It's Poll time for the Short Rock Composing Challenge

[ZappaFan]

Okay Guys here are the entries for the Rock Composing Challenge set by our Illustrious moderator Highway Star.


Clcik on the links below to listen to the tracks. and then cast your vote for your fave.

The entrants, in alphabetical order, are as follows:-

Danny Danzi (http://www.aoxn16.dsl.pipex.com/comptracks/DannyDanzi.mp3)

Guitarpima (http://www.aoxn16.dsl.pipex.com/comptracks/Guitarpima.mp3)

Highway Star (http://www.aoxn16.dsl.pipex.com/comptracks/HighwayStar.mp3)

Rick_L (http://www.aoxn16.dsl.pipex.com/comptracks/RickL.mp3)

Stempy (http://www.aoxn16.dsl.pipex.com/comptracks/Stempy.mp3)

Zombo (http://www.aoxn16.dsl.pipex.com/comptracks/Zombo.mp3)


all fine and good efforts, well done guys, you rock !!!






BTW, due to a slight technical problem I have had to host these files on my own web site, it should perform okay but isnt quite the speed you would expect from our dedicated 6SH server. I hope all works well enough for now though.

[Danny Danzi]

OMG you guys did soo good with this! It's amazing how we can all hear the same backing yet come up with completely different pieces...unless your Rick L who I believe to be a brother from another mother! LOL!! Dude, we did have the same idea! I was crackin up! Yours was sort of Dokken sounding, mine was more like Lynch Mob. Hahahahahaha!


Norm: This was such a great idea. We gotta do this more often and your post was rockin! Pima and Zombo striking up the more mellow, tasty versions, Stempy lightin it up with the rock vibe, Rick L, Norm and me handling the more metal side of things. This really was fun! Great job guys, seriously, you all kicked butt! ;)

[Danny Danzi]

Hey lets add another rule to this....no competitors can vote for themselves. ;)

[Danny Danzi]

No votes yet, I'll cast the first so ya know I didn't vote for myself...though I thought about it you know. LOL!! I'm soo kidding! ;)

[Guitarpima]

I think I know why you thought the hi hat sounded funny. I was listening to it and is sounds like a Wood Afuche/Cabasa. You can view one here. (http://http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Latin-Percussion-LP234A-Standard-Wood-AfucheCabasa?sku=440631)

I have to agree, everyone did a fantastic job! A shout out to Stempy for using a motive and developing it throughout his take. :thumb: :thumb: It is amazing how diverse every track was.

[Rick_Lamoreaux]

OMG you guys did soo good with this! It's amazing how we can all hear the same backing yet come up with completely different pieces...unless your Rick L who I believe to be a brother from another mother! LOL!! Dude, we did have the same idea! I was crackin up! Yours was sort of Dokken sounding, mine was more like Lynch Mob. Hahahahahaha!


Norm: This was such a great idea. We gotta do this more often and your post was rockin! Pima and Zombo striking up the more mellow, tasty versions, Stempy lightin it up with the rock vibe, Rick L, Norm and me handling the more metal side of things. This really was fun! Great job guys, seriously, you all kicked butt! ;)



Hahahaaa - Danny D! In case any of you guys missed it, me and Danny were joking around the the shoutbox, when he said that he took a George Lynch approach, and I was like whoaaaa, dude - I hope we don't have the same rhythm, LOL! Well, it might as well be! LMAO! Dude - that was great, hahaa! Man, we gotta do this again!

GP - goin' crazy on that wah! I thought it had like a real cool 60s Jimi Hendrix like sound. I'd never been to Woodstock, but I was thinkin' I was there, lol!

Norm matey - I really dug your tune! The progression reminded me of some of the Beatles hard rock tunes, I mean if anybody didn't think they played hard - they haven't heard 'em man!

Stemp bro - A very exotic approach with the acoustic and electric guitars, man! Another nostalgic feel!

Zombo - I heard me some cool sounding ZZ-Top influence in there, man! I gotta go find me my cheap sunglasses, LOL!


This was friggin' great, guys! Yep, and like you said Danny - don't vote for yourselves, LOL! Man, I gotta get working on a challenge for you guys, I think you're all going to like it. That is if somebody doesn't already beat me to it, LOL!

:mrgreen:

[Rick_Lamoreaux]

Danny D bro, I guess you still remember me telling you that I was born in NJ - not a 45 minute drive from where you live. Brother from another mother - hahaaa! ... Dude... :shock:

[bwdavis99]

All well done and a difficult choice, in the end I went with the one I thought made the most of the track adding tension and expression most to my liking and that would be the Highway Star, Farl that was awesome. Again awesome job bby everyone

[bigdoug]

I cant decide between 2 takes so I will come back later and go through them again. Guys big respect to you all for some great creative stuff there:wnw::wnw::wnw:

[Danny Danzi]

ahahaha Rick, one of our mothers aint tellin us something! ;)


Danny D bro, I guess you still remember me telling you that I was born in NJ - not a 45 minute drive from where you live. Brother from another mother - hahaaa! ... Dude... :shock:

[Highway Star]

First off.... Thanks Zapp for handling the entries, that was real good of you mate!

Secondly.... Hell!!! Some really great and diverse entries!! Thanks guys for taking a bash at what at first looked deceptively easy BT. It has been a blast having a go at this and I think the format of a "blind" participation worked real well!

Thirdly... I've listened to them all twice some three times and one around five times!! Flippin brilliant!!

Danny D - That backing riff was bleedn' awesome!! Man I can see why you didn't want to play over it but then again... the lead was cracking as well!

Guitarpima - Wow, I was not ready for that! Relaxing Rock! A whole new genre! Loved the progression and the wah! It had a real laid back jazzy feel! Nice!

Rick L - Man the hairs on the back of my neck bristled from the first punch from the speakers!! Modified the bass line then.... nice and that screaming lead!! Fantastic!

Stempy - I was really impressed with this take, it built up real well with the repetitive lead (a motive GP called it?). That was a real cool take! It is on a loop in the background as I'm typing and the more I hear it the more impressed I am!

Zombo - An excellent take matey! Really cool playing, some of the best I have ever heard from you (and I've heard a load of good stuff from you mate!) Those opening haunting notes are still in my head!! Beautifull playing and tones.

But... whose is the best composed piece... Hell I can't make my mind up yet, so much to choose from! So..... I'll vote a little later when I've heard them all a few more times! LOL

Thanks again guys!

Norman

[Highway Star]

All well done and a difficult choice, in the end I went with the one I thought made the most of the track adding tension and expression most to my liking and that would be the Highway Star, Farl that was awesome. Again awesome job bby everyone

Thanks Barry!! Real pleased you liked it mate!!

Norman

[Blue]

They're all great! In the end I went purely by personal musical tastes when I voted. Well done guys!

[Stempy]

Thanks for the positive feed back guys, and what a completely diverse selection of takes, all excellent. I have narrowed my choice down to 2 finalists, its very hard to choose on these things but I think of my two favourites I will have to give my vote to the non professional for it's ZZtoppiness.

[Highway Star]

My vote is in. It was soooo close between three but one hell of a background riff finally just edged it!!

So great from all though! Thanks!

Norman

[petermoran555]

Great stuff guys!

Very cool.

Vote is in :)

[Rick]

vote cast,
mine was between danny,farl and rickL

i've just left all three playing for the last 2 hours to make my mind up....
and daft as is sounds the one i picked sounds like the other 2 mixed together.

[Highway Star]

vote cast,
mine was between danny,farl and rickL

i've just left all three playing for the last 2 hours to make my mind up....
and daft as is sounds the one i picked sounds like the other 2 mixed together.

LOL Doesn't sound daft at all, I was thinking the same!!

Norman

[ZappaFan]

BTW just as a qucik note here I noticed a little bit of clipping on a couple of the tracks, it didnt detract too much from the overall sound but kinda added the sound of a deep fat fryer sizzling in the background on a couple. Might be worth you guys checking out your tracks and bearing that in mind when you record. It didnt however spoil my enjoyment of everyone's efforts on this. Well done again.

[Guitarpima]

Thanks for the kind words guys. Rick, I would never have thought it was like Jimi but thanks for that. I always liked his tangents he took playing live. I did not spend to much time last night with my thoughts so here goes.

Danny that was amazing. You are gifted.

Highway Star that reminds me of Kiss. All you need now is to spit blood and fire. Awesome!

Rick L. I think Danny is right. You must be brothers. Are you guys sure you did'nt play in the same band for a while? You Rocked!

Stempy I stated earlier about your use of a motive. I like the feel and it was very organized. Great work!

Zombo I like the spacey feel. What a great rhythm. Very nice work indeed.

I had fun with this one. :orange:

[bigdoug]

I had areal tough one on this, it came down to a three way tie with Danny RickL and Farl, I gave it to Farl because he is the most amateur player of the three and so I thought had given the most to get such a good result.

[Six]

A great selection of styles there, it really is amazing just how varied they can be over the same BT.

I think everyone did a superb job and each have their own merits.

My vote is now cast.

[zombo]

Oh wow when I heard you all I wish I hadn't posted I really mean that amazing!!

Danny Danzi what can I say I couldn't believe it man !!

GP I loved your combination with clean rhythm and the cry baby excellent very impressive

Highway star that was the best of the best from you great playing Shaun oh wow !

Rick L that was just too much that thing rocked and rocked and rocked !

Stempy you are a flammin hero that was brill you put loads of time to that oh and those layered tracks and the acoustic was brill what a good idea!

I won't say who I voted for at this stage but I am highly impressed I never expected this its scarey!!

[Danny Danzi]

I just listened to all of them again today, and it still just blows me away on how we pretty much painted different pictures with all the same tools. Everyone really did fantastic in my opinion and I'm looking forward to doing this again. It truly was a great idea. Thanks for the kind words about my part guys, I really appreciate it. When the pieces are played as well as you all did with them, I think there are 1 of 2 ways to vote...or both depending on who you are.

1. Your stylistic preference.

2. Which one you thought was really played the best.

I've had this problem voting on guitarwar.com several times. Sometimes I have to leave my rock roots and preferences home in a locked box and vote for the jazz piece over the rocker if indeed it was played better. Other times, when 2 pieces were both played really well and I can't decide, I go with my stylistic preference and I think that's what we may see here depending on the person.

It's really a catch 22 with any type of musical voting because it's all so subjective, ya know? If a die hard blues man listens to our stuff, he may cringe at my piece for the over-use of pinch harms or feel Rick L played too fast etc. Little would he know that for the style we play, this is how you're supposed to attack it.

Just like the rockers may take to the more mellow pieces as "well, not much tech there so this isn't what I'm gonna vote on". What they would be missing is the love the guys put into the mellower stuff for that style. I've really learned a lot the past 2 years in how I listen to music these days. I think the worst thing anyone can ever do is listen to something and state what "should" be done in a piece in their own image.

The reason I say that is, we all create in "our" own image. The artist does what he or she feels or hears in their heads. I like to try and appreciate something for how it was delivered, not what "I" think it should be. Many times we listen to something and say "wow, it would have been so much better if he would have done this, that and this" right? It's tough to say that unless that artist asked you to help him produce the piece. But since he created it, who are we to really say? Follow what I'm getting at here?

Who am I to tell Picasso he used the wrong shade of red because I like fire red better than dark red? LOL! This is where voting on any type of music becomes subjective. So I try to listen to something for how it was delivered instead of what I think it should be. It has really helped me to enjoy where other artists are coming from. If I took the stand of always telling people how to do things, (which you guys notice I rarely do unless someone is asking for tough love or honest feedback) I believe that would take away from what the artist was feeling. I didn't write the tune, how can I really give an opinion on something I didn't write, make sense at all?

Anyway, my point in all this is to basically say there are no loser pieces in this little battle we are having. Everyone totally delivered the goods in this to the best of their ability in my opinion. I think we're all very lucky to even have a chance to do something like this and grow from one another. But it also shows us how much subjectivity there can be when we see who voted for who and why. It's amazing to get into the heads of others and try to see why they heard what they heard. I wish I could do that with the guys that wrote their parts for this. I would have loved to have heard the ideas that came to them as they messed with these pieces just to see what may have put them in the place they ended up in for the final version. I've always been intrigued by that. If only I could live in another persons head for the period of writing a song to see how they deal with things. At any rate, this is an awesome competition that I'm very honored to have been in with you guys. I totally admire and respect all of you for what you have contributed here and in the past. This is why I hang out on this site so much...it's just the right place to be for me and I thank you all for that. ;)

[Stempy]

Not having really done much composing I thought I'd just go for a simple hook and work it through. The end product was quite a bit different to what I started with and it did take quite some time as there are four separate guitar tracks, two for the acoustic rhythm and two lead tracks. But the good thing about it is that as a rank amateur you get to learn along the way and it's all good practice. And I have to say that I really enjoyed doing it, especially after a lengthy enforced layoff.

As far as voting goes, I voted for the track that was my stylistic preference, and that was Norm Gibbons. The way I looked at it was if I could only ever listen to one of these tracks again, which would it be? I knew I should have voted for me though:lol:

[Rick_Lamoreaux]

This wAs tons fun! The amount of response we got out of this shows that we definitely need to do this more often! I'm very happy to see so many participate. Depending on the music, this can be a tough crowd. :mrgreen: When it finally came down to choosing a rhythm, I chose between an AC/DC style approach, and the one I used for this one. It's very interesting to see the many different influences and approaches that everyone took. I'm sure we'll be seeing more challenges/competitions like this in the near future.

I'm very proud of all of you that participated. You all did extremely well!

:mrgreen:

[Rick_Lamoreaux]

BTW Danny - you rock, bro!

[Highway Star]

So...... I guess this thread has almost run it's course. Any more voters?? Looks to me like we have a winner! but.... you never know, a flurry of late voters.... (yeah, right!) Should we close it and declare the champ in say 24 hours or so?? Looks like I have a set of strings to post over the pond! LOL

BTW, for all of you who have either taken part by having a bash at the composing bit or taken part by voting, many thanks for making this a success. We must do it again soon, the format worked real well. Also, I agree that it is indeed subjective, no real winners or loosers, I liked most of the entries for one reason or another. They all brought something to the table and I enjoyed them all but.... I had a real liking for one particular riff which came from Danny, I preferred it to the lead in fact but that was cool as well. I nealy voted for others though, it was a real hard decission!!

Anyhow.... Thanks again guys, you are all stars as far as I'm concerned!

Norman

[Stempy]

Well I'm chuffed 'cos I got the same score as Zombo, must mean I'm as good as him now:lol:. A well deserved win though, I can only dream about being able to play like Danny, but great work by all involved, bring on the next one.

[ZappaFan]

The poll will close on the 8th anyway it was only set to run for 7 days and maybe some of the people that have viewed the thread but not voted yet are still considering the options. :-)

[Guitarpima]

Well, so much for the old school blues. :sad:

It was fun to take part! :dude:

[Highway Star]

Well, so much for the old school blues. :sad:

It was fun to take part! :dude:

You know Robert, that was really tough on you and you are such a genuinely nice fella for still saying what fun it was! I figure that, like me, most people probably really enjoyed your entry but... in my opinion, the track you laid down was a bluesy, jazzy style, well composed, structured and really quite stylish. I can hear that a lot of work went into it. I guess the only reason you missed out votes was because it was a rock composing challenge?? Don't know but, liked it as I did, to me it was not really rock. Does that sound harsh?? It really is not meant to as I really liked the chord progression and the wah lead. I've listened to it several times now, as I have with all of the entries and as a music track it is really cool but... as a rock track though, in my opinion (whatever that is worth! LOL) I guess it was just not rocky enough. Please though, don't think I'm criticising, it is late here now and I've had it on a continuous loop on my headphones for about 20 mins!! A relaxing way to end my day!

Norman

[Danny Danzi]

So...... I guess this thread has almost run it's course. Any more voters?? Looks to me like we have a winner! but.... you never know, a flurry of late voters.... (yeah, right!) Should we close it and declare the champ in say 24 hours or so?? Looks like I have a set of strings to post over the pond! LOL

BTW, for all of you who have either taken part by having a bash at the composing bit or taken part by voting, many thanks for making this a success. We must do it again soon, the format worked real well. Also, I agree that it is indeed subjective, no real winners or loosers, I liked most of the entries for one reason or another. They all brought something to the table and I enjoyed them all but.... I had a real liking for one particular riff which came from Danny, I preferred it to the lead in fact but that was cool as well. I nealy voted for others though, it was a real hard decission!!

Anyhow.... Thanks again guys, you are all stars as far as I'm concerned!

Norman

Well said Norm! And hey, when this is over, I could post up the part I played if you want minus the lead? I've listened to that thing more with the lead muted than unmuted. LOL!! Anyway, this sure was fun for me as well as a bit more challenging that I had initially thought it would be. Everyone did fantastic and again, I'm just honored to be a part of the family here. :) Hey Norm, if by chance I squeak out a win here, can ya send me a set of 9-42 Boomers, coz that's what I'm usin these days? LOL!!!! I'm so kiddin bro! Save your hard earned cash my friend..just being here with you guys and being accepted is "prize" enough for me, honest. ;)

Stempy: You don't have to dream, just ask me and I'll help you out any way I can as long as time permits. Thanks for the kind words. :)

[Guitarpima]

No harshness Norman. To me, that was what the BT needed. So that's what I did. I always approach music like that. No hard feelings at all, was just pokin.

[Highway Star]

Well said Norm! And hey, when this is over, I could post up the part I played if you want minus the lead? I've listened to that thing more with the lead muted than unmuted. LOL!! Anyway, this sure was fun for me as well as a bit more challenging that I had initially thought it would be. Everyone did fantastic and again, I'm just honored to be a part of the family here. :) Hey Norm, if by chance I squeak out a win here, can ya send me a set of 9-42 Boomers, coz that's what I'm usin these days? LOL!!!! I'm so kiddin bro! Save your hard earned cash my friend..just being here with you guys and being accepted is "prize" enough for me, honest. ;)

Stempy: You don't have to dream, just ask me and I'll help you out any way I can as long as time permits. Thanks for the kind words. :)

Yep, post it please Danny, I'd really like to hear the riff on it's own.

Here is mine BTW....

Norman

[Danny Danzi]

That's killer Norm! What do ya got a panner with phaser goin on there? I dig it man! I'll post mine up in a few minutes. :)

[ZappaFan]

BTW, Well done Mr D a worthy winner, killer playin' as always.

[Danny Danzi]

Thanks Mr. Zappa! Much appreciated kind Sir. ;)

Here's the backing with just the rhythm. I don't normally use this much gain in my rhythm sound, but for some odd reason, this just sounded good to me this time. Hope you guys like it. :)

I have to admit, I slightly cheated and used a rhythm that will be on a new song on my next album. It's slightly different, but the vibe was just apparent so I partially used it. ;)

[Highway Star]

Thanks Mr. Zappa! Much appreciated kind Sir. ;)

Here's the backing with just the rhythm. I don't normally use this much gain in my rhythm sound, but for some odd reason, this just sounded good to me this time. Hope you guys like it. :)

I have to admit, I slightly cheated and used a rhythm that will be on a new song on my next album. It's slightly different, but the vibe was just apparent so I partially used it. ;)


Well.... that would have won without the lead!! Flippin' awesome! Looking forward to the album!

Phasing but no panning BTW (not that I am aware of) but.... I only have one ear therfore you can call me Mr Mono!! LOL Actually, I do have two ears but only one works!! One ear!! LOL That would look wierd!

Norm

[Rick]

this was awesome farl.

10/10 and thanks to everybody for joining in.
we need another, farl do you have any folk i just found my old sweater and corduroy trousers.

OMG a new danny danzi album!!!! WANTS

[Danny Danzi]

Well.... that would have won without the lead!! Flippin' awesome! Looking forward to the album!

Phasing but no panning BTW (not that I am aware of) but.... I only have one ear therfore you can call me Mr Mono!! LOL Actually, I do have two ears but only one works!! One ear!! LOL That would look wierd!

Norm

Thanks Norm! You definitely have a panner inside that phaser man...something is definitely going from left to right on my side when I listen to this. Was it a stereo phaser that you added in after the guitar was recorded in mono? Or, was the guitar recorded in stereo and this effect came from your processor? I'm just trying to determine how the panning occurred because it's pretty noticable on my end...and in a good way. :) Anyone else hear it?