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They Live by Night
by Vic Holman

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Song comments: 31
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Submitted on: Nov 02, 2008 - 03:20:41 PM
Last Updated: Nov 02 2008 - 03:20:41 PM
Description a song about "they", not to be confused with "them". or it's about shadows and what do they do when no one pays attention to them.

the whole composition came to me one evening when i was just playing around on the guitar. i was pretty inspired, so the next morning i recorded the bulk of this. then i got lazy and it took a week to work out some lyrics

not a traditional blues song but all the elements are there.
Lyrics They Live By Night

there are rumors all over town
there are secrets handed down
you hear the whispers making plans
there are people who don't understand
in the shadows, late at night
in places, out of sight
where they live by night

chorus:
you can ignore the shadows
they live by night
from the shadows they made their plans
i know they live by night

there are voices that don't say a thing
there are shadows, sight unseen
they never sleep when the world is dead
disappear in the light
in places out of sight
where they live by night

chorus:
you can ignore the shadows
they live by night
from the shadows they made their plans
i know they live by night

they live as a shadow of doubt
whispers when, no one's around
no one remembers day after day
loose the light, pull the shades
live in the shadows every night
in places out of sight
where they live by night

chorus:
you can ignore the shadows
they live by night
from the shadows they made plans
i know they live by night


Hardware iMac, epiphone dot delux, ibanez sa & a white fender strat w/noiseless pickups, shector bass, digitech gnx2, ibanez tube screamer, presonus firebox, condenser mike, m-audio keyboard
Software: logic pro 8
Fan List

Rocha Malhada

Bob Rodgers

dajama

lavalamp

Feter

MarkHolbrook

egobandit

bud

thetiler

Cori Ander

TG

davisamerica

michael2

Ibstrat

WillyB

guygrooves

blaky smith

lengold

Skean

rsorensen

TEXASFEEL

apb

Lennon714

jiguma

Rik_Berryere

Peter Bauckham

rover101
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Rocha Malhada said 68 days ago
had me looking
over the shoulder....... cool transition to break and back out. Song kind of 'trudges along' in keeping with the dark theme.

. - Harold

Vic Holman said 67 days ago
Thanks Harold
i am a trudgy type a guy at times. at least that's the word on the street.

Bob Rodgers said 68 days ago
A
nice blues song Vic!

Enjoyed this very much, great production and performance as always, a great sound.

Loved it!

Bob

Vic Holman said 67 days ago
Thanks Bob
i do have some more typical blues songs that i jam around with, but have yet to record. so i figured it was about time i submitted something.

dajama said 68 days ago
Very cool
I really like the lyrics, and the imagery is very effective. Some really great lines, and a tremendous sense of foreboding and paranoia permeates the whole track. Very cool. Lovely guitar work as ever, and I like those drums - nice thick snare sound. NIcely done. Peace.

Vic Holman said 67 days ago
Thanks David
I was aiming to try and finish this and post it for halloween. seemed appropriate. but i fell a few days behind.

lavalamp said 68 days ago
Lyrics
Really liked the lyrics on this one. production was top notch as always. "You can't ignore the shadows", very nice line, Vic.

Guitar was also spectacular, too. As was the Vox.

Dave

Vic Holman said 67 days ago
Thanks Dave
it's getting dark to soon in the evenings so that got me going on the lyrics. and i haven't seem much of my shadow hanging around all that much. i wonder if it his taken on a part time job.

Feter said 68 days ago
They Live by Night
well can we call this Psychodelic blues ??? ...defiently
an outstanding song ...with special kind of structure !!
I just love that tube screamer ..man !!! ...this song
rocks ...thnx alot for sharing !!!

Vic Holman said 67 days ago
Thanks Feter
you know i wouldn't do a standard blues tune. lol

there's nothing like a old tube screamer for a good cutting lead. I've had it 20 years and it still keeps on going.

segiperkasa said 68 days ago
cool.
That was cool... The guitar solo is cool...

Vic Holman said 67 days ago
thanks very much
i usually treat the solo section as a separate piece.

thanks for the listen! I appreciate it.

MarkHolbrook said 68 days ago
Hi Vic
As usual this is fantastic...

Love the bridge! Very cool all throughout!

Vic Holman said 67 days ago
thanks Mark
i thought the bridge before and after the solo would make for a cool detour. it's not blusey but i figured what the heck.

thanks again Mark!

egobandit said 68 days ago
shadow!
mine dances a jig behind my back. I think my shadow is partial to them. Some beautiful arrangement in the lead part. excellent and downloaded

Vic Holman said 66 days ago
hey Tim
where do shadows go in the dark. I'm pretty sure mine goes to a card game when I'm a sleep. could explain why it drags behind me in the morning.

bud said 68 days ago
Nice pacing Vic
stately and grand - creepy and strange - funereal and dark. Cool lead and really nice drum work all around. You make it hard for me to believe I can do anything so intentional as this. Great track.

Vic Holman said 66 days ago
Hey Kevin
i knew if i was going to do a blues tune. it wouldn't be a standard. thought i would take it the devil himself.

thetiler said 68 days ago
You got a terrific rock style
vic!

Great resonance in your voice really pulls of the rock sound. Plus the terrific placement to your electric guitars. Great combinations. You deliver truly lots of the best rock sounds here at MJ.

To pretty high quality vic. I was very influence when I started life with the guitar by the kinks (i've said that before) But you really know how to bring me back in time. But to me it's time to have a great sound like this again. I am amazed at your nack to bring out lots of cool "vic" sounds.

Vic Holman said 66 days ago
Thanks Bill
they say all good things come back around. Or so I'm hoping and at least now-a-days it's in stereo!

LunaTrick said 68 days ago
Great tune..
Like the way you double the voices - great production all around!

Vic Holman said 66 days ago
Thanks Daniel
I was a total beginner at recording when i first joined here. i knew i had to dig in just to keep up. still do.

Relic67 said 68 days ago
cool
great vocals and guitars.
punchy, trebly sounding guitars with tremolo are s awesome.
minor key blues with horror lyrics... gotta like it.
enjoyable post.




Vic Holman said 66 days ago
well....
i had originally planned to get it done and posted on halloween, which seemed appropriate. but i got delayed a few days. and it's to dark to early nowadays.

Cori Ander said 68 days ago
Lots
Lots of things that make this a grand song,
I want to point out just one thing thugh:
the guitar solo ... beautiful!

(sometimes I hear Phil Manzanera in your guitar)...

Vic Holman said 66 days ago
Thanks Cori
i always enjoy adding little touches when creating something. thats the fun part of it all. the solo section i wanted to be some what different to see how it would go.

TG said 67 days ago
Clean yet Raw
Finely crafted tune, much enjoyed Vic!

Vic Holman said 66 days ago
Hey Tom
it has to have an edge to be a bit blusey. i really didn't try to refine much the bulk was recorded without much practice. the vocals was a second take. I doubt if the voice would of held out for a third.

davisamerica said 67 days ago
:-]
You can do no wrong Vic !

Vic Holman said 65 days ago
thanks Jack
actually i never know if I'm doing it right. second guessing can be a curse.

michael2 said 67 days ago
sweet
this is soo much better than the cream reunion awhile back. great song Vic. you never disappoint. loving that subtle slide part and the breakdown before the solo is really pretty (and crafty). another keeper.

Vic Holman said 65 days ago
thanks Michael
someone gave the cream dvd, i wasn't very impressed. sad to say.

although with that said, i did try to emulate a bit of clapton in the solo.

Ibstrat said 67 days ago
A new
song from you is cause for celebration.You have an instantly recognizable vocal,guitar and songwriting style.If I ran a record label I would sign you.Actually if I ran a record label I would probably be out of work!Great song.

Vic Holman said 65 days ago
Thanks Mark
if i ran a record label, everyone would be out of work. at this point i really need to figure out what to do with a lot of the songs i've done. after some tweeking of course

WillyB said 67 days ago
...
..some superb guitar sounds here. call me crazy, but I can easily imagine this on an alice cooper album. I mean that in a complimentary way. Very nice work!

Vic Holman said 65 days ago
Thanks Willy
I was really into the Alice Cooper band way back when. I would spend a lot of time learning all the songs off of 'Killer', which is still one of my favorite albums.

guygrooves said 67 days ago
Cool
concept Vic and great delivery.
Peace
Guy

Vic Holman said 65 days ago
Thanks Guy
i thought something a little spooky for the lyrics would be something in the spirit of halloween time.

cool new tune of yours.

lengold said 66 days ago
Ooooh Creeeeepy
Fantastic lyrics - especially for a paranoid like me. Superb vocals and musicianship/production.
Another bullseye Vic. Great stuff.
Cheers
Len



Vic Holman said 65 days ago
Thanks Len
something a little Edgar Allen Poe, not foe the faint of heart who jump at their own shadows

rsorensen said 65 days ago
shadow people
really like the guitar in this one and the concept is cool too. great post!

Vic Holman said 65 days ago
thanks Ridd
sometimes i swear i see something moving in the shadows.... usually monkeys just on the edge of the car headlights.

TEXASFEEL said 62 days ago
Never thought about it
but I thought THEY were always there. Great concept and a fine song to boot. Thanks for sharing.... It's always an enjoyable listen.

Vic Holman said 62 days ago
Thanks John
oh they are there all right. usually behind or underneath, collecting dust bunnies


thanks for the listen John

BossHook said 62 days ago
Outstanding
guitar trem tone - I get a total Lennon meets Steve Miller feel from this - well written and played.

Vic Holman said 62 days ago
Thanks John
the trem was a must. I hadn't thought of the Miller in the mix. cool,

i really dig your new song.

apb said 62 days ago
Excellent guitars

.. as I would expect.. but I must commend you on your oustanding vocals in this, really strong and "nothing held back", confident and inspired- really shows.

Nice Halloween-esque vibe to it .. love the creepy ventriloquists dummy... *shivers*.

Excellent production, mix and choon to boot.

Vic Holman said 62 days ago
Thanks Alan
spooky yes.

i made it under the wire on the vocals. usually i can only do three takes before the voice goes flat. luckily i got this in the second. by the time i added the backing vocals, my voice was pretty well done for the day.

Lennon714 said 61 days ago
cool song
Lyrics are fantastic. It's almost as is Michael Penn and Leonard Cohen did a collaboration. Two of my favs. The chorus is especially tastey with that hint of light, then back to melancholy.

Vic Holman said 60 days ago
thanks Eric
I was also thinking a little edgar allen poe as well.

thanks for the listen and stay in the light!

Rik_Berryere said 60 days ago
Amazing Voice!
...almost seems redundant to rave about your guitars; you always seem to slide in the most unexpected twists in the layers of guitar Holmanism, and it always sounds fresh and exciting. But your voice is sounding stronger and fuller, and this one's right out of the ballpark.

Are you EVER going to come with a CD? Sell a zillion copies, get on the cover of Guitar Player magazine, become an icon, have ten million yoots do air guitar to your tunes in "Rock Band", get on the cover of Rolling Stone, host a cooking show and ultimately buy Fox News and recast it with robot monkey butlers?

I'd love to see a cooking show hosted by Vic Holman. Just sayin'.

Vic Holman said 60 days ago
Thanks Rik
heck I can hardly give the stuff away for free.

a cooking show? now there's a train wreck just waiting to happen. cook a batch of something and eat it for the next three days. maybe on the extra days, i would suggest, sit in front of the tv and show old cartoons

Bob6stringer said 60 days ago
Strange Days redux
Digging the shimmer. Takes me back to Halloween, even. Your songwriting and performance are tops. I very timidly offer the possibility of dialing-down the vox a few dbs to bring-up the band (while not obscuring the vox, since this is still lyrically driven). I guess I want all the parts to get equal billing.

The brooding, bashing performance mixed with the dark carnival feeling this gives me prompts me compare it to the Cramps covering the Doors' "Strange Days." I'm out of line, I know.

Vic Holman said 60 days ago
ya know
.... if i dropped the vocals down into the mix, then would be told to bring them up. it's happened. it's the eternal seesaw of life. lol.

cramps doing the doors, now there's a cool idea.

Trillian said 58 days ago
they live as a shadow of doubt...
very interesting image!!! : ) Not fond of the ventriloquist's dummy though - saw a movie when I was very young - all I remember was antique dolls killing off a family one by one - (way before those icky Chucky movies) - isn't it strange how some things stick in the back of your mind and provoke a visceral reaction every time you catch a glimpse of something similar even decades later? And definitely not fond of Jack-in-the-Boxes either!!! : )

Vic Holman said 53 days ago
the dummy.......
.... looks so innocent in the daylight. some friends got him for me from a antique store. unfortunatley i don't know how to throw my voice. lol

Re-al said 50 days ago
Sounds like Clapton for sure
and if I speed this up I get White Room.

Stunning.

Studioplayer said 49 days ago
Nice lyrics
Cool bluesy type of song. Not too over the top. A good listen. I like the lyrics. :)

rover101 said 25 days ago
Downloaded
What more can I say

Artist Profile
Vic Holman photo
Vic Holman

Artist Bio most of my toys. I've also been fortunate to collaborate with Bud Streets of Dehli Everyday And a few get togethers with Micheal Wark House of the Rising Sun It's Alright Sense of Direction I would also thank Jiguma for adding some fant...[more]
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