Drewcifer's Tone Zone

Drewcifer Begins Video Blog:

2009-12-22T16:19:00.006-05:00

Analog Planet Presents Big Guitar Tones in the Studio

Part 1

Part 2

Stranger Than Fiction: The Bizarre Journey of Kings of Leon

2009-12-05T09:41:00.047-05:00

Rock Royalty: From Holy Rollers to Rolling Stone

First of all, I realize I am very late the the KOL party here. I paid no attention to the band at all. Heck, I thought they were from England.

But lately, my wife has been having a love affair with their music. She's totally in to it; maybe too much (I'm afraid she's going to accidentally call me Caleb one of these nights). So I started paying attention. The music of the brothers Followill is very very interesting. I hear all kinds of diverse influences blended artfully together. In one song I thought I heard undertones of Psychedelic Furs, Pearl Jam and Morphine. Yet it's all very new and original-sounding at the same time. The Kings are drawing me in to thier sound and their...thing; their vibe -- whatever you want to call the intangible aura that true rock music has.

Finally, somebody got a record deal that DESERVES a record deal. The Kings have talent in spades. And, most importantly, soul, which I believe is sorely missing in most modern music.

Maybe their fresh sound in a result of the boys growing up without the usual rock-pop influences; without the pablum of commercial radio.

So then I read their history. Holy crap! What a story: Their dad was a Pentacostal preacher. I know from my years in Texas what that means. They are the "Throw down your crutches!" people. They are the snake-handlers and the lay on-ers of hands people. From tent to tent the boys went in a purple Oldsmobile while papa preached...while daddy ranted and raved all over the deepest of backwater south. It's the stuff of gothic fiction.

Now they jet from country to country playing sold out stadiums where people worship THEM as idols. They themselves are god-like snake-handlers of rock. Currently KOL are up for three Grammys. What a story! What a great AMERICAN story they are.

While reading their bio I found that they are produced by (and early songs co-written by) none other than my old associate and Boston rock veteran Angelo Petraglia. Go Angelo, Go! He moved to Nashville years ago and has been working as a songwriter and producer with some really accomplished names in Americana, Country and Rock. Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift, Patty Griffin and Brooks and Dunn are just a few names on Angelo's resume. I worked with him when he was in Boston with both Face to Face and The Immortals. I overdubbed and mixed the Immortals' "Two Sisters" on the acclaimed North by Northeast compilation back in '91.

Angelo worked with and developed KOL from the beginning, when the brothers were young and as raw as sugar cane. But he saw the talent and helped them develop it. Here's a nice piece about Angelo and his work with the Kings.

The kids started their lives rallying against the Devil and his deeds.

Now they play his music.

The Devil's, that is....

Awesome!

Here's a great Sound on Sound Magazine Article on the recording of Only By The Night: Secrets of the Mix Engineers: Jacquire King

Tyler Crashes Perry's Party

2009-11-11T20:07:00.013-05:00

After all the buzz coming from both Joe Perry and Steven Tyler about Tyler's immenent departure from Aerosmith, what happened last night in New York stunned everybody, especially Joe Perry. When The Joe Perry Project went back stage at New York's Irving Plaza for a quick pause before their encore, the last person they expected to see was Mr. Tyler himself. But there he was, in the well-worn flesh. Apparently Tyler asked to sit in, and Perry oblidged. From his comments today, you'd gather that Perry did it as a favor to Steven and as a treat for the fans, not because he relished jamming with his old buddy. Once onstage, Tyler shouted something about not quitting Aerosmith, then, as soon as he finished barking out "Walk This Way," Tyler bolted in to the New York night. Today, undeterred, Perry stated to Billboard.com that the band is still planning to move forward without Tyler. Check out the full article and Perry's comments here.

Here's the YouTube of the "incident" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC7EK68tdEY&feature=player_embedded

Rockin' New Joe Perry Solo LP Was Produced Dangerously!

2009-10-06T14:22:00.009-04:00

Danger! Joe Perry, Live Wire!

Edmeston, NY - October 6, 2009 - Engineer Pablo Arraya recently completed Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry's solo record, Have Guitar, Will Travel, where he acted as both the recording engineer for the final tracks and the mix engineer as well. Perry's solo album was released today, October 6, 2009. Arraya, a Grammy-winning engineer, brought his newly purchased Dangerous Monitor ST monitor controller to Perry's Boneyard Studio in Boston for the project. "The decision to buy the Monitor ST was directly related to working on the Joe Perry album," states Arraya. "His vintage Neve console has an amazing sound, and I wanted to add a more modern and flexible monitoring path. When I came in to the studio, Joe asked me to listen to a lot of Hendrix, Doors, AC/DC, and a lot of early Rolling Stones. He told me he wanted to get that sort of sound and feel. Perry told me 'I don't want it to sound pop-y and modern' - that was his vision at first, and things evolved from there."

On the Monitor ST choice, Arraya says, "Of all the things in a studio, the monitor section is an important one. It was time to do an upgrade to a better monitoring section - I had used the ST at a different studio and I loved how it felt, and Dangerous Music has a reputation for making great sounding gear." Arraya had been speaking with mastering engineer and good friend Dave Kutch, "He literally sold it to me on his recommendation - it was a no-brainer."

"When I got the Monitor ST, I hooked it up at Joe Perry's studio first," says Arraya about working on the Aerosmith guitarist's solo album. "I chose the Dangerous Music Montior ST over the Neve consoles' controls. I knew a lot of the mixing we were going to do was going to be like Hendrix-stlye, Doors-style, very 60's style mixing, where your drums are panned to one side, the bass to the other, your vocal shows up half way through the song. So I wanted to be able to have something to mute the left and the right speaker easily. On Joe's Neve console, you can't do that."

Comparing the Monitor ST to the sound of a large format console's monitoring, Arraya added, "When you bring the volume on the ST all the way down you still feel the punch of the kick and the power that's coming through the mix. And it doesn't matter what level it's at. That transparency for me is very, very important.

Since the studio does a lot of vocal overdubs, the headphone out puts and talkback get used a lot at Audio Piranha, "One of the things I like about the Monitor ST is that the mic for talkback is very dynamic, the person in the vocal booth can hear real well on their headphones. It sounds great. The headphone amp is really clean too. The Monitor ST is a very flexible box. I love the fact that you can do mono, the Dim function works really well, the ability to add the sub-woofer with the filter - that's a great option - calibrating the speakers is really easy; and the options for the inputs are super easy to use too." Another thing he likes about the Monitor ST, "When we want to update to 5.1, it's adding a box and you're there, you don't have to buy a whole new setup."

Pablo Arraya started his career with Sony Music Studios in 2000 after graduating from Middle Tennessee State University. The Native Bolivian quickly moved up the ladder to become one of the most requested engineers inside Sony's wide stable of talent. His diverse cultural background made him a versatile engineer. His engineering experience brought him to the attention of some of the most demanding international acts leading to a Grammy(r) in 2006 for Nancy Wilson's Turned To Blue album. Arraya leads sessions for all styles of music, and handles any studio situation with ease. He recently opened a new studio with the Audio Piranha Group on Park Avenue in Manhattan. Contact Pablo Arraya through the Audio Piranha Group website: Here

Visit Joe Perry's website for the latest news about his solo album Have Guitar, Will Travel at: http://www.joeperry.com

X-Cellent!

2009-09-28T23:26:00.011-04:00

SSL, You Sexy Mynx, You!

Analog Planet has been tapped as a dealer for the SSL SuperAnalog Range! That includes the awesome X-Desk mini mixer! How cool is that? More on this later!

Annual TEC Awards Will Miss Les Paul

2009-09-07T17:34:00.043-04:00

With the annual AES (Audio Engineering Society) Convention fast approaching, it occurs to me that there will be a big part of the show missing this year: The presence, participation, and indeed, the spiritual leadership of Les Paul himself. For decades LP was a mainstay at the convention, walking the floor, shaking hands, meeting and greeting, and generally blessing the event like The High Pope of Audio. Most AES goers, myself included, consider Les Paul the father of modern recording.

Most notably, Mr. Paul will be missed at the annual Mix Magazine TEC awards ceremony (which accompanies AES every year), where he always presented the annual Les Paul award. The coveted award is given to the artist who, like Les himself, has most creatively blended musical achievement with the art and science of recording. Les presented the winner with, what else? A Les Paul guitar!

"Wow, this thing's heavy!" Les Presents THE AXE to 2007 Winner, Al Kooper

The list of Les Paul award-winners is impressive; artists like Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and Brian Wilson, to name a few. Les Paul Winners 1991 to present

Here's a vid produced by Mix about The TEC Awards and The Les Paul Awards: TEC & Les Paul Award Highlights

This year's AES Show is at New York's Javitz Center. Appropriately, the 2009 TEC Awards will feature a special tribute to the beloved Mr. Paul...

Les Paul, The Guitar, The Man, The Legend

2009-09-03T11:53:00.004-04:00

Here's a good bio/obit of LP from the AP. Les Paul Dies at 94.

Yours-Truly with Vanessa, one of my 3 LPs.

2009-08-27T19:50:00.025-04:00

The Big Man of Memphis! 1941-2009

As I watch the Ted Kennedy funeral motorcade on TV, I'm reminded that the world lost another great American this month: Jim Dickinson, the legendary musician/engineer/producer of Muscle Shoals and Ardent Studios fame. He was one of the architects of the American sound, and specifically the Memphis sound. The Big Star Records Jim produced in the early '70s did a lot to change my musical direction, when they re-emerged in the '80s as alternative music prototypes for bands like REM and The Replacements. Those records were way ahead of their time and they sounded really fuckin' cool.

That was just the beginning of the Jim Dickinson legend and legacy. The man cast a big shadow.

Jim Dickinson on AllMusic

A Hot Blog About on a Cool Memphis Cat

Soul of '69

2009-08-17T20:59:00.026-04:00

'Stock Stage '69: Santana Sacrificing with his Serpentine SG Special

There's a lot of coverage going on right now of the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. There were some great and historic performances of course -- Hendrix, The Who, CSNY, Sly, Janis, and more. But there was one that for me has always stood out. Not only is it my favorite performance from the festival, I think it's one of the most electrifying performances in rock history. Thankfully, it was captured on film.

Santana!

Soul Sacrifice!

The band was tripping their socks off, and you can tell! Carlos is on fire, teetering right on the edge of losing control. He has famously said that he was hallucinating so hard, he thought his guitar was a snake. He couldn't feel the stage under his feet.

I love the raw tone of his SG Special with P90s. (Hey, does anybody know what amp he was using?)

The percussionists, Greg Rolie on B3, the teenage Michael Shreve on drums; it all came together in a red-hot explosion of Latin rock. Transcendence was achieved by Carlos and company on that muddy day in Bethel. If you can't feel this energy, you have no soul to sacrifice.

If you don't believe me, dig the clip, baby!

Soul Sacrifice on YouTube

And whatever you do, STAY AWAY FROM THE BROWN ACID!

Here's a great little article on Gibson's web-site written by my old friend Ted Drozdowski. "The SGs of Woodstock"

How Blue Are You?

2009-08-18T09:02:00.004-04:00

Although no one would mistake me for being a big fan of Jazz, much less an aficionado, I do appreciate it as an American art-form. When I was younger I'd go to Jazz dates and snap my fingers like a Beatnik. The groovy hipness of 50's Jazz and Bebop works for me. And I dig Dixieland. I like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, Dave Brubeck, Herbie Hancock, and of course there's Miles Davis. 50 years ago his Miles-tone LP, "Kind of Blue" was realeased. Not only was it a breakthrough in Jazz and music in-general, it was an incredible recording, from an audio standpoint.

Here's a nice blog on that topic:

BlemBlog: "Kind of Blue"

Audio Zen, by Audient

2009-08-05T11:40:00.020-04:00

"Ohms...Ohms...Ohms...Ohms..." Enlightened Mixing with The Zen.

EXCITING NEW PRODUCT ALERT! The new Zen analog console from Audient is a truly trancendental piece of gear, offering in-demand analog features and DAW control for a really affordable price. How would you like 16 dual-path channels, WITH mic-pres, DAW-control AND moving faders for $15K? And that's dollars, not Pounds! And the best part is Audient's high-quality sound -- clean but with a hint of classic British color. My mixing chakra is resonating with joy!

Here's the Zen of Zen

You know what I like about Audient? And what I have ALWAYS liked about Audient? They make useful gear at the right price. The price-point vs the high-level of performance is always great with Audient. The gear always sounds excellent, works well (good ergonomics) and it's never the most expensive gear in the store. That's what ya call VALUE, son!

Audient doesn't make something and put it out there and hope people buy it-- they look at what studios need and what kinds of budgets are there and then they make gear that answers the call.

Always great bang for the buck -- That's Audient.

With Zen, Dave and Gareth have done it again. The mixer is a perfect example of Audient's smart marketing. Form and function!

Can't wait to get my hands on it, and I'm psyched to be a dealer for it!

Finally, Gibson Issues Pearly Gates!

2009-07-16T13:33:00.009-04:00

I have been hoping for years that Gibson would do this. Of course there's no way in hell I'll ever afford it. But a guy can dream...

See Gibson's Devine Guitar

"Baby, Gimme Dat Axe, haw haw haw haw!"

It's About Time (constants)!

2009-07-30T15:44:00.005-04:00

Mmmmm....Pretty...

Pendulum Audio is finally on the eve of shipping it's new and highly-anticipated Opto-Compressor for the API 500 format. Appropriately, it's called the Pendulum OCL-500. Based on the same proprietary opto-cell circuitry found in Pendulum's hugely popular OCL-2 stereo tube comp, the OCL-500 provides smooth transparent compression in a single-wide mono "Lunchbox" module. The OCL-500 uses clean solid-state make-up gain, avoiding the inherent problems encountered when trying to run tube amplifiers on 500-format power. Pendulum's OCL-500 is slated to ship any day now $1295.00 These will immediately be on back-order, so Analog Planet will be happy to get your name in the queue for the first run. Place your order now! http://www.analogplanet.com

Heil Turns Up The Volume!

2009-02-28T12:41:00.004-05:00

Click here to visit YouTube to watch a very interesting biography of Bob Heil and his gear.

The Heil PR40 on Analog Planet

The Heavenly Tone of Pearly Gates...

2009-02-27T16:05:00.012-05:00

Billy and Pearly '75 -- Tone made in Heaven, Texas

Just a quick one. Every guitar-player eventually dreams of a '59 Les Paul flame-top. The reason is that this generation of the venerable Gibson is said to have the fattest, sweetest tone of any electric guitar ever. In the world of guitar, the '59 is known as "The Holy Grail". Jimmy Page, Dicky Betts, early Clapton, Peter Green, Gary Rossington, and my favorite, Billy Gibbons all crafted their sound with '58 or '59 'bursts. Gibbon's '59 LP Standard has been called the Holiest Grail of all -- perhaps the best Les Paul tone ever heard. Appropriately, he named his axe Pearly Gates. You can hear Pearly on all of ZZ Top's early recordings. Miss Pearly's loaded, searing, harmonic-laden tone was the stuff of my rock-star dreams as a kid.

So the other day I was looking for info on Seymour Duncan's Pearly Gates guitar pickup, which I want to fit in to my Les Paul, and I came across the above image -- I'm guessing it's circa '75. It's the baddest pic of Reverend Billy and Pearly I've ever seen. The "Rio Grande" amps in the back are simply Marshall 100-watters re-tolexed and re-badged for ZZ Top.

The Story of Pearly Gates

YouTube vid of Billy playing Pearly, 1980

The Large (and Very LOUD) Legacy of Bob Heil

2009-01-11T14:01:00.033-05:00

"Woo You Weel....Wike We Woo?" The Squakin' Heil Talk Box

Bob Heil is truly a unique dude, and one of the real living legends in the arena of pro sound. And I use the word arena in the quite literal sense, as it was Heil's pioneering designs and high-powered hardware that so many of the classic supergroups trucked around from arena to arena during rock's glory days. His credits are astonishing when you add them up. From taking cast-off theater equipment to build The Grateful Dead's notorious Wall of Sound, to being the engineering mastermind behind sound systems for The Who (can you say Quadraphenia?), Joe Walsh, ZZ Top, Humble Pie and many others. Heil was literally one of the agents of change that took live sound reinforcement from the dark ages of the 100-watt Shure Vocal Master to the fully modular, crossed-over, bi-amped, triamped, multi-channel mega-ton mega-watt monster of the modern day. And lest we not forget that wierd, wonderful device called the Heil Talk-Box, made famous by Joe Walsh, Peter Frampton and Joe Perry. Oooh-wah-oo-wah, baby! And all the while, Mr. Heil has continued to stay active in his first love, amateur "ham" radio.

The Great Wall of China Cat Sunflower

One thing Heil had not done until recently, was to design and build microphones. over the last decade or so, Heil, along with lifelong friend Joe Walsh, began to revamp the dynamic microphone. For 40 years the industry has been using the same tired old dynamics, so Heil set out to create a newer better transducer for broadcast, stage and studio. The result is the startlingly good line of Heil microphones, quickly becoming embraced by the professional music and sound industry, as well as broadcast, podcast, VO and ham radio. The Heil dynamics' sonic purity, detail and quietness not only beat the usual crowd of dynamics, they rival much more expensive condensers. Analog Planet proudly offers the PR Series, among others. In addition to all being excellent vocal mics, the PR20 and PR40 are our new go-to mics for snare and kick, respectively, and the PR30 may be the best electric guitar dynamic since the Sennheiser MD421. I personally own a couple of these, including a Classic Pro (a PR20 element inside a replica body of the 1950's RCA 74 ribbon) which I use as my personal voice mic. Check out the PR series here.

Heil's Fantastic 40: The PR40 rocks for numerous applications

In four decades in the business, Bob Heil's still as excited about his endeavors as ever. He's easy to get on the phone, and when you do, it's like a pep-talk. His contagious enthusiasm is like that of a 20 year old!

Bob Heil when he WAS 20!

Much has been written about Heil and his accomplishments, as a quick Google search will show. Here are more resources to explore about the iconic Bob Heil:

Heil Mics on Analog Planet
Heil Sound Homepage
Blog 2006
Blog 2007

Bye Bye API -- Hello Pacific-AAAAH!!!

2009-01-08T14:25:00.023-05:00

The vaunted A-Designs Pacifica Dual Solid-State Mic Preamp. As Rachel Ray would say, "Yummo!"

I know it's been forever since I blogged. You know how it is -- you get busy, then the stock market tanks, then comes the holiday season, then your toddler starts projectile vomiting, yada yada yada. Sheesh!

Anyhoo, in this first blog of '09 we're singing the praises of the A-Designs Pacifica, the discrete transistor preamp based on the legendary Quad-8 Pacifica console of the 1970s. Over the years, API has been widely heralded by engineers -- myself included -- as being the ultimate "American" sounding mic-pre circuit. Well, maybe not. Read this letter I wrote to A-Designs last week:

For 20 years the API 512 was my go-to mic-pre for pretty much anything and everything in the studio. Lately, I’ve been finding that I go to the A-Designs Pacifica instead. Why? Because it has everything I like about API and then some. It’s midrange character reminds me of the API but the Pacifica is less mid-forward and in general rounder, bigger and more open than the API. It has more high and low frequency response, sort of like a 512 with the “loudness” button on. As a result, the A-Designs is more detailed and airy, while having the fast dynamics that I always liked about the API.

I noticed this when I had a 512 and an A-Designs P-1 Pacifica module side by side in a 500-rack. On a male vocal, using a Mojave MA-200, the P-1 gave a bigger, more present sound. Don’t get me wrong, I also enjoy the sound of British iron (Neve,Trident, Daking) as much as the next guy, but ultimately I guess I lean more on the versatility of that clean, fast “American” sound. The Pacifica, with its Quad Eight heritage, may be the ultimate American preamp. Move over API!

A-Designs Homepage

Pacifica on Analog Planet

The Heritage Desk! A real Quad Eight Pacifica console, circa '79, rocking on in Austin.

Ghost Harmonics

2007-01-31T17:45:00.000-05:00

Well, I have to start with something, right? I have so much I want to post, that deciding where to begin is hard. So I went to some recent posts of mine on Gearslutz and pretty much randomly grabbed one.

It's choice was not quite random, truth-be-told. I have been listening to a couple CDs I engineered and produced back in '90 and '91 by a band called Anastasia Screamed. This was a very unusual, adventurous band. You could almost call them Avant Garde, and definitely ahead of their time (Pre Nirvana "Never Mind"). The sound-scape we created was that of noisy but flowery guitars, sometimes harmonically beautiful, sometimes clashing and dis-cordant.

http://www.anastasiascreamed.com/index_flash.html
http://www.myspace.com/anastasiascreamed23

We layered electrics (primarily Fenders) and acoustics over multiple tracks. Like, the two guitar-players would both play on the basic track along with the drums and bass, and then I'd have the two of them both do an overdub pass at the same time, often playing different parts and guitars than they had played on the basic. So in two passes we had created four electric tracks. Then we'd do leads and acoustic guitars, feedback tracks, the occasional slide guitar part, and even a dulcimer or mandolin track on a song or two.

The guitar mics we used were SM57, Senn 421, Beyer M500 ribbon (my secret weapon back then, before the whole ribbon revival), and even some very nice vintage condensers, like Neumann U67, M49 and AKG C12. Pres were usually API 512B, along with the desk pres from a Trident 80B and a Neve V. Compression, when used, was usually my standard choice, the Teletronix Urei LA-3A. Nice gear huh? Recording guitar is my love and my specialty anyway, so I was in hog-heaven. And these guys were good players, albiet unorthodox. Funny thing was, they could play everything from country to blues to jazz to Led Zepplin if they felt like it. But their original songs sounded like all of those influneces spun together in some psychedelic Osterizer. The result was challenging alternative rock music, which some might even consider an acquired taste.

So I'm driving around in my car the last couple days, listening to these CDs for the first time in 1o years, and really enjoying what I was hearing, especially the guitars. And knowing full-well there were many guitar tracks, I was hearing sounds-- voices, bells, organs, etc --that I know were NOT part of the recording. And this time I was sober as a judge, unlike when we were creating the recordings. Let's just say there was a lot of "magic" happening in the studio then.

Which brings me to the Gearslutz post:
http://gearslutz.com/board/
Replying to a guy who was hearing a "phone ring" in a mix he was working on.

Phones, choir voices, horns, acoustic guitars, harps, angels...If you DON'T hear those things in your mixes you are unusual. I noticed it much more in the all-analog days, but when all those instruments combine they create overtones and bell-like sounds that become a sounds in-and-of themselves. We called 'em "Ghost Harmonics". I remember one time we were mixing this tune and suddenly this keyboard string kinda synth part just appeared out of nowhere. There were no keys on the tracks. All guitars and vocals. When we played the finished mix for the artist, they actually thought we had added a keyboard part. Nope. Overtones.

2007-02-12T16:46:00.000-05:00

Drew’s Reviews:
Occasionally I will review a CD, film, guitar or piece of audio gear. Here’s a review on a CD I am currently addicted to; Loreena McKennitt’s “The Book of Secrets”.

UNDER LOREENA’S SPELL:
The Book of Secrets, 1997 Quinlan Road Records
By Drewcifer Von Tone

Take a musical journey through an exotic, alluring world with Canadian singer/multi-instrumentalist Loreena McKennitt; a world where east harmonizes soulfully with west.

I am a late-comer to McKennitt's music, but what a wonderful find she has been! "The Book of Secrets" is a musical masterwork, conjuring magical imagery and dreamscapes of rich color. The 1997 release is, like all her albums, on her own Quinlan Road label. Being a fan of Clannad, and to a lesser extent of Enya, I find McKennitt's music to be more haunting, more imaginative and more aurally textural than either of the other two.

There are many enchanting tales inside "The Book of Secrets", but none more stirring than the 1997 hit single, "The Mummer's Dance", a positively addicting blend of Arabic percussion, hypnotic drones, and soaring vocal melody. I consider myself much more a Celtic music fan than a New-Ager, but this song is a genre-buster; cutting a wide appeal across World, Celtic, New Age, Folk, and even Pop. The more traditionally Celtic "Skellig" paints the lonely picture of a Medieval Irish Monk and Scribe, living in devout solitude in the harsh Skellig Islands. The instrumental "Marco Polo" transports us to the smoky late-night Bazaars of Persia, where mystery, danger and romance await around every darkened corner; behind every silken veil. You can almost smell the opium on the night air. And perhaps my favorite is "The Highwayman", a tragic love story whose lyrics are adapted from the famous poem by Alfred Noyes. McKennitt is obviously a life-long student of classic poetry, and her own lyric-writing reads like it. These songs resonate. These songs intoxicate.

McKennitt's musical quest has set her on a pan-continental journey from the misty moors of Ireland to the mysterious markets of Marrakech. Atop it all, her ringing soprano stirs the very soul of the ancient traveler, the lover; the dreamer. You wouldn't imagine that an artist could weave Celtic and Arabic styles so seamlessly in to one tapestry, but not only does McKennitt do just that, she does it so beautifully that it makes one realize that these ancient sounds are not so diverse after all. She has found, at the core of it, that eastern and western music share a common and radiant soul.

RECORDING NOTES: From a production standpoint, “The Book of Secrets” is immaculate. The project was tracked and mixed at Peter Gabriel’s Real World studio in Wiltshire England, and was mastered stateside by Bob Ludwig at Gateway in Maine. Producer credits go to McKennitt and Brian Hughes, with engineers Stuart Bruce and the famous Kevin Killen (U2, Peter Gabriel, Elvis Costello). It was an all analog recording, recorded in 1996 and ’97 using multiple Studer machines and Gabriel’s wrap-around SSL 4000. The challenge of blending no less than fifty different instruments of every era and timbre must have been incredibly daunting. Heck, just getting them in tune was a project, so I’m told. McKennitt blends traditional European instruments (piano, harp, pipes, strings) with Arabic drums and drones, while also incorporating ancient devices like hurdy-gurdy, viola da gamba and Victorian guitar. Add to that McKennitt’s resonant operatic soprano, and the result is the most eclectic and exotic sonic-texture I have experienced, maybe ever.

Loreena’s web-site
http://www.quinlanroad.com/homepage/index.asp
Look for Loreena’s PBS TV special, “Nights from the Alhambra” coming in March.
http://www.quinlanroad.com/newsandviews/currentupdates.asp?id=553

2007-02-17T13:14:00.000-05:00

Drewcifer is proud to announce the arrival of Drew the Fourth, aka Drew-Bear, born Friday Feb 16th at 11 am, weighing-in at a very bear-like 8lbs, 12oz! Mama and baby doing great!

2007-03-16T10:22:00.000-04:00

Hi Gang..well, it's been a few weeks since my last post. Hard to believe little Drew-bear is already a month old today! He's a noisy (and hungry) little devil. A lot has happened to the Von Tone family in the last month, some of it great, some of it not so great at all. The day we got back from the hospital with the little guy, also my wife's birthday, Drewcifer (me), was fired from my job, suddenly and unexpectedly. Even worse, the deed was done in an utterly classless way; over the phone, via voice-mail. And us with a brand new mouth to feed! The reason given by my (to remain nameless) employer? This blog. Yep. This little, insignificant practice blog of mine. Legal advice has recommended I not blog or speak about this in detail, so that's all I can say about it at this time...

Sucks, don't it?

Maybe not. Maybe a blessing. Vows of support and job possibilities are rolling in from every direction now. Thank you for your votes of confidence.

'Nuff said about that.

In the meantime, let me add a couple quick items. First, and this is timely, I have become aware of a soon-to-be-published book called, "Speechless: The Erosion of Free Expression in the American Workplace," by Bruce Barry. In it, Barry explores the question: "Is it legal to fire people for engaging in free speech that makes employers uncomfortable, even if the speech has little or nothing to do with job or workplace? For most American workers, the alarming answer is yes." http://www.speechlessthebook.com/

Secondly, Loreena McKennett (see blog below) performs tonight on Boston's WGBH Channel 2 on "Great Performances: Loreena McKennitt, Nights from the Alhambra". The show is running on PBS stations all month long. Set your Tivos for that one; I know I will. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/mckennitt/

WHY IS THIS BABY SMILING?

2007-04-04T09:08:00.000-04:00

Because his daddy has prevailed in getting unemployment benefits, even though the man at daddy's old job was fighting it! Yay daddy! You're my hero! Now go get me some new clothes and MORE dipeys!

So, let's do one final recap here; the "Reader's Digest" condensed version.

Let it be known that this was a personal blog, just a practice-run of a blog that had only been in existence for three weeks at the time I was sacked. It never mentioned Mercenary or was linked to Mercenary. Any references to pro audio or recording were drawn on my 24 years as an engineer, musician and producer (I had only been at Merc for a year). It was solely my intellectual property. Only one of the five blogs was about studio-recording. The others were rants about social issues, and the announcement of the birth of my baby boy; the posting that got me sacked.

1) I was fired for blogging. That was the reason given to me at the time, in no uncertain terms.
2) I was fired without any prior warning whatsoever. (I had worked there 13 months)
3) I was fired over the phone on voice-mail. It was the day we got home from the hospital with our new baby, and also my wife's birthday.
4) I was not given any second chance, and was cut off on that very day without a penny of severance.
5) In an attempt to save face, Fletcher created a laundry-list of additional reasons for firing me.
6) "Excessive absences": a) There was no company policy in-place until after I was fired. b) My absences were due to very legitimate issues like a high blood-pressure spike (180 over 110), migraine, and primarily my wife's very difficult pregnancy. c) According to Mercenary's own newly written policy, one is allowed 5 vacation days, 4 sick days and 2 personal days. That's 11 total. d) Going by Mercenary's own numbers, I used 4 sick days, 4.5 personal days, and only 2 vacation days. That's 10.5. So, how excessive was that actually?
7) "Failure to sufficiently participate in Mercenary's 'educational' program": a) I am already a veteran engineer with more experience than anyone at Mercenary, with 24 years, including six recording projects in the last 18 months, four of them being full-length CDs. As such, I have a very good knowledge-base in all things pro-audio. b) I have a wonderful home studio in which to test gear, which is far more convenient for me than staying after hours at work (for which no additional pay was offered). c) Using my home studio, I brought home and tested at least 26 pieces of gear during the time I was at Mercenary. d) I did four recording projects at the Mercenary studio, during which I tried and learned dozens more pieces of gear. e) Fletcher said I failed to do the 4 hours-per-week required in the Mercenary studio. Well, so did everyone else. There is not a member of the sales staff that came close to filling that "requirement", yet others were not fired. Like them, I was busy answering the phone and talking to customers.
8) I worked on my blog during "company time": a) I worked on the blog during breaks in my work-day, and at home. b) There is rampant non-work related activity going on there with regard to computer and internet use. All day, every day, employees are surfing places which have nothing to do with their work. Why were they not fired? At least my blog could be considered a supportive companion-piece to my day-job at Mercenary.

Lastly, I really wanted the blog to be a positive part of Mercenary. I hoped that in the future it could be tied-in as a feature of Mercenary's web-site and the company's marketing efforts on the internet. Clearly, blogging and the blog-o-sphere itself is a growing phenomenon on the web, and can certainly be used as a tool to draw interest and draw traffic to a certain issue, or in this case, a certain sales agenda. Good marketing right? Not anti-Mercenary! PRO-Mercenary! What if in my blog I talked about this great new microphone I just tried and really love, and in that posting I embedded a link to a place where you can learn more about, and PURCHASE, that mic? A place like....um... Mercenary? Hello!

I believe Fletcher lost his temper, became enraged, and did something out of impulse and anger. His firing me may have been legal (maybe, barely!), but from the standpoint of moral righteousness, it was utterly wrong; a horrific decision, and personally damaging to me and my family. In a word, it was viscous. I absolutely have punitive grounds to stand on. I'm sure the deed hasn't been good for Mercenary either. Not only has it generated bad press for the company, but they lost a top-performer in sales, and one who was popular with and respected by the customers.

The next place I work, and yes, there is plenty of interest out there, will respect my talents and embrace my blog.

In the meantime, Drew the Fourth is screaming for hs bottle. Gotta go!

Lila Downs, Mexican-American Diva.

2007-04-27T12:15:00.000-04:00

As summer slowly begins to warm away the cold shadows here in the northeast, one’s thoughts may turn to good summer listening. Being that it's almost Cinco de Mayo, let’s choose Lila Down’s “La Cantina” (2006). This CD will get the car-stereo pumping while you make those windows-rolled-down summer road trips.

It was The “Frida” Soundtrack that first brought Mexican-American singer Lila Downs to my attention, followed by her subsequent stellar performance on The Oscars in 2003. Her voice soars through the film’s songs, “Burn it Blue”, and “The Floating Bed”. She also appears in the movie, as the breathless gypsy singer in the smoldering tango scene between Salma Hayek and Ashley Judd. Lila’s alluring sound caught my ear, big-time.

Lila Downs’ story is an interesting one; being the offspring of an American father and Native-Mexican mother of Mixteca heritage, she grew up bouncing between Mexico, Los Angeles, and Minnesota. Her dad was a college professor whose academic studies brought him to Oaxaca in the 1960s, where he met and married Lila’s mother. As a small child, la “chiquitita” Lila sang the popular mariachi and ranchera songs of southern Mexico. After her parents split up, Lila spent a good portion of her childhood in the US with her dad, eventually attending the University of Minnesota (how much farther from Oaxaca can a body get?). Naturally she became somewhat Americanized, developing a love of classical and jazz, as well as rock and roll. Hippie Lila dropped out of U of M and even became a Grateful Dead-Head for a time, following the band from show-to-show in a VW bus and making her way by selling jewelry.

As she grew in to a young woman, the Oaxacan blood in Lila began to stir, then to pulse, then to pound. For one thing, Lila looks strikingly Mexican. Her jet-black hair and sculpted Indian features remind one of Frida Kahlo herself. Other similarities are not entirely accidental, as Lila has often referred to Frida as an inspiration and muse. Her tightly braided mane and colorful Mexican frocks summon the iconic image of Frida, to be sure. In the ‘90s, Lila answered the call, moving back to Oaxaca. There, while singing in clubs, she met American ex-patriot and jazz saxophonist, Paul Cohen. Their artistic collaboration (and romantic partnership) has resulted in some of the most eclectic folk-rooted music being made today. As “All Music Guide” puts it, “She has created a very individual strain of song that has indigenous Mexican roots and North American sonorities.”

The first fruits of the Cohen-Downs collaboration were a couple of cassette-only releases which leaned more to the jazzy/world-music side of the fence. By the late 90’s a more deep and folkloric style began to emerge in the music. In ’97 came the first CD, “La Sandunga”, whose standout track is a heart-wrenching rendition of the Chavela Vargas tragic ballad, “La Llorona” (the pioneering and legendary ranchera queen Vargas is another great influence on Lila). By the time she released “Tree of Life” in 2000, the lyrics of which were derived from the religious codices of the Zapotec and Mixteca tribes, Lila had found her voice. The result is an exotic sound, richly infused with layers of Euro-Spanish, Latin, and native Mexican music. Lila delivers the songs like a torch-singer; like a Diva, using her voice’s incredible range of pitch and tone to express the emotions of each piece. Against a black-velvet backdrop of Spanish guitar and native percussion, she conveys a jazzy sense of world-weary sophistication on songs like “Xquenda” and “Luna”.
2001 saw the release of “Border (La Linea)”, followed by the Latin Grammy award-winning “Una Sangre (One Blood)” in 2004. Both of these LPs weave an increasingly colorful cultural tapestry, incorporating traditional songs and instruments. Lila explores styles like norteno/Tejano, ranchera, mariachi, and even reggae on these releases. The “Border” LP is especially compelling, telling the story, occasionally with English lyrics, of the immigrant crossing the border from Mexico for the dream of a better life in the USA.

Lila’s latest work, “La Cantina”, pays homage to canciones rancheras; traditional, tequila-soaked ballads of the Mexican cantina bar. Cantina culture is central to small town life in rural Mexico, having given rise to cantina singers and table dancers, and a wealth of popular, heartbroken songs.

An excerpt of Billboard.com's review of “La Cantina” says this: Downs' dark, smoky voice is the perfect vehicle for these (ranchera) songs, which juxtapose the deep emotion of fado and mariachi music with norteno and tejano influences (notable especially on those songs that feature the legendary Texas accordionist Flaco Jimenez). Everywhere you turn there are deeper complexities lurking beneath the already complicated surfaces of the songs: the quietly wailing clarinet that follows the distorted guitar solo on "Agua de Rosas"; the ska-funk inflections that are constantly hovering around the edges of "Tu Recuerdo y Yo"; the dubwise phase-shifting effects on "Cumbia del Mole" (a song that explains how to make one of the more popular Mexican sauces, and which is helpfully performed in both Spanish and English versions). Very highly recommended. ~ Rick Anderson

The LP’s opening track, “La Cumbia del Mole” has instantly become one of my favorite tunes of all time. While spending some formative years growing up in Texas, I fell in love with certain Tex-Mex styles, especially the cumbia, an infectious Afro-Latin dance rhythm with origins in Colombia. The Tex-Mex or Norteno version of cumbia, typically played by small border bands called “Conjuntos”, adds melody to the rhythm with accordion and an almost klezmer-like snake-charmer clarinet (picture a guy in a fez). Yes, that’s right, Mexican and Tex-Mex music has German, Bavarian, Polish and Czech influences. Weird but true. Listen to the trumpets in a good Mariachi band. If they were a little more sober, slightly less slurred, they could pass for those of the German beer hall. The classic “Arboles de la Barranca,” covered by Lila on La Cantina, is a great example of the strong Germanic influence in Mexican music, with its anthemic trumpets and oompah-pah brass. I have seen and danced to great Texas bands like Brave Combo, performing polkas and cumbias. My favorite Tex-Mex artist is the almighty king of accordion, Flaco Jimenez, who appears as a special guest on "La Cantina". I have had the great pleasure of enjoying Flaco and his Conjunto on several occasions. If you can remain seated during a good cumbia, well, either you need another shot of tequila, or you have had one-too-many, and have passed out. (I also love a good mole sauce -“mole” meaning “the grind” or “ground”- a notoriously hard thing to make, because it typically involves dozens of ingredients. Why do most Mexican restaurants in the U.S. NOT have mole on the menu? Simple; it’s too complex and time-consuming to make!)

Like a delicious mole, Lila’s voice is dark, chocolaty and full of rich, smoky spice. La Cantina’s second track, “El Corrido de Tacha” is an example of the Tejano/norteno style at its best. The song tells the story of a country girl, still a teenager, who catches the bus to Mexico City to become a table dancer and singer in the cantina. Flaco’s accordion does some deft dancing of its own on this track. Next up is the soulful “Agua de Rosas”, a journey of healing, showing Lila’s more delicate side. The instrumental breakdown features a very Santana-styled guitar solo over a Cubanesque minor-key mambo. “La Cama de Piedra” and “Penas del Alma” are examples of the slow, weeping waltzes which are as much sobbed as they are sung. Their message: “Entre copa y copa” (from one glass of mescal to the next) we drown our sorrows and count our miseries. On a brighter note, the delightful “El Relampago” (The Lightning Bolt) is a refreshing treatment of a Mariachi classic. The lyrical violins and famous “ly ly ly's” make this one of our favorite warm-weather, top-down tunes. “La Tequilera” is another Tex-Mex number about a cantina “regular”; the female tequila-lush. Accompanied again by Flaco’s irresistible accordion, Lila sings the song with hiccups, sighs and “oys”, as if soused herself! (Apparently Ms. Downs is no stranger to the joys of agave!) Throughout the album, Lila adds unexpected modern production treatments, yet remains extremely loyal to the source material. Wonderful!

"La Cantina" makes you want to quit the daily grind, buy a casita in somewhere south of the border, and live a tequila-splashed life full of fiesta, music and mucho mole!

NOTE: This LP should be listened to while enjoying ONLY top-shelf, 100% blue-agave Tequila. My recommendation (if you can find it) Corralejo Reposado! Salud!

http://www.liladowns.com/index_en.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tejano_music
http://www.flacojimenezmusic.com/
http://www.tequilacorralejo.com/

Grand Theft Parsons

2007-04-27T14:29:00.001-04:00

Just saw a funny but soulful indy film on IFC (Independent Film Channel): "Grand Theft Parsons"(2004), the true story of how Gram Parson's road manager, Phil Kaufman, stole Gram's body and cremated it in the Joshua Tree desert. Got a little misty at the end. It's a great story, told here with humor and heart. It was not well-reviewed, apparently, but being a huge Gram fan, I liked it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Parsons
http://www.gramparsons.com/

PS: Here's a good account of the actual events: http://ebni.com/byrds/memgrp6.html#Lgods

Viva Zaragoza! Drewcifer's Cinco de Mayo Margaritas!

2007-05-05T08:14:00.000-04:00

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I’m gonna give you not one, but TWO of my secret special ‘rita recipes. Well, actually, I’ll give one of my established recipes, and then I’m going to concoct an all new “Cinco-rita” for the occasion.

1) The Silver Armadillo: This is a really simple and delicious “white” ’rita which has a refreshing, silky smooth taste. It should have very little green or yellow color, thus the name “Silver”.

Put lots of ice in a cocktail glass or jigger
Put a splash of Rose’s Lime Juice on the ice
Squeeze a little real fresh lime juice on the ice
Pinch a dash of margarita salt (aka kosher salt) on the ice
Big shot of blanco (aka silver) tequila (see suggested tequilas below)
½ shot of Triple Sec
Top off with Collins Mix (I usually use Polar)
Mix well
Wedge of lime and salt the rim to taste
Serve on the rocks or strain in to a martini-type glass for a chilled “straight-up” ‘rita.

Recommended Tequilas

Good: El Jimador Blanco
Better: Herradura Silver
Los Mejores: Espolon Blanco, Corazon Blanco, Corralejo
Blanco, Patron Silver

2) The Margarita Cinco-Cinco: I figure since its May 5 (5-5), let’s make one with five main ingredients.

Uno: Good Reposado Tequila
Dos: Presidente Mexican Brandy
Tres: Gran Gala Liquer
Quatro: Orange Juice
Cinco: Grenadine
(This is sort of a cross between a Presidente Margarita and a Tequila Sunrise)

Put lots of ice in a cocktail glass or jigger
Put a splash of Rose’s Lime Juice on the ice
Squeeze a little real fresh lime juice on the ice
Pinch a dash of margarita salt (aka kosher salt) on the ice
Big shot of Reposado
¼ Shot of Presidente Brandy
¼ Shot of Gran Gala
Top off with Orange Juice (or Polar Orange Dry)
*Dribble a little Grenadine in for color – “Montezuma’s blood” (don’t use too much because it will make the drink overly sweet)
*Mix well and pour in to appropriate glass BEFORE adding Grenadine
Garnish with a wedge or slice of orange

Recommended Tequilas
Good: Sauza Conmemorativo, El Jimador Reposado
Better: Chinaco Reposado, Cazadores Reposado, Herradura Reposado
Los Mejores: Centenario Reposado, Corralejo Reposado, Patron Reposado

Viva Zaragoza!