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Progressive Newgrass Romp with Hot Brown Smackdown's New Single

Hot Brown Smackdown's new single Put On The Dog
Arthur Geissler

Six piece Louisville band Hot Brown Smackdown just released an original instrumental called "Put On The Dog" today. The song is a 6 minute Newgrass progressive romp with "just enough 15/8" to be an HBS song, according to band member Arthur Geissler. What's that, you may ask? I had no clue so I asked him! He said:

"15/8 just describes the time signature of the music. The 15/8 part begins at ~3:02. During this bridge there is a measure of 7 eighth notes, then a measure of 8 eighth notes - so one of 7/8 and one of 8/8. This meter pattern repeats throughout the rest of the bridge, and because it's a mouthful to say "a repeating sequence of one measure of 7 and then one measure of 8," it's more appropriate to combine those measures and summarize it as 15/8. It's a repeating sequence of 15 eighth notes. It SOUNDS more complicated than it actually is, haha.

Using odd meters can produce a really cool feel depending on what you're going for. Our last single "Empire" was entirely in 7/8. Pink Floyd's "Money" is another example of that 7/8 feel."

Oh, I said. Regardless of the meter, the song kicks in the best way. Now streaming on most platforms!


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Laura is the afternoon host from 3-6 pm weekdays. Email Laura at lshine@lpm.org