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LOL!!! Ok, so I've been envious of and gotten inspired by all the cool people here like BobbyInTN and others who have posted their music for everyone to listen to. I haven't been in a studio for 18 years, but some opportunities have been opening up recently in that area. I decided to take a little baby step to get out of my shell and go to my friend's home studio and try something fun -- recording my voice over a Journey instrumental track. I tried to sing it as faithfully to the original as possible rather than put my own spin on it. Here is the result in an MP3 file...

(link removed by me)

DISCLAIMER: This was done VERY quickly, and is VERY rough, because we started late and ran out of time. The vocals are also a little too loud and overpower the mix, and you'll probably hear a flat note here and there, or some places where my timing a bit off. Also, Rip Rokken does NOT sound like Steve Perry, nor is he under any illusion that he does. Still, for some odd reason, people respond very favorably to my Journey songs live, so I wanted to hear what they here basically.

Any feedback, good or bad, is appreciated! Thanks!

I liked it.

Good job Rip, that was cool to hear. You've got a very high voice. I would love to hear your future projects.

That was great. Thanks for posting it. I get these preconceived ideas as to what someone will sound like after I've seen pictures and such, and I'm usually dead wrong, and I was again.

Man, I'm floored... you guys are too nice! Maybe I'm too self-critical, because there are several spots in there I'd like to fix, but thank ye for going easy on me!

The second song I was hoping to do tonight was "Send Her My Love", but we were way short on time. I love that song, and it's so gentle and pleasant to sing. Also will probably do "Lights". Other things I'm hoping to do are Stryper's "Honestly", and maybe "Save Your Love" by Great White. Maybe some FireHouse, too! Anyway, it may be a while, but if they turn out well, I'll post them... I have an opportunity to do something pretty cool soon and am just knocking these around for fun and to get used to recording again. Thanks again for the kind words.

I liked it

Man, has anyone ever told you that you have some Dennis DeYoung in your voice??? I'd like to hear you try some "Babe" or "Dont let it end", or "Come Sail Away".....

Yeah, I could definitely imagine you singing some Styx tunes. Good job, Rip!

Rip Rokken wrote:Man, I'm floored... you guys are too nice! Maybe I'm too self-critical, because there are several spots in there I'd like to fix, but thank ye for going easy on me!

Sounds like you've got a good voice overall but there are definitely a few flat/sharp spots in there that could be cleared up with practice or voice lessons.

Not bad, could use a little work, i heard Smokey Robertson in there

Rip not bad my friend. Just remember NO ONE and I mean NO ONE could butcher Journey any worse that what the actual band is doing to it's self these days.......

Gail

Damn RR, you have a really high vocal range. Impressed!

Not bad at all for a "quickie" recording. Would be good to add some reverb and delay to your vox.

Rip Rokken wrote:Other things I'm hoping to do are Stryper's "Honestly"

That was good Rip. Would love to hear "Honestly" you have the perfect tone for that one.

..after 18 years? fantastic!.....you asked for critique so to be honest it is a little flat/sharp ..throat sound's a little tight..restricted...probably because your confidence has decreased after so long...when relaxed and you let out the emotion of the music I'm sure you'll be even better. Keep singing,,you have a really good voice.

ScarabGator wrote:Man, has anyone ever told you that you have some Dennis DeYoung in your voice??? I'd like to hear you try some "Babe" or "Dont let it end", or "Come Sail Away".....

NealIsGod wrote:Yeah, I could definitely imagine you singing some Styx tunes. Good job, Rip!

Haha! What did I tell ya, NIG? You know the funny thing... Michael Sweet was a very early influence, and I was surprised and honored when people back then used to tell me I reminded them of M.S. Then at some point the DDY comparisons began, and as I guess more people these days are familiar wiht Styx than Stryper, I get the DDY thing a lot. I've had to make peace with it because I was never a huge Styx fax, and never personally cared for DDY's voice. Then once, I saw a comment from another musician talking about Michael Sweet, and he said something like, "A little Dennis DeYoungish, but still a good voice". I though, oh well, if Michael Sweet gets that from time to time, maybe I don't mind so much. I've gotten a lot of requests to sing Styx songs, but have yet to do so. I think it will happen at some point.

Hey, check out this cool bit of DDY trivia -- I have a friend in Wisconsin, I think, from a very small town. Saw him in Nashville a few months ago and was asking him about his band there. He said there were very few musicians there, and they were one of the only bands around. But apparently DDY also lives (or lived) there, and he saw DDY come to one of his shows and sit in the audience one night! And this isn't a big local act... it's more like the only band in town... How cool would that be?

Dang, along those lines, I had Thanksgiving with another musician friend whose brother played in a Zep tribute band called "Dazed and Confuzed" for a several years, and he mentioned that one time they were playing outside the Pyramid in Memphis before a Page/Plant show, and that Page and Plant came out to watch them for an hour, just sitting with the rest of the folks. Sweet! Hmm... I seem to have jacked my own thread now.

conversationpiece wrote:Sounds like you've got a good voice overall but there are definitely a few flat/sharp spots in there that could be cleared up with practice or voice lessons.

stevew2 wrote:Not bad, could use a little work, i heard Smokey Robertson in there

TVL wrote:..after 18 years? fantastic!.....you asked for critique so to be honest it is a little flat/sharp ..throat sound's a little tight..restricted...probably because your confidence has decreased after so long...when relaxed and you let out the emotion of the music I'm sure you'll be even better. Keep singing,,you have a really good voice.

Thank you all! The main issue I had last night was the hearing myself well enough in the headphones with the mix of the music. His home studio is in a small crowded room, but man, does he have some cool equipment packed in there. We were really in a hurry and barely dinked with my balance, but at one point I just put the headphones around my neck so I could hear myself better. I normally practice in my garage which has great natural reverb, and man, is it different than singing in a studio, but I'll have to get used to it if I want to continue.

I tell ya what's always been a problem for me, is oversinging and hurting my voice or being a tad off-key live when I can't hear myself in the monitor well enough. I just thought I sucked until I read interviews with both John Schlitt and Steve Augeri talking about how they had the same issue in the past, and Steve even said he had to learn what he needed and what to ask for. I'm really equipment stupid myself, and am having to learn if I ever want to do anything notable. Again, thanks for the honest criticism.

And TVL, you hit it right on the head... a little flat/sharp/restricted, and yes, low confidence is a factor. At this stage of my life I'm trying to learn to let loose, have fun, and not take myself so seriously. This was definitely a baby step in a musical direction, and I felt like a new daddy when I left (even if it wasn't a Gerber baby... haha!)

WickedGail wrote:Rip not bad my friend. Just remember NO ONE and I mean NO ONE could butcher Journey any worse that what the actual band is doing to it's self these days.......

Gail

Haha! Arnel can sing CIRCLES around Rip Rokken. I'm really looking forward to hearing him with the band.

Wally_Hatchet wrote:Damn RR, you have a really high vocal range. Impressed!

Not bad at all for a "quickie" recording. Would be good to add some reverb and delay to your vox.

Deb wrote:That was good Rip. Would love to hear "Honestly" you have the perfect tone for that one.

Thank you both! Wally, it gets even HIGHER! And you pointed out something I noticed, and that I need to ask about. We spent a few minutes trying to find the right amount of reverb to add to the vocals, and when we were done it sounded pretty good (he was trying to match what was in the music itself so it didn't stick out too much). Once I got in my car and listened, it sounded like the reverb was gone, and the vocal volume was higher than I remembered. I wonder if the wrong thing got transferred to disc, and will ask about it. Either way, I'm hoping to clean up that track, because I'm far from happy with it as is, but as least wasn't too embarrassed to upload it. Deb -- I've done "Honestly" several times and it goes over well for people familiar with the song. I'm looking forward to trying this in the studio, because it does seem to be a good match for my voice. Too bad there are only so many Stryper accompaniment songs, and I have that one, and "To Hell With The Devil" I've done that one before, too! Haha.....

Peace, everyone, and hope you all are enjoying the holidays!

Rip Rokken wrote: Deb -- I've done "Honestly" several times and it goes over well for people familiar with the song. I'm looking forward to trying this in the studio, because it does seem to be a good match for my voice. Too bad there are only so many Stryper accompaniment songs, and I have that one, and "To Hell With The Devil" I've done that one before, too! Haha.....

Please make sure ya post it when you do. Michael Sweet was the first person I thought of when I heard your voice.

ScarabGator wrote:Man, has anyone ever told you that you have some Dennis DeYoung in your voice??? I'd like to hear you try some "Babe" or "Dont let it end", or "Come Sail Away".....

YES!!! That was the name I was trying to place with your voice!

It was totally cool to hear your sing DSB - you made it sound effortless, not hint of strain to my ears (and I strain like hell trying to "sing" it! ).

Very good!!!!!!!

Very cool! "in the night" great note!!!

Not too bad..Whenever someone has the balls to put themselves out there I have nothing but respect for them,even if they suck..Its easy to criticize when your ass isn't on the line.. I would give it a shot myself,but I have no access to a studio or the equipment I would need to do so.. I have been told many times I can pull of a lot of Journey stuff I have a high pitched voice also,but more in the vein of Deen or SP or SA..I do not have the power tho..People beg me to do Karaoke,but I just don't have the balls to get up there..lol

hmm.. First off, balls of steel to put yourself out into this jungle! Like the others have said, the texture of your voice and your vocal dynamics seem to lend themselves more to a DDY style than Journey. Again, balls of steel.

ripper!!! your a fun listen.. that was very good..big thumbs UP!! ... do some paul stanley next. the late 80's stuff with the high vocals.. you dont talk like a girl do you?

Hey Rip, that was great!! Would love to hear you do Send Her My Love and some Styx.

I always am impressed when someone comes out of their comfort zone to share something like this. I could never do it. Again, thanks.

Haha! Arnel can sing CIRCLES around Rip Rokken. I'm really looking forward to hearing him with the band.

Jim Rykbost just wanted to say hey, and he thought you sounded pretty. He thinks you might sound better maybe singing on some DDY stuff. He also thinks you're a cool guy, but was wondering why you refer to yourself in the third-person? He says you should keep it up, and you never know what might happen! Keep Rokken!!!




Jim Rykbost

Journey69 wrote:Not too bad..Whenever someone has the balls to put themselves out there I have nothing but respect for them,even if they suck..Its easy to criticize when your ass isn't on the line.. I would give it a shot myself,but I have no access to a studio or the equipment I would need to do so.. I have been told many times I can pull of a lot of Journey stuff I have a high pitched voice also,but more in the vein of Deen or SP or SA..I do not have the power tho..People beg me to do Karaoke,but I just don't have the balls to get up there..lol

texafana wrote:hmm.. First off, balls of steel to put yourself out into this jungle! Like the others have said, the texture of your voice and your vocal dynamics seem to lend themselves more to a DDY style than Journey. Again, balls of steel.

Haha... "balls of steel"... with a rubber band wrapped around them to hit high notes! That brought back a recent memory. About a year and a half ago I kidded myself into thinking I could make time for a band, and went to audition for some local guys that are very well known here, as the drummer has been a DJ on our top rock station for years. Because of their connections, they get tons of cool gigs, like opening for Alice Cooper, FireHouse, etc. They are always worming their way into opening slots for great acts. So anyway, he invited me over to audition, and the guy is just a cut-up... I should have known better. For this "audition" he invited half the neighborhood over for a barbecue, then set up his mobile DJ P.A. system outside and miked it up really loud. When it was time, I had to sing in front of about 20 total strangers, with the entire block being able to hear me. To give them a little variety, I did "Faithfully", "It's Not Love" (Dokken), "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" (Zep), and some others. Anyway, he took me aside later and said, "Dude, you have BALLS OF STEEL for letting us audition you like that. There is NO WAY I would have done it myself!"..... haha! Probably for the best, I wasn't chosen, the main dealbreaker being my inability to tour if needed or travel too far for shows, and to a lesser degree because the DDY sound wasn't as well suited for some of the material they wanted to cover (though they were open to having two of us sing to round things out a bit, ala Gene and Paul). They ended up reforming a previous incarnation of the band and have been having fun ever since.

Journey69 -- Man, if you have that kind of voice and you have people telling you so, ya got to find a way to do it, bro. I just started realizing that I didn't want to look back on my life and see a ton of missed opportunities, because that's become my nature over time. Even little bitty things like what I'm trying make a difference. Get a quality Journey Karaoke CD and go to some studio and knock a song out in an hour, or go sing one live and see how people react (especially if you have that tone). You'll be hooked, man!

Too much to post here, and I'll save it for another thread, but you can have a blast singing at Karaoke joints, especially when you get to know some other good singers and you go out in force some nights to shake some place apart. Karaoke is a beast of it's own, and a total mixed bag. It gets a really bad rap and a lot of snickers, but I've met so many people that should have been pro recording artists and performers, who for some reason just took another turn in life, but still need to get their sing on! If you are lucky, you get a good KJ that cares about your sound, and a great audience that is totally into it. There are also the KJ's that are singers themselves who don't like what they see as "competition", and will give you crappy sound, start your song off in the wrong spot, whatever, just to sabotage you. Take those things as compliments! And plenty of crowds that couldn't care less, and wouldn't miss their next pool shot to clap for you. The key is to hang in there and get to a place where it doesn't discourage you on the bad nights, because they will happen. It's an excellent way to numb yourself to stage fright of any kind, such as public speaking. But man, those good nights... dude... Stories.... STORIES!!! I'll save them for another thread.

larryfromnextdoor wrote:do some paul stanley next. the late 80's stuff with the high vocals.. you dont talk like a girl do you?

LOL! I've done quite a few KISS songs, matter o'fact! I talk like a Muppet, I think.

G.I.Jim wrote:He also thinks you're a cool guy, but was wondering why you refer to yourself in the third-person?

Probably because I see myself as a cartoon character most of the time. Rip Rokken is my goofy alter-ego.

Thanks everyone for the kind thoughts and criticisms. It really means a lot to this little dreamer.