nowhereusa

Hi Vegangelica, thank you for taking the time to listen to my music, I really appreciate it. I just wanted to address some of the questions you had and comments you made.

First, I agree with your observation that my meanings sometimes obscured by allusions and metaphors. It's somethings I've got to work on. As for the line about "the devil in the desert", that's an allusion to Christ being tempted by the devil during his fourty days in the desert. So, while that doesn't improve the relate-ability of the song, I figured you might want some sort of explanation.

I realize some of my songs are somewhat angsty and stuck in a highschool mindset, that's because these are songs that I've written over the past ten years. I'm now 23 and not so angry/melancholy.

As for Cailin, Cailin is the Gaelic word for Girl. I was inspired by bands such as The Counting Crows, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bruce Springsteen to use the names of girls to represent archetypal figures (Maria, Dani California, Sandy are examples those bands use) that embody an idea. For me, Cailin is a collage of many girls I've met/known over the years.

"Fated to be wasted": I was well aware of the double meaning here. It's a reference to Baba O'Reily by The Who. I read somewhere in an interview that the line "Teenage wasteland, they're all wasted" referred to the wasted potential of youth, but that it was frequently misinterpreted to mean wasted on drugs. I liked the idea of using it to mean both at once.

My singing: I'm not a very talented singer (to put it mildly) and those rough demos do little to make me sound any better. If you are interested in hearing some better quality demos, you can check out my new project, facebook.com/steelstringmilitia. Thank you, very very much, for even giving my music the time of day.

VEGANGELICA

Hi nowhere,

You're welcome for giving your music the time of day. I'll check out your band's facebook while I respond. I actually visited there earlier, but for some reason I didn't see the demos, and so I resorted to listening to songs on YouTube.

Thanks for the explanation about the allusion to the Biblical devil in the desert. I missed that because I'm not well-versed in Biblical references. Now I understand.

I don't mind the anger and melancholy in your earlier songs. I think those emotions can stay with a person throughout life! (although probably they *do* tend to fade with age, as problems can be better seen in perspective and recognized as more minor than they might feel to a teenager). I would just rid those earlier songs of direct references to high school so that they aren't as easily written off as "teenage angsty."

I understand now about Cailin. I didn't realize it is Gaelic for Girl. I was going to say that if Cailin existed, she doesn't sound good for you! Now you won't have to dump her, at least.

I'm glad you were aware of the double meaning of "fated to be wasted." It was my error in assuming you weren't. I'll listen to Baba O'Reily by The Who again. Oh yes! I remember that song, now. That's one Who song I like!

* * * * *

About your singing: I wouldn't say you aren't talented or capable. I think there are only moments when you get a little out of tune.

I listened to "Say Hi To Virgil" on Facebook, a song I like with its peppy acoustic guitar and playful electric guitar, and I hear that same issue with the vocals: sometimes the vocals are just a little out of tune. I'm assuming this vocalist, whom I'll call Vocalist #1, is you.

The next song, "John Henry," is sung by someone else with a lower, deeper voice. I'll call him Vocalist #2. I like the electric guitar in "John Henry."

It's great that the two of you are taking turns singing lead vocalist for different songs, and I recommend you continue doing that, because it doubles the different "sounds" your songs can have.

I feel that at this point Vocalist #2's voice is the stronger of the two. Your voices have very different sound qualities. Vocalist #2's has greater warmth and resonance, although (based on the song "John Henry") perhaps not the range of Vocalist #1. Vocalist #1 may put more emotion into the vocals.

"Hallmark" -- nice acoustic guitar! This song is sung by Vocalist #1. Your voice (if this is you) sounds a little "thinner" than Vocalist #2's, and again tends to get out of tune sometimes. However, the final, loud singing of "me" is excellent, in my opinion! Vocalist #1 sings that word with the even tone and perfect pitch that would be terrific to have on every note in the song.

I'm not an expert vocalist, but I know there must be exercises you can do to practice regulating your pitch more carefully, such as perhaps singing the main vocal line a couple times with a piano playing the melody to practice matching pitches. I recommend you focus on this aspect of your vocals as a top priority, because everything else about your recordings and music sounds very professional.

Unless you are recording your vocals separately, you won't be able to rip out the vocals and replace them with new ones that you sing at a later date, so this is one reason to solve the pitch issue now. Are you recording tracks individually?

A final comment: it's wonderful that the two of you are making music together as college roommates. Your band's story sounds like the successful stories of many bands one hears about after they are famous. You are both very lucky to have found each other to share your creativity with in this way.

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nowhereusa

Hey, thank you so much for the feedback. We're actually going to work on the vocals again for Say Hi to Virgil, so hopefully the second take of vocals will be better. I'm definitely going to have to work on strengthening my voice (Yeah, I'm vocalist #1). So thank's a lot, it's really nice to get an outside opinion.

VEGANGELICA

You're welcome. I'm glad it helped.

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nowhereusa

Here are lyrics to one of my more recently recorded demos. It's titled 'Lie Low'

You're back on the beat
on your gold concrete
where you've lived more lies than your words can speak
you filled your page of prose with recycled quotes
told your monologue to a pair of Joes
Don't fall on your knees
the fly paper streets
got you stuck where you are like a cat in a tree
you gotta beware,
but you've gotta believe
You could lie
you could lie low (x4)

feel the afterglow
of a static pulse
your electric veins got an overdose
cut cross town like a scar, mapping out all the bars
on a clean piece of arm
that your needle did darn
you never had joy you couldn't blow
a high you couldn't top with lows
you could travel far, believing in fresh starts
or make the same mistakes
in a different place
you could lie
you could lie low (x4)

fa-fa-falling, hard
back in the hole you crawled out of.

you can check out the demo here at steelstringmilitia.bandcamp.com

nowhereusa

So I realized i've recorded a lot of demos that i never posted the lyrics to...so here's another. it's called 'Best Mistakes'

Best Mistakes

Well I know you so well I can quote you, book and verse
there's no secret we won't tell, no ground we aint traversed
but the riptides gonna pull us, angry waves will break

here, where we know houses by name
where we made our best mistakes (x2)

lips on the event horizon
stars are colliding in my veins
this is the epoch of nothing
my love is autumn, in decay

you're planning your next scheme, to rob the open road
they sewed desperate in the seams of your thrift store clothes
you wounded optimists have got terminal grace

here, where we know houses by name
where we made our best mistakes (x2)

lips on the event horizon
stars are colliding in my veins
this is the epoch of nothing
my love is autumn, in decay

nowhereusa

I wrote this song a couple months ago (you can listen to it on band camp. steelstringmilitia.bandcamp.com), but the subject matter is kind of relevant, what with the whole Manti Te'o thing going on and all...

If teens were heathens
And Cameras their gods
They'd sacrifice each other
To magnesium mobs
Then hang 'em on the wall.
Tell me, does that turn you on?


Some people go by names
Some, they won't tell
Everyone's got idols
Made of themselves
Cast in bronze
in their personal Parthenons

(chorus)
We're under age
and we can't wait
never to change
we're underage

Yours was the face
that launched a thousand texts
Mine the lips
that don't make promises
ours the show
that started good but lost it's edge

Let's speak in codes
the Russians couldn't break
let's get pissed off
cause we don't communicate
we talk so much
but we never say anything

(repeat chorus)

electric girls
will lead you blind
into a cave of words
into a web of lies
they'll free your skeleton
and call it "returned to life"

stormborn

Like them, some flow more than others, really like the chorus for heatwave. Haven't had chance to hear on you tube yet but I will get around to it. Keep at it and maybe check out my 1 song. I'll be adding more.