If your memory servers you well, you might recall a blog I wrote several months ago about a record I was working on for singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist R. Scott Bryan. For those of you that don't know about R. Scott Bryan - you should. Over the last decade or so, Scott has shared both stage and studio with a very, very impressive list of 'A-listers' such as Petery Mayer, Mac McManally, Russ Kunkell, Levon Helm not to mention a long stent as utility player Sheryl Crow.
After a year plus in the works, Scott and I have put the finishing touches on his second full length release entitled 'It's Your Life'. The record features brilliant songwriting as well as Scott's ability to play a wide range of instruments namely percussion and Hammond B3 Organ. 'It's Your Life' also offers stellar supporting performances by Drummers Joe Meyer, Dennis Stringfield, Grover Stewart, Pianist David Aholt and saxophonist Jim Stevens. I produced, played, engineered and mixed the record which was mastered by my dear friend and mentor M. Brad Sarno at Blue Jade Audio Mastering.
Given Scott's history and pedigree in this business, working on this record was a real honor and priviledge. 'It's Your Life' will be released by Lauren Markow and me on the Red Pill label and will be available for purchase the first week of December via iTunes with hard copies available at Nimbit and CDBaby. Grab your copies and spread the word - thanks for supporting independent music.
One more thing.
As the story goes, sometime back someone passed me a record of local prog-rock band called Ring, Cicada. The record entitled 'Good Morning, Mr. Good' was engineered and mixed by legendary audio guru Steve Albini at Electrical Studios in Chicago. Seriously folks, when I heard this record - correction - when I heard this band, I just absolutely had to make a record with them. Ring, Cicada is one of the coolest primarily instrumental bands around - lots of odd meter stuff, meter changes, great melodies and all around great playing.
The record was cut live at my place and is a real gem. Anyhow, I've just heard a few songs fresh out of mastering and am really tickled with the results. Please take a listen and watch for the release of this record. As far as I know the record will be called 'History's End' - look for it online or at your local record shop soon.
J.
Over the last few years I've had the pleasure of logging quite a few hours of studio time with artist Javier Mendoza. After engineering and mixing his first self-titled release, Javier brought me in to work on his first Christmas record entitled 'Feliz Navidad'.
For quite some time now, Javier has been working on a side project with my brother and fantastic bass player Logan Detering and long time friend and session drummer Dennis Stringfield entitled 'Sunmotel'. New to the band is guitar player John Frischer. Early this fall Sunmotel contacted me about completing their first record to compliment a handful of other tracks completed by my suite-mate and ultra-awesome engineer Jason McEntire.
Anyhow, the tracks were cut entirely live with exception to the vocal tracks - one of the cuts I did is posted on my myspace page - or you can visit Sunmotel, here. Happy Turkey (or tofurkey if that's your thing!).
J.
I don’t want to go too in depth on this one - as I have been posting quite a few blogs lately - but I did want to take a second and introduce you all to songwriter/vocalist Brian Owens. Several months ago I did a chunk of session work with Brian and his band working on what would grow into and EP format release entitled
"The Cole Sessions". At the time of tracking - Brian’s wife was in the last stages of pregnancy with their first born son, Cole. I’ll tell you - the two best things about the "The Cole Sessions’ were listening to Brian sing -- and likewise witnessing Brian’s excitement about the pregnancy, fatherhood and getting to finally meet Cole.
Of all the tunes we worked on, I was most touched by the track entitled ‘Cole’s Song". A sort of Lanois-ish tune, ‘Cole Song’ is more or less, and open letter from Brian to his unborn son, Cole. The song is beautifully touching and features Brian on vocals, Eric Warren on stand-up bass, Mark Colenberg and me on guitars. I've added 'Cole's Song' to my player -- please give a listen and let me know what you think. Brian is a truly gifted writer and vocalist - please visit his page for information on point of sale. Thanks for reading, all. Have a good weekend.
J.
Monday morning.
R. Scott Bryan. Man. Myth. Legend.
I mentioned several months ago that I've been working on a new recording for singer/songwriter and all around 'I can play anything-er' R. Scott Bryan. Fact, I think I remember even telling you that the 'R' in his name stands for Roy. I did tell you that didn't I?
I wanted to give you all an update on the recording as we actually have audio for your review posted and available for you listening pleasure. At this point in time, the record is about 76.4% done with five tunes tracked, mixed and released in a promotional EP format. We have several other tunes heavily under construction - which should be all wrapped up shortly.
A few days ago - Scott calls me bustling with excitement about a new tune fresh off the press. The tune is entitled 'It's Your Life'. A song about taking life as it comes - accepting all things; Life's blessings and hardships. It's an interesting tune in that the arrangement and recording of the song thus far has been very stark and simple - very dark in moments with subtle lift in others.
I digress.
I'd love for you to take the time to listen to some of the new record. Tho I have a few tunes on my myspace and facebook pages, you'd be better served by visiting Scott here.
For those of you that know me, you've heard me talk about and might have even heard snipets or rough mixes of my work with artist Amy Petty. For those of you that don't know me and are snooping around my page reading my blogs, you should know artist Amy Petty. Really, you should. Amy's songwriting and voice are truly stunning and a 'must listen' in my book.
Artist Kevin Bilchik in the studio - for more photos check my myspace page.
Coming directly out of my sessions with Kevin and R. Scott, I went to work on a new record with singer/songwriter Auset. Tho the primary idea was to capture solid drum tracks and assemble the bulk of the record later, we set the whole band up live, tracking 18 inputs at once. Beyond great material, this session marked my first time working with mastering engineer and long-time friend M. Brad Sarno and drummer extraordinaire Andy Marks. I have no idea about timelines for this record - but can tell you that reflects a great new batch of material authored by Auset - and a new 'band' approach and feel. Check Auset's page for updates.
Drummer Andy Marks in the studio - for more photos check my myspace page.
About a month ago I received a phone call from session drummer Joe Meyer inquiring about my interest/availability to begin working a new record for his hard rock band Goldtooth. After setting up, getting sounds and beginning to track - I realized once again how easy making a good record can be - given great players and good songs. The band literally tracked in total - 4 songs from start to finish in about six hours.
