Chris Rasmussen: New EP on the way

     I had the pleasure last month of helping Chris Rasmussen bring his electronic-singer-songwriter EP to life at Precarious Rock Studios. Chris is one of the most talented songwriters I have met, and is a sheer joy to work with.
     A producer himself, Chris has amazing instincts and musicianship. Working with this guy is pretty much a matter of getting the mic in the right place and a compressor dialed in.

     I also had the pleasure of engineering Nico Hernandez on drums for the EP. Nico is an animal, and made his Gretsch kit ring.

Stay tuned for more from these guys, and for the EP release soon!

Sean Pawling - Inner Child

Sean Pawling and I were recently up in his hometown of South Lake Tahoe and got a chance to record a video of his song "Inner Child." Check it out! Videography by Nate Vaughan.

Nate Miller wins Unsigned Only

I'm excited to announce that Nate Miller's song The Darkest Spaces was selected as the winner of the Christian category for Unsigned Only, a songwriting competition. Production by Nate Vaughan. Big congrats to him!
 
Unsigned Only

Nate Miller - New EP in Progress

Back in 2012, I had the pleasure of working with Nate Miller on his first full-length album. That project sprawled over 2 years, so when we started discussing working together again, my first thought was "keep things simple."

The new EP will feature mostly Nate playing piano and singing. We're still in the early, early stages of working, but I'm excited about the project!

Nate snapped this photo during a recent session. Stay tuned for more updates!

Eye for an Eiger - Out May 9th

Pre-order the album here

It's been a blast, but all good things must come to an end.

At least, that's what the album release means for Sean and me. We have been chipping away at Eye for an Eiger on nights, weekends, and lunch breaks for almost a year and a half. We started planning the album in the summer of 2012. We recording rough tracks the week before my wedding in January 2013. Drums, bass, and keys followed in March, April, and May.

Then we spent 6 months recording the million little things that get me jazzed about production: marimba, theremin, vibroslap,  castanets, background vocals, layered guitar parts, synthesizers.

Its these details of production work that I love the most. Every production project that I undertake keeps me dreaming of a million little details that might take a song to the next level.

Every session is a big, fun hangout. There is a lot of time for fun in and around the times we hit the "record" button. And spending time with the great people who bring their talents to the recording studio is what makes a year-and-a-half long project fly right by.

So for those of you who will be hearing it for the first time, I hope you enjoy it. There will be a release show on May 9th at 7:50 PM if you happen to be in the Los Angeles area.

Production photos after the break.

Kickstarter Update

A big thanks to those of you who have made Sean Pawling's Kickstarter a smashing success. As of this morning, we're 129% funded with just over 2 days to go!

We still need your help. Our $3000 goal only accounts for about half of the cost of producing the album. To reward your continued support, Sean and I have created a "reach" goal of raising $4200 to get the album pressed to vinyl. Anyone who supports at the $28 level or higher will receive a copy.

If you planned to give but have been putting off doing so, now is the time. You will come away with some great swag and know that you have helped bring to life music that wouldn't exist without you. You can find the kickstarter at the link below.

Sean has been recording a cover every day during the Kickstarter. I've had the pleasure of participating in a couple of them. Below are a few of my favorites (more after the break):

Sean Pawling Album: Kickstarter!

I seem to be the king of ambitious, drawn-out projects. My work with Sean Pawling has turned out to be no exception. We have been planning since late 2012 and working since February 2013. The album is well on its way, but we're coming up to some end-of-project costs, like mixing, mastering, and pressing.

So we've turned to Kickstarter to pre-sell the album and try to raise these costs up front. Check out the project video, have a look at the rewards, and support us if you love independently-produced music!

Click here to support this project

"Windman" Live in a Living Room

Nick Borges, director, teamed up with The Wild Maps, general rabble rousers to bring you this video. It was a lot of fun to make, and I hope you enjoy it!

Nate Miller: Like This One

Making full-length albums is hard. It always takes more time and effort than I initally plan for. And it inevitably goes through phases of being creatively draining.

For about past 3 months, Sean Pawling and I have been hard at work on tracking for his full-length album. But after we got my piano tuned for his sessions, I took advantage of the window of in-tune opportunity and managed to squeeze in a video session with Nate Miller. It was really refreshing to tackle something simple that we could complete in a few days.

Nate and I actually recorded 4 new songs of his, which we plan to release as an EP. We also shot the following video. The session was a lot of fun, and I got to use my Pentax K01 digital camera. The Pentax has been a lot of fun to have around, and it was a pleasure to get to know it a bit better.

Here's the result. Enjoy!

Napoli

Stay tuned. A and B side single on the way.

Camera Test Video

So I snagged a new digital camera that takes HD video. It's made by Pentax, a company that I have been a longtime fan of. Many (most) of the photos seen on this blog were taken by a Pentax film camera.

The camera's native lens mount accepts the lenses that I use for my film cameras, which gives me instant access to some pretty cool options. Check out this test video I shot the day I bought the camera. It features my almost wife Andrea.

Pentax K 01 Test Video from Nate Vaughan on Vimeo.

Nate Miller - Album Out Now

Link to Album

This weekend, Nate Miller released his debut solo album, Fall is Meant for Falling to the Ground. The album has been over two years in the making, and represents the most ambitious project I have yet undertaken. It also required the most support from friends - gear loaned, time donated, and feedback given.

The songs are strikingly honest and deeply personal. Nate is gifted not just as a lyricist, but as an observer of the human condition. My treatment of his songs was ambitious and adventurous, but I tried to enhance the elements that are uniquely his--his voice, his love of lush arrangement, and his soaring melodicism. I know that I speak for many when I say that I hope to hear much more from Nate in the years to come.

If you listen to the album, feel free to drop me a line here and let me know what you think. And to those of you who supported the project financially, with recording gear, or otherwise: my sincerest thanks!

Link to Album

October 20/2012

I'm a lucky guy.

Introducing: The Wild Maps

Link to the music
This is a project that has been a long time coming. Rachel Vaughan, Anna Su, and I have been playing music together since 2008, and have always shared a deep respect for each others' songs, often swapping them in performances and re-imagining them.

In December of 2011, we finally decided to put the music on tape that we had been performing for years. In a one-day living room session, we recorded most instruments and vocals live with Kris Karlsson on bass and Mike Lindsay on drums. We then built out this framework with overdubbed piano, guitar, trombone (Sean Pawling), and harmonica (Ross Garren).

This project is Anna's and my first attempt at mixing. As much as we could, we used the old gear we have lying around (some of it with questionable functionality): an old DBX 160, an Orban EQ, and a handful of distortion pedals. We had a vauge idea of a sound in mind, and we wanted the freedom to take chances and see the results ourselves, without having someone else tell us what was or wasn't going to work.

You can listen to some samples of the music at www.thewildmaps.com. If you're in the Los Angeles area on August 3rd, please join us for a show at Hotel Cafe. If you're in Chicago September 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, stay tuned for a midwest release show. And you can always pre-order the album at the web address above.

I hope you enjoy the tunes!

Before/After: Darkest Spaces

Sometime early next year, Nate Miller's album will be done. I cannot tell you all how much effort everyone involved has put into these recording Nate's music--musicians, engineers, visual artists, and of course, Nate and I have devoted countless hours to it.

It's hard to see how far we've come from where we're standing. That's probably true of most creative projects, and is one of the great paradoxes of undertaking an album. But the other day, I got a chance to listen to some of Nate's original demos--the recordings that were the seed of this album (for some of you, they are the only recordings of Nate's music that you have). It was really fun to hear how ideas blossomed out of a simple garage band recording.

Over the next few weeks, I'll be putting up some BEFORE/after recordings of his demos and some rough mixes from his album.  I'd love to hear what you think of his music or my production work.

Here's the first of these: Darkest Spaces. Nate's demo is beautiful, and I hope the album version does it justice.

We had the privilege of having some amazing musicians on this one: a string trio, Kevin Milner on pedal steel, and Mike Lindsay on drums. Here's a rough mix that will give you an approximation of the album version.

Before

After

Stay tuned for more samples, let us know what you think, and be sure to check out Nate Miller's blog to learn more about him or to read his lyrics:

http://freerefills.wordpress.com/words/

In the mean time, enjoy the music!

Show Tonight/Bandnames

For my SHOW TONIGHT, I wanted to name my band Nate Vaughan and the <somethings>... Here's the list my friend Rob came up with:

Nate Vaughan and the stern looks

and the bottle breakers

and the staredowns

and the tumbleweeds

and 98degrees

and the deputees

and the do you rights

and the close shaves

and the rusty spurs

and the no good for nothins

and the rowdy dirtbags

and the true grits

and the wide strides

Thanks, Rob.  Finalists and winner will be announced tomorrow...

Speaking of which:
October 3rd
El Cid
4212 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90029
8pm
$5
(variety show to follow)

This Guy

Just thought you all might enjoy this pic:

Stay tuned.  His album is on the way.

Nate Miller Update

Many of you know that I have been working with Nate Miller for the past several months on a short album.  We have had many killer musicians contribute to the project, including great string players, guitarists, keyboardists, and drummers.  We are entering the final stages of recording, and are proud of the work coming forth.

If those of you who have contributed financially to the project were stars, our flags would be full.  I recently heard that 52 of you have given nearly $4000 to support Nate.  We are so excited by this show of support, and we hope to give you a recording that lives up to the standard set by your generosity.  Those of you who have not yet given, you can donate here.  Call it pre-ordering the album if you like.

I hope to share some sounds with you soon!

Anna Su - Untitled:Dance

In addition to working with Nate Miller, I have been working with Anna Su on a short dance EP over the last few weeks.  We are new to indie dance pop music, but have the fortune of working with Jack Zoephel, who engineered yOya's album.  I believe we are in good hands.

Anna and I spent an evening at Eargasm Studios in Santa Monica with some amazing musicians a few weeks ago.  We cut bass, drums, keys, and guitars for her new songs.  The space at Eargasm is really special; it combines a great acoustic space with a variety of vintage gear.

We had a our pick of classic microphones, preamps, and compressors, and a great group of musicians on the other side of the glass.  Honestly, it was the easiest session I have ever run; there were very few problems to address, and I just got to sit back and watch it all happen.

Anyway, more to come on this project, and more photos after the break.