Year Two – Day 123 – August 13th 2010
When you come home from a tour (even a brief one) it's always a good news/bad new proposition. One one hand you are excited to be home, you get to see your family and friends and get to slide back into a life that's a tad more normal. On the other hand, you miss being out there because you leave other endeavors behind and your only mission in life is to get to the gig and play music.
Back Home and Psyched about the next few weeks. This blog will be the first one that shy's away from the narrative and give the few of you read this blog regularly some news about things that are upcoming in the Boy Wonder Universe
With the release of Animated coming up we've got quite a bit going on.
Boy Wonder Presents: Animated Unleashed
On September 4th we will celebrate the release of the Animated Album with a huge show Downstairs @ World Cafe live @ 7PM. The show is going to be a night to remember featuring a collection of artists who are not only some of the best in the region but are reflective of the ecclectic sound and feel of the new album including
Boy Wonder
Wyldlyfe
Caitlin Potter
Shon Penn
Catherine Prewitt
Damien Anthony
More Artists will be announced soon
Tickets are $11 if you purchase them from me beforehand and $13 at the door. If you haven't been to a Boy Wonder show @ World Cafe Live before, or it's been a while since you've been, this would be the one to catch. Hope to See You There
Tickets can be purchased on-line HERE
New Myspace
As with every other Album Release I've done, I'm celebrating it with a change to my Myspace page. It has a simpler sleek new look as well as two new songs from the Upcoming Album upoladed to it, so if you have a chance take a look, it'll be like traveling back in time five years
http://myspace.com/boywonderrocks
Range Recording Studios Newsletter
I am featured in this month's Range Recoding Studios E Newsletter which goes out every month.
For those of you who Follow the Blog Range Recording Studios is where I recorded Animated as well as my last Album Superego. It's an amazing place and I was more than happy to sit down with marc Eimer to give him all of the information he needed for his article, which turned out pretty sweet
The Article can be found HERE
The 10! Show
In what was probably the worst kept secret ever, I will be appearing on the 10! Show on Friday August 27th. The show airs at 11am, most of you will be at work but that's what the DVR is for. We will be playing Surrender off of the new album Animated. This will be the first major Television appearance for Boy Wonder and the first time I've been on TV since I did Jimmy Kimmel Live with Bang Camaro.
If you want to see the show live you can get tickets HERE.
93.7 WSTW – Hometown Heroes
On Sunday August 29th I'll be the guest on 93.7 WSTW's Hometown Heroes show. Hometown Heroes is a show hosted by Mark Rogers. The station is based out of Deleware and it features some of the Deleware Valleys finest local music. They have spun me on their station several times as well as nominated me for their Homey Awards last year, I even walked away with two (Best R&B and Hip Song and Best Open Mic Host)
It's going to be an awesome show, the boys and I are gonna play some acoustic tunes, I'll do some interview stuff and we'll play some stuff off of the new record which will be exciting
The Show airs August 29th @ 8PM
WSTW's Hometown Heroes can be found on the web HERE
So many cool things are happening around the release of this record
I'll keep you posted as more cool things should be happening once the record comes out
Be Good, if not, Be Good At It and I'll see you real soon
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 269
Year Two - Day 118 – August 8th 2010
Minneapolis Minnesota
We drove through the night from Indy, probably a bad idea. Rest is so important when you're doing this job and frankly it's tough to get it in a conversion van.
As I say good morning I realize my voice sounds and feels like I smoked a bag of cigarettes. Lizards was full of smoke last night even the pregnant ladies were smoking. Of course I'm concerned about my voice tonight. My throat is killing me and my chest is muccusy (probably not even a word) and as I scratch my face I realize that I probably need a shave as well so when we touch town I need meds and a razor. Sounding and looking good is essential tonight.
We pull into town around 1PM, I can't get over how hot it is here. I walked to the Walgreens and was baking in the Minneapolis sun. I hadn't showered so I was smelling awesome. I got in, got what I needed, and got out. I arrived back at the hotel and was pretty much ready to crash. Luckily the room had an awesome shower and an Law and Order SVU marathon on TV. As I drifted off to sleep I heard a knock on the door. Jake and Brian are dressed to kill and they're ready to go out. I'm glad these guys are here to balance me out, if they weren't here I'd probably stay at the hotel all day till the show and never see any of these places.
There was a storm threatening to bust open and soak the twin cities so we opted to hit Cause (Formerly Sauce) for an early dinner instead of roaming downtown Minneapolis. I remember the gig in October like it was yesterday; the filled room, the cheering crowds, the lines at the merch table. It was the first time I felt like a legitimate artist and I knew that making a life for myself out here was possible. We were so well received that playing in Minneapolis again was at the top of my wish list of things to do. Would it be like it was before? Who knows, it's a Sunday night, there's no cover, and people have seen us before. But I know we've got a crowd coming and if Grey Matador delivers (which they always do) this house will be packed.
My voice is loosening up as I walk down Lyndale street looking for gum (Dinner although delicious, made my breath quite scummy and disgusting) and a button down shirt (which I didn't find) I get a call from My good friend Katherine Mundy called. She has a respiratory condition that is going to force her to pull out of the CD Release show on September 4th. This is unfortunate because not only is she an awesome singer/songwriter, she's featured on Animated. She'll be missed but I'd rather her sit this one out than do permanent damage to her voice. The sky is getting even darker so I head back. Nerves are starting to set in, is anyone coming? Will they enjoy it? Is anything strange going to happen?
When I saw Roe and Brue of Grey Matador I felt a lot better. Brue's running the show so I feel better with him here. As the rest of the band walks in I get pretty stoked, it's nice to see some friendly faces. Working through booking agencies and clubs directly for all of the previous dates I missed the camaraderie the comes with doing shows with fellow musicians. It adds a certain touch and flare to the proceedings because the bands have a stake in people showing up.
As the night progresses Kibra, Lori, and Kristin among others walk in. The Twin Cities are awesome because we have real fans here. Kibra saw us in Chicago on Wednesday, Lori came the last time out and brought people with her this time and Kristin came all the way from Fargo to check it out, Rob had some buddies show up, and I recognize a lot of the people who came to the show before. We were missing some soldiers but I couldn't be anything but happy that we have such a strong contingent of people so far away from home.
Matador hits the stage first, and they play one helluva set, I've always been intrigued by how Brue can hit the drums like a tank but not be earsplittingly loud. They get better and better every time I see them. I enjoy watching them, they seem to have such an easy chemistry. After about 40 minutes of pure unadulterated post punk power we were up. It was time to play the show that I'd built this tour around. I take a deep breath and I count it off.
Set List
Ex- Girlfriend
Get Me To California
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
Wasn't Supposed To Be This Way
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Surrender
Feels So Good
Sexy Machine
I Don't Dance
Psycho
Encore
Baby One More Time
We tore into this set with a sheer ferocity unmatched by the rest of the dates on this tour. We didn't have to focus on winning the crowd over because 90% of them were already there to see us and were expecting a good show. They were in it with us and it raised our game to another level. I was floating on air which made it difficult to be in the moment. I flubbed a couple of pedal switches, but even I didn't notice till later.
I got the idea in my head to use Roque (Grey Matador's guitarist)'s Amp in conjunction with mine to create a bigger more stereo guitar sound, it's something I've seen people do but I've never done myself. It rounded out my sound and I think I'll probably use two amps from here on out.
It was truly an amazing experience. We played a great show, hung out with some awesome people, and saw some great bands. The John Snell Xplosion was pretty awesome and Grey Matador...I mean what else can be said. I can't wait to do stuff with them in the future.
The last note played marked the end of this tour. Possibly the best tour yet. We worked like a well oiled machine and these three guys were a perfect example of professionalism and basic kick-assness. We played for hundreds this time but I'm more determined to play to thousands next time around. As we've done before, all of us will take the lessons we learned and apply it to future endeavors
I could stay out here forever but I know it's time to come home...we got big things ahead. Brace yourselves Philadelphia, we'll be back in a few days
Minneapolis Minnesota
We drove through the night from Indy, probably a bad idea. Rest is so important when you're doing this job and frankly it's tough to get it in a conversion van.
As I say good morning I realize my voice sounds and feels like I smoked a bag of cigarettes. Lizards was full of smoke last night even the pregnant ladies were smoking. Of course I'm concerned about my voice tonight. My throat is killing me and my chest is muccusy (probably not even a word) and as I scratch my face I realize that I probably need a shave as well so when we touch town I need meds and a razor. Sounding and looking good is essential tonight.
We pull into town around 1PM, I can't get over how hot it is here. I walked to the Walgreens and was baking in the Minneapolis sun. I hadn't showered so I was smelling awesome. I got in, got what I needed, and got out. I arrived back at the hotel and was pretty much ready to crash. Luckily the room had an awesome shower and an Law and Order SVU marathon on TV. As I drifted off to sleep I heard a knock on the door. Jake and Brian are dressed to kill and they're ready to go out. I'm glad these guys are here to balance me out, if they weren't here I'd probably stay at the hotel all day till the show and never see any of these places.
There was a storm threatening to bust open and soak the twin cities so we opted to hit Cause (Formerly Sauce) for an early dinner instead of roaming downtown Minneapolis. I remember the gig in October like it was yesterday; the filled room, the cheering crowds, the lines at the merch table. It was the first time I felt like a legitimate artist and I knew that making a life for myself out here was possible. We were so well received that playing in Minneapolis again was at the top of my wish list of things to do. Would it be like it was before? Who knows, it's a Sunday night, there's no cover, and people have seen us before. But I know we've got a crowd coming and if Grey Matador delivers (which they always do) this house will be packed.
My voice is loosening up as I walk down Lyndale street looking for gum (Dinner although delicious, made my breath quite scummy and disgusting) and a button down shirt (which I didn't find) I get a call from My good friend Katherine Mundy called. She has a respiratory condition that is going to force her to pull out of the CD Release show on September 4th. This is unfortunate because not only is she an awesome singer/songwriter, she's featured on Animated. She'll be missed but I'd rather her sit this one out than do permanent damage to her voice. The sky is getting even darker so I head back. Nerves are starting to set in, is anyone coming? Will they enjoy it? Is anything strange going to happen?
When I saw Roe and Brue of Grey Matador I felt a lot better. Brue's running the show so I feel better with him here. As the rest of the band walks in I get pretty stoked, it's nice to see some friendly faces. Working through booking agencies and clubs directly for all of the previous dates I missed the camaraderie the comes with doing shows with fellow musicians. It adds a certain touch and flare to the proceedings because the bands have a stake in people showing up.
As the night progresses Kibra, Lori, and Kristin among others walk in. The Twin Cities are awesome because we have real fans here. Kibra saw us in Chicago on Wednesday, Lori came the last time out and brought people with her this time and Kristin came all the way from Fargo to check it out, Rob had some buddies show up, and I recognize a lot of the people who came to the show before. We were missing some soldiers but I couldn't be anything but happy that we have such a strong contingent of people so far away from home.
Matador hits the stage first, and they play one helluva set, I've always been intrigued by how Brue can hit the drums like a tank but not be earsplittingly loud. They get better and better every time I see them. I enjoy watching them, they seem to have such an easy chemistry. After about 40 minutes of pure unadulterated post punk power we were up. It was time to play the show that I'd built this tour around. I take a deep breath and I count it off.
Set List
Ex- Girlfriend
Get Me To California
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
Wasn't Supposed To Be This Way
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Surrender
Feels So Good
Sexy Machine
I Don't Dance
Psycho
Encore
Baby One More Time
We tore into this set with a sheer ferocity unmatched by the rest of the dates on this tour. We didn't have to focus on winning the crowd over because 90% of them were already there to see us and were expecting a good show. They were in it with us and it raised our game to another level. I was floating on air which made it difficult to be in the moment. I flubbed a couple of pedal switches, but even I didn't notice till later.
I got the idea in my head to use Roque (Grey Matador's guitarist)'s Amp in conjunction with mine to create a bigger more stereo guitar sound, it's something I've seen people do but I've never done myself. It rounded out my sound and I think I'll probably use two amps from here on out.
It was truly an amazing experience. We played a great show, hung out with some awesome people, and saw some great bands. The John Snell Xplosion was pretty awesome and Grey Matador...I mean what else can be said. I can't wait to do stuff with them in the future.
The last note played marked the end of this tour. Possibly the best tour yet. We worked like a well oiled machine and these three guys were a perfect example of professionalism and basic kick-assness. We played for hundreds this time but I'm more determined to play to thousands next time around. As we've done before, all of us will take the lessons we learned and apply it to future endeavors
I could stay out here forever but I know it's time to come home...we got big things ahead. Brace yourselves Philadelphia, we'll be back in a few days
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 268
Year Two - Day 117 – August 7th 2010
Indianapolis Indiana
I woke up in the hotel in Cleveland pretty stoked about tonight. Lizards in Indianapolis was the kickoff for our first tour almost a year ago, we had a strong draw and met some super cool people. After the weirdness that was Cleveland I was like “Yeah this is where we're gonna get it goin” No one was looking forward to the ten hour car ride, and then a realization was made as I'm carrying my suitcase to the car
Brian: Andre
Me: Yo.
Brian: Indianapolis is only five hours away.
Me: I see
So the plans that we had were more or less blown up and we would have to travel to another city and find a way to fill space until the show.
A whole Pizza, a couple pictures of Miller lite and some sandwiches later it was time for us to hit the stage. I look around and 4 things are apparent
1)The Cigarette smoke is so thick in here you can cut it with a knife (Meaning singing's gonna be a real hoot)
2)My Family's not here (Which means the rooms damn near empty)
3)Vocally My upper register is shot (Probably because of fatigue)
4)We're all pretty wiped
But because we are who we are. We fire up the amps and we go to work
Set List
Ex-Girlfriend
Get Me To California
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
Wasn't Supposed to Be This Way
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Surrender
Feels So Good
God May Forgive You But I Never Will
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Sexy Machine
I Don't Dance
Psycho
The sounds less than stellar. The monitors make me sound like I was in that movie white noise and you can hear the monitor feedback in the house. The sound guy's not even at his post to fix it, and when the time came for my talk box solo he was nowhere to be found to turn my mic up, by the time he finally did I was finished. Cool guy, but because of the broad range of stuff we do (especially if we're playing longer and have to dip into the catalog) we're not the kind of band you can set levels for and go smoke a cigarette. We had the same problem in Cleveland last night (I take solace in the fact that I know these problems won't be problems tomorrow) it can be pretty frustrating because you do all you can to put on a good show but if the sound guy's not paying attention it's not gonna go right.
My voice is shot and I don't get it going really till midway thorough the set. Unbeknowst to me the few people there are falling in love with us. There aren't many people there but the numbers are increasing. I talk to a guy that runs a couple of radio stations in town who was interested in the possibility of airing some of the tunes on the station (A tremendous help for when we return to Indy) and the promoter of the event wants us back. He likes us so much he wants us to play a short set tonight for the new people that just came in.
Set List
How Can This Be Love
Hit Me Baby One More Time
Wasted
I think we really proved our steel the past few days. It's easy to be professional and kick ass when things are going well. It's harder
We hung out for a minute and then we hit the road on the way to Minneapolis...for a night of Epicness
Indianapolis Indiana
I woke up in the hotel in Cleveland pretty stoked about tonight. Lizards in Indianapolis was the kickoff for our first tour almost a year ago, we had a strong draw and met some super cool people. After the weirdness that was Cleveland I was like “Yeah this is where we're gonna get it goin” No one was looking forward to the ten hour car ride, and then a realization was made as I'm carrying my suitcase to the car
Brian: Andre
Me: Yo.
Brian: Indianapolis is only five hours away.
Me: I see
So the plans that we had were more or less blown up and we would have to travel to another city and find a way to fill space until the show.
A whole Pizza, a couple pictures of Miller lite and some sandwiches later it was time for us to hit the stage. I look around and 4 things are apparent
1)The Cigarette smoke is so thick in here you can cut it with a knife (Meaning singing's gonna be a real hoot)
2)My Family's not here (Which means the rooms damn near empty)
3)Vocally My upper register is shot (Probably because of fatigue)
4)We're all pretty wiped
But because we are who we are. We fire up the amps and we go to work
Set List
Ex-Girlfriend
Get Me To California
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
Wasn't Supposed to Be This Way
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Surrender
Feels So Good
God May Forgive You But I Never Will
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Sexy Machine
I Don't Dance
Psycho
The sounds less than stellar. The monitors make me sound like I was in that movie white noise and you can hear the monitor feedback in the house. The sound guy's not even at his post to fix it, and when the time came for my talk box solo he was nowhere to be found to turn my mic up, by the time he finally did I was finished. Cool guy, but because of the broad range of stuff we do (especially if we're playing longer and have to dip into the catalog) we're not the kind of band you can set levels for and go smoke a cigarette. We had the same problem in Cleveland last night (I take solace in the fact that I know these problems won't be problems tomorrow) it can be pretty frustrating because you do all you can to put on a good show but if the sound guy's not paying attention it's not gonna go right.
My voice is shot and I don't get it going really till midway thorough the set. Unbeknowst to me the few people there are falling in love with us. There aren't many people there but the numbers are increasing. I talk to a guy that runs a couple of radio stations in town who was interested in the possibility of airing some of the tunes on the station (A tremendous help for when we return to Indy) and the promoter of the event wants us back. He likes us so much he wants us to play a short set tonight for the new people that just came in.
Set List
How Can This Be Love
Hit Me Baby One More Time
Wasted
I think we really proved our steel the past few days. It's easy to be professional and kick ass when things are going well. It's harder
We hung out for a minute and then we hit the road on the way to Minneapolis...for a night of Epicness
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 267
Year Two Day 116 – August 6th 2010
Cleveland Ohio
We left Toledo with the feeling of conquering heroes...well at least I did. Touring is such a gamble when no one knows who you are but when it works, it works. Those kids could have basically went in the other room while we played but they clapped and swayed and crowded the front of the stage and showed us love, I never take that for granted.
Cleveland was only an hour and some change away from Toledo. One thing that I've done this time around I think is booked things closer together so that we're not spending 9, 10 hours in a car at a time (*pats self on the back*) we're a lot fresher or we would be if I wasn't so wiped. The anxiety of the last two days has made more tired than anything else. I'm looking forward to Saturday and Sunday when I know that I'll have people there and that the jitters of doing new songs will be done.
We pull into the hotel and are unable to check in so we grab a coffee somewhere and I check on the things that are going on at home.
We just booked the 10! Show for August 27th, I've been wanting to do that for the past 4-5 years, no time like the right time. We just booked CampJam for September 18th another thing I've wanted to do the past few years, that weekend's going to be epic. I'll be losing a night at Lickety Split but possibly gaining one at Triumph, that's how these things work, and things are looking pretty rosy in the personal life department.
Jake had a really good idea this time around; instead of stopping and eating bad rest stop food on the road, we;d hit a grocery store and make some sandwiches to eat while we're driving. It saves money and it's probably better for us then the crap one would usually eat out here, and I don't have to step foot inside of a subway which is a nice added bonus.
We laid around for what seemed like forever. Jake came back and put the sandwiches together and we headed to the venue.
Wilbert's is a pretty cool spot behind Progressive Field where the Indians played, Major League is one of my all time favorite movies so it was kinda cool to be near the ballpark. We meet the owner, Mike who's really nice. He loves music and is happy to have us here. I look around and see pictures of some really good blues musicians on the wall. I guess in Ohio they want you to get a feel of a places history and pedigree by letting you know who's played here. We ate and basically waited around for sound check when Paul walked in.
Paul Eager is another friend from the virtual world known as the internet. We used to efed together when I was in High School and College (if you really wanna know what that is you'll have to look it up) we kept in touch via Aim and Facebook over the years but it was nice to finally meet him. It was very similar to the meeting I had with Sophia a few days back. You would think that we;d feel like strangers but we clicked in real life the same way as we did on-line which was cool. Unfortunately we went on to late for him to catch the whole set but we got to talk for a long time which was really cool. He said he was making an art piece for me, he's really really good so I'm pretty stoked about it. I'm looking forward to coming back here and hanging out with him, might just take a non music trip out.
So I'm then told by Mike that he wanted us to play for like 75 minutes so there had to be adjustments made to the set. There was a sweet post game Fireworks session before hand.
Set List
The Way You make Me Feel
Ex-Girlfriend
Get Me To California
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
Wasn't Supposed to Be This Way
God May Forgive You But I Never Will
Psycho
Surrender
Feels So Good
How Can This Be Love
Body
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Sexy Machine
I Don't Dance
Walking on the Moon
I lost a string during the Feels so Good Solo which caused me to lose a lot of momentum. I was really freakin out when we realized that after Feels so Good Was Over we'd only been playing for 45 minutes. I had to add a few more songs to the planned set to make it longer. Fortunately I had another guitar and I got through the gig.
Kind of a weird crowd. Superdrunk and they kinda just sat and watched us. Some people danced and gave us fist pumps, people came in and out from the deck outside to check it out, and two people were even making out on the dance floor. But the sports bar crowd weren't as enthused as the kids in Toledo were last night. Not to mention that we were the only band there that night. We probably would have benefited from having a local band with a decent draw on the show before us. Mike dug it and it looks like we're gonna get another shot so thank God for that.
Indianapolis is tomorrow. The first long drive of the tour. I'm excited about returning to Lizards
Cleveland Ohio
We left Toledo with the feeling of conquering heroes...well at least I did. Touring is such a gamble when no one knows who you are but when it works, it works. Those kids could have basically went in the other room while we played but they clapped and swayed and crowded the front of the stage and showed us love, I never take that for granted.
Cleveland was only an hour and some change away from Toledo. One thing that I've done this time around I think is booked things closer together so that we're not spending 9, 10 hours in a car at a time (*pats self on the back*) we're a lot fresher or we would be if I wasn't so wiped. The anxiety of the last two days has made more tired than anything else. I'm looking forward to Saturday and Sunday when I know that I'll have people there and that the jitters of doing new songs will be done.
We pull into the hotel and are unable to check in so we grab a coffee somewhere and I check on the things that are going on at home.
We just booked the 10! Show for August 27th, I've been wanting to do that for the past 4-5 years, no time like the right time. We just booked CampJam for September 18th another thing I've wanted to do the past few years, that weekend's going to be epic. I'll be losing a night at Lickety Split but possibly gaining one at Triumph, that's how these things work, and things are looking pretty rosy in the personal life department.
Jake had a really good idea this time around; instead of stopping and eating bad rest stop food on the road, we;d hit a grocery store and make some sandwiches to eat while we're driving. It saves money and it's probably better for us then the crap one would usually eat out here, and I don't have to step foot inside of a subway which is a nice added bonus.
We laid around for what seemed like forever. Jake came back and put the sandwiches together and we headed to the venue.
Wilbert's is a pretty cool spot behind Progressive Field where the Indians played, Major League is one of my all time favorite movies so it was kinda cool to be near the ballpark. We meet the owner, Mike who's really nice. He loves music and is happy to have us here. I look around and see pictures of some really good blues musicians on the wall. I guess in Ohio they want you to get a feel of a places history and pedigree by letting you know who's played here. We ate and basically waited around for sound check when Paul walked in.
Paul Eager is another friend from the virtual world known as the internet. We used to efed together when I was in High School and College (if you really wanna know what that is you'll have to look it up) we kept in touch via Aim and Facebook over the years but it was nice to finally meet him. It was very similar to the meeting I had with Sophia a few days back. You would think that we;d feel like strangers but we clicked in real life the same way as we did on-line which was cool. Unfortunately we went on to late for him to catch the whole set but we got to talk for a long time which was really cool. He said he was making an art piece for me, he's really really good so I'm pretty stoked about it. I'm looking forward to coming back here and hanging out with him, might just take a non music trip out.
So I'm then told by Mike that he wanted us to play for like 75 minutes so there had to be adjustments made to the set. There was a sweet post game Fireworks session before hand.
Set List
The Way You make Me Feel
Ex-Girlfriend
Get Me To California
(Oh) I Wish I Loved You
Wasn't Supposed to Be This Way
God May Forgive You But I Never Will
Psycho
Surrender
Feels So Good
How Can This Be Love
Body
(I Think We Should) Breakup
Sexy Machine
I Don't Dance
Walking on the Moon
I lost a string during the Feels so Good Solo which caused me to lose a lot of momentum. I was really freakin out when we realized that after Feels so Good Was Over we'd only been playing for 45 minutes. I had to add a few more songs to the planned set to make it longer. Fortunately I had another guitar and I got through the gig.
Kind of a weird crowd. Superdrunk and they kinda just sat and watched us. Some people danced and gave us fist pumps, people came in and out from the deck outside to check it out, and two people were even making out on the dance floor. But the sports bar crowd weren't as enthused as the kids in Toledo were last night. Not to mention that we were the only band there that night. We probably would have benefited from having a local band with a decent draw on the show before us. Mike dug it and it looks like we're gonna get another shot so thank God for that.
Indianapolis is tomorrow. The first long drive of the tour. I'm excited about returning to Lizards
Friday, August 6, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 266
Year Two – Day 115 – August 5th 2010
Toledo Ohio
We hit up Giordano's in Chicago before heading to Toledo. The pizza was off the chain, very heavy, I only got through a slice before we boxed it up. We got some Starbucks and hit the road.
I always try as best I can to look out the window and appreciate nature. I really love how the scenery changes as we hit different areas of the country. It's a little flatter out here and a few more farms then home. Kinda reminds me of Smallville.
With a rough but successful first night behind us I was looking forward to see what Toledo would be like. It's been my experience that the smaller cities/towns usually pack the room for the original music shows and they tend to be a tad more participatory than the crowds on the east coast who are most of the time too cool for the room.
This would be the first time for all of us in Toledo. The Venue Frankie's Inner City...and from the looks of it, it looks like it's one of “the” places to play here. I look at posters on the wall and it's a virtual who's who in rock music for the past 20+ years or so, The Goo Good Dolls, Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, Modern English, The B-52's, Puddle of Mudd, The Silversun Pickups, the list probably goes on and on. All these people had played this spot and gone on to bigger things. So because I'm a basket case I allowed that to intimidate me.
We were only given 30 minutes so we had to rearrange the set. Jake came up with the set, looked good to me so we did that. As the show was about to start Brian walks over
Brian: I just met Electric Six's Merch Girl
Me: Em's here
Brian: Yeah Out Front
I run like a school girl to find her. Emily (One of the few people from the whole Bang Camaro/Electric Six crew I talk to on a consistent basis) helped set the gig up. I actually was never really sure where Em was actually from so it was nice to have that question answered. We caught up while we listened to the first group it's always nice to see her.
Once the first act was done the place really started to fill up. You never really know whether or not you're gonna play to an empty room when you play out of town, you're kind of crossing your fingers and hoping to God that the rest of the bands can put people in the room. We met the band that would be following us on stage, they were all about 17 so all these teenaged girls belonged to them. Fine with me hopefully they feel the music.
Set List
Ex-Girlfriend
Get Me To California
Surrender
Sexy Machnie
God May Forgive You But I Never Will
Psycho
So how'd it sound? Beyond a shadow of a doubt it was better than last night. There's just a feeling you get on stage when you know you are killing it. Jake, Rob, and I are in lockstep sounding like the true power trio that we've always have been.
By the time we get to Surrender people are clapping along...by the time we get to Psycho everyone has crowded the front of the stage. People were smiling at us (mainly Jake and Rob) and they were having a good time, which is all you can ask for. We built our mailing list sold some product and made a bunch of new awesome friends.
I've got way too much whiskey in my system at present time and have to find a way to keep rob from eating my left over deep dish so I will bid you all good evening.
Toledo Ohio
We hit up Giordano's in Chicago before heading to Toledo. The pizza was off the chain, very heavy, I only got through a slice before we boxed it up. We got some Starbucks and hit the road.
I always try as best I can to look out the window and appreciate nature. I really love how the scenery changes as we hit different areas of the country. It's a little flatter out here and a few more farms then home. Kinda reminds me of Smallville.
With a rough but successful first night behind us I was looking forward to see what Toledo would be like. It's been my experience that the smaller cities/towns usually pack the room for the original music shows and they tend to be a tad more participatory than the crowds on the east coast who are most of the time too cool for the room.
This would be the first time for all of us in Toledo. The Venue Frankie's Inner City...and from the looks of it, it looks like it's one of “the” places to play here. I look at posters on the wall and it's a virtual who's who in rock music for the past 20+ years or so, The Goo Good Dolls, Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, Modern English, The B-52's, Puddle of Mudd, The Silversun Pickups, the list probably goes on and on. All these people had played this spot and gone on to bigger things. So because I'm a basket case I allowed that to intimidate me.
We were only given 30 minutes so we had to rearrange the set. Jake came up with the set, looked good to me so we did that. As the show was about to start Brian walks over
Brian: I just met Electric Six's Merch Girl
Me: Em's here
Brian: Yeah Out Front
I run like a school girl to find her. Emily (One of the few people from the whole Bang Camaro/Electric Six crew I talk to on a consistent basis) helped set the gig up. I actually was never really sure where Em was actually from so it was nice to have that question answered. We caught up while we listened to the first group it's always nice to see her.
Once the first act was done the place really started to fill up. You never really know whether or not you're gonna play to an empty room when you play out of town, you're kind of crossing your fingers and hoping to God that the rest of the bands can put people in the room. We met the band that would be following us on stage, they were all about 17 so all these teenaged girls belonged to them. Fine with me hopefully they feel the music.
Set List
Ex-Girlfriend
Get Me To California
Surrender
Sexy Machnie
God May Forgive You But I Never Will
Psycho
So how'd it sound? Beyond a shadow of a doubt it was better than last night. There's just a feeling you get on stage when you know you are killing it. Jake, Rob, and I are in lockstep sounding like the true power trio that we've always have been.
By the time we get to Surrender people are clapping along...by the time we get to Psycho everyone has crowded the front of the stage. People were smiling at us (mainly Jake and Rob) and they were having a good time, which is all you can ask for. We built our mailing list sold some product and made a bunch of new awesome friends.
I've got way too much whiskey in my system at present time and have to find a way to keep rob from eating my left over deep dish so I will bid you all good evening.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 265
Year Two – Day 116 – August 4th 2010
Chicago, Illinois
Back on the Road...the more I do this the more unencumbered I feel. The less I'm concerned with happenings back home, don't get me wrong I still have business to take care of back in Philadelphia, but that's the only thing I'm concerned with these days. What I mean by happenings is the drama that I often subject myself to at home. I was able to avoid a lot of it by spending time with Nikki and Aydan last week followed by a great time at The Plateau Jam. Home for a little over a day to do Philly Rising and then yesterday we were headed towards Chicago. It was quite the long ride to the hotel We pull in and get some much needed rest.
Today was a very big day. First Boy Wonder gig ever in Chicago (I had been here previously with Bang Camaro at the Double Door), first night of the tour, first night playing the tunes from Animated, I'd been nervous for pretty much the entire day. We decided to get up early and see the city, I had originally bitched and moaned about going out last night, but after a good nights rest I was up to spending some time with the guys and seeing a city I missed out on last year. We'd planned to meet up with our friend Ed who was going to give us a tour of the media arts school he works at. It took a lil bit to park but it was worth it, it was a pretty awesome facility. We went back to the lot, grabbed the van and headed towards The Tonic Room.
The Venue was small, but it had an awesome vibe. We at at the Thai Place next door as we watched other bands and their fans come inside. Our people start to trickle in Ed and Lindsay, Kibra from Minneapolis surprised us with her buddy JaJa, and Sophia Dilberakis even showed up. Sophia's been an e-friend of mine for almost ten years (She, I, and a few others bonded over our love for a certain bass player/singer) so it was nice to finally meet her and chat face to face. The whole internet thing is kinda weird, in the sense that you meet these people and you have a connection with them, but you've never actually met. But we chatted and laughed just like we did on-line, it was really really cool.
We spent some time talking to our friends and then at 8:30 we hit the stage. I say hello Chicago and then we're off to the races
Set List
Ex-Girlfriend
Get Me To California
Wasn't Supposed to Be This Way
God May Forgive You But I Never Will
Psycho
Surrender
Feels So Good
Sexy Machine
I Don't Dance
Encore
Walking on The Moon
I was pretty rattled the entire time, I generally don't do nerves but for some reason I was so eager to please this evening. The guys played well but I didn't play as well as I wanted to and there are some adjustments that need to be made to the set but all in all the people seemed to like it and that's all that matters in the end. I know things in Toledo will be even better tomorrow.
We saw some great bands and headed back to the hotel. A flurry of txt messages and leftover thai food was followed by me passing out. Toledo's tomorrow...we're gonna rock it.
Chicago, Illinois
Back on the Road...the more I do this the more unencumbered I feel. The less I'm concerned with happenings back home, don't get me wrong I still have business to take care of back in Philadelphia, but that's the only thing I'm concerned with these days. What I mean by happenings is the drama that I often subject myself to at home. I was able to avoid a lot of it by spending time with Nikki and Aydan last week followed by a great time at The Plateau Jam. Home for a little over a day to do Philly Rising and then yesterday we were headed towards Chicago. It was quite the long ride to the hotel We pull in and get some much needed rest.
Today was a very big day. First Boy Wonder gig ever in Chicago (I had been here previously with Bang Camaro at the Double Door), first night of the tour, first night playing the tunes from Animated, I'd been nervous for pretty much the entire day. We decided to get up early and see the city, I had originally bitched and moaned about going out last night, but after a good nights rest I was up to spending some time with the guys and seeing a city I missed out on last year. We'd planned to meet up with our friend Ed who was going to give us a tour of the media arts school he works at. It took a lil bit to park but it was worth it, it was a pretty awesome facility. We went back to the lot, grabbed the van and headed towards The Tonic Room.
The Venue was small, but it had an awesome vibe. We at at the Thai Place next door as we watched other bands and their fans come inside. Our people start to trickle in Ed and Lindsay, Kibra from Minneapolis surprised us with her buddy JaJa, and Sophia Dilberakis even showed up. Sophia's been an e-friend of mine for almost ten years (She, I, and a few others bonded over our love for a certain bass player/singer) so it was nice to finally meet her and chat face to face. The whole internet thing is kinda weird, in the sense that you meet these people and you have a connection with them, but you've never actually met. But we chatted and laughed just like we did on-line, it was really really cool.
We spent some time talking to our friends and then at 8:30 we hit the stage. I say hello Chicago and then we're off to the races
Set List
Ex-Girlfriend
Get Me To California
Wasn't Supposed to Be This Way
God May Forgive You But I Never Will
Psycho
Surrender
Feels So Good
Sexy Machine
I Don't Dance
Encore
Walking on The Moon
I was pretty rattled the entire time, I generally don't do nerves but for some reason I was so eager to please this evening. The guys played well but I didn't play as well as I wanted to and there are some adjustments that need to be made to the set but all in all the people seemed to like it and that's all that matters in the end. I know things in Toledo will be even better tomorrow.
We saw some great bands and headed back to the hotel. A flurry of txt messages and leftover thai food was followed by me passing out. Toledo's tomorrow...we're gonna rock it.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 264
Year Two – Day 105 – June 21st 2010
Mastering Session
I take a train to Frankfort, get in Joe's car and we ride to Blue Bell. We listen to the mixes on the way up and he plays me some City Line Stuff. It's funny how a relationship can shift just by spending time with someone. It's even funnier when someone is exactly who you thought they were when you first met them. You never know what sort of effect a person is going to have on your life when you first meet them, God reveals that to you with the passage of time. This guy opened up a creative door that I didn't even know was in the room and finally I got the right person to make the record I always wanted to make.
Today we were mastering the record. I don't know much about the mastering process, the guys who are going to do it, or where the hell we are in fact going. But for the first time in this entire process I'm putting my faith in Joe and not even questioning it. He's been right 99% of the time throughout the entire recording process (I did win one acoustic guitar battle) so I figure why fight it in my head or out loud.
We pull into a house. An older lady answers the door and so does a strange looking dog (I would find out later it was a poodle owned by the mastering engineer, he basically didn't do the punk ass poodle haircut on his dog...a thing I respect) she tells me and Joe that the guys are downstairs.
We walk downstairs and into a very impressive recording studio. It's not very fancy but there's something about the room that let's you know that it gets a good sound and that if the walls could talk they'd tell you some very interesting stories.
I meet two guys named Paul they will be taking care of my record today. Joe has to work so he departs not soon after they begin. I sit for a while and it wouldn't be long till I start asking questions. This is the first mastering session I've ever sat in on and I'm curious about what actually happens. The general thing people say is that they just make it louder, but even I can see there's so much more than that. Paul starts talking to me about equalization, compression, limiting, noise reduction among other things...my eyes glaze over as I don't have a clue what he's talking about. All I know is that the songs sound better then they did before and that they are working to establish a sonic consistency so that everything sounds like it came from the same guy.
They're super cool guys. We chat about music and life stuff, I realize that they are the guys from Get The Led Out, this super cool Zeppelin Tribute band that Andrew Lipke plays in, I laugh at how small the world is. I'm flattered by the compliments they give me as we go through the songs. I'm even more flattered when they compliment everyone else. Musician's of this caliber and school confirm what I've been saying in my brain for the past few weeks, this is the best stuff I've ever recorded.
Six hours later my record is finished, ready to be duplicated I write two checks and am out the door.
I take the train into the city and go straight to Philly Rising.
It took six months to finish Superego. So to have a finished album in three weeks is really an amazing feeling.
Mastering Session
I take a train to Frankfort, get in Joe's car and we ride to Blue Bell. We listen to the mixes on the way up and he plays me some City Line Stuff. It's funny how a relationship can shift just by spending time with someone. It's even funnier when someone is exactly who you thought they were when you first met them. You never know what sort of effect a person is going to have on your life when you first meet them, God reveals that to you with the passage of time. This guy opened up a creative door that I didn't even know was in the room and finally I got the right person to make the record I always wanted to make.
Today we were mastering the record. I don't know much about the mastering process, the guys who are going to do it, or where the hell we are in fact going. But for the first time in this entire process I'm putting my faith in Joe and not even questioning it. He's been right 99% of the time throughout the entire recording process (I did win one acoustic guitar battle) so I figure why fight it in my head or out loud.
We pull into a house. An older lady answers the door and so does a strange looking dog (I would find out later it was a poodle owned by the mastering engineer, he basically didn't do the punk ass poodle haircut on his dog...a thing I respect) she tells me and Joe that the guys are downstairs.
We walk downstairs and into a very impressive recording studio. It's not very fancy but there's something about the room that let's you know that it gets a good sound and that if the walls could talk they'd tell you some very interesting stories.
I meet two guys named Paul they will be taking care of my record today. Joe has to work so he departs not soon after they begin. I sit for a while and it wouldn't be long till I start asking questions. This is the first mastering session I've ever sat in on and I'm curious about what actually happens. The general thing people say is that they just make it louder, but even I can see there's so much more than that. Paul starts talking to me about equalization, compression, limiting, noise reduction among other things...my eyes glaze over as I don't have a clue what he's talking about. All I know is that the songs sound better then they did before and that they are working to establish a sonic consistency so that everything sounds like it came from the same guy.
They're super cool guys. We chat about music and life stuff, I realize that they are the guys from Get The Led Out, this super cool Zeppelin Tribute band that Andrew Lipke plays in, I laugh at how small the world is. I'm flattered by the compliments they give me as we go through the songs. I'm even more flattered when they compliment everyone else. Musician's of this caliber and school confirm what I've been saying in my brain for the past few weeks, this is the best stuff I've ever recorded.
Six hours later my record is finished, ready to be duplicated I write two checks and am out the door.
I take the train into the city and go straight to Philly Rising.
It took six months to finish Superego. So to have a finished album in three weeks is really an amazing feeling.
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 263
Year Two Day 99 – June 15th 2010
Sixth Day in The Studio
It's really funny. As independent and “the guy who calls the shots” as I claim to be (and am more often than not) I felt a little strange that I'd be spending the majority of the final day of tracking for the new album without Joe there. Every producer is different and plays a different role when making an album and different artists require different things. Whereas Angie took a more passive approach producing Superego lending a more big picture vision and allowing me to figure out how best to execute it, Joe micromanages just about everything. He has a specific idea about how things should sound from the bass knob on the guitar to the proper shaker used on a song to the lead vocal. I decided that I was just going to trust him and it was a little like mommy dropping you off for preschool. He'd been holding my hand through the process.
But with Brian from Range Standing in I was sure things would be just fine and quickly settled in to get the work done that we needed to get done. The plan; go through each song one by one and do the leads and the backgrounds. For the first time since I've been making records I'm singing all of the background vocals as well as the leads. I've always been fascinated by using voices other than my own when doing recordings. I figure that's what you'd hear at a concert so it's best to hear on a record. Often when I'd bring this up Joe would go “Oh, I see this more as a...You kinda record” I imagined people like Michael Jackson or Sting stacking their voices on top of each other making that big sweet vocal sound.
I got a chance to take a lil breather as Today was also collab day. There are three musicians on this new record other than Jake and Rob and Two were coming in today.
If there's one thing I've carried over from my days in film school it's casting. When I was making movies in high school and college (and even beyond) I always tended to cast a person who's look and personality was closest to the role as opposed to casting a super talented actor who would have had to work harder to create the reality and exist in the world of the movie. There are some skilled people out there but if they're not right for the role it doesn't work. Same with music. You have to look at the tune itself and put the right person in a kind of position that allows them to shine. Otherwise your record's gonna sound like crap.
Bob Beach was in at 1:10 to lay down some harmonica on one of the record's blusier numbers, At 1:25 he had finished. The man is a phenomenal musician and an even better human being. I think we spent more time chatting about music and life then he did actually laying down his track. I know a few other guys that play harmonica, but they never get called because Bob always seems to know exactly what to do. I wanted the song to capture the chaos that comes with certain kinds of...ahem romantic issues how certain events can really turn into a tornado that turns your life upside down, I had gotten the pain part down but Bob was really the one that brought the ruckus. I'm really proud of the track Bob bounces and I get back to work. Getting these harmonies right is a lot tougher than I thought. Maybe I'll be nicer to singers when they come in to do backgrounds...lol
Joe rolled in around 4. He listened to the songs I had worked on with Brian. He surprisingly hears Bob's Harmonica
Joe: What?!
Me: What?
Joe: Did Bob Beach Come In?
Me: Yeah
Joe: How long was he here for?
Me: 15 Minutes
Joe: That's Nuts
We did some patchwork on some of the vocals as Katherine Mundy walks into the room with her guy Kent. Probably the most normal couple I've ever met.
Kat has a quiet confidence, behind quite a few layers of modesty I always get a sense that she knows that she can handle anything that's thrown at her. I don't generally ask a whole lot of people anyway because the music's never that complex. Did I mention she's one of the most talented pure singers I've ever met, a pure clear tone with just enough blues to make it interesting. This is the second time she's done background vocals for me (she did quite a bit of work on Superego) probably because out of all of the female vocalists that I've encountered her voice is the closest to mine. She's done her homework and is prepared to lay down the vocals when she walks in the room which is so important (not knowing what you're doing in the studio wastes time and money) 30 minutes later she's finished. Her vocal makes the track sparkle, like Andy Summers always did with Sting.
Kat bounces and we go through everything just to make sure we're satisfied. This is the last day of tracking and Joe is going to mix the record this week. Six days in the studio and I'm done tracking . By Monday we master. Should be awesome.
Sixth Day in The Studio
It's really funny. As independent and “the guy who calls the shots” as I claim to be (and am more often than not) I felt a little strange that I'd be spending the majority of the final day of tracking for the new album without Joe there. Every producer is different and plays a different role when making an album and different artists require different things. Whereas Angie took a more passive approach producing Superego lending a more big picture vision and allowing me to figure out how best to execute it, Joe micromanages just about everything. He has a specific idea about how things should sound from the bass knob on the guitar to the proper shaker used on a song to the lead vocal. I decided that I was just going to trust him and it was a little like mommy dropping you off for preschool. He'd been holding my hand through the process.
But with Brian from Range Standing in I was sure things would be just fine and quickly settled in to get the work done that we needed to get done. The plan; go through each song one by one and do the leads and the backgrounds. For the first time since I've been making records I'm singing all of the background vocals as well as the leads. I've always been fascinated by using voices other than my own when doing recordings. I figure that's what you'd hear at a concert so it's best to hear on a record. Often when I'd bring this up Joe would go “Oh, I see this more as a...You kinda record” I imagined people like Michael Jackson or Sting stacking their voices on top of each other making that big sweet vocal sound.
I got a chance to take a lil breather as Today was also collab day. There are three musicians on this new record other than Jake and Rob and Two were coming in today.
If there's one thing I've carried over from my days in film school it's casting. When I was making movies in high school and college (and even beyond) I always tended to cast a person who's look and personality was closest to the role as opposed to casting a super talented actor who would have had to work harder to create the reality and exist in the world of the movie. There are some skilled people out there but if they're not right for the role it doesn't work. Same with music. You have to look at the tune itself and put the right person in a kind of position that allows them to shine. Otherwise your record's gonna sound like crap.
Bob Beach was in at 1:10 to lay down some harmonica on one of the record's blusier numbers, At 1:25 he had finished. The man is a phenomenal musician and an even better human being. I think we spent more time chatting about music and life then he did actually laying down his track. I know a few other guys that play harmonica, but they never get called because Bob always seems to know exactly what to do. I wanted the song to capture the chaos that comes with certain kinds of...ahem romantic issues how certain events can really turn into a tornado that turns your life upside down, I had gotten the pain part down but Bob was really the one that brought the ruckus. I'm really proud of the track Bob bounces and I get back to work. Getting these harmonies right is a lot tougher than I thought. Maybe I'll be nicer to singers when they come in to do backgrounds...lol
Joe rolled in around 4. He listened to the songs I had worked on with Brian. He surprisingly hears Bob's Harmonica
Joe: What?!
Me: What?
Joe: Did Bob Beach Come In?
Me: Yeah
Joe: How long was he here for?
Me: 15 Minutes
Joe: That's Nuts
We did some patchwork on some of the vocals as Katherine Mundy walks into the room with her guy Kent. Probably the most normal couple I've ever met.
Kat has a quiet confidence, behind quite a few layers of modesty I always get a sense that she knows that she can handle anything that's thrown at her. I don't generally ask a whole lot of people anyway because the music's never that complex. Did I mention she's one of the most talented pure singers I've ever met, a pure clear tone with just enough blues to make it interesting. This is the second time she's done background vocals for me (she did quite a bit of work on Superego) probably because out of all of the female vocalists that I've encountered her voice is the closest to mine. She's done her homework and is prepared to lay down the vocals when she walks in the room which is so important (not knowing what you're doing in the studio wastes time and money) 30 minutes later she's finished. Her vocal makes the track sparkle, like Andy Summers always did with Sting.
Kat bounces and we go through everything just to make sure we're satisfied. This is the last day of tracking and Joe is going to mix the record this week. Six days in the studio and I'm done tracking . By Monday we master. Should be awesome.
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 262
Year Two Day 98 – June 14th 2010
Fifth Day In The Studio
This has been an extremely intense process as we try to get everything done we need to get done to put the record out by July 2nd. The agenda today? Acoustic Guitar Stuff Mostly, likely some electric stuff as well along with vocals, which would eat up most of the day.
One of the main differences between this record and the ones proceeding it will most definitely be the way guitars have been used. Joe has a way of blending acoustic and electric guitars that I'd never even thought of, stuff that people actually do on records, as a player I would've never even attempted to do stuff like what I'm doing now...which is why Joe got the job.
As the songs build from layering guitars I notice this is probably the most acoustic guitar I've used on a record since my first. I often don't think of all the people that see me playing solo acoustic at Philly Rising Every Monday, to those folks that's all I do. I've been running away from that aspect of what I do for quite some time on record and it's cool that Joe's kinda saying uh this is a part of your overall game and we need to showcase it.
After laying down all the guitars we needed we went to a Whole Foods, got some throat coat tea and went to work.
We have finally arrived at the place where I'm most confident. I'm usually a nervous wreck when it comes to writing songs and playing guitar but I've been singing for almost 25 years. I'm at ease because I know exactly what needs to be done and exactly what it's going to take to do it. Singing full time has forced me to hone my instrument and now I can pull things from my body that I wasn't able to the last time around (Thank You Bang Camaro). It is here when I can become difficult to work with because in my mind if we're doing MY material nobody's gonna tell me how to sing it.
This part of it is less dramatic as Joe and I burn through the majority of the tunes. I'm trying to get as much done as humanly possible because Joe won't be here for most of the final session tomorrow and I'd rather get as much stuff done as possible with him here so that we have some sort of consensus as to how everything should sound. I'm excited about everything so far. The Music is taking the kid of direction I've always wanted it to take. This record is the record I've always wanted to make.
As the day came to a close I received two things I'd been waiting for. Album Artwork and Alex (of Bang Camaro and Township Fame)'s guitar solo's via email for one of the songs. Everything is phenomenal. Although getting the artwork exactly right is probably gonna take the rest of the evening.
I'm excited as we might actually make this July 2nd Release Date
Fifth Day In The Studio
This has been an extremely intense process as we try to get everything done we need to get done to put the record out by July 2nd. The agenda today? Acoustic Guitar Stuff Mostly, likely some electric stuff as well along with vocals, which would eat up most of the day.
One of the main differences between this record and the ones proceeding it will most definitely be the way guitars have been used. Joe has a way of blending acoustic and electric guitars that I'd never even thought of, stuff that people actually do on records, as a player I would've never even attempted to do stuff like what I'm doing now...which is why Joe got the job.
As the songs build from layering guitars I notice this is probably the most acoustic guitar I've used on a record since my first. I often don't think of all the people that see me playing solo acoustic at Philly Rising Every Monday, to those folks that's all I do. I've been running away from that aspect of what I do for quite some time on record and it's cool that Joe's kinda saying uh this is a part of your overall game and we need to showcase it.
After laying down all the guitars we needed we went to a Whole Foods, got some throat coat tea and went to work.
We have finally arrived at the place where I'm most confident. I'm usually a nervous wreck when it comes to writing songs and playing guitar but I've been singing for almost 25 years. I'm at ease because I know exactly what needs to be done and exactly what it's going to take to do it. Singing full time has forced me to hone my instrument and now I can pull things from my body that I wasn't able to the last time around (Thank You Bang Camaro). It is here when I can become difficult to work with because in my mind if we're doing MY material nobody's gonna tell me how to sing it.
This part of it is less dramatic as Joe and I burn through the majority of the tunes. I'm trying to get as much done as humanly possible because Joe won't be here for most of the final session tomorrow and I'd rather get as much stuff done as possible with him here so that we have some sort of consensus as to how everything should sound. I'm excited about everything so far. The Music is taking the kid of direction I've always wanted it to take. This record is the record I've always wanted to make.
As the day came to a close I received two things I'd been waiting for. Album Artwork and Alex (of Bang Camaro and Township Fame)'s guitar solo's via email for one of the songs. Everything is phenomenal. Although getting the artwork exactly right is probably gonna take the rest of the evening.
I'm excited as we might actually make this July 2nd Release Date
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 261
Year Two Day 96 – June 12th 2010
Fourth Day In The Studio
We roll in on a Saturday for a few hours of auxiliary percussion and possibly acoustic guitars. It was the first time during the making of a Boy Wonder album that one of the trio came back intot he studio after the initial recording sessions. Joe had ideas, the one thing I'm learning about Joe is that he always does. He wanted Rob to come in and throw some shakers, woodblocks, triangles etc. on a few of the tracks to round them out I guess. Not quite sure what he's up to, and part of me finds that oddly refreshing.
Rob and Joe both beat me there, not that I needed to be there for the session other than to approve or disapprove of something. They were already hard at work.
Lately I've been discovering that we're just scratching the surface of how good Rob in fact is. He like Jake is always surprising me. He's is now the longest standing drummer in the Boy Wonder band. He's got an energy and a modern feel that's really shaped the music since he's been here.
My sentimental thoughts are quickly squashed as I try to stop him and Joe from using wind chimes on one of the songs. They're probably joking but I'm not gonna take any chances, cause unless someone's gonna pay me large sums of money, I ain't usin wind chimes on any of my songs.
I'm learning how even the smallest of things (like which shaker to use) can really make or break what a song sounds like when you lay it down. We must have gone through a bunch of different things before settling on the right one. Crazy stuff.
Of course the time flew by and we didn't have time to do acoustic guitars. Fortunately we've got Monday and Tuesday to finish up
Fourth Day In The Studio
We roll in on a Saturday for a few hours of auxiliary percussion and possibly acoustic guitars. It was the first time during the making of a Boy Wonder album that one of the trio came back intot he studio after the initial recording sessions. Joe had ideas, the one thing I'm learning about Joe is that he always does. He wanted Rob to come in and throw some shakers, woodblocks, triangles etc. on a few of the tracks to round them out I guess. Not quite sure what he's up to, and part of me finds that oddly refreshing.
Rob and Joe both beat me there, not that I needed to be there for the session other than to approve or disapprove of something. They were already hard at work.
Lately I've been discovering that we're just scratching the surface of how good Rob in fact is. He like Jake is always surprising me. He's is now the longest standing drummer in the Boy Wonder band. He's got an energy and a modern feel that's really shaped the music since he's been here.
My sentimental thoughts are quickly squashed as I try to stop him and Joe from using wind chimes on one of the songs. They're probably joking but I'm not gonna take any chances, cause unless someone's gonna pay me large sums of money, I ain't usin wind chimes on any of my songs.
I'm learning how even the smallest of things (like which shaker to use) can really make or break what a song sounds like when you lay it down. We must have gone through a bunch of different things before settling on the right one. Crazy stuff.
Of course the time flew by and we didn't have time to do acoustic guitars. Fortunately we've got Monday and Tuesday to finish up
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 260
Year Two – Day 91 – June 7th 2010
Third Day In The Studio
Guitars, Guitars, and more Guitars
I was able to get myself and my gear a ride from pop dukes this morning. Today would be the day where the record would become a more solitary thing. The thrill of working with the band rarely lasts long in this process one maybe two days tops, we get their parts and they serve as the foundation of what will become a Boy Wonder album. We were super focused on making sure their parts sounded good so that I could come in today and add my guitar parts.
Oh have I mentioned that I'm trying to fast track this album to be released by my Downstairs Show at World Cafe Live on July 2nd ? Which means I will be dealing with other stuff today as well as it pertains to making the record. I met a young up and coming artist who is going to be doing some artwork for my new album cover, which means I need a title for the record soon. It's weird to be working on a bunch of aspects of this process at the same time, usually everything is more linear. But if I want to do this fast I don't have that option.
I get to the studio before Joe does and after a quick conversation with Marc Joe arrives and I'm ready to work. When it comes to being in the studio you have to drag me there kicking and screaming but once I'm there I love getting in there and working, especially on my stuff. You can get in there and just roll.
Joe's got a plethora of Guitars, Amps, and effects. You add those plus the things in the studio and the gear I brought you've got a lot of tools to play with which was good because it gave each song an opportunity to have it's own voice. I don't want them to sound too far apart, one of the knocks I've always gotten is that I hop around too much from genre to genre and this time around I'd like something at least a little more cohesive.
We started out by going through all the tunes that were gonna rock primarily on acoustic guitar since we weren't doing acoustic guitars today we were going to skip those and rock with the ones that were going to be half or all electric. We threw the amp heads on a table in the control room with the cab in the recording room and basically sat all day and searched to the right guitar sounds. We were going for wet and sparse mostly, like Andy Summers approach to the Police Songs. As usual I grumble to myself as I'm generally not open to new things when it comes to making records especially if I think a song sounds fine the way it is. But again I brought Joe in because I wanted his vision. I felt extremely apprehensive at first...but only at first. Once I saw past my nose I started to listen to what he was actually going for and as I nodded my head to the grooves I began to run his ideas through my filter and find my own voice.
After five hours of banging through most of these songs Joe decided that he needed a slice of his Ellios Pizza, I looked up and decided I also needed a slice of Joe's Ellios Pizza. We got one of the interns to preheat the oven for us (I f'n love Range) and we took a short break. I'm not really a fan of breaks when I'm paying by the hour but I did need to rest for a minute.
I'd also got word that Alex from Bang Camaro and Township had agreed to play on a song on the album. I was extremely excited about it, the second I heard the Camaro double guitar thing I often wondered how that would sound over one of my songs, not to mention Alex is just a beat on the axe and a helluva guy. I felt like I had a tune that fit the vibe perfectly.
The sun has set and the songs are really beginning to take shape. I'm extremely happy with everything that's happening so far even if I have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the finish line. As the day ends I get a first glimpse of the artwork for the album cover.
Third Day In The Studio
Guitars, Guitars, and more Guitars
I was able to get myself and my gear a ride from pop dukes this morning. Today would be the day where the record would become a more solitary thing. The thrill of working with the band rarely lasts long in this process one maybe two days tops, we get their parts and they serve as the foundation of what will become a Boy Wonder album. We were super focused on making sure their parts sounded good so that I could come in today and add my guitar parts.
Oh have I mentioned that I'm trying to fast track this album to be released by my Downstairs Show at World Cafe Live on July 2nd ? Which means I will be dealing with other stuff today as well as it pertains to making the record. I met a young up and coming artist who is going to be doing some artwork for my new album cover, which means I need a title for the record soon. It's weird to be working on a bunch of aspects of this process at the same time, usually everything is more linear. But if I want to do this fast I don't have that option.
I get to the studio before Joe does and after a quick conversation with Marc Joe arrives and I'm ready to work. When it comes to being in the studio you have to drag me there kicking and screaming but once I'm there I love getting in there and working, especially on my stuff. You can get in there and just roll.
Joe's got a plethora of Guitars, Amps, and effects. You add those plus the things in the studio and the gear I brought you've got a lot of tools to play with which was good because it gave each song an opportunity to have it's own voice. I don't want them to sound too far apart, one of the knocks I've always gotten is that I hop around too much from genre to genre and this time around I'd like something at least a little more cohesive.
We started out by going through all the tunes that were gonna rock primarily on acoustic guitar since we weren't doing acoustic guitars today we were going to skip those and rock with the ones that were going to be half or all electric. We threw the amp heads on a table in the control room with the cab in the recording room and basically sat all day and searched to the right guitar sounds. We were going for wet and sparse mostly, like Andy Summers approach to the Police Songs. As usual I grumble to myself as I'm generally not open to new things when it comes to making records especially if I think a song sounds fine the way it is. But again I brought Joe in because I wanted his vision. I felt extremely apprehensive at first...but only at first. Once I saw past my nose I started to listen to what he was actually going for and as I nodded my head to the grooves I began to run his ideas through my filter and find my own voice.
After five hours of banging through most of these songs Joe decided that he needed a slice of his Ellios Pizza, I looked up and decided I also needed a slice of Joe's Ellios Pizza. We got one of the interns to preheat the oven for us (I f'n love Range) and we took a short break. I'm not really a fan of breaks when I'm paying by the hour but I did need to rest for a minute.
I'd also got word that Alex from Bang Camaro and Township had agreed to play on a song on the album. I was extremely excited about it, the second I heard the Camaro double guitar thing I often wondered how that would sound over one of my songs, not to mention Alex is just a beat on the axe and a helluva guy. I felt like I had a tune that fit the vibe perfectly.
The sun has set and the songs are really beginning to take shape. I'm extremely happy with everything that's happening so far even if I have to be dragged kicking and screaming to the finish line. As the day ends I get a first glimpse of the artwork for the album cover.
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 259
Year Two – Day 88 – June 5th 2010
Second Day in the Studio
In my head I figured that today would be easier since everything was left here set up from Thursday's session. I was right.
Joe and I are still each other out, I'm beginning understanding the way Joe likes to work and the sounds he wants to go for. There will be a push and pull as the days progress, because I have my own ideas and vision as well for the project. The self imposed deadline won't give us time to argue these things out. I've decided to put myself in his hands and see what we have when we're done.
Today we finished up the rest of the bass and drum tracks for the songs. I am blown away by the growth of Jake and Rob. As I take this music in a slightly different direction they're there, they're game, they're used to it.
We worked on more of the heavier stuff tonight. I often wonder if this is the right move for me, if taking the music in a more rock and roll direction is a good idea considering all the in roads I've made in certain circles more focused on funk and soul music. I remind myself that I got into this because I wanted to make rock music and finally I'm going in a direction more in tune with what I wanted when I first went on my journey.
We were done in about four hours the foundation for the songs is laid down and over the next few days I'll add my guitars and my voice to seal the deal. I brace myself cause I'm almost certain Joe has different plans than I do.
Second Day in the Studio
In my head I figured that today would be easier since everything was left here set up from Thursday's session. I was right.
Joe and I are still each other out, I'm beginning understanding the way Joe likes to work and the sounds he wants to go for. There will be a push and pull as the days progress, because I have my own ideas and vision as well for the project. The self imposed deadline won't give us time to argue these things out. I've decided to put myself in his hands and see what we have when we're done.
Today we finished up the rest of the bass and drum tracks for the songs. I am blown away by the growth of Jake and Rob. As I take this music in a slightly different direction they're there, they're game, they're used to it.
We worked on more of the heavier stuff tonight. I often wonder if this is the right move for me, if taking the music in a more rock and roll direction is a good idea considering all the in roads I've made in certain circles more focused on funk and soul music. I remind myself that I got into this because I wanted to make rock music and finally I'm going in a direction more in tune with what I wanted when I first went on my journey.
We were done in about four hours the foundation for the songs is laid down and over the next few days I'll add my guitars and my voice to seal the deal. I brace myself cause I'm almost certain Joe has different plans than I do.
Boy Wonder: Professional Musician 258
Year Two Day 86 – June 3rd 2010
Today is the first day of the sessions for the new Boy Wonder album.
As I rode the bus to the studio I thought of how much had changed in the two years plus since I went in the studio to record what would become Superego. I had a 9-5 job and had just taken over Philly Rising, I was booking at The Mansion and had just taken a residency at a Place called Lickety Split. Jake and Rob were my unit Rob had been with me maybe less than a year. I wasn't terribly sure of myself, all I knew was that these songs were good and if I did them right I might be able to sell more records than I had previously. I had given up on local media giving a crap about my work I just wanted to make a good record.
I'd done that bus ride a million times before it was only when I walked up to the studio I realized that two years had passed. I'd taken the work I'd done here previously and used it to showcase myself all over the country. I played my first downstairs show at World Cafe Live six weeks after the album came out. Songs from the album were what I showcased to Bang Camaro and the rest is history. Superego had outsold all of my previous records combined, was the first of my records played on the radio, the first time people danced to my music, I won an award for one of the songs (it was local but you know what I mean) there's an audience now albeit a small one, so following up something like that can be a little intimidating.
Fortunately I have enough of what worked last time to make me comfortable. Jake and Rob are the Rhythm Section, I'm back at Range Recording Studios, I've got my gear, and a few songs that I like in my back pocket. I was running late, Jake was there when I arrived as we waited on Rob and Joe to show up. I go to grab a six pack as Joe walks into the studio.
Joe Bisirri, the producer/engineer for this particular project. Skinny guy mad scientist type. Primarily I know him from beign the bassist for one of my favorite local bands City Line. As I got to know him I learned he was producing their stuff and he'd really whipped them into shape. He'd done some work with Mat Duke and John Legend so I figured someone with that broad a body of work would know what to do with me. We've had a few meetings prior to this session. He's heard the tunes and he has a bunch of stuff in a box, mics and stuff and as Rob arrives he uses the next two hours setting up drums. I'm a little anxious, cause I'm paying by the hour but he's assuring me it will be worth it.
Two hours pass and we begin to lay down tracks the way we did it before the three of us in a room playing some music. One thing was extremely apparent as the sessions progressed...that Joe wasn't gonna let anything just slide by. Didn't matter how long it took we were gonna get good takes. Also we're gonna be relaying down guitars. I do prefer the sound of the three pieces playing together but making this record is going to be about stretching and doing stuff I hadn't done previously which is what it should always be about.
Fast forward 8 hours later we got exactly half of what we needed. We're behind where I'd like us to be but the stuff sounds awesome
Today is the first day of the sessions for the new Boy Wonder album.
As I rode the bus to the studio I thought of how much had changed in the two years plus since I went in the studio to record what would become Superego. I had a 9-5 job and had just taken over Philly Rising, I was booking at The Mansion and had just taken a residency at a Place called Lickety Split. Jake and Rob were my unit Rob had been with me maybe less than a year. I wasn't terribly sure of myself, all I knew was that these songs were good and if I did them right I might be able to sell more records than I had previously. I had given up on local media giving a crap about my work I just wanted to make a good record.
I'd done that bus ride a million times before it was only when I walked up to the studio I realized that two years had passed. I'd taken the work I'd done here previously and used it to showcase myself all over the country. I played my first downstairs show at World Cafe Live six weeks after the album came out. Songs from the album were what I showcased to Bang Camaro and the rest is history. Superego had outsold all of my previous records combined, was the first of my records played on the radio, the first time people danced to my music, I won an award for one of the songs (it was local but you know what I mean) there's an audience now albeit a small one, so following up something like that can be a little intimidating.
Fortunately I have enough of what worked last time to make me comfortable. Jake and Rob are the Rhythm Section, I'm back at Range Recording Studios, I've got my gear, and a few songs that I like in my back pocket. I was running late, Jake was there when I arrived as we waited on Rob and Joe to show up. I go to grab a six pack as Joe walks into the studio.
Joe Bisirri, the producer/engineer for this particular project. Skinny guy mad scientist type. Primarily I know him from beign the bassist for one of my favorite local bands City Line. As I got to know him I learned he was producing their stuff and he'd really whipped them into shape. He'd done some work with Mat Duke and John Legend so I figured someone with that broad a body of work would know what to do with me. We've had a few meetings prior to this session. He's heard the tunes and he has a bunch of stuff in a box, mics and stuff and as Rob arrives he uses the next two hours setting up drums. I'm a little anxious, cause I'm paying by the hour but he's assuring me it will be worth it.
Two hours pass and we begin to lay down tracks the way we did it before the three of us in a room playing some music. One thing was extremely apparent as the sessions progressed...that Joe wasn't gonna let anything just slide by. Didn't matter how long it took we were gonna get good takes. Also we're gonna be relaying down guitars. I do prefer the sound of the three pieces playing together but making this record is going to be about stretching and doing stuff I hadn't done previously which is what it should always be about.
Fast forward 8 hours later we got exactly half of what we needed. We're behind where I'd like us to be but the stuff sounds awesome
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