The Dan Workman Studio Log

Alicia, Mike and Dan

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 17:41:00 PST

Alicia--smiling because we're done!

More snare than the law allows.

I've written about Alicia Gianni's sessions before, but today was special in that it was just Mike Whitebread, Alicia and I. We were slated to record gorilla warfare style in my office, but a suddenly empty Studio B was too great a temptation. We originally rehearsed and arranged all of her songs for the EP, as just a trio. Our previous session featured some notable players, but for the song, To My Surprise, we were going to do it as a stripped down trio with Alicia on keys (rhodes), Mike on snare with brushes, and me playing Casio SK-1 in the control room while I engineered. We're all producing this together, and we agreed that a minimal approach would be ideal.

When we set up, we used the newly renovated Neumann U-67 on vocals. Alicia and Mike noticed how open and beautiful her vocals sounded. I was thinking "keeper vocals!!!!" but wisely, I kept my mouth shut. We cut about 4 full versions of the song, and kept the second. We made one edit to cover a boffed chord, and we were done! When I suggested to Alicia that we keep the vocals, she was taken aback, but Mike and I assured her that we would never get such a locked down and amazing performance in the future. We did one minimal overdub of some bell sounds. I can't wait to share the song,.... it's my favorite so far in a set of really awesome songs.

All About, well,.... uh, Me.

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:16:00 PST

My Partner in Many Endeavors, W. Ross Wells, is one hell of a filmmaker. He recently made short documentaries on some interesting people about town for Comcast. He knocked it out of the park. And....., he did one on me.

Ross knows me. Being a smartish, movie and book-wise musician production guy of a similar age, we get along. So Ross asked me if I wanted to be one of the subjects, and I said yes because I knew he would challenge me, and maybe tease some new truths about me to the surface. Which he did.

The piece is about 6 minutes long, so take a moment and watch. If you like it, please let Ross know (the link on 'Wells' is his FB page.

Thanks, Ross. Good work. I love you.
D

SugarHill article by Cynthia Greenwood

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:58:00 PST

Cynthia Greenwood is as charming as she is a good writer. When she came by the studio, she was surprised to find Shakespeare on my desk. She told me that she wrote The Idiot's Guide to Shakespeare. She offered to give me a copy, but the only one she had was already inscribed to someone else. I convinced her to cross out the inscriptiee's name and write mine in instead. Sort of 'inscription performance art'. To her credit, she totally got into the spirit of the prank and signed it over to me. I love it.

More important is her great treatment of the story of SugarHill. Check it out, and check out her other writing on the web.

Savannah Berry

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:56:00 PST

I've been lucky in that I've worked with many of the artists in Houston/Texas that have made it nationally, or who were on their way up. Today, I worked for the first time with a young country chanteuse who is already on her way up: Savannah Berry. Savannah has been working with Nashville producer/writer Zac Malloy. She needed to recut/remix one song off of her EP and I was tapped by her manager, Randy Miller for the job.

Even though Savannah is young, she was the consummate pro in our session today. She was able to hang through a fun-but-fast, intense vocal session this afternoon. In a few hours we nailed a really great set of tracks for her & Zac's song, Don't You Dare. I'll be editing and mixing over the weekend and I'm looking forward to hearing the final result. I'm grateful to be working with such an awesome young lady and such an experienced production team. One of the benefits of this gig is getting to mix some solid contemporary country music. I'm studying up on the latest releases of female country stars--Miranda, Lambert, Martina McBride, Carrie Underwood and LeAnn Rimes (who's Grammy nominated CD, 'Lady and Gentleman' was produced by my NARAS colleague, Darrell Brown). Mixing a heavy genre song puts me in the position of really needing to deliver the goods in a way that sounds right to the guys that work so hard in country music all of the time. However, I do have an ace in the hole,.... Chuck Ainlay is a friend and colleague on the Steering Committee of the Producer's and Engineer's Wing of The Recording Academy, and he's offered to help me with quality control. It's really nice to be able to go to the very top for some mentoring (thanks, Chuck!).

Since I'm talking about Nashville, I'll mention that it looks like my brother Tom and I are going to be headed out to the CMA Festival in the first week of June this summer. Not only are we going to hang with the luminaries, we are going to get the insider's tour of The Grand Ole Opry. I wonder if I'll get to meet Miranda Lambert? Or Reba? Or Loretta Lynn? I don't work in this world often, so it's going to be a blast to come up to speed as a fan with a few contacts. I'm sure I'll write and post about it as it occurs.

Finally, I would like to take a moment and acknowledge that this post is FILLED TO THE BRIM WITH SHAMELESS NAME DROPPING AND THINLY VEILED 'LOOK AT ME--I'M COOL!' inferences. Those of you that know me well, know that's not my usual M.O. Those that don't, won't find too many examples of this type of crowing from me. But it is fun to hang it out there every once in a while. :)

More Recording Than Ever Before--Bob Lefsetz' New Pair of Glasses

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:35:00 PST

From Bob Lefsetz' blog, The Lefsetz Letter.
Bob's always provocative, but I do find that I often agree with him. In this case, he talks about how there is more recording going on now than ever before--a fact that would be easy to miss if you only listened to the major labels. To Wit:

Spotify link: http://spoti.fi/A0naLO

"we've grown accustomed to treating 'the music industry' as synonymous with a handful of large recording companies."

http://onforb.es/yeNuId

That's from Timothy B. Lee's report about Mike Masnick's Midem presentation: http://bit.ly/yBeHHh

We need new glasses. Imagine if all you had were reading specs. You wouldn't be able to see far away, you'd be oblivious to the big picture.

That's what's happened in music. Since the four soon to be three major labels have been complaining, as well as the stars their machine built, conventional wisdom is that music is screwed, going down the drain. But more people are recording than ever before and it's easier to hear their music and more ways to pay them if people like it.

I heard this Kila track, "Electric Landlady", on Sirius XM's Spectrum last night. Now Sirius XM is a service that not only charges listeners, but pays copyright holders and performers. That's all good. But without Spotify, without YouTube, that track would have gone into the ether, I probably never would have heard it again.

I'd never heard of the act, never mind the track, but I liked it.

I typed the title on my hand-set, sent myself an e-mail and just checked out the cut on Spotify, then looked up the band on Wikipedia.

It was all news to me.

And it ain't exactly rock and roll, but I like it. And I've played "Electric Landlady" five times already on Spotify.

Today, it's easy to spread the word. Sure, there's more information than ever, but with so many people listening, a certain amount rises up. Maybe not to the top, but to the point where the creators can get paid. Maybe not as much as in yesteryear, but in the old days those stars were the only ones getting paid. Now the wealth is shared.

Furthermore, read this article from the "Financial Times": http://on.ft.com/wiuNBl

Spotify conversion is going up.

Only one online music service will win. And Spotify has traction and now apps, which should not be underestimated, they could kill Pandora.

But now when you can check out everything you're not going to listen to the same spoon-fed stuff over and over again.

Kila is never going to be on Top Forty radio. It's never going to be a priority at Sony. But "Electric Landlady" is damn good.

YouTube link: http://bit.ly/wvUL55

--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/

Grammy 2012 Houston Viewing Party at Music World's House of Dereon

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:07:00 PST

The Grammy Viewing Party is always great fun and an awesome networking opportunity. The party is hosted by different cities in Texas, and this year is Houston's turn. The price of admission includes light food, drink and a smile booth! Put your bling on and style it on over to Beyonce's local office and have a blast watching, cheering (and booing, if you like! :).

SOPA: The Unasked Question

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 07:59:00 PST

SOPA and PIPPA. The argument this week has been that the law as proposed would be too draconian. That companies and individuals could be in violation of the law if they link or host unlicensed digital information without permission. I get it. It's so damn easy to link to a picture that you don't own (don't look too close at my blog!), or to download a movie or song or book or whatever that you did not pay for. And who wants Little Johnny to be cuffed and whisked off to the pokey for his unauthorized Justin Bieber collection?

My question, or maybe it's just a 'counter-observation', is that if a 'legitimate' brick and mortar business is also knowingly selling stolen goods, or laundering money, that business is subject to being shut down, and it's owner's are subject to prosecution. I'm not aware of anyone that argues the point that that law is draconian. So what's the difference? Since I'm all verklempt, please discuss it amongst yourselves...

Call to Action: The Greater Houston Entertainment Alliance

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 12:37:00 PST

The Greater Houston Entertainment Alliance,
a 501(c)(6) Organization
a Proposal to the Houston Entertainment Community by
Steve Bundrick,
Founder of the Houston Coalition of Venues, Sound Engineers, Bands and DJ’s and
JP Singh, Oaks, Hartline & Daly, LLP
Houston is a leading American city that has given rise to a thriving entertainment industry and community whose time has come. As demonstrated recently in the context of the noise ordnance issue, the Houston entertainment community, despite its size and strength, lacks an organization and unified voice to protect and promote its interests. We propose that the Greater Houston area entertainment community take action now and organize as the Greater Houston Entertainment Alliance to ensure that the unique interests of our entertainment community are served. Below is some important information regarding the Greater Houston Entertainment Alliance. We hope to have your involvement and support as we move forward!
Mission Statement
The mission of the Greater Houston Entertainment Alliance will be to preserve, protect and promote the entertainment industry, culture, and community of the Greater Houston area and to enhance the opportunities, operations, communication, education and business related thereto through community involvement, cooperation, and communication.
Organization
The Greater Houston Entertainment Alliance will be organized as a 501(c)(6) tax-exempt non-profit organization. The organization will be governed by a board of directors composed of six to twelve members of the Houston entertainment community. Membership in the organization will be open to everyone interested in promoting its mission, and membership levels will be divided into individual, professional and business categories.
Activities
Proposed activities include the following:
• Providing educational information, events, and resources for the Greater Houston entertainment community to help it grow, expand and thrive;
• Working with all levels of the government to advance the Greater Houston entertainment community’s interests;

Helping create and administer formal and informal standards and procedures related to entertainment operations in the Houston area and disputes arising related thereto; and,
Promoting the entertainment industry as a valuable cultural and economic component of the Greater Houston area.
Now, we need you...
We need the support and involvement of everyone in the Greater Houston area entertainment community to make this vision become a reality. Whether you are a fan, an artist, an industry professional, or a venue owner, our community is strong and thriving because you are a part of it. The Greater Houston Entertainment Alliance will only be as strong and beneficial as we make it!
For more information, e-mail: TGHEAInfo@gmail.com
The Greater Houston area entertainment community needs a voice!
Support the Greater Houston Entertainment Alliance as we move forward to preserve, protect and promote the community that we all love!

Re-Print from The Lefsetz Letter on Production Values

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 06:03:00 PST

I really enjoy reading Bob Lefsetz' industry blog. Bob's style and opinions are an acquired taste, but his passion for music and music makers is unquestionable. In this morning's post, there was a response to Bob's mention of Stevie Wonder's famous 'trilogy' of hit records: 'Innervisions', 'Music of My Mind' and 'Talking Book'. The response was written by producer, Jim Rodinelli. Jim mentions some aspects of making timeless records that really hit home with me. His descriptions of Stevie Wonder's 'inaccurate tempo' are right on. I've often marveled at how what is now considered technically wrong, can sound so darn good. Read on:

From: Jim Rondinelli
Subject: Re: Rhinofy-Talking Book

Bob,

Thanks for shining a light on three of my favorite records of all time. The trilogy of Innervisions, Music Of My Mind, and Talking Book, taken collectively, form a rich aperture into the soul of one of the greatest musicians of our lifetime. These three records were staples in my childhood home in Iowa from the day of their initial release, and were very important formative records to my career as a producer/engineer, giving me another point of focus in the post-Beatles era when I was (unknowingly) looking for the next point of reference in my path towards making records. Here are just a few of the lessons I directly associate with listening to these records:

1) That thing you think is a noise which needs to be killed is in fact an artifact of the performance that brings the moment to life: Listen to the squeaky chairs and string noises from the guitar on "Visions". I could easily imagine someone getting really freaked out about this stuff, and spending hours with plug-ins and the mouse trying to wipe them away. Don't. Build the recording around the music and let the rest happen.

2) Feel trumps "chops" any day: Stevie's drumming on these records is remarkable. The time is loose and swishy, the musical approach to the drumming is impeccable. No one trained as a drummer would ever have come up with the musical approach that Stevie takes to these parts. It's kind of like drumming turned inside out.

3) Quantization/Time Editing kills feel and is often complete bullshit: You want a challenge? Here's one I probably did 50 times over the years. Have your artist listen to Stevie's "All In Love is Fair" from beginning to end. It's a beautiful recording of an amazing song. Now, go back and listen to it again, keeping time through the intro into the first four bars of the drums. Anyone listening to the track in isolation with their pro tools rig in hand would think that the track was a complete train wreck, and they'd either dump the session or try and edit the crap out of it to make it fit some mechanical interpretation of time. Yes, the time is all over the place, and it's absolutely perfect that way because in the end, the song/performance/recording is so damn great you don't notice anything else.

4) Effects give a recording an indelible time-stamp, forever associating the recording with the release date of the subject FX unit: These records have help up particularly well over time because you never feel that the processing/effects ever get in the way of the performance. This is in direct contrast with a lot of records of the SSL/AMS era (80's and beyond), there isn't enough of any processing to tie the recording to a point in time. The sounds are fat, warm and spacious, all typical of a brilliantly executed recording which I suspect was filled with plenty of "Hang on, God only knows where the hell this session is going next!" moments in the control room.

5) No, you don't need to fill all the tracks to make the record: These records sound huge because they aren't over-layered with an indecipherable matrix of parts. Practical application of this for me: My first US gold record, Matthew Sweet's Girlfriend, only uses 13 of the 24 tracks available on the multitrack.

6) Music was a powerful agent of change: Stevie finds a stronger political voice on these records, interleaving songs about love with loud cries for social justice. The passion with which Stevie illuminated social inequities is virtually lost today. If you're an artist looking for an audience, find a voice, articulate some fresh thought and perspective about something that you're passionate about, and you'll have a better shot at finding an audience who've been waiting for your encapsulation of their feelings. Or, stay soft, play for the man, avoid conflict and bask in your irrelevance.

There are too many other things I learned from obsessing over these records on headphones to mention in a single email. I am eternally grateful for these three records, and feel like they should be mandatory listening for anyone who aspires to make records. Now, if we could just get Stevie to fulfill my personal dream by losing the sequencers, using all Moog bass, and playing his own drum tracks again.....

Jim Rondinelli, Producer/Engineer Emeritus

BONEARAMA!

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:42:00 PDT

While at a Tape Op convention in NOLA, I heard the amazing band, BONEARAMA. They play incredible funk with a brass section and drummer. I've talked about them ever since (6 years ago!). On this Friday, you can see them live, (and for free) at the Houston Sound Concert Series at Market Square Park at 6:30pm. If you see one show this year, this is it. BONEARAMA!

Cari Quoyeser Tracking Session in Studio A

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 17:55:00 PDT

The Cari Quoyeser Band came to track the song Femme Fatale with us at SugarHill today. The arrangement was buffed out, and the song was good. Funny thing. Initially, I thought the song was a verse and chorus too long. By the second rehearsal, the song, had convinced me that it was perfect the way it was. Good thing I didn't talk the band into shortening the song. Cari, Rebecca. Jonathan, Anthony, and Alex came with the right attitude and were totally prepared. We cut vocals next week. I'm ready! Here's some shots from the session today:


This is Cari NOT holding back on a scratch vocal

Chris Longwood, making it happen. Chris got us an amazing sound before anyone really knew were were working.

Alex and Anthony tearing it up in A. Note the Neumann KM86's on the wood. Also, note the socks.

More Cari. Into it!

Jonathan, hitting the guitar before doing violin parts

Anthony's crazy socks. They match his bass!

Rebecca Laird. She. Is Awesome. That's her playing my 'punk strat'

Betamixin ©

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 07:49:00 PDT

I wish I knew who came up with this bit of fun internet dross so I could credit him/her/them.

Bettamixin®
(Diatraxnot Sitrite)

* Are you having problems with balance?
* Does making a decision feel almost impossible?
* Have you experienced rising anxiety over guitar tones?
* Do you suffer from excessive sweating about vocal levels?
* Is it becoming increasingly difficult getting keyboards to ‘sit’ properly?
* Are low-frequency cloudiness issues becoming more frequent?

-Now may be the time to ask your doctor about Bettamixin®.

Don’t let ‘decision anxiety’ ruin your productions.
–With Bettamixin®, you no longer HAVE to let your projects be choked by poor-sounding overdubs, or flooded with ever-rising track-counts. –If you’re wondering why your productions don’t have the same excitement as the things you like to listen to, then Bettamixin® is just what you’ve been waiting for!

Why watch your sessions drag painfully on into the late hours without ever feeling like they’re ‘getting anywhere’? – Bettamixin® can help you finish and get outside before the sun goes down! –Just imagine being free to live life once more, without obsessing over trivial crap that dimply doesn’t matter!

If you’re fed up with coming back the next day and wracking your brain trying to remember which of the seventeen saxophone adlib takes you actually liked, then it’s time to take control…
It’s time to make the decision. That’s Bettamixin®.

Disclaimer: Bettamixin® is not right for everyone. Do not take Bettamixin® if you have experienced more than three Grammy nominations.-Possible side effects include (but are not limited to): reduced processor ownership, persistent use of a four-track recorder, SM57 microphones and Altec preamps, a sudden reduction in desire to make gear purchases, and shorter working hours. - Alcohol consumption will severely compromise the benefits of using Bettamixin. - Discontinue use and seek immediate assistance if you experience fadeouts lasting over four minutes. –On a small number of occasions, users reported auto-tune intolerance, hypersensitivity to internet forum posts, and (in some extreme cases) working entirely in mono. - A rare but serious allergic reaction has been reported, in some cases causing users of Bettamixin® to delete all tracks received over the internet. If you feel an uncontrollable urge to record-enable all tracks of a received project, seek medical attention immediately. Do not combine Bettamixin® with other products such as Frütilüpin®. Doing so may induce a compulsion to grid everything into 4/4, and additionally cause delusions including (but not limited to) being a competent producer, media mogul and A-list celebrity.

-Ask your doctor if ‘Bettamixin®’ is right for YOU.

Talking about SugarHill in NYC

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 05:21:00 PDT

The Society for Professional Recording Studios (SPARS) will host a talk at the AES show in NYC at their annual gathering. I will be on a panel with some very interesting folk who are staying busy during these 'interesting times' in the music production business, talking about the secrets of SugarHill success over the past 70 (!) years. I'm really honored to be asked and am looking forward to seeing old friends, and checking out all the new gear at the trade show part of the gathering.

Roky Moon & BOLT! debut first ZenHill record: 'American Honey'

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 20:13:00 PDT

From today's Houston Press:

The Honey Drippers

How much is too much? Glam-rock heroes Roky Moon & BOLT! haven't found out yet.By Craig Hlavaty Wednesday, Jul 27 2011

Houston first set eyes on Roky Moon & BOLT! in early 2009 at the now-shuttered Walter's on Washington. In the two years since, the band has burst out of the insular local scene with regular touring and gigging, all the while adorning their modern glam-rock with female backing vocals, piano and saxophone. So far.

(Please read the entire article by Craig Hlavaty at this link.

One Day Record #2--Heart Shaped Rock-- in the bag for ZenHill Records.

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 05:53:00 PDT

Yesterday, Studio A at SugarHill hosted ZenHill Records' second session to create an album in a single day with Portland MA melodic rockers, Heart Shaped Rock. For the outing, my partner in ZHR, W. Ross Wells was the lead producer. He had found the band and had the vision of how they could be a candidate for our second One Day Record, following Roky Moon and BOLT!'s 'American Honey' (to be released on 7/29/11).

When Ross brought me demos of the band I was a bit concerned. The band had great songs, but this is a genre where fans are used to heavily groomed (read: consistently over-produced) recordings. How could the band, no matter how good, pull this off? How could WE pull it off?! Ross kept re-assuring me (as is his way) that 'the kids' were busy rehearsing away. I said that the threshold for my buy-in would be a documentary rehearsal recording where I could hear all of the warts and speed bumps in the set. Ross talked to the band, they redoubled their rehearsal efforts and made what was to be known as The Kitchen Tapes. The KTs sounded good. I was in, but I still had my reservations. That was when I realized that Ross should be the lead producer on this one. He had the vision and the relationship with the band. It started to come together. My role would be to scrutinize the performances and supervise the recording and production process as dispassionately as possible (which turned out to be hard) while Ross drove the band and the session. See me being inscrutable, (left), below.

Chris Longwood manned the engineering helm, and Dan Mohr was the DP for the Zenfilm video shoot. Brittany Holland and Scott Marrett were tenacious in their attempt to film the proceedings. Brittany actually filmed in the drum booth during a FURIOUS set with Sonny Robinson. She will never have to prove her stamina or bravery to me again. Ever. ZenHill partner Cody Longbotham, quietly facilitated the process in a way that made a big impact on our quality control and over-all vibe.

The day was a long one, but we got what we needed. Chris Longwood stayed on point until the very end of the game when he overruled our end zone celebration to insist that we cut one more backing vocal line. Impressive.

I get to bat cleanup and mix this one. And I couldn't be happier. The band brought it and we had an amazing day in the studio. We learned a lot more about how to make a One Day Record, and were able to incorporate new ideas into the process.

I'm a bit groggy this morning, but it all really happened. And it couldn't have been with a greater group of people.

Kelley Peters

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 13:42:00 PDT

Meet Kelley Peters. Some of you may remember her from our work with Kareem Salama on his album City of Lights. This time I'm working on Kelley's record being produced by her dad, Tommy Peters and uncle, Rankin Peters. I was lucky enough to be asked to record and produce Kelley's vocals. We just finished our first session, doing the song Faith. Working with Kelley on her own project presented a number of challenges since we started our collaboration recording duets and backing vocals with Kareem. Kelley sang exceptionally well all afternoon--we had a blast trying out different parts. I had it easy,... the girl brought her A game and was able to do everything that the song asked for. Bam!

Speaking of Kareem, we are going to play a Muslim conference in Chicago Sunday night, 7/3/11. I'm playing with Mike Whitebread, and we are going to channel JJ Worthen who has just moved to LA. I'll be playing Casio SK-1 and a Menil cajon. Oh! And singing, which I don't do a lot of on stage, but I'm looking forward to the challenge. Mike, Kareem and I sounded pretty darn good at rehearsal.

I'll try to snag/post pictures from Chicago. Happy fourth of July!!!

Drumming with The Wheel Workers

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 07:08:00 PDT

The band keeps getting under my skin. Steven Higginbotham's ensemble of merry men (and woman), The Wheel Workers, won't leave my head. Awesome songs with heartfelt messages that really resonate for me.

Yesterday we did a drum session in Studio A at SugarHill with Chris Longwood at the helm. Jason Carmona played drums for oh, like.... 7 HOURS! The interesting thing about was that he got better and better the longer the session went. That's pretty unusual. Go Jason!

Here is a cool time lapse iPhone movie of the drum set up. (There's an Ap for that, apparently, and CL was on it). Can't wait to post on the progress. This record is going to be really good!

Grammy GPS at Caroline Collective & The Wheel Workers

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:05:00 PDT

I'm waiting to meet Steven HIgginbotham and his band The Wheel Workers. I'm been in touch with Steven for several months, and his debut EP has been played to death in my car. I'm wondering if I'm the guy to produce his band? Well, that's why we're having a meeting.

While I'm waiting, I want to plug a Houston Recording Academy event, Grammy GPS. This event features speakers hitting crucial topics to today's musicians and music industry professionals. Yes. Moi, producerboy, will be there taking part in the 'Music in the Digital Age' panel. We're going to be gathering at the ultra hip Caroline Collective. Admission is $25 if you are a Grammy, or Grammy U member, and $75 if you are not a member. There will be food and drinks. Be sure to RSVP before Tuesday, April 26th to Christee in our Austin office: (512) 328-7997 or Karla at karla.martinez@grammy.com . If you have any questions, you can email me directly. I hope to see you there.

Patrice Pike at Market Square Park

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 10:37:00 PDT

One of my favorite Austin singer songwriters (that I have STILL not had the pleasure to work with) is going to be playing The Houston Sound Concert series at Market Square Park this Friday: Patrice Pike. Patrice puts on an incredible show that is perfect for the intimate outdoor venue. Rumor has it that the weather will be ideal AND the lawn will be dry. Come drink a whatever and eat some Niko Nikos and rock out to Patrice!

Report From the Grammys 2011

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 08:34:00 PST

Had a blast last night at the MusiCares person of the year charity event at the Grammys. Barbara Streisand was amazing, and the performers were unreal. It was a bucket lust moment to see Jeff Beck, BB Wynans, and LeAnne Rhymes absolutely TEAR IT UP together. Rhymes was deal-with-the-devil good, and Beck has his own Faustian thing going. BB was the perfect choice to add the angelic sweetness to the mix.

Going to see the Lifetime Achievement awards today! Say what you will about the Grammys, there is so much more going on than the 12 or so awards during the show.

Alicia Gianni Session

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 16:38:00 PST


Moi, Tyson Sheth, Chris Longwood, Alicia Gianni, Brennen Nase, and Skip Nalia

Second cool tracking session of the week: Alicia Gianni. Alicia came to me on a referral from J.R. Cohen. She is an amazing opera singer, but she wanted to do something different in the studio, namely record an album of her own songs. This was a challenge in that Alicia is a highly trained professional whose job it is to sing a difficult repertory. We had to find a way for her to work against all of her professional instincts and find herself--her own voice--and then facilitate that change.

It took more initial meetings than usual to convince myself that I was the right guy for the job, but Alicia brought me a demo of her song, He's My Man which was done in an old 1920's style. She was owning that song. Suddenly I got it. And so did Alicia. I was impressed with the change. Alicia started gigging around town and rehearsing and jamming with a wide variety of musicians. Very quickly she came up to speed.

Today we tracked, He's My Man, along with Red Chair Blues (playing in my office while I write). We had keyboard wizard and producer Skip Nalia, Tyson Sheth on drums, and the inimitable Brennen Nase on bass and guitar. The session went SO well. We had a blast. The musicians were really flexible and were really patient while I changed up the instruments and studio setup several times. I was so excited, I started cursing much much more than normal, sailing F Bombs and, I'm ashamed to say, more than a few gd's. But they were all in good spirit. I was just happy.

Anyway, I'll be writing more about Alicia as we go along. What an awesome day!

Not Pictured: J.R. Cohen!

Rocky Moon and BOLT!

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 20:54:00 PST

Yesterday I did something that I have waited about 5 years to do. And, man! It was worth the wait.

Roky Moon and BOLT!

About 5 years ago, Steve Christensen and I were talking about how some of the recordings we were making for The SugarHill Sessions (our radio show with partners, Rhonda Nation and Phil Schawee at KPFT) were turning out REALLY well. Defying the logic that you had to work a certain technical agenda to make a good sounding recording of inspired performances. Steve and I agreed that we were developing recording chops that enabled us to capture live performances and still have that 'big record sound'. We also agreed that the design of both of SugarHill's Studio A and B were somehow conducive to getting a good sound with a band playing in the same room, all at the same time. Where Steve and I disagreed, however, was whether there was a market for this type of recording. We knew that fans and listeners would hear what we were hearing and get excited, but ultimately, Steve felt that there weren't many bands or artists that were brave enough to try to play a live show in the studio and then LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE,... not try to over-produce the songs after the fact and/or create an artificially perfect record. I thought otherwise, but I basically kept the idea on the back burner.

Over the years since that time, we continued to improve our live recording game with the production of Live From SugarHill. With tape machine and video cameras rolling, we racked up 25 shows so far that featured some incredible studio performances by Robert Ellis, The Ton Tons, Tyagaraga and many others. My senior staff and go-to engineer, Chris Longwood, has continued to innovate--learning how to raise the bar in making high fidelity recordings of bands all playing live in the studio. I started to talk to Chris about the concept of making live records and he got very excited. I had my first willing convert to the cause!

Meanwhile, my friend and conspirator, Ross Wells from Zenfilm, and I started a record label, ZenHill Records. We started to sign a few exceptional artists, one of whom was a band that blew us away with their performance on Live From SugarHill: Roky Moon and BOLT!. Ross and I began a discussion about inviting them to the ZenHill party, and then I had a moment of clarity. I thought that RM&B! were the PERFECT band to record live in the studio. They had a seamless, polished set. They put on a fantastic live show. They adhered to all of the performance principles I hold so dear, which can be summarized easily by the phrase "Entertain at all costs while being mindblowingly excellent" (mindblowingly is probably not a word, but this is my blog..). I knew in my heart that I wanted to sign the band, and I wanted to make a record in one day with them. In fact, this would be the proving ground that making a record this way was not a novelty, but an innovative and refreshing way to make records! The concept of The One Day Record was born. Now all I had to do was sign the band and convince them that this was a good idea. I was not at all sure that they would agree that Ross and my idea was something that they would want to do.

I should note that I'm writing this in the first person, but during this time Ross was signing bands, getting contracts in order and taking care of our publishing/marketing machine. He would come up for air in his truly legitimate work and I would start ranting about One Day Records and what a brilliant concept it was and how we could carve out this cool niche in the record world by offering a glimpse into the studio world of the musically-gifted performers that we were working with. Blah, blah, blah-blah, BLAH. Ross would patiently listen, then remind me that he had heard this from me before and that he was super pumped because he could make documentary cinema out of the studio process and harvest beau coup footage for long form videos as well. The only thing we needed was a guinea pig brave enough to step up to the plate,.. er... mic. We both came up with the idea at the same time,.. "Ask Roky...."

I practiced our pitch. We met with Aaron, Jeoaf, and Roky to answer questions about the record contract. When we had done that, I nervously began to explain a plan that we had re: making the One Day Record. I was about five minutes into my spiel when I caught Roky and Aaron making eye contact while remaining very quiet. Uh-oh. I've scared them off,... Steve Christensen was right,.. oh! what was I thinking NO ONE would make a no-net recording!!

But I was dead wrong. Aaron, Jeoaf and Roky cracked huge smiles and said that they always wanted to record that way! When could we do it?! You could have knocked me over with a feather. I was so happy and at the same time, so amazed that they would actually be enthusiastic about the project. I reminded them that it may mean that we'd leave in some 'inspired mistakes'. That there would not be the illusion of total perfection. A boffed note, a slipped stick, a messy chord. I wanted to leave it all in if any 'improvement' would interfere with the vibe. They got it, they were just as excited as Ross and I, and we signed the deal that very afternoon.

photo by Everett Taasevigen

Well, yesterday, we had the session. Our expectations were high. Too high, to be honest. Ross and I were footing the bill and we were flaming a lot of favors and resources to have the team from Zenfilm and SugarHill on hand to facilitate. Chris Longwood and I spent quite a while on the technical side of the audio recording. Gina Miller and Afam Obianagu were at the front lines all day. Ross had Brittany, Jimena, and Everett from Zenfilm by his side to help make sure the video and photography would be covered. At the end of a 13 hour day, we had four amazing 'takes' of the entire set. We never stopped once we started, and the mistakes were very, very few. After the first take, I knew we had about half of the songs in the can. By the end of the third take, I knew we had the record. We decided that even though voices were getting ragged, and the band was getting tired, to do one more run through for the cameras. Ross need a few more shots to make the day complete. So we took a 40 minute break while Ross re-lit, and set up the shots, and we climbed back on the horse. Just to have some fun and complete the job. We were already home free.

Then the totally unexpected happened. The band launched into the first song. By the second chorus, I looked over at Chris to see if he was hearing what I was hearing--the band was bringing it on a whole new level. Somehow, The Muse was taking us past the fatigue into an extraordinary place. I didn't know how it was happening, but the band was sounding better--way better--than they had all day. By the end of the second song, We were clapping and yelling in the control room between songs. Ross and Everett were moving around the band like mad men trying to get the lights and the shots. Somehow, the greater the distraction around them, the more the band was whipped into the state of excellence. They were in TOTAL CONTROL and were taking us places we had not been for the previous takes. By the end of the fourth song, I realized that Jeoaf was in the midst of making a 'clean pass' on the song. He was drumming like a mad man. The drum booth windows got the 'heat glaze' because the temperature in the booth was getting so high. He was RELENTLESS in the perfection of his time. At one point he started doing fills that were head and shoulders above anything he had played all day. And he hadn't dropped a beat. Not one. All the while, Chad's bass parts were being subtly influenced by Jeoaf's mojo. Chad's downbeat was married to Jeoaf's right foot on the kick drum, freeing the bass to improvise and find new levels of dialog with the amazing guitar work that Aaron had been building all night. Once I became aware of just how the magic was manifesting, I became momentarily fearful that it wouldn't last, but then I quickly realized, that nothing was going to stand in the way of this band, this performance, on this night. The stars had aligned. It was really happening! I was grinning from ear to ear, and I felt my eyes fill up.

All night long, Cassie had been a women possessed on the keyboards. She stayed in her own zone,.. adjacent to the band's collective spirit, guiding, commenting on the sound while providing the syncopated, piano-bashing counterpoint to the other rhythms in play. She was the glue between the guitars and drums. Oh this take, though, Cassie opened up her manic crouch into the keyboard and vocal mic and started to look around the room. She was drawn into magic as well. The dialog between the players was complete. Like some science fiction moment, all of the pieces of the ark were together and the yield was a once in a lifetime performance of a band.

I've saved the best for last. All night long, Roky had been the conductor of the orchestra. He was singing better than I have ever heard him sing. He was in control of the band and his voice and was fueling the interplay in the room. The backing vocalists, Jennifer and Rikki had their eyes glued to man as he performed like he was in front of ten thousand of his biggest fans. Every note, every move, whipped them into a tighter, more cohesive harmony with the band. I have rarely seen or heard a better show, and it was happening in front of the microphones and the cameras. I can't say enough about Roky. By the end of the night his voice was starting to go. When he got ragged, he had to reach lower for the notes. When he cracked during that last take, he knew what he had to do: He did not stop the performance or hold back at all. Instead he turned up his mojo! Knowing that we could replace a note or two from another take, he kept leading, feeding, and supporting his band in the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good. Everyone was keyed on Roky, and during that last take he lead us all to the promised land. When the last chord rang out on the set, the control room erupted in applause. I, and everyone else, was exhilarated and exhausted.

When I came into work today, Chris Longwood asked me if I had listened to the rough. I couldn't stand the excitement--I was still afraid that I'd wake from the dream. It was not until he prompted me later in the afternoon that he and I began the forensic work of checking out the takes. Sure enough, take four reigned as the champ. It was real. It had really happened. It wasn't just my emotions or wants coloring the facts. Roky Moon and BOLT! went there for all of us and threw down the gauntlet. I can't wait to finish and mix the record, and I can't wait to see who will pick up the challenge to create the next One Day Record. One thing is for sure, though, and that is there is only one 'first' and Roky Moon and BOLT! has the lasting honor of the stepping up to the plate, and hitting a grand slam: the first of what I hope will be many One Day Records.

Post Script:
We were joined by Marc Brubaker of The Houston Press, and Dru Giles of Space City Rock during much of the recording. Marc is an amazing photographer and reporter. He wrote a wonderful piece about the experience which can be found here. Dru wrote a super cool article for Space City Rock that really mirrors all of the points I touched on above. Both writers wrote excellent pieces and provides a nice counter balance to the personal log here. Thank you Marc!

You did WHAT to the drums?!

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 14:52:00 PST

Today was a first. Chris Longwood was engineering a drum session for me. The song was Come On Now by The Space City Spaceman

This is another cool Jeff Walton arrangement of one of ~~Craig Squire's~~ (oops!) Spaceman's songs. In it we are using some awesome vintage Casio percussion. We wanted Tyson Sheth to play real drums for the second Verse and Chorus. I woke up this morning thinking that the real drums might benefit from the 'Beatles Treatment' of putting towels on the toms and a fat wallet on the snare. (We had a hard time finding a fat wallet,... we are all working musicians,... but I digress). That worked great. Just as expected, between Tyson's hands on the kit, and Chris' hands on the board, we got a great close sound. However, when Tyson was checking the kit and getting levels, he hit the cymbals and they rang out WAY too loud and long to hang with this sweet, intimate, plush sound we were going for. We could have taped the cymbals (I've never done that before, but have seen it done with great results), but I immediately thought that if the 'tea towel' treatment worked for the drums, let's drape them on the cymbals and see what happens. IT. WAS. AWESOME. Craig loved it, as did Chris and I. When Tyson came in to listen, we realized that we had something special going on. We had to take a lot of pictures because,.. well,... it was weird looking, and probably should not have worked nearly as well as it did. Chalk one up to being willing to experiment. (By the way, a big thank you to John Griffin for the D19's we used as overheads. Awesome microphones for this type of sound!)

Looks like the movie shot of the sheets covering the furniture in the long abandoned mansion...

Chris Longwood sets up the D19 for the close up splash take (note the towelette on the spash)

SpaceCity Spaceman ready to learn the 'towel drum technique'

"You'll play these towels or else!!!"

This is just wrong in so many ways.....

"Will you look what I have to put up with?"

Yeah, but now you're the hero, Tyson

another angle

from the top

Craig shows Chris how size does not matter.

I'm not sure I'll ever do this again, but it was unreal cool today. Thanks for the great song, Craig!!!!

Interview with Jeremy Osborn

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 06:59:00 PST

Merry Christmas, 2010! Christi is making some groovy breakfast, and I'm feeling all writer-ebullient for some reason, so I've been working on web content while listening to Bonnie Whitmore's latest CD. Below is an interview I did with Jeremy Osborn of Wayside Drive while sitting in the lounge of a hotel in Kuwait City last Spring while on tour with Kareem Salama. For some reason, I woke up thinking about that interview and decided to reprint it here, (thanks, Jeremy!)

Interview with Dan Workman

Jeremy

We are honored and privileged to post this interview with music producer extraordinaire Dan Workman. Dan is the President and co-owner of SugarHill Recording Studios in Houston, TX. A list of his credits would take up an entire post on it’s own but I encourage you to read more about him at his official biography here.
Dan also played his signature Casio SK-1 as well as various guitar bits on our song Listen To What’s Missing.

Dan Workman, Kuwait City, May 7, 2010 On tour with Kareem Salama.

Do you ever listen to the CD’s you produced after the fact?
There are a very few that I have never listened to,…. not even once, but those are the rare exception. Some of them I listen to for weeks after they are finished. Some, I need a break from to listen to enjoy,…usually about 6 months. Back in the old days when I was mixing without automation, I could not listen to the songs without rehearsing the mix moves in my head! I’d dream those damn mixes, which really screwed with my enjoyment of the music!

What’s the most challenging thing about producing a record?
Hands down, the most challenging thing is to make the song the best it can be before you go into the studio. Make sure the story is great, the lyrics are economical and tight, and that the arrangement and performances are as good as humanly possible. That list really boils down to getting a great performance of a great song. Being able to facilitate that is a job that is unique with each project.

What are some of the things you’d like to see artists be more prepared for before going into the studio?
Write a killer song. KILL ME with how good it is. Most of us (me included) write songs that we like to perform,… that have a cool part in them that really sends us over the edge. While that is fine and good, a song writer and performer has to write and perform FOR THE AUDIENCE. You have to be able to totally captivate the audience with the song. It’s for them, not for us.

What’s been the most rewarding thing about being in the Recording Academy?
The connections. Once I got off my high horse, and started socializing and volunteering in the Academy, I met and became friends with people I would have NEVER had access to. Now I sit on the P&E Steering committee with my heroes: Sylvia Massy, Ed Cherney, Chuck Ainley, Phil Ramone, Nathanial Kunkle. These people consider me their peer. WTF!!!!!

Do you prefer natural acoustics when possible or post-recording effects?
Loves me some natural acoustics,… but that’s no surprise since I’m paying for the real estate at SugarHill to have incredible natural acoustics. While I also love my TL Space convolution reverbs, there is something so organic about a natural space. I can tell you that I have learned how the outside temperature and humidity affect the sounds in Studio A and B at SugarHill. So much so, that I mic things up differently in the Winter as opposed to the Summer.

Do you ever experiment with the recording medium itself?
Sure. I recorded a (Southern) Backtones guitar part on a portable cassette deck while pushing on the capstan with an eraser to make it wobble. I’ve sent signal backwards–in through the headphones output–on a 1970′s motorola receiver. My latest fun is to create crazy signal chains with the Casio SK-1

Any producer heroes?
George Martin, Tom Dowd, Nigel Godrich, Mark Trombino (mid-90′s Jimmy Eat World).

What’s the biggest thing you’d like to see happen in the Houston music community?
I want to see a badass Tejano Band open a punk rock show and see 500 punk rockers totally dig on it. Houston’s strength in the music world is our diversity. If we collectively put down our iPads long enough to venture out, I think that killer variety shows are the future. Screw waiting 2 hours to see your favorite band play for an 45 minutes. My idea of a good time is to see four or five bands play their finest for 20 minutes each, back to back.

What recording artist (living or passed) would be your dream to produce?
Well, some of them are dead. , I think that I would like to produce the world’s most accessible noise band, whoever that is. I’d also really like to take Two Star Symphony to the next level. Sh-t, how about 5 more levels,… That band captivates me. As for identifiable artists, I’d consider giving a body part to work with Imogene Heap.

Where do you see the music industry being in the next 5 years?
We’re experiencing a die-back in the business caused by two somewhat interrelated events: 1) commercial music became controlled and marketed by corporate entities who were beholden to stock holders and boards of directors, and their musical decisions sucked. Bigtime. So we got contrived mainstream acts that create music that is just lubricant for your day instead of art that is changing your life. 2) We are living in an age where we have not yet developed the discipline and methodology to find a balance between free digital distribution and paying for content.
We are going to mature past both of these barriers,.. I’m just not so sure how long it will take. In the meantime, there will be killer musicians, writing and performing and selling to smaller, but more loyal fan bases, which is fine by me. It is hard to see the dream downsized a bit, but I promise you, if you write soul-stirring music that defines the times, and your performances captivate an ever-increasing audience, then you will have a WONDERFUL career. You just might not own your own jet.

Any living musical artists you would still get star-struck by?
(Paul) McCartney. Almost sh-t a brick standing close to him. Thom York. If Jeff Tweedy would just take a f–king shower, I’d love to hang with him.

What do you consider your best strength as a producer?
Communication. I love music, and I’m a decent musician. I can figure out the grammar and vocabulary to talk and inspire almost anyone. I recently realized that I really love being a musician, and I love the company of musicians in general. When I help a performer to do his or her best, I feel like I played the part myself, hence my ‘musical reward center’ gets totally lit up by my work through others.
What’s the biggest “wow look what I did!” moment you’ve had while producing a record?
Tracking Beyonce‘s (Destiny’s Child) Bootylicious. I knew that song was a hit after we got the first hook down. I said to myself, “If I don’t f–k up my part of this, we are making history right this moment!”, and I was right.

Probably more important are the many, many times that I have been totally blown away by a performance or mix. I never tire of seeing the work come together. My biggest triumph, really, is always the most recent record I have finished–I give my all to each project I take.

If George Martin and Phil Spector got in a fistfight who do you think would win?
Martin would take that punk down. Spector would be crying like a baby, and Martin would be sayin’ “Now THAT’S a wall of sound!”
Dan Workman elsewhere on the web:
http://danworkman.com/
http://www.sugarhillstudios.com/
http://twitter.com/producerboy

Come On Now

noreply@blogger.com (dan) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 03:25:00 PST

Craig Squires and I spent Monday morning going over vocal arrangement ideas. First of all, working with Craig is fun because he really knows who he is--The Space City Spaceman. We always have our storyline and point of view in front of us, so the song informs the arrangement in the sense that we know whether to keep it simple, go elaborate, leave some air, or create a dense tapestry of vocal lines. Working with a Jeff Walton arrangement doesn't hurt either.