JPF Home Page Forums Lyric and MP3 Feedback MP3 Feedback Forum Bottomland (feat: floyd jane on guitar and new video)

BOTTOMLAND

I know there is a forum here for videos but since this is a "lyric video" I thought it would be appropriate to post here particularly given that the audio is a remastered version of the original posted here a year ago.

We remain pleased that it resulted in floyd jane's forum lead guitar debut. Thank you again mr jane!

We always welcome your comments and observations and appreciate you taking the time to look and listen. I'm admittedly new to this lyric video thing.

J&B

A few notes.

floyd's comments:

"...I originally did this for practice - to see if I could record a lead guitar that might fit in a mix. Never done this before. First real lead I've ever done."

Janice and I both feel he absolutely nailed the vibe we were looking for.

Since our original post I've been asked about how the song came about.
I was thinking of oppression in general and how many millions cannot escape from it. The imagery just comes from my life’s experiences. Jerusalem Ridge is the title of my favorite bluegrass fiddle instrumental. It's up tempo but ethereal and a bit spooky in melody. The sunken graves and the field stone - Janice and I are history nuts and bike, drive and hike around the countryside frequently. We often find old cemeteries for which the graves have sunken in and are marked, if at all, with flat field stones.

The heritage/lineage and the blood feud lines were to reinforce the oppressive conditions that the song's subject was living. It brought to mind images of worldwide conflicts and strife and generational/cultural/religious/tribal issues, etc...it seemed Appalachia would be a good fit metaphorically. The last verse speaks to how in America for many, but certainly not all, situations you do have an option of leaving. "Stick out a thumb." It may not be a great option but you likely will not die for trying it.

Vocal: Janice
Lead Guitar: floyd jane
Arrangement/Audio & video production: Bud
Ozone 6, Nectar 2 and Waves LinMB plug-ins via Logic Pro X
Rodes NT1 mic/Blue Icicle USB Interface
Photographs: All public domain with my effects via Pixelmator, Snapseed, Paint Pad and PicMonkey.
Video: Wondershare Video Editor 3.

This one is definitely a keeper.

Vic

Very nice J&B ... great easy listening bluesy tune ... sweet vocals and fine musicianship!

Boy, Janice sure can sing the blues. And I would have never guessed Bud had never recorded a guitar lead before. Ayou two gave this a real real bluesy vibe. I like how you set photos as the backdrop to the lyrics for the video. The background photos were as spooky and damp as the music.

Really good stuff, Bud and Janice. This is quite different from what I'm used to expecting from you style wise. Janice really belted out the Blues on this one. I'm duly impressed.

Steve

This is one of my favs by you two. What a great blues song and feel. Vocals are on fire and that lead indeed compliments the song perfect. Great work all. A big thumbs up!

Hi Bud, Janice and Floyd,

The word "bottomland" has built in metaphorical potential and there are times in the listening where I forget the real meaning and took it to mean the downtrodden place the singer's at by song's end, bemoaning most aspects of her life. This is Blues with a capital B. The flip side of "Summertime." No momma and daddy standing by.

Floyd, you bend strings and make that guitar weep with some evocative playing.

I love the washed out and reduced color set of the video as well, it seems organic to the song.

Great job, all.

Mike

Hi everyone,

A very entertaining piece, thank for sharing your cool talents.

Calvin


http://www.soundclick.com/bands/0/calvinstewart

A blues experience made almost an epiphany by Janice's superb vocal. Bottomland will have different meanings to different people... especially one with a farming background. The video experiment was a complete success and did not distract from the music at all. Well done, you three. ----Dave

soulful singin',sunken graveyards,what's there not to love?Mike

What an awesome write and performance from all of you. The pictures were a perfect match too. You've got great team.

Ricki

Hey, J&B...

Wow...spectacular!!! You guys broke ground on this one...

Diff

Thanks Vic
J&B



Nice of you to say that Jimmy!

Bud



Thankyou Dan! floyd Jane did the lead -- wish I could take credit! I appreciate you mentioning the photos. I spent a fair amount of time trying to find public domain photos and apply effects to give them all the same feel. Janice was happy that you mentioned her vocal!

Bud

Hey Guys,

What a great listen, I know it's blues, but it just also had a little "jazz" feel at times which I liked. Absolutely loved the arrangement as everything just felt so balanced--nice works by all!

steady-eddie.

Very bluesy feel. Thought the vocals were near perfect, kudos on that. I don't have much to say other than I thought this was really, really strong. Good stuff, really enjoyed the listen.

Kyle

Thanks Steve! The last 18 months or so has seen Janice and I move more and more toward the blues. We played and recorded traditional bluegrass for decades but the blues were always close by.



Thank you very much. We had a lot of fun with this!

J&B



Mike, we appreciate your analysis and you taking the time to listen. "The opposite of Summertime" is thought provoking and really fits well. And, yes, bottomland can be from a farming perspective or perhaps life. My original inspiration was when Janice and I were mountain biking in some low land and it was incredibly hot and humid and I said to her "I'm suffocating in this damn bottomland!" I couldn't get it off my mind. Damn became dank and I attempted to write around that notion. Thanks for mentioning the video. It took me a while to get the photo where I wanted them.

Thanks!!

J&B

Thanks!

J&B



Thanks Dave, I (Bud) come from a farming family and I learned that rich bottomland was pretty desirable for certain crops. Janice really appreciated your comment re the vocal and thanks for mentioning the video!
J&B

Thanks Mike. We were hoping you'd like this one.

J&B




Thank you Ricki and we appreciate you mentioning the photos also!

J&B



Thanks...it was fun to put together!

J&B



Thanks Eddie, glad you like the jazz edge as it was intentional!

J&B

Youall--

This is a very, very soulful BLUZ SONG, it gets down under one's skin!

Had to play it several times--I love it!

Mackie

Nice job! Cool song well-performed. The video certainly sets the scene. The trailers look pretty wonky.....I imagine people roll off the bed if they really sleep in those. The word bottomland sounds very bluesy. Trying to live on bottomland would give you the blues when the river floods and when the mosquitoes come out.

Hi You Three!

WOW ... talk about ATMOSPHERE!
I loved it all!

Lisa

Thanks Kyle. We very much appreciate you saying that. As Janice moves further and further away from our decades of bluegrass and into the blues comments like this are very meaningful.

Bud




Thanks Mackie. Soulful blues is a nice description! And we appreciate you saying it.

J&B

J&B - thanks for letting me be a part of this. It is one STRONG blues write! and one heck of a vocal performance...

Thanks Colin! Interestingly in some areas of north GA bottomland references rich lower elevation farm land typically with a creek nearby while in S GA it means swamp land. In either extreme it tends to be hot and humid. It might be that the trailers look that way because of lens compression...dunno. Interesting observation. It was the only public domain shot I could find of rough looking trailers in an Appalachian setting.

Thanks for listening and commenting!

J&B



Thank you Lisa!

J&B



Thanks floyd. It would be hard to imagine the song w/o that guitar!

J&B

janice, Bud and Floyd...am I glad this popped up again because it really is top notch

Janice nailed it, you and Floyd did great guitar work, and those pictures really reflect the time and effort you put into it.

Thumbs up from here

Thanks John. Floyd is totally responsible for the guitar but I do appreciate you mentioning the images as it is fairly tedious to find ones that support the theme.
We appreciate you taking both the time to listen and comment!

J&B