure, the production isn't perfect, but that's a strong point in my eyes.

 

I'd be certain to get plenty of extra copies pressed and send it to EVERYONE.

 

Great album. Classic, but fresh.

[lamradio]

This is a really catchy record. Period. I'm impressed by all the aspects of it.

 

Sure, the production isn't perfect, but that's a strong point in my eyes.

 

I'd be certain to get plenty of extra copies pressed and send it to EVERYONE.

 

Great album. Classic, but fresh.

 

"Classic, but fresh." I like that!

 

Thanks for listening a.miller. We do have a "free handout" version that we've been handing out at shows. It's the full album, but with a cheap label and sleeve. Eventually were going to get it duplicated professionally (album art etc.), but I still have a couple small changes to make with the mix before we do that. Hopefully around that time, it'll get picked up by Nonesuch and we will begin touring with Wilco...

 

Thanks again for listening. If you ever want a review of your material, let me know.

[twigboyjoe]

Off to me folks tonight, lookin forward to gettin me ears around this! Report coming soon

[twigboyjoe]

First impressions are good! Think it's been said before, but Blue album Weezer springs to mind immediately...in a good way, not copycat or anything.

 

I believe better (beefier maybe?) production and a bit of variation in sound / instrumentation would help define it as it's own, but again I think these points have been covered and I'm well aware of how much time & money comes at a premium! Look forward to giving it a proper listen over the next day or two, more detailed thoughts to follow...

[lamradio]

First impressions are good! Think it's been said before, but Blue album Weezer springs to mind immediately...in a good way, not copycat or anything.

 

I believe better (beefier maybe?) production and a bit of variation in sound / instrumentation would help define it as it's own, but again I think these points have been covered and I'm well aware of how much time & money comes at a premium! Look forward to giving it a proper listen over the next day or two, more detailed thoughts to follow...

 

Thanks twigboyjoe. I think at the next mixing session (and hopefully final) I'm going to turn up the bass slightly to hopefully achieve a "beefier" sound. A few mixes ago, the bass was too beefy and folks were complaining that they had to turn the bass WAY down on their stereo's.

 

Thanks for the feedback though, and glad you like!

[The High Heat]

Spent all of last week in Kill Devil Hills, listened to So Called Star in the car, still sounding great, Lamrod. And for sure, in the OBX: Here it's summer all the time!

[lamradio]

Spent all of last week in Kill Devil Hills, listened to So Called Star in the car, still sounding great, Lamrod. And for sure, in the OBX: Here it's summer all the time!

 

That's awesome Author13. Sounds like the album has a pretty long listening lifespand so far. Great to hear my friend, thanks.

 

 

Also if anyone is interested, Tomotrax (Australian based music review myspace site) did a review of our album, and interviewed us.

 

Album Review:

 

http://blogs.myspace...logId=495846328

Interview:

 

http://blogs.myspace...logId=503812956

[Dean Moriarty]

Wow I checked out the tunes on myspace. I am shocked at how good it is. These guys are worth a listen.

[lamradio]

I know a few VCers have been asking about my bands new album. Well after a year of writing and recording, we finally finished!

 

The album is available to download for free right now. I wouldn't have it any other way, especially for VCers.

 

On this album, we got a little more adventurous while still keeping to our true sound.. Hope you enjoy and I'd love to hear your feedback of course.

 

http://www.socalleds...days_Heroes.zip

[The High Heat]

Hell yeah!

I'll listen to this tomorrow when I can get a chance to download it.

I was listening to your other one a couple weeks ago and wanting more, and now I'll have that!

Thanks, Matt!

[Moss]

Really looking forward to hearing this one!

[PopTodd]

Really looking forward to hearing this one!

Ditto! Grabbing that link now. Thanks!

[Moss]

I know a few VCers have been asking about my bands new album. Well after a year of writing and recording, we finally finished!

 

The album is available to download for free right now. I wouldn't have it any other way, especially for VCers.

 

On this album, we got a little more adventurous while still keeping to our true sound.. Hope you enjoy and I'd love to hear your feedback of course.

 

http://www.socalleds...days_Heroes.zip

 

 

Lamrod, I'm blown away. Seriously, this is just really good stuff. If I could write music like this I would quit my job and start touring right now. I love the fact that this is a really good guitar album. You get some amazing tones, both clean and heavy, some really good feedback moments. It sounds really polished like you spent a hell of a lot of money and time on it. Some great duel guitar stuff (you find a new guitar player? I seem to remember the old one left?) Hell even the sequencing seems well thought out. What's really impressive to me are the melodies throughout. Seems like every song has a really catchy hook and instantly grabs your attention. I'm about 3 times through it now and it's just solid. Again, this is one that I will revisit again. You exceeded my already high expectations. I don't want to sound too fawning and come across as insincere so I will stop now. Is the CD going to be available for sale? Any plans for a Nationwide tour?

[lamradio]

Lamrod, I'm blown away. Seriously, this is just really good stuff. If I could write music like this I would quit my job and start touring right now. I love the fact that this is a really good guitar album. You get some amazing tones, both clean and heavy, some really good feedback moments. It sounds really polished like you spent a hell of a lot of money and time on it. Some great duel guitar stuff (you find a new guitar player? I seem to remember the old one left?) Hell even the sequencing seems well thought out. What's really impressive to me are the melodies throughout. Seems like every song has a really catchy hook and instantly grabs your attention. I'm about 3 times through it now and it's just solid. Again, this is one that I will revisit again. You exceeded my already high expectations. I don't want to sound too fawning and come across as insincere so I will stop now. Is the CD going to be available for sale? Any plans for a Nationwide tour?

 

Wow, thank you Moss. Our old guitar player (the one that left) plays on this album. He left shortly before it' completion, he did not play on the first track since it is the last one we recorded. It's unfortunate that he left because he is responsible for most of that feedback and lead work on the record. But I guess musicians come and go, and we are moving on now... We have a new guitar player who is also an excellent vocalist (if I'm not careful, he might steal my job.. lol), and we are looking forward to bringing in more vocal work into our music.

 

No plans for a nationwide tour.. lol... Damn day jobs.... But we do play out quite often locally and venture out of state from time to time. We will be releasing the CD in the next few weeks with artwork etc. I'll be sure and let you know when.

 

Thanks again for the kind words. Would love to hear some of your stuff sometime. I remember you mentioned you had some audio/video footage you were working on.