Lockdown has rendered my band (Salem UK) virtually inactive so we decided to have a bit of fun and do one of those multi video thingies.
We’ve always loved Sammy Hagar, especially There’s Only One Way To Rock so it was the obvious track for us to cover.
The vocals were recorded using Simon’s smartphone mic. Guitar and bass are line in.
I mixed the track as a recreation of the original, which was not recorded to a click, making the whole project a bit of a nightmare. We (individually) used the original track as a ghost, playing/singing along to it. So our version is a perfect match in that respect, but of course there was no copy/pasting parts or loops because the track’s tempo is all over the joint.
I’ve done recreations before and find them an interesting challenge. I usually start off listening to it and thinking ‘hmm that shouldn’t be too difficult’ then end up thinking ‘kill me now’. This was no exception. Even something simple like a guitar tone can blow up to be the most difficult thing you’ve ever attempted in your life, and don’t even get me started on the backing vocals…
I couldn’t find a snare sample that matched the Hagar 80s booming behemoth so I mixed in a rack tom with the snare which served admirably.
Videos were shot on phones; we asked a few friends of the band to contribute to the video, just to make it a bit more interesting.
It’s awesome! I was trying to identify your bass but the headstock was always blurry. I saw a Fender pickup in the neck position (Fender logo anyway), but the body looked more like a Schechter or something. When did you start playing a 5-string, or has it been that way for awhile?
Yes, they are definitely harder than initially expected. Good learning opportunity though. Kind of a “how the sausage is made” insight.
It’s an Epiphone Tobias Toby. I got it for a mini Euro tour we were scheduled for last year but the whole lot was cancelled due to COVID-19. Our guitarist used a seven-string on the latest album so I needed something with a bottom B to follow some of the riffs. For the money, it is superb.The problem was, having bought it, I then had to learn how to play it.
Never thought I would feel just a tad younger, but this did it for me. Great everything all the way along.
I am going to try to get my old band to do this song next summer. We will play it back to back with talk dirty to me. Yeah, that’s happening. thanks for this
Yep, I should agree that the recording has many great things in it.
I really like the production, the mix, writing for each part, each instrument is very purposeful to me, effects are spot on for that genre and the song, each section is another piece of joy.
Performances are really stunning, everything is gorgeous, no need to change something.
Awesome to sum up!
