AFIII How lockdown and pandemic can lead to something creative & positive...

[Baldadi]

...a new song: "Shut Down"!

To sort of balance all the fierce and analytical COVID-19 discussions, and maybe to give an upbeat and musical contribution: just posted this song (“Shutdown”) on Youtube - this song would not have happened if this pandemic would not have touched our lives, and I hope the song triggers people to find the positive out of something that is catastrophic for many people mentally, physically or economically.

All guitars, acoustic (Taylor) and electric (Fender Strat de Luxe) recorded using the AXE-FXIII, particularly love the Strat tone for the solo and outtro, let me know what you think…



It started with a text that a friend of mine (Dave Mangene) posted on his socials, which described the feelings of despair, hope and love related to the Shutdown.

Somehow, the lines stuck in my head. Having my acoustic guitar in a different tuning than normal, (DADGAD) a melody and groove came up, and in one day I wrote, arranged and recorded the music & vocals and sent Dave the tune, who had no clue I had worked on it.

That triggered a creative energy and remarkable 'togetherness', where others got involved and where we all from our quarantine homes in different cities worked to bring the song alive with a video in less than a week. This would not have happened if this pandemic hadn’t happened, and even if no soul would listen to this, it has enriched our lives in many ways!

As I write this, we're still in the middle of the pandemic and partial shutdown here in The Netherlands as well, hope we all get through this and wake up in a better world!

Hope you find time to check it out, enjoy!
R.A.D.I.

PS: already posted this in the COVID thread but that one is locked, so I figured let's share it here.

 

[Mohi]

Hey, I like a lot the video and the song, at least this tragedy led to something cool at your end. I agree the Strat tones are really nice, well done!

 

[RevDrucifer]

Cool tune and great tone on the Strat!!

I had a similar thing happen in the last two weeks. One of my best friends, a drummer, lives in Nashville and had his entire life shut down over this, he works in a music store during the days and gigs at night to pay his bills. He’s got a little studio set up in his house where he records most of his drum tracks. Him and our mutual best friend we’re FaceTiming a week and a half ago as I had a guitar in my hands and I was playing a little bluesy riff, just noodling. I predominantly write metal stuff, so when he heard it he goes, “Dude! Throw that in Logic and write a song around it, send it to me after!”. When we were done I did exactly that and a few days later he put all the drum stems in my Dropbox.

The only thing I have left to do on the song is write vocals and play the solo correctly. I was actually really impressed with the initial mix I got of the music as I haven’t mixed live drums in almost 20 years and a lot has changed since then. Then last night I destroyed the mix by adding way too much bass....such is life.

We’re going to expand it to a group effort with some more of his Nashville studio buddies. I’ve been wanting to stretch out of the metal thing, so it’s definitely a good time for me. Don’t know why we never did this before as we’ve all had the gear to do it for years now, but at least it’s happening!

 

[wyzyguy]

Cool song... Great video & editing. ...I have learned a fair bit about video editing during the Lockdown as well... Never thought it would interest me but it does.... Rock on!

 

[Baldadi]

Hey, I like a lot the video and the song, at least this tragedy led to something cool at your end. I agree the Strat tones are really nice, well done!

Thanks man!

Cool song... Great video & editing. ...I have learned a fair bit about video editing during the Lockdown as well... Never thought it would interest me but it does.... Rock on!

Thanks, appreciate the kind words! Just do it, just start creating and for the stuff you're not comfortable with, try to find people who want to join you. I find that there are a lot of creative people with time on their hands right now, and who love to be part of something positive.

 

[Baldadi]

Cool tune and great tone on the Strat!!

I had a similar thing happen in the last two weeks. One of my best friends, a drummer, lives in Nashville and had his entire life shut down over this, he works in a music store during the days and gigs at night to pay his bills. He’s got a little studio set up in his house where he records most of his drum tracks. Him and our mutual best friend we’re FaceTiming a week and a half ago as I had a guitar in my hands and I was playing a little bluesy riff, just noodling. I predominantly write metal stuff, so when he heard it he goes, “Dude! Throw that in Logic and write a song around it, send it to me after!”. When we were done I did exactly that and a few days later he put all the drum stems in my Dropbox.

The only thing I have left to do on the song is write vocals and play the solo correctly. I was actually really impressed with the initial mix I got of the music as I haven’t mixed live drums in almost 20 years and a lot has changed since then. Then last night I destroyed the mix by adding way too much bass....such is life.

We’re going to expand it to a group effort with some more of his Nashville studio buddies. I’ve been wanting to stretch out of the metal thing, so it’s definitely a good time for me. Don’t know why we never did this before as we’ve all had the gear to do it for years now, but at least it’s happening!

Just DO IT! This sounds great! I also struggled with the mix, I did everything by myself (writing, arranging, recording/playing guitars & vocals, drum editing), but mixing and also mastering was a frustrating process... especially since most people just listen from their phones, etc. By getting more people onboard your exposure might grow as well and you get to work with people you'll learn from as well.

Make sure you enjoy the ride ;-)! Look forward to hearing the tune...

 

[RevDrucifer]

Just DO IT! This sounds great! I also struggled with the mix, I did everything by myself (writing, arranging, recording/playing guitars & vocals, drum editing), but mixing and also mastering was a frustrating process... especially since most people just listen from their phones, etc. By getting more people onboard your exposure might grow as well and you get to work with people you'll learn from as well.

Make sure you enjoy the ride ;-)! Look forward to hearing the tune...

I fixed the mix last night, just had to dial back the limiter and some of the bass. If it were one of my normal metal tunes, I'd be able to bang it out pretty quickly. I've spent the last 4 years teaching myself how to record/mix and in general, I'm content with the results. This new tune, not being chugga-chugga stuff definitely required a different approach to the mix. Starting vocals in a few minutes.