Month: June 2017

Broadjam Artist: Randy Calligan
Song: When You Go Home

Reviewer: Margie & Art Corey, S. & A. Corey

Positive Comments: The piano part is really quite excellent and the vocal is very good too! A very intimate sounding composition, the reserved restraint of the song, is extremely dramatic and powerful. Would like to hear the lyrics up a tad louder, slightly difficult to hear all the words, that’s a simple fix though!! Also, might want to shorten the piano intro just a bit, almost thought it was an instrumental. All & All this is a tremendous piece of musical Art!Super Job!!!!!!!

Constructive Comments: Increase the volume on the lead vocal and maybe shorten the piano intro just a smidgen…….still love the piece!!

Broadjam Artist: Kate Carpenter
Song: Sweet Little Gray-Haired Lady

Reviewer: Calico King

Positive Comments: Well, the good news I have for you, is that you sing beautifully, and you have a fantastic ear for melodies, and your vocals sound clear and crisp, you obviously sing in church choir or have some kind of training. I think the arrangement of the song was very well done, and even though I was not a fan of the content or the lyrics, or hook, I have to give props to the originality, the arrangement, and the instrumentation/recording.

Constructive Comments: I’m sorry, I just don’t vibe on christian folk music very much, so i can’t really give that great of negative feedback that is objective. I do think that this type of music is very difficult to make, and difficult to make it well, and especially difficult to market it. However, I am sure that’s not why you make this music, so I wish you the upmost luck. I think your vocals would be amazing if you every laid down some southern gospel a la the Carter family or laid down some spirituals that have a bit more soul, and come off a little less rigid and nursery rhyme-ish. But again, i don’t know what I’m talking about in this field, I make hip hop, rock, soul and blues, so I say keep your voice well rested, keep picking and singing and don’t be afraid to let your hair down a bit on track.

Broadjam Artist: The Melody Stuart Project – Remerge Band
Song: You little Liars – Featuring Melody Stuart

Reviewer: Calico King

Positive Comments: Nice tune! I like the feel of the song it balances a few genres really well– blues, folk, with some southern soul. The vocalist has some good pipes, and the band behind her is on point and on time. The lyrics of the verses are really clever, and I think the mix is very well done/professional. Overall i’d be interested to hear more of this artist, and see what else this artist makes. The song is definitely suited for the niche americana market, but here in Austin a tune like this would do well, especially live.

Constructive Comments: Although the lyrics of the verse are pretty solid, I do think the hook and concept is a little tacky– “liar liar pants on fire” made it hard for me to take the track fully serious, but that’s because I take everything way to serious. I think this tune would have a hard time crossing over to any sort of mainstream radio, but definitely has a place on XM radio, and as mentioned above, echoing the halls of bars and venues in Nashville, Austin, L.A., really anywhere were people dig good live music. At times i wanted to hear the vocalist push her self a bit, and perhaps crescendo with a little more passion, and with the band being as tight sounding as they were, I felt more attention could have been paid to their chops, which are exquisite. Either way, very nice song!

Broadjam Artist: FRED GROSS
Song: My Little Girl

Reviewer: owny rutledge

Positive Comments: OVER ALL I LIKED IT

Constructive Comments: JUST KEEP DOING IT

Broadjam Artist: Jeff Ashbaker
Song: Love ’em

Reviewer: owny rutledge

Positive Comments: COOL VOICE GOOD PLAYING

Constructive Comments: KEEP DOING WHAT YOU LOVE

Broadjam Artist: George Molden
Song: you see me

Reviewer: Calico King

Positive Comments: This was a nice, short instrumental with a commercial sound. The vibe has all the trap elements and hallmarks that commercial rap is calling for right now. The beat/Keys and other audio samples would make for a good cue, especially for background music of a TV show. I think the arrangement was solid, the instrumentation was a bit simple, but the over all quality of the song was good enough for the type of beats the industry is calling for.

Constructive Comments: I have a hard time with shorter cues, and I am new to reviewing them. I’m use to listening to (and making) hip hop tracks that have a sense of completion, so please take my criticism with a grain of salt. I felt the drum loops and particular the fills in between each 8 bars or so to be too trap, and the grind noise needs to be mixed/mastered a bit. I know this sound is what is selling, and I don’t mind the keys loop and I don’t feel the track is even really redundant, but I do think the drum track sounds a little bit too predictable and I would invest in getting higher quality samples, or making higher quality drum lines.

Broadjam Artist: Chet Nichols
Song: Paper Burns (from “Taxi To Tonganoxie”)

Reviewer: owny rutledge

Positive Comments: KEEP GRINDING THE HIT WILL COME

Constructive Comments: I LIKED IT

Broadjam Artist: Produca X
Song: Flowers While Livin

Reviewer: Calico King

Positive Comments: I enjoyed this tune a lot. As i’ve been reviewing random hip hop cuts as they come, I’ve come across a lot of artists that are really trying to sound like what’s current, or what’s on the charts right now. A lot aren’t making hip hop for the love of hip hop, and your track has the flow, lyricism, the unique hook, and the 90’s boom bap feel that adds a level of sincerity, which I personally really dig. I think if you got the flow and the ear for hooks/beats, which you have, you could be part of some of the new wave cats bringing back the true of essence hip hop.

Constructive Comments: The only criticism I have for the cut is that the beat needs a little bit more depth– I feel that because your lyrical chops are quite strong, I felt the beat got a little bit redundant. I think the hook would be the perfect time to break the instrumental down, and bring something on the beat to make the overall track more in tune with what I perceive as an unorthodox approach, and an eclectic and hip hop purist’s style. Felt the tune cut a little short, but that could also be because i was genuinely wanting to hear more of the track.

Broadjam Artist: Keith Taylor
Song: Lucky One

Reviewer: owny rutledge

Positive Comments: LIKED THE VIBE

Constructive Comments: GOOD SONG IT IS WHAT IT IS

Broadjam Artist: MES
Song: Paper Alarm

Reviewer: Calico King

Positive Comments: I think this song has market potential if you built it/improved some pretty easy fixes. Overall i dig your flow and would like to hear more of this artist. The quality of lyrics is decent– I give props to the hook. hip hop hooks with no vocalist/singer can be tricky, due to the fact they call for some sort of break in the general cadence of the verse, and I felt the hook to have a nice flow to it. The Instrumentation is definitely up to par with what’s currently out. The vocalist has a good tone in his voice, and the arrangement is straight forward. Overall it’s pretty fair hip hop cut. Props for finding a clever way to work lyrics around the synth loop, with the “paper alarm” concept.

Constructive Comments: I think the beat could use some break from just the synthesizer looped. It gets a little repetitious and having some sort of bridge or midsection could kill the monotony. I felt that the arrangement was a little bit predictable but that’s not a bad thing necessarily. If your goal is to get this on to the radio, I’d say everything is strong except the beat, and perhaps the tone of the rapper, which stays more or less flat through out the entire piece. I’d like to see this vocalist try taking some chances, and alter his inflection, his delivery, sort of like he does when he speeds up the cadence at the end of the first verse. Really the biggest challenge with this song, is the fact that it’s good, but it could use something to really make it stand out.