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January 31, 2006
Orderly Day
Yesterday I had two recording sessions scheduled, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
The first session was for a new counseling firm here in Brevard County, Florida. They wanted to produce a spoken-word relaxation CD for their clients.
They were on time for their appointment, they were well prepared, and everything went smoothly.
They left happy.
The second session was for a gentleman who wanted to record a love song as a Valentines gift for his wife of 37 years.
He was on time for his appointment, he was well prepared, and everything went smoothly.
He left happy, too.
I like days like this.
Of course, there are other days when things don’t go this way.
Tune in tomorrow!
Posted by leon at 11:08 AM | Comments (0)
January 30, 2006
New Things, Old Things
I used to be one of those guys who didn’t mind change: as long as everything stayed the same. (I think it was Bob Hartley from the “Bob Newhart Show” who said that.)
I also used to be the guy who didn’t like to try something new. What if I didn’t like it? Even worse, what if I did? Then I would have to add that item to my life and that would constitute a change.
Well, the past week was filled with a mixture of things I had done before, and several new things.
I must not be “one of those guys” any more, since I survived the new things, and even hoped to do them again.
New Thing: Last Wednesday Sheryl and I met a friend for a business lunch at a restaurant that was new to me. It’s called “Fish Lips”, and is located on the waterfront at Port Canaveral.
Great food. Picturesque location. Sheryl and I will be going there again.
Old Thing: Back in the studio, working on tracks for Jim McDonald.
Arranging and producing tracks for him to sing to is still done in largely the same way as it was in 1991.
One major change: back then I would convert the individual parts of each track (piano, bass, each drum in the set, strings, guitar, etc.) into individual tracks on a 24-track analogue master tape. I had to go to another studio to do this. Now I will convert the parts to .wav files, and complete the project in-house.
New Thing: On Friday I recorded a poet! Jennifer Lisa Vest is an accomplished (and published) poet who is recording some audio versions of her poems in response to numerous requests for a CD. More about her another day.
Old Thing: On Friday evening I went to a rehearsal for the Brevard County Debutante Society’s Annual Ball. I have played at this event for the past 15 years. I provide background music while the young debs are presented to the public, and then I play for the party afterward as part of the Len Turner Band, the group I was with for 12 years.
Not too many changes here.
New Thing: Saturday morning I produced a rehearsal CD for a female barbershop quartet. How many guys can make that statement?
Old Thing: Saturday evening- back to the Radisson Resort in Cape Canaveral to play at the Deb ball.
New Thing: On Sunday afternoon, Sheryl and I went to a popular local Yoga studio to see a demonstration, which featured one of Sheryl’s vocal students.
If only I could move as gracefully. Maybe we’ll take up ballroom dancing. (Another new thing!)
New Thing: After the Yoga demonstration, Sheryl and I went to a Sunday afternoon concert at “Nature’s Haven” in Historic Cocoa Village. (http://www.naturespirit.com)
We heard Chris Kahl (http://www.chriskahl.com), a young, native Floridian Singer – Songwriter who specializes in writing songs about his home state.
The venue itself is quite intimate, with seating for around 30 people. Sheryl and I will be playing there in April.
Old Thing: It’s Sunday evening, and I’m updating this Blog. Well, it’s not really such an old thing…
New Thing: On Monday morning I will be working with two folks who run a local counseling center. They want to create a spoken-word relaxation CD that also contains ocean sounds.
It’s a good thing I’ve overcome my distaste for occasions where I’m called upon to do new things and go new places, since it looks as though they are going to keep coming my way.
Posted by leon at 10:33 AM | Comments (0)
January 26, 2006
Concert Pics
I thought I would put up some pictures from the Freebo and Photoglo concert at the Majestic Restaurant in Titusville, FL back on January 13th. (See “Playing Out,” and “Freebo and Photoglo.”)
Sheryl and I had the privilege of opening for them.
Sheryl put this event together at the last minute…Freebo and Photoglo were originally coming to Florida to play at the South Florida Folk Festival, which was then canceled due to hurricane Wilma.
So these two artists had a hole in their schedule. Sheryl helped fill the hole by planning the event at the Majestic, and helping plan the concert the next night at the Unity Church in Melbourne.
She also arranged for us to go up to Deland and play the open mic at Café DiVinci on January 19th.
Freebo and Photoglo were so good that they sold a bunch of CDs at an open mic, no less!
Sheryl sold a couple of CDs too.
For me, playing live is as much fun as playing in the studio. They are two very different musical activities. I think I’ll write more about that some day.
Sometimes I can’t believe that I actually get paid to have so much fun.
Of course, it’s not always fun. Maybe I’ll write about that too, but I don’t want to depress anyone!
Let’s just say the fun outweighs the non-fun.
Don't forget to check out:
http://www.solocreativemedia.com
Freebo and Photoglo
Sheryl Greets Some of Her Fans
(L-R) Andrea (Our friend Doreen's Daughter), Freebo, Louis (local percussionist), Jim Photoglo, Sheryl Paige, Leon Olguin (a.k.a. The Project Studio Guy)
Posted by leon at 03:12 PM | Comments (0)
January 24, 2006
Making Tracks
Yesterday was one of those rare days when I spent the entire time working on the music of one client.
Jim McDonald has been a member of our musical family since 1990 (!). In fact, he was one of our first clients. He found us by answering a little ad we had placed in Contemporary Christian Music magazine. At the time we offered a service where we produced accompaniment tracks for original songs.
Since then, I have produced over 60 tracks for him personally, and another 120 or so for artists that he has produced out in San Diego, California.
He does Southern Gospel music, using one of the deepest, richest bass voices I have ever heard.
We’ve only met once in 16 years!
It is an amazing honor to be involved in the music and ministry work of this remarkable man and his wife Katie. They've been all over the world, sharing the gospel through song and ministry, and his travels take him and his wife to third world nations.
To find out more, check out http://www.jimmcdonald.org.
I’ve produced most of the tracks for his CDs.
So how do we work together without him ever setting foot in our studio?
The process starts when he sends me a CD with the songs he wants to record. (He doesn’t write his own material, but has truly developed a knack for selecting songs for himself). I create new arrangements of the songs, making adjustments to the tempo, key and instrumentation according to his suggestions.
I send rough mixes of these tracks to him, and he suggests further changes.
When the final versions of the tracks are approved, I save the individual parts as .wav files, and ship them to the studio in San Diego, where he and his engineer add the vocals and create the final mixes.
And presto! A new Jim McDonald album! (Well, its not as easy as I make it sound…)
So today, it’s back into the studio to work on his tracks. We’re in the stage where he has heard and commented on all the rough mixes, so now we’re producing final versions of the tracks.
Time to go to work!
Posted by leon at 11:06 AM | Comments (0)
January 22, 2006
Working With Friends
One of best “perks” about what I do is that many of my clients become dear friends. They become members of our “musical family.”
What makes them such a cherished family?
They understand the value of the work I do, so they pay their bills in full, and in a timely fashion. Every business owner can appreciate that!
Also, they send other musicians our way. Many members of our musical family have gained membership because another family member sent them our way.
As our friends consistently record in our studio, I get better acquainted with their work preferences (what kind of monitor mix they like, what kind of mic they are comfortable with, what kind of tea they like, how they take their coffee, etc.). My wife Sheryl and I also look for ways to help them feel more comfortable and relaxed.
For those who’ve worked with us a long time, after a while, our home becomes their “home away from home.”
I also learn what they are looking for musically, and can help them create a “sound”, or an aural identity for their music. Something that is uniquely “them.”
Creating a professional recording is very much a collaborative art, and we are privileged to be a part of it for a great many creative people.
Last weekend (1/21/06) we had two of our favorite family members over to do a little recording: Spike and Sandy.
Sheryl and I met them through our involvement with NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association Internationl). Sheryl eventually became one of the coordinators of our Orlando, Florida based chapter, and Spike and Sandy are faithful members.
Sandy is a songwriter, and she and Spike perform together as “Sandz of Time.” Sandy plays guitar, and Spike, bass.
A while back they started working on a new CD project with us. Like many of the folks we work with, they both have “regular” jobs so they have to record whenever they can find the time.
For this session, Sandy was to lay down her lead vocal over an already completed track for one of her songs, “He Snores.”
As always, she was ready to go, and with a little coaching from Sheryl was able to complete her vocal in an hour.
Spike then went in and added a “snore” sound effect. It took him all of 30 seconds.
In 1-½ hours, we had a final mix.
If only more sessions were this painless!
It never felt like work, it was more of a pleasant visit with a couple of dear friends with a little recording thrown in.
Sandy immediately paid the bill for the session.
After that, we all went out to dinner.
Sometimes, the life of the project studio guy can be pretty sweet.
Spike and Sandy
Sandy Enjoys the Recording Process
Posted by leon at 10:01 PM | Comments (4)
January 19, 2006
Fun With the Encyclopedia
Just for fun here's an article I wrote several years ago for http://musesmuse.com
Here's a bit of fun I found in the encyclopedia:
The Musician
"In most of the world's societies, musicianship requires talent, special knowledge or training, and effort, and the view is widespread that a successful musical work or performance is difficult to achieve.
There is no evidence that superior musical abilities arise in one society or race as opposed to another; rather, variations in achievement are the result of differences in technology, in the degree of specialization of musicians, and in the value placed on music.
Individual talent, however, is recognized among most peoples, and the musical specialist exists everywhere: as a true professional in the West, India, the Far East, and Africa; as an informal leader and singer in folk cultures; and as someone who also has supernatural power in tribal societies.
But if music is regarded as indispensable everywhere, the musician has rarely enjoyed great prestige.
In certain early societies in Europe and America, for example, musicians were regarded as undesirable social deviants; this remains the case in the present-day Middle East.
In many societies music is relegated to outsiders-foreigners or members of religious and ethnic minorities.
Many modern social systems, including those in the West, inordinately reward the outstanding 'star' performer but pay little attention to the average musician.
Nevertheless, musicianship in most parts of the world requires long periods of concentrated study, extending in the case of European and Indian virtuosos to some 20 years." (Taken from Microsoft Encarta '97)
Did you notice the part in there about how musicians "rarely enjoy great prestige?" Or how about being regarded as "undesirable social deviants?" Nice, eh?
Actually, the part that really caught my attention was how in our social system, the "star" performer is inordinately rewarded, and the "average" musician virtually ignored.
I'll take it one step further. Sometimes the "star" performer is not as skilled as the "average" musician. They may have become "stars" through connections in the industry, the behind the scenes work of many songwriters, producers, and image-makers, and sometimes through pure luck.
Are you one of those "average musicians?" Take heart. You may have more ability than many "stars."
You may have fans that are more devoted to you. You may have more freedom to express yourself musically and lyrically.
Perhaps you started out wanting to become a star, and then you realized after a while that it was enough to be able to write and play music, and share it with an audience.
There is absolutely no shame in not being famous.
Just as our society tends to inordinately reward the outstanding "star" performer, it also tends to inordinately punish that same performer.
Our culture tends to place stars up on an impossibly high pedestal, and then summarily knock them off (some stars help knock themselves off the pedestal…just watch any episode of VH1's "Behind the Music" and you'll know what I mean).
The star may remain famous, but they are "fallen." Sometimes they are even placed up on the pedestal again, only to be knocked off once more.
There are a few who manage to stay on the pedestal, and become "legends" of a sort, but the percentage of musicians who reach this status is pretty low.
So to all "average" musicians, remember this: you are as important as any star.
You may never be on the cover of "Spin," or "Rolling Stone," but if there are people who love your music and support what you do, and you're true to your art, that's what really matters.
Now, if circumstances are such that you do become a "star," stay grounded, and surround yourself with genuine friends so that whatever pedestals your fans and the media put you on, or knock you off, you don't lose yourself in the process.
Star or "unsung" star, don't forget to tell all your friends about the project studio guy!
Posted by leon at 12:54 PM | Comments (1)
January 18, 2006
Today’s Earworm
What music is running through my mind today? Pretty much any song from Kevin Browne’s upcoming CD (which I am currently mixing.)
You can see Kevin in action at last year’s Christmas get-together.
What I really like about his music is its originality. When you hear a Kevin Browne song, you never mistake it for a song by anyone else!
Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get in the studio and do some more mixing.
Check back soon, as I plan to talk about meeting famous musicians.
Posted by leon at 11:15 AM | Comments (0)
January 17, 2006
Merry Christmas! (A Little Late…)
It just occurred to me that I never put up any pictures from our first annual Christmas “open house / studio” get-together.
Back in December 2005, we opened our home and studio to our entire “musical family”: everyone who had ever recorded in our studio.
These folks have become so much more than “clients.” They are friends. They are family.
We have something that brings us together: our love of music and a firsthand knowledge of music’s power to encourage, inspire, and even heal.
Every performing songwriter who came brought their instrument, and was invited to perform for the group.
This resulted in a most eclectic impromptu concert, and went a long way in fostering an increased sense of community among these creative musicians.
We’re looking forward to capturing for posterity (i.e. record!) the results of this creativity for many of these cherished artists in the coming year.
We plan to make the December Open House an annual tradition. The next one will be held on Sunday, December 3, 2006. If you live in the Central Florida area, mark your calendars now!
You don’t necessarily have to come record at SCM studio first, but that wouldn’t hurt!
Dean Morrison and Kevin Browne Entertain the Crowd
Sandy Enjoys the Festivities
Asli Walker Gets Into the Christmas Spirit
Posted by leon at 01:22 PM | Comments (0)
January 16, 2006
A Real Job
Another Monday and it’s time to take stock of what I have to do:
1. 12 songs to edit and mix for one client.
2. 7 songs to arrange and begin recording the tracks for, for another client.
3. A 10-song CD project where I am arranging, performing, and producing the tracks for a client from California. I’ve already done preliminary versions of the songs, now it’s time to edit them and produce polished versions.
4. A spoken-word recording session later this week.
5. Two tracks to produce for a Senior Citizens’ show.
Am I complaining? Of course not, its weeks like this that help keep the doors to our business open.
Now comes the trick: while doing this work, I need to be working to get more work to do when this work is done. (Follow that?)
So I also need to:
1. Talk to those musicians we’ve met who have expressed an interest in recording this year.
2. Contact the musicians and businesses that have done work with us in the past.
3. Contact those who have started a project but have yet to finish it.
4. Follow up on those who have recently asked for information about what we do.
5. Find new people to contact who may have never heard of us.
As a project studio owner, my desire is to serve musicians (songwriters, instrumentalists, singers, singing groups, etc.) and businesses (recording voice over work, radio spots and jingles, promotional CDs, etc.).
I want to do the best work possible for my regular clients, and keep bringing in new clients.
Those who regularly come to record at SCM have my eternal gratitude.
If it weren’t for them, I’d have to get a real job!
Posted by leon at 09:51 AM | Comments (0)
January 14, 2006
Freebo and Photoglo
Last night was one of those nights that remind me of why I keep playing music.
Sheryl and I had the privilege of opening for Freebo and Photoglo. Let me tell you, if these guys ever come to your town, run, don’t walk to see them! The crowd at the Majestic was very vocal in their approval.
Sheryl and I opened the concert, with Freebo and I backing Sheryl on bass and keyboard respectively. It was exciting to play with a world-class bassist like Freebo, it took our performance to a new level, and it was obviously fun for the audience to hear. Freebo performed Sheryl’s songs with no rehearsal, having played most of them only a few times about two years ago when he played on Sheryl’s CD, but he was solid.
Sheryl was especially impressive as the “opening act”. (If I do say so myself. But I was not the only one to say so!) How proud can one man be of his better half?
As for the “headliners”, even though they are both long time established solo artists, Freebo and Photoglo make a first-rate duo. They are at times reminiscent of “The Odd Couple”. Take a look at the photos on their website (http://www.freebophotoglo.com/) and see if you can tell which one is which.
Their vocals harmonies are tight, and they take turns playing each other’s songs, one playing bass while the other plays guitar. They traded back and forth between bass and guitar.
Countless years of gigging have developed in them the ability to almost instantly achieve an easy rapport with the audience, and the strength of their material keeps the interest level at a high degree.
They demonstrate a palpable sense of friendship and a present unique contrast of performing and writing styles. Photoglo’s writing is classic Nashville: striking melodies, and insightful and memorable lyrics, as befits a man who’s had a fair measure of success as a songwriter. (One of his songs is featured on the new Garth Brooks Box Set). He delivers it all with flawless guitar playing and an amazingly elastic and expressive voice.
Freebo is the more idiosyncratic of the two. Many of his songs are songs that only he could sing, but they are no less memorable or well written. Years of playing for some of the biggest names in music, and playing his own music all around the country have made him a consummate performer.
I could go on and on, but we’ve got to get ready to go do it all again!
Sometimes this music thing can be more fun than a human being should be allowed to have.
I’ll be back Monday; I usually will not post anything on Sundays.
Posted by leon at 01:51 PM | Comments (0)
January 13, 2006
Playing Out
This weekend Sheryl and I are going to be doing a couple of concerts, (“playing out” as we call it in the songwriter game,) opening for the Duo Freebo and Photoglo.
Who are Freebo and Photoglo? You can learn more about them at http://www.freebophotoglo.com
Here’s a bit of info from their website:
“What do you get when you combine two artists who have collectively worked with
everyone from Bonnie Raitt and Dan Fogelberg to Vince Gill and John Mayall, who have had songs recorded by singers from Faith Hill to The Everly Brothers, worked on albums ranging from Maria Muldaur, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Ringo Starr, and Jimmy Buffett, and who can write, play both guitar and bass, and sing harmony like a dream?
“You get the irrepressible duo of FREEBO & PHOTOGLO.”
So Sheryl will be opening for the irrepressible duo. And what’s more, Freebo, who played bass on Sheryl’s latest CD, (Selling Out the Moon) will be backing her on bass (along with me on keyboard). What fun!
I know that some of my readers out there are planning to come to one of these concerts. Sheryl and I look forward to seeing you.
Well, I need to go get ready. There’s equipment to pack up and load in to the van, and I don’t let Sheryl do it!
I’ll be back on Saturday morning to tell you how the first concert went.
By the way, if you live in the Central Florida area, it’s not too late! Come hear some great live music for a fraction of what it would cost you to see the Rolling Stones, and you can shake hands with the artists afterward.
Go to http://www.freebophotoglo.com/calendar.html for more info about the concerts.
Posted by leon at 10:36 AM | Comments (0)
January 12, 2006
Sheryl Paige, Grandpa Paige
This weekend my wife Sheryl and I have the privilege of playing live music together. In fact, we’ll be playing this coming Friday and Saturday night.
Sheryl, as many of you may know, is a singer songwriter who goes by the stage name “Sheryl Paige.” http://www.sherylpaige.com
Why doesn’t she use her real last name? Well, there are three strikes against it:
1. It’s hard to pronounce
2. It’s hard to spell
3. It’s hard to remember
There are people who have known us for years and have yet to utter our last name.
The name “Paige” is her late grandfather’s last name, and he was a man we both greatly loved and admired.
In fact, the last thing I ever said to F. Delworth Paige was “I want to be like you when I grow up”. And mind you, I was in my early 40’s at the time.
What were the qualities that this man possessed that inspired so much devotion from the family and emulation on my part?
It would take a long time to list all his qualities, but here are a few that immediately spring to mind:
1. Kind
2. Loving
3. Generous
4. Humble
5. Confident
6. Gentle
7. Faithful
8. Trustworthy
9. Strong
I could write paragraphs about each one of these traits, and then think of dozens more. His was a life well lived.
What made me think about Grandpa Paige? Well, we’re coming up on the anniversary of his passing, and of course, I think about him every time I think about my wife’s music (which is often).
Sometimes we can get caught up in what we’re doing, and forget about who we are.
Posted by leon at 10:02 AM | Comments (0)
January 11, 2006
Earworm!
There is always music running through my mind.
Sometimes I will purposefully run a favorite song through my head, from start to finish. It’s a little like having a juke box in my mind.
But while some times I choose the song that plays internally, other days I wake up with a song seemingly chosen for me.
The “chosen” song plays incessantly, and I don’t seem to have any control over it. Then the thought pattern breaks up a little, and I’m left with a song fragment continually running through my inner ear.
I have an “earworm.” - a piece of music I can’t seem to get out of my mind.
What’s my “earworm” for today? You’d never guess in a million years.
It’s the section of “So What” by Miles Davis, where Bill Evans begins his piano solo.
I’m not too bothered by this, since I really like that solo.
If you are unfamiliar with “So What,” I would strongly suggest that you rush out (or rush online) and get a hold of a copy of “Kind of Blue,” by Miles Davis.
Believe me, I’m not the only person who ever had “So What” running through his mind.
So, what do you do if you have an earworm, but it’s a song you truly hate?
Someone once told me that if you start thinking about the theme song for “I Dream of Jeannie” then your earworm would be swept away.
Unfortunately, however, it will be replaced with the theme song for “I Dream of Jeannie”.
Posted by leon at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)
January 10, 2006
Goodbye, Lou
Unfortunately, there are some musicians that I don’t really think about much until they are gone. Lou Rawls was one of those.
He existed on the periphery of my mind. I had certainly heard of him: I knew who he was.
Like most people I knew him best for his big 1976 single “You’ll Never Find a Love Like Mine.” It is significant that this became one of my teenage daughter’s favorite songs, and she made sure to include it in her personal mix CDs that she put together for herself.
I remember hearing that song when it was all over the radio in 1976. It was of course an early disco song, but Rawls sang it with grace and grandeur.
The disco arrangement may be a bit dated (which actually makes it all the more charming), but the vocal is timeless.
It’s no wonder that Frank Sinatra, an ardent Rawls fan, reportedly said that Rawls had “the silkiest chops in the singing game.” That’s a “hep cat” way of saying, “He was really good.”
I remember upon first hearing “You’ll Never Find…” being greatly impressed by the warmth and richness of his voice.
And that range! He started on a low A and ended up hitting a high A at the climax of the song. No small feat!
Next time you hear the song, (especially if you’re a male) try singing along and see how well you keep up.
I personally wanted to do this song for years when I was in the Len Turner Band, but to be able to hit the high notes I would have had to lower the key, and then I couldn’t hit the opening low notes.
As I thought more about Lou Rawls, I began to recall other things- I remember hearing some of his later work on a radio station out here that used to play standards and big band music. The man could swing with the best.
I also remembered the work he did on behalf of the United Negro College Fund with his annual Parade of Stars Telethon (the last of which was broadcast posthumously).
He also was known for traveling to U.S. military bases around the world to entertain American Troops.
I also remember his voice from beer commercials for Anheuser-Busch, and his stint as the singing voice for Garfield the Cat.
His career stretched from the late 50’s to his last album in 2003, and was characterized by elegance and dignity.
One article I read about him stated, “He was the type of pop singer who’s increasingly rare these days. His entire reputation was built on the quality of his voice and how he used it.”
There’s a lesson for us all. Let’s seek to build our reputations on the quality of our work, no matter what it is we do.
Good-bye, Lou.
Posted by leon at 03:18 PM | Comments (0)
January 09, 2006
Well, Now I’ve Heard Everything! (Or Have I?)
I read an article this morning (1/9/06) in the Wall Street Journal that brought back some memories. It seems that “backmasking” is back in the news.
In case you’re too young to remember, back in the late 60’s a Michigan Disk Jockey named Russ Gibb received a call informing him that he would hear some interesting things if he played the Beatle’s “Revolution 9” backward. This was obviously someone with too much time on their hands (and who knows what they were smoking…)
Russ put the record on his turntable (some of you may remember records and turntables…) and spun it backwards. He heard something that sounded like “Turn me on, dead man.” When he mentioned this on the air, it fed rumors that Paul McCartney was dead.
Soon music fans were finding other “hidden” messages when playing their other records backwards.
In the early 70’s there were those who thought that this might be a plot by Satan, who was using these rock groups to brainwash listeners.
There was one fellow (who’s name I cannot remember) who made it his life’s work to expose this satanic plot.
He traveled around to church youth groups to warn the “young people” (that’s what they called us in those days) of this wide reaching conspiracy.
It was his contention that these messages were deliberately placed, and were conveyed subliminally when the record was played normally.
One of his most famous examples of “backmasking” was taken from the Led Zeppelin song “Stairway to Heaven.” (Which, if you think about it, doesn’t make much sense played forward…) Among other things, he found hidden in the backwards rendition of the song the infamous line: “Here’s to my sweet Satan.” I’ve heard it, and if you strain your ears long enough, you can convince yourself that that’s what’s being said. But to what end? I was never tempted to abandon God and start serving Satan.
(You can listen to this and other examples at http://www.jeffmilner.com/backmasking.htm.)
My original reaction to all this back then was dismissive: the messages contained in many of the songs were dreadful enough in plain English.
And just who thought of the idea of playing records backwards in the first place?
With the advent of CDs, which cannot be played backward, this practice died out. But now, according to the Journal, playing recordings backwards and searching for hidden messages is enjoying a growing cult following, thanks to Web sites and software that do the trick. (I can play audio files backwards in ProTools, but I don’t spend much time doing it…)
The Journal introduces us to a young man named Jeff Milner, who says that his site, http://www.jeffmilner.com/backmasking.htm has been hit more than 3.5 million times.
I must point out that he says on his site: “Years ago someone told me that if you played Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven song backwards that you could make out "satanic messages". It is not my opinion that Led Zeppelin and the other artists here were given some kind of evil power to make these backwards sounds have a satanic message. And, no, I did not create this to show the evils of Rock and Roll. Instead I made this flash piece for two reasons:
1. I was new to flash and wanted to be better at it and
2. The reverse files sound cool.
Right on, Jeff!
Other sites such as http://www.talkbackwards.com, encourage visitors to feed in audio files, then play them backward.
I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions about backmasking. All I have to say is, “!oiduts MCS ta DC ruoy drocer ot erus ekam”
Posted by leon at 10:51 AM | Comments (1)
January 07, 2006
Caution! Hot Cocoa!
I had the pleasure of recording four delightful ladies yesterday.
They call themselves “Hot Cocoa” and sing four part renditions of the kind of songs about which folks wistfully say: “They don’t write ‘em like that anymore!” (Songs like “Fever,” “A Tisket, A Tasket, or “Rock Around the Clock.”)
These ladies have a definite sense of “joie de vivre” which is defined as a “hearty or carefree enjoyment of life.”
They clearly love each other (as revealed in their merciless kidding) and love to sing together.
Like most “amateur” singers, they haven’t done a great deal of studio recording, and they weren’t completely happy with the sound of their voices. They soon got over it, refusing to take the whole thing too seriously.
I have actually appeared on the same bill with these ladies, dating back to my days as a member of the “Len Turner Band.”
We played together at some long-forgotten function, where we (the band) provided the dance music, and Hot Cocoa provided the entertainment.
Naturally, they were a hit. (We weren’t too bad either…)
Its days like this that keeps me in this business. Recording some fun music with some fun ladies.
Posted by leon at 01:33 PM | Comments (0)
January 05, 2006
Another Year
I couldn’t think of a better title for this entry.
I haven’t written anything in a while. I’d sit down time after time, determined to put together something brilliant for this blog, something that would change the world for the better. Something truly profound.
Well, having set the bar that high, is it any wonder that I couldn’t write anything?
OK, no more excuses. It has finally dawned on me what this blog really is – it’s a diary of my experiences in the studio. What am I doing in there day after day? What is it really like to work with all kinds of musicians and songwriters? What do I think about the music business, and about making a living in music?
Sometimes, I’ll just be answering the question: what did I do today? (Or yesterday, since I will usually be writing this in the morning.)
Other times I may land on a subject that’s come to mind.
So I’ve determined to keep adding to this blog, and talk about my life as a musician and recording studio owner.
So what do I do? Those of you who have been here before know that I am a:
1. Husband
2. Father
3. Keyboard player
4. Composer
5. Songwriter
6. Arranger
7. Producer
8. Recording engineer
9. Cheerleader for singers and songwriters
10. Teacher – I teach people how to play keyboards the way I do (See my other blog, www.keystothekeyboard.com.
11. And a few other things that will undoubtedly come to mind after I post this…
Every day I’m wearing one or more of those hats. So everyday (or as close to every day as I can come) I’ll write something about it. Some days it may be just a sentence or two. After all, some days I have some long recording sessions, or I’m traveling and teaching a workshop somewhere. At other times I may really have something on my mind, and I might end up writing more than I planned.
Either way, I hope you’ll find my musings in music enjoyable, funny, and maybe a little enlightening.
Happy New Year!
Posted by leon at 10:48 AM | Comments (1)