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It is a little difficult
to explain exactly what it is that Randy can do with someone's music. So,
an example page seemed like the perfect solution. Randy would like to thank
artist Tami René for allowing him to post these audio clips. She is such a
wonderful sport for letting people hear her very first song demo efforts.
Her work is a perfect example of someone who is wonderfully creative but
simply didn't have years of music and recording experience to help realize
her musical vision. Below are clips that fade between the original demos
Tami provided Randy and the final production work (which does not contain
any of Tami's original recordings). Randy really tried to keep arrangements
as close to Tami's original compositions as possible. In other words, these
are Tami's melodies, Tami's chords, and Tami's song forms. Randy decided on
this approach with Tami because her songs intuitively had some great ideas
already working. It is really fun to listen to these and hear the
transformation of Tami's great ideas into final production tracks you can
buy today on iTunes (just search for "Tami Rene").
These demos are
best experienced with earbuds, earphones, or really good speakers so that
you can really hear the songs as the morph from old to new...
Aqua Eyes Demo - This
was the first song Tami showed Randy. She recorded all her demos on her computer
at home using Cakewalk's Sonar Music Program. On this one, she was going
for a "watery" feel and hit the Flanger effect pretty hard on
everything. If you listen close to the chorus, that idea is still there.
Taboo Demo -
Tami's demo was very interesting. It was obvious that she was trying to
write a more upbeat and driving song. However, Tami had just started playing
guitar and her skills did not include upbeat and driving yet. But the drum
loop she picked gave her intentions away. This is a great example of
someone having great ideas but not quite the skills to take it all the way
to its destination alone...
Fountain Demo - This
song is a wonderful example of how a new songwriter can do advanced things
without even realizing they are doing it. Tami actually switches between a
4/4 meter and a 2/4 meter throughout the song. It is so natural; she was
surprised when informed of the very cool technique she used.
Witch Doctor Demo
- Tami captured the idea of this song perfectly in her demo. That is what a
demo is supposed to do...capture ideas. Her ideas are very prevalent in the
final production.
New Moon Night Demo
- Tami does all her song writing on guitar. The lyric and melody for this
song hit Randy differently though. He heard it as more of a piano-based
tune all the way, and Tami knocked the vocals out of the park.
Right On Track Demo
- This one took a slight left turn. Tami gave this song to Randy and asked
him to, well, do something "more". So, Randy went a little more
edgy on this one, and landed in a fun pop/rock spot that Tami had a blast
singing. This song proves that you never know what kind of magic might be
hiding in your compositions.
What If Demo - If
Right On Track took a slight left turn, then this one took a BIG left turn.
Once Tami was turned on to the idea of telling Randy to do something else
with her ideas, she insisted that this one really take a harder line. She
actually provided a few favorite songs as inspiration. The end result was
very powerful indeed. The song even landed in a new key.
Ghost Town Demo - Tami
should be very proud of this tune because it really stretched her writing
skills. There were chords she used that really surprised Randy. It ended up
being the title song for her CD and truly showed off Tami's natural
creative ability. Randy couldn't remember arranging a song anything like it
before.
Spring Fever Demo
- Spring Fever is another song where Tami decided to call upon Randy's musical
diversity to try something different. She brought him a song she really
liked that had a Latin flavor. So, Randy took the song and worked into a
very different feel than her original demo. The result truly inspired Tami
as she delivered an outstanding vocal performance to the feel of her song.
Ol' Dirt Road Demo
- If you listen closely, you can hear how Tami started to drive this tune
with a little bit of a blues swing. So, Randy latched on to that and the
song ended up being a nice change on the CD. But Tami did a neat thing in
chorus where she switched from dominant 7 blues chords to beautiful major 7
chords. It really lifts the song.
Paint Me Demo - Tami
has worked hard to promote her CD all over the world. This song has ended
up getting a great deal of internet airplay and is consistently picked by
her listeners as a favorite. Randy thinks that it is Tami's superb lyric
work that pushes this song over the top.
'As a singer/songwriter without the desired level of skill on
my instruments, I was looking for the right opportunity to take my
songs to the next level. Randy Thorderson did not disappoint. His
services as an arranger, musician, and as a producer in the
recording studio demonstrate excellence in his craft and attentiveness to
my wishes as an artist. I am already hard at work on a follow-up album and
will be bringing my project to Randy once again for his expertise. If
you are contemplating when to schedule Randy's studio, be sure to take
advantage of the skills of this top-notch musician now before his wait
list becomes far too long!' ~Tami René
'Randy is the most generous musician and producer I have
ever worked with. His gift of making an amateur artist sound like a
professional recording artist is amazing. When I asked if he would produce
tracks for my student's upcoming showcase he said "Absolutely". I
would send him a scratch vocal/guitar demo or an idea of an arrangement for
a song and he would always deliver something more than I imagined. He blew
me away. The arrangements and quality of the tracks were top notch and
"radio ready"! Randy's gift of making any musical idea of mine
come to life and shine has been happening since the day I met him. He made
me shine as an artist and now he's making my students shine as artists.
Needless to say our showcase was a hit and our audiences left wanting to
buy our CD! Thank you Randy for making the "music come to life"
and bringing out the "star quality" in all of us.' ~Ana
G (The Ana G Vocal Center)
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