Red Rain - Peter Gabriel - Vocal Cover Benny Fong

I just learned tonight that Peter Gabriel has a new album "i/o" coming out this year 2023 and a world tour. Very excited by this news. I've seen him live once before and again with a duo concert with Sting. Such a masterful performer and open creator. I did not experience the Secret World Tour live. To me, it's the performance in it's sonics and theatrics that captivated me and discovered to love his song, Red Rain. I hope you enjoy. Thank you!

[@algomaone121]

Benny...that’s one of my favorite pieces of Peter Gabriel music! You’ll be interested to know that around 1989 I cut a video of that song as an experiment....to tornado footage!

[@nikinthemud]

please cover Back In NYC. it was peter gabriel at his best

[@fideliscathmilitia-novagenesis]

Hi man, I'm just curious to know how you can get that "gritty Gabriel voice". It's something I never understood
Can you tell me some tip to get it? Thanks (I know it's a potential DANGEROUS technic for our vocal cords, if made in the wrong way, by the way I'm still curious, thanks)

[@TheBennyFong]

That's a great question. I've never been asked that question and haven't thought about how it happens mechanically myself. Peter Gabriel was one special voice I tried to emulate in an early singing career. I was in my 20s. My voice, even now, has a default pure tone. For the types of songs I like to sing many times I find it plain, boring, dutiful. I find a connection to gritty voices and have worked to open my body to produce the sound. So enough background. From a mindset, I picture my voice like a french horn or a trumpet, sound waves travelling thru brass, fingers being the muscles in my body and breath controlling the notes. But for Peter Gabriel it has no ground. So I visualize the air moving quite slowly thru my throat. I picture the bell of the trumpet with layers of dirt and gravel and I have to relax my throat and simultaneously "push" the air thru the pockets of space between the mixture. My voice combined with the "earth". I saw a professional opera singer hauling back on a cigarette one time and was floored.... how could you do that to your instrument? (But I started to smoke to get the sound) But it took the power from my lungs away. And having my throat dry like that wasn't sustainable. I could get the sound but not for long. I notoriously do songs without warming up. The first day after not singing for months I usually over do it and kinda make it raw, singing really high stuff, gravelly stuff, and long notes getting better diaphram control. After a day of recovery my voice seems to steady like biceps after the gym three days later. I can then control the air going thru the dirt much better and play with it. Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots has this growl coupled with a very smooth melodic, almost delicate delivery. His dynamics press the voice harder (for me at least). I think trying other singers helps work out the stress tolerance of your voice. One clear physical tip is not to clinch your throat, hold for impact, so-to-speak. push the start of the vocal below your shoulders into the full cavity of your chest, Keep your chin down. Sing the notes as the press harder and visualize them moving perpendicular to your body. Straight out into the void. Don't try to get distance or volume just focus on pushing out from somewhere deeper. Don't imaging the notes going UP or DOWN.... ONLY OUT. I only had voice lessons in high school in choir and mostly learned by listening, trying, recording myself, and trying again. I also smoke a vape lately while I'm recording. (my choice - don't judge) but certain delivery of tobacco and the character of the vape also calms my throat, my headspace and almost gives a little texture. (But the texture is breath control) I'm convinced of that. I hope this answer was helpful, if you need more refinement of want me to reference this from a different aspect just let me know in the comments. Thanks again, Benny