For many, 2009 was indeed the year of survival. Jobs were lost, business slow or non-existent, health care a bloody mess.
I’ve always told my kids that challenges, mistakes and accidents are there for us to learn from; so I wondered, “what have I learned from 2009?”
We all make mistakes, it’s just human nature. Here are a few I’ve made and the hard earned lessons they taught me. I hated living through each one of these, but freely admit that they’ve made me better at my job, and hopefully a better person too.
5. When introduced to the artist’s wife, don’t say “Sorry I didn’t get to meet you when you dropped (the artist) off here last week.”
Who wants to work in game audio? Well, I do.
Game audio (every sound and musical element in a video game) has grown exponentially from its humble beginnings just a couple of short decades ago. It has become the area of the audio industry that is most driving technological innovation, consumer electronics development and attracting some of the most talented people working in audio today.
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Mayer Hawthorne, one man band
by Dan Rudin
Just 29 years old, and playing every instrument on his album, Mayer Hawthorne is undeniably a bad-ass. His songs and (self produced) production style sound so close to 60’s soul that it’s hard to believe that this record has only been out for a month. His vocal tone reminds me of early Elvis Costello, but his tracks are pure Smoky Robinson.
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I’ve always loved Sesame Street. Television for children written by smart people. Clever songs by the likes of Bud Lucky and Waylon Jennings. One of my favorite clients (and mentors), Buryl Red, produced the original theme song…. that makes him royalty to me.
So, as this year is the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street, I find this Jimmy Kimmel clip sorely appropriate.
Abuse of Youtube. You do have to wait for the top octave though.
Here are some questions that I am often asked with, I hope, some helpful answers….
What do you do?
As a producer, I help the artist or songwriter decide how to record a performance of a song in a way that best fits their vision of what the song should be. This ranges from helping to choose which songs to perform or in what style to do a particular song, to hiring the best musicians and studio for the particular job. I book studio time, musicians, and engineers (if not myself), rehearse the band if needed, and guide the vocalists and instrumentalists through their performances to make professional recordings.
Last spring I hosted a producer’s round table discussion about drum recording for Drum magazine. The feature article, written by Glen Caruba, is in the July 2009 edition (with Chad Smith on the cover). Richard Dodd, Reid Shippen, Denny Jiosa and myself answered Glen’s questions about our drum session experiences, recording techniques and trade secrets.
If you have the chance to see it, it’s a fun read. Along with the brilliance of Richard, Reid and Denny, Glen really captured the spirit of the discussion (including us frequently interrupting each other) here at my studio. Check it out!
For as long as I can remember, being signed to a major label was the only way to get good, high-profile commercial radio play. For indie artists the quest for radio airplay often still leads them backwards toward the broken model of “the major label deal”, thinking that this is their only path to big time recognition.
I’ve had a lot of conversations with friends and clients about this (I think it’s an important subject for anyone trying to keep a career in music) and was putting some ideas together for a post, when I came across this excellent blog post on cdbaby (their new site looks great, by the way) about this very thing, and I think it’s full of great insights. This is a must-read for anyone trying to be heard.
diymusician.cdbaby.com/2009/07/radio-promotion-why-you-wont-get-commercial-airplay/
