Summer 2011 has been full of great projects and interesting travel.  Below are a few of the projects that have kept the hive buzzing:

Nick Perreault – Foreign Affairs

It has been pure joy to work with Nick Perreault on his CD.  Bedtracks were recorded in Toronto at Fire Escape with Gary Craig on drums and Pat Kilbride on bass, Nick on acoustic and me playing an assortment of pre-80s keyboard instruments [CP70, Farfisa, Wurlitzer, Mellotron, etc].  Electric guitars, mandos, steel and vocals were cut at Playground Recording Studios in Nashville while final mixes ended up back in Toronto.  Back to Nashville for mastering with Hank Williams at Mastermix.

For those who know Nick’s writing through his debut CD and EP, I trust this collection will feel like a logical extension and “upward expansion” [insert geek term here] as well as a colourful portrayal of his savvy musical writing and wry wit.

 Cheryl Thibideau – Paper Fire

5 months to write, record and mix this debut CD.  It was a whirlwind, a Paper Fire, if you will, of lyric tidbits, charts, Masterwriter documents, and Dropbox edits.  Using some of Nashville’s newest, oldest and best country musicians, we blazed through sessions with passion and purpose.  What a fun record to create, and Cheryl’s mature, country croon is the crown jewel.

Mrs. Johnston – Handshakes When We Win

Recorded and mixed by Adam Gabourie and me at Fire Escape.  Mastered by Adrian Carr at AC Mastering, Montreal.  Niagara’s reigning Kings of Funk/Rock have been jumping from one success to another, taking several awards at the Niagara Music Awards, releasing a debut CD and now set to launch a national tour and campaign with this upcoming release.  Think Beatles meet Red Hot Chili Peppers.  We expect to see singles service radio before Christmas.

CRWRC – Sing Hallelu

It has been a true honour to write the 50th anniversary theme song for Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, a non-profit agency serving the poor around the world.   CRWRC envisioned a recording that had a global, world-music sound to it, which eventually led me teaming up with the Erub Children’s Choir in Cape Town, South Africa.  What a joy to be walking towards the studio and hearing the sound of  African children singing Sing Hallelu as it floated into the concourse.  I knew we had a hit before I entered the studio.  Pure joy!

I recently acquired a M4000D directly from Mellotron.  For those of you who may remember, Mellotron was [arguably] the first sample playback device in the 1960s to use tape cartridges to recreate the sound of other instruments.  The mechanism was clunky and suffered from tape wobble and hiss and artifiacts, which ended up adding to its charm.   Mellotron was resusitated in 1989 and has been building newer, sturdier Mellotrons ever since.   With the advent of digital playback [sampler] systems, the call for this kind of instrument is small though, but for those “in the know,” they are highly esteemed.

This new digital instrument from Mellotron is everything I could have hoped for.  It sounds beautiful, offering high resolution capture of the Mellotron and Chamberlain sound sets and delivers the uncomplicated warble and kitsch of the original tape instruments.  It has amazing horsepower and playability, allowing instantaneous playback of libraries that few could afford in the past.  The wooden keyboard is expressive [full polyphonic aftertouch] and the sound combinations are beyond what any tape-based instrument could offer.  Undoubtedly, there will be skeptics who prefer the original, but this is not your father’s sampler.  A dream come true.  Dave and Markus indulged my request and signed mine.

Having fun working on Nick Perreault’s CD with an original Model D Minimoog running through guitar pedals.  Old is new again.

http://www.businessinsider.com/these-charts-explain-the-real-death-of-the-music-industry-2011-2

Here’s a sobering article. One death can lead to new life, though, and the case of the music business, I believe our individual attitudes and enterprise can make all the difference. Here’s to new solutions!

Magician’s Rule #2 for Songwriters

Some of you may have seen me perform the occasional magic trick during a break at the studio.  Here’s my latest post for Songwriters Association of Canada.

A profound documentary on the current state of the “culture business” and the “music business.”  You can watch it here:

How Good Do You Look In Your Jeans?

My latest post at songwriters.ca.