Forgotten Genre Productions

So I get an email from Al Kooper this morning. Yea I realize it is obnoxious to open a blog post with that sentence but it actually happened. Al is mixing an album that a friend of mine is producing for the Legend Charlie Gracie. I have been preparing the files for Al to mix. Al is very particular about his workflow. First off, He hates Protools. Don’t even bring it up. Al works in Digital Performer (MOTU). The next thing is, Al has to have files in Aiff, not Broadcast wave which is the industry standard but Aiff. Al also likes everything on a disc. He did not like the idea of ftp’ing files or using a dropbox. They had to be on a disc. We sent him the album on 2 DVD’s, 10 songs in all, 5 on each disc. The second disc we sent him, he could not find the files on, so I rushed him out another disc the next day that I, of course, checked on a second computer to verify that files were on it. Today I get an email from Al Kooper addressing me as Anthony Boy. It seems that the second disc was “blank” but he was able to find all the songs exept one on the first “blank” disc I sent him. Now I need to send him the one song so he can complete the project. So here I am burning another DVD for 1 song and another 25 dollars to fed ex the songs to Al to make it right. The moral of the story is….. Don’t argue with Al Kooper. The guy mixed Freebird people. I don’t care if he likes his files with a ribbon attached to it. It is pointless to argue or defend yourself or explain that you checked it and it must be on his end or any other excuses that come to mind. Just make it right. Does Al care about me or my resume’? Of course not. Just make it right. So today I will be checking the files on 2 computers, Mac and PC to make sure Al gets his files.

Oh yea, and Al Kooper called me boy.

On December 5th I had the privaledge of hooking up again with my friends in The Waiting. The Waiting was the first band I toured with. They hired me as a monitor engineer and stage manager. I started off making $700 a month and just couldn’t imagine life getting any better.( Of course this was way before I met my wife). Out of all the bands I toured with, which I love very much, (with 1 exception who shall remain nameless) the Waiting was the band that was most like family. We had an incredible time together touring through wins and losses. For much of our time together we traveled in a 24 foot Isuzu box truck that we bunked out. Half of the truck was equipment and the front half was our living space. we built 2 bench seats and 5 bunks and had a dorm fridge and a TV and VCR for entertainment. We laughed a lot and tried to figure out how to survive in the music business. The one thing I loved about the Waiting was that they never played a bad show. They worked the hardest out of any band that I toured with to entertain the fans. I never saw a Waiting show where people were not on their feet dancing or pogo’ing. They were not the most naturally talented band I toured with but that never stopped them from working hard for their fans. They were also the most engaged with their fans. It was great to reunite with them. This was the first show they played in maybe 6 or 7 years and it was a lot of fun.

WJTL was very kind to ask these guys to get together for one more gig for their 20 year anniversary. When we were touring the band always looked forward to playing in Lancaster and had many friends from the Lancaster area. It was fun to see so many of them out that night. Of course The Rainchildren opened up for the Waiting and if you have followed this site you know my love for those guys too. I will try to refrain from fawning over them even though they played another amazing set. Seeing them play is like going to school. I just take notes. Steve Bridgeman was even better than the last time I saw them.  The whole band was so good together. I honestly cannot get enough of them. I hope they can overcome the challenges and bless us with new material some time soon.

Do yourself a favor and look up some of the Waiting’s music and see for yourselves what a gifted band they were.

Many of you know that when I am not in the studio my day gig is selling pro audio gear to Lancaster’s finest. I truly enjoy my job and interacting with local musicians and techies etc. Today I had an interaction with a customer that brought clarity to some thoughts that I have been seeking to connect and make sense out of for a while. Allow me to elaborate. This gentleman was representing his company that were looking to install a simple public address system for emergencies and announcements in the facility. Since there was over 24 speakers we decided to go with a 70v system. 70 volt systems are not very accurate from a musical perspective. They have very low wattage but are great for multiple speaker configurations. Since this was a voice only no music system 70v was appropriate. The gentleman I was working with, let’s call him Bob for now, was the maintenance guy at the facility and is a great guy. The challenge hear for Bob is he does not know much about audio and installation of audio but his company wants to save money by doing the installation in house as apposed to hiring a Specialist in the audio installation field. Now we can all understand that in this day and age saving a buck is on everyone’s mind. Here’s the problem.

The reason we have Specialists in different fields is because in a capitalistic society such as where we live, people have assessed their situation and determined they did not know enough about whatever field they were dealing with. Instead of damaging things or taking time to learn or familiarize themselves with the problem before them, they determined it would be 10 times faster to have a Specialist in the field that handles these particular issues handle them, thus saving them time, and time is money right? This frees them up to complete the tasks before them that they are qualified and best suited to complete. This is efficient and everyone wins. The Specialist gets paid and the recipient of there services is not inconvenienced and in the long run is more profitable.

Now, today we live in a time were people are terrified of the bottom line and will “save” money at all cost. The problem is the people counting pennies have no clue what it takes to complete these specialised jobs. They never had to worry about it in the past due to the fact that the Specialist was handling it. To them it is easy. “You just hook it up,” they might say. “It’s not rocket science right?” They go back to doing what they do and expect the same results that they received from the Specialist. The problem is poor Bob has no clue what he is doing. So what does he do? He demands that I comfort him and tell him how to do the job, or how to be a Specialist. The problem is I am not a Specialist in that field. I am a Specialist in figuring out what parts and pieces of equipment Bob needs for his task and getting it for Bob at a great price that is much lower than anybody Else’s price. I do not install. That is a totally different discipline. Nor can I be held responsible for anything that goes wrong when I tell someone to hook up the orange wire and they thought I said the red wire.

Poor Bob. He is caught in the middle all because someone wants to save money at whatever cost. Wait a minute. Whatever cost? Cost is a term related to finance. Money is a term related to finance. You cannot save money at whatever cost. I’m sure there is a literary term that communicates the contradiction of this statement but it escapes me at this time. If you want to save money you assume the consequences of the full weight of that task on your shoulders. You can empower yourself and google installation to learn how to do it. You can wing it and learn from your mistakes or you can pass the buck to someone else. Whatever the case may be when the task is done, no matter how shoddy of job was done, it is your job. You made it so by foregoing the Specialist’s input.

The same thing goes for recording your own album or mixing and mastering without a Specialist. If the project is not that great, and when no one comes out of the woodwork to buy the disc or download the tracks, it is no ones fault but yours. You are trying to pass yourself off as a Specialist. However you are not special. The Joshua Tree was recorded and mixed by a Specialist. The Beatles “White” album was recorded and mixed by a Specialist.

Now for those who claim to be Specialists. Be Special. It’s that simple. Please, be special. Practice, study, learn, practice some more, practice even more, study, learn, and practice still more. Oh yea and one more thing. If you are under 25 years of age, you are not a Specialist. It’s that simple. If you have to try to convince me that you are an exception to this rule than you are most definitely not a Specialist. This is not because I said so. It is because, with a few exceptions you have not been around long enough to acquire the skill and fundamental knowledge to be considered a Specialist. You would benefit greatly by attaching yourself to the closest thing to a Specialist you can find in your field and learning as much from them as you can.

So go out there and pursue the qualifications of a Specialist and for those who have no need anymore for Specialists please take responsibility for your un-special work.

Saturday night I was up to see my old friends The Rainchildren at the Onstage Theater in Lebanon PA. This was a legendary venue from back in the day whose history deserves a post of it’s own. However, the real star was the Rainchildren. The Rainchildren were a band that played locally in the Lancaster area and beyond back in mid 90’s. Back then there was actually a “scene” attached to the music that was being played and it was exciting times. When I say scene what I mean was there were people, ordinary people that loved music and would actually leave the confines of their house, apartment, etc to venture out into the unknown to attend what we liked to call a concert. Not only was there people who actually cared about music there were many local bands that were excellent and as they continued to play these “concerts” they became more excellent and there was a camaraderie between the various bands and friendly competition ensued which allowed them to hone there craft. There were bands like The Rainchildren, Jawbone Hill, Mack the Coffeeman, Reveal, Scarlett Thread, and many others that use to roam these parts playing music and having fun.

The most polished and musically fit out of these was a band called the Rainchildren. Last night when these guys played. I felt like a kid again. My face muscles were hurting because all I could do the whole show was smile. There were points in the show where I who hooed in falsetto. It was so enjoyable that I actually forgot you could have so much fun at a concert or musical event. The chemistry of the rainkids was overpowering. The five of them playing together equals 200%. I have seen all these guys play with other bands and acts that are great but not as magical as these guys together in the rainkids.

On of my favorite parts of the Rainchildren is the guitar player Steve Bridgeman. Steve is an amazing guitar player and I was reminded that he was one of my favorite guitar players back then and now he has solidified that position. First off Steve is a humble guy. Anyone that knows him or has seen the band live can attest to this. Second, he can play. The great thing about Steve is his playing is diverse and he doesn’t walk on his musical partners. Even more important he doesn’t tramp over the song. All musicians take note here. In my opinion this is the key to good music. Steve has the chops, but in verses he stays out of the way of the lyrics. The focus is on the words and what is being communicated. During verses you have Marty(vocals) clearly sending the message as the rhythm section holds it down, and let me tell you, these guys are tight. Kevin(drummer) locks in tight with Dennis(bass) with my buddy Aaron (percussion) putting the special sauce on the top. Then the chorus comes. Steve stays out of the way of the hook. Let me say that again. Steve does not try to upstage the hook of the song. And then the moment you have been waiting for; Marty shouts “Come On Steve” and Steve is off on an interlude. Again I don’t even call it a solo because Steve doesn’t just whip out some exercise he has been practicing or some scale he just has to force into the song. He plays fast, he plays slow, he bends notes, he picks with his fingers, he plays slide, he plays double stops, triads, arpeggiates, jazz chords, blues licks, switches pick ups on his guitar. It is a guitar players delight and then just like that you are back to the hook.

Honestly this is one of the greatest bands to play this area. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying this is the best band in the world or even in this local area, but when you see these guys live they will completely capture you and mesmerize you for that hour and half. You will feel like you are experiencing something unique. If they play again do not miss the opportunity to see them. I have never been disappointed.

I just ran out of my first 100 FGP blank discs so it was time to call up Josh Cranmer at Fortress Audio and get my next batch ready. They just got here today and I was thinking how much I was hurting without them. The cool thing about Fortress Audio is they were able to provide me with a disc with my logo on it for a very reasonable rate. Now let’s be real. You can get discs for cheaper at Radio Shack or the internet or wherever but these discs have my logo on them so it is like advertising. Everytime I finish a project everyone in the band gets a disc of rough mixes for review. Now they have a disc laying around the house with my logo on it. It is very professional looking. It communicates to my clients that I care about the little stuff. That I plan on being around to use up those 100 discs. Fortress uses high quality blanks. I have never had a bad read on a disc. Each one was good. Fortress is also a local company that I want to see succeed. I want a duplicating house that is close by. If there is an issue I can go see them or call them. And this time Josh Cranmer even hand delivered the discs. You can’t beat that. So I want to see your logo on the next demo that comes to me. Why not?

This Past Saturday night I spent the late hours on the air with J. Classic at WIXQ. It was a fun night and it took me back to my early days of DJ’ing at WJTL in Lancaster. J. Classic has been a good friend for a while and he has been a good friend of FGP. He has a very eclectic show and this night was extremely eclectic. We played everything from Prince to Raphael Saadiq to the police and Gorillaz.Of course we had to get some U@ in there because J. CLassic has an embarassing obsession with them. We also heard some Fleming and John at the end and some Freedy Johnson. Leigh Nash,Duran Duran, Bryan Adams. It was all over the map. J’s Dad even stopped in and then a friend Mike Keener stopped by. It was a house party no doubt. Hopefully I will get another chance to do it again with just a little more structure. It was a blast. For all you local Lancaster people out there, listen to 91.7 WIXQ on Saturday nights from 10PM-1:00AM. Request a song, as long as it is not U2 that is.

I was talking to a friend the other day and we traversed to our faith and the interesting reactions that you get when you tell people in the entertainment field that you are a Christian. First it is the raised eye brow followed by the predictable Ohh. As if now I understand, or that makes sense, or now I understand that you have no taste but will lecture me if I decide to have a beer in the studio or if I say a bad word. Part of this is entertaining but mostly real sad. Think about it. If an artist works with Rick Ruben they talk about what a spiritual experience that was or how he was like a guru. Did anyone care that he stopped the session in the middle to meditate? No they thought it was amazing. Why is it that the same people would skip a heartbeat if you stopped to ask God for grace during your session. What a double standard. The sad reality is that these artists and musicians have never interacted with anyone that was able to articulate their faith in a loving graceful way and at the same time pursue excellence in their field of discipline. At Forgotten Genre Productions we endeavor to change that. We think there is an important place that faith holds in our worldview and creative process and that that only enhances our creativity. It also helps us keep perspective that the art is not the biggest thing and that we are not the biggest thing. Excellence with Meekness that is our creed. Let us know how we are doing.

It seems like my old friends in Sixpence are getting back together. This is exciting news for music lovers. Sixpence was a great, great band that the system beat up turned up, and churned up. I am hoping they avoid the Record Label trap that has paraliesed them so much in the past. And I hope their fans will support them so they can continue to make good music for us. Here is a quote from Leigh Nash.

I met up with Matt (Sixpence band mate) for coffee. He got married back in May and had been in Italy for 6 months. I was looking forward to seeing him and hearing about their travels! While he was away we had both been thinking about the band and what we had all those years and what we took for granted. We were missing each other and the gift that I believe God gave us- I knew before that the two of us were more powerful than one of us alone, but it was becoming more obvious as time ticked by. We realized we were on the same page and decided to make Sixpence None the Richer records for the next 2,000 to 3,000 years!!!! Seriously- as long as we can: ) We are in the middle of making an EP right now that will be available soon!

For now we can be entertained by Leigh’s latest project Fauxilage that was a collaboration with the guys that did the Delerium project, Rhys Fulber and Bill Leeds. It is a near perfect combination of ambient electronics and organic intrumentation and Leigh’s beautiful voice. Sonically it sounds great.

As a side note, I was their the day the top picture was captured. We were in Hollywood at the Universal Studios lot filming the video for Kiss Me. It was a long day, right before Christmas holiday. I believe it was a 16 hour shoot, all for a 4 min song. After we were done we drove back to the hotel, showered, and took a car to the airport. This was at about 4 in the morning and we determined since we were all flying out in the morning it wasn’t worth the hours sleep, so we drove to the airport. There, we all went our seperate ways to fly home for Christmas. I went to PA ,Some went to Nashville, and some went to Texas. I remember Leigh, myself and the guy kissing Leigh, Sean Kelly who was the second guitar player all slept on the floor of the airport until we could get our boarding passes. The Rock and Roll Life. Fortunately I had a first class ticket and was able to stretch out. I was sitting beside a body guard for Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode. We compared some notes and I slept the whole flight, after a couple of complimentary white russians of course.

Daniel Lanois has joined the ranks of Established Artists who are starting their own record label to release their music and get more music into the hands of their fans. Lanois’ goal is to release music that is freshly conceived, Example; he is in the studio after midnight working on an idea and the next day it is available for immediate download in a non DRM lossless format. They are taking pre-orders for Lanois album “Here is What Is,” which will be released December 15. This is the soundtrack to the movie I spoke of in an earlier post that documents his travels around the world and the art of recording. I am convinced more Artists are going to move in this direction so they may retain more control of their material and see more of the profits. I say bring it on.

The name of Lanois Record Label is Red Floor Records

I am in the process of buying the new Radiohead CD In Rainbows as I write. I have been following this story for a while amidst all the hype and controversy. For all those that are not aware. Radiohead has released an album on their own and are making it available from their website only. The thing that is significant is that they are bypassing the major label and doing things on their own. They are also offering the music at a choose your own price format. The fan decides what they want to pay in British pounds and they can download at their convenience.

This is great for Radiohead because their profit margin is much better than the conventional label model. Most albums don’t make any money for the artist until they go gold. At the rate of .50 to .80 cents an album it takes a lot of units to recoup. Of course in that recoupable fund is the labels accounting on what they have spent to promote the album and all the costs involved. When you are operating in the radiohead model the costs and accounting stay much closer to home. instead of .50 cents you are making whatever your cost of recording is subtracted from how much you sell the disc for. The simple math of it is if you have $100,000 loan to pay your label and you are making .50 cents per album that is a lot of albums to sell. If your costs are $10,000 and you are making $8.00 an album you have to sell 1250 to start making money if your costs are $300 and you make $8.00 an album you have to sell 38 units until you start making money. Of course radiohead is a big enough name that they have a built in fan base.

Oh yeah, and the album sounds great.