I saw there was an earlier thread on this topic so I thought I would post this for evaluation. This is not my natural singing voice. I was also quite nervous during the first and second verse but had loosened up some by the third. It was only my second time before a crowd. At first it sounds like I am constipated or something to me. The harp playing is not that great either and at a couple of points there is a squeal where I guess I got a bit of the next hole up. Anyway, you can let me know what you think....the guitar player is worth listening to just for that...he's really good imo. Red House
Hendrix actually stole this song from me and wrote different lyrics. He died during the course of the lawsuit. The song is a favorite of mine, and the guitar player does it justice. You did a good job on the vocal, I think. Words like "good" are subjective. I wouldn't have thrown anything at you, and I would have drunk my cocktail and had a good time. Hell, it sounds like the band was having a good time, and that is entertaining to me. MY practice, however, although I do change my voice when I sing, is to NOT imitate the original artist. I feel that when you do that, you invite a comparison and you will probably come up short. I do a Bob Dylan song (against a ZZ Top riff) but I don't try to SOUND like Dylan.
There is always room for improvement, but I am not one to dissect minutiae.
Again, the only suggestion I would have is go ahead and change your voice, but don't try to imitate Hendrix.
Also, the harp was a little soft compared to the rest of the band.
Hi Crispy full marks for getting up and singing in the first place , it does take a lot of guts I did start the thread on blues voices , i'm no expert ,but have learnt through trial and error which is the best way i s'pose you do sound like your straining your voice , a bit too much ( head voice ) when i say thsi it means the sound is coming out and you can hear it reverberating in your head, and the microphone is picking up the effect , and the PA will add the volume . singing over the guitarist can be hard if it's loud . basically you will sound a bit out of tune through the strain of it and the notes will tail off very quickly if your trying to get the words out in one breath , and this will also affect your harp playing . it will take time ,but you will benefit getting some lessons in breathing and using your diaphram properly for both singing and harp , as both share the same disciplines , of controlled breathing and will in turn , help you sing more naturally with more volume and you will be able to do a gig without being too physically drained . as you have guessed , I'm being as constructive as i can . and you will improve with time . but a great effort . musically , the rhythm section are working well together and the guitarist does well , but might want to cut back a bit on the amount of delay , and theres a few off notes here and there . keep at it Gentlemen!
Last Edited by on Dec 19, 2011 6:23 PM
Well.....maybe I stole it from him. It's hard to remember. I can only tell you that the Stink P***y Blues is a cult favorite at midwest biker barbecues.
No disrespect meant to Mr. Hendrix, a huge talent.
Red House was one of the first songs I ever posted here. I sang it along with harp playing after I had only been playing a month or so. I've since taken that video down. Great song. I hope you and Jimi are ok with that! ---------- Tommy
@ Crispyagain - You called this thread "Put on blues voice" but can you actually point me towards any blues singers that sound like that?
I can't think of many (Bukka White, Wolf, JB Hutto?...certainly not Muddy, Jimmy Rogers, JB Lenoir, Jimmy Reed, Little Walter, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Johnny Young, Johnny Shines), certainly not enough to suggest that a hoarse/chainsaw voice is synonymous with blues singing. Always strikes me as more of a rock thing. Jimi himself typically didn't do it...
...his sweet, but heavy, gunmetal, clean guitar tone gets all too often overlooked too.
As KingoBad says, I think that if you try and keep that up over a whole set, you will lose your voice very quickly.
Concentrate more on not forcing things, neither breathforce, nor your vocal chords. Work on keeping your chest cavity & airways open & using your diaphragm. Think more about how you phrase & your diction to make it fit the blues genre, rather than trying to sound like you gargle with battery acid, or blow a hurricane through your voicebox ;-)
Keep at it, play around with vocal devices (head voice vs gut voice) until you find something that fits the music and is comfortable for you, you might find that certain tricks suit certain keys & tempos better than others..? It takes a while to get used to hearing your own voice, so record it & play it back, try to forget that it's you on the playback and don't judge yourself too much on attempts to sound like someone else specifically.
---------- www.myspace.com/markburness
Last Edited by on Dec 20, 2011 9:18 AM
One of my favorite Hendrix tunes. I thought you did a fine job with it crispy, and you are right I dug the guitarist's take on it.....very cool.
FM: I'm gonna call bullshit that Hendrix stole it from you. In first comment you say that he died during the lawsuit, then later you say maybe you stole it from him. Doesn't pass the sniff test...but then I'm guessing maybe that's the inspiration for Stinky ***** Blues.
Lastly, any lawsuit wouldn't have had to end because he died, his estate (or someone else if sold) would have the rights to his music. If I'm not mistaken relatives of his have repackaged and licensed a lot of his stuff, and like so many artists his legend has only grown after his death. Also, Red House has been covered by a pantload of artists, so you would have been leaving some amount of money (though maybe not all that much) on the table, if you really deserved any song credit/compensation.
Me thinks you wrote a perfectly good, serviceable 12-bar blues/rocker with alternate lyrics while borrowing heavily from Hendrix's riffs. And for some reason, you like to tell people he stole it from you.
Or maybe your claim was tongue-in-cheek all along.
@Bobo....of COURSE it's bullshit. Now, let me get some pliers, and I'll take that hook out of your lip.
SP Blues is based on real-life, blues-inflicting experience, and I sing it with feeling. Cactus P***y Blues....same thing but not as nasty, based on a few days post shaving. These are things that can give real people the blues. I've come to appreciate as I grow older, however, the art of lyricists saying things in a more discrete manner, double entendres and leaving things to the imagination. It's certainly more clever and less offending to general audiences.
