October 20/2012

I'm a lucky guy.

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.

The Making of Howling Tree

Some shots from the making of Anna Su's "Howling Tree"!

Anna Su: Howling Tree

As some of you may know, I have been working for a number of months producing a friend's first album.  Anna Su is a gifted songwriter and singer with a truly unique ability to bring people together around her music.  Her music has been described as "gypsy folk", but it's really just music that brings together all the things she loves—travel, love, and community.

I had the pleasure of working with Anna to bring her music to life through recordings.  We worked in a number of different locations and on different formats, from overdubbing piano parts at my house to recording live to tape at a friend's house.  The result is something we are proud of, and we sincerely hope you enjoy it.

 The album will be released 10/10/10 in physical form, but you can preview it online (and purchase it digitally) here.  One of the tracks, "Return to Me" is available as a free download for a limited time.  Please let us know what you think!

Also, there are some pictures of the recording sessions here and here.  

Thank you all for your support over the past 8 months.  We so appreciate all who encouraged us to pursue this project.  Feel free to comment here with your thoughts, or send us an e-mail.

Recent Photos / Making Records

Over the past few months, I have been helping Anna Su produce an EP.  While working on the recordings, we have had many of our friends stop by to help us out.  Among them, Kris Karlsson, George Krikes, and Rachel Vaughan.  Here are a few photos from recent weeks...

My Neighborhood in Black and White

Recently, I acquired a Canonet 17...a nice little consumer camera from the 1970's with a great lens on the front.  Upon receiving it, I slapped a dark yellow filter on it (for outdoor contrast) and shot a roll in my neighborhood.  Kinda makes my neighborhood look more exciting than it actually is!

Oh yeah then I shot my roommate:

Fun with Double Exposures

The other day Rach and I went out to shoot a roll of film.  We double exposed the roll by first shooting various colored things: a red shirt, Rach's dress, the inside of a plastic yellow cup, the textured grey seat of my car...  Then we walked around Third St. and shot the roll again.  Here's what resulted:

These were all shot Fujicolor 200... the cheapest stuff money can buy, and perfect for experimentation.  It also lends the shots a pleasing graininess.  Unfortunately (or fortunately...you decide), we didn't quite get the frame alignment right, so many of the photos came out with mixed framing.  Here are some interesting ones:

City Presbyterian Church