Month: February 2021

Broadjam Artist: Bill Dake
Song: WideEyedChild

Reviewer: Paul Pierce Project

Positive Comments: Kinda in the flavor of Cat Stevens. Not afraid to throw some vocal ideas out there, which both works well at times and others less. Cool chord choices and interesting lyric. This singer is a stylist who brings you in and tells you a story. So cool! Good choice of accompaniment. Sounds like a 12-string? Very creative chord progression and then the vocal melody against it.

Constructive Comments: Occasionally pitchy vocal, but interesting delivery at the end of the notes. Sometimes I would disagree with the melody note the singer has chosen for a specific word, but that’s the beauty of songwriting – it doesn’t MATTER if I disagree! lol! There is just a bit of an odd way of delivering some of the message, as in heavily enunciating a word or phrase that ends up sticking out more than one would expect. As far as Market Potential? This song would fit an audience who is looking for unconventional chord progressions with likewise unconventional vocal melodies. (Steely Dan) But that audience is out there I’m convinced!

Broadjam Artist: Marc S. Pate
Song: Amends

Reviewer: Paul Pierce Project

Positive Comments: Interesting start to the vocal with what sounds like an octave effect. I like 1:45 where there is a full break and the song starts to build more. Love the guitar sound. The overall pallet of musical colors in this song is interesting and engaging, meaning I want to hear more and I’m invested in this tune. I would like to hear more from you. Possibly the most interesting thing about it is that it appears to have a time signature that I can’t figure out! It feels like a 6/8 but there are extra beats in there!

Constructive Comments: When it hits about 1:00 I think the vocal needs to be going somewhere more. At some point I would have dropped the octave sound of the lead vocal as it starts to become repetitive. The melodic idea should be developed in this song while I feel the song needs a B section or some other place that it should go. To me, when it gets to the change around 4 minutes, that change happens too late in the song. OK, so where IS the 1? As a drummer I’m stumped. If you asked me to play this song with you, we would spend time counting together till I got it! lol! Nice work here though. This song has its own vibe for sure.

Broadjam Artist: Dave Haddad (CenterPeace)
Song: Thirty Year Kiss

Reviewer: Paul Pierce Project

Positive Comments: I love the low-volume haunting vocal ooh/ah at the intro. I’m a giant fan of this vocal! The tone is pure gold, with a pretty vibrato occasionally tailing off at the end. The change is excellent, dark, minor, with lyrics clear and meaningful. Pretty doubled vocal. Totally like the complete dead break going into the next section – “Hold Me.” I also like how the song meanders around but always has a place where the listener finds his way back to the roots of the vocal and melody. Wonderful song!

Constructive Comments: When it hits the 2nd verse I’d like to hear a little more of a build in the arrangement. Her vocal holds the section together, but it would have done well to add possibly strings or some other rhythmic building instrument. Sax tone is so wonderful but that faster, nervous vibrato is not my favorite. Too bad cuz his playing and tone are wonderful. Ending of the song should be developed more. Needs a less fall-off-a-cliff way of getting out of the song. Such a nice piece of music however!

Broadjam Artist: Donovan Lukas
Song: I Can Be Your House

Reviewer: Paul Pierce Project

Positive Comments: LOVE the recording!!! Guitars spread out very nicely in the spectrum. Vocal is cool and right in front of the mix. If he wasn’t a good singer that would be a problem, but it’s not because he’s a great singer! Interesting lyric. I love how it resolves to a major at the end of the chorus. I’ll come back to the vocal and how well it fits this composition. This is a commercially cool pop tune. Well done man! Even his pronunciations are cool. Wonderful solo! Great instrumental work on this one.

Constructive Comments: Wish I didn’t have to fill in this section for this song. It will be hard. The vocal occasionally has a slightly too-dry flavor which to me is because it is laying out there right in the front of the mix. So it’s gonna be hard to hide any pimples on the vocal performance. I honestly have nothing more than that. Really a great tune!

Broadjam Artist: John van Wicklen
Song: Astral Skies

Reviewer: Paul Pierce Project

Positive Comments: The sax is MONEY. Smooth, clean, well played, nice tone, cool choices, all within that same sleepy soft-pop vibe. Hat’s off on the arrangement. I like the change when it comes. Overall you’ve captured a cool mellow feeling here that reminds me a little of Michael Franks. The instrumentation is wonderful! Great job on this song. Hope you get it placed!

Constructive Comments: I was feeling really good about this groove at first but it started feeling a little stiff later, possibly drum machine or quantized playing? Also there are times the vocal seems just a little pitchy, but not to the point of distraction. When the song hits the bridge at about 2:15 the vocal gets a bit outside, again a little pitchy and just phrasing I wasn’t crazy about. Not to worry. This is a really nice tune, and well done!

Broadjam Artist: Nigel Barrett
Song: How do I survive?

Reviewer: Paul Pierce Project

Positive Comments: Absolutely LOVE the sequenced repeating instrumental at the head. Vocal is cool, well mixed, nice FX, and right where it belongs in the mix. I really appreciate the vocal harmonies at 2:40-ish. Very nice vocal blend and cool harmony choices. Next time it hit the harmonies I am truly a fan of this! Again I’ll come back to the vocal affect being right on the money. That’s a wonderfully smooth reverb sound. Curious what unit it is??? Very nice tune!

Constructive Comments: For my taste the cross stick sound should have a longer tailing reverb that would more closely match the reverb on the vocal. Not crazy about the 2nd verse vocally – maybe it’s the lyric, not sure, but that section needs to be looked at. I’d actually like to hear that harmony (which is so cool) show up a little earlier in the song. Oh well, everybody has an opinion! Hard to critique your song cuz I really like it. Great job!

Broadjam Artist: Margie & Art Corey
Song: Kitschy Kool Coreys

Reviewer: Paul Pierce Project

Positive Comments: Wow. Totally unexpected! Really like the instrumentation, especially the random sax fills and synth sounds. Vocal is cool and current sounding. I really love the tailing vibrato on the vocal. Lyrics are interesting and the subject is off-the-wall and very creative. Nice work on a style of music that belongs in commercial use today!

Constructive Comments: This song is going to be hard to come up with 5 stars worth of critique! The vocal is just odd enough to keep me there through the whole song. If I’m going to pick anything for improvement I would say you might try to replace a few of the “Kitchy Kitchy” lines with a similar instrumental melody, just to give a little more time/space before the vocal repeats that line. Really nice work on this song!!

Broadjam Artist: Jay Gross
Song: The Candle is Out!

Reviewer: Paul Pierce Project

Positive Comments: I totally like the orchestration and instrumentation chosen! And I give the writer/singer total credit for belting it out there. It would be easy for this one to get too sleepy but the vocal keeps you there for the duration. I like the piano sound and the chord progression, especially at the intro. Reminds me a bit of late 70s radio tunes like Paul McCartney and Wings. Keep it up!

Constructive Comments: On the negative side, the vocal processing is less than optimum in that it sounds either a little too dry, or just a bit too far in the front of the mix. Drums / Drum Machine is stiff, which is not uncommon on demo songs, but if this is the final mix, I think I would have tried to employ an actual drummer. When the first drum beats happen it is quickly obvious it is a drum machine and as a drummer who uses drum machines occasionally I don’t want to be able to HEAR that it’s a drum machine or loops. But I’m a fan so keep after it!

Broadjam Artist: Lawrence K. Bodien
Song: clam

Reviewer: Paul Pierce Project

Positive Comments: I like the mellow feel of a string/synth pad under the piano line. Also really like how it starts with the pad and repeating notes at the head. It grabbed me right away.Then just when I thought the song was going to cruise around and around in a circle endlessly, it went to a new, minor change which was unexpected and a nice diversion!

Constructive Comments: I would like to hear a more distinct melody. Especially to the point of creating an instrumental hook for the song to leave and then come back to. Also I noticed a couple of spots in the recording that were not clean – as in a possible glitch in the recording? My third point would be that it occasionally sounds a bit “sequenced,” especially when playing the 16th note fill/run which sounded just a bit stiff. However, if that run was played naturally, my hat’s off to you for the perfection of it! This is a nice tune and easy to listen to. Great job!

Broadjam Artist: SKY HIGH MUSIC LABS
Song: Tina’s Song

Reviewer: Paul Pierce Project

Positive Comments: Overall I like this tune. The lead instrument reminds me a little of a harpsicord but a bit smoother. The vibe of this is mellow with an edge of expectation, as if something is coming, or something is about to happen. To me it would have been good for the writer to take it to another section at some point, perhaps a changed key, or groove change. But I like this and see it having a place in the market!

Constructive Comments: Again, I think the song would do well to go to another place at some point. With instrumental music it is a little harder to figure out what else to do, but even changing up the rhythm during the middle of the song would have given it a little different flavor, which would then lead you back into the piece. Nicely done! I really like the drum feel and effects you chose for the back beat – snare / finger snaps. Nice, tailing reverb there.