Day Late, Dollar Short...

I have accepted that fact that I suck at blogging. It’s not that I don’t like to write - I do. It doesn’t even take that long to dash off a blog entry. But for some reason, I can’t seem to keep up with it on any kind of regular basis. Maybe it feels too much like a homework assignment?

Here is the latest news out of Ultrasuede, starting with yesterday, which was one of those good days where you start with nothing but an idea and end up with something pretty cool. I’m part of a committee working to help build a King Records Museum in Evanston. To help raise awareness of the King Legacy, a song writing contest was held among several area schools. The number of entries was low but the winner, Danielle from Withrow HS, did a great job incorporating the passion, history and future of King Records and the Evanston neighborhood. Over the last few weeks, Xavier Univ. Music Dept. students, led by Steve Boller, have worked to turn Danielle’s lyrics into a song, which we recorded yesterday. XU is a major backer of the King Museum project. The vocalist, Branden, was nothing short of amazing. A Withrow grad, himself, Brandon delivered a superb performance and blew us all away with his talent for layering harmonies. The finished song will be duplicated on CD and given away at the Evanston Memorial Day Parade.

Wussy continues to record and finish tracks for their next record. This is the band’s fourth full-length (all recorded at Ultrasuede!) but it will be their first w/ new drummer Joe Klug. The approach so far has been to record a batch of songs and then work on each one individually until it’s done, which has worked out well in a number of ways. It’s rewarding to begin the day with a skeleton - sometimes only drums and a guitar - and end the day with a finished song. Most of the time, the songs turn out differently than anyone imagined because the luxury of spending all day on one song leads you to creative places that you don’t often reach when you’re trying to finish several songs in an evening. Musically, creatively, lyrically Wussy is at the top of their game these days. This album is going to be their Physical Graffiti.

Wussy have (has?) also recorded an “unplugged” version of their first record, Funeral Dress. After a slightly rocky start, the session came together with some guidance from thew guy, Joe. The end result surpassed all of our expectations. Look for this on Shake-It in the near future.

A couple weekends ago I engineered a recording session for a 35-piece English-style brass band, The Cincinnati Brass Band. It was, without a doubt, the largest session I have ever engineered. The second largest would be a 12-person choir. Most of my sessions are bands comprised of 3 - 6 people. It’s easy to fall into a comfortable routine and get bored so I welcome a different and challenging project from time to time. (A challenging project, BTW, as opposed to a challenging individual.) I could only mic the group AFTER they were seated in place which was a bit unnerving. I have to give it up to the musicians, tho. They are volunteers who do it for fun and they played through an evening session followed by an all day session. That’s a lot of puckering! I learned a few new things about history and music. The tracks will be mixed by the band’s producer for a CD release in the near future.

Cash Flagg are getting close to finishing their debut LP. It’s been fun working with them because I’ve known most of the band members for a long time but this is the first time any of us have worked together.

UltraSession 001 featuring Guitars was a success. The guitars play Stax-y soul with a healthy influence of garage rock. They were great. Go see them if you have the opportunity. There are pictures here and here. UltraSessions are in-studio concerts where a band performs for about 20 or so fans. The performance is recorded and at some point down the road, The All Night Party will release the recordings.

It’s sad to see that WOXY.com is gone but I am looking forward to the return of B. Niesz. The studio hasn’t been the same without him.

The Magnolia Mountain vinyl fund drive was a success. So much so that they raised enough to make a double LP with a gatefold cover! Seeds and stems, you have been put on notice.

I did a session with a new (to me) band call Incline District.

The Hiders are working through some line up changes these days but work continues on their next record. A true collaborative production, the tracks have been recorded at Ultrasuede, The Bat Cave (Bill’s home studio/rehearsal space) and Wayne Manor, a vacant apartment in Bill’s house where he set up a temporary studio with an envy-inducing assortment of high-end rental gear. Keyboardist Kevin Carlisle has been working on tracks at his place, too. Despite the various recording locations and personnel dynamics, the new LP is a solid collection of great songs that sound awesome. Hiders fans will not be disappointed.

Oxford Cotton’s debut LP will likely get released on Alive this fall. Oxford Cotton is Craig Fox (Greenhornes), Andy Jody (Pearlene) and Mike Lamping (ex-Heartless Bastards). We have 10 - 12 songs recorded with plans to finish up this summer. These guys are talented musicians and long-time friends. Their music is reminiscent of early Black Sabbath; solid, heavy and riff-laden.

Speaking of The Greenhornes, they will be playing their first gig in years this summer/fall in upstate NY. More info as it becomes available.

We got a cool, new Argosy desk at the center of the control room which is perfectly suited to the way we’re working these days. All the preamps and compressors are close at hand and you can see everything - meters, settings, routing - at a glance. The speakers sit right on top at the perfect height and the angled racks actually make the room sound better. There is a bit more clarity and depth to the sound. It’s probably not something anyone would notice unless you spent many, many hours listening but for those of us who have, we can hear a difference. Yes, the Orion console and tape machine are gone. Despair not, for the new system with its high-end analog front end (mics, pre’s, comps, etc.) and custom digital I/O sounds better, is more reliable, easier to use and faster. That means more time for creativity and less time for set up and maintenance.

-J