My band...Built 4 Comfort

Nice job Carl. Cool funky beats just right for dancing, which seems to be what you are pointed at. I hired a band and wish they'd been half as good.  I'd be proud, as you surely are too. 
Rick

I think you can be reasonably happy with the outcome. As you say, it's a demo and a showcase to show the kind of music you play and can play. Anyone tackling 'Black Magic Woman' deserves a pat on the back in my view!

As you asked for feedback, the only thing I noticed, right from the first track, was the sound of the snare. It's subjective, of course, but for me, it just didn't sound right (to my ears - and thats why it is subjective).

Good luck, and hears hoping it gets you more gigs!

MikeH

Yeah, well Carl - drummers - you know. But I listened to some other stuff trying to pin down what I meant.

The closest I can get to it is the snare sound (to me) is similar to something the alternative and/or nu-metal bands came up with in the 90's. Instead of the normal (or what I think of as normal) 'snap' sound of the snare these recordings featured a snare with more of a hollow 'bounce' to it. Almost a sharper sounding TomTom effect really.

I never really got on with it. Can't explain it, just was different from what I grew up hearing I guess but that doesn't means its wrong or bad.

You could be right about the engineer dabbling with it a little. The knob twiddling is what they are there for after all.

The important thing is to get the demo out there. It's always a learning excercise and the take-aways from the experience is put into practice the next time. I don't like anything I've done in a studio setting. That isn't much anyway. My best vocal performances are still in the shower unfortunately.................