Nathan Dennen

Nathan has been talking to me for years about recording his first album, and now we are in full production for an album that has grown into one of my all time favorites to work on this far. My wife gave me some feedback early on, saying "that sounds great," before we were even close on some rough mixes.

Nathan's approach has been inspirational for me because he takes a very relaxed approach to recording. We tracked bass, drums, and piano in the same room, with minimal isolation. We used the old funky piano in the studio, to get that "bar piano" sound, and instead of bringing a "percussionist" to play along with the original takes, we set Nathan loose with bass drum and tambourine. The bass player and drummer are close friends of his who are in it for the love, I can hear it in the tracks.

We have done overdubs with Cello, Hammond Organ, Rhodes, and even Nathan's infamous mouth trumpet!

This album seems to be made for the old analog outboard gear in the studio, giving a very warm, retro sound to his songs. What I love most is Nathan's raw approach. It's many times a fleeting freedom that many bands have "made it" seem to lose track of after a taste of success. Nathan is fully immersed in his music. It's a gift to be a part of.

Analog Rules: Afro Funk Experience records to 2" tape.

Today, the Afro Funk Experience came to Paradise Recording to start an album. We recorded the band live, to 2" tape. Because the band knows it's material, is full of incredible players, and plays funk music, it seemed more than appropriate to track this album to tape, using our Studer A-800 MKIII.

This was one of my favorite sessions in quite some time. For anyone who has noticed that music doesn't really sound like it used to, it's not hard to imagine that by using vintage techniques, or even better yet, vintage equipment, we can make music today that has an old school vibe. It was so refreshing! We set up the band, got our sounds, and then just started rolling tape. The band sounded great, and there's no "how do we make this sound good?". It sounded good as soon as the band was listening back in the control room. No gimmicks. No plug ins. No re-amping. No auto tune, and no computer.

Unfortunately, there are so many possibilities with digital recording, it's so easy to "fix" music now, many musicians have become lazy, and the soul of music has suffered. "Oh, we can just loop that", or "can you fix my pitch" are just some of the ridiculous questions that have now become all to common in the studio.

The Afro Funk Experience did today in our studio what real music is all about. Many songs were done in one take, and all played totally live together. The end result is simple. Music is supposed to feel good!

Studio Projects 2011

Today, John and I got the Studer MKIII (2" 24 track) up and running, and recorded drum loops for a company named "Future Loops" out of Portugal. Next, we will mix down to the other Studer, the A-80 (1/4 inch 2 track) and bounce it directly to the B2 Bomber. I am in love with the tape sound. I can't wait to get that Mothership for mulit-channel tape transfer! I will post a link to beats by Future Loops soon.


http://www.futureloops.com/

The 24 track is sounding amazing. Some of our next sessions will be with the band  Afro Funk Experience, which will be live, to tape. In addition, I am going to be producing "These Boots Are Made For Walking", which I will record to tape with a live band as well.

Other projects include Emmett Peixoto's new album "Unattainable" which features Emmet on vocals/guitar; Jeff Hayashi guitar/backing vocals/producer, Bobby Hansen electric bass/Hammond Organ,  and myself on drums/keys/engineer. (Rich and I are currently mixing down to 1/4" tape). Special guests included Barry Phillips on cello and Heather Houston on backing vocals.

Naomi Wilder (aka Victory Sweet) also released "Chicky Wok" this last month... check out the video HERE. I am in pre-production for another song for her to be released later this year.

Nathan Dennen is also doing an album... an incredible sounding, piano-centric collection of tunes... I can't wait to see how this turns out.

Happy New Year! 2011 is looking like it will be the best, busiest year our studio has seen!

Paradise Recording Update: January 2011

For the last 6 months, we have been so busy, it's been impossible to find the time to post anything on the blog.

While running Paradise Recording, I have also been working for Burl Audio, as Artist Representative. This past November, Burl Audio presented at Audio Engineering Society in San Francisco. We released the Mothership, a multi-channel converter that we believe will change the course of recording history.

We threw an awesome party at the Great American Music Hall on Friday night after AES's opening day, which many people said was the best AES party, ever.  Since AES, Burl has taken on a tremendous momentum. Poeple all over the world are discovering the sound of the B2 Bomber.


We have also been working very hard keeping the studio in top shape, getting the tape machines working, swapping patch bays, building a computer room, soldering studio cables, producing albums, mixing, mastering... in other words, never a dull moment.

www.burlaudio.com

Taylor's New T3-B

Wow! This is the sickest guitar I have ever played. Bob, the A&R guy down at taylor (www.taylorguitars.com) has sent SambaDá a pair of brand new Taylors to check out. In about the first month we got this guitar, it has been to New York, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Idaho, and recorded in the studio with me.

The trememlo is BUTTER, and the sounds from the pickups are incredible. I am totally blown away. I was getting sound that I never have heard come from my hands, and the build of the guitar is immaculate.

I HIGHLY recommend you try this guitar before you go out to buy a gibson or gretch... Check this out!

The Levy Sisters

I was hired by these girls father to produce 2 tracks for Alex (left) and Julia (right). When SambaDá was in Austin, Texas for the South by Southwest Festival, we had an 8 hour session at 5th Street Studios to record a demo with these girls. (http://www.5thstreetstudios.com/)

The song selection was quite last minute as it turned out, and we finally decided on an original tune by the girls dad (Van Levy) called "your eyes", but we took some time to figure out the second song. We wanted to do a cover song that showcased the girls' talent, but also brought the strengths of SambaDá's percussion and funky sound.

A family friend suggested "As" by Stevie Wonder. I don't think they could have come up with a better track. We did the initial tracking that day in Austin, but now I have gotten my hands on it, we have added Tammy Hall on Fender Rhodes, (left) and Reuben Rodgers (reubenrodgers.com) on Electric Bass.

These two musicians are above and beyond. It is honestly a humbling experience working with both of them. I was pleasantly surprised when both of them seem to have such a great time... 

Anne from SambaDá has been an incredible support for me during the process... she patiently waits for her turn to record...  For the Stevie Wonder song, she spent 2 full days in the studio helping out before she got her turn to record. We did most of her tracks in less than 90 minutes, and I think it might be the best work I have ever heard from her! FONKY... that's right, FONKY! To really add the Brazilian flavor, Marcio Peeter from Bahia, Brazil helped direct and record the percussion.

Tonight, I just put the final major tracking down for the song "Your Eyes", which was sung by the younger of the two sisters, Julia. Anne started at 3:00, and we did Bari, Tenor (2 tracks) and Flute.
Then, I decided we needed a little tambourine, cowbell (who doesn't need COWBELL???) and a little shaker (literally, it is a very small shaker)

I am very impressed with these two young girls, and have had lots of fun... I have worked my butt off because I feel that the music deserves it. Ahhh... now to sleep to get ready for another day....

The Next Generation

We were doing a dance workshop in Seattle, WA, and we had 3 little girls who played shaker with us. This little heart-melting darling in the pink skirt turned around to me at one point and asked:

"Do you think that I could be a drummer someday?"

I told her that she could be anything that she wanted... she just has to do it. Then I had her play the drums... She was a natural of course... I love opening doors... Here she is... probably her first time on the drums.

A total natural with a beautiful spirit. Her little sister came and gave me a hug when I knelt down to say goodbye. She is the percussionist in the middle... her little shirt says "Baby Got Barack"

Soundcraft GHOST mixing board gets fixed at Paradies Recording

The other day I was caught with my pants down (so to speak) when the mixing board in our studio wouldn't turn on. I was getting ready to "build the mix". I had turned down all the channels, and was going to get a kick drum sound, mixing together the two mics... the inside and outside mics, but it was like putting your foot on the gas pedal, with the car just staying put.

I checked the power, and yes, I had turned it on... I didn't know what to do... I sent the musicians home, and called Rich (he was still in Austin Texas). It took some time till he got back, and we pulled the board off the desk, flipped it over and took off the bottom:





I am not going to do this without rich... who is an electrical engineer. Someone once told me "in the old days, and engineer knew how to fix any problem that came up... not just someone who points mics at things and gets a decent sound..."

Rich is a real engineer in this case... I just point microphones. Anyhow, we were able to hook up some meters that had been previously unplugged, and fixed the problem so the board is rocking again. Here it is again last night: fully operational.


While the board was down, I had the unfortunate opportunity to record with headphones for two days... my ears were NOT happy after this... and after I pulled up the mixes into the speakers once the board was up again, I heard lots of things that I would have dealt with had we been listening through the speakers...

PRODUCTION:
This week, I finished an initial mix of "Mare Cheia" by the Brooklyn-based Brazilian American band "Nation Beat". I also made some mixes for the album "Fools Gold", by Jan (pronounced YAWN) Broek, the father of my best friend and first bass player Jericho. I feel that I am paying rent for the year I first started playing drums, and his office and living room were our rehearsal spaces...

Tonight I am going to start mixing vocals for the Banana Slug String Band album, "Only One Ocean" with Jonathan Arthur, who is arranging all the vocals. Jonathan Arthur produced the last 2 albums for the Slugs... it has been nothing but a pleasure to work with such an incredible vocalist. I never stop learning from the old pros around me all the time...

Johnny B. recording for "Chicky Wok" by Nicole Naomi

In another adventure into sound at Paradise Recording: The Rolling Bomber!


Johnny B. is what I call a classic cat. He came into the studio to record bass drum for the track I am producing for his girlfriend, Naomi (more about her later)... Johnny is laid back, and not in the studio to make a scene. Here is johnny in full swing in Paradise:

The drum is called the Rolling Bomber, from the 1940.s. Johhny B says that it's from the era of the WWII metal recall... so the lugs are made of hardwood (rosewood?). This was a BEAUTIFUL old drum. 28" by maybe 12" or so...

We used two D112s, one on front, one on back, and a Neuman U87 to get some of the resonance of the attack head. We got a great sound. The track will be released in a couple of months...

SambaDá has finished it's new album GENTE! :

www.sambada.com for track listening!

Paradise

I have been getting more and more comfortable in the studio. Things are starting to click. But then I find that my "huge realization" was actually just a small part of the beginning of understanding the studio I am working in.

Lately I have been redefining what I am doing in the recording studio. I am loving the beginners mind approach with every artist who comes in. I ask : what do you want to sound like? Sometimes they have NO IDEA and don't even want to start to have an opinion about what mic to use, mic placement, or what pre amp to use, etc.

We are DONE with SambaDá's newest album, Gente. We are playing this weekend in Santa Cruz at Moes Alley, for 2 nights. I can't wait.

I am in the final stretch for the Banana Slug String Band's next album "Only One Ocean". This has been an epic experience. Brett Dennen donated his voice for one of the songs, which is quickly becoming one of the best songs on the record. It's understated... Bass- (Doug Dirt) Drums-(Will Kahn) Piano (Zach Gill) and vocals (Brett Dennen). The track also has a group of about 9 fabulous local children from Santa Cruz.

Also, Naomi Wilder has been in the studio... she is totally fun to work with and has lots of crazy ideas. She is a nut. It has been a blast working with her. We had in Marcio from Bahia, Brazil to play percussion. Then we did a track with 6 people stomping on the ground and clapping their hands. It is RAW!

More soon...

Banana Slug String Band

SambaDá workshop in São Paulo Brasil, July 18 2009

SambaDá has landed in Brasil. We have been running around trying to get all the last minute details together for our big show in São Paulo that paid for our tickets to ge

t down here.... but we had time to teach a

couple of workshops

for kids in some of the outskirts of this INCREDIBLY huge city.

There are more than 20 million people living in São Paulo. It is HUGE. To the right i

s the group of children we did our first workshop with. It is in the city called GUARULHOS. This group of kids played very well already, so we brought them some new rhythms from a song that Dandha sang with them. Here are some more memorable pics from this workshop:

This girl had a great time playing... she is 18 and has been playing with this group for a number of months. She was always making great eye contact with us as we all played together with a huge smile. Absolutely radiant.

Behind this little girl is a man who has composed many songs for two very famous bands in brazil, Olodum and Ile Aiye. He heard the kids drumming and came to the workshop. One of the leaders of the group invited him in and he started playing and singing,

and he was so into it... which surprised me, in a very touching way.

We spoke after the class, and he greeted me with open arms. People were amazed to see a band from the US coming to their little neighborhood, a band of different races, ages and genders coming together to share music and a message of cultural identity through music. It fills me with the feeling that I am part of a global community.

Bon Voyage

JULY 13, 2009

We leave for Brazil tomorrow morning!

I just bought a brand new MacBook for some friends down there, along with a new version of Pro Tools 8. They are going to be on the extreme cutting edge, cause down there, there was only one store in all of bahia that sold or worked on Mac computers (my h

ands down favorite).

We played a wonderful show last Saturday night, hosted by Bill from

Moes Alley. He gave us all the

door, and we raised an extra $2500 for the trip!

Bill also has donated a 3 microphones and this guitar... signed by Buddy Guy among other blues legends:

JULY 6, 2009

This is a whirlwind! I turn 30 years old, now off to brazil. We come home august 1 and then I get married, and honeymoon in Europe for a month. Here is my mama and I sitting right

where I was born 30 years to the minute... july 6, 12:27 pm 1979... Love you mama!

My folks still live in the house they built starting

over 30 years ago in Bolinas, California. I was born there, and lived there for 18 years till I moved to Santa Cruz. My parents got it going in the golden age: I think my dad payed $6,000 for 1/2 an acre in the 60's.

What will I say in 45 years?

JULY 4 GYPSY PARTY IN MENDOCINO.

This party was more than fun. Every aspect was amazing. Aine and I had a blast dressing up, I got to wear EYE LINER!!!! What a treat! There were lanterns everywhere, and everyone was so dressed up it was too good. SambaDá played an awesome set... the music felt good. It was as if we were all living off the land for real, drinking wine out of the barrel, and eating wild boar off of the fire.

They had this great Gypsy Wagon:

What a way to spend the 4th! No fireworks or drunken fights, or cars, just a bunch of gypsies out in an orchard. We believed that we were living the life!

SambaDá and Ile Aiye Bahia 2009!

What a dream! Today I was on the phone with the founder of Ile Aiye, Vovô... who is helping put this show together, and also getting our whole band to get from São Paulo to Bahia. It is a total dream come true.

We are leaving Tuesday, and today I made a couple of mixes of songs that I never really finished, which I started in Bahia, February 2008. I have been working quite hard since then in the studio on many projects, so never had a real chance to turn one of these songs out.

My good bro Ramnes (ham-e-seis) from Ile Aiye recorded a couple of raps with me...

I am trying to repair a hard drive recorder to bring down to dandha's brother... we will see what happens! SambaDá is going to play a benefit on Saturday night at Moes Alley in Santa Cruz to raise money for the trip.

SambaDá is going to Brazil

After more than 12 years of playing music in santa cruz and around the country... SambaDá is heading for it's first international dates in Brail! We land in Sao Paulo July 15 or 16 and play for a festival in Sao Paulo on July 19. Then we go to Bahia to play for Ile Aiye, the first carnival group in Brazil consisting of African decendants.




This group was ground breaking for the civil rights movement in Brazil. It is amazing to think that just 35 years ago, segregation and racisim were so strong in Brazil, that black people couldn't parade in the streets. Now it is impossible to think about carnival without thinking of afro-brazilian culture.

Ile Aiye is throwing a welcoming party/show for us! This is one of the highest honors we have ever recieved. What a dream!

Aine, my fiance and I, went and stayed with Graca, the first female singer from the group in Januaray and February of 2008.
We went to the house of Ile Aiye 4 or 5 times. Saw them rehearse, and saw where they make all their drums... The group is more than a band... they are a cultural institution, a school and the heart beat of Afro Brazilian music and culture.

Here is a picture of the group from europe...

I think that the drummer in the middle is Marcio, a percussioninst who has played with SambaDá regularly over the years... another man born half way around the world that is like a brother to me. He was also in brazil when we went, and showed us around... Marcio just came and visited for a month (from New Orleans) and I recorded him for 4 days for the new SambaDá album...

Here is a link to Ile Aiye's website:
http://www.ileaiye.org.br/index2.htm

Banana Slug String Band album....

I got my first production gig. I am producing an album with 14 songs for the banana slug string band... From left to right we have Solar Steve, Marine Mark, Doug Dirt and Airy Larry, aka the SLUGS These guys have been playing music for children and families for 24 years. My band SambaDá played a party for them for their 20 year anniversary... Gary, our drummer also plays with them from time to time.

Side note: They had their name before the UCSC adopted its mascot (the banana slugs).

It has been a great experience for me. But now there is an added bonus. Due to the outreaching of the group (mainly Doug, I think, but might be wrong) Jack Johnson has agreed to sing on the album. We have sent him two songs, broken down into stems (or sub groups), and he will sing on one or both of them. He has an amazing thing going (to say the least), more specifically a totally laid back style (down to the bone), 15 million albums sold world wide, a solar powered recording studio, a foundation for childrens' eco-education, and a record label.

Victor Whooten is also planning to lay down his FUNKY bass... Vic is one of the best bass players on the planet. Period. EXCLAMATION POINT!!!!

Also, the Cajun music LEGENDS Beausoleil from New Orleans came into my shack (previous studio/garage) and instantly turned one of our songs into a masterpiece. It was amazing to watch them work... we have accordion, two fiddles, and washboard. What a treat!

Also, we have some major local musicians lined up.... Barry Phillips on cello (I can't wait) and George Winston, the great pianist. He will actually be playing Slack Key guitar for a song about coral reefs... I also have Anne Stafford (SambaDá) who is going to help me arrange horns, and play sax, and more to come...

This is my new (musical) home. Rich Williams is the studio owner. We are running the whole system off of my computer, and I have a couple of microphones, and all my drums in there, but otherwise, it is an amazing system that Rich put together. I wasn't really savvy to all the amazing gear that Rich has the first time I went in. I saw the couch, and kind of thought that the place was run down. But it is truly a sonic paradise!

(Don't judge a book by it's cover). Rich used to work for Universal Audio, and designed a number of crucial products that they have put out. Rich has TREMENDOUS ears and is another angel in my recording career. I am learning as much as i can in a very short time... The board is all analog... no automation, so I am still getting used to that system.

But to my left as I work is this amazing tower of love:

I have been a little overwhelmed with all this gear, but it is getting to the point where I don't think I'll ever look back.

I used to do everything inside of pro-tools... all software based. Meaning, I woudl use a preamp to go into pro tools (that red focusrite on the left is Len's and I am still using it) but then everything else I did was software based.

Now I have access to the LA2A, 1176, INSANE Analog to Digital converters, and much more.

I am happily growing into all this gear... it's ridiculous.





Here is a look into the live room... I am in HEAVEN... with all the mics and a wood floor for drums.

Right now SambaDá is finishing up our latest album... And today I am going to do some final drums for the Banana Slug String Band album, which is all about saving the oceans. Till next post!

Studio history. (long winded)

It was 1 knock at my door, from a Santa Cruz Police officer, at 4 in the afternoon, which prompted me to relocate my recording studio. I started out with a very modest home studio, somehow jammed into the one bedroom cottage that Aine and I have lived in for the past 5 years.

One day, Gary (drummer from SambaDá) told me that Len, who had recorded our first studio album, had packed up the studio, and all the gear was sitting in storage. Gary kept on me to call Len and see what he had.

So I called. Len is from the south, (the southern United States, not Los Angeles)... and has the southern hospitality thang DOWN!!! I ask len to buy one of the nice mic's that we all loved. He tells me that they won't sell the mic's, but I can BORROW all of them, (I still have them) and that they want to sell the entire system. I told him that I only have $3,000. They had been trying to sell the system for $12,000...

A couple of days later Len calls back and says: "we'll do it for $3,000." I am shocked, to say the least. The deal includes a custom desk that Len personally built, a computer, monitor, automated mixing board, pro tools software, hardware etc etc etc. Len just says that he wants it to get used. "Do you have a place to put it"

One of the first people I called was my good bro Tai (Nitianda Das Farmer) who just had showed me the neglected 3 car garage below his studio that he was going to turn into a "music room". Tai immediately expressed interest in having me move a recording studio in...

During this time, Marcel (percussionist from SambaDá) really insisted that we call a producer from San Francisco who's name had come up from lots of famous musicians we know (such as Raul from Ozomatli...) I called Greg Landau one night after marcel forwarded his contact info. WIthin a day, I checked my messages and was shocked that he had agreed to work with us, before we actually spoke on the phone.

Greg immediately saw my hunger to learn and took me under his wing. He has showed me how a producer works. It was under tai's house that I started learning how to engineer, how to manage 64+ tracks, how to edit, crossfade, arrange... etc etc etc.

I named my recording studio Shack in the Back Studios. We finished Salve A Bahia (SambaDá's second studio album), then Tai and Kristin got a two month notice that they were going to have to move. So I packed it all up....


After about 9 months, I finally found an 18 x 20 garage on the west side of Santa Cruz. My friend Kelau is a reggae DJ in town and his mother owns the place. I filled the room with carpet... and as much foam as I could. Then I set up my newest configuration (brand new Mac Pro tower, with Pro Tools HD2... ) This is the room where eventually the cops came. I have to admit, I did find two notes over the months... one was very polite. I found it on my gate when I was practicing for an audition with my favorite band of all time, Ozomatli. I was frantically cramming, by playing my ass off for hours and hours. The second note I got was when tracking drums for SambaDa's current album, and I think it said "STOP THE FUCKING DRUMMING".

So when the cops came, I wasn't totally surprised. While in New York with my good buddy Miles Kennedy, he said: "why don't you find a studio in Santa Cruz and just rent out some time?".

By the end of that month, back on the west coast, I had given notice and was set to move into my most current setup....