Listen to MFT#008 w/ Cowboy Angels while you read!!!

The studio has been incredibly busy this past week and I feel like I’ve been running around like a chicken with no head. Despite being slammed with sessions, I still managed to find time to record another session for all of you fine people to enjoy. This week I invited Dan Schepper to come in and perform a few Cowboy Angels tunes. I’ve known Dan for a number of years now and I consider him to be a pretty swell guy. Dan is probably known to most people as the drummer for Everything, NOW!, but over the past couple of years his solo project, Cowboy Angels, has been turning some heads. Unlike the psychedelic space folk music that he plays in E,N!, Cowboy Angels can be pretty diverse. At times it sounds like a crunchy old school rock and at others it borderlines some sort of back-country shoe-gaze. Regardless of the styles and genres being utilized, every element has some strange vintage feel to it. The timeless tones that remind me of countless old records.

Since Dan writes and plays EVERYTHING it was a bit of a challenge to record a multi-tracked session in such a way that it would sound like a live performance. To pull this off we opted for single takes. Essentially we froze a piece of time with our technology so that Dan could go back and rock out with his past selves. Is your mind blown yet? I bet you never thought of a recording engineer as manipulator of time! No big whoop.

Back to Dan… He recorded 5 songs. 3 of these 5 are NEW. I could tell you which songs are new but that would take all of the fun out of the hunt. Do yourself a favor and head CLICK HERE to listen to MFT#008 featuring a multi-tracked performance by Dan Schepper. Try not to tap your foot. I dare you.

Now if you’re longing for something to look at while your ears are being stimulated, take a gander at some of these amazing photographs taken by Lauren Bultman Photography. She always does an amazing job and I’m not just saying that because she’s my fiance.

Last but not least… You can find Cowboy Angels on the internet in the following places.
1. http://cowboyangels.bandcamp.com/
2. http://www.facebook.com/cowboyangels
3. http://www.myspace.com/wearecowboyangels

Listen to MFT#006 w/ Raafiq Alim while you read!!!

This week I am mixing things up a little bit. Until this point I have only featured bands and acoustic artists… This week I had the opportunity to work with Raafiq Alim (formerly known as Merc Versus), a 10-plus year veteran of the local/regional underground hip-hop scene. He has been compared to such diverse artists as Mobb Deep, Outkast, Wyclef Jean, Wu-Tang Clan, and A Tribe Called Quest. His inspirations include Kool G Rap, Sam Cooke, Bad Brains, Peter Tosh, and The D.O.C. Being from a unique geographical location in terms of hip hop (Indiana), Raafiq represents a rare perspective of the culture. He is currently Vice President of the Indiana chapter of the Universal Zulu Nation and is managed by former Def Jux artist and underground hip hop legend C-Rayz Walz.

The first three songs featured in this session are a collaborative effort between East Harlem, New York native Udi the Erratic Assassin, Indiana native Raafiq Alim aka Merc Versus to form BEDLAM BRETHREN. I took my time to fine-tune these tracks and add subtle changes to make the listening experience unique. The final 2 tracks are previews of a second collaborative effort titled, Mystery School. The Mystery School tracks are not complete. They are merely previews featuring Raafiq Alim’s contributions. The finished versions of these songs will be made available on an upcoming album titled, “Class Envy.” There is no set release date as of this time.

Listen to MFT#005 w/ The Bashville Boys while you read!!!

It’s always a pleasure to work with The Bashville Boys and this session was no exception. They are a fun group of guys that have a real passion for the music they play. I have been looking forward to finalizing this session from the moment the guys had expressed an interest in being feature for MFT#005. The recording process went fairly smoothly with the small exception of trying to figure out how to record Jim’s vocals while simultaneously recording his Mandolin without excessive microphone bleeding. It proved to be a challenge but after a quick bout of trial and error we managed to get good results. Problem solving is a big part of any recording session so this is nothing out of the ordinary. These MFT sessions are all recorded live so it’s not only a challenge for the bands to exert the best performance that they can, it is also a challenge for me as a recording engineer to make sure that everything sounds as close to perfect as possible.

Lauren Bultman Photography was there to document the session in its entirety. As always, she did a wonderful job capturing the digital likenesses of everyone in the band. Please take a moment to check out the photo gallery below and get your giggle on. There are some boy band poses that should not be overlooked.

Now it’s time to address a new addition to the original MFT format… In the past I have been including video interviews of the bands but starting with MFT#005 I have decided to switch over to a podcast instead. I have my reasons. I am a recording studio… My strengths are in audio and when it came to setting up lights and video cameras I was beginning to get a little overwhelmed. I feel that I am better equipped to deliver a podcast than I am a video. Furthermore, I feel that it’s easier for bands to participate in a podcast. There’s a lot less pressure and stress when you don’t have to worry so much about whether or not you’re making a dumb face and etc. Besides, the photo shoot already covers the visual aspect of the show. Duh! So give the podcast interview a listen and if you are in the mood to leave any feedback, send it to reberrecording@gmail.com.

Listen to MFT#004 while you read!!!!

I never know where to start with these things so I’m just going to go with the beginning. My first encounter with Hotfox was a while back when The Bonesetters were recording their album “Savages” at my studio. Oliver and Duncan had come  up from Indianapolis to lend their voices to the group vocal session. Prior to that day, I had no idea who or what Hotfox was which is sad but also good in a way. I think our MFT session benefited from my lack of a prior experience with their material and sound… Now, this isn’t how I would normally approach a recording session. Typically there’s a good amount of pre-production involved with getting to know the ins and outs of songs and figuring out the best way to tell the story/paint the picture or what-have-you. Anyway, my point is this… The majority of the songs that Hotfox had come to record have not been released before. These are new and previously unheard. I was able to listen and mix objectively and unbiased (to the extent one can be). I just had fun with it and tried my best to make it sound just like the performance I was hearing in the studio.

So yeah, enough of the philosophical shit. You guys want to read about Hotfox. Well, what can I say…? They are all stand-up gentlemen and scholars. They really are a swell group of guys. I’m sure by this point they are sick of reading reviews about how good they are for how young they are. I feel that just by mentioning the term in a criticism or review adds prejudice. This band is just good and that transcends age. I had a killer time recording this session. Seriously… Stand up doods. Passionate and ambitious musicians with the talent to take them wherever they want to go. I expect we will be hearing a lot from this band in the coming years and I welcome it. But enough praise… Let’s move on to some of the studio conversation highlight! Oliver explained the science behind his manicure techniques. He carries a piece of sandpaper on him at all times to help sand his thumbnail into a an ideal guitar pick. Upon further investigation I uncovered that he has experimented with a number of different grits to find the perfect thumbnail smoothness. Furthermore, Oliver also enjoys sanding and smoothing out anything and everything. If he’s been to your house… it’s almost certain that he has sanded something.

Although the weather was not ideal (it was actually pretty shitty out), we opted for an outdoor photo shoot that involved the burning of wet cardboard that had been sitting outside for weeks. It was one hell of a challenge to light damp cardboard but we persevered with patience and diligence. This makes MFT#004 the first session with a bonfire. Anyway, you can check out the following images by Lauren Bultman Photography below.

This year I spent my spring break building bass traps for the studio with my good friend, Ian. While most of my friends were tanning on sunny beaches, my week was comprised of whiskey, meat, and power tools; albeit not at the same time. When all is said and done expensive tans that will fade but my new bass traps will last for a long, long time. The project is still not 100% finished. I am still waiting on my fabric to arrive so that I can stretch it over the front of these traps to make them more visually appealing. I purchased 25 yards of barn-red burlap to use as a finishing material so that it would match the current color scheme in the studio. They are going to look AMAZING!

Bass traps can be expensive due to their size and weight… Shipping costs can be pretty extreme. I decided that it was in my best interest to build my own based on my needs. I enjoy working with my hands and saving money so it seemed like a good fit. Also, by building them myself, I can be sure of the quality of my traps and will be able to make future adjustments if need be without having to contact a manufacturer. All in all I am building 9 bass traps for the studio but I was only able to finish 7 of them in a single week.

I’m still rather sore from the 7 continuous days of the physical labor that went into creating these things but it’s a good kind of sore. I mean, it wasn’t like I was working at a balls-to-the-wall pace for the entire week. I made sure to schedule some rest and relaxation as well. Ian and I made it a point to have a cookout every night of the week. We ate exceptionally well… Oh, and I made sure to document the feasting with my iPod so that I could share it with all of my friends that were busy posting pictures of beaches in a future post.

Bounce & Transfer

Spending the afternoon going through old recordings of local shows and transferring them to the computer whilst enjoying a cup of coffee. I have over 30 sessions collecting dust on this 4-track. I’m hoping to put them up on Musical Family Tree within the next day or so.

Some of the performances I am transferring…
1. The Soil & The Sun
2. Heavy Cream
3. Timbre
4. Chad Serhal
5. Osteoferocious
6. The Bonesetters
7. Wooden Boxes
8. Metavari
9. Two Mini Humans

I would like to thank The Fickle Peach for asking me to organize their NYE party. I would also like to thank Cowboy Angels, The Bashville Boys, DJ Jannell and The Cocaine Wolves for helping us all bring in 2012 in style. All I did was organize and run sound… The bands provided all of the content. Hats off to them!

Oh, and last but not least… I would like to thank everyone that shelled out $5 to come and celebrate with us! Without you it would not have been as fun. The place was PACKED. We ended up having to turn people away at certain points because we were over capacity! Thanks again for making it a night to remember!

I recorded the show on my new handheld recorder! I will try to put it on MFT at some point this week. Keep your eyes and ears open for it.

Mikey Mason

It’s been a while since I updated the ol’ studio blog and much has happened since my last post. Things have been seen, eaten, and experienced. Oh, and some work has been done as well. For instance, Mikey Mason’s album, “Impotent Nerd Rage” has been mixed and mastered and handed over! In fact, he’s already released the album online through his bandcamp site! Show him some love by listening… and if you want to throw in some extra affection, shell out some $$$.

What’s more, he’s already in the midst of shooting a music video for one of the singles! He’s a very ambitious guy and has a lot of plans for his new release. I enjoy his overall sense of enthusiasm and motivation.

Anyway…

I spent my early afternoon hours at the studio with Mikey Mason shooting some video for a song titled “My Next Girlfriend.” The image above is just a glimpse of what is to come.

Mikey has a CD Release Party scheduled for THIS SATURDAY (08/27/2011) at The Fickle Peach in Muncie, Indiana. If you’re a geek or a nerd and want to hear some music that’s directed towards your social situation… show up around 8PM.

This pedal has been on my list of “must-have-pedals” from the moment I first heard demos of it via youtube videos. Alas, I have never been able to purchase one on eBay because they are either selling for $$$$$$$$$$ or the auctions are over within minutes of starting. These are incredibly rare synth pedals; highly sought after by bassists. Ah well, my search is over. At long last, I now possess an Akai Deep Impact SB1. It is magnificent. This is good news for a number of reasons. The first of which being, I now own this pedal and can use it whenever I want!!!!! Secondly, it’s become assimilated into my recording studio and will be made available to the musicians recording with me!

So yeah, fuck all of this noise. I’m going to get back to turning knobs.