Month: May 2020

Broadjam Artist: Protilius Productions
Song: Michael Snow: Merika (2020 demo)

Reviewer: Ashley Martin

Positive Comments:

Constructive Comments:

Broadjam Artist: Jeana Potthoff
Song: Moonlit Glow

Reviewer: Ashley Martin

Positive Comments: A beautiful and haunting arrangement. Expertly composed and flawlessly played. It really takes you on a journey, honestly, an absolutely stunning work of art. There is a lot happening melodically and it all fits together masterfully, so elegant. Thank you!

Constructive Comments: Nothing to add here, no improvements needed!

Broadjam Artist: Fred Kimmel
Song: Oh Yeah

Reviewer: Bob Birthisel

Positive Comments: This song has a wicked-good vibe and sounds a bit like Prince at times. Well-played and the vocal work is excellent. The instrumentation is super-tight and clean. Has huge possibilities for licensing with a couple of slight tweaks. Love almost everything about this tune, especially the feel and energy.

Constructive Comments: PERSONAL OPINION ONLY, not a knock because I think the song is great. Just get rid of the horrific distortion effect on some of the vocal. Leave that for people who can’t actually sing, but YOU CAN! For me it destroyed the amazing sound I was getting from the instruments and pulled the song’s rating down. I’d re-mix this with clean vocals throughout, leaving only moderate fuzz on the guitar (which definitely works as it is currently). I think you’d have a monster on your hands with that tweak. A very wise engineer once told me, “Never use effects for the sake of using effects – it’s like saying the Mona Lisa needs blue bubbles around her to give it some color.”

Broadjam Artist: RICARDO ALONSO
Song: Mi Mano

Reviewer: Bob Birthisel

Positive Comments: The song has a pro sound, but it’s in the wrong category. Either Electronic, Pop or World would be better particularly since it’s in Spanish. I can’t judge the lyrics because of that, and moving it to a different category will get the right ears on this. Definitely not “Easy Listening Rock” in my opinion but still very good.

Constructive Comments: Just finding which category will work best for Spanish language would be a plus. Maybe ask someone at Broadjam which category they think would work best.

Broadjam Artist: Douglas Branson aka dB+1
Song: Under The Stars

Reviewer: Bob Birthisel

Positive Comments: What an interesting lo-fi rhythm guitar sound. I’m not usually a fan, but it really works here. Good energy and the rhythm section is pretty tight. Really nice bass and drum tones. Vocal works for the song. This has a cool edge to it that I could see in a film scene.

Constructive Comments: 2 things: 1) The extreme fuzz on the lead guitar drowns out the amazing chord sounds of the rhythm guitar, which makes the song. 2) I listen to everything on headphones, and I’m getting dropouts like this is either an old tape or somehow a damaged file. Not the fidelity itself, something where I hear “holes” that shouldn’t be there. The song is really good though, so I’d love to hear this re-mixed or even re-recorded if need be to get continuity of sound.

Broadjam Artist: Hartmut Oberdieck
Song: immer wieder (2006)

Reviewer: Bob Birthisel

Positive Comments: This reminded me a bit of Talking Heads. It has a bounce to it and some interesting dynamic points. Love the sound of the bass and drums as well as the staccato rhythm guitar. I with the organ was a little further forward in the mix but it still sounds good. Great vibe.

Constructive Comments: The only thing that threw me was the 1st guitar solo part comes in fuzz-tone, when the rest of the mix is crystal-clear. All the other guitar solo parts are more in line with the overall sound, but that one just stood out. If you get a chance to re-mix that with a cleaner guitar from the 0:18 mark to 0:50, it would improve the continuity in my opinion.

Broadjam Artist: Bob Birthisel
Song: Cowboy

Reviewer: Hartmut Oberdieck

Positive Comments: First – this is not my favorite music, but this song is very good made. The vocals are fine, instruments (especially the guitars) are very well played. The quality of the recording is very well done. Because English is not my mother language, I didn’t rate the lyrics. Sorry for that! You did a very good job. Congratulations!

Constructive Comments: Nothing really critical to say – good luck!

Broadjam Artist: Bob Birthisel
Song: What Kind Of Love (Am I Fallin’ In)

Reviewer: Ashley Martin

Positive Comments: This sounds radio ready! I can’t really tell, but sounds like a professional band playing live on stage. I love the percussion. Amazing vocals, fits perfect with the song. Super fun, lots of energy, definite party music! Length of time is not too long and not too short, keeps the ear engaged. Very catchy chorus.

Constructive Comments: Just my personal opinion, I really like your chorus/hook, it is catchy for sure. But it threw me a little that the lyrics are slightly different each time, I was kind of ready for that repeat. No big deal, just my 2 cents. This is a great song! Well done, best wishes! Ash

Broadjam Artist: Bill Dake
Song: Life With Blurred Vision (Instrumental)

Reviewer: Ashley Martin

Positive Comments: Well this just sounds like a professional jazz band in a swanky Hollywood lounge. Really cool! I know it takes a high level of musicianship to appreciate the complexities of jazz, and not sure I am up to that level. This definitely has a vibe of its own, I loved it when the percussion comes in. I wasn’t really expecting it and it just sounded awesome. Excellent work!

Constructive Comments: So not much to add here, sorry it’s a little out of my depth. To my untrained ear I think it sounds fabulous! Best wishes, Ash

Broadjam Artist: Jeana Potthoff
Song: Moonlit Glow

Reviewer: David James

Positive Comments: I really couldn’t fault this. It’s a beautiful piece. Excellent musicianship. The melody has an insistent, compelling feel…It’s as if it is speaking to the listener, (almost asking a question) without words. There’s a lot of emotion in the tune and the manner in which it is played. Very nicely recorded.

Constructive Comments: Not much to add. It’s a great piece of work.