It’s December 30th and I spent the day at Golden Bear Studios mixing my album. The last time I posted, I shared that the album was recorded. It was exciting and stressful to record live in the studio but it produced the most honest results. When you work with great musicians and engineers, making music is a smooth process. Speaking of engineers, Bryan Vanderpool and Blake Van Houten assisted us in producing some amazing tones that day. Now that the recording is completed, the next step is mixing. The goal of mixing is to get the balance of each instrument and to select the best take of each song. Some decisions were easy and some were more challenging. It’s not about right notes or wrong notes, it’s about how the song makes you feel…and most importantly, "would you listen to the song more than once?" It’s like an eye exam; “better or about the same?” “That one…for sure.” “Ok…1 or 2?” “1…no wait…play 2 again?” Bryan and I have taken the songs from a rough form to something very presentable. Since leaving the studio, I’ve listened to the mixes in Lisa’s car, my laptop, and through my phone speakers. I’m super happy with how they turned out. For two years, I imagined how they would sound and now I’m hearing them. The plan is to let them sit for a while. I like listening to them today but will I still like them a week from now? Recording, like any art, takes time.
Tune-in to Iowa Public Radio this Saturday December 31 and Sunday January 1 and listen to highlights of Monday Night Live. This three hour radio program will feature amazing performances by local artists with the Monday Night Live House Band. My song “Uncle Bill” will be featured on the broadcast. It’ll be played in the third hour but also throughout the program as intro and break music; this is when instrumental music has an advantage.
Press Release:
We’ve got a very special New Year’s Eve broadcast coming up this weekend on “All Access.”
Monday Night Live! is a concert series featuring Iowa singer/songwriters and original music that’s been happening weekly at xBk in Des Moines in 2022.
This weekend on the show, we’re airing recordings from the concert series alongside interviews with some of the musicians hosted by Anne Ducharme-Jones.
Follow this link to learn more about the series from maestro bass player Scot Sutherland! And tune in Saturday at 1 p.m. or Sunday at 2 p.m. to listen.
My kid is an artist. My kid is a lot of wonderful things but this post is about their art. This portrait was done as a class project. Since middle school, I heard; “Dad, I want to go to culinary school.” Two years ago, in their last semester of high school, they said; “Dad, before I spend my life in a kitchen, I want to study art.” “Go for it, kiddo!” To me, food and art and music and anything creative is all the same. Some of the most creative people I know study or have studied many different things. All a parent wants to see is their child happy. Seeing my kid’s art makes me happy.
Happy New Year, thanks for the support, stay safe and healthy,
Tommy