clivemurray.com

Yep, still here. Why no talkee? The usual, been busy with work etc. so just a quick update for youse alls.

• Still haven’t got round to doing another mix of Devil Went Down To Georgia, though I definitely will at some point. I’m 95% happy with it but I want to have a go at popping the vocals forward in the mix a little.
• The covers band is coming together apace, and by gum it has a name. A website will be forthcoming at panikattakk.com some time in the soon courtesy of my new 6-string partner, Mr Dan Ranger. If you are in or around the Eastbourne area later this year and see that name outside a pub, pop in for some splendid rock covers.
• The solo project is also coming right along. My alter ego has even got himself a holding page, though he appears to have done nothing else with it. He has, however, written three superb songs instrumentally – i.e. as far as the needing lyrics stage – and he tells me that even the words are going surprisingly well. He must have sobered up long enough to find a pen. Wonders will never cease.

So that’s how it is with me. Sorry I can’t be more entertaining than that at the moment. Tell you what, go watch some of Ze’s show. That’s always great entertainment. Tell him I sent ya.

–c.

Last night I remixed The Devil Went Down To Georgia, and came out with three mixes, one of which I like better than the others due to a slight treble boost in the mastering stage.

Anyhow, without any more ado, I give you:

The Devil Went Down To Georgia remix [MP3, 192kbps, 3m48s, 5.3Mb]

Comments welcome!

–c.

Wow. That mix of The Devil Went Down To Georgia was really bad. Sorry about that. I was going to tear down the file to prevent more people from hearing it, but I figure I’ll leave it up as a reference point for things to not sound like.

A much better mix will hopefully be forthcoming either later in the week or perhaps early next week.

–c.
PS. The post title stands for I Am Not An Engineer.

I mentioned recently that I was going to be branching out into vocal tracks, and this is definitely very much the aim. It’s pretty daunting though, seeing as I’ve never done lead vocals before*, so I thought a bit about how I got started with instrumental stuff, and that goes back to my 4-track days.

Ah, bless the Fostex X-26. What a machine! On it I started out by learning and then recording cover versions of Joe Satriani tracks, and it was though doing this that I learned not just how to play some cool tunes, but how best to go about everything from starting to write an instrumental right down to getting it on tape and mixing it. Latterly this has translated well to digital recording and that’s where I find myself nowadays, but with no experience of doing things vocally. It followed that I should perhaps start by doing a cover song or two.

I tried doing a Nickelback tune to start with, but quickly found that I couldn’t reach the high notes. So I ended up doing something that’s pretty easy to sing, although I’ll be honest, I did manage to pick something with some tricksy guitar parts. Anyway, I’ve just lobbed together an MP3 of the first cut of it, and here it is.

The Devil Went Down To Georgia. [MP3, 192kbps, 5314Kb]

The mix is well off in places and things go up and down seemingly at random due to my eccentric approach to punching in and out, but I think you can see where I’m going with it. Hopefully I can find time in the next week or two to get a proper consistent mix done.

Anyway, let me know what you think! (Unless you’re Charlie Daniels… I think he might not be my bestest friend for what I did to his poor song…)

–c.

* A few years ago I did record a version of “The Old Apartment” by Barenaked Ladies, but it was pretty rubbish. I was even using Antares Autotune to cram my wavering voice into the right key.

A song begins

Originally uploaded by Clive Murray.

You have a new picture message!

Funny how life can appear to go round in circles, innit?

I’m originally from Eastbourne, down there on the south coast, and it was there and in the neighbouring town of Bexhill that I grew up and got into my first band, aged 17. When that imploded I managed to tag onto a more metal band with the drummer from the previous one, and the bassist from that band on vocals. Damn good fun, that was. Anyway, the bassist for this new band was in fact the drummer’s postman – one Stuart Ranger. We rehearsed in Polegate and played a couple of gigs in Eastbourne, but that was more or less it.

Roughly 14 years later – this coming Sunday in fact – I will return to Eastbourne to rehearse for the first time with a newly-forming covers band that is yet to have a name, by the invite of Stuart’s brother, and long-time cm.com reader, Dan.

Personally, I can’t wait.
–c.