I apologize to everyone who reads this for not updating in what seems like forever. Here’s the scoop:
The Dejas are currently recording their new full length and things are moving along at quite the pace. Look for a release in early spring.
Mith Niles has finished his monstrous 16 song CD. Keep your ears open for it. A lot of great musicians on two coasts performed on this one.
Chrissy Cerretani‘s EP is close to finished and, I have to say, she’s putting forth a strong effort, especially for a first effort.
I’m mixing a song for the new Montgomerys CD on Naked Ear. I was also the fortunate soul who got to play bass on the CD, so Check it out when you can.
Lannen Fall is scheduled to come in and track a new EP this month.
Petrina Foley: The M.I.A. Sessions will be finished this month, I promise. Look for it at Music Is Art and look for more artists there soon!<br>I promise, promise, promise to update more often. Hope the holidays see you all well.
Back From the Dead
Editing Hell
Has anyone out there gone through the pain and tedium of audio editing? If not, don’t. Just stop, put down the mouse or trackball and back away while you still have a level head and a calm disposition. It sucks. To add to this huge pain in my posterior is the software upgrade of a certain variety that has doubled my workload and frustrated the hell out of me. Luckily, my computer has survived. The same cannot be said of my temper.
That being said, I have finished two of my favorite CD’s EVER. Petrina Foley’s “Proper Goodbye” has five incredible songs that my colleague Brad McCarthy and I feel privileged to be a part of. The other is Bone Dry System’s “Bardo”, which has six songs that I believe is the band’s strongest effort to date. The incomparable Jeff Lipton at Peerless Mastering put the finishing touches to both of these, and all of you can hear them perform live at Church (69 Kilmarnock St. Boston) on Saturday, October 18th. You can purchase tickets at 37ft.com or 37′ Live!’s myspace page.
In the meanwhile, I’ll be back in editing hell.
Through Tragedy We Find Solace in Being Awesome
I’m starting to believe in Karma. Not that I was a staunch non-believer in Karma, but I’ve had a two-week obstacle course of physical and mental challenges that are all now resolving themselves and proving to me that a combination of confidence in, along with a willingness to be malleable in, your convictions allows for some great results.
This all started with a car accident last Monday. My car was totaled, which leaves me driving a renter and shopping for another car; not my favorite way to spend my time. Next, my competitive nature and my insecurity reared their ugly heads on a project I’m sharing with a good friend and very capable colleague, followed by YET ANOTHER project where my hubris and diffidence took an entirely different form. All of this stressed me out to the point where it was affecting those around me.
Flash forward to yesterday. My very close friend Gabe has found a couple of extremely good deals on cars, to the point where I won’t have a payment. HUGE load off my mind. As for the projects, there were two resolutions:
On the collaborative project I have decided to let go and not remain as possessive. My ideas aren’t the only valid ones, and I don’t need to claim superiority. This could be the best work I’ve ever done and a big part of that is the group of people involved, so why stop that now?
As for the other project, I received two premature e-mails that I felt contradicted each other. At first I was annoyed, then sad, then angry. I disagreed with a few of their points very strongly and felt the point of reference was wrong. All week I struggled with how to get my point across without lashing out; this is their work more than mine and, although my job is to bring their artistic vision about in the best way possible, the best not necessarily being my idea of best. With that in mind we got together, I heard everyone’s opinions, we listened to some things, I played them what I had revised and explained to them why I approached certain things the way I did, we spent another hour per song revising and, voilå! We have achieved success (for now)! Communication, flexibility and subjugation of ego can be powerful tools in achieving success. No, I didn’t read that on a fortune cookie.
This Week in Baseball
I’ve got a full plate this week so I’m keeping this brief.
Interesting week for the most part, if by interesting you mean holed up in a room with no windows trying to extricate another tenth of a decibel out of a mix. There are some irons in the fire, but it’s too soon to go into detail on anything.
The strangest item of the week was not recognizing an ex-girlfriend from ten years ago because she, and I put this modestly, let herself go. I’d like to say I feel bad about that. I’d like to, but I’m genetically incapable. Karma is indeed cruel.
More news next week. In the meantime, check out this story about Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton. I hope you find it as inspiring as I did. McLaughlin out!
Hello world!
Hi online community-
Through the recommendations of the many good people in my life, I’ve decided to post my thoughts. I reached this realization the other day when a review for Vary Lumar’s “Waiting Room”, a band I just worked with, was named Album of the Month in the Northeast Performer. I feel it’s the best completed work I’ve done at my studio thus far and I wanted to share the news with my friends. The review is right here.
So, a phone call came back to me from my friend and fellow producer Rob Loyot, who said, “Didn’t you know that you currently have three CD’s on the local Top 30 charts?!” Of course I didn’t, considering I’d spent the past week with the same band and a week before that mixing, with no human contact to speak of outside of the daily Starbucks trip. At that point Rob said, “You really need to start a blog.” So, here it is; Hope you enjoy!
In addition to Vary Lumar, here’s a list of some other things happening at my studio just south of Boston:
Craig Ahearn (known for his work with the Boston Philharmonic) released his debut solo classical guitar CD and it’s getting rave reviews. Craig has actually started a second CD with me last week. He’s an incredible player; you should all check him out.
The band Crowded Streets have finished recording their debut EP and we’ll start mixing at the end of the month. These guys can really play and have some really good songs, so stay tuned!
Petrina Foley’s solo effort is almost done! Brad McCarthy and I are hard at work on mixing and it’s sounding great already. With her voice it’s hard to NOT make it sound great. There will be a live performance from my studio in August posted on Music is Art, so stay tuned for that!
Bone Dry System has also finished tracking and will be mixed as soon as Petrina’s is finished. We’re all excited about the tracks so far, so this’ll be a fun one!
Guilty Sky is in the middle of vocal tracking and everything’s moving along. For you fans of heavy rock, you’ll dig this one.
Smite the Righteous will be in this week, Terminally Aborted Ghost will be in for preproduction next weekend. They’re both great metal bands for you metal fans.
The Camilo Project is being mastered by Jeff Lipton at Peerless. Check it out when you can!
I have been collaborating on mixes with Getcha Popcorn Ready. ANYONE NEED BEATS? CONTACT THEM!!!
Crissy Cerretani’s debut EP begins Monday! Mike LeVesque comes in to lay down the fat groove that we all know and love. You’ll be hearing a lot more from her soon!
That’s all for now. Be sure to check back for more soon!
Sean
www.37ft.com