with some caveats .... Chemo for Christmas

[Lt. Bob]

We've talked about this ..... daughter who sings on Bourbon has a very aggressive cancer .... so she told me she wanted a song called Chemo for Christmas ..... I simply couldn't get it done for Christmas though I tried.
But I HAD to get something I could show her for my trip there last week because the plan is when she comes over here she'll sing it so there needed to be a song for her to work on.
And so I managed to get this down.
I could wait till it's finished but that might be months and I wanted to share.

So the caveats ::
First, this is a scratch vocal just to show her the song ... though I will do a version with me singing it, this is not a final vox for me .... it's a scratch vocal and ultimately the final version will have Jenn singing.

Also I have a lot of mixing to do ..... these are almost raw tracks and I just threw them on. I ran out of time and only got this late the night before I left for N.O. so it was rushed ..... for all I know some horn parts are inaudible while others are far too loud and I haven't EQ'd any of them.

The massed vox at the end need the same kind of work plus I'm gonna get some folks ( some of ya'll hopefully ) to add to them so I can have more variance in them.
And some tweaking of that 3rd verse ... already know what I'm gonna do and the written lyrics are what will be there..

Lastly there's no rhythm section really .... just bass and drums and the horns ....... I'm not sure it needs anything else because it's all about the vox and the horns but I do have a jazz pianist I reached out to and he may have something to add so we'll see on that.
But I'm not sure it needs anything ... certainly not guitar.
Bass drum is way too fat but I haven't even EQ'd the drums so that should be an easy fix.

So because I like it ..... Jenn likes it ( she said "It's perfect" and drumber boyfriend said "nailed it" and that's who I needed to please ) I wanted to share where it's at with ya'll

Well who's that coming down my chimney pipe?
Looks like Santa but it's the wrong night
Now he's pretty early 'bout a month and a half
Wonder what he's carrying in that bag
So I walk on over and I tap his wrist
He whirls around with a great big grin
He says I gotta get you ready for the Christmas ahead
I'm gonna put a PIC line right beside your bed

You're gettin' chemo for Christmas ... holy crap
Chemo for Christmas .... I don't want that
Chemo for Christmas but wait there's more ... there's radiation coming to your door

horns

Then he shot back up the chimney while I stood there in shock
Damn, I knew I should've changed my locks
Now I've gotta get chemo probly lose my hair
While watching people out celebrating everywhere
But I can see that it's not all bad
Be the quietest Thanksgiving that I ever had
Relatives I don't like all I do is say
My immune system's shot you gotta ... stay away

I'm gettin' chemo for Christmas ... holy crap
Chemo for Christmas .... I don't want that
Chemo for Christmas and that's no jive
But it's the only way to stay alive

horns

The steroids give me extra energy for going out and tryin' to be all the best I can be
And I'm beginnin' to seein' the world so much better than I've ever seen
With the colors so bright and the touch of a breeze blowin' thru my hair and blowin' round my shoulders
As the night gets later, it gets a little colder
Well I'm so glad for all this love that I've got
And I'm finally getting some of that gov't pot

I'm gettin' chemo for Christmas ... holy crap
Chemo for Christmas .... I don't want that
Chemo for Christmas you'd best believe , that chemo won't be getting the best of me
I'm getting
chemo for christmas! ............... holy crap!
I'm gettin'
chemo for christmas! ............... we don't want that!
Gonna keep living hard ..... we won't stay in bed
WE'LL BE DRINKING TAKING CHEMO WITH A WIG ON OUR HEAD!

and so on

[rayc]

Tres coool.
I was expecting some final wise crack on the outro but that'd probably be something ad libbed from the lass herself.
Ace song, cool arrangement, (I could visualize the horn section singing the outro) and WELL DONE daddio!

[TripleM]

As a father of two girls I'm wishing the best for your daughter.

Great lyrics. Great horns. Excellent vocal delivery. It's very well put together song.

Things sound great mixwise.

Bass might be just a bit boomy. And maybe some heavy-ish verb on the gang vocals at the end? Just suggestions.

Great one.

[WhiskeyJack]

The massed vox at the end need the same kind of work plus I'm gonna get some folks ( some of ya'll hopefully ) to add to them so I can have more variance in them.

Count me in when the time comes. I will make time for this.


I like it Steve. very cool, very you and subject wise it keeps the heavy part light. I love this!

How is she doing with her gofundme?

[Armistice]

How cool to be your own horn section!

Sounding very good. Definitely get some additional voices with the mass chorus at the end though. Sure people here will help out.

[Lt. Bob]

Bass might be just a bit boomy. And maybe some heavy-ish verb on the gang vocals at the end? Just suggestions.
.

noted for future mix tweaks ... you mean add some heavy verb or there's too much?

How is she doing with her gofundme?

amazingly well ..... over 10k last time I looked plus a lot of people have just given her cash or to her venmo.
The new chemo has finally lessened her gigging availability and we figure the surgery will take her out completely for months but I'd say they've raised enough to cover rent/bills for maybe 6 months and of course drummer boyfriend would still work so longer than that.

But her friends have been very generous .... more so than many fundraisers I've see plus she seems to be in-demand in N.O. so as soon as she can work again it's obvious there'll be plenty of it for her.

So just avoid the dying thing and she's in pretty good shape.

How cool to be your own horn section!

Sounding very good. Definitely get some additional voices with the mass chorus at the end though. Sure people here will help out.

I know and we're gonna do that.
Chemo For Christmas featuring The Rebel Chorus ! .........

And wasn't it you that had fooled with a cheaper Roland wind synth? ,,,,,,, this is the AE-30.


Thanks all ...... this is gonna be one where I'm gonna lean on ya'lls ears.
As soon as I have all tracks finished I'll post it and we'll all get the mixed tweaked and some additional vocals.
Although feel free to make any suggestions that occur to ya' .... it's still in progress.

Appreciate ya'll

[musicturtle]

Very cool @Lt. Bob

Love your voice. Can't wait to her it with your girl singing as well.

As WhiskeyJack said, it's a great spin on a heavy subject.

I definitely will be available for some vocal assistance. I'll keep an eye out for it.

[Manslick]

cool

[Tadpui]

Sounds great to me Bob. Since I missed my opportunity to help VHS out with his Rebel gang vocal, I'd love to pitch in for this one. Horns sound very very good, as does the bass. And even the drums too!

[vomitHatSteve]

Nice song. I like the dark humor of it.

Mix-wise, the kick seems a little loud. Especially since it's so sparse, there are a few spots where it leaps right out.

Honestly, you have a really good voice for playing Santa, so I'd recommend keeping some of you in the first verse.

I'd be happy to help with some gang vocals

And of course, best of luck to your daughter and her recovery.

[TripleM]

noted for future mix tweaks ... you mean add some heavy verb or there's too much?

Sorry that wording was vague. I meant to add some verb to the gang vocals.

[JD01]

Only just heard this - good one, Bob.

[Lt. Bob]

thank ye sir!

[Alison]

Just listening and catching up.
Very, very cool song! Love the horns and I think your vocals are perfect.

If you are looking for vocalists who can harmonize, I'd be honored. . .

My heart is with your daughter, if she's anything like you she's got to be pretty tough. Can you post her go fund me somewhere? I'd love to make a donation (maybe I missed it but that's pretty typical for me. . .)