Forgotten Genre Productions

My friends in the Faux Minx are doing a show at the Whitaker Center this Friday. This is definately a show worth seeing. Not only do you have the Faux Minx but you also get The Reese Project. All this for just $10. Now I know this sounds like a cheesy advertisement, obligitory in nature, but don’t be fooled. Both of these bands are worth seeing and the musicianship on display is excellent. In a world where we are constantly being force fed music like Rhiannan and Lady GAGa, going to see 2 bands with this level of knowledge of there instruments are a breath of fresh air. The other factor that is worth mentioning is going to a show at the Whitaker Center. I went to see Jerry Douglas a few years back and the sound was superb. That is a great room. All you engineers need to be reminded to get out and see/hear live music being played by an excellent band in an excellent room on an excellent PA to hear what music should sound like. This will be a great night to renew your passion for music and what it can do for your soul. Tickets are still available so contact the Faux Minx to get them..

To get you pumped up and ready I am including an MP3 of a song I recorded for the Faux Minx at Building Character in Lancaster. This is a magical version of Maiden Voyage that the guys played last year. We set up in a wharehouse with doors all around that we used for some baffling. At the end of the night we tore down and the guys went their seperate ways not feeling to confident about there performance. I loaded all the gear up moved it back to the studio and loaded it back in to the studio and decided to do a quick mix just to make sure I got everything. I started with Maiden Voyage and was drawn into it. As I brought up all the virtual faders and started to add this and filter that the song really grabbed me. I quick ftp’ed a copy to David Green, the bass player to assure him it wasn’t a waste. To this day it is one of my favorite mixes I’ve done. It is not perfect by any means but the excitement of going with your first instincts and letting it be as opposed to reworking and second guessing yourself was refreshing.

I hope the guys don’t mind me posting this to get you pumped up for the show. Let’s keep it on the down low people. Go see this show you will not regret it.

display_podcast]

 

 Faux Minx [
Warning: parse_url(/wp-content/plugins/podpress/podpress_backend.php?action=getduration&filename=http://www.forgottengenre.com/wp-content/Uploads/MaidenVoyage.mp3) [function.parse-url]: Unable to parse URL in /home1/forgott7/public_html/wp-content/plugins/podpress/podpress.php on line 151
8:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I came across this video in a typical meandering social media progression. My old acquaintance Charlie Peacock has a blog that I suggest you check out, that he referenced on his facebook page which showed up on my news feed. From there I watched this video and discovered That the female here is Joy Williams who I did a show with years ago when I was touring with Waterdeep. They loved Joy and already had prior knowledge of her work but I heard her for the first time that night. She has a beautiful voice and has teamed up with this gent, John Paul White. This song is hauntingly beautiful and gets me in the way much of the Deadman music gets me. Also to note is the use of the Heil PR20 mic on Joy’s voice. As some of you may know I am a big fan of the Heil mics and have and use quite a few of them in the studio myself. Actually we used the same mic on Jennifer Lewis’ voice for the Trash & Glory project. Of course we used the gold grill and refered to it as the “Diva” mic.I will have to do more research on the Civil Wars but for now enjoy this video and check out Charlie’s post of the background of  it here.

It seems Daniel Lanois has a little side project operating under the name of Black Dub. He has teamed up with Brian Blade Daryl Johnson and Chris Whitley’s Daughter Trixie Whitley It is some cool stuff. Trixie is a powerful voice and has some of her dad’s spooky soulful bluesy vocals. As time goes on Daniel seems to get more and more wacky. I’m not sure if it’s the drugs or just his ego drug but even his interactions with Brian are awkward and they have been working together for years. It is also freaky how he ghosts around Trixie while she is cutting her vocals. Enjoy this video of him mixing a track.

“Black Dub” in the studio - MIXING - “Love Lives” from Daniel Lanois on Vimeo.

Here is some footage from the show at Javacasa that I raved about a few months ago. Enjoy this song then go to Rainchildren facebook and beg for more.

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.

As I referenced Brian in my last post I discovered that Brian has a new album out that will be on my new favorites list. First off Brian is one of my favorite drummers. His work with Daniel Lanois I have always enjoyed. He comes from such a deep place. I was not aware he  played anything other than the drums but not only does he play a little guitar but he writes and sings also. His new album Mama Rosa is mellow and folky in a Ray Lemontagne or Amos Lee kind of vein. The song writing is excellent. This is more than a drummer wanting some face time and writing Roses are Red Violets Are Blue and I love You rhymes. This is thoughtful stuff. I have been enjoying it thoroughly. Sonically it is great. It has that Lanoisish focus on the bottom end that is rich and full. Enjoy this video of the process and download the album from Amazon. (Just please not itunes) Let me know what you think.

Tonight My wife and I went out with Some Friends to take in the Rosa Rosa Cafe’s new Jazz night. The opening band was from Italy and I had worked with them on a technical front to get some microphones and other items while they were statesite. The Max Puglia Band is a flamenco world jazz band that leans heavy to the smooth jazz end of the spectrum. They were extremely nice guys and the music was relaxing and nice. After Max was done, Central PA’s own The Reese Project played from midnight to 2AM. Let me tell you, I was really impressed. The Reese Project is led by Tom Reese who plays a mean Jazz Flute. Tom also teaches jazz at Lebanon Valley College. When I hear the words Jazz Flute it conjures up pictures of Will Ferrill dancing on tables kicking over glasses and playing Jethro Tull. The Reese Project was nothing like that or at least not too much like that. They were tight and played real jazz, not some watered down Kenny G version. They tore it up. Their guitar player, Bobby Brewer, was great and definately had some John Scofield influence and yet totally did his own thing. And his tone was great (which is a pet peeve I have with jazz guitar and the bad tone that often characterizes jazz guitar.)

Stop in to the Rosa Rosa Late Jazz Cafe. They did it right. The vibe was great. Oh yeah and tomorrow night The Reese Project is playing with my boys The Faux Minx at Bubes Brewery in their Alois Martini Bar. If your not doing anything come on out. Bubes is rethinking their music offerings and are trying to guage the interest in music in the area. It’s a great time to stand up for live music and let them know you care.  And it’s  a great night to see some great music. Schools in for all you musicians out there.

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.

A couple of months ago I tracked a session for a friend of mine John Gerdy. John wanted to track at his barn in Conestoga and after taking a trip down there to scope it out I was very excited about it. I built a “studio” in the barn on Wednsday and we tracked Wednsday, Thursday and Friday nights. There were 3 different musical line-ups; 1 for each night. The first night was a laid back acoustic type set, the second night was a rockin electric set and the third night was a houseparty set with  lots of musicians and friends lending a hand. We tracked 15-20 songs a night and just rolled through them in a live setting. No overdubs, no pitch correction, no tricky editing. It was just a bunch of great musicians having fun and making music. Because we didn’t want to mess up the flow by repositioning mics I needed at least 24 tracks so I opted to track with Reaper instead of Protools since Protools locks you down at 16 tracks. Don’t get me started about Protools limitations here. I used a presonus firestudio with a presonus digimax pre and a Behringer ADA8000 for my interface and pres and of course I used my MPA tube Pres for 8 tracks of tube pre. Things went well and we had a lot of fun. We ran things kind of old school and just “rolled” tape/er ah hard drive. So I had 15-20 songs per session with a session file for Day1, Day2, and Day3. The challenge of this was at the end I had to sort through over 45 tracks and break them into individual project files for mixing. It took quite a while to break everything down. John is currently scouring all the tracks to see which ones are worth taking to the next step of mixing. I am including one of the tracks from the second night that I mixed completly. I love the raw live feal of the song. I must mention that my Heil mics were quite a life saver for this session. Because we tracked it all live I did a lot of close micing and the heil dynamics were just the ticket to capture the music without a lot of bleed. Let me know what you think.

 

 John Gerdy Song: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A few days ago Josh Cranmer was asking me why I hadn’t said anything about the Big Blue Ball project on the blog yet.  It reminded me that this was something I wanted to talk about.

The Big Blue Ball project was recorded at Real World Studios with Peter Gabriel over 15 years with musicians  from all over the world. Many of the musicians have shown up on other projects such as passion and a host of other Peter Gabriel albums. One of the things I like about this project is the collaborative nature of it. At Forgotten Genre we have always encouraged musicians that we have worked with to have a collaborative attitude towards music. Something happens when you take different people from different cultures and musical backgrounds and put them together. Even in a local environment you still get micro cultures of musical background. Let’s say your bass player grew up listening to Jazz while your guitar player grew up on 80’s pop Maybe your drummers parents had every Marvin Gaye and James Brown album while the singer grew up singing in the church choir. You will end up with a much richer approach to music then if everyone listened to Nirvana albums alone in their bedroom with the lights off. The cultural element to this album is rich and worth taking in.

Sonically of course this album sounds great, as you would expect from a Peter Gabriel Album recorded at Real World Studios

Real World Studios is the Home of Peter Gabriel and it is a dream to behold. It is an amazing facility that caters to everyone from small bands recording to major productions and Film scoring. It is in the English countryside and is truly beautiful. Their focus and drive on helping people create music that is truly extraordinary is a model that we try to emulate at FGP.

This album is definitely worth picking up. I am looking forward to some time with it with headphones. If you are in the local Lancaster area and desire to make music that is timeless and rich give us a call. We would love to serve you and come alongside you for the endeavor