Forgotten Genre Productions

Here is a recording show that I stumbled upon a while back that I find enjoyable and intriquing. Check it out.

Wow this thing is absolutely amazing. I have used eleven as a plug in and loved it. But now having a piece of hardware that also acts as an interface and allows you to use those sounds on stage is crazy. Check it out.

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.

Yesterday I got a chance to hang with one of my old friends Jeff Lavallee better known as Jeff Lava. Jeff was my roommate in Nashville and we did several tours together. I met Jeff on the Big Tent Revival and The Waiting tour were we agreed to look for an apartment together. This was a big step for me because I was in Atlanta with the Waiting and had no place to live and didn’t know anyone but the band. So when we came off the road for a couple days off, of course everyone wanted to seperate to get things done and as a result I had to fend for myself. I slept in my car, on couches, in the woods, in cheap crack house hotels or wherever I could find. I was making $700 a month so I had to be careful with my pesos. and couldn’t afford an apartment by myself. I had always dreamed of living in Nashville so when Jeff said he was looking for a roommate I said why not. The next week he found a place at the Canterchase Apartments in Antioch near the airport. That place became legendary and at times the 2 bedroom apartment hosted up to 5 people at once. We were always open to having someone crash while they were trying to break into the business or in town for a visit. I spent so much time on the road that although I was one of the original renters, I slept on the floor in the living room.

Jeff was and is a lighting designer. We did a few more tours with the Waiting and then we took a gig with a little act called the newsboys Jeff was a light tech and I was doing backline and spent hours and hours with Duncan the drummer on setting up the hydraulic drum riser that rose up and spun around on 2 axis’. We had to get the weight proportioned just right so that it would travel consistently around accounting for Duncan and Peters weight. It was a miserable pre production and outside of Duncan, the newsboys management and production crew were some of the most difficult people I have ever worked with. I will spare you the details but eventually I got fired because I didn’t see eye to eye with their way of doing life. Jeff had to finish the tour and has many stories of woe. Interestingly enough it worked out for me because in the industry sometimes who you can’t get along with reveals a lot about who you can get along with and I actually got a better gig with Sixpence.

Jeff is quite successful and has toured with everyone from Audio Adreneline to Scott Stapp, INXS, Lorrie Morgan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, MuteMath and many others. His latest gig is with Trace Adkins. At the same time Jeff runs a design company in Nashville and designs light shows for corporate affairs or music touring or film and video. Jeff does more than climb a truss and focus lights. He gets into programming intelligent fixtures and entire show scenes. He is a talented guy with a great eye.

Trace Adkins was playing the York Fair last night and Jeff also had a video shoot he was prepping for in Nashville so to get a few more hours of work in he flew into Baltimore instead of taking the tour bus all night. I picked him up and played chauffeur  so he could get some more work done. I also got to see an old friend from my Small Town Poets touring days. Traces FOH engineer James did production on The Small Town Poets/ Clear tour. He is a great guy and worked hard on that tour. We got to catch up a little and discuss the joys of digital consoles since he is mixing Trace with a digdesign Venue rig. You can’t push digital like you can push analogue and sometimes during a show you need to give it a little extra ummphh if your gain staging isn’t right it is challenging. Again here is a guy that does more than stand 5 feet from the faders or read a book during the gig. It was enlightening for me and good to see him.

Check out some of Jeff’s stuff at www.jefflava.com

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.

Tonight my beautiful wife and I got to attend the CD release party for The Willie Marble Xperience. This was a CD I had the great honour of recording and mixing. It was a great night with the benefits going to Music For Everyone. The concert was held in the barn where we recorded the album down at John Gerdy’s farm in Conestoga. Willie was in great form and the band was a lot of fun. The guys from Big Red played a short set in the beginning then backed up Willie for a few songs in the middle. Even with the rain all day it didn’t seem to effect the turnout. The barn was filled with people milling around, some catching up, some dancing, and some just taking it all in. This album was so much fun to record and I am very pleased with the results. Please stop by the website for Music For Everyone and buy a copy of the Conestoga Sessions. Remember, the proceeds go to purchaseing musical instruments for students that are in schools that’s funding is low or cut off. Now more than ever you can make a difference in a tangible way by giving to Music For Everyone or buying a disc. Here is a teaser from the 2nd night with Big Red helping out Willie Marble.

 

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