junioraudio's slow transformation from man to hermit

Debra Fotheringham

2010-07-07T23:59:00.000-07:00

The most recent project in the studio has been an EP for Debra Fotheringham. Once again we recorded everything in one room, all live, including vocals, and once again, we had an amazing vocalist to count on. Debra's vocals are spot on and just held up perfectly, take after take.

dustin christensen, ryan tanner, paul jacobsen, brian hardy, stephanie mabey

ryan tanner

me pretending i do more than sit in the control room and eat mini twix bars

pat campbell

dustin christensen

ryan tanner and brian hardy

the players:
Debra Fotheringham - guitar, vocals
Dustin Christensen - keyboards, guitar, background vocals
Ryan Tanner - keyboards, guitar, background vocals
Brian Hardy - keyboards, background vocals
Paul Jacobsen - guitar, mandolin, background vocals
Ryan Tilby - bass, banjo
Stephanie Mabey - background vocals
Nate Pyfer - keyboards, background vocals
me - guitar

Hear a sample

Odds and Ends

2010-07-07T23:58:00.000-07:00

Once the new console was installed, there were quite a few small sessions coming and going. First of all - a few days of film scoring with Sam Cardon. I thought putting this on the marquee to welcome Sam was pretty funny, not sure if Sam thought so or not.

I'm afraid that despite the fact that I recorded and mixed an entire Jericho Road album for Deseret Book in May and June, the only proof I have is this one picture -

Between recording and mixing the Jericho Road album, Code Hero came on in. Again, I thought the marquee was pretty funny but...

we put the drums out in the big room for a nice roomy sound. u67s as overheads, blue bottle mics with the b4 omni capsule as room mics.

Adios SSL

2010-07-07T23:40:00.000-07:00

The last few days of May found me, and a few very needed and very helpful friends, packing up and preparing the SSL to be shipped off to its new home. The console was sold to a studio in Australia, and on May 29th a few very strong, very big guys came to crate it up.

the truth is, the SSL was a great console, a great mixing console. but around here, as with many places, we have fully committed to mixing in the box, which is to say, within pro tools.

mixing on a console is something I miss, it just feels so much more musical and so much less technical than mixing in pro tools. I think it does also sound better, however Ive done mixes in pro tools that I like much more than mixes on an API or SSL. The key is just to do your best work given the tools that are available and make sense for the project, and for most people, the ability to quickly recall the mix and make small changes far outweighs the sonic gain that comes with mixing on a console.

It took 4 big guys, 2 jacks, a forklift and a truck full of wood to get the console moved out and crated up for the big move. The crate, as you can see, was as big as a car and the thing weighed thousands of pounds.

The new console - A 32 channel Daking 1112, on the other hand, took me, my brother, and a Uhaul trailer to make its move from LA to Utah. So far Ive been really happy with the new board. It is a great 'front-end' console, meaning it has great mic pres and eqs. The preamps are really wonderful sounding, and when added to the APIs, Neves, Chandlers, Langevins, Manleys, that we already had here at the studio, I feel like we really have all bases covered and then some.

Here are some shots of the control room with the new console -

Sayde Price

2010-07-06T23:10:00.000-07:00

On April 5th Sayde Price showed up at the studio. 12 of us spent 3 days laying down 10 songs, all live, no overdubs.
These totally live recordings are interesting; Im never quite sure if we have anything good until after the recording when I can get into comping the takes together. Things go so quickly that it takes a lot of faith on the artists part in the producer and the other players. In fact, we were going so fast on Sayde's album that it wasnt until after we were finished and I was cleaning things up that I realized that all of the eqs and compressors were still bypassed - I had never even had time to turn things on.
It was also during these sessions that I was given the nickname Wiley Cyrus. Not sure I'm into that one.

players -
Sayde Price - guitar, vocals
Dustin Christensen - keyboards, guitar, background vocals
Ryan Tanner - keyboards, guitar, background vocals
Brian Hardy - keyboards, background vocals
Paul Jacobsen - glock, guitar, mandolin, background vocals
Ryan Tilby - bass, banjo
Pat Campbell - drums, percussion
Debra Fotheringham - background vocals
Trevor Hadley - bass, baritone guitar
Dylan Schorer - pedal steel, electric guitar
Nate Pyfer - bass, background vocals, keyboards
me - bass

I also need to say that the only way a session like this can work - doing everything totally live - is if there is a great singer, and Sayde Price is just that. Take after take of amazing vocals.

Hear a sample

Cody Rigby

2010-07-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

Well here it is, July 6th, and I haven't updated this blog since January. I know - pathetic.
I'm going to attempt to update things a bit through pictures so here we go:

In early February, Cody Rigby came in to lay down a few songs. Cody has some great songs, and was lucky to be joined in the studio by some great players.

ryan tilby on bass

brian hardy on keyboards

dylan schorer on pedal steel and electric guitar

pat campbell on drums

forgive the hipstamatic photos. it was way back in february. i was young and didnt know any better.

Hear a sample

2010-01-16T21:13:00.000-08:00

last day of fictionist in the studio

banjo ukelele

gear 1

my office

Fictionist - Jed Wells photos

2009-12-20T21:40:00.000-08:00

Hear a sample

Fictionist are here

2009-12-14T12:33:00.000-08:00

No time for a big update, but if you are interested in what's been going on around here check out - fictionist.net and click on 'blog'

It's been so long! Have you lost weight??? You look fantastic!!

2009-11-03T11:00:00.000-08:00

ok, so yeah, i'm not so good at the blog thing. but, in the interest of keeping a journal of the goings on here in the land of no external light, please enjoy an update...

first, I finally have a studio logo, and it rules.

so this is Microphone Action Squad guy. obviously i dont have a name for him. he's so awesome, he needs a name, help me out, give me some ideas in the comments won't you? stickers and t-shirts to follow...

october 8-13, 2009 found the studio as full as possible with amazing musicans and amazing music. over a year of talk/planning/and hoping finally was realized in 5 days of great music and unreal performances. the group you see above, plus many many more all came together to record an album of hymns and spirituals. i hope this is only the beginning of something that you will hear much more of, but for now let me just show you some pictures and a nice long list of those who gave freely of their talents and time.

(any good photos seen in this post are courtesy of our good friend mr jed wells)

those involved:

debra fotheringham
sarah sample
aaron anderson
colin botts
dominic moore
mindy gledhill
ryan tanner
ryan tilby
becky williams
nate pyfer
vivian smith
dylan schorer
paul jacobsen
jed wells
pat campbell
sarah wiley
huck wiley
jayne wells
rachel hardy
emily tanner
chris kendrick
courtney kendrick
branden campbell
george brunt
brian hardy
pat boyer
jordan clarke
mindy arrington
micah dahl anderson
darin lesueur
suzy lesueur
stuart maxfield
spencer harrison
dan reneer
mark smith
the uke brothers
machelle schorer
dustin christensen
cherie call
camille anderson

want to read more about the project? check here or here or here

project fun facts:

number of songs recorded in 5 days - 43
number of trips to diegos taco shop - 5
number of al pastor tacos/nachos - unmeasurable
number of days starting after 9am - 0
number of days ending before midnight - 0

Hear a sample

soon after the last note rang out, who should show up but neon trees. the last week and a half was spent recording a 5 song ep, set to come out very soon. just as soon as i can finish mixing i suppose.

trying out the new mic

2009-09-19T11:09:00.000-07:00

Paul Jacobsen and the Madison Arm-Live EP

2009-09-03T22:41:00.000-07:00

things were setup, Cherie couldnt come in, so why not invite Paul Jacobsen and the Madison Arm in for a live in the studio EP.

Jed Wells also showed up again to shoot some video. He was kind enough to share some stills from the video.

that's right mike, i stole another of jim scott's ideas. tough crap

Cherie Call - Grace Pt.2 THE RETURN!

2009-09-03T22:10:00.000-07:00

Now I present some of my crappy pictures from the sessions. Dont laugh, or at least dont think I am oblivious to the lesser nature of my photo skills. A poor workman blames his tools and I blame thee Canon Powershot a560!

So for your viewing pleasure - all the detail and resolution $140 can buy.

geek report:

drums - beta 52, blue mouse, audix d1, audio technica atm25, blue kiwis
upright bass - countryman di, wunder cm7, yamaha subkick
electric bass - countryman di, audio technica atm25, yamaha subkick
electric guitar 1 - royer 121, shure sm57
electric guitar 2 - aea r84, shure sm57
pump organ - neumann u87
upright piano - akg414s
wurlitzer 140 - shure sm57
fender rhodes - sennheiser 421
acoustic guitar/banjo - neumann u67
glockenspiel - royer 121
background vocal - blue bottle b6 capsule
acoustic guitar 2 - neumann u67
background vocal 2 - blue bottle b7 capsule
background vocal 3 - shure sm7
acoustic guitar 3 - neumann km184
lead vocal - manley reference gold

and now some answers to questions i am continually asked -

q: is analog better than digital?
a: yes and no

q: is this mic better than that mic?
a: yes and no

q: should i use this mic on this instrument?
a: maybe

q: i'm building a home studio, should i spend more money on the room, the mics, the outboard gear, the wiring or the daw?
a: yes

q: do you really watch good things utah everyday?
a: yes

q: should mike greene be jealous of your u67s?
a: you bet

Cherie Call - Grace

2009-09-03T21:55:00.000-07:00

No sooner had we finished hilary weeks' Christmas Once Again record than in walked Cherie Call. I believe this will be Cherie's eighth album, the seventh that Ive recorded and the third that Ive had a hand in producing.
As you may have noticed, these pictures are a) not grainy b) not super dark and blurry and c) actually good. that is because they were taken by my good friend and dreamboat jed wells, who, if you must know, is completely awesome.

day one - ryan tilby and pat campbell showed up for some bass and drums.

day two - ryan tilby, pat campbell, dylan schorer, ryan tanner, paul jacobsen, dustin christensen, nate pyfer and brian hardy showed up for some everything.

2009-07-29T23:15:00.000-07:00

more pictures from the hilary weeks album. this is rhythm section #2. pat campbell on drums, matt larson on bass, sam cardon on piano and corey christiansen on guitar. it was great just to hear these guys play together. such amazing musicians.

Merry Christmas from Hilary Weeks

2009-07-25T18:52:00.001-07:00

Hilary Weeks is back in working on her 8th album and second Christmas album. In order to properly put everyone in Christmas Spirit, Tyler Castleton and I thought it appropriate to do a little decorating.
Here are some pictures from the first day of rhythm section tracking.
Todd Sorensen-drums
Rob Honey-bass
Tyler Castleton-piano
Mike Dowdle-guitar
Hilary Weeks-vocals
Pat Boyer-cables/microphones/food
Jordan Clark-food/microphones/cables
Scott Wiley-buttons/knobs

The Other Hymns Record

2009-07-25T18:49:00.001-07:00

last week the hymns record for deseret book was mastered. here are a few more pictures from those sessions.

pat campbell plays the broom on sarah sample's track

spencer harrison and lauren casper

Microphone Action Squad - Engage!

2009-07-25T18:46:00.001-07:00

welcome to microphone action squad.

yes, that's the name of the studio.

yes, the name is ridiculous.

Well We're Movin On Up...or Over...or...Next Door

2009-07-25T18:42:00.000-07:00

as of july 1st i no longer occupy studio b in the former june audio/stone five studio complex.

the old room looks lonely

i've now moved into studio a. much bigger space, much more gear. why former june audio? well, it's unclear as to who now owns the name, but regardless, things changed enough over the last years to make me think a new name, and a new start was in order.

pat and jordan start setting up the new space

May and June. Arizona and Utah

2009-06-15T22:46:00.000-07:00

after finishing a month long project in early May, which was, shall we say, very strange, yes, very strange indeed...so anyway, after finishing that particular project i was off to arizona to record zack lind from jimmy eat world in the band's own tempe studio. zack had agreed to play drums on 3 new songs for benton paul.
the studio was great, the gear was great, zack was great, arizona - not my favorite. seriously, how do you people live there?

setup #1 in the studio

zack, benton and manager ryan wyler

setup #2 in the bands warehouse/storage area

back in utah, benton and scott johnson in for some keyboard overdubs

benton's 3 songs are now done and off to jeff rothschild for mixing. last week saw the start of a hymns record for DB. Libbie Linton, The Mollies, Kyle Henderson, Joshua James, Dustin Christensen, and many others will all be in to add their voices. Here's a photo from when Paul Jacobsen was in -

and finally two weeks ago my "new" u-67s arrived after many attempts to get them to Utah. I had really forgotten how amazing a good 67 can be. These are only 3 serial numbers apart and they are quite minty! They've been put to a lot of good use lately, including all of Benton's vocals.

The 3rd Annual JuniorAudio Awards for Excellance in Studio Accoutrement

2009-04-30T11:14:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the 3rd Annual JAAESA's!! Thanks for joining us.

Thanks to a project that gives me ample internet time, the JAAESA's are back again! What? you missed the 1st and 2nd Annual JAAESA's? Hmmm, that's really too bad.

On to the awards!

The Award for Best Confectionery Impersonation of the Many Faces of Elvis Presley goes to...

The newly arrived console-top M&M Elvi!!
In case you are questioning my dedication to the M&Elvis's, when they arrived at the studio in my backpack, they fell out, hit the floor and broke into many many little Elvis parts. At least a few hours and lots of superglue later they were ready to take their place amongst the many studio mascots. Who would've known then that they were destined for JAAESA glory!

The Award for Most Useless Yet Most Constantly Played Instrument goes to...

Blue Mini Strat!

T-Castle-Dogg brought this little gem back for me all the way from Thailand. That's right, this baby is IMPORTED. Man, I wish we had things like this here in the states!
Anyway, without fail, everyone who enters the studio picks this up and lets loose with a sweet riff or two. Of course, it makes no noise and doesnt even have strings. but still...
I'm thinking about dedicating a whole blog entry to photos of each and every client wailing on it.
Congratulations BMS!!!

The Award for Best Studio Drink of April 30th, 2009 goes to...

Lime Diet Coke!!
this one seems fairly self-explanatory

The Award for Biggest Waste of Money Spent at the St George Flying J Truck Stop goes to...

Utah ROCK ON Magnetic Small Fake License Plate Sign!!!
When I bought this sign I hoped that it would inspire those in the studio
to truly rock on.
This award proves that it has.

The Award for Greatest Indicator of Sense of Humor and Occasional Creator of Extreme Awkwardness goes to...

Chuck Norris Facts Books!
another treasure from TCastle. These books while very funny, can often be somewhat sordid. This usually adds up to great reading material and plenty of laughs for most who discover just how boring time in the studio can be. Occasionally however, it can cause great discomfort and make the mood very uncomfortable when those who are "less than relaxed" with their sense of humor think that I am for some reason trying to get them to spend their time reading total smut.

And Finally...Our Last Award of the Evening

The Award for Best Studio Snack goes to....

Wheat Thins!!!!
if it were up to me, I would make wheat thins ad slogan "hey, trust me, they are good!"
or "wheat thins, never forget"
or "just try em already!"
believe me, I would never go to the store and just buy some wheat thins as a snack, at least not before I bought tons of potato chips and tortilla chips, etc etc. but man oh man, we had some of these in the control room today, and they are just delicious.
so "JUST TRY EM ALREADY!"

uh, remember when this post was going to be funny?

nah, me neither. im going home.

Cameron Rafati-week 2, The Madison Arm

2009-03-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

hello again

the cameron rafati album marches in to week 2. while this has not been the easiest project, things are going well and i'm happy to report that things are sounding great. cameron pushes for certain sounds more than other clients, and while that can be somewhat overwhelming at times, it has added up to more unique and interesting sounds overall.

todd sorensen stopped by to play on a few songs.
he played massive snare drums and tiny bass drums.

then one of my favorite guys ever - scott johnson - stopped in for day one of his keyboard attack. grand and upright piano and hammond b3 were the instruments for this day. next week we get into an ample amount of wurli, rhodes, field organ and synth stuff

one note of interest to no one but me - cameron was looking for a specific piano sound which we eventually found by laying felt over the strings and closing the lid entirely with the mics - neumann 87s - on the outside.

intern pat has been enlisted by cameron as session videographer, which has not interfered with his intern duties, which consist of watching while eating candy, whatsoever

cameron on the ukulele
picture not available:
craig poole stopped in to play bass on two tracks, while rob honey came in to play upright bass on two tracks and electric bass on still another.

in other non-studio news paul jacobsen and the madison arm (myself included) played over at velour on the friday night. yes, i know, you were busy. the show went well and thanks to good friend jed wells, we even have some documentation. here are some of my favorites.

pat campbell - less than 2 weeks after dislocating his shoulder

me - less than 2 hours since eating a taco

ryan tanner

and finally, here i am proving my theory that i am the
shortest person in my entire circle of friends.

ps if you were interested in hearing any of the sarah sample ep documented here, i put a few tracks up on my audio samples site. just click on the "my work" link you will find over there on the right side of this page.
pps dont steal those tracks and sell them
ppps dont tell sarah i put them up here

finally a new album

2009-02-28T21:45:00.000-08:00

wednesday saw the start of an album project for cameron rafati. finally a project to really dig into again. thursday and friday aaron anderson from fictionist lent his drum talents.
thanks to a ton of compression and distortion the sounds were amazing, and we had enough drums available for 4 drummers.
monday we will begin to build the songs with the help of craig poole, scott johnson and who knows who else.
wow, this is quite a blog entry.
in related news-on friday march 6th you have the oppurtunity to hear paul jacobsen and the madison arm as well as the aforementioned fictionist. just come to velour in provo.

in unrelated news - tonight i watched nick and norah's infinite playlist. this is not a good movie. if you liked this movie you are a) 14 years old and b) not my friend anymore.

sick, slow, busy, sick

2009-01-31T18:33:00.000-08:00

i'm afraid there isnt a whole lot to report as of late. things were rather slow after christmas and for the first few weeks of 09, prompting me to once again believe that i would never work again.

the efy album continues to move along slow as can be. we should be wrapping it all up in time for efy 2020, all the songs are about robots and time travel though, so at least we are prepared.

code hero stopped in the studio for a few days.

atherton stopped in for a 3 day session, but i got so sick that we had to cancel - here i am a week later still sick as can be.

neon trees also came by to knock out some demos of new songs.

lots of things on the horizon, now if only i can get my head to stop feeling like its going to explode.

nate pyfer

ryan tanner

the orange ad15 reminds me once again why i shouldnt sell it

the paul jacobsen and the madison arm show you should have attended

other notes -

lately i've been reminded just how great the glyn johns mic technique can be.
the wunder cm7 continues to amaze.
after nearly moving out to find another studio space, it seems i may stick around for a while.
a new pro tools rig is in the works
i am currently working on an interior redesign of my small space, i'm getting bored of it's current look.
apx alarm continues in its role as home to the highest concentration of super-bros in the world, the amount of trucks with two wheels up on something (snow, curbs, dirt, grass) as of late has been astounding.
good luck finding a 15' dvi extension cable to hook up your new 30" display anywhere in utah.
i'm really starting to think i might have outgrown my ns-10s.

get out of the house

2009-01-15T11:40:00.000-08:00

ok, i dont usually do this, but cmon, you need to get out. what's that? you dont know what to do or where to go?

saturday night, the 17th. come to velour in provo at 8pm. mr tanner, mr campbell, mr jacobsen and i will be playing. it will be a great show. and we will even have a very special guest - all the way from spokane washington, mr george brunt. really, can you resist? see you there.

bored

2008-12-27T16:22:00.000-08:00

today i was so bored that i made miis of paul jacobsen and the madison arm.

sarah sample returns

2008-12-25T10:47:00.000-08:00

it's nearly 4am christmas eve, i guess technically it's christmas day now, and i'm currently lying on the floor in the room of my two sons, making sure they dont walk downstairs and catch santa doing his work. don't ask how it got this late, lets just say these boys are having a hard time sleeping, so it's been a long night.

anyway, seems like as good a time as any to go ahead and give you the rundown of last weeks amazing sessions.

sarah sample, whom ive been lucky enough to make one album with, called a few months back to find out about recording an ep. problem was, the budget was pretty small. so how could we make it work. obviously, things had to be done fast, with as few musicians as possible.

but before we settled on a super stripped-down, acoustic guitar/vocal ep, we figured we may as well ask around to see who might be willing to lend a hand as cheap as possible.

i gave sarah my musician wish list -

dustin christensen - piano, guitar, vocals

paul jacobsen - guitar, mandolin, vocals

ryan tanner - guitar, keyboards, vocals

pat campbell - drums, percussion

brian hardy - keyboards

ryan tilby - bass, anything else with strings, vocals

dylan schorer - guitar, dobro, lap and pedal steel

then, in addition, i could fill in on bass, keyboards, guitar or whatever might need to be done and we would have sarah on guitar and vocals.

we hoped we might get one or two guys to come down. the amazing part - they all said yes, and they all said they would come for free!

what a tremendous group this was. we set everyone up in the studio a at june audio. all in one room, and for the most part, no headphones. there was gear everywhere, mics everywhere, and in the end, bleed everywhere. and it turned out amazing.

the setup took most of the morning, 7:30 am until 11:30am or so. but once we got rolling, it was one of those experiences with music that makes you realize just why you do it, and how great it can be. everyone working together to make sarah's songs the best they could be. no ego, people playing whatever instrument was needed, or sitting out if need be. on one song, pat, paul, brian and I all just stomped and clapped while we sang background vocals. everything was live, no overdubs, no punch-ins.

ryan tanner, dylan schorer, ryan tilby and dustin christensen

paul jacobsen, ryan tanner and ryan tilby

pat campbell's view

ryan tilby and pat campbell

ryan tanner, sarah sample and dylan schorer

me - filling in on bass

mr patrick campbell

ryan tilby on the upright bass

dustin christensen

sarah and last minute bonus musician nate pyfer of code hero

nate on the accordian

given that the studio was set up, and available the following day, we decided to see who wanted to return for a second day and record some songs of dustin christensen and paul jacobsen. we were lucky to have everyone return except for pat campbell, who apparantly values work and providing for his family more than hanging out, recording for free and eating diegos.

paul jacobsen

brian hardy, paul jacobsen and ryan tanner

nate pyfer at the piano

ryan tilby on the j-45

another bonus musician-darin lesueur stopped by to help out with some percussion, and vocals on the amazing christmas song (you can listen to that below)

Merry Christmas from junioraudio

2008-12-24T07:56:00.000-08:00

a very merry Christmas to you and yours from all these guys -

ring ding a dong

and in case you missed last year's song -
christmas vacation

(this is what happens when you have some free time at the end of a long day of recording)

past studios

2008-12-08T00:09:00.000-08:00

after many conversations with friends who do what i do for a living i have come to one conclusion - there really wasnt any chance we/i would/could do anything else. you have to be part geek to be way into the gear, part nerd to be way into the science behind sound and electronics, part artist to be into the music, part slacker/hipster to be in with musicians, and part super workaholic to meet the deadlines and come through for clients. as an added bonus for my clients i add in part super sarcastic and occasionally humerous, part moody with occasional post 10pm grumpiness, and part ultra dedicated to their projects.

hmmm, im rambling. the point was/is that ive wanted to do this for as long as i can remember, and frankly never considered doing anything else.

so to celebrate the purchase of my new photo scanner, i present to you a history of my studio spaces.

first up - basement tapes recording version 1

for my middle school graduation my parents bought me a little fostex 4-track cassette machine. later, in 10th grade i think, i upgraded to a fostex open reel 8 track and a 12 channel fostex console. at first i set it up in chris peterson's living room. i'm not sure how long we had it there, but we made some recordings. they weren't good. i won't post them here.
at some point i moved all the gear into my family's basement. my sister especially enjoyed this arrangement as the two small rooms were right beneath her room.

this is our first setup. very professional

once the desk was built things definitely improved

this is brian holmes recording a vocal in a box during the making of the poke kick touch album-1992
there is no way that box made it sound better

drums for thom moore's first band in the basement studio

next - off to usc. although i spent many, many, many hours in this studio, i only have about 2 pictures of me there. here is one of them. i am glad not to have to ever go in that studio again.

levi nunez, me, and brian holmes recording some early wobble shop stuff

600 miles northest - basement tapes recording version 2. graduated from usc, bought some more gear (tascam 3500 console, 3 adats, etc), and moved to provo utah. i had a little money saved and i moved into a very rundown storefront downtown. i planned on staying for 4 months.
i dont know how big this place was, but it was fairly large. it was previously vintage clothing store called truman edsels, although it didnt seem that anyone had set foot in there for 10 years before i moved in. the rent was $250/month, which somehow actually seemed high.
there was of course, no shower, and the bathroom had to be completely rebuilt, in addition to new carpet and paint needed in every room.

in the control room

the studio at truman edsels. the really classy part of this studio was the shower i built. it, along with a sinki put in, were located just to the left of the frame. so you could record and shower at the same time. although no one ever did.

2 doors north - after a few years a space just 2 doors away opened up and it was so much larger, yet only $100/month more. thats right, $350/month for what must have been 1500-2000 square feet or so. at this point i think i had managed to save up about $2500 or so, and this was really all the money i had in the world. not questioning why the rental company would only give me a month to month lease, i dove into this place, sinking my massive savings into the renovation.

i'm fairly sure that our sound insulating material was not up to code. not being able to afford doubling up the sheetrock, or having the walls filled by an insulation company, we found old couches, cut the foam up and stuffed it into the walls!.

the new control room

this is the drum setup for the one and only session that happened in this studio. why only one you ask??

yep, within 2 weeks of actually finishing the studio, i was informed that the entire block of buildings was to be torn down. that pile of rubble on the left was the new studio, while the door on the right was the back door of truman edsels.

off to orem - after losing my amassed fortune, sarah and i, newly married, rented a house in orem, utah. most of my time was spent working at larger studios in salt lake, but we did some work to turn the bottom floor of the house into a studio. i must have recorded at least 6 or 7 albums in this studio

dan reneer and i model our newly created bass traps

the studio room at the orem house

back to downtown provo - so orem was so boring. i suspect it may still be. regardless, our landlord found out we had the studio downstairs and didnt want us there anymore, so we had to find a new place to live. continuing my tradition of building studios in old clothing stores, we moved into 39 west. this house was the best. the rooms just seemed to encourage you to make music. it really was such a great place.
in the beginning sarah and i lived upstairs, which the studio took up most of the downstairs, with the control room at the back of the house in a screened porch turned addition.

george brunt and chris peterson during the recording of sunfall festival's monday 23 album

craig poole, jay lawrence and rich dixon

the control room at 39 west. i have no idea who these guys are

at some point, we made an offer, bought the 39 west property and decided to do a full-blown renovation. this picture comes from sessions for an album by the baho quartet. this room had been torn apart, the ceiling was gone, the roofers had the roof completely torn off and you could see the sky clearly from this room. but we needed another space so we put the drums in there, and it sounded great. the only down side was a little rain on the drums.

june audio - after the remodel, this became one of the coolest studios ive worked in. it sounded great, had a great vibe and the location was great too. things could get a little small once we loaded a lot of gear in, but it was a hard space to beat for album work.

after 4 years or so we sold the place and it later was moved to the new building, which is where i rent a room now. the gear is still great, the room isnt as good, the location isnt as good, but there are way more lame alarm salesmen around.

so, yes, i realize this might be the most boring blog post ever.

odds and ends

2008-12-07T23:10:00.000-08:00

thanks to hilary for my newest console-top friends

new mics-lomo 19a9s

please stay tuned for an important service announcement...

2008-11-19T07:00:00.000-08:00

stephan jenkins of 3rd eye blind

ATTENTION ANYONE I'VE EVER HAD THE FOLLOWING CONVERSATION WITH -

me - "third eye blind sucks"

you - "really? i kind of like that one song"

me - "well then clearly something is wrong with you, because they are the worst band in the world. second only to 311"

you - "hmmm, well, that singer is really good and that song is super catchy"

me - "you are dead to me"

look, i know we went through some rough times. but seriously, i could not justify associating myself with you after you displayed such a reckless and harmful love of total crap music.

well, im giving you one more chance to redeem yourself (i'm looking at you dustin). go here, listen to 'nondairy creamer' and then in the comments section please explain why you were wrong, why you were nearly as retarded as mr jenkins himself, and why you are sorry for ever supporting such sonic injustice. then maybe, MAYBE, i will forgive you.

man, that song is terrible.

the return of the neon trees

2008-11-18T20:12:00.001-08:00

thank goodness for the neon trees. things slowed down big time come october and i suddenly found myself quite unemployed when along they came.
we started out with overdubs on 4 more songs from their la drum sessions.

branden played the burns bass through the svt for most of these songs

tyler, elaine and chris show how glamorous the studio experience is

nate from code hero came to hang out

the following week we got to work on 6 new songs. it was great to get to track some drums and help build these songs ground-up.

overheads-u87s, kick-beta52 and blue mouse, snare-audix d1 top 57 bottom,
toms-audio technica atm25s, hat-414, ride-km184, front of kit-aea r88, room mics-blue kiwis

bass on the new tracks has been mainly branden's new lakland pbass through the svt, the b-15 or the sansamp bass driver, which really sounded great.
guitars - mostly les paul or 335 through the hiwatt, the orange and occasionally the silvertone 1482. also, a bit of jazzmaster snuck in there.
keyboards - direct with a lot of echo farm, amp farm, pitchblender, and massey tapehead.
vocals - wunder cm7-adesigns p1-chandler ltd-1 for eq-germanium compressor-distressor-apogee

more vocals to record tomorrow....

don't feel bad, i'm bored of my blog too.

2008-10-05T21:39:00.000-07:00

things have been slow. this is joel pack playing his guitar.

that is joel stevenette. this was a joel² session. below we see craig poole. that is actually his normal face. he always looks like that.

these are the neon trees.

here we have two pictures from that latest appearances by paul jacobsen and the madison arm.
these shows were so good that you are stupid for not being at them. unless you were, then you are quite intelligent.

so yeah, did i say that things have been slow? i have a weird job that way. weeks and months of barely being able to find time to get gas in the car gives way to 3 weeks of basically nothing to do. luckily, i had someone who was willing to rent my studio, thus taking care of most of the rent.
but now i'm back to work. you'll never guess what i get to do this week. that's right, im staring down the barrel of at least 2 solid weeks of mixing. hurray. im not complaining, at least not as much as im capable of.
i will be mixing albums/eps for her and them. so yeah, back to work.

also, may i just say that the other residents in the building in which i work are such complete, well, i best not say it, but let's just say they are making me insane. surely someone at the top of this company must have sent out a memo commanding everyone there to act like a total idiot, drive an enormous lifted truck with huge wheels, wear a baseball hat cocked to one side, and never open the door for anyone. especially if that anyone is pushing an roadcase which is piled high with other gear, while holding 2 guitars in his hands.
also, all huge trucks must be parked with only two wheels on the actual pavement.

i have been taking these pictures with my phone for a while now. i figure one day i will just post like 300 of them, to really prove my point. these are from different days by the way.

oh, before i go, i should really put down this great story. during the winter, the alarm system selling, baseball hat to the side wearing, huge truck on the curb parking wankers really go to town. they love to put two wheels of their monster trucks up on the big snow drifts that the plows pile up at the end of the lot. anyway, last year i was just getting to work and i heard this huge noise and looked to see this guy trying to put two wheels of his truck up on this snow bank. this thing was at least 4 feet high, maybe higher. anyway, he made multiple attempts. he kept backing up and then gunning his truck at this snow hill but the truck kept slipping off. lucky for me, he was very determined. he tried and tried again. he was a real example of stick-to-it-tiveness, but that truck was not going. anyway, he finally managed to get this thing up there and at that point we had a truck that was basically at a 45 degree angle to the ground, and he was on the lower side. on snow. near ice.
this total retard opens up his door to get out. the door, being extremely gravity friendly takes off at a 1000mph and promptly hits the ground, putting a very sizable dent/scratch down the entire edge of the door. but it didnt end there. gravity also had its way with Joe Douchebag who followed the door's example and came flying, ever so un-gracefully out of that truck, landing pretty much on his head on the ice. i think he would have suffered some brain damage, but luckily, the bill of his baseball hat was off to the side in just the perfect way so as to cushion his fall sufficiently.
but we arent done.
the best part of the whole thing was when, once on the ground, mr alarm was showered with everything in his truck. and he had a lot of crap in there. cds, a backpack presumably carrying a laptop, pens, paper, A MOTORCYCLE HELMET!!, i think there were some socks, etc etc.
i distinctly remember how seeing that reallly made my day. bring on the snow.

i'm lazy. blogging is hard. here's some stuff.

2008-09-07T20:42:00.000-07:00

so I spent most of July and August working with Tyler Castleton and Hilary Weeks on Hilary's latest album. There wasn't much to complain about so Im afraid it didnt add up to a great blog post. Very pleasant funny people, enough time to get good sounds, fix stuff that isnt working, try things. anyway, what's not to like there??
here is Hilary laying down some piano, apparantly she hasnt played piano on here albums in the past, but I had her play on one of the songs I arranged. she had such a great touch, it just sounded better than if anyone else had tried. she was hesitant at first, but did great and the track came out cool-

here tyler and hilary discuss how handsome i am, and how many pearl awards i should win this year -

tyler came up with this ingenious solution to the problem of too much music for the piano music stand -

more brainstorming regarding my upcoming pearl award take, also, most likely some discussion regarding how great everything sounds as well as how attractive my socks are -

tyler, rob honey and mike dowdle -

todd sorensen wonders why mike greene can never get his drums to sounds so good! (cmon mike, that was clearly a joke) -

rich dixon -

last week i worked with mark owens and The Indio Bait. we recorded some drums while mark laid down some scratch guitars -

although i have no readers, i must mention:

a few weeks ago, some very good friends were in an airplane crash. they have survived, but are in critical condition with severe burns. please look here for updates and information, and please, if you feel inclined, donate to help.

shameless plug

2008-08-05T11:11:00.000-07:00

so as some of you may know, i have recently completed work on the 3rd in a series of lullaby albums ive produced. it just showed up in the itunes music store and frankly, i think it is really good. not just good because it works like magic at putting kids to sleep, but actually really good.

great singers - (paul jacobsen, ryan tanner, amy gileadi, dominic moore, mindy gledhill, marcus bently, libbie linton, haley gibby, becky williams) good sounds, arrangements, etc etc.

please, if you have a moment, go check it ou t. i think you may like it, and so would your friends...hint hint...

it makes a great baby gift, it plays in all major brands of cd and mp3 players, and it will help you lose that weight!

if you simply must have a hard copy - they are available here.

long long long long day

2008-07-23T07:22:00.001-07:00

ok, this post will just be about yesterday. not about the last few months of blog recess, but just yesterday, and if you are lucky, maybe some of today as well.

yesterday was the first of two days, today being the second, that i was/am to be working with sam cardon on music for a tv series called real families. i believe he has 9 episodes to do. i like working with sam on these film/tv things because:

a) it's fun to work with sam
b) i usually get to write some, and be creative
c) he understands my inability to play guitar in anything but the key of G with the occasional jaunt into the land of D
d) it provides plenty of well needed exercise for my vast collection of capos

continuing with the theme of lists, the things about this project that are/were unique/a total potential nightmare/kind of fun and exciting are/were:

1) we were to record at LDS MPS which for those of you not in "the biz" means the LDS church's motion picture studio featuring a recording studio full of some cool mics but only 2, yes ONLY 2, small mic stands.

2) by small i mean not really very small

3) by not really very small i mean good luck miking the inside of a bass drum or the bottom of a snare sucker

4) we were to record 45 or so cues in one day, then mix them the next. for those of you not in "THE BIZZZZ" a cue is a piece of music, usually somewhat short that you would hear in a movie or tv show. i was planning on just linking you to wikipedia to find out what a cue is, because that's what those of us in "le biz" would do, but stupid wikipedia is apparantely not in "el biz"

5) 45 cues is a LOT of cues. and by a lot i mean WAAYYYY more than i would ever imagine could be recorded in one day in a very familiar studio with all my equipment

the things that made this a total nightmare were:

I) i had to take loads of equipment from my studio to MPS, so much that Sam actually had to take some of it in his car

II) i had to show up at 7am to setup because:

a. i didnt know the room, the equipment, etc
b. i did not have time to go over the day before and set up due to the fact that at 1am on the night previous i was still recording my inadequate finger style guitar playing for another project.
c. dont even try to pretend that this sublist isnt awesome, cause it is

III) there were only 2 small mic stands (we've covered this)

IV) due to some miscomunication, the drummer showed up an hour and a half late, and I still wasnt ready for him

number V) and most distressing: for some completely unknown (even to those that work there) reason, the LDS MPS has decided that Pro Tools should be run on a PC. this is wrong. so so wrong. in addition to not running nearly as well, when one has worked 12 years with Pro Tools on a Mac, one begins to rely on certain quick-keys, as well as the basic layout and commands found on the keyboard. now, take that person, put him in a studio where he knows nothing about any of the gear, wait until he is 2 hours behind with a room full of musicians staring through the glass at him and now watch as he tries to change from the edit window to the mix window in pro tools. needless to say, a meltdown occured.

after that, the downhill spiral increased in speed. once things were running, slowly, but running, we tried a take. we got halfway through, pro tools crashed. opened it up, crashed again.

this is when the following series of events began:

one: sam decided the MPS thing may have been a bad idea
two: sam announced said decision and let it be known that our time at MPS had come to an end.
(sweet, are we going to get to go home early?!???!)
three: no
four: we were to pack up and move everything to june audio
five: apologies were made to those at MPS who had helped us so much, and 5 guys spent at least 20 minutes just packing up the equipment we had brought in.
six: drove to june audio, began loading in and setting up, this took nearly 2 hours. it was now about 1:00pm

so now we are ready to begin recording in our new june audio home. but first we eat lunch. so now it is 1:30pm and now we try to lay down a take. take 1 goes down fairly uneventfully, but there are mistakes and people are still getting to know the cue, so here comes take 2. take 2 is better, if not a tad light and uninspired. we decide to listen. things aren't sounding great. the vibe has left the building. back out, try another take. nope

and then.....

i) it begins to be clear that this isnt going to happen
ii) a decision is made to call it (awesome!!!! i'm outta here!!!)
iii) no. no you're not
iv) so, while my compatriots are released to the wonderful world of not working, (you know, trips to the mall, mowing the lawn, not sitting down, etc etc.), i settle in to get to know 45 cues.

hours worked over the 2 days:
day 1 - 16 hours
day 2 - 19.25 hours

some 'firsts' from the sessions:
- sam playing ukulele
- sam playing and keeping a toy piano track
- me playing ukulele
- intern pat getting paid for working

this post has become far too long and most likely far too boring. in the end on the bright side i think we did some nice work. on the not as bright side i think we only got through about 15 cues. sorry about that sam. ok, now i need to be done with this stupid post.

there, now maybe i'm back on the horse.

be back soon...

2008-07-06T18:49:00.001-07:00

atherton at arts fest

no title available

2008-05-08T17:48:00.000-07:00

2008-05-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

i know, i know, i need to write another blog, but i've just been way to busy looking at my new favorite blog - The Fail Blog

the list

2008-04-10T21:25:00.000-07:00

ok, ive decided to compile a list. this list will not be funny, or even interesting for that matter to those who dont have my job. here we go.

you know you are working on a crappy project when:

1. the song calls for strings and the client says "hey great, i have a friend who plays cello"

2. the song calls for drums and the client says "hey great, i have a friend who plays drums"

3. you find yourself recording applause at the end of a song, and it isnt live in front of an audience.

4. the client's girlfrient has mix notes.

5. the first conversation with the band includes the phrase "how much can we get done in a day."

6. the bass player doesn't own a tuner.

7. not only does the bass player not own a tuner, but doesn't recognize one when placed in front of him.

8. not only does the bass player not own, nor recognize a tuner, he shows up with no instrument whatsoever.

9. the drummer asks if you have any sticks.

10. the band is outnumbered in the studio by their friends.

11. while the band members take turns coming and going, recording their individual parts throughout the day, you never are given time to eat lunch or even use the bathroom.

12. when introduced to the large variety of vintage/boutique guitars and amplifiers available, the guitar player opts to use his mexican strat and line 6 pod.

13. instead of recording, the singer/songwriter takes the engineer, the assistant, and 4 paid studio musicians, all on the clock, to red robin in order to watch a european soccer game.

14. the cd release party is planned and scheduled before a note is recorded.

the sad part is, i have experienced each and every one of these. anyway, if you want to read something equally absurd, and you have a lot of time, click here.

i will add to this list, but please, if you have something to add, feel free to comment.

last week

2008-04-05T20:38:00.001-07:00

peter

pat

my feet/ryan

matt

air guitar

craig

this week involved many microphones (please inquire for specifics), late late nights, no a/c, live performances in the studio with audience, and the elimination of a terrible diet coke habit.

el final de mezcla

2008-03-29T21:47:00.000-07:00

according to my free online english to spanish translator, that basically sums up last thursday. this also sums it up:

when last we visited, you will remember how well the mixing was going. the thing i didnt tell you was that I actually was regularly recieving emails saying "sounds great! i love it!"

hmmm, i guess the love between a client and a mix is a fickle thing. because come thursday morning, i was out of a gig. the funny thing was how the client said "i love the mixes, i think it just might be fun to see how so and so would approach things."

anyway, i had a great couple of days off and frankly, i dont really care. if i wasnt getting it the way they wanted it, then they should go to someone else.

next week - ACTUAL TRACKING WITH LIVE MUSICIANS!!!

stay tuned

Can you guess what mixing is???

2008-03-26T20:09:00.000-07:00

look, i don't want to be redundant here, but come on.

i know, you will accuse me of being stuck in a blog rut here, but mixing is killing me, slowly but surely.

check out this guy - i have no idea who this guy is, but see how much fun he's having? yeah. that's not reality.
here is what mixing is to me - start at 9:30/10am or so, work for 3 hours until i think things are sounding good. put the mix on cd. go out to the car for the drive to get lunch. check the mix. have ego beaten down by car stereo. drive back to studio while considering other career options. eat. work on mix more. work on mix even more. print mix thinking it sounds great. start cleaning up tomorrow's mix. close things up. drive home listening to mix. consider driving into oncoming traffic due to how bad the mix sounds. repeat.

believe me, i work really hard on these mixes. and i must say that people tell me they like my mixes and many have been very complimentary. also, i will say that there have been occasions where ive been satisfied with mixes.

this week has not seen any of those occasions however. MIXING IS SOOOO BORING!

it's on

2008-03-19T22:02:00.001-07:00

the gauntlet has been thrown down. these pictures are not from my session. goodness knows im not lucky enough to actually be recording anything now. nope, im stuck in mixville, and this town is dull and lonely.

the above pictures are courtesy of my good friend and fellow engineer/pessimist michael greene.

apparently, mike was envious of my X-TREME PIANO MIKING* and decided to get all up in my grill and challenge me to a good old fashioned MIC-OFF**. In addition to the 7 mics you see there, 5 on stands, 2 on the little black bar across the piano, Michael had 2 rooms mics up. That bests my latest X-TREME session by 2 mics.*** This is unacceptable.

So today I am introducing the latest in a long line of JuniorAudio innovations. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce - XX-TREME PIANO MIKING!!!****!!! (the first 3 exclamation marks are actually part of the name!! that is even X-TREME PUNCTUATION*****!!!)
XX-TREME PIANO MIKING!!! is just what the Greeks imagined when they envisioned our modern day of studio recording. THAT'S RIGHT! 20 MICS!!!!!

yep, the next lucky piano player that records with me will be mic'd up with no less than 20 mics, mark my words.

you're goin down greene, and i'm sendin bestor down with you.

j.a. out

*trademark junioraudio industries 2008. all rights reserved
**trademark mjuniorgreenaudio industries 2008. some rights reserved, others available.
***did I happen to mention that the piano in the picture was mic'd for a one Mr, Kurt Bestor????
****trademark xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx industries 200x. all rights extreme.
*****trademark junioraudio publishers 2008. alright.
******not yet trademarked.

The Narcoleptic Mixer

2008-03-17T20:58:00.001-07:00

it's that time again. mixing time. so as of now, i'm 9 songs into the 11 that have to be mixed for chris merritt.

chris listens in amazement at the sonic brilliance of my mix masterpiece

and now for a small tutorial.
first, if you need to know a little about what mixing is, click here.

second, these are faders:

faders are like volume knobs, push them up-things get louder, pull them down-quieter.
there are many faders, because each one controls one track. the track could be one instrument, or one microphone of many on a given instrument, such as in the world record setting chris merritt micropalooza.
now, the system that i'm currently working on has automated faders. this means, as i am mixing, i can move a fader to adjust for say, an extra loud guitar note, and the computer will remember that move, and "play" it back for me next time. the act of adjusting the fader is sometimes referred to as "riding" the fader. this way i can go through the song and make all those moves and when i'm done, they are all memorized by the computer.
on the computer screen, the computer draws a line that allows you to see where you moved the fader up, and where you moved the fader down.

that bump you see in the volume line is what happens when you fall asleep while riding a piano track on an extremely long song. the left side, or TREMENDOUS increase in volume is me falling asleep. The right side, or frantic volume reduction is me waking up in terror at the extremely loud noise.

lurssen mastering

2008-03-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

the mastering went very well. paul's album sounds great, and gavin proved again that he is an amazing engineer.
the thing is, mastering sessions are boring. i think that really we arent even supposed to be there. certainly gavin didnt need us there, and would probably prefer our absence. but we went, and i was again reminded that i should spend the time during the mastering session at guitar stores or in amoeba music.
here is what we did during the 8 hour mastering session:

yep, we interneted. we even spent some time IMing back and forth as we sat next to each other. i'm happy to report that i reached the end of the internet. such was not the case for dustin who brought a pc laptop and couldnt get online. we had a good time ridiculing him, and gavin even got in on the act telling dustin "hmmm, im not sure ive seen one of those in here before."

we got done at 6:30pm. drove to pickup brenden and hit the road at 7:30pm. discussed whos idea it was to drive back the same night, ate in n out, decided it was a terrible idea to drive back the same night, listened to kathleen edwards and the adam carolla podcast. rolled into provo at 5:30am. went to work. im tired.

we've got a long way to go and a short time to get there

2008-03-09T23:48:00.000-07:00

yes, that is a smokey and the bandit reference. yes, i loved that movie. yes, i might still love it. all of this is beside the point.

saturday we (dustin, paul, brenden and scott) left for la to master paul jacobsen's record at lurssen mastering.
we drove all day saturday, hung out all day sunday, are mastering right now (10:30 am - 5 pm or so) and then driving all the way back so as to not miss a day of mixing chris merritt's album. frankly, tonight's drive has ruined the other days because it is going to be one of those awful, arrive at 5am drives. but let us recap.

here we see paul dustin and scott heading out of provo

brenden ready with nintendo ds in hand and headphones for the many movies he will watch.

entertainment came by blindly playing songs on the ipod and seeing who could guess the artist first. dustin was the champion for most rounds, paul a close second, and i was simply awful at this game

Playoffs Sport Pub.

anonymous #1 - "we should really open a restaurant, these ribs are so good, i think people would buy these"
anonymous #2 - "i agree, but we need to make people work hard to find them, let's build in mesquite, nevada"
anonymous #3 - "hmmm, good idea, but they might find us if we are near the highway, how about waaaayyyyy off the highway, near a bunch of vacant lots and burned out office buildings?"
anonymous #1 - "perfect"

random paul shot

brenden and paul contemplate the horrendous drive home while bouncing on the trampoline

more to come...

pict your blog

2008-03-06T21:53:00.000-08:00

the last few days have found mr chris merritt and crew back in the studio. group background vocals, wurlitzer, rhodes and even a guest appearance by nashville's own doug collins on guitar.

looks like there is a first for everything and this project looks like it might just end ahead of schedule. i know, i cant believe it either.

these things have happened in the last few days:

-my car broke down and went to the shop
-i finished mixing a jenny phillips track for DB at 3am
-sarah's car needed new brakes
-i drank several gallons of mountain dew
-sarahs car failed the utah safety check and thereby couldnt be registered
-sarahs car got a new windshield
-i bought ammonia at smiths at 3:30am and began peeling off the illegal window tinting on sarahs car at 4am
-benton pauls cd release
-sparks flew from my bass amp when powered on
-christian won project runway
-i watch project runway
-the control room finally reached 72 degrees

touché

2008-03-04T20:17:00.000-08:00

saturday i put up a blog about how hot the studio was, about how i like to keep it cold.

the following monday, as i opened the door to the studio, i was nearly frozen alive. nearly.

the door swung open, and an icy cold blast hit me. the room was FREEZING! everything was cold, the guitars, the desk, everything was soooo cold. i looked at the thermostat - 50 degrees. set to 35, but 50 in the room.

50 is cold. anyway i had a good laugh about it. i wish i would have thought to pick up the camera right at that moment, instead it got all the way up to 56 before i thought to snap a picture.

so kudos to you, whoever you are, you got me. as a side benefit of your little joke, studio b is not equiped with a heater, so it took until nearly 8pm for the temperature to even crack 70. it was a cold day.

in recording news - PAUL JACOBSEN'S ALBUM IS DONE!!!! mastering monday, but the mixes have been printed. it only took 2 and a half years.

i'm not funny today, so dont expect much

2008-03-01T21:14:00.000-08:00

in studio a , i've found that the temperature is usually higher than what the thermostat says by about 5-6 degrees. so when its set to 68 or so, everyone seems pretty happy and its seems about normal - 73 degrees or so. everyone except me. i want it cold. i want it 68 degrees always.
so, the problem is that for the last week ive spent in a, something has been wrong with the a/c.

thats right, 82!!!!!!! dont forget what i told you, that means the room is really 88 or so. yeah, its been miserable. i called the builder, and he said he'd have someone come fix it up, but man oh man, it has been like working in a sauna.

thursday turned out to be the last day of rhythm section tracking for chris merritt, one day ahead of schedule. we finished things off with a few overdubs on the upright - best $300 i ever spent.

we set chris up at home to do some vocals, so i had time finish the shupe record. by finish, i dont mean finish. what i mean is make more "final" mix changes, burn a "final" dvd and say goodbye, thanks, and then wait for the call saying there is more to "finish." tonight we had to record more back vocals, and guitars. i wasnt supposed to work today, i had actually managed to have a saturday off, but after we "finished" last night at 1am, there were apparantly things that still needed to be done.
so now im "finished." i told ryan and craig that i wouldn't believe we were done until i saw the album on shelves in shrinkwrap. i thought that was funny until craig let me know that that hasnt stopped them in the past.

5 inches minimum

2008-02-27T20:49:00.000-08:00

so this is installment #2 in my continuing series entitled "don't be a moron." today we are going to talk about drum depth. (volume one can be found here)

1st - if you are in a rock/pop/alternative country band, and you are playing a bass drum that is less than 18 inches in diameter, then you are a moron. no, it doesnt sound good. no, it doesnt sound the same as my 28 inch kick drum because you put XYZ kind of heads on it.
- side note - that big vinyl pad you stuck on the beater head makes it sound worse. yes, congratulations, you made your $20 head last 6 years. ps it sounded like crap for 6 years.

2nd - if i ask you to try out the big bass drum, or my new favorite, the big snare drum, i am not insulting you. i, like you, actually would prefer to have your album sound as good as possible. please understand, i own 3 drum sets, and I DO NOT PLAY DRUMS!!! i did not buy them to fill up my storage room in the basement, i bought them TO HELP YOU SOUND BETTER!!! i wont even ask for a credit

3rd - ATTENTION ALL DRUMMERS!!!! PICCOLO SNARE DRUMS SUCK!!!!!! yes, they are indeed louder. guess what, i can turn up a snare just as easily as i can turn down your crappy piccolo snare. if you listen to 311 records and think that the drums sound awesome, please, lets not work together. lets limit the snare drums to at least 5 inches deep.

(dont even get me started on those acrylic snares with the huge holes in the sides.)

now, all of that being said, i need to say that i didnt have these problems today with tim. he doesnt like piccolo snares, his kick drum is a 20 inch, and we've been using the 24 inch ludwig a fair bit as well.

he was however, a tad apprehensive about the big bass drum and especially the big snare drum, which i think is 12 inches deep. anyway, i pushed, he pretended not to hear. after a few minutes i pushed again, this time he conceded, timidly.

and guess what, surprise surprise, both those drums rock. these are man drums, so take that piccolo snare and store your potpourri and doilies in it, cause it aint welcome here.

Chris Merritt day numero uno

2008-02-26T21:45:00.000-08:00

i'm tired. last night paul jacobsen and i stayed up muy late and FINISHED THE RECORDING of his epic second album. this is very big news, and luckily we went out with a bang and a great last track.

cut to this morning at 7am and me not really wanting to start the first day of a project on 3.5 hours of sleep.

but i finished the setup, and we got rolling right on time.

let's meet the band shall we?

first up, mr chris merritt - piano, vocal

senior dustin hofheins - bass

monsieur tim fellow - drums

today we got 3 songs down - bass, piano and drums live. this is a boring post. sorry, as i said i'm tired, and american idol is on the tivo, and sarah made me a milkshake that i want to drink, and i'm tired.

in nerd news today:

drums got the usual with the slight exception of my version of the glyn johns technique on the overheads, with the blue kiwi over the snare and the aea r84 looking over the floor tom at the snare.

bass got the avalon u5 for direct, and then the subkick combined with an audio technica atm25 on and amp - either an ampeg svt, an ampeg b-15n or the ampeg b-50r.

now, for piano. in an efforto to be prepared for whatever may come, the piano was well-mic'd. by well mic'd, i mean 7 MICS! thats 5 more than usual. overkill? yes. bases covered? check.

yeah, that's a lot of microphones.

57's over the hammers, km-184s under the lid, u-87s in x-y on the edge, and (not pictured) a 414 down at the end.

ok, that is all. here are more pictures.

should you aspire to my occupation...

2008-02-23T15:36:00.000-08:00

If you do what I do, you will work long hours

If you do what I do, you will be feel lucky to be able to continue making music all day, while your friends have to answer to their boss and deal with TPS reports.

If you do what I do, you will sit. A lot.

If you do what I do, guitars and amplifiers will be a tax write-off.

If you do what I do, you will rarely be outdoors.

If you do what I do, you will always crave new equipment, sure that it will be the key to great sonic improvements and the doorway to huge success.

If you do what I do, you will feel proud to be able to help people realize a dream.

If you do what I do, you will rarely be out during normal business hours, and as such, you will find yourself longing for the opportunity to go to such stupid places as comp usa and the mall.

If you do what I do, you will need an incredibly supportive, independent wife who is willing to put up with the weird schedule and won't be too mad when "I'll be home at 7pm turns into, "I'll be by 7am."

If you do what I do, you will be lucky to do a job you love, even when some of the time you hate it.

If you do what I do you, most of the time you will realize you aren't nearly as good as your peers, but every once in a while you will find that you are.

If you do what I do, you will not be paid as well as the arrogant, baseball hat wearing, enormous lifted truck driving, alarm system selling 23 year olds that work in the same building as you do.
(they will also look at you as if you are not nearly cool enough to be in their presence)

If you do what I do, you will ache to have the time to have your car washed. It will achieve a new level of dirty not seen before in the county in which you live. The dirt will actually add size to the car. In fact, you will be so desperate to just have the 30 minutes to have your car washed that not only will you pay to have it washed, but you will pay to have it WAXED as rain and snow are literally falling blocks away.

i am not diligant

2008-02-22T18:12:00.000-08:00

alright, well, who ever said i was, i mean really. come on, im a flake, ive come to accept it, and the sooner you can, the better off our relationship will be.

so here is something to catch you up:

first, got through all the shupe mixes. that was indeed boring. not the music, but the process of mixing. no surprises there.

second, spent a good amount of time, enough time in fact to actually be within hours of finishing the long awaited paul jacobsen record. yes, it's been 2 years in the making, but my oh my it is one very good album, and frankly, probably could not have been done any quicker. here is a quick paul jacobsen album recording montage:

photos from the montana cabin sessions, george brunt plays bass, the wonderful pat campbell on drums, paul in the hallway of the old studio, the chart

so cross your fingers and hope we are at Lurssen Mastering on Mar 10th.

the last couple of days, in addition to some paul j stuff, have found me recording drums for the very talented Jenny Jordan Frogley, finishing Ryan Shupe mixes and last minute overdubs, and drums with the excellant Aaron Anderson for his band Good Morning Maxfield.

here we see aaron daring to take on the Big bass drum

join us monday night, feb 25th for the first of many sessions on the road to a finished album by the amazing Chris Merritt.

adios

high notes per minute ratio

2008-02-09T14:44:00.000-08:00

click to see that one

well, in case anyone is missing some notes, you can come on down to june audio studio a, cause we got A TON.

that's right, jazz.

corey christiansen, matt jorgensen, pat bianchi, and david halliday. these guys are all amazing players, and it is very impressive to watch them play.
still, who is this music for? i must admit to not knowing anything about jazz, and this is the only type of jazz that doesnt make me want to throw up, but still...

clearly im not the target market here. because this just sounds like a whole lot of notes. but it has been enjoyable, everyone is nice as can be and i'm fairly happy with the sounds.

nerd talk:
corey, matt and pat all in the large room. leslie behind baffles. corey's amps in small iso booth, david in the large iso.
drums -
kick - beta 52, blue mouse
snare - 452 and 57 taped together on top, 57 on bottom
toms - atm25's
oh's - blue bottle mics with b0 capsule, aea r88 stereo ribbon mic
crotch mic - 421

b3 - top 421 x2, bottom - beta 52

guitar - 57 and royer on both amps

sax - aea r84 and blue kiwi

im also using pats talkback mic as a room mic every once in a while

mixing=boring

2008-02-07T20:52:00.001-08:00

man oh man. mixing is soooooo boring. shupe asked me if i'd rather have someone else mix this, but that's the problem. not that none of the other great engineers around wouldnt do a great job, but they wouldnt do it how i would want it. so, tough crap wiley, you're gonna be bored for a week.
anyway, there was mixing, there was listening in the car, there was lots of "oh, we forgot to record this, can we still put that in?"
it was boring.

here are the highlights from the last week:

RSRB Week 3

2008-01-29T22:10:00.000-08:00

week 3 began slowly. monday we recorded ld vocals, with the occasion shaker-ing. but today was all bart.

shakers, tambourines, triangles, file cabinets, maracas, bart was all over 'em.

what's that you say? file cabinets? yep, the best thing we did all day was when bart dragged a file cabinet from the office next door into the studio ad proceeded to play it - with a set of metal door hinges he found on the way to the office next door. lots of compression and sans amp later we had the most enormous, horrendous, industrial revolution steel mill soundiest, sound ever.

just as we were really patting ourselves on the back over such a great song, we decided to head out to the hallway ro record some bongos and get some natural hallway reverb.

but, as always seems to happen, we were shut down by the wonderful folks from ocean grown incorporated.

seems they didnt like the 120db of bongos getting in the way of their important sales calls.

tomorrow - finish percussion, finish mandolin fixes, finish synth stuff.

thurs - start mixing

Nerd report -
say hello to the new guys.

electric guitar, back to a, day off

2008-01-27T20:46:00.000-08:00

well, let's see. thursday was spent tracking electric guitars. we got quite a bit done, and i think the tracks helped a lot. tilby, shupe and miner all played. electric guitars are kind of a new thing to the band, but they really help give the tracks more guts, and ultimately will help the band be more commercial.

for the most part tracks were through the wren amp, with some amp farm and matchless thrown in when needed.

thursday evening we set up for lead vocals.

friday i was to return to studio a for a rhythm section for tyler castleton, so the shupesters were going to go forward with recording vocals.

tyler had to record some backing tracks for a deseret book group. craig poole-bass, todd sorensen-drums, mike dowdle-guitar, tyler castleton-piano, staci peters-arrangments, very scratch vocals.

craig looks a little nervous about the chart

saturday found me setting up chairs, at model train shows with the dudes, and at church meetings, all while shupe and the boys continued recording vocals.

NERD SPEAK -

in today's nerd news, on friday my beloved proac studio 100 monitors were taken away by their new owner. after demo-ing my new barefoot mm27 monitors, i decided to keep them and so the proacs went on the chopping block.

farewell old friends

re-do's, dobro, electric guitar

2008-01-23T22:15:00.000-08:00

the last few days have been full of some drama, plus a fair amount of re-recording. i wont go into detail, but there is some serious lack of communication going on with this group, and that is resulting in many things having to be re-done. so why should that bother me? im getting paid hourly afterall. regardless, for some reason it drives me insane.

but, we keep going. today we did some acoustic guitars, mandolin; even dobro made an appearance but didnt make it to the album.

then finally we got into some electric guitar. ryan tilby surprised everyone with his super-nashville abilities on the electric gee-tar. really, he can play.

sarah thinks it might be worth writing down some nerd-speak, so here goes:

banjo was recorded with - AEA R84 ribbon mic, Neumann KM184 and Blue Kiwi as a room mic

mandolin and acoustic guitar - Neumann KM184 and Blue Kiwi or Neumann U87

electric guitar - silvertone 1446, gibson sg or tom anderson tele through a wren "log" amplifier through a 2x12 cab with celestion vintage 30s. micd with an aea r84 ribbon mic and a shure sm57.

all mics were run through some combination of:
pres-purple audio biz preamp or a-designs p1 preamp or chandler ltd-1 or neve 1272
eqs-neve 2074 or chandler ltd-1
compressors-distressor, chandler tg-1 or chandler germanium compressor

tomorrow: still more electric guitar and then on to some vocals

for sale: one enormous trash bag full of candy.

2008-01-23T21:53:00.000-08:00

look people, i am seriously getting sick of this candy. stupid costco and their 2 for 1 sale. i thought it would be a good idea to stock up for the studio candy jar. but do you have any idea what effect that huge bag of candy is having on me? i've basically become an anteater, but instead of inhaling ants, i inhale mini twix bars. damn you MARS candy company!

no joke, i must have eaten 8 of them today. they are so small and adorable, plus, for some reason, the shupesters never want to eat lunch, so what am i to do?! well, between the twix and the jolly ranchers, ive decided we have too much inventory AND ALL OF IT MUST GO!!

so come on down to Junioraudio! bad credit??? NO PROBLEM!

"Junioraudio really helped my dreams come true. Other stores turned us away, but Junioraudio was there to help me get the candy of my dreams, and now look how fat I am!"

2008-01-21T22:51:00.000-08:00

long day today. just got home - 11:50pm. and, as a side note, i just had a delicious sandwich.

so, not much to report. last friday and saturday we recorded banjo. if you have not listened to banjo over and over again for an entire day, then you just haven't lived my friend.

today was a shupe marathon. ryan recorded fiddle, guitar and mandolin ALL DAY LONG. the good news is his instrument tracks are done. dont get too excited though, we are still way behind. the idea originally was to start mixing one week from thurs, yeah, that's not going to happen.

that last picture is actually from when we recorded Shupe's last album, I forgot to take any pictures while he was playing fiddle. I'm sure it looked quite similar.

here's shupe and ryan tilby hanging out:

sorry for the boring post today. they cant all be winners.

stupid phone camera

2008-01-18T06:47:00.000-08:00

alright, well, here is a brief rundown of my day. not that it is even worth posting these pictures taken from my phone, but you will be happy to know that this is the last post in which we will be subject to such blurriness.

the shupesters spent the day on the film stage behind the studio shooting album cover pictures. they arent exactly a "guitar amp" band, but they wanted to be for the pictures, so they stacked all my gear up around them. this made me simultaneously amazed at how many amps i have, excited to see them all in one place like that, and nervous that something would get knocked down, resulting in their photo shoot costing me $3k.

sarah dropped off the dudes so she could do some shopping for the little dudette. Ive taken to calling the boys the dudes. not really sure why. anyway, that's dude number one in blurovision on the left and dude number two sporting the hat. we went down to our new favorite-Pastorero and enjoyed tacos and quesadillas.

after lunch I went digital camera hunting again. as I walked into circuit city I swore to myself that I would not leave empty handed. of course, while in the store I got an email from someone selling a camera used on craigslist. I left empty handed but saved myself $100! so now I am armed at last.

to end the day I played some bass for the fantastic band atherton. ive been asked a few times if i'm in the band, what do i play, etc etc. as of now, i just play whatever they need. sometimes guitar, sometimes baritone guitar, sometimes bass. i love playing with them, so i'm always up for whatever. anyway, good show, kilby court, so it was freezing, but it was sold out and actually oversold by 50 people which is about 50% more than should be in that shack, so yeah, good times.

no pics today

2008-01-16T21:09:00.000-08:00

well, ive yet to buy a digital camera, despite spending more than a few hours visiting different stores and trying to pick one. so retarded, as im sure they would all be more than adequate at capturing low light blurry studio shots.
so we moved back into junioraudio, and when i say moved, i mean moved. holy crap, it took forever to move out of studio a.
we have spent the past 2 days comping, meaning making a composite take of all the best parts of the other takes. some songs have up to 14 takes, so it's a big job. a big, boring, snoozefest of a job. but it is rather essential, and we will be done soon and then we can get to the overdubs.
no shupe tomorrow - they are off to take photos for the album cover. i plan to spend my time immersed in the wonderful songs of one mr paul jacobsen. mixing will get his album another step closer to being completed, and help me decide if i want to keep these rather expensive new speakers i am demoing. a real win win id say.

Is It Awesome?

2008-01-13T19:32:00.000-08:00

this week saw the beginning of recording the new Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband album. we are currently camped out in the new June Audio studio A, where we will be for another few days before moving into Junior Audio (a.k.a. June Audio studio B).

as you can see, the motto for this album is "Is It Awesome?" which is supposed to mean that we make sure everything that is recorded is awesome, but mostly it just means that we say the word awesome way too much.

and as often happens when a large group of guys hang out for too long in room with no windows for hours and days at a time, things get ridiculous and moronic.

day 1 - wednesday went great, we got set up and managed to get drums bass and guitar for 2 songs. day 2 - thursday was even better as we got 3 songs down. things slowed down a bit on day 3 however, and we got a bit bogged down. tension, boredom, etc etc. it was the general consensus that the ryan tilby was the most frustrated. but whether he was or not, the constant ribbing he took paid off for the rest of us when we were greeted the following morning with a fine selection of the donuts from a quaint local bakery known as albertson's supermarket.

needless to say, fueled by sugar, sprinkles and chipotle, day 4 progressed nicely.

I heard you

2006-03-30T08:28:00.000-08:00

well, my one reader, my one true fan, the light of my blogger life, has requested that i return.
i have not been entirely gone, dear reader, on your right you will find a link entitled 'other'
it will lead you to a blog which will likely not be funny to you at all, but it causes the three of us who write it to fall down and roll on the ground with laughter.

see you soon

were you aware that mcdonald's has a sauce policy?

2005-07-31T15:34:00.000-07:00

well they do.

so is this one

2005-07-29T22:38:00.000-07:00

this picture is cool

2005-07-29T22:34:00.000-07:00

fifth day of nothing

2005-07-29T21:45:00.000-07:00

i like this band. they are good guys. i dont really like their music however. either way, this has been one of the most boring weeks of my life. probably second only to the days i spent on the tracy chapman album.

oli's surgery was postponed. he needs to see a blood specialist. apparently there is some problem with his blood clotting. which is not actually true, considering the fact that he falls and scrapes himself up every day.

oli is 2, so his falling down is pretty normal.

i was just worried that you might think he was 24 or something and all that falling down was kind of weird.

i am at a crossroads and there is no sign of ralph macchio

2005-07-27T19:36:00.000-07:00

i'm not at a guitar crossroads as danielson was, but a crossroads none the less. what should i do. surely sitting 12 hours a day in a studio, doing absolutely nothing will not help further my retarded career. but moving back might mean never getting ahead. but it would mean more disc golf and salt and pepper chicken.

oli is going to have surgery friday. he's so little. i hope he will be ok. im worried.

third day of nothing

2005-07-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

so im back at sunset sound factory. today, as well as yesterday and the day before, i have done nothing. i dont mean i havent done much, i mean i have done nothing. this particular session requires nothing of me. i am bored. i do not wish to be here. 6 more days to go.

ima bored robot

things ive sold in the last six months.

2005-07-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

Ryan Adams is nice, but drinks a lot of wine

2005-07-19T01:19:00.000-07:00

so yeah, today im working with mr ryan adams, who, while friendly and likeable, is also a huge lush and quite intense and antsy. the schedual today consisted of arriving at the studio at 9am. setting up for 3 hours. then waiting until 9pm for mr adams to show.
after all that waiting, you may be inclined to think that the session would have a relaxed, take-it-easy pace. not so.
once he arrived he was like the Tasmanian Devil, spinning around at a million miles an hour, a whirling tornado of pot smoke and orange hair.
anyway, the idea was: two days in the studio to come up with a song for Cameron Crowe's new movie, Elizabeth Town. A song, ONE song. Ryan being the overachiever that he obviously is, decided to write 10 songs. That's right, I said WRITE ten songs. Not only were we going to record 10 songs, but first he would have to write them. An impossible task you say? obviously not, because the next evening, not 12 hours later, Mr Crowe was sitting in Sound Factory Studio A listening to Ryan Adams' latest album! Sure it was loose, sure Ryan played ALL the instruments, sure I worked 36 hours in two days, but somehow, the end result is surprisingly good and certainly an interesting listen.
i'm afraid there is no way I can let you hear it however.

idaho yesterday, june today

2005-06-28T19:43:00.000-07:00

I miss my boys. I miss my girl.

so yesterday me and G Mobile went up to Idaho. i love it there. we both took naps, which seemed a littl gay, but it was well worth it. along the way we passed a place where you can go see some bears which have been caught and kept within this large fenced area. anyway, you can drive in and get all bear'd out. for miles before the place there were signs advertising saying "Feel the Freedom" with a picture of the bears behind the fence. needless to say we found this hilarious, and when combined with the U of U's 4th of July festival being called "Freedom Blast," well, it cut into our productivity.
we spent the majority of the trip coming up with other slogans. I think in the end, "Freedom Binge" was my favorite, but "Feel The Captivity" and "Libertazors" were also favorites.

today ive been mixing, and what do you know, I can do it. working with Finn is quite easy.

there's too much effect on the vocals...

2005-06-25T20:28:00.000-07:00

and thats how my day ended. spent all day on a mix. craig came in. we listened. he didnt like it. i didnt like it. we scrapped it.
now im at georges watching a movie.

darin, george and i went disc golfing this morning:

George after missing a put: that sucks, now i've got two bogeys.

Darin: thats funny, i dont have any.

m i - ?

2005-06-24T22:09:00.000-07:00

am i too negative? who knows. probably. being negative sucks

testing 1,2,3

2005-06-22T23:31:00.000-07:00

testing 1,2,3
Originally uploaded by juneaudio1338.

teenagers are difficult to deal with

2005-06-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

for a description of my day please see title