"Some Kind Of Blues" on Spotify

"Some Kind Of Blues" by Pat Carr is now available on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4vg5W9MSgIKHKJpkt32ape

Top 10 Blues, "Bad Habit" is #1 in Soundclick Blues today out of 55,282 songs. Have a listen on the New PWCarr Music:  http://pwcarrmusic.com/songs/

The New PWCarr Music site.

There is a brand new PWCarr Music site.  It's sleeker, slimmer, trimmed-down and optimized for viewing on any device.  Check it out and let me know what you think.

New Music Store

Check out the brand new music store for Some Kind Of Blues at the bottom of this page.

Also, there is a new Music Store on my web site with the best versions of all the songs from my two CDs (no duplicates), plus two single releases, "What's Gonna Happen?" and "Just The Thing."

Enjoy!

Recording Some Kind Of Blues, track 6 Dancing With Diane

Dancing With Diane is a funny little story about a guy who meets up
with an old girl friend, then has to explain to his wife.

I had made a previous recording of Dancing With Diane on 4 track tape, so I already  had a drum pattern for it on my Alesis SR16 drum machine.
I recorded the kick and snare from that pattern onto my computer
as an audio track, and used it as a basis for building the rest of the tracks.

I added a MIDI drum track for the tom fills and high hat. 
Another MIDI track was created for crash and ride cymbals. 

I played the bass track on my '68 Fender Telecaster bass, but then I
decided to create a MIDI bass track for a cleaner sound - no noise - and
better control of the note placement.   There are some parts where the
bass note slides down the neck.  On those notes, and at the end of the song, I turned the MIDI bass down and the bass guitar up. 
As the song plays, it is switching back and forth between MIDI bass
and audio bass guitar.

Dancing With Diane has three rhythm guitar tracks.
There is a clean guitar that is playing mostly chords and notes an octave
higher than the main rhythm guitar, and a distorted guitar that is playing pretty much the same thing as the main rhythm.

The other guitar track is the lead solo.

I sang two complete vocal tracks because I didn't like parts of the first one.
It turned out that I didn't like parts of the second one either, so I just picked the best of each one and turned one off while the other is playing.
So, like the bass, it is switching back and forth between the two.

The last track is a blues organ played with Ableton's software synth using my Alesis QS8.1 as the MIDI controller.

Dancing With Diane has 12 tracks:
     acoustic drums, MIDI drums, cymbals, acoustic bass, MIDI bass,
     3 rhythm guitars, lead guitar, 2 vocals, and organ.


Listen at PWCarr Music
http://pwcarrmusic.com/

Dancing With Diane by Patrick W. Carr
Personnel:
Pat Carr - all instruments, vocals

Recording Some Kind Of Blues, track 4 Stuck With Chuck

See my previous post
http://pwcarrmusic.blogspot.com/2013/11/recording-stuck-with-chuck.html

and video
http://pwcarrmusic.blogspot.com/2013/12/stuck-with-chuck-recording-video.html

about recording Stuck With Chuck.

Listen at PWCarr Music
http://pwcarrmusic.com/

Stuck With Chuck by Patrick W. Carr
Personnel:
Pat Carr - all instruments, vocal, backing vocals
Audree Rundell - backing vocals

Recording Some Kind Of Blues, track 3 Nola Blues

I previously wrote a post about how Nola Blues was recorded.
Check it out:
http://pwcarrmusic.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-secret-mysterious-origins-of-nola.html

and video
http://pwcarrmusic.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-mysterious-origins-of-nola-blues.html

about the mysterious origin of Nola Blues.

Listen at PWCarr Music
http://pwcarrmusic.com/

Nola Blues by Patrick W. Carr
Personnel:
Pat Carr - all instruments

Recording Some Kind Of Blues, track 2 Bad Habit

Bad Habit is a basement tape.
Terry Gilbert recorded it on 4-track tape in his basement
where we used to rehearse as Blue Metro.
We built it track by track using a scratch drum track to lay down
the vocals and rhythm guitars.  Terry played the bass track,
Leo played the drum track, then we added the lead guitars.
Terry's lead guitar solo is the one after the third verse.

I recorded a stereo mix from DAT to my computer. 
I removed the noise from the audio file and restored the gain
to a section of it.  Then I used Ableton Live and Ozone to master it.

I also made an edited for radio version of Bad Habit and a new
version with the compression removed from the original 48KHz mix,
similar to the operation I performed on Evil Evil.  The result is a song
file that is not quite as loud, but has more dynamic range.

Listen at PWCarr Music
http://pwcarrmusic.com/

Bad Habit by Patrick W. Carr
Personnel:
Pat Carr - lead and rhythm guitars, vocals;
Terry Gilbert - rhythm and lead guitars, bass;
Leo Marshall - drums

Recording Some Kind Of Blues, track 1 Evil Evil

Evil Evil was recorded at Colorado Sound recording studio.
It is a live recording of the band Blue Metro.  Only the vocals,
lead guitar, and sax solo are overdubbed.

A stereo mix was transferred from tape to Digital Audio Tape,
and from DAT to my computer.  I used some audio manipulation
software to sample and remove the noise and tape hiss from the
stereo mix. Then I brought it into my recording program for mastering.

Later on, I made a shorter version of Evil Evil to make it a little more
radio friendly.  The original is over 5 minutes, and the edited version
is about 3 and a half minutes.

In 2013 I released a newly mastered version of Evil Evil - radio edit
based on some feedback from an audio engineer.  I removed the
compression from the mix and reduced the loudness maximizer on
the master.  The result is a song file that is not quite as loud,
but has more dynamic range.

Listen at PWCarr Music
http://pwcarrmusic.com/

Evil Evil by Patrick W. Carr
Personnel:
Pat Carr - guitar, vocals; Terry Gilbert - guitar, backing vocals; 
Al Gilbert - bass;  Leo Marshall - drums;  Gary McNear - keyboards;
Mary McCrimmon - backing vocals;  Billy Warren - sax

Recording Some Kind Of Blues, Intro

The songs on Some Kind Of Blues were recorded in a
variety of methods and places.

A few were done in recording studios.  They are either
live band recordings or mostly live with few overdubs.

Most of the songs were recorded in my home studio
on my computer.  I interface to the computer through
an ART Tube preamp and an MAudio Delta 1010LT
soundcard.

My main instruments are Fender Strats, a Guild
mahogany D-25, a Taylor acoustic, a '68 Fender
Telecaster bass, an Alesis QS8.1 synthesizer,
and a Fender Hotrod Deluxe guitar amp.

My recording software is Ableton Live with Ozone 3
as the mastering plugin.
On all the songs, I used Ableton to create a 48KHz mix
which was then mastered to 44.1KHz for CD with Ozone.

Some Kind Of Blues is a labor of love, the result of many
years of work, and an attempt to get as good a recording
as possible of each of the songs with limited resources. 
It has garnered favorable reviews and fans all over the world.

You can listen to the songs, watch videos, and
get a free download at my web site,
http://pwcarrmusic.com/

Some Kind of Blues
Pat Carr
All songs by Patrick W. Carr
Personnel:
Tracks 1, 13 recorded at Colorado Sound:  Pat Carr - guitar, vocals; 
       Terry Gilbert - guitar, backing vocals;  Al Gilbert - bass;  Leo Marshall - drums;  Gary McNear - keyboards;  Mary McCrimmon - backing vocals;  Billy Warren - sax
Track 2 recorded at Blue Metro Productions:  Pat Carr - guitar, vocals;
       Terry Gilbert - guitar, bass;  Leo Marshall - drums
Tracks 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11 recorded at Carr Tunes:  Pat Carr - all instruments and vocals
Tracks 4, 8  recorded at Carr Tunes:  Pat Carr - all instruments and vocals;  Audree Rundell - backing vocals
Track 12 recorded at Sundown Sound:  Pat Carr - guitar, vocal;  Terry Gilbert - lead guitar;  Al Gilbert - bass;  Leo Marshall - drums

Illegal Downloading

I put my songs on sites like Soundclick, Songplanet, and Reverb Nation with the expectation that anyone with a little bit of computer savvy can record anything that streams on the internet.  I'm also cynical (maybe realistic is a better term) when it comes to believing that people have lower moral standards these days.

So my philosophy is that it is just the price you pay for promoting your music on the internet.
But that still doesn't make it right.
I've spent countless thousands of hours writing songs, rehearsing, performing, recording, mixing, and developing a craft.  I've also spent thousands of dollars on the instruments and equipment to support it.  I believe the end result has some VALUE.  If a song gets on a radio chart, or if someone buys a CD or a download, that validates my belief.
Why do you buy a CD?  Because you like the music enough that you want to own it.  You want to be able to listen to it any time you want; not just when it gets played on the radio.  It's the same for music on the internet.  You can listen to it any time you're at the computer.  But if you like it enough that you want to be able to take it with you and hear it any time, then you should be willing to pay a buck and support the artist who poured his heart and soul into it.
Which leads to another question:  what value do you place on your art?  Do you give it away -- make all your songs available for free download?  If so, maybe you are just contributing to the growing mindset that music has no value and should be free.

PWCarr Music

Why Do Songwriters and Musicians Promote Their Music?

Have you ever stopped to think about why independent musicians are promoting their music?

I have songs on dozens of internet sites and radio stations. Why?
For one thing, I want to share them. It wouldn't do much good for them to sit on my computer and never be heard.
Music puts me in touch with people. I have friends all over the world because they heard my songs. Some of them I have even been able to meet in person.

Music is a tie that binds us all together. It is something we all have in common, whether we create it, or just love listening. No matter how you are feeling, there is a song that expresses it.

Music can be purely for enjoyment, or it can teach us at the same time.
I believe that at least some of my songs have an important message. They provide a way for me to express my beliefs and feelings, and hopefully resonate with the listeners.

It seems, though, that in our culture songwriters and artists are not as revered as they have been in the past. That's a little strange considering how important they are to us.

I cannot begin to tell how many wonderful comments I have received from people who enjoy my music. I'm grateful for that. It always makes me feel good to know I made someone else feel good.

So why else am I promoting my music?
I put thousands of hours and a lot of dollars into it, and I'm trying to make a living.

I believe it's important to support the people that bring a little joy to our lives. I try to do it as much as possible, and I'm truly grateful to those who have supported me.

Compliments are nice, but they don't pay the bills.

You get a $2.00 discount and no shipping fee on the digital version of Some Kind of Blues.

Pat Carr - World Famous Blues Artist?

You might say that Pat Carr is a world famous blues artist.
My CDs have sold in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
My songs are played worldwide on many internet radio stations.
PWCarr Music gets around 450 visitors a day.
This is my invitation to click some links on this page and decide for yourself.

Pat Carr - Some Kind of Blues

Born in Louisiana and musically raised on the streets of the French Quarter, Pat’s Southern roots contributed a variety of musical influences including blues, rock, soul, jazz, Cajun, country, bluegrass, and gospel music.

Pat's songs are stories of life experiences told from a unique perspective, often with his characteristic dry wit. They often cross genres and are as diverse as the influences that inspired them: from the gospel blues of Blind Willie Johnson to New Orleans soul; from Delta blues and hard-edged Texas blues to bluegrass and country.

Pat's new CD "Some Kind of Blues" contains 13 tracks of electric and acoustic blues and some rootsy blues-rock. Check the PWCarr Music website for more info.

Some quotes:
"hot, biting guitar licks"
"excellent, strong vocal"
"solidly crafted in the classic blues vein"
"Swamp feel...clean, excellent lead guitar playing"
"great evocation of classic sound"
"memorable songs...powerful and sincere lyrics"

Blues Road review of Some Kind of Blues

Pat Carr makes "handmade" Blues. He comes from Colorado (USA), and I probably would never have become acquainted with him if he had not found BluesRoad and often been a guest on the radio. However, that is not the reason why I would like to recommend the CD to you. One senses from each note he plays his love for this music.
You can kick back and enjoy. No Kracher or Bluesrockknaller, rather simply a disk you can fall in love with. On P.W.'s homepage or his MySpace site you can hear a few examples.
Purchase recommendation!!

--Shenandoe, Blues Road Newsletter, July 27, 2007

GarageBand review of "Evil Evil"

Smoooooooth! I love the sound of a real horn in a blues mix! You had me from the intro. The vocalist is a dead ringer for Robert Cray. The song is in his style but better due to the sax which played tasteful pentatonic licks. I was about to say the song just needed some tasteful guitar to make it whole, when to my pleasure, one broke in at the 3:30 mark. This song is as good as it gets as far as I am concerned and I will be looking for more from this band. Man, even the vocal arrangements were spot on.
Well Done! Extra Credit: Male Vocals, Production, Melody, Mood, Originality, Grooviest Rhythm.

--GarageBand.com review, Feb., 2007

FatCat Radio review of "Put Yourself In My Place"

"Put Yourself in My Place" - I love the gritty, acoustic sound of this song. I really like how Pat's vocals and those of the female in the song play off of each other. This song is a recent addition to the Indigo Lounge and I really enjoy it. Congratulations to Pat Carr! Your song "Put Yourself in My Place" - has earned: The FatCat Featured Song of the Week!

--Jen, FatCat Radio, Mar., 2007

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Who Is Pat Carr?