The things I get to play with at work. Yasseah. New gear floating through Signaturetone this month:
Chandler TG-1 Abbey Roads Limiter – this baby is a squash machine straight out of the dudes behind The Beatles brains and right into my abusive hands. Plus ours is the fancy modded version (ooh, for the one or two geekers who care) with the fast attack option. Take that dynamics, you bastards!
Urei LA-3A w/Teletronix Badge (2) – hey look, it’s the compressor that Pro Tools has - WAIT, no, this is the real deal 70’s era gooey dynamic love. Stereo racked and rolling, this is a close cousin of the first compressor I ever used at the ripe old age of 18 (a silverface Urei LA-4), found in a crapped out recording studio I did my first ever album in. Oh nostalgia. Tear/sniffles.
Manley Enhanced Stereo Pultec – what can I say. It looks so nice next to the Massive Passive in that rack, does it even have to do anything? Answer: no, but it sure does.
Buhhhh gear. Enough.
I’ve been doing some tracking for a few new tunes with Marty Brueggermann, one of which he’s described as “retro 50’s malt shop music of the future” which I can’t really deny is a good way to put it. This week I’ll be firing up tracks with one of my favorite local electronic acts The New Monarchs – keep an eye peeled for a remix I did of their tune “Electrocaching” in the near future, I’m super stoked on it. Today I’ll be finishing up stem mastering on the first release by local hardcore/post rocker Mourner with producer/beard owner Steve Henningsgard (or has my hands just typed, Steve Henninsgsgesesgaaard). Expect the rock.
More to come soon, I have a few really exciting projects coming this month including a new disc from members of The Skullcranes and the new album from big big big sound purveyors Lungs. Keep it tuned here for me, saying things, about stuff. With words.
So, who wants to spend two minutes and change listening to me dork out about how much I like the new disc by The Crinn that’s coming soon? Well, here you go!
I can’t wait til their Nuclear Blast (!) release Dreaming Saturn drops, woof. I already have it all stored in m’brain from tracking and producing the sucker, but its gonna be a treat to see what the world thinks of it. In the meantime, hit up my music player for a featured track off their last disc they cut with me.
Oh man. This is more coherent than I normally am and I’m still a mumbley Pete. Good thing I managed to sound reasonably competent and didn’t fidget too much. Remember bands, this could be YOU I’m geeking out about…
Everyone into ze metal bop on over to the With Closed Eyes myspace page and boost some plays for these fine young gents! We just slammed these out last weekend and they did a fine job. Keep an eye on these guys in the next year, let’s see where they can take themselves. They’ve got a few shows coming up, so if you’re in the area of The Vault in Buffalo, MN keep an eye or two peeled.
NOTE TO BANDS:
Our February’s getting pretty booked out, any interested parties should definitely step forward ASAP to claim their spots. I can always find space but first come, first serve to the choicest days!
OTHER FUN STUFF:
One of my favorite bands in the cities is playing tomorrow night @ The Hexagon for their CD release – it’s the allmighty Guzzlemug! If you’re reading this go see this show, they display one of the most jaw dropping displays of musicality I’ve ever seen in a band, AND they’re fun to boot. Not to be flexed with.
I can finally officially announce that I’ll be overseeing the audio decimation that will be the long awaited Blue Ox full length! These dudes have been a favorite of mine since I first moved up here, and are that great combo of insanely heavy, oppressively slow/grindingly fast, and fun to boot. Big ups. Keep your ears peeled in late March/early April for the first drippings of new goodness. While we wait, I cannot recommend enough checking out their Myspace and iTunes pages for their back catalog (all of which I’m lucky enough to have worked on).
A bunch more fresh projects floating through Signaturetone soon featuring members of a bunch of rad local bands, as well as some weekend tracking with a young band of metal men going by With Closed Eyes, more on all that when details are available/after I do the tracking.
There’s a fresh track up we just did a little mix and master on here in the sonic basement featuring local Twin Cities hip hop/hardcore phenom P.O.S. After the new Mod Sun ep drops officially and his tour kicks off I’ll see about grabbing a high quality sample for our music player, but right now go bump up the man’s plays to send him off on the road right!
-adam, caffeinated and ready for the day…starting after noon, of course.
A bunch of my favorite Twin Cities acts The Rockford Mules, Blue Ox, Tonnage, and 20 Dollar Love and one of my favorite out of town acts (Droids Attack, whose new disc I just mastered) are ripping it up at Sauce in Uptown this Saturday evening! It’s gonna be a rip roaring good time and I will for certain be there tearing it up. Come out and find me, friendy friends.
In honor of this rad show, I’ve uploaded a brand new 20 Dollar Love track that will be be appearing on an upcoming Quincy Punx cover album! Check it out as well as tracks from Blue Ox and Tonnage I’ve shuffled to the top of the player. I’ll update the post if I can get Droids Attack to let me up a fresh track from their new disc…
Hooray - the second ever band I recorded in the Cities stopped on down yesterday to cut a track for a new Quincy Punx tribute album due out soon. 20 Dollar Love (ask sexrockheroes) will be joining Dillinger Four, P.O.S., and many more including Signaturetone alums In Defence and Torch The Spires. Check out the Quincy Punx page for more info. It’s fast, dirty, and raw, just like the 20.D.L. boys themselves. Keep an eye out on their page for a sample!
-adam, eating steak and potatoes while blogging, loving life
Hope everyone’s Christmas travels and times were fun and full of frivolity! I’m heading down to the troll chamber tomorrow to drop in a new toy – a Focusrite ISA215, one of which we had a while back and now I’m happy to say we’ll have again. Two sweet channels of preamp/eq goodness from back when Focusrite wasn’t a minion of Digidesign. Oh industry monopolies/software slavocracy.
In other Tuesday news, Signaturetone perennial favorites 20 Dollar Love are swinging by to lay down a Quincy Punks cover for a big local band compilation (which I’ll be sequencing and mastering as well – more info on that soon). Prepare for the rock to be brought with the usual sweat and swagger.
We’ll be working with a few other groups this week, including finishing up some mix/master for hippy-hop flavormaster Derek Smith aka Modern Sunshine . This stuff is super well written and produced, so get ready to get a mouthful of smile as he gears up for a big two month tour starting in January. Keep an ear peeled!
More to come, 2010’s looking to be seeing some big records coming out of Signaturetone! These include discs from two bands that will remain nameless for now that will hopefully round out my trifecta of “metal bands that need to be signed to real labels” that I discovered when I first moved up here five (six?) years ago. You know who you are, kidz, time to get famous.
Drive safe, everyone – it’s raining and freezing in Wisconsin and I can only assume terrible to be anywhere but on a couch watching Star Wars marathons. Happy holidays, you crazy kids!
